Negotiate price of new Tacoma???

Sounds like you did well - I usually wait until late in a model year and try to negotiate pretty hard, knowing that in a couple months it will be a "last year's truck" and be harder to sell. Did that with my '10 in Oct of '10 and got down to about 3K under sticker without much hassle at all.

 

Yeah, the costco auto program is great. I bought my 2009 back when GM and everybody was giving away the farm to buy their cars. Mine was stickered at 30,500, but ended up paying 24,500 walk out w/ zero % on a 3 year loan. I got the recent college grad discount, and we had previously bought my wife's 4runner from them so I think we got a discount for that. Other than that I'm not sure how I got such a deal. Good luck though

 

I think I paid $27,200 in 2006, sticker was $30,900. Almost $4K under sticker.

 

i bought a 2011 AC tacoma V6/manual SR5 - timberland mica/tan last week:

MSRP - $28,138
Invoice - $26,633

Sold Price - $26,138 -- this includes the DOC fee [$200] and destination charge [$810]

...... so $500 under invoice.

I negotiated via the internet and walked in with a firm price. I had been going to another dealer in person [3x] and they still couldn't come with in $1,000 of my internet negotiated price.

dealer: tarbox toyota in RI

 

I used this exact website to "negotiate" the price for my wife's car a few years ago. You have the upper hand when you can tell the dealer what THEY paid for the vehicle. It takes a little bit of research and some number pushing, but all of the information you need is available on the web. It's worth it in the end when you can take all of the typical business tactics away from the dealer and determine what they deserve as far as profit goes (within reason).

That website has an Excel spreadsheet that makes the process a little easier:

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/offer.xls

Anyways, congrats on your purchase OP.

 

I paid $30,500 for my double cab trd sport loaded and then I even got them to throw in some extras at invoice price. Try the internet pricing or autobytel.com. Just to make sure u got the best deal look at edmunds or kelly's blue book to be sure what the dealer invoice price is.

 

I never negotiate, I solicit bids. This is the letter I sent out by email to 10 Toyota dealers within a 200-mile radius. I chose the lowest price bid (from their internet sales rep, which almost every dealer has), which I received via internet. You find out dealer cost from one of the sites mentioned above, or by paying Consumer Reports $15 online for the cost of the model you want. The only dealer I visited in person was the one with the lowest bid, when I bought the truck. I did NOT attempt to talk them down any lower, as I promised in my letter.

Excluding tax, title, and license fees, I paid $21,655 for my 2011 Tacoma 4x4, regular cab, automatic transmission, with sliding rear window, cruise control, tow hitch receiver, and floor mats. This was $1,624 (or 7%) below MSRP (sticker price) and $84 (or 0.4%) above dealer's cost (NOT invoice, which is higher than cost). Here's the letter (note that I also attached a detailed listing of dealer cost, broken down by mfr's code for each item...I've not included that here):

[FONT=&quot]Dear Sirs,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I am ready to purchase a 2011 Toyota Tacoma. I am soliciting bids from dealers in the Richmond, VA, area, but I am also willing to drive a few hundred miles to save a few hundred dollars. I have provided a detailed description of the vehicle below, along with dealer cost and MSRP.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I understand that you may not have this exact vehicle in stock. If you are willing to order the vehicle from the manufacturer, please let me know your price, via email. If you would like to propose a close substitute which you do have available, please feel free to include that information as well.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Four very important items, before you respond:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] - this will be a cash sale, with no financing;[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] - include any administrative fee, processing fee, etc., which will be charged;[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] - exclude tax, title, and license fees;[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]- if I decide to accept your proposal, I will not attempt to negotiate a lower price, nor will I disclose your quote to another dealer.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I realize that cruise control is not a factory option on the regular-cab Tacoma, but if your dealership is able to install cruise control on this vehicle, please specify a price (parts and labor) for that separately. I look forward to receiving your price quote, and thank you for your time.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Regards,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]DanCorcoran[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Richmond, VA[/FONT]

 

Nice approach! I like it! Cash is King!

 

Thats sir is a very nice approach. Your good advice is however to late for me, but I'm happy with the deal that I got. Maybe your technique will help others here.

 

while the approach is good, they still have their tricks and depends on your region of course
some will not even quote price through email period, others will share their leads with other dealers putting the buyer in a tighter spot specially when not many dealerships around...

many factors of course, but yes a small email letter like that is a good start.
first thing first though, truecar.com imo know your prices before you even walk into any lot ;p

 

"they all have their tricks". man thats an understatement. Last week when I was wrapping up my deal I said to the salesman that I bet that when he and his wife go out to a party that he dosen't admit what he does for a living. You know why their car salesman don't you? they failed the bar exam.

