Help needed in buying 08 Tacoma in SC

Hey guys,

Im am looking to buy a new 08 Tacoma 4x4 v6 access cab, TRD offroad, tow package in South Carolina. There are only 2 dealerships that offer the Nationwide Drivetrain Unlimited Warranty. Now I know since this is a Toyota it will probaly not have these issues, but its still a nice piece of mind to have this type of warranty. I was wondering if it was you guys, would ya still shop around other dealerships that DON'T offer this warranty for a better "out of the door" overall price deal?

Also my next question: Per one salesman is that since I am buying a 2008, he can't negotiate price because A) They dont have 2008 tacoma models and B) they have to do a locate for the EXACT model I want and have to bring the vehicle from elsewhere. Just these two reasons alone is why he can not negotiate prices. I am not an experienced car buyer, so I am not sure if he telling me the truth or feeding me a bunch of crap.

Sorry guys for the long post, but any input would be appreciated and also thanks for your time.

 

I thought so too but I wasn't too sure. The dealership is Dick Dyer. I will be going to Toyota Center to see what they offer. Well do you think I should only go to the dealerships that offer this lifetime warranty? I am one of those guys who hold on to vehicles for a long time. I don't do trade ins and leases, so I am pretty sure I will be driving this vehicle for many years to come. Thanks again for the quick reply.

 

I live in greenville, and they had to negotiate with a dealer in Raleigh NC and trade one of their vehicles to get my truck down here. I was very specific and woulnt budge on anything, even the color. Anyway, i got a 07 doublecab, V6, 4x4, TRD off-road, Automatic with the tow package for 26.5k out the door with tax tags and title. they tried to charge me a $500 transport fee and i told them i would just drive up to raleigh and buy it from them before i payed them to drive it down, so they dropped that. you just have to be tough. although i wouldnt be surprised if they were less willing to negotiate on the 08's. Technically the price only went up by about $100, but i am guessing they will not want to haggle as much since they are new and people want the newer model. So not being able to negotiate since it is being transported is total BS, but i'm really not sure about the other part. Since it's brand new and still in the factory they may be alot less willing to negotiate

as far as the unlimited drive train warranty. that sounds good but i wouldnt let that be the determining factor on where i bought my truck. unless i'm wrong, it's unlimted for the life of the truck, but the service on it is limited. I'm always wary of limited warranties. limited warranties basically exclude everything they know will break or wear out over a long period of time. If you're transimssion goes out at 200k miles due to normal wear and tear, i seriously doubt the limited warranty will cover that. However, i am often wrong and my understanding of the unlimited warranty they offer may be way off, i would find out exactly what it covers....EXACTLY!

Either way, overall price and customer service is more important to me than the "unlimited warranty". Find a dealer that is willing to work with you and a good sales guy. What part of SC are you from? i got my truck from Toyota of Greenville. i went back and forth between them and Toyota of Easly. Everytime i got an offer from one, i would take it to the other dealership and ask them to beat it. then take it back to the original dealer. i did that for about 2 weeks before i finally got the price i was looking for. both the dealers i mentioned above were very good. i will tell you to STAY AWAY from Toyota of Greer as if your life depended on it. worst sales experience of my life. If you go to Toyota of Greenville ask specifically for Smitty, he's a really good guy and was very willing to work with me and never pressured me once, which is why i recomend him so much. Anyway, if you have any questions at all feel free to ask them in the post or PM me. putting them in the post will get you more feedback from other members so i recomend that. keep us updated

 

Thanks alot for your time and input ndcouch. I will read the fine lines of the "lifetime" warranty and see exactly what is in it. Im located in Columbia and I would not mind at all driving cross state to find that killer deal. Like you mentioned, I think the leverage this dealer ship has on me is that it is a 08. Of course I know since its a 08, I probaly will not get thousands off but this dealership wont budge at all. I might just screw the lifetime warranty and go to lugoff or upstate like you guys mentioned. Thanks again.

 

I think that a good plan Lase, i wouln't let the warranty make your decision. The problem is, they say that the warranty is free, but there is no such thing as a free lunch. someone has to pay for that warranty somewhere down the line and i guarantee you will feel it some way or another. That may be one of the reasons they are unable to negotiate too much. Anyway, as hard as it will be to wait, you may want to wait till the 08 are out and on the lots for a few months and the hype dies down. i know that would be hard but if you can do it there is a better chance of you getting a deal. Have you ruled out getting an 07? there is virtually no difference and alot of dealers are offering good deals to get them off the lot.

