2013 and Earlier - Toyota Sienna Prices Paid and Buying Experience

rfeng1

Hello,
Could you send me the dealer info and price paid/offered on the 04 Sienna for CA Bay area. Appreciate the help. Thanks

wisbet

Glad I didn't commit to the $1000 deposit on a Sienna that the salesguy was "pretty sure" he could get(I asked HOW sure?? and he couldn't tell me...

BUT - I finally got an answer from the Costco dealer contact (in Marietta GA) and went in to see them today - they are taking $500 off MSRP (southeast MSRP)on the LE-8 #4 and the numbers seemed correct. No documentation fee (saved $385 there) or any dealer prep ($499) and got them to remove the ridiculous Toyoguard option scheduled to installed at port). Put $500 deposit down on credit card and it's due into the dealer August 17th. Apparently I can track it via a temporary VIN number - it appears to be a real car coming to their dealership. Hope I got an okay deal on a hot car even though most of you all advised to think w/head, not heart. The "drive away" price was $1000 lower than what 1st dealer was quoting me so I FEEL like I did somewhat better - every little bit counts. Yay, my babies will have airbags galore and a lower center of gravity!!

Thanks everyone!! Did I get a decent deal??

rorr

"The "drive away" price was $1000 lower than what 1st dealer was quoting me so I FEEL like I did somewhat better - every little bit counts"

I am sure that somewhere, somebody probably got a 'better deal' on a similar vehicle. It seems as though there will ALWAYS be somebody, somewhere, who got a better deal.

But you've got a confirmed due date on a vehicle equipped the way you want it, for a fair amount less than you were originally prepared to pay. It sounds like you WANT to be happy but you just can't quite LET yourself be happy.

Be happy. Life's too short to worry about how the 'other guy' did. For what little my opinion my be worth, I think it's a 'decent' if not outstanding deal. I hope you enjoy your new ride for a long time to come.

russ1928

My dealer wants me to include "Window Tint" as an option on an XLE . I can find no options for "Window Tint" for an XLE . Privacy Glass is standard on the XLE and the only reference I can find for "Window Tint" is an option on the CE. Am I being ripped off ?

russ1928

chorton

The privacy glass is standard on all models but the CE. However it is only on the rear windows. The dealer might have tinted the driver and passenger front windows. If not then there should be no ad for tint.

russ1928

Thanks Chorton for your reply.

I wonder if many people add Window Tint to the front windows or if it's desirable.

guardlights

russ1928,
The distributor in your region, SE Toyota, has many packages such as tint, toyoguard, port leather, pin stripes, sealers, etc. These are very profitable for the distributor, and potentialy the dealer. You can read posts about some of them, and how they are included, frequently customers dont want them or dont need them.

While window tint may redue some kinds of glare to the side and reduce air conditioner load, and some people like how it looks, I think it is about money first and foremost

If it is the $149 package I see on the web site for SET, i suppose it is applied to the glass. For that money, I dont know if it is subject to scratching off. Maybe someone who has it can post their experience

russ1928

Thanks Guardlights for your reply. Hope others will give me their opinion.

russ1928

sbell4

Every time someone mentions an OPTION that is available from a distributor it is attacked as a bad idea. It is an OPTION which means it is OPTIONAL which means you DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE IT if you DO NOT WANT IT!!!!! Every day you have options that cost more money if you see the value in it. I will never make it to age 35.

hst1

I have not written in a while, but felt it was important to let everyone know to beware of Bennett toyota... I ordered our CE with option 3 package back in April at 2 % over invoice and was quoted a price of 24,368 out the door including taxes and tags.... I hounded them weekly for paper work to give me final price and order on hard copy to no avail ... when the van came in, it was the wrong van ( had option 2 instead of 3 ), and the original girl I dealt with was no longer there... They re ordered the van apologized and for the mishap ( though refused to compensate us in any way), promising us it would be in at the beginning of August.... Again I asked for the paper work to be sent to me, outlining the deal to no avail ( although they did email me the information after checking with their manager for authorization)...
I received a call from the second sales person I had been bounced to telling me that our van would arrive in three weeks.... I again asked for paper work, which she assured me she was putting in the mail that day.... a few days later I called because I still had not received it, to find she is no longer there.... the sales manager then tells me that the van is not going to production until the very end of August promises to send all the paper work to me with all the details... I finally get the paper work with no details except to say a Sienna Ce with the final price now $26,660.27. When I called him to talk to him about it, he was extremely arrogant and refused to honor the original price. When we kept asking how the disparity occurred, and why the price changed, he refused to answer the question, he just kept saying things like, oh well this is still 5% over invoice and when we challenged that he would say well its still a $900 discount and those prices quoted to you before were incorrect, I don't know how you got them, my sales people must have just made them up and I did not know anything about it( which we know to be untrue, since the girls that sent me the info both said we have to have our manager ok the information and then we will email it to you... It has been a very stressful few months dealing with them, they have been very nonchalant and seemed to care less if they got your business or not, and then to raise the price over 2k is just ridiculous.... I knew a few claims had been filed against them with the better business bureau but I kept hoping it would work out... Beware of Bennett

