Negotiating New Car Deal in Round Rock (Houston, Dallas: sales, credit)

[pbnj07]

When negotiating with the local area dealerships, what percentage off the sticker price would you consider a good deal?

5%, 10%, more?

Any experience with the Toyota dealership on I35 would be helpful.

[jenkirk]

You just need to call around to other dealers to get a price on the exact same car. Just include Houston, San Antonio and Dallas in your calls. You get the internet sales people to bid against each other. We saved $6K on my husbands truck doing this and $8K on my minivan.

Just be wary of the financing. Already have your financing in place with your credit union before you walk in. Let the loan officer at the dealership know that you already have a great rate (do not tell them the rate). There is a good chance they will find you an even better rate. On my minivan we got a 3.65% rate because loan officer was able to get me some special "aggie" deal I did not even know about.

Please note if you are getting a really popular car, this tactic does not work. When we bought my Honda Odyssey, I wanted a Toyota Sienna. They would not budge a bit, so I decided to go with the Odyssey. It was a great decision for me because my Odyssey has been an awesome car with no issues.

[10scoachrick]

IMO, the internet is your friend. We will miss the built-in competition among dealers in ATL when we move to AUS. I would hit the Toyota web site and ask for quotes from dealers in AUS, SA and Houston for comparison. You will likely get the 'come on in, we'll take care of you' type responses from some dealers but you may also get a legit price like the one I got on a Lexus in ATL: over 15% off with no gimmicks...who knew?

If you are looking at the '08 models, deals should be out there with the '09s coming 'round the bend. Don't be afraid to leave the table--never be afraid to leave the table.

[atxcio]

It depends on the car model and options... but you need to use the internet to find the proper price to pay. There are many services available; at the very least, use edmunds.com or kbb.com (blue book) to determine invoice price and what people in the area are paying for the model you are looking for. For a little money, you can get a low-price estimate from Consumer Reports online... that's a great service. If you are a AAA Texas member, you can call them and they will provide a similar low-price service; in fact, they can even negotiate the price for you. I personally used both of the latter services when purchasing our last car.

Be sure with whatever internet reports you use, you enter in the exact trim model you are shopping for. Sometimes, a particular upgrade on a model (such as a nav system or leather) is rarer for the dealers to get; if that's the case, the dealers are much less likely to negotiate too far down, as they only have a few cars equipped like that on the lot, and they want to get the best commission out of them. On the other hand, if you choose a trim level that is very common, the dealer is likely to accept a smaller margin on it.

Finally, something important to remember about comparing dealerships prices, especially with dealers in Houston or Dallas: some dealerships put "dealer installed" options on every car on their lot. Things like mudguards, tinting, remote start, etc. So if you price a car from a dealership like that, it will always be higher, and it doesn't necessarily mean you are getting a good deal if your dealer is selling the same model for less.

[Trainwreck20]

Yes, use the internet. And if you are motivated to save anywhere from a few hundred to possibly a few thousand, also check San Antonio. Get quotes on the internet with VINs and options listed explicitly. Do not feel sorry for the dealers that won't give you the specifics and quotes - cross them off your list. They hate competing with each other, but that is not your problem, it is just the nature of the business now days.

There are some internet sites that post actual prices for specific vehicles bought at various locations. These are posted by people who have bought the cars (very informal) but at least gives you an idea. You might want to check the 'Cars' section of the forum for ideas, too. If you have time and don't mind playing the game, you can get some really good deals.

[LoveATX]

I just purchased a new Toyota after 2 months of research. The one thing I learned is that you can not get a good deal on a Toyota in the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. All those states purchase there cars from a Distributor called Gulf States Toyota. And that is were the problem lies. The very best place to look is on the East Coast. (I bought mine in Florida) But good deals can be had in all over the east coast. Start your search with Fitzmall.com. Get the price of the car you want online, then start calling other places in Austin and they will all tell you the same thing, "we cant even come close." So just start looking on line for dealers in Baltimore or Tampa. You will save a ton of money. Just for example, I bought a Sienna Limited that had a sticker of 34,xxx and all Classic Toyota would do is the rebate they had at the time 1,500. I bought from Courtesy Toyota in Florida for 30,000 out the door! PM me if you have any questions!

[Mike78613]

Originally Posted by pbnj07

When negotiating with the local area dealerships, what percentage off the sticker price would you consider a good deal?

5%, 10%, more?

Any experience with the Toyota dealership on I35 would be helpful.

edmunds.com is great place to start.

[pbnj07]

Thank you, everyone, for your input.

We just returned from the Toyota dealership with our new Sienna minivan.

Using Edmunds.com, I negotiated via e-mail (I specifically asked for no phonecalls) throughout the day with all the local Toyota dealers. I managed to negotiate about 12% off the sticker price, plus a $1,000 gas card. Also, I received Kelly Blue Book "GOOD" market price for our trade-in. This last part took some firm, intense negotiating at the sales office. They tried to low-ball me, but I made it very clear I was prepared to walk out the door.

What a great experience.....dealing with salespeople via e-mail without driving around and having to listen to sales pitches. The best part is the fact that you can use their various quotes against each other.

We're very pleased with our new purchase.

Thanks!