 

As ndcouch stated above; someone has to pay for the warranty, so the dealer is prob just passing the dealer's cost through by giving less discount. Another thing, is this just this dealers warranty or is it one of the major warranty providers pkg good most anywhere? If is just this dealers warranty it is possible they may or may not be around when you need it. Not dealing because it is an '08 is just a ploy, there is not an oversupply of '07's out there that need to be cleared out. The '08's went up ~100.00, so if a dealer had an identical '07 and '08 they would prob give you the '07 at 200.00-250.00 difference (less) if there are no rebate or dealer cash diffrerences. the dealers need to make money to stay in business, but that does not mean they have to play silly games with you. Dealers DO want to make sure you want the tuck before they trade vehicles with other dealer due to the trouble it involves, and this does put you at somewhat of a disadvantage. Look on the SET site and spend a little time and money driving to some other dealers. $50.00 worth of gas riding and looking is better than $1000.00 overpaid. If you see one you like, write down the last 8 of the VIN and ask your dealer for an out the door price including the transfer. It is OK for a dealer to recoup the costs of a dealer transfer if they are already giving you a good, close to holdback price, since it takes 1 employee about 05-1.5 hours to get it done above and beyond driving time and fuel, or 2 employees if there is no vehicle/invoice trade, but some will give a not so good price and then at the end suprise you with yet another add-on. Good luck.

 

LRH made a good point that i forgot to mention. i was planning on putting 2k down as my down payment. In order for them to make the transfer on my truck they wanted to be sure i was serious so they asked me for money down before they went ahead with the trade. I gave them a post dated check and they went ahead and did the trade. But before they actually did the trade they told me about the transfer fee. Thats when i told them to give my 2 grand back and told them i would spend 50 bucks in gas to drive to Raleigh and get it myself from another dealer.... thats when the transport fee got dropped. And watch out for add on's. i was completely happy with toyota of greenville but the finance guy did try to get me to get all kinds of stupid (and expensive) add ons right there at the end. Just to make things clear the sales guy was great and never once pressured me (which is amazing for a sales guy) but the finance guy did try to throw a bunch of stupid stuff at me. be careful of that. The tire warranty is lame cause it only covers the original tires.... which aren't that great and you will most likely want to upgrade. extended warranty i turned down. my argument was "hey, i'm buying a toyota, if i expected it to break down in under 150k miles i wouldnt be buying it in the first place". so just be careful about stuff like that.

 

Sorry guys, I was at work when I started this thread and the work load got the better of me.

ndcouch,
I have pretty much ruled out the 07, just knowing the fact that the 08 are literary right around the corner, I would love to have the 08. Automatically, I know I won't be getting the best deal, but cmon give me some deduction. I will also keep an eye on the transfer fee and all that other crap, like tire warranty, extended, etc.

Lrh,
Thanks for your suggestion also. The warranty is nationwide financed thru a third party called Fidelity. I also see your point how it works for them and because of that, I'll probaly give a few other dealers a try and see what I can get on the table. Your right that driving around could save thousands for me, so its worth a shot.

I will see what happens and hopefully keep you guys posted. Thanks again.

 

damn, we got a lot of guys around here from SC.

 

Viper,
Do you have any more pics of your truck? Radiant Red is Exactly what I am getting. Thanks.

 

You might also try Scott Clark Toyota in Charlotte. It's just across the boarder and I know they offer the lifetime warranty.

 

Thanks,
I will keep that location in mind and also give Town and Country a shot. That Lifetime warranty would be a nice bonus so thanks for the heads up.

 

You can definately negotiate the price. I just ordered a new 08 and I called up the dealer and told the guy that I didn't want to come into the dealership and sit there and argue about price. I told him I want his rock bottom price and if he can do that, I'll buy the truck. I know that the chances are good that he didn't give me rock bottom, but I was really amazed at how much he came down from his original estimate. He even beat out other dealers.

About the cost for bringing it from somewhere else...I just spoke on the phone with a dealership that was going to bring down a tacoma from another state and the salesman told me in an e-mail that it would be free to bring down. Fortunately, I kept the e-mail that said it was free because as soon as we walked into the dealer they tried charging us for the transportation and because of the e-mail I brought in, they had to honor their word and we never got charged the transportation cost, but if I didn't have the e-mail, they wouldn't have budged on the transportation cost. They were really mad that I kept that e-mail...

I hope this helps.

(By the way, I had the choice of having an 07 within three days or an 08 in about a month and I chose the 08. The price of the 08 ended up being less than the 07 by about $300.)

 

If you dont mind, about how much did he take off the original cost? I am not asking for how much you bought it but if he took about a grand or a few grand off the price. I know this is all different based on dealerships and features/type of Tacoma I buy, but it would at least give me an idea.

Its funny that you mentioned that you kept your email. Another buddy told me whenever they do quote me a price or whatever, to always get the dealership to have it in writing. Its amazing how they try to screw you any way they can. Good job getting the 2008 model cheaper than the 2007. I have my heart set on the 2008 regardless. Thanks again and enjoy your new 08 truck.

 

They took about 3k off of what they originaly said, but it was cheaper than any other dealer in the State. Of course, that's with all features and everything included. This was for a four door TRD off road short bed.

 

Damn, if they took 3 grand off too, I would be all over that! Congrats on a awesome deal. Thanks again for your help.

 

no problem

 

where did you get the truck from?