My mom wants to buy a brand new Toyota Camry. I've been doing a some research on edmunds and got a few quotes from Houston dealerships. Can you guys tell me if this is a good price for what she's looking for? These are the specs for the Camry: Black 2005 New Camry (Base model) - automatic trans. - tinted windows (added option) - alarm (added option) - floor mats (added option) $18,000 Drive out price This price includes a $15,995 selling price, plus $800 worth of options, plus TT&L.
I called 3 other dealers and they all said they can't touch the $18k and that this is a great deal that I should jump on. I tried talking to the guy who's selling the Camry for $18k to lower the price a little, but he won't budge. I tried this site just now and with their "target price", the camry would cost more than $18,000 before tax and title.
I agree. You could get a used Camry at CarMax really cheap. Probably an '04 with low miles for under $15K.
A few months ago, my good friend bought a brand new 2004 Galant for $17000 flat (drive out) from Gillman Mitsubishi on the SW. I went with him while he was purchasing it, the sales staff there are really friendly and they don't hassle you. The new Galant is a nice car, it really is. But if your preference is a Toyota, then that's a decent price for a Camry. BTW, check out the Honda Accord, you can probably get one with comparable options to the Camry for a few hundred bucks cheaper. I think the Accord has a better resale value than the Camry. Hope this helps.
My wife owned a Camry and it was great, until she totalled it. Now she drives a 4-Runner. Wait, she just wrecked that one yesterday. Anyway - She stands behind Toyota when she's not wrecking them.
This would be a good read before you deal with the car dealers: http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html
My mom wants a black Camry and I can't do anything to persuade her. I've looked into buying an Accord too and was really shocked that their msrp is $2,000 cheaper than Camrys. Toyota has a $1,500 rebate so it's worked out pretty well.
Usually, what we tend to do at dealerships is give them an offer for the vehicle from which we can work up to our desired price, and not let the dealer take the initiative and quote us an initial price that is higher than what they know they will sell the vehicle for. It worked a couple of times, one of them was at a Chevy dealer (Bill Heard), the other at the Mitsu dealer (Gillman). Good luck, a Camry is a good car, but the Accord is much better IMHO, cheaper, and has higher resale value (Hondas in general are very good with resale value, for they have a wider market appeal).
tint, alarm and floormats should not add up to $800. Believe me. $150 (at MOST) for tint at Infinity tint with lifetime guarantee $200 (at MOST) for floormats. I paid 150 for my Honda Prelude back in the day. You can look online to see if there are official/authorized toyota parts dealers. most of the time, it will be a lot cheaper than what they want. $200 (on average) for a decent alarm installed. 18,000 is a pretty good price. But I'm willing to bet that if you stand firm on 17 or even 17,500, they'll break. Just make it a 'take it or i'll walk' deal. Works almost always. Seriously, if you need help finding the optional parts (the tint,alarm, etc) I will be more than glad to point you toward the right direction. Instead of the Accord, take a look at a Nissan Altima. I'd get into my "Honda is overrated" rant but I'll save that for another day.
Hey thanks for the reply. I made a mistake about my extra options. When I first talked to the sales guy, he said it was an alarm with keyless entry. Now he's saying that it's just remote entry and not an alarm. How much would remote entry cost?
Also, I forgot to mention that I've called about 8 Toyota dealerships in Houston and none of them can beat or even match the $18k for a base Camry with my options. They all told me that if I have a deal like this on the table, I should just run with it. Should I still stand firm on $17k-17.5k or should I just take the deal for $18k? I'm going to the dealership tomorrow.
Just remote entry? Don't know about Toyota, but that comes standard on about almost every Honda. The deal is pretty good. But I wonder how/why they would sell the car $2000 below INVOICE before TT&L. I looked on autos.yahoo.com and edmunds.com the invoice is about 17700 to 18000. So unless you are buying this with financing option of about 60 or 72 months, they're out of their minds selling you the car for that low. Is this Fred Haas toyota? or sterling mccall? Anyhow, if it's just remote entry and not a bonafide alarm (two different things), then tell them that you don't need the other two options because you don't want them. $70 + shipping for floormats tint starting at 139 I haven't bought anything at that toyota website but I'll even take time out to find you cheaper floormats then the dealer And infinity tint, i've referred 8 people (3 family members) to get their car tinted there. I've had mine on for 5 years; no fade, no scratches, no bubbles. They are great. Goodson Honda sends their cars over to their shop. And if you want remote entry, might as well get an alarm. A decent alarm would set you back about 200-250. See if you can get them to shave off the $800 ("I don't want it anymore") and pocket that. $17200 sounds good.
Stand firm at 17 range, lie and tell them another dealer is willing to go your 17 range. Car salesman lie all the time, now it your turn. See if they work with you. Also, beat down that interest rate down as low as you can get it. Even if it means threatening finance to "walk out" of the proposed deal to get a lower interest rate, DO IT! Make them sweat and work to get you in that car.
