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I have been doing the research, mainly on this site and have seen many buying experiences that have been pleasant, at invoice and on very rare occasions, below invoice. I have not seen this in Texas and with 74 Toyota dealers in this state you would think it's at least possible.
I've done the same many others on this site have done: e-mailed dealers (not all 74 of course) and the ones that require a phone number I avoid. I don't need that headache right now and I don't understand why some dealers require a phone number, but I suspect it's so they can do the lip action (deception) to get you in without having to back it up (hard copy).
If I were to find such a deal I would jump on it like a chicken on a June bug and would be willing to drive anywhere in the Lone Star state to pick it up (with the exception of the panhandle). It's time for a little vacation anyway.
One other note: I noticed that in most cases when the Avalon was bought at invoice it was from high volume dealers. Does anyone know how to determine if a dealership is high volume?
Thanks in advance for any response.
Got a question for ya. Did you make a mistake on the invoice of 32,306.90 or did the spoiler and toyoguard plus combined invoice at $1,450.90?
I think the key to getting a response is to be very clear about what you want and what you are going to do. The dealers are going to focus their energy on "live" prospects. Traditionally, that's a warm, emotionally charged body on the lot. Doing this long distance requires some extra effort to convince them you're for real and that they should take the time to respond.
Get your financing lined up so that you can ask for, and close on, a cash deal. Be ready to purchase the car NOW. Be willing to wait for a factory order. Make it clear you will only consider written quotes. Include ALL of your contact information -- you want these people to respond, make it easy for them. And, yes, I know you'll get calls from high-pressure salesmen who want just want you to "come in to talk" (refer to warm, emotional body above). Tell them you'll call them back just as soon as you get their quote by FAX.
Buying a car this way takes some work but it saved me a bundle. You won't do this every day so you can afford to spend some time on it.
Good luck!
No that is the invoice....what you have to remember is that the invoice for the Avalon is different in the SE region of the country......if you go to edmunds, or Kelly Blue Book website and punch in a Tampa zip code you will see that there is an additional $700 added to the invoice price for cars in this region. For people that live in this region it is a big pain in the [non-permissible content removed].....but we have no other choice but pay it or buy a different make of car. How I came up with the invoice price is I went to KBB and punched in the car and it's options and came up with that price which include destination of course. If your in Texas your invoice price will be different......
Did that answer your question? Hope so....
Good luck in your search.....
On the Avalon Limited ToyoGuard Plus invoices (according to NADA.com) at $231 and lists for $699. Here is what you get:
First oil change free -- ok, I'll give ya that's worth $20 at Quick-e-lube. Some dealers will throw that into the deal just to get you started on using their service bays.
Towing, Roadside assistance -- free or very minimal costs (say $10/yr) with most auto insurance policies. It is no extra charge on my policy.
Rental car assistance -- Not a rental car, rental car ASSISTANCE. I am guessing (maybe I am wrong here) that this means the service rep will walk you over to the window where they rent Corollas. Many, many Toyota dealerships run a Rent-A-Car operation ... (and I find it to be a good deal, btw, I toggle between Toyota RAC and Avis.)
Exterior paint sealant -- a quick spray of poly wax and a buff. These days, "paint sealant" means "poly wax."
Sealant cleaner -- guessing this is a spray of spot-free rinse solution or some other minimal treatment.
Undercoating & sound seal -- a quick spray of liquid that deters rusting ... on top of the already protected underbelly ... that is already covered as rust-free in your warranty. Unless I am mistaken they don't put on the gooey tar-like stuff that used to be put on as undercoating long ago.
Interior protectant -- Spritz carpets and fabric with Scotchguard. $6 a can at the supermarket.
Vehicle VIN etch protection -- Print out your VIN number on strips of acid-coated paper and rub one of them on an edge of each of your windows. It might deter a thief ... who wants to steal your car just to part out the windows. I have seen this offered online (they send you the printed tapes for you to rub on) for as little as $19.
Again, when I worked my numbers I just ignored it.
