If you get a chance check out TrueCar.com you can get a base on all the pricing that's going around as well as incentives for different cars. You can use that towards your negotiations.
The main difference is a bigger engine. 6 cylinder vs 4 cylinder. You will use more gas but have the advantage of a bigger and stronger engine.
SRSLY speaking, who needs a "bigger" and "stronger" engine in Houston traffic? (I don't know how traffic is in your AK city, Lil Pun.) I have a Camry LE (4Cylinder) now, and we haven't ever needed a stronger or bigger engine.
Seems a bit pricey. I have that exact model, minus the navigation system, and paid about $22,000 in Round Rock. And I got it in Cosmic Gray.
Is color that important? IT IS. I heard and have seen first-hand how there are more darker and less vivid color cars in the junkyard. Get you a BRIGHT color, not a dark color: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_safety#cite_note-15 says [rquoter]A Swedish study found that pink cars are involved in the fewest and black cars are involved in the most crashes (Land transport NZ 2005). In Auckland New Zealand, a study found that there was a significantly lower rate of serious injury in silver cars; with higher rates in, brown, black, and green cars. The Vehicle Colour Study, conducted by Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) and published in 2007, analysed 855,258 accidents occurring between 1987 and 2004 in the Australian states of Victoria and Western Australia that resulted in injury or in a vehicle being towed away.[14] The study analysed risk by light condition. It found that in daylight black cars were 12% more likely than white to be involved in an accident, followed by grey cars at 11%, silver cars at 10%, and red and blue cars at 7%, with no other colours found to be significantly more or less risky than white. At dawn or dusk the risk ratio for black cars jumped to 47% more likely than white, and that for silver cars to 15%. In the hours of darkness only red and silver cars were found to be significantly more risky than white, by 10% and 8% respectively. However, no study on the relation between car color and safety is scientifically conclusive.[/rquoter] Also, read: http://www.wisegeek.org/is-there-a-link-between-car-color-and-accidents.htm
Was this a new purchase? Did it include any incentives? Which leads to another questions, should you negotiate the purchase price first, without incentives? What types of fees should I be ready to be included in my final price? What fees should I question and refuse?
Always ask for the Out of the Door price which includes Tax, Title, doc fees etc. They put a ton of little fees in there so they can lower the price then charge you for. When I was looking for a car for my dad they had document fees ranging from 99 bucks to 500 bucks that they would tack on. Negotiate based on the out of the door price so they can decide where they want to put the discounts.
One thing I'll always remember from a friend who bought a bunch of cars was to ask the dealership: "Take a discount for leaving your advertising sticker on my car. How much is it to leave it on there and can you remove it?" They will take ANOTHER discount for that. They did with my Corolla. :grin: I still drive into the lot and point out the plate holder with their name on it.
How should I make an offer on the one I am looking at? I want to start low, say $23500 but I don't want to start so low that the dealership does not take me seriously. I am speaking specifically about this one: http://www.wolfchasetoyota.com/detail-2012-toyota-camry-4dr_sdn_i4_auto_se-new-9681626.html I ran it through Edmunds TMV simulator and it says for everything on that car the invoice is about $24100 and true market value is about $24200. Incentives I would get would be the college grad incentive plus I am pretty sure I would qualify for the 0% financing they have going on at the moment. Also, I'd like to negotiate via phone and email before walking in the dealership. I've test driven all the vehicles I am considering and will test drive before I buy anything I negotiate for. Any suggestions?
On the phone? Negotiations to purchase a car? Never heard of that. Don't know how well it might work. I think you will have to do that in person. Don't you want to test drive the car you want to buy?
Well, I have test driven a Camry before and it was great. I also enjoyed the Explorer and F-150 but economically, the Camry makes much more sense. My thinking is negotiate first, once the price is settled go in and test drive the one I agreed for and if anything appears off don't sign.
Understood but how do I go about calling them or even if I were in person, making an offer. And why is that not a problem, getting it at invoice price. Camry's are the number one selling car and the number 2 selling vehicle in the US only behind the F-150. With that type of demand, it would seem that they could sell for well over invoice up to and beyond MSRP in some cases although every dealer I have looked at has a ton of the 2012s on their lots.
Yes, it was a new purchase. And forget incentives: they're just smoke and mirrors. Talk drive out price. That's all that matters. Question/refuse ANY fee, if it pushes the price over your budget. If they try to tell you the fee is non-negotiable, then tell them they need to come down on the price to compensate.
I think the dealership would rather get rid of 2012's so they don't have to pay taxes on them. That could be to your advantage. I went to their website. Put your offer down where it says message. Good luck.
Understood. Just received a quote, based on my Sam's Club membership for $25,208 for the Camry I posted in this thread. I'd really like to get the price about $1000 less, drive out price of course, then provide about $5000 down. Has anybody used the Sam's Club/Costco buying programs? Are their prices negotiable once provided?