2003-2008 Toyota Corolla Prices Paid and Buying Experience

samy1

Thank you for the lead.

magan

See posts 1046 & 1056 also, I have to believe they are offering a better deal now because the $500 back is in place. Let me know how you make out.
PS-Joelansing never replied to my postings.

morganchris

Hi folks, can anyone tell me how much I should offer for this 04 corolla?

Sticker Price $13,995
Body Style Sedan
Mileage 28,432
Exterior Color Met. Blue
Engine 4 Cylinder Gasoline
Transmission Automatic

LE AM/FM Stereo, Air Conditioning, Cassette, Dual Front Air Bags, FWD, Moon Roof, Power Door Locks, Power Steering, Power Windows, Premium Sound, Premium Wheels, Single Compact Disc, Tilt Wheel

Edmunds is quoting 14,500 dealer, 12,000 trade in, however a friend of mine thought I should get it for about 12,500 to 13,000, out the door (assuming an included 1,000 tax and tag). How low can I realistically push below Edmund's dealer average?

cargirl13

How much do you think is fair for an automatic LE with ABS and side air bags?

Edmunds invoice is $14,583.. and True Market Value is $15,071...

I have been emailing with a local dealer who tried to tell me that invoice is actually $16,633 (yeah right) and that the best she could do is $15,993...

What do you think is a reasonable price for this car?

dad1216

Purchased a Corolla CE with power windows, power door locks, keyless remote, power remote mirrors and some minor dealer added options today for $13017 + tt&l. Should I have tried to do better? I am in the Houston area.

ricoucf

Courtesy Toyota, Orlando Florida
06 Corolla LE Automatic
Options:
Carpet Mat, trunk mat, audio Value Package (includes Cruise Control and six disc cd changer if I'm not mistaken if not it was included in my vehicle anyways), Toyoguard Protection (Most toyota in the southeast includes this option)
Price:
$14000 plain + $500 dealer fee + 1000 in taxes, tag and title = 15500 OTD

I had to negotiate a bit and had to leave the dealership then they called me. I don't know do you guys think it was a good price?

cargirl13

What do you think is a reasonable price for the automatic LE with ABS, sideairbags?

Edmnds invoice is $14,593 and TMV is $15,071... I am in Massachusetts.

I am looking into getting my first car and dont want to get ripped off.......

joecarnut

I'm looking for similar deal and from what I've seen you do alright.
Enjoy your new Corolla!
Ken

cargirl13

Thanks..What do you think is a good price range for this?

joecarnut

I'm no expert but I am looking for a LE automatic with side airbags package.
Invoice is $15,726 and here in so cal there is a 500 dollar rebate. We here pay about 9-10% TTL. So figuring 10% it would be about $16748.00. I think there is an aproximently $300.00 holdback for the dealer too. I'm not sure how that works in and what other incentives dealers would have.
But mid-16's or a bit lower would be decent and is probably OK.
Also if you can wait until end of the month near when the 07's come out you should get better deals.

I'm just being super conservative on the prices. Hopefully you can get it below invoice plus TTL.

Anyone else have any ideas on pricing?

ricoucf

I beleive that you can get it below invoice price I'm not including License, tag title, or taxes if you follow this guidelines. Wait till the end of the month I negotiated on the 30th and got the car on te 31th of the month. The dealerships get bonus for quotas. Don't be afraid to low-ball the car. The negoatiation of the current vehicle I had TMV was 15,800 without dealer fee. I left the dealership saying I won't buy it more than 14000. They said they could not do it, but then called me an hour later that they can. Don't fall in love with the vehicle there are others in other dealerships. You don't have to be rude, but don't get suckered into a deal if you don't feel right. And my personal opinion is to deal in person for some reason I felt I was getting worst deals through the internet. By the way you have made a great choice of a vehicle and you will get your money's worth at the end.

cargirl13

Thanks for your response..Where did you buy your vehicle and when?

ricoucf

Check Message 1103 for where I bought the vehicle. It was March 29-30 That I bought the vehicle

makis

I recently purchased an 06 Corolla LE auto

Options:
CK Weather Guard Package
AB Anti-lock brakes w/ tire pressure monitor
MR Power moonroof w/ inner mirror
driver+passenger side& curtain airbags
VV 6 CD changer w/ 6 speakers
Cruise control
CF carpet floor mats

I paid 17 670 OTD. Do you think I paid too much ?considering that the MR package is expensive (invoice $ 1140).