cpolo

I have spent the last few months collecting information from many internet sites regarding the 2004 Sienna. I just recently discovered this newsgroup which I'm very thankful for. I have reviewed all of the messages posted on this site back to June. Everyone seems to give valuable insight. This is my situation. I live in N.J. and have faxed two dozen dealers here. Those who responded will sell the Sienna at MSRP only. I am looking for a discount. I have read both favorable and unfavorable messages about two Toyota dealers that are within reasonable driving distance to me; Bennet in Allentown, PA and Basil in Lockport, N.Y. I have also read that Costco club members are offered discounts of $1,000 over invoice. I am interested in the Sienna XLE FDW or XLE LTD FWD. I would appreciate any suggestions on reputable dealers to go to for a discount. Also, would someone briefly respond to the following question. Only very limited option packages are allowed to be choosen when I have used the "build my car" for my geographical area on the Toyota web site. Do I have flexibility in choosing option packages or not? Please explain the process. Thank you for your time and help.

daveb13

I bought my Sienna XLE with package #12 from Basil Toyota in Lockport, NY. I ordered the vehicle in early May and took delivery of it on July 15th (about 10 weeks).

I had a great experience with them. We agreed on the price over the phone in less than five minutes and they sent me the paperwork to support it the following day. They told me it would take about 8-10 weeks and I had the vehicle within that time frame. There were no surprises when I arrived at the dealership to pick up the vehicle and the people were very friendly. I dealt with the internet sales manager. See my previous posts.

cpolo

I do apologize for my error in including both dealerships (ie. Bennet and Basil) in the same sentence which implied that Basil may have received negative comments also. I did not mean that. I'm sorry if I may have offended you. However, I do have some additional questions about your transaction. Would you please allow me to email you? I would like to know the name of the internet salesperson you spoke so highly of. I also wanted to know if you had any flexibility in the choice of your option package or not. Thank you once again for your assistance.

daveb13

No offense taken here. I was just pointing out the fact that I had a good experience with the dealership. They were actually recommended to me from couple of other people in this discussion back in May, otherwise I probably would have never found them.

My e-mail address is under my profile. Feel free to send me an e-mail and I will respond as soon as possible.

cpolo

I looked under your profile but unfortunately your email address is not listed. I made mine available tonight. You may email me and I'll email you as soon as I can. Thank you again!

ncflyer

OK, folks, do you really think, on a van in extremely short short short supply, some kind of Costco blanket pricing would apply? Why in you know whose name, would a dealership that can't get enough of the vans to sell to anyone, out of the goodness of its heart, drop thousands off a price it can get from non-Costco customers? The Costco price is as much a reflection of market conditions as anything else out there, and market conditions to buy the Sienna are not great at this moment. Dealers wouldn't sign up for Costco if it meant sacrificing profits on their Siennas or other hot models. They WOULD use it as a tool to get customers they might not otherwise get for inventory that's just sitting on their lot.

blm516

I'm the one who committed to buy an LE8 Pkg#4 through the $1000 over invoice Costco deal, for delivery in a week or two from now.

The salesman took my credit card number for a $500 "deposit", which he said he won't actually charge. If we don't like the van when it gets here, no problem, he won't *MAKE* us buy it or keep the "deposit" (he says it's illegal to have nonrefundable deposits anyway) -- they know they can sell it easily to someone else.

He was the one who brought up the idea of the Costco deal, which I am beginning to think was a better deal than I thought at the time.

They only had one new Sienna on the lot, which was fresh in the week we were there, so having too much inventory on hand was not a factor in his decent price. He also noted that his dealership, unlike the Honda one across the way, won't sell above MSRP no matter how popular the car.

If this deal comes off the way it's set up, I will have a new appreciation for Toyota of Santa Cruz as compared to what some of y'all have had to deal with -- and they will have a new loyal customer!

meijer

Has anyone heard that Toyota stopped production of the Siennas due to a supplier quality problem? According to a dealer I spoke with, this happened late last week and they have not been updated as to when they will resume production. He could not offer me any details (such as which part was in question).

kbpa

wisbet, I too became very frustrated with the Atlanta dealers (see post #1722). Even if you ignore price for a moment, finding an Atlanta dealer who is actually willing to take an "order" as opposed to selling you one already "allocated" is very difficult. However, per my previous post, I have placed an order with Tuscaloosa Toyota and was expecting it to be built this week. Hopefully whatever supplier problem they have will be corrected quickly. (My salesperson did call me Friday to warn me that dealers had received a cryptic email from Toyota alluding to a supplier problem, without any specific details.)

