Best Deal on new Tacoma

Hello Fellow Taco Lovers!

So my wife and I recently lost our '08 Tacoma to an accident and are going to buy a new 2017 TRD Off Road or Pro -

Outside of Costco ($1,200 over Dealer Invoice), what would any of you recommend as a "Deal" for making a new purchase?

we live in Southern California

Thanks for your help!!

Cheers!

 

Email every dealer you can and pit their offers against eachother, then negotiate harder when you pick the one you want in person. Walk in with cash or your financing already approved. If you're trading in, already have some written offers to buy from carmax or something so they don't lowball you on the trade.

 

Outside of a Credit Union, any thoughts on a place to get a pre-approved loan?

 

No, I've always gone with a credit union. Just look up their rates online and choose the one that has the best deal for what you want.

Edit: Credit Unions usually have the best rates anyway. Sometimes they'll offer certain % off if you open an account and use auto-pay, sometimes not.

 

I got $500 over invoice on a 2017 Acess Cab TRD Sport V6 MT. I didn't have much trouble getting to $1K over, and had to negotiate hard to get to $500.

 

500 over invoice is doable

 

Auto broker, I paid invoice for mine through them. PM me if you want details.

 

Credit unions usually offer the best interest rates and incentives. Secure funds externally but still give the dealer a chance to match or beat the rate. Depending on your credit, if you are Tier 1+ (750+ Credit), see what the dealer can offer, multiple hits on your credit in a small time window will not hurt your credit score.

For example, Toyota Motor Credit (or whatever its called) used by the dealer, has the ability to match best credit rates offered by other loan institutions. I watched my finance guy do it yesterday in my deal. The sales manager (the guys hiding behind the tall walls surrounded by glass) are the guys who look for the best rates based on your credit. If you are Tier 1+, let them do all the searching around. If you have average or below credit, external funding might be a better option (I wouldnt know). The sales manager I dealt with let me watch him go thru a GIANT list of lenders these dealers have on hand. He found me the best rate and the finance guy went thru TMC and entered the lowest qualified rate found externally to get the actual funding. They do this because the dealers get percentage kickbacks from using in-house financing. The dealers get % kickbacks from external lenders as well, but the % is not as high as in-house.

As far as a "Deal" on a new purchase, maybe post up some specs of what you are looking for. These trucks start at $24k and end north of $40k. Is $30k a good deal on a bare bones 4x2 Access Cab? Prob not, but on a TRD Sport Crew? Possibly.

More info yields better results.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/so-you-want-to-buy-a-tacoma.475482/

 

Oh and timing can help with getting a good deal as well.

Dealers have to move units, they typically operate on a monthly scale. So, if Dealer A has to move 10 Tacos a month to get bonused/incentives/whatever, and they have only moved 7, and its now 4/28/17. They only have two days to move 3 more units before missing the bonuses. Now the dealer is at the mercy of the buyer. If the numbers dont satisfy the buyer, that unit goes nowhere and the dealer has to start over with another buyer. Pair that with trying not to take a loss on the unit and time ticking away. So, alot of factors dealers consider in the deal, and by putting time on top of those other factors only makes is harder for the dealer to maximize profit AND move units AND keep buyers happy. So they have to give up some to get some.

Another tidbit I learned from talking to the sales manager at this dealer, they have what is called PMA. Primary Market Area. If the buyer falls in that geographic area, the dealer is more inclined to take a loss on the unit just to move it. Their view on it is, take the loss now, and gamble on the likelihood of making it up later thru word of mouth (as this local dealer being the best one in the area) and the buyer coming back in for service.

 

One thing to get up front is the 'fees' a dealership charges. You have to pay TTL but most dealers also have doc fees, inventory fees, etc. These can vary, and some dealerships make lots of money off these fees. You can probably call a salesman and get the total dealership fees. You will pay the negotiated purchase price + TTL + any dealer fees. So it is important to know how much. Call several dealerships if you can to get an idea of the fees in your area.

 

Try to get a dealership far from the beach lol

From my fishing I had the most success at Toyota of Orange, I got 2500 off MSRP

Manhattan Beach sales guy told me Tacos only sell for 2k over MSRP, also put my Costco request in there and had guys calling me with sport models in a different color

Pushed me away fast

Heard things about Longo being good as well as Carson Toyota

 

Check out my thread on buying out of state. This is how I saved a few grand.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/buying-out-of-state.433103/

 

I paid $33.5k OTD at Tustin Toyota. 2017 TRD Sport DCSB 4x2

 

Depending on the model you want deals can be made. If you're looking for an off road or any version of a 4x4 in socal they dry up pretty quick.

 

This

I had mine layed out to a T of what I wanted, find what you want exactly then start emailing

I waited a month for my truck to be built, basically like I built it on the Toyota site

It was worth the wait, picked mine up with 4 miles on it

Highly recommend the P&T and JBL

 

So-Cal dealership douchebaggery is strong
Bought mine 400 miles away saved $3000 + off of MSRP
Locals would only go $ 250 to $ 900 off

 

Manhattan Beach Toyota for $250 over invoice for all models except PRO. You might be able to look around and get better deal but to me the process is so simple, no haggle. Absolutely no pressure.

