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

Yes, all Rubicons have them, but I only stated the Gladiator because it is a pickup.

Yeah, prices and inflation are very real, unfortunately. The only brand new vehicle I'll be able to afford is an economy car that'll likely never last. $35k used to be pretty standard for a full size pickup, but now that's mid size territory, while an equivalent full size is $50k new.

 

We are in the process of buying a new Tacoma. I made a list of the 21 closest dealerships, Oregon and Washington. Made some form of contact with 19 of them and had them give me their best out the door price.

Having a check from a bank or credit union before you go into a deal might not be a bad idea, it would limit the up sale in the finance office. When I bought my 2018 Camry I got sold $200 etched glass protection, live and learn. They also have control of the interest rate, the 2018 Camry was good 0.9% promotion but I bought a 2019 Corolla a year later at 3.9 and they said that was the best they could do.

Also I think the dealership will limit $3,000 down on a credit card.

 

I can go on Toyota's website and build that vehicle and it comes out for basically what the dealer is offering him. So, they aren't doing him any favors by offering the lower price. This, in my opinion, is not a good price.

My comparison won't be identical to his because I didn't buy with the tech package, but I paid 33500 for mine almost a year to this day.

 

TRD Pro starts at about $44K with the MT

 

Get pre approved prior to walking in. You might be in a better position to negotiate the apr that the dealer is offering.

Do a through pre delivery inspection and make sure everything is working as designed. When I bought my 19 pro, sticker indicated it had a drop in TRD filter...but when I looked it was a lemon Toyota. Salesman indicated it on a due bill and was able to send it out

 

Last spring when I bought my Taco I had financing already set-up at my Credit Union. I compared my rate to TFS but the CU easily beat it. I said no to all the add-on's they tried to add in the Financing and was out of the dealership in 1.5 hours. I've done that for the last couple of cars I've bought from dealerships and have never spent more than two hours at a dealership; I'm not a fan of wasting time however I generally buy mid-week. On a weekend I could see it taking longer.

If you're buying out of the area make sure they compute the sales tax correctly for your area. In Ca sales tax is based on the city/county where you live, *not* the city/county where you're buying the car or truck. A few years ago I bought a car in LA County (I live in Orange County) and the Finance guy computed the sales tax using the LA tax rate (which was noticeably higher). He played dumb when I caught it (oh, and read or at least skim all the paperwork you sign before you leave the finance office) but eventually changed it.

As far as insurance goes, at least in Ca you generally have a couple of days to transfer or add insurance when you buy a vehicle so you're covered to drive-off the lot and to drive it around showing it off to friends (make sure you do that too, I didn't because I bought at the start of COVID and no one wanted to see anyone, so other than my GF no one saw my new truck until I'd had it a month, definitely took away something from the experience). I have State Farm and when I called them to drop insurance on the vehicle I sold prior to buying my Taco and inquired as to what it would cost to insure my new Taco (you've done that, right? No one likes to get surprised by a higher-then-expected insurance premium) I was told I had up to five days to add it to my policy. I even used the Hypothetical that if I bought the truck on a Saturday night and wrecked it the next day before I had a chance to contact them would it be covered and they said yes. Despite that I bought my Taco on a Thursday night and called to add it to my policy the next day.

Good luck! Don't worry about who paid less for what. There are a lot of factors in new car pricing, especially with Taco's since they are such strong sellers the ball really is in the Dealer's court since they know that if you walk-out on the deal there will be someone right behind you ready to jump on it.

Last thing, make sure you take a fun 'new car picture' at the dealership, give them something to talk about

 

Remember from what door you walked into the dealership from

 

The built you posted is for the non-premium offroad. That package is 3660 as you showed. The premium package I'm referring to is $5970. So in build on toyota.com it comes to $44,955. According to edmunds, the invoice is about 41.5, So if I can get this for under 42K, I think I'm in good shape. Also, this is the only truck I've seen with all the factory options I want, and no port installed options. $160 for the tailgate stickers?! No way.

 

Probably a question for another thread but.. Anybody know if I can get a loan set up from a credit union and not use it if TFS beats it? I'm not sure if they're doing that $1000 TFS promotion right now. I seem to think it's 2.9% or $500 back, in which case I should definitely use my credit union, but I'd like to keep the option open. Since I'd be doing this deal on Saturday, it seems like I'd need to have a check in hand already from the CU, and then if I go TFS I'd have to give the CU the check back. Is that how it works? Is that even possible?

