2013 Pricing - What did you pay?

I know that the 2014's are now out but I picked up my 2013 DCSB TRD Sport in Nautical Blue for $32,400. There was only one left within 500 miles of my dealer so that didn't help but that was the color that I wanted. Mine came with Entune/Nav (which I wanted). They low balled me on my trade, a 2008 GMC Acadia SLT2 that was fully loaded and in great shape. After haggling on the price for a couple of weeks we were off by $200. I then asked them to sponsor my daughters ASA fastpitch team and they did, so that closed the deal. They said it would be 6-8 weeks before the 2014's would arrive to their dealership.

 

2103 DC Long bed Sport with tow package $30,400. Just picked it up this week.

 

Whoa...how is that even possible that they do not honor your deal. Typically, once someone puts down a down payment and sign on an agreed price, then that is it. There is no backing out for the seller. Hopefully you get it sorted out with the car dealership, because this sounds sleazy and liable for civil suit as hell that they are breaking the offer AFTER a down payment was made.

 

Just because the dealer says "this is my invoice price" doesn't mean that is what the dealer pays. Dealers get discounts on both base trucks and for each option they sell bringing the actual cost they pay for the truck much less than "invoice price". When negotiating my deal with the dealer they used the line "you are paying less than invoice price" to which I told him that they don't pay invoice price and for them to stop lying to me. The salesman paused and agreed with me but then went back to his sales tactics. I have a close friend in the automotive sales field and he explained how/what dealers pay for vehicles. They also receive higher discounts from invoice/options based on the number of vehicles they sell. Every manufacturer is different, but I'm sure Toyota would be no different than Chevy & Ford is when it comes to invoice price to dealers.

 

Or to put it more simply from my research anyway, could be wrong:

Factory Invoice: The invoice they show you, theoretically, the price of the car without incentives or special pricing on packages/accessories.
Dealer Invoice: The invoice they don't show, closest thing to "actual" cost. I think this is where sales incentives go.
MSRP: Doesn't matter.
Sticker Price: The price the dealer pulls out of their rear end. Some times it's lower than Factory Invoice, some times several thousand more.

There are so many numbers they can play with. I'm currently dealing over the internet with a dealer. It makes it a lot easier to make an informed decision than sitting in a showroom.

Reference

It is sleazy, but I doubt there is a suit depending on the contract signed. Plus, he would have to prove damages and as long as they refunded the money, there are no damages. Now if he made some reasonable decisions based on the deal and those actions cost him money, he could sue for that.

This same auto group attempted to rip off a friend of mine several years ago. They did a switch mid-deal from a V6 Accord to a 4 cylinder to meet the price she was looking for. This would be fine, IF she was informed of and approved the change. She protested when she found the change in the paperwork and said she didn't think that was ethical, the manager simply responded, "I don't give a f*** what you think."

 

Yeah, I don't think they ever said I was paying less than them, they repeatedly said I was paying less than "invoice", and wouldn't budge on the price which was $3000 off the MSRP. They DID imply that if I was financing through them, trading something in, adding some of their protection plans, etc. I COULD probably get the price of the truck a little lower. But we all know that they would have just added that discount into the price of whatever they were adding.

They also really worked on me to get me to trade in the 1995 S10 pickup that I drove in and use that to upgrade to an access cab. It looked cool, slammed 4", 16" American Racing Salt Flat Specials, etc, but had 168,000 with quite a few mechanical issues. So I'm sure they had absolutely no interest in the truck, other than to use as a bargaining chip.

 

Dealerships always use some kind of sales pitch involving "invoice" to play with. When I purchased my access cab 2013 base model (i'm a college student so I am lucky to even afford that), the MSRP was 22,450 and their "invoice" was 20,800. Like others on this thread, I gave them a counter offer of 19600 out the door with all taxes and paper work fees included in the 19600. They told me the same line of "we would be losing money selling below the "invoice" price. I thanked them kindly for their time and walked out. One week later, on August 31st, they called back on the last day of the month and agreed to my price as long as I come in immediately. Then they tried to get me through the financing rates of 4.99% and once again the negotiation starts. I was in perfect credit and just said "lets cancel this deal, I think I can get better prices and rates for my poor college student ass with a Nissan Frontier". They kept me waiting for 45 minutes and then said that their owner graciously agreed to give me 2.99%. I took that offer and ran with it as well as thanking God that they fell for the Nissan Frontier bluff since I really didn't want to go down that route. Unfortunately for them I put down a 10000 down payment and plan on paying off the rest in 6 months instead of sticking with the 36 month plan that they have me on.