Here is exactly what it says at the KBB.Com website if you "build your own" Avalon Limited. One of the options to check is:
"Southeast Toyota Administration Charge. Touring, XLS & Limited. Invoice--750.00, MSRP--No charge. (Req'd in AL, FL, GA, NC & SC) (Cost Will Be Automatically Included in Dealer Invoice Model Price)"
When I was working my deal numbers, all the major websites (kbb, nada, edmunds) showed the base Avalon Limited invoiced at 29,757. Southeast, northeast, whatever (unless you checked the box). What this means is that when A SOUTHEAST DEALER shows you HIS invoice price for a base Avalon Limited (the invoice THEY gets from SET) ... THAT lil' piece of paper will show ... $29,757 + $750 = $30,507. That is $750 that is in the deal (somewhere) that they can't "give up" ... because SET is going to take it away from them, so to speak.
btw, the destination charge is $55 higher in SE (I just doublechecked vs. NYC, but I believe I recall it being the same for all regions, $635 in the SE, $580 all other regions). That's surely another SET slice o' the pie.
In the SE, the sticker calls it (not a destination/delivery fee but) a "delivery, processing and handling fee." My guess is that is because (I am pretty sure) that a law was once passed ... way back when ... requiring manufacturers to nationally standardize the delivery fee amount, that is, to not have a different delivery fee in different parts of the country. (That was because individual dealers took to the practice of tacking any number it felt like onto the RHS (right-hand-side) sticker and calling it a "destination/delivery fee.")
But there's no law in America that says you can't charge a customer a $55 "processing/handling fee" if you feel like it ...
So, again, when you are trying to work a deal in the SE region(versus the other regions), you'll have to figure on paying an additional $800 or so, all other things equal. :mad:
btw, the numbers I posted about my deal ... the invoice price I quoted did NOT include the $750 charge--I used the NON-SET invoice # in my dealings/calcuating. In my posted calculations the SET $750 number is included in the amount I paid ABOVE invoice. If I include the # as part of the invoice #, then it could be said that I paid "invoice plus" $676.21. If you accept my argument for "giving up" the $575 that I discussed (or even if you feel I just gave it away), what is left is "invoice plus" $101.21.
When things get a little fuzzy to me concerning Avalon price issues ( even small) I ask..and hope it's never taken as abrasive.
Thanks
It was in no way abrasive.....in fact it was a real good question....some people around the country do not know about the added fee that SET puts on its autos. I sure didn't know about it until I moved here. Like mention above in some of the other posts.....it is pure profit...
Why is it that SET charges extra for there cars....yet, let's say the midwest dealers or the west coast dealers do not? The simple answer is because "they can".....bottom line as I mentioned before.....the only way not to pay it is to buy somewhere out of the SET region.....which would put you either way up north or in the midwest.....
And oh by the way......there is no such thing as a stupid question as you know......knowledge is power....especially when you share it in this forum......I simply read and learn....but be careful and not take everything you read here as something that is set in stone.....if it sounds like bs then do a little research....ask questions.....the answer will be clear...eventually....
Happy Motoring!
Dealer = toyota of roswell, 18,995 original price down to 17,500...no hassle deal with excellent service...
good deal or not??
Car runs like a spaceship cruicing at mach1...great car!!
The dealer also added up the approximately extra $950 that apparently Gulf States Toyota charges for regional advertising. Toyota buyers in TX have to put up with this; I dont know if ordering a vehicle with only the options you want would save the money on unwanted ripoffs; Or do the dealers find another way to get you?
Final Deal at $35,500 + TTL (which in Texas is almost $2900); I would have felt better if I had the same car for $34,500; Comments welcome
Congratulations on the purchase of your new Limited and regardless of what you paid, MSPR / Invoice, or something in between, I'm sure you will love the ride.
I think the thought of not getting the Avy as close to invoice as you might have hoped for will soon fade from memory.
I got a call from the dealership I ordered a 06 XLS Blizzard Pearl / Graphite on 2/10 telling me it was in. Well, after seeing the sweet deals some others on this site were getting I decided to drive over and talk to them about lowering the price or I would drive off into the sunset.
They just got through prepping it inside and out and all that shiney stuff on the tires and a set of dice hanging from the rear view mirror (just kidding about the dice). Anyway, long story short, they would not come down on the price. A dealership is good at this game and they know that when a buyer sees the car put together just like they want it...the dealer wins. I did drive off into the sunset but it was in the Avalon.
I paid $1200. over invoice... I'll get over it.
Love the car and more importantly my wife feels the same way. Perhaps more. This is a replacement for her Camry.
Enjoy the ride!!
P.S. The above was not to take anything away from this site or the great comments made by other members regarding ways to beat the system. You do have to keep your self discipline and patience cranked up to hit the sweet spot. Mine caved in to a visual.