 

I was gonna chime in that he forgot to add the PP. Oh my, I just went on the Toyota site and did a config. It's crazy they have like 4 or 5 different premium packages. No wonder why the Taco prices are out of control. I got mines for $33k a few years back with just the tech package. And I think there was only 1 premium package available.
In that case, I think $42k is a killer deal right now. I'd jump on it! May I ask what dealer? Lemme guess...Hayward/Autonation?

 

Yeah, you can get a preapproval/committment letter from the credit union. It doesn't necessarily have to be a physical check. With that letter, the dealer knows you're serious and will release the truck to you. And they will work with the credit union to get paid.
The letter usually has an expiration date. If you don't use it by that date, it just goes away.

 

I bought in Maryland and I live in Pennsylvania. I just took my Drivers license, checkbook and insurance card. I had the deal worked out via email before the truck arrived so I knew the taxes and fees. I had my loan pre-approval at the credit union and sent the approval to them ahead of time. TFS matched the rate so i went with them.
They did have me get it on my insurance right away. That was easy we just sent my agent the VIN# and she faxed the dealership new insurance card for the truck.
I was out the door in a bit over an hour including a test drive to make sure the truck was all good.
I hate dealing with dealerships and it always seems a pain but this time was good.

 

I see. I missed the "premium" part when I read your original post. There's so many different packages now. Honestly, if you're ok with the price then that is all that matters.

 

This. The CU wants to lend you the money and they do deals like this all the time so they make it pretty easy. Once or twice I've hand-delivered a check from the CU to the dealership but there are also electronic means of doing it as well, it just seems that with my CU it's easier for them to print a check for some reason.

 

Yes, you can get pre approved from your credit union and not use the loan. In CA you have 10 days to buy out the dealers loan. That means you can agree to the sale price, use Toyota financing and then in the next 10 days shop for the best rate from any lender. This saves you from having to bring in a cashiers check from your credit union. Just take the Toyota loan contract to your credit union after purchase and have them assume the loan at their rate if it’s better. If Toyota is better you don’t have to do anything.

 

Pretty much my experience too, live in the Bay area and flew to Tucson to buy a vehicle. It was cheaper for me to fly and drive back the car. Everything was pre-negotiated, salesman picked me up at the airport, signed papers and was driving home w/in the hour.

 

I just bought my truck about 2-3 weeks ago on the east coast. And had to pick it up about 2.5 hours from me.

• Get the spec sheet with VIN emailed to you
• Make sure you put a refundable deposit on the car. For me it was $500 on my credit card and basically prevented them from selling the car to anyone else in the three days I needed to make it over to the dealer.
  
• Make sure those LED headlights are legit. I’ve seen some dealers just stick aftermarket LEDs in projector housings.
  
• Figure out all the discounts that apply to your car beforehand and let your sales rep know so they can get everything squared away ahead of time.

 

That's what I do. In the last year or so I've used my Amex Platinum for $40k in down payments rather than using cash, which depending in what airline I want to transfer points to means I essentially made $5k by using the card.

 

Dude just relax, have fun, joke. This is no big deal. Everybody seems to work themselves into a lather over buying a car.
Are you happy with the price?
If so, and it is the exact vehicle you want, buy it.
Its easy. Call your credit union, tell them you want to buy this vehicle for this approximate price. They will say sure or no. Very simple. Go to dealer, see what they offer. If thier financing is cheaper take it, if not go thru your credit union.
Don't buy anything but the truck. Just smile, laugh and say no thank you I am buying a Toyota.
Really this is very very easy.
If you put 7-10 thousand down you will never be in a position to need gap, or owe more than its worth.
Again this is easy man.
If the salesman or sales manager is a jerk, just leave. No biggie, they can't make you buy a truck.
Seriously its just like getting a girl, you can't care to much. They can smell it. Just don't give a crap, take it or leave it, and you will have the most fun ever buying a car.
They are desperate, they don't get paid if they don't sell a car. You have hundreds of dealerships at your fingers.
Just relax.

 

These are very true words!