 

I just picked up (driving down to San Diego to pick it up tomorrow morning actually) my Tacoma for $491 under invoice. Exactly what I wanted (DC TRD OR 4x4 Shortbed in quicksand) here in SoCal. I'm in LA area (Ventura area actually), but cast my net far and wide. Out to Hemmet, up to Bakersfield, Oxnard, and down to San Diego. Found 7 dealers I think it was that had it on the lot (1 had sold already) out of 42 SoCal dealers, and started my phone call with email follow up campaign and process as recommended by "Fighting Chance".

Took the day off Monday, and started calling dealers (only spoke to either internet sales managers or fleet managers). Told them what I was doing, what I was looking for, asked if they would participate, and sent off my email to them.

Only dealers who didn't have one on the lot I gave a chance were Longo and Carlsbad. Both of them only knocked off $1k on vehicles in allocation or for a factory order. Didn't even call them back to give them a chance at best and final. Longo was a little short and seemed bothered, and Carlsbad didn't get back to me until after I secured a deal.

By Monday afternoon I had 3 attractive offers. One $250 below invoice, one at invoice, and one just above. Nobody else was really close to them. One came in at about $600 over invoice as I recall, and the rest were just knocking $1k off MSRP.

Didn't mess with Costco as I knew I already had their price beat by a good bit.

Had a few smaller PIO's I didn't want (tire locks, mud guards, exhaust tip, etc), and a TRD Skid plate I did not want (wanted to throw on aftermarket steel), but can live with for a while, or I will just sell it while new and not bashed up.

My deal:

MSRP $38,551 (includes an alarm I didn't want, which I was told was a $900 add at MSRP. Got it for $1.)
Invoice $35,681 (factoring in alarm there as well at $241...only invoice price I could find, but I could be low)
Sale Price $35,191.
OTD w/ all fees, DMV, etc price with Ventura County 7.5% tax is $38,284

I would recommend doing about the same. Do Not walk into a dealership. Deal only with internet and fleet managers if you can. Go through every website in SoCal, and find dealers with the truck you want on the lot. Start making calls and send emails with specs you want showing MSRP and invoice pricing. Wait for responses.

Field responses, pick a handful of the best ones, call them back, and tell them your lowest number over / under invoice (but never from what dealer). Since the trucks you will be looking at will all likely be equipped with different PIO's, figuring out invoice price, and where they are at in relation to it is the only way to know what kind of deal you're getting.

On the morning of the 2nd day (Tuesday), I called my final three, told them the two best offers I had, and asked them to respond by 1pm that afternoon with their best and final offer as I would be making a decision and selecting a vehicle and dealer at that time.

One couldn't come down anymore (right at invoice). The one I bought from dropped $250 more. The third didn't respond in time, so I took the deal I had from Escondido Toyota who dropped the price by $250 more.

I would highly recommend two dealers who were fantastic in this process:

1. Patty Dean, Internet Sales Director, Escondido Toyota.

2. Simeon Okosun, Fleet Sales Manger, Toyota of El Cajon.

Both were great. I was initially a little put off by Simeon, but I think it was just his accent at first. He was great though. Eager to please.

Patty knocked it out of the park. Exceptional to deal with, and was the only one who gave me precisely what I asked for: Detailed pricing and itemization.

Didn't have to haggle or get a sales pitch from anyone. One dealer did tell me "call me back with your best price, and I'll beat it". I told him no, if he did not participate from the start like the others and give me his best price blind just as the others were doing, I would not be unfair to the other dealers and discuss any deal with him, and I would move to the next dealer down the list. He came back at $500 off MSRP. Did not give him an opportunity at "best and final".

One dealer emailed me back at MSRP. I emailed him and said "thanks for your time, but I am only entertaining serious offers. Thank You." I got an email back 30 minutes later dropping $1500 off MSRP.

So, long winded here, but you're asking specifically about SoCal, and you will hear a lot of "can't get near invoice on these, they're flying off the lots" (especially from salesmen). Not true. You just have to find the right dealer who is ready to give a good price as a regular course of business, or catch one at the end of the month trying to meet their numbers. I don't know which of those things it was the case with Escondido and El Cajon Toyota, but they both gave good pricing right out of the gate. Will they tomorrow or next week? No clue.

Oh, do not rely on Toyota's main website for searching out trucks. They will show you a bunch, but not what dealer has them. They will point you to your closest local dealer for every single truck on the list. Instead, make up a spreadsheet with every dealer you can find that you'd be willing to travel to for a smoking deal using google maps. The morning you start making calls, check every dealer's inventory to see if they have what you want. Over the past few weeks I got fast at it, and could get through 40 dealer's websites in under an hour and know if they had the truck I wanted or not. Quicksand TRD OR 4x4's are not a high quantity thing in SoCal.

Was it the "best deal" I could have gotten on a TRD 4x4 OR? Don't know. Could have probably done better if I was flexible with color. But I wasn't. It was quicksand or nothing, and there just aren't a ton of them out there. And they do go quick.

 

I called the internet/fleet sales guy direct at a dealership near me. I tried starting crazy low, to the point he almost laughed, but he sent me the invoice straight away instead of the usual floor salesman time wasting. I got it for $255 under the invoice price plus TTL. They didn't charge me for the floor mats or window tint like usual. I wanted a very specific setup as well.

I spent significantly less time making a deal with the fleet salesman than I did trying to deal with a regular floor salesman at a different dealership.

I will be going this route in the (hopefully distant) future.