 

truecar.com was a great resource in my negotiation

 

you need to remember that the invoice includes items that toyota gets reimbursed for. that being said, you did about as well as you can.

 

Exactly. That's why I mentioned you should work off of dealer cost, not invoice. Invoice doesn't include rebates the dealer gets, so it's always higher. They'd like you to believe you're getting a good deal if you are at or below invoice, but it's not the case.

 

price fluctuates from state to state, also keep in mind invoice to sticker isnt very much on these trucks.. if your thinking you can walk in and get 5000 off you better look elsewhere..

 

This is exactly what I did as well and received a dramatic drop in price. I faxed my request to roughly 15 dealerships. The key for me was to get an offer with a signature on the fax. Getting that signature was like pulling teeth but I had no patience if someone who would want me to come in and talk to them first. I would just tell them first send it back with signature and then I will come in and talk. With a signature they have created a legal binding offer and it will end with either a counter offer or rejection on your part. You would be surprised at how much you can save. Many dealerships did not take off anything but many did. Some even would ask me how they were doing compared to the others. Sounds like you might not have that many dealerships in your area but maybe a little drive might save you more. Doesnt hurt to try. Good luck.

 

Actually I wasn't even mentioning the factory incentives (rebates, etc.). There's items on the invoice that they get back, and if you don't know what they are, you won't know what you're paying over their net cost. Most dealers won't budge on them. I helped someone on this forum buy a car - had to call six dealerships to get one that would. It'll be interesting to see how their pricing in on the 2011's as they switch over to the next gen truck coming out this fall... not to mention the supply shortages.

 

actually, at dealers, financing is king...

i just bought an 11' access cab a week ago. i got the truck for 1800 under invoice, and that took some work.

personally, this was the toughest purchase thus far. i have bought from other manufacturers (honda & nissan) and have gotte deals upwords of 7k under invoice. with the tacoma, 99% of the dealers did not want to move, but 1 did. and i bought the truck.

i cannot tell you exactly how to buy a car, but i can suggest the following tips:

1) find the truck you want with the options you want and buy from that dealer. you never get a good deal on dealer swaps. never.

2)if you are financing, let the dealer know that up front. they make $ on the back end of financing, so many times the price of the truck can be dropped compared to cash sales or even bringing in your own financing.

3) personally, i find the lowest published price on the net for a truck with the options i want (not color), with the same msrp. then i shop locally, or within a certain radius around my house. i found my truck 80 miles away. i called them, said i would give them xxx amount for the truck and will pickup that day. i said xxx dealer is offering the same truck for that amount. gave them the website link etc. usually i get a call back that day with a yes or no. if it is no, i then move on to the next dealer.

with my deal, i spent 3 days calling dealers, and out of 40 or so, 2 of them bit. i went with the 80 mile away dealer vs the 400 mile one, after playing them against one of another.

 

Email 3-4 dealers in the area. Copy all of them on the email and let them know you want you want with the options. Have them email you back with a bottom line price - itemized out to the last dollar.

Each dealer will see the others copied. You may be able to get one under invoice

 

I must respectfully disagree with you, Rodney. I understand that you believe you got the best deal you could have gotten, but I worked as a professional contract negotiator for one of the world's largest corporations. Your method is also contrary to that recommended by Consumer Reports and others who are in the business.

1) The truck I bought was a dealer swap. It didn't matter to me who got the truck from whom. In fact, the dealer I bought from sold it to me for a much lower price than what was bid by the dealer who had the truck sitting on his lot. I just went by price...where they got the truck was their business.

2) By combining financing and purchase price, they're giving it to you with one hand and taking it back with the other. If you need to finance, go to a credit union (usually better rates) or a bank. If you combine the two at a dealer, it takes a degree in higher math to determine what you actually ended up paying. I tell the dealer it'll be a cash sale, they then quote me a price. If you then go to finance, watch them try to wriggle out of the price they quoted, particularly if they are quoting a 0% interest loan. The reason "finance is king" is that's where the king makes his money...and guess who is paying the king.

3) As I put in my letter to dealers, tell them the options you want, but let them also give you a quote on anything else that's close. If you are flexible, you may get a great deal. The first Tacoma I bought was in 2003. I wanted a few specific options, including cruise control. One dealer quoted me what I asked for, but also mentioned that he had a new 2002 model on the lot with 150 demo miles but without cruise control. He offered to install Toyota factory cruise control. I saved a bundle by taking the older model (but new) with dealer-installed cruise control.

4) Soliciting bids by email, rather than by phone, allows the dealer to take their time, look through inventory and available swaps, talk to the boss, etc. It also doesn't allow them to "read" you, by talking on the phone. They don't know if you're an 18-year old buying your first truck or someone who buys and sells for a living. Their first shot has to be their best shot.