Thank you.

joecarnut

We went to buy a 06 corolla le with side airbag package.
We filled out paperwork and then they said they wouldn't honor the price. Unfortunately I didn't have it in writing as it was late in the day and he wanted us to come down right away as this was the end of a weekend sale.

He said over the phone it was 13,888.00 plus ttl.
Then after we got in he said he made a mistake and they the dealership would only sell it for 14888.00 plus ttl. He said he was sorry and didn't know they wouldn't honor the friday ad on sunday as they usually always do.
So we aked for all our paperwork back and got out of there quick.

Is it legit if paying by check, that you need to fill out a credit application for homeland security purposes? Or any ID purposes whatsoever?
He was telling us we needed to do that.

Thanks

loralynh

Basic model, no power anything, OTD $14,691.00 I dont think we got the best price ever, but we did get a good deal... BTW in response to the above comment, we paid in cash and we still had to fill out the credit papers too...

joecarnut

Thanks for the information. It makes me feel a little better.
Ken

tmoney25

where did you buy this? Did you include TTL in your OTD?

makis

Yes, the OTD price includes everything (incl.TTL). This is in MI.
Did you think I paid too much?
Thanks.

sandman46

You bought the car already, so why do you care now? The time to do this is before you buy the car. Did you do your research and read the posts in this forum beforehand? Hopefully you did and if not...why? Just enjoy your new wheels and move on. There will always be some who say they paid less than your price and others who say they paid somewhat more. As long as you felt comfortable buying the car...enjoy it!
Just my $.02 on this subject, but after reading many posts over the years with this same question, I just don't understand!

The Sandman :confuse:

beantown

Basic model, no power anything, OTD $14,691.00 I dont think we got the best price ever, but we did get a good deal...

Yikes. This same car goes for $10,900 in Mass every week as a special at the two largest dealerships. If you include tax, title and registration along with any doc fees, you're probably looking at around $12,000 in Mass (5% tax). Not sure what state you are in or if you even included taxes in your OTD price, but even if you did, that sounds quite high to me for a stripped, manual tranny CE.

cargirl13

Which dealerships in Mass are you talking about? Bosch and Ira? I am in Boston and trying to find a good deal on the automatic LE with ABS and side airbags?

makis

Thanks, sandman46! You are right, it makes no difference now. There will be always someone who says he/she paid less; it makes absolute no difference now...

beantown

Yes, Boch and Ira will 99% of the time have the best deals on Corollas and always have fire-sales on the base CEs. An LE with ABS and side airbags are somewhat rare, but I see Boch does have one in stock. It has an MSRP of 17,998 and a "dealer cost" of 16,025. They have been know to deal below "cost".....and the end of the month is almost upon us.

beantown

How much do you think is fair for an automatic LE with ABS and side air bags?

Edmunds invoice is $14,583.. and True Market Value is $15,071...

I have been emailing with a local dealer who tried to tell me that invoice is actually $16,633 (yeah right) and that the best she could do is $15,993...

What do you think is a reasonable price for this car?

Cargirl:

You may want to try to run that search again. I just did that same search (LE, auto, SAB, and ABS) and came up with the much different numbers...which seem more in line with what the local dealers are saying:

Invoice: 16,061
MSRP: 17,740
TMV: 16,583

I see what you did. The invoice you pulled is for the LE before the options you want (SAB and ABS are about $1,000) and the destination charge (almost $600 in Mass). You need to take these into account.

salespro354

Sounds like an ok deal. The dealers I know don't sell them for 10900, but 12,500 to 13,000 sounds more like it, but their advertising never includes destination. Although double check the add and make sure its not a used 06 Corolla because they are out there.

beantown

An "ok" deal? I don't think you can beat $10,900 ($12,000 out the door) for a new Corolla anywhere.