Just be careful with the negotiations folks. You may have worn them down on the price but then the second round starts with the financing department.

 

Not really unfortunate for them, since the dealership already gets their piece of the pie when the loan is originated. I wonder if you could have done better by agreeing to a higher APR, but negotiating a lower price based on that. With half down and a plan to pay it off in 6 months, 2.00% difference wouldn't be that much $$$.

 

Dealerships get a commission on the loans that they originate also, although you won't get them to admit that either.

 

The timeline ...

I had not yet signed a contract, what I did do is provide Findlay with my credit card to "hold" the truck as it is a pre-order. The hold authorization guarantees that that serial (no VIN yet) is allocated to them and ultimately, to me. I faxed the form back to Findlay on Friday 09/20 and my credit card was debited on 09/20. Upon processing, I received an email from my sales person telling me the payment was applied and the truck has been secured under my name.

My paperwork, the deal write-up has the Sales Director's name on it, he made the deal and it was done under his account. On good faith, this "securing" of my new truck was good enough for me. My mistake - never trust without unequivocal proof.

On Sunday 09/22 early AM, I put an add on Craigslist for my 03 Tacoma, priced @ $15K (the dealer and CarMax offered $13K). Within 20 minutes, I received a call and a cash offer. I met the buyer at a local bank and we inked the deal at $14K. With cash in hand, I head home.

On Sunday 09/22 early AM, I called my sales person, left him voice mail, and told him the great news, that I sold my truck and I am still waiting on written (not email) confirmation that my new truck was indeed secured.

On Sunday 09/22, early PM, I received an email from my sales person explaining that his leadership decided that they can no longer proceed with the sale as the price was too low and there are other customers that are willing to pay more. This of course occurs after he learns about my situation, selling the truck.

On Sunday 09/22, early PM, I discuss the deal with the internet director Rick Glenn, the same guy who provided me with the aggressive price. Mr. Glenn tells me "hey look, we're still going to make you a deal, just not the deal that we made before". After 10 minutes or so of his bullshit, I told him that I will be there in a half hour to review it with him in person. Mr. Glenn said there's nothing he can do and I have to deal with John Barr. John Barr being "I'll do anything to sell you a car" John Barr.

On Sunday 09/22 late afternoon, I began dealing with Mr. Barr. I said "you'll do anything to sell me a car follow-through on a deal and act with integrity" - he chuckled. Mr. Barr tells me that my sales person and Mr. Glenn, the internet director, are not authorized to make such deals. That "the internet guys think they can do anything and don't understand the overhead in the business" - he then began to explain the cost of rent, utilities, salaries, etc. None of this is my concern. He told me that he cannot honor the deal due to the fact that they are loosing money. Again, not my concern. Mr. Barr also told me that he can "sell the truck to someone else at MSRP" and that "other customers will pay MSRP or higher because this truck is in high demand." Mr. Barr then offered to sell me the truck at invoice but not below.

On Sunday 09/22, early PM, I contacted Tyler Corder, CFO for the Findlay Auto Group via Facebook (private message) and left voice mail for him.

Today I plan on following-up with Mr. Corder, to review the problem and the apparent integrity problems, and see what he can do. AS the CFO, Mr. Corder has the ability to remedy the problem and to take whatever action is necessary to prevent such bad behavior from occurring again. This is predicated on his doing the right thing ...

If Mr. Corder avoids the problem, I will continue with Corporate Toyota, including their executive management team, starting with the customer retention manager, laterally, and upwards.

