Buying a 2007 Toyota

BTW - Are sales way down, or is production up?

Cathy

you should have read "The Insider" first. anyone buying a car should.

2200 less than sticker, huh? what about the bump label? dealer fee? go to and learn what salesmen know!

negotiate? get "The Insider" by William Kelbaugh , B&N 5 star rated, he's an award winning retired salesman and you'll know everything.

I think also the hybrid vehicle income tax credit is gone--used to be about $3500. I think it was October last year when it went down by a half, and now it should be gone or nearly gone. The credit was based on gas mileage, so Priuses had the largest credit of all hybrid vehicles on the market. But the credit gets phased out after a manufacturer ships a certain quota, and Toyota hit that last year.

Actually, nationally ... Prius sales are way up, not down. Toyota is now trying to mainstream the Prius, since production and availability is up.

Starting April 1st, the Prius tax credit dropped to 25% of the original $3,500 amount ... but Toyota has some big discounts on top level accessory packages on the Prius.

I've got to ask... why buy new?

You're buying Toyota for a reason - reliability.

I'd recommend looking at a good used vehicle, less than 50,000 miles, inspected thoroughly by a mechanic.

Michael

There are three transactions that often go with buying a new car: 1) Buying the new car; 2) selling a used car (the trade-in) and 3) financing. Keep them separate. Preferably, go to a bank, and get a pre-approved loan. Then say to the dealer, "I already have financing." Before you buy the car, you can ask them what rate they can get after you have everything else done.

When they ask about selling the used car, do the same thing. Tell them you aren't interested. After you have deal made, you can always, "How much will you give me for the old car?" And get appropriate values at edmonds.com or kbb.com.

Before stepping into the car dealer, get online quotes. Bring them with you. Many dealers even have online departments that just do online sales.

Remember, knowledge is power.

Jeff

Exactly. I couldn't agree more.

I bought our '99 Camry last year with a check from our home equity line of credit.

My mistakes in buying the used car were:

1. Relying on kbb.com instead of Edmunds.com (kbb gave a higher selling price than Edmunds)
2. Not negotiating down from the dealer's asking price for the '99 Camry. I was so excited at saving thousands by buying used instead of new (no one in my family had bought a used car before) that I forgot to bargain down by a grand or two - which a co-worker pointed out to me, after the purchase. (dOH dOH dOH)

My pain is your gain. Learn from my mistakes. ;-)

Michael

The dealership makes money if they arrange financing for the customer, either through a loan or through a lease. If a dealer knows up front that they will not have an opportunity to make a profit on financing because the buyer has announced that he already has financing or is paying cash, they may be less likely to negotiate on the sale price.

If the salesperson asks what you are doing about financing, tell them you will think about all that stuff *after* you have negotiated the price of the car.

Good idea. Thanks.

Jeff

You're welcome!

Yep. Got that tip from CR years ago & I use it.

Cathy

Financing is a rather profitable part of the business, for sure. Your trade-in can be another. They try to get your car for nearly nothing, and they can usually sell it at a good profit.

They offered me $3000 for a 1998 Buick LeSabre Limited. Selling price on that car is nearer $4700.

I negotiated no trade in, cash price, and got a 12% discount from MSRP. I will sell the car myself, and either recoup some of the money, or give someone a hell of a good deal.

Remember that they want to make the most money they can, but they also want to sell volume.

It has been a while since I counseled dealers on how to maximize profits and sales, but I still remember ;-)

Im sure you havent forgotten a thing, RayO.

Marketing and profit optimization (over the long haul) are very interesting topics, and it takes bright leadership to make a successful long term business.

I am too naively honest to have gotten filthy rich in my lifetime. But Ive had a heck of a good time.

Fortunately, there are completely honest dealers out there. Unfortunately, the less-than completely honest ones seem to outnumber the honest ones.

I do not begrudge a dealer for offering less on a trade-in than the owner would get by selling it himself. People who buy used cars from a new car dealer expect the car to be in better condition, so the dealer will usually spend as much as $500 more money reconditioning the car than a private seller would, and he has to pay a salesperson as well as make some profit himself on the sale of the car. If a private seller is willing to advertise the car, recondition it, and deal with calls, test drives, etc., himself, then he can get more money by selling it himself.

It is hard to tell which is which, though.

And sometimes dealers do things that are less than honest, and you don't find out.

What do you expect? If selling a car was so easy, everyone would sell them without going to the dealer.

There's also some risk that the car won't sell, and the dealer will have to lower the price. And there is a risk that there are major problems with the car, like a rod bearing is about to go.

Which is why selling to a dealer is almost like subcontracting the job to the dealer.'

Jeff