* a special thanks to member tstrick
Accent Stripe
Carpet Mats and NAV Mat
Dynamic Laser Cruise Control
Remote Start Engine
Southeast Toyota Distributor Plus
Sunroof Wind Deflector
Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) and Traction Control
Voice Activated DVD Navigation System
MSRP $42,124
Out the door price (including all taxes) $39,300 from Toyota West Statesville NC
Label
Most of your conclusions are totally wrong about the options you mentioned. I don't work in the SET region but work for A Gulf States Region store.
Here rental care assitance will reimburse you 6 times at 20.00 per day for a rental so that you can leave your car
in service and not have to worry about a ride.
Vin etching cuts you a check for 5,000 above and beyond
what your insurance company does in case the vehicle
is stolen.
Interior Protectant is not scotch guard. Scotch guard
is water based and only protecst one time and then you
have to reply it again and again. fabric guard is a polymer
that is soaked in to the material. if you do get a stain they will replace the fabric for free for the next 3 years 36,000 miles
sound shield and undercoating here is goey tar like stuff that you mentioned, not some anti rust liquid.
On top of that in Gulf States we have the Extended Mile
tire benefit that will reimburse you for new tires if you do the recommend tire rotaions. Thats an $800 benifit to you if you take advantege of it. And rotataing your tires will help them last longer, car will drive better
and you will save gas and money as well.
The Extra Miles package here do provide some real benefits but if they do not work for you ask your dealer to get you a car in with out them. They will be glad too
internet/fleet sales from Carson Toyota, Carson, California. Model that we wanted was not in stock. Nor at any other dealer in the area and was factory ordered. Now comes the good part, delivery took 22 days from the day I handed them a deposit check. Price was in line with what has been posted in this forum. I highly recommend anyone in the greater Los Angeles/Orange County area to check them out. They also post their inventory on the web for all to see.
Bob
You can buy the guards a lot of places.
They are just "stuck" on the car, they are backed with automotive-grade 3M adhesive. They are shipped color-keyed, no painting req'd at the dealership.
You should be able to buy them for around $100-$150 (retail) plus about an hour of dealership labor to install them (if you show up with your own parts).
If I were adding them on to the purchase of a new Limited, I would only offer about $100 or so for them. They'll make about $50 on the sale of the parts and it will REALLY only take the shop about 30 minutes to put them on (and the $50 will surely cover that). So I figure $100 is about a breakeven number for the dealership. If they want to sell you a new Limited, they won't mind "breaking even" on a set of those body mouldings.
Here is one place where you can buy them, but they are available in a lot of places.
http://www.toyotapartsdelivered.com/displayList.cfm?design=9
Since they are not "official" production items, they wouldn't normally appear on invoices (though if a dealer installs them on a car when it hits the lot, he'll have his OWN printed invoice & sticker that shows them.
Again, if I were working numbers for a deal on a new Limited, I would include about $100 for them in the offer.
Personally, I think they would clutter the look of the car ... but if I get dinged, I'll be sorry.
Bob
Bob
Although not normally a fan of extended warranties, I was a little concerned with the cost of potential failures of some of the "Gee Whiz Electronics" in my '06 Limited.
My dealership initially wanted $1650 (retail price) for the Toyota Platinum Extended Warranty (7 Year/100,000 mile/zero deductable).
I used the information gained from Edmunds forums to reduce the price to $980, which I consider a much more reasonable cost for this additional "peace of mind". The best thing about it was my dealership's "Service Contract Reimbursement Guarantee" which states "in writing" that I will receive a 100% reimbursement of my $980 at the conclusion of warranty period if the extended warranty has
never been used.
My dealership was Heartland Toyota of Bremerton Washington who provided me a very pleasant buying experience in all respects.
Other dealerships that allegedly (I have not confirmed this personally) sell the Toyota Platinum 7 year/100,000 mile/zero deductable warranty for $985 are:
Toyota of Greenfield, MA
Toyota of Glen Burnie, MD
Crown Toyota, KS
Dan Porter Motors, ND
Stone's Town & Country Motors, ID
Thanks again for all the great forum inputs.
Rod
Before buying Avalon I did lot of research. I looked at Acura TL, Lexus ES 330, Nissan Maxima, Infinity G35, VW Passat, Audi A4 etc. At some point I wanted to wait for 2007 Camry XLE or 2007 Lexus ES 350. After comparing vehicles in Edmunds and test driving Avalon, I decided Avalon is THE car I wanted.
I have 2001 Honda Civic LX, which increases read noise instead of reducing it. I used to get headache whenever I drive Civic.