Regarding price, in the May/June time frame, $1000 of MSRP was as good as I could find. It seems to me that over the last month or so that some people are getting on up toward $1500 off MSRP. Good luck. email me if you want more details

sbell4

From what I can tell it appears that if you have your vehicle being built this week or earlier this supplier problem shouldn't slow you down. I still believe that it is making dealers aware that the month of September is going to be a slim month for getting the number of Sienna that we need. Toyota doesn't warehouse parts and when there is a small hitch in the process it can be frustrating but this problem will pass very quickly.

rlsjr

Greetings, all. Thanks for all of the info here. I've been lurking for a while, and we finally drove a new Sienna last weekend. No question now this is our choice over the Odyssey. However, as many have stated, there is not much dealing going on here in the Atlanta area. After using the e-mail approach with dealers all over middle and north Georgia, I've been offered the following deal from a dealership about 2 hours away:

LE7 with Pkg #1 and floor mats
Selling price - $24,757 ($1,102 below MSRP)
Doc fee - $299
Tag/Title - $18

Total is $25,077 plus tax. Based upon what I've been reading here, this seems like a decent deal. I'm curious to know what others think.

Has anyone been able to go into a dealership and actually work up from the invoice, or is going through the Internet department the better way to go. It's been a long, long time since we've bought a new vehicle, so any advice is welcome.

areyes

Echoing sbell4, my 2004 Sienna was built the week of July 21 and arrived at the dealer yesterday, as scheduled. Don't know the situation for any vehicles being built from now on, though.

areyes

Can anyone tell me their experience in getting some of the body electronics system function settings changed when they got their new vehicle? I'm scheduled to pick up my Sienna CE tomorrow; when I asked the dealer about changing some of the functions (using the excellent Sienna delivery checklist created by kgnw), she didn't know anything about it and plans to check with the service people. She also said it's doubtful the service dept. could do any such work the same day I pick the car up. I tried to search for threads on this topic in various discussions, but came up blank.

ncflyer

Meijer, i have Sienna on order (placed June 1) and still waiting, and my dealer said just what you did. That production is now halted, that his early August allocation was cancelled, that next allocation might be mid to late August. So we're hearing consistent stories. Not good news for those of us still waiting-- nor for Toyota, as it will lose more business to Honda an alienate more folks patiently waiting.

meijer

ncflyer, thanks for letting me know you are hearing the same thing. My dealer didn't mention anything about cancelled allocatons which is good to know. I, of course, want one NOW too, but I guess I will continue to wait to get my van. Please update us if you hear anything else -- I know some dealers are more willing to share information than others.

slgubler

I am planning to purchase the '04 Sienna XLE or the XLE limited. The only option I am unsure about is the side curtain air bags. I have searched the internet for info regarding the safety of children and side airbags and am unable to draw any strong conlcusions. I will have 3 children under the age of 5. Is there any info on whether side air bags are appropriate for small children?

markr33

SG, I also have 3 kids under the age of 5 (4, 2, 3 mo.), all in carseats. The only "Must-Have" options in my case are the curtain airbags and the VSC/TRAC/Rear disc brakes. This means that for an XLE, only option packages 5, 12, 14, or 16 are acceptable to me.

There isn't much info about curtain airbags yet since they are so new, but the configuration of those type of airbags can only make the vehicle safer for children, certainly not less safe. Those type of airbags are much smaller than the traditional front airbags and therefore open with much less force. It seems to me that they only protrude a few inches from the side windows when inflated.

rorr

"Those type of airbags are much smaller than the traditional front airbags and therefore open with much less force."

Smaller? Yes (in the sense that they are not nearly as thick when fully deployed as a standard front impact bag). Less force? Ummmm, I'm not so sure. The side bags must fully inflate somewhat quicker since the object being protected (head) is generally closer to the window than the steering wheel. Also, whereas the front impact bags work best in concert with seat belts (ie, the bags should be absorbing only part of the impact with your seat belt absorbing the rest), the curtain airbags must absorb ALL of the energy since your belts are relatively useless in side impacts.

I'm no automotive engineer so I'm probably completely wrong on this, but intuitively (at least to me), the side curtain airbags would inflate with more rather than less force.