Executive bios are available here: http://pressroom.toyota.com/corporate/biographies/

 

I don't know about a lower price off of what I was able to get out of it. I usually just stick to $3000 of MSRP as a guideline. They tried to get me a regular cab base tacoma, but I did not want that and there was no double cab base model in OK state at all. Those back seats, as small as they were, can at least seat my little brothers or cram in maybe 2 drunk friends. The most I would use the truck for is hauling around a futon and a TV from my apartment near the university, not needing to ride the bus anymore, and not mooching off friends for rides. Truecar.com pricing on the car was 21,500, which gave me little confidence in even getting the 19,600 much less an out the door pricing with taxes and paper work fees included (paper work was $865 alone ).

However, you are right about in that I should have been more aggressive with the negotiation on the rates. A difference of 2% doesn't mean much since I never planned on staying on the loan past 3-6 months. Overall, I take this as a life lesson in owning your first car. Hopefully, this tacoma will be the first of many down the road in life. But my god, talk about baptism by fire, negotiating with car dealerships is something that I don't want to do for several years until I seriously need another car or replace this tacoma.

hmmm that sounds bad. Not signing a contract would definitely be ammunition for them to apply screws to your argument. However, you did put a down payment which serves as a deposit. I really hope you keep up the pressure on them and win your case. This kind of sleazy tactic to classify that it is a "pre-order" and not a regular contract is horrible. Please keep us updated on your situation. If nothing works out for that dealership, perhaps you can go to another dealership and see if they are able to match that original deal you had. Some dealerships that I know usually matches the deal easily as long as you have proof that another dealership made that deal.

 

An update ...

Yesterday, I contacted Findlay's CFO via Facebook the following strongly worded message:

I would like to speak with you regarding a significant problem which directly involves Findlay Toyota in Henderson, the integrity of management at that location, and a deplorable customer experience that is extremely shameful and infuriating.

My family is directly affected as a result of intentional deception and misrepresentation by Findlay’s sales representatives and I am looking for your support to remedy this problem.

Please call me so we may discuss this further.

This morning I received call from a Findlay representative who was instructed to call me (by the CFO). She was very helpful and listened to my problem entirely. I faxed all of supporting paperwork and within a few hours she phoned again. She discussed the problem with the owner and the owner made the decision to honor the price documented. At that point, she gave me her contact information and told me that I will work with her from now on. She will follow-up with me tomorrow to get an expected ETA for delivery. On the paperwork, it's slated for build during the week of 10/02.

The bottom line ... I took the problem to the right person. I got my 2014 Double Cab 4x2 V6 with TRD, Tow, Exhaust Tip, Entune Audio Plus, and all-around tinting for $27,455, or $30,242 with tax, document prep, and license/title. At the end of the day, it was $1,200 under invoice.

MSRP, tax, document prep, and license/title would have been $33,333.86. This deal is $3,091 less than MSRP.

 

Glad to hear they are trying to do right by you. Now you can start getting excited about your new truck and congratulations

 

Good stuff man, congrats. I'm still going with the other place though.

 

Congratulation on winning your case and making them honor the deal they had originally agreed on. Good stuff .

 

I was actually implying being LESS aggressive negotiating the rates, since they have little consequence to you. Give 'em a mile on that front to get an inch on the price. I don't know if it would have worked, just thinking out loud. I know on my deal, they suggested that I could get a lower price if I financed through them, which they wouldn't do if they weren't getting a piece of the pie (i.e. a commssion on the sale of the loan). I would have thought about it, to get a lower price, and then pay off the loan immediately, except we are buying a house and didn't want the new loan (even if it was already paid off) mucking up our house deal.

 

I paid $31k and some change for a '13 DCSB 4x4 TSS. MSRP was just under $35k.

 

I just picked up a 2013 Black TX Baja MSRP 39,320, OTD 35,500

MSRP 39,320
Left on my trade 4,000
Tax around 2,000
Trade worth 6000
OTD 35,500

Pretty happy with my purchase not sure if it was a good or bad deal, my lifted 04 F150 had a bad vibration under load and I think the tranny was about to go out. Love the truck and to who ever does not like the fact that I went with the baja.... to each their own.

 

Post a pic of your Baja! I almost went with one but got a sport due to my finances. I am sure you wont be disappointed!