Need some dealership advice, about to buy used.

Alright, I know this is a First Gen. truck in question, and I already posted this thread in that forum, but I realized that all of you in this forum have dealt with dealers much more recently. I'm looking for advice on how I should go about getting what I want from a dealership. I've never dealt with a major one before.

I understand if this thread needs to be deleted from this forum, but I figured it'd be worth a shot thanks a bunch!

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Well I'm about ready to pull the trigger on this truck, It's about 2 hours away from me, so I'm probably gonna take one trip up to see it in person, and then another to buy it when I get the financing with PenFed figured out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DOUBL...US_Cars_Trucks

They're asking price is about $1000 below MSRP KBB. And they want another 2kish for the 3yr/30,000mile GM warranty.

I feel like I may have some wiggle room here, due to it being at a Chevy dealership. I've never dealt with big dealerships and was looking for some advice on haggling with them.

I'd like to get the keys and the warranty (also see if I can extend it to 5yr/50,000mile just to protect me up to the 100,000 mile mark) for what they're asking and I'm fine with playing a little hardball if it'll shave some more off the price.

Let me know what ya think.

Thanks guys, can't explain how much help this site has been since I found it.

Justin

 

ttt...

 

The first rule of dealing with a dealership is to be ready to walk away. Know what you want, what the real market value is and what you are willing to pay for it. I spent a couple months looking around and talking to different dealerships before I finally found a truck that had what I wanted for a price I was willing to pay. If nothing else - have a prepared list of questions and concerns about the truck for when you get up there. I had a list of questions I emailed the dealership where I found my truck (because it was 3.5 hours away one way) to make me feel better about driving that far. Being it is a 1st gen your looking at - I'm sure you have thought about frame rust issues. But what about other issues common to that generation?

Go in knowing the questions your going to ask and never let the dealership direct the meeting.

 

So I went to the dealer today, and It's a beautiful truck! The leaf springs are sagged a bit at the front end of them and underneath the leer cap on the bed rails is a little chewed up from the cap it self. It's got a cheesy tuff country block lift kit in it that the dealership didnt even know about.

After a looong test drive and an probably and hour under and around the truck, The guy thought he'd be "genorous' and knock 500 dollars off the asking price, which would bring it to 17,390. I offered 16,000 out the door, and I'm gonna take care of taxes/tags/etc. And he said "he just couldnt go that low."

I couldnt see paying any more than that for the truck so I told him I'd have to chew on it and left.

Hopefully he calls me with a better price.

 

Paying $16k for a 1st Gen??? Wow - I gave $15k out the door for my '06 PreRunner SR5 DC. I wouldn't push the deal and keep looking around, you'll find what you want.

 

that's what a good one goes for. the market makes the price. i just picked one up for that price with 40K miles on it that's been babied.... the only downside to me was it's an access cab, not a dc. i'm already looking forward to my next one with a dc - but that'll be a few years probably.

 

it's a whole different game buying used from a dealer, as they're not going to tell you what they paid for it... much more difficult. my friends dealerships often mark them up $3K or so... but that'll vary based on the vehicle.

 

Did you get a 2WD base model? Thats a 20,000 dollar truck everywhere I look.

 

She is a 2006 PreRunner SR5 Double Cab w/ 103k miles when I picked her up. She was a one owner truck that had each and every service required done at the dealership marked in the owner's manual and dealer-stamped in the trucks service book. Not only did I get a good feeling about the truck - I felt like I was stealing it for $14k. Out the door it cost me $15k and the last guy I had to sign the papers with was just shaking his head.

Honestly I'm not sure what is a base model yet - but I do enjoy my 6 disc CD player, steering wheel radio controls, cruise control, and V6 motor!

 

Just like the others have said, you are paying too much for a 1st gen. I purchased my 2007 PreRunner SR5 Double Cab w/ 32K miles for $17,500. Try going to a high end dealership (Jaguar, Mercedez, BMW...) and see if they have any Tacomas. Since they only want to sell "high end" cars, they are willing to negotiate more on any "non high end" cars they recevied customer trade-ins. It worked for me.

 

A vehicle is always a bad investment - the biggest question is how much are you willing to loose? I decided I wanted to loose as little as possible, so I found a truck that would hold as much value as possible and was priced as close to that number as possible. The PreRunners are real strong sellers in Texas because we don't get alot of snow and some decent momentum can get you across most any pasture. So, I found a truck that I think I will be able to get at least $10k for in 5 years.

 

I would advise caution in dealing with any dealership ever really.