Woohoo bubaloo! On Wednesday I went to St. Louis (100 miles away) and bought a brand new '06 automatic Camry LE with carpeted floor mats (MSRP= $21,141) for $17,900 plus $65 doc. fee. What a deal! Toyota's $500 rebate really helped.
Local Columbia dealer wouldn't budge: $18,800 out-the-door. But Wolfe Toyota in St. Louis started a fever (A FEVER!) among dealers in St. Louie. Wolfe has had a dealership in Kansas City for years, but about 2 years ago they also opened one up in Saint Louis.
Fusz Toyo and Seeger Toyo both told me they'd match Wolfe's sale price of 18.2 out-da-doe, something they refused to do when I called'em over the phone days earlier from Columbia. Originally Fusz and Seeger also wanted about 18.7. But by the end of negotiations, Seeger went the extra mile: 17,900. Deal!
I saved more than $800 over my local dealer's price--and I believe the locals were giving me INVOICE Price minus the $500 rebate, a good deal too really. But the competition in Saint Louis was fierce! And I must credit Wolfe Toyota's sale price for that, even though I didn't buy from'em in the end. (Wolfe didn't have a SILVER JAPANESE Camry. They only had Aspen Green and Grey from Japan.)
On the way back to Columbia, the car floated over the road like a magic carpet! That was a Smooth and Quiet ride. I'm thinking I'm doing 55 mph. I look down at the speedometer, and I'm actually doing 75. Nice.
My only complaint is having to adjust my head everytime I want to see the speed, because the steering wheel blocks the speed-o-meter. Better ergonomics needed....