Probably buy a truck this Saturday 2 hours away, what should I have ready first

What’s this about? Why would you want to put anything on your Credit Card? It will hit your FICO score big time.

 

My local dealer is terrible, as is the next one 60 miles away. I bought my Tacoma from a dealer 90 miles away.

Use text messages. Use email. Use the phone. Do the negotiations that way. If they don't meet your price while still making some profit, be prepared to bail out. I never met the live salesman until I drove over and signed the papers and drove away. We had our own financing through our bank.

 

Yup, Freeman has the best deals, hands down. You just have to reach out to someone in their internet dept. I got offered invoice +$500 last year, right off the bat.
Another willing dealer is Antioch.

 

If you let it sit, then yes. But I paid for my $20k solar system on my AMEX and promptly paid it off. Got me 5 free nights in a hotel. No hit to my FICO.

 

When I got my truck I got loan approval from Light Stream...took that loan quote to my credit union and they matched the rate and then let me extend the length of the loan from 36 months to 60. Light stream is advertising 2.49 on new vehicle loans...might be a good resource.

 

As soon as you get the premium package, prices go from about 40k to 45k.

 

Cash back. Normally they limit it to a few grand. Only use this advice if you are paying off your cc monthly

 

1. The only incentive in the Northeast is $1,000 customer cash rebate (which in most states you pay sales tax on).
2. Always compare financing. Toyota financing can sometimes get you a better deal on the OTD price, but cost you more over the term - HOWEVER, depending on the financial institution you talk to, you can make 3-4 payments to TFS then refinance at a lower rate.
3. Be careful with the dealer arranged financing - the dealer may get a form of kick-back from the financing institution. See 2 above.
4. ALWAYS pay attention to the end of the deal - How much will you have to dig into your pocket for? That's the only thing that matters.
5. Never finance for more than 4 years and NEVER drive off the lot upside down on the financing. If shit happens in a couple months, can you sell the truck to pay off the loan?
I paid just under MSRP for my new 2021 Taco OR AC - when I say that, I mean with EVERYTHING included - all taxes, fees, registration, and other B/S. The dealer may say they're selling a just above invoice, but by the time you get to the bottom line you're over MSRP.
Dealers ALWAYS whine about not making a profit - maybe, maybe not - Toyota always makes a profit. Remember there's also the Holdback which the dealer gets when the vehicle is sold.
Focus on what you're going to have to dig into your pocket for.

 

The real question is did you take a extensive test drive .. standard documents id car insurance info .. don’t let them sell you extended warranties waste of money any add on bullshit from the dealer . I wouldn’t tell them your puting any money down negotiate the price then put money down to lower your loan .

 

Something a little separate from what's been mentioned before is looking well outside your normal area. This is only based on my one experience, but I bought my Tacoma from a dealership in a small town ~250 miles away. I was just looking for the closest one that met me criteria - I was totally expecting to have to pick it up, and was not expecting any kind of deal. What I think happened is that the dealership was/is struggling during covid, and I got (what I think) was a fantastic deal. I got a good price, free delivery, got an AWESOME deal on my trade in (they paid what I would have asked had I sold it myself,) and they paid for the entirety of my registration.

Long story short, it might be worth your time to expand your search area if you haven't already.

 

besides all the money stuff, before you decide to buy it, look the entire truck over top to bottom very thoroughly. When you leave the lot, and find any weird problems later (scratches, dings, minor dents, etc) its your word against theirs as to who caused them. Unless you dont care about those kind of things. And test drive the hell out of it to make sure it runs and drives perfectly.

 

Yeah, do this. My wife got her loan approved from her credit union ahead of time. They HATED that she did that but it made the buying process a breeze.

 

The wife and I stopped in a dealership with the idea of looking at a car the wife was interested in. The dealership only had one on the lot and it was orange. We test drove it to see if she liked the car and then the salesman said that they were going to get more cars in stock within a week and if we told them what we wanted they would check the allotment. She told the guy what she wanted and ten minutes later he comes back and says they have exactly what she wanted out back because someone had bailed out on a deal. We made a deal on the spot paid $1,000 on our credit card and promised to return with a check for the balance. Worked out great.

 

How much did you paid for your DCLB? I paid $43k for mine.....

 

Yeah, exactly. That's kinda the problem.

For something that's marketed as an "off road powerhouse", it's still pricey for what you are really getting. Looks cool and has a few cool gizmos, but if I'm going to spend $50k on an off-road truck, it better have steel bumpers, winch, rock sliders, 33's, dual lockers and a dual T-case. Crawl control is not really advantageous if you're moderately experienced off road.

 

I can see doing it for points, but ONLY if you pay it off right away. There's no way a CC APR would match that of an auto loan.

 

CC is just another tool in your box, especially if you actually know how to use it. But, in general, like a rear locker, you probably won't ever need it without hardcore off roading, especially if experienced.

But, as for the price, that's just how the cookie crumbles these days. You don't any of that stuff on the Raptor for that price (maybe steel bumpers, I don't remember what they're made of), or the Jeep, or really anything that's not used. I agree though that I can't believe more trucks don't have dual lockers. Only the ZR2 and Gladiator Rubicon have them.

 

Well, if you have the cash for your down payment, you could always get some cash back by putting it on the CC and paying it off immediately. Maybe that was the thought process?

 

Pretty sure all Rubicons have dual lockers, or it's at least an option for them. My buddy's had dual factory ARBs.

Back in the day you could get a top of the line Double Cab TRD for the equivalent of like $30k. It just seems like the pricing these days reflects a "more show, less go" type mentality.

CC is pretty cool, but the cost/benefit for me just isn't there. I prefer A-track for moderate wheeling, which my SR5 4Runner came with, and a locker for the hard stuff (my Tacoma). There are a lot of neat features on the modern trucks, but none of those features allow you to drive harder trails. Driver skill does.

I'm just too much of a cheapskate to want to pay for that stuff, lol.

 

If it hasn't been said already, you want to see the INVOICE price and negotiate down from there if at all possible.