Avalon is a great car. Well finished interior with very carefully designed cabin. Lot of leg room. Flat rear floor. All the necessary luxury features. None of the above mentioned competitive cars are match for the price I paid.
(Nissan Maxima is nothing when compared to Avalon. I found the interior is not of good quality and is not built carefully)
Of course, I have some suggestions for the Avalon too.
1. No bluetooth. Very very very bad. Ridiculous.
2. No MP3 for the 12 speaker JBL. Very bad.
3. No Audio input to connect my iPod at least. Using
Macally FM transmitter to listen to my iPod.
4. Salesman said we can watch DVD movies when Car is in
Parked position. I tried but failed. Anyone tried this?
Can we watch DVD (by replacing the trunk map DVD)?
5. Can't input destination to navigation system when
car is in motion. Owners manual says it is a safety
feature. I agree, but it doesn't even allow passenger to
enter the destination. Some features of nav are disabled
when the car is in motion. Acura TL Nav doesn't do this.
Over all, I am very satisfied with Avalon.
Bob
order to watch a dvd, have not tried this myselfn on a Avalon but that is how the landcruiser works
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Bob
Although they are "genuine" Toyota parts, they are not available from most "non-Gulf States" dealerships. My dealership in Washington only offered the dark grey/black mud guards.
I ordered color matched mud guards on-line from "TRD Parts 4U" (I don't want to antagonize our gracious host by posting a web site, so you'll have to figure it out from there). TRD Parts 4U is actually a dealership (Toyota of Dallas) who discounts "genuine" Toyota parts on the internet.
The price: $33.26 per set (need front and rear sets) $66.52. Shipping TX to WA $9.99. Total cost $76.51
Delivery time: Four days. (Note: the web site lists these parts as 2005, but 05 and 06 parts and colors are identical)
The Installation: Very easy. Instructions and all required hardware are provided. Tools required are a phillips screwdriver, a 3/8 inch wrench, a drill, and a 1/4 inch bit. Total time of installation: Less than 1 hour. The front: Installation requires no drilling at all, just remove existing screws and replace them with the provided screws which are slightly longer. No need to remove tires, just turn the wheels to give you some work space.
The rear: I found it best to remove the wheel to give you the required work space and to ensure the drill holes you must make were "square". Don't let the "drill holes in your new car" scare you. You would have to work very, very hard to screw this one up. It's basically a "no brainer" if you use the new mudguard as a template (It's all covered in the instructions). In any event, you just drill two (per mud guard) 1/4 inch holes in the plastic lip of the rear body panel which faces the tire, attach the provided clips and screws and you are done. The holes drilled are not on the surface of the body panel, so you do not damage the vehicle's appearance even if you wanted to remove the mud guards at some later time.
I found this to be a good (and inexpensive) way to "dress up" your Avalon while at the same time providing some rock nick protection.
Rod
Overinflation causes exessive wear in the middle of the tires anyway and compromises the structural integrity, so you aren't saving anything.
Bob
Enjoy your Avalon.
I just purchased a 2006 XLS with the 7 year warranty from Glen Burnie Toyota and you are right on target; the cost was $980
Love the car...... very sweet and actually a nicer ride than my Volvo Wagon I purchased in Sweeden
Thanks theazlit (Ted)
I just purchased a 2006 XLS with the 7 year warranty from Glen Burnie Toyota (Maryland) and you are right on target; the cost was $980
Love the car...... very sweet and actually a nicer ride than my Volvo Wagon I purchased in Sweeden
Thanks theazlit (Ted)
I am in the Tidewater area of Virginia (Norfolk, Virginia Beach area)and am looking to buy a new Avalon Limited equipped with remote starter, headrest DVD, upgraded cruise control and the navigation system. I'm not interested in the 18" wheels or special edition package. It looks like the MSRP on what I want is about $40,000+. I appreciate the input on the downsides, etc., but like others, I think I want one of these.
Does anyone have any experience with Toyota dealers in the Tidewater area? I don't mind going to Fairfax, especially at the price mentioned above ($35,000) for a well-equipped Limited. However, I'd like to stay local for warranty work, etc., plus the assurance of having a local person that can be held accountable if I have significant problems with the car. I've bought other cars over the internet, including a Corvette recently, with no problems, but if the cost is similar, or even within $500 of what an out-of-the-area dealer will sell for, I'd prefer to stay local.
Thanks
Suave Tequila