Buying advice needed so I won't get ripped off! :)

I went to edmunds.com and found out the dealer price for the truck and the options. The 'dealer' price for the trunk I wanted with the options I wanted was around 22.5K. They give you the sticker price and what the dealer pays. Also what people in your area pay for the vehicle your looking at. It said that people pay about 23.5K for what I wanted.

I also submitted a internet quote using edmunds.com to 4 different, local dealers.

After I got their email responses, I responded back with the exact details of what I wanted

4-door automatic indigo ink pearl cruise / power windows not the off-road or sport package after a few emails, I got one of them to give me exactly what I wanted for 22.4K +tax, tile, and license.

I was pretty happy with the whole deal.

The only thing I wish was different was I got cruise without the SR5 package. I think I paid for more stuff that I wanted just to get cruise control. I'm not sure if they can add cruise after the fact or not.

The Stereo sucks. It is the one with steering wheel mounted controls. The controls are nice, but it won't play MP3 cds, doesn't have a aux input, the speakers sound bad and it's not loud enough at MAX. I'm going to replace the speakers and see if that helps...

How much are you selling your old truck for? Where do you live? Do you have pics? I'm interested in buying a used Toyota.

Read this:

And don't get nail with the prep package and some of the other crap the finance guy will try to unload on you. check the financing at your bank or credit union that way you will negotiate for the cash price.

check the following:

They will give you an idea of what the cars are going for and what incentives are in your area. Check in incentives (and not all of them show up) Also check the dealer inventories on line, count the units and see what and when the units are not moving. If the trucks ain't moving out the door they may have

Thanks for the input... Well I'm in the Northeast and after looking again I saw one I liked with the chrome wheels, performance trimmings, etc... (not TRD pkg), for $28,000 out the door. I also spoke to the salesman about a 3 year lease 20k/mo with a buyout of around 15k at the end of the lease. Any feedback??

Well, if you're looking to "not getting ripped off", then a lease is pretty much the wrong way to go. Generalizing a bit, leases are basically for suckers who can't afford the ride they think they deserve (yeah, I know there are some business cases where a lease makes sense, but there's almost no good case for an individual to go that route). If you're planning on hanging onto the ride like you did your old Taco, you can usually find much better financial arrangements than a lease.

Without knowing the exact option packages (the stuff on the sticker), it's hard to make a call as to how good the base price of the rig is.

You generally won't get to see the invoice. That is the dealership's property, and most like to keep it private. Some will show it. The posted prices were either the factory price sticker (expect to pay lower unless that model is in very high demand), the dealership 2nd sticker (a rip-off that gives them negotating room), or a sale price.

As the others are saying, check the online sites and online referral services. You might also telephone or email the fleet sales person or internet sales person and ask for a price on a truck with your must-have equipment and without your deal-breaker equipment. The more open you are about a list of colors and equipment you'll accept the more trucks you'll have available the the more you can negotiate with dealerships. If you require only one or two colors and only certain equipment, few trucks will meet your needs and the dealerships have an edge.

Keep in mind that negotiations can not happen over just one item. It can't be just price alone. It has to be price plus something else. In this case, it is your very real threat to walk away from the deal. If you aren't willing to give the deal up, you have to pay their price. Do negotatiate at least a 20% discount on any Toyota brand accessories you want at that time.

Try to find out most of the scams going on in your region. The usual ones are--

--mixing together the value of the trade and price of the new one always to the dealership's advantage and the customer's confusion (not in your case),

--browbeating and intimidating the customer so they sign anything just to get out of there,

--lying about the availability of certain options or the functions of certain truck parts,

--charging a higher than market rate for financing and getting a kickback for the dealership and salesman,

--phony higher price when the contract is printed,

--phony addition, always in the dealership's favor,

--various unneeded and phony charges on the printed contract,

--all the crap the finance & insurance guy tries to sell including the extended service plan (so-called extended warranty) ....do this--take a cup of hot coffee with lots of cream & sugar into the F&I office. If they print a contract with phony high prices, "accidentially" spill the coffee into the sleazebag's lap.

--what other scams are going on, folks?

If you decide to lease (usually the most expensive way to get a vehicle), first negotiate hard on the purchase price. Then negotiate hard on the "money rate." Don't even tell them that you'll lease until you have the purchase price ground down as low as you can. Determine how many miles you'll drive each year and have that mileage as the base mileage in the lease. Leasing is actually the vehicle being bought by a financial institution, and you make payments on the value of the car, interest, and tax each month you have it. At the end of the lease, you owe for miles that exceed your contracted mileage, for wear & damage, and a final fee.

IF YOU WANT A FRIEND WHEN BUYING A CAR, BRING YOUR DOG. EVERYONE THERE ONLY GETS A PAYCHECK FROM MONEY OUT OF YOUR HIDE.

Ken

If it's any consolation. I paid 26,700 w/o tax and license with the TRD off road pkg and tow group in SF

I also did the same thing. I emailed and called 4 local dealers, in trying to get the best price for what I wanted. I eventually found out that they're all networked together, even though they're 'independantly' operated dealerships. Even though at least one of the dealers had exactly what I wanted, the dealer I eventually chose got the vehicle from another out-of-state dealer.

I wasn't very happy at all with my deal, or anything related to it. I've bought 3 trucks from that dealer, but never again.

I'm constantly getting these stupid fake advertisements from Toyota for non-existant bargains or rewards. ----they do nothing but piss me off.

Salesman told me; "get a cup of coffee" ----machine was broke.

Dealer advertised free food that day ----for the employees, cause no customers got any. ----guess they're trying to wear you down.

Salesman offered me 1/2 the trade-in value 2 independant Web based appraisers said the vehicle was worth. ----I told them to forget that. Their final offer was about 2/3rd's of appraisal.

Another salesman asked me if I was happy with my experience there. ---I told her, "no was wasn't".

Salesman told me he made $100,000 last year. ----not bad for being a slimeball.

Saleswoman arrogantly said she'd see me there next year. ----I said, "you'll never see me here again".

Then Toyota corporate calls me asking me to answer questions. ----I told them, "look, I'm not doing your job for you. Figure it out".

Then to top it off, the salesman wants me to fill out some form telling Toyota what a great job he did! -----I don't think so.

The bottom line is I know I paid more than should have.

My advice for anyone shopping for new auto is; begin shopping at the earlist date as possible, don't be in a rush. Time is on your side. If your not happy with the deal they're giving you, or the experience.....walk out the door. Tell them to give you call when they have the deal your looking for and not to waste your time with deals your not looking for.

1. As a general negotiation tactic, start out by walking out or attempting to - I guarantee the salesperson won't let you. Tell them that you think their prices are not just too high, but way too high. This will get you to their best price right away. But mean it - start to walk out, then let them persuade you.
2. Do your homework, know what your truck and the new truck are worth (black book) and go from there.
3. Once you have agreed on a price & terms, WATCH OUT. At this point the fun may begin at some dealerships, as part of the final process they will try to sell you the extras like the extended warranty & the extra plastic coating. Have a look at the options on the trucks in the showroom, they will try to sell you the extra coatings, etc. Some of these items are worthwhile, others are just high-profit add-ons.
4. Finally if you smell a rat, walk out.

Good luck

Jim