Yup, some dealerships are notorious for slipping in demos or slightly used models, but these two always specify that they are brand new models....and you can view the specific models on their online inventory so they are definitely legit. For some reason, the manual CE Corollas never sell in Mass unless they do these fire-sales.

cargirl13

Hi there, you are right...I realized I was looking at it wrong..Do you know anything aboout Watertown Toyota? I am trying to get him to match Boch's offer? Boch was offering me $15,500 for Automatic LE with ABS and sideairbags and then giving the 400 recent grad discount..

Boch seems really good. But they are all the way out in Norwood and I don't have a car. Also, do you know any rental companies that rent out corollas?

beantown

I've never dealt with Watertown Toyota, so I can't speak about them....but I imagine they'd have a tough time matching that quote from Boch. It's a good one.

I know Woburn Toyota definitely rents Corollas. Acton Toyota (as well as most, if not all, of the Toyota dealerships in Eastern Mass) would likely offer extended test drives or even rentals. I've never seen any at any of my local Hertz or Enterprise lots, though I've never made a concerted effort to look. A few calls can never hurt.

magan

http://www.toyota.com/toyotaApp/html/shop/trac/index.jsp?s_van=GM_TN_TRAC
I think Boch does and other surrounding dealers

Are you sure the $10,900 price doesn't include $3000 down cash or trade?

mizco

I've been talking to several dealers and found one (new)for $13.9 for an Automatic transmission LE with all the standard LE features (no extra packages). Is this a good price or should I try and negotiate lower?

First time buyer.

cargirl13

Are you getting any options?

mizco

no, no options

beantown

Are you sure the $10,900 price doesn't include $3000 down cash or trade?

100% positive....these particular dealerships never use the infamous * or fine print in their ads like others do. It's how one of my friends bought their Corolla. Only things not included are dealer doc fees, tax, title and reg.

beantown

I've been talking to several dealers and found one (new)for $13.9 for an Automatic transmission LE with all the standard LE features (no extra packages). Is this a good price or should I try and negotiate lower?

Considering that is about $500 below invoice, I'd be very happy with that deal. You can always try and negotiate lower, but I wouldn't think twice about paying that for an auto LE (especially considering someone earlier on this thread paid more than that for a manual CE).

boise1

Sounds fair, probably a better deal than we got but then we had some special circumstances. Our younger daughter needed a newer car and we were looking at a '03 CE (maroon red, auto, aftermarket tinted windows, nice TSW rims...not bling bling type...cd player and a XM radio, 100k aftermarket warranty, 50k miles...and pampered. We paid $9k cash (down from $12k asking) from a private owner at the Air Force base about 50 miles away...her husband is in Afghanistan and she is leaving the area. The car is spotless and our daughter loves it. When I was looking at it my wife mentioned if my daughter didn't want it, she would take it! Well, injecting the little Buddhist idealogy that "everything happens for a reason", when we went down to pick the car up, my wife's '01 Oldsmobile Aurora with 45k miles on it started shifting roughly and whining. We made it back home (Boise, ID) and I took it to a local transmission place and it was going to be nearly $3k for a transmission (Aurora's are a money pit...I've now learned my lesson with GM)

I tried buying a U.S. company car(s) and have had nothing but headaches. First with a Ford mini-van, then a Pontiac Grand Prix, then with the Olds Aurora. Oh, and my daughter's first car which was a Ford Focus.

I thought about it for a moment and told the mechanic I needed to look into warranty stuff (I didn't purchase a extended warranty....didn't feel I should have to for a "flagship" car).

I drove over two blocks to Peterson Toyota and traded the Aurora and a '99 Grand Prix in on a '06 Le. I didn't haggle too much because they gave me $8k for the Aurora (luckily they didn't test drive it) and $3k for the Grand Prix (another lemon if there ever was one..I could write a book on that car). The Grand Prix was actually a "surplus" car because I now ride a bicycle to work and have a VW bus for buzzing around if needed. We got the LE for $15,800 and it does have a multi-disc player and then the standard fare...power windows, cruise, door locks, etc.

Bottomline is dollars aside, the peace of mind of not having GM money pits is well worth any "extra" amount I may have paid. My wife absolutely loves the car and while it isn't quite the road car the Aurora it is 10 times the car overall. It is relatively quiet, simple, straightforward, easy to drive, comfortable, and just downright pleasant. It doesn't have 9 thousand buttons on the dash to complicate matters like the Olds and Grand Prix had.

Peterson Toyota here in Boise is definitely worldclass in "paying attention" to customer service. The salesperson was friendly and not pushy...polished. This was far different than the GM dealers I dealt with.

Could I have done better? Maybe, but crying over a few bucks just isn't worth it when one looks at the grand scheme of things.

mizco

and I'm really happy with it so far. My first new car. It's a nice ride.

I even got the audio value package and all weather guard.

joecarnut

Congrats mizco on your your new ride.
Sounds like a decent deal too.
We just got one too. They are nice!

joecarnut

We paid $16,447.00 OTD on LE w/auto, side airbags and JBL stereo, with floor and trunk mats. it says 8 speakers, but thats really one set of 2-ways and two full ranges with two separate tweeters unless those are mini full ranges.

If I figured it correctly, we paid an OTD price that was just barely over the invoice price itself.
I think invoice was roughly $16,200.00 something with all the options.

The only cons was rear view mirror was not tightened all the way and it was missing one valve stem cap.
I know that we may have been able to get a little better deal, but we are happy.

cargirl13

What options did you get? Did you get any ABS or side airbags?

mizco

Congrats on your new car too. I had been driving a Focus and it's feels very different driving it. In a good way.

mizco

I just got the audio value package (6 cd changer), cruise control and all weather package with mats. I figured that for $13.9 I wasn't geting any options at all but I was wrong.

No I didn't get ABS or side airbags.

rg7632

An LE with:
auto
ABS
side/curtain airbags
audio value 6 CD & cruise control
alloy wheels & 3 yr-36K mile road hazard & tire warranty
floor/trunk mats
window tint & pinstripe (dealer option)
7 yr/100K mile powertrain warranty (only good at the selling dealership though)

paid 16700 plus TTL; Dallas/Ft Worth area

kann

Hi Cargirl,
I am planning to buy a LE, but i was wondering if the ABS would really be needed for me. This is my first car and i will be in Upstate Michigan (lots of snow), so do you think ABS will be worth the extra 300 bucks. Your advice will be very appreciated. Thanks
K

cargirl13

Hi K,

I am looking at an LE as well. This is my first car and I am a new driver as well. I live in Massachusettes. People recommend ABS..I am concerned about safety..so I want to get ABS..

corolla_man

I'm looking for an automatic Corolla CE with:
1)CQ convenience package
2)CT cargo, floor,& trunk mat set.
3)ABS

My local Chicago area dealers told that ABS comes with either a sunroof or side airbags as a package - not sold individually. Is this true? I'm trying to keep the costs to the lowest, and such a package will jump the price too high for me.

Does anyone have any idea as to what a good price is here in Chicago area (preferred) or anywhere else without such a shoved-down-the-throat ABS package not including TTL (tax, title, & license) charges?

Any +ve/-ve Chicago dealership experiences are appreciated too.

I need to buy the car immediately.

Thank you all in advance.

beantown

He is incorrect in part. The sunroof is not even an option on a Corolla CE at all. What options must be grouped together from the list below will depend on the region.

Available Options on a Corolla CE (from Toyota.com):

4-wheel Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and Tire Pressure Monitor [3]

Driver and front passenger front seat-mounted side airbags and front and rear side curtain airbags [4]

AM/FM 6-disc in-dash CD changer with four speakers

Cruise control

dergirl

I just bought a Corolla "S" model and I pick it up tomorrow as they didn't have a lot on there lot. I paid 18k for it fully loaded...I was wondering if thats a good deal ...I think so considering where I live :shades:

prabhu1

I got my Corolla LE today with the folowing options

BE - Driver & Passenger Side Bolster/Curtain Airbags
VJ - Electric Cruise Control, Radio: JBL AM/FM w/In-Dash 6-CD Changer, Includes 8 speaker audio..
CT - Carpet Floor Trunk Mat Set (5-Piece Set)

MSRP - $ 17,987
invoice - $ 16,348 (less $500 rebate)
Paid - $14,000 ($15,340 OTD)

dergirl

I really do believe that car prices fluctate according to where you live. If you live in an rural area...the cars are probably cheaper...if you live in a more expensive area...there probably more. The sales might be good but you have to buy the ones that they have on the lot and meet criteria.