That being said, my wife and I are still very interested in them. The availability of curtain airbags and vehicle skid control are the main reasons why we've virtually eliminated any other MV's from our consideration.

ssj

I'd like to advise folks to stay away from Bennett Toyota in Allentown, Pa. I placed an order with them for a 2004 Sienna XLT Limited in early May and gave them a $500 deposit. I received a written order and waited. On August 4, while my van was on the truck on its way to the dealer, the internet sales manager advised me that he made a mistake and the price would be $1,000 higher than originally agreed upon. Nobody there seems to care. I tried the customer service manager and even called Toyota Corp. They have no control over the dealers. To make a long story short, I cancelled the order and am back to the drawing board.

winedogs

Did Bennett refund your deposit?

aclqwerty

This board has been a great help in providing information during my search, and I am happy to say that I just pick up my Sienna LE with #7 recently after 9 weeks of waiting (as expected). For those who are looking at Bennett they may want to try Central City Toyota (where I bought mine). Unfortunately the sale person I deal with is on leave. I order it via the internet manager with no hassle. Went there twice for the whole process (one to put down deposit and second time to pick up the Van). Oh! the pice was $1000 below MSRP. FYI: the dealership appearance may not be as good as other, but the people are nice. No pressure, never try to sell me anything I don't want.

Just a side note, I don't know if anybody else has experience this, but my new car with only 11 miles on it was out of alignment. It was fixed under warranty by a local dealership. On the invoice it is note as a TSB, so it looks like Sienna is having a alignment problem in general.

meijer

I was just thinking of posting a message on the safety of side curtain airbags... My husband and I were told by 2 separate dealers that they are not safe for small children. The reasoning given by these salesmen was that the force of the airbags deploying would pressurize the inside of the vehicle to the extent that it could severally damage immature lungs. These dealers were not part of a chain or related in anyway other than being in the same state.

I am not a physician or an engineer so I didn't know what to think of this. Our children are 2 and 4 -- they said older children should not have any problem but very young children are at risk. We also were looking at the 8 passenger and had concerns about the airbags being so close to the seats (also thinking that when the kids were older, they might lean against the window) Thoughts??

suni2

Give Basil Toyota a call (Lockport NY) E-mail me for more info on contact person.

nyfn1

It seems as if they are trying the old "bait and Switch" which is illegal. If you sent them the 500 and had a written order - you gave up to easy. You had a contract with them. Lodge a complaint with your state auto dealer regulatory authority. I know most folks try the BBB but they have no real leverage on companies.

prodogs

I also had bad experience with Bennett. When I placed order , i was told 3 - 4 month wait. Feeling uneasy i pressed for an allocation date, when my salesman was out I was told that there was a mistake and my wait was now 5-6 months with 7 people in front of my order. I think this was the old bait and switch as well as my order was pushed down the stack when other higher priced orders were placed.

Don't waste your time.

stever

That's a new one on me and probably one for the Urban Legends pages.

Side air bags can be a problem if your kiddo is asleep with his/her head leaning against the side of the car.

Got to research the lung story; maybe we can continue this in the main Toyota Sienna 2004 + discussion and try to keep this board focused on pricing (and bait and switch!).

Steve, Host

ssj

Bennett refunded my deposit very fast. Actually, they explained the price hike as due to a 'problem' with Toyota's invoice and pulled the old 'We didn't sign the purchase order, so it's not binding.' When I asked for a fax of the 'correct' invoice, I only received a copy of my credit card refund, no invoice. I did file a complaint with the BBB, and even with some Philly news stations' consumer gripes depts. Thanks for the tip on the state auto regulatory authority.

cpolo

I would first like to publicly thank the two Town Hall members, Dave and Sangita, for their tremendous help and advise. I am continuing to investigate a few concerns before I choose a trim line. The following is an important question for the host, Steve, and all other Town Hall members. I have recently read in ConsumerAffairs.com that 2003 Nissan Maxima cars have HID headlights that are very easy to steal. Does anyone have any information regarding the theft rate of HID headlights in general or specifically for the Sienna XLE LTD? Obviously this is important information for me to know as I am considering buying one. Steve, how do I post this message on all boards? I believe this information would be important to many people.

stever

That's been a hot issue around Town Hall too, and the Nissan anti-theft kit doesn't seem to help:

boatonsea "Stolen Headlights!!" Aug 1, 2003 8:33pm.

We discourage "spamming" the same message all over Town Hall since so many people read a lot of different discussions - we hear from them (loudly!) if they have to plow through the same posts over and over.

Steve, Host

ideaphoria

I just got my XLE with package 10 from a Dallas dealership, and I am very excited about the car. Can anyone tell me why they halted production? Might there be something wrong with my car? On a side note, I sold my 10 year old lexus ls400 for this car and while I was waiting, was heart sick about getting rid of the lexus. But if lexus made a minivan, they would take this car, upgrade the plastic to real wood, make the carpet all wool, upgrade some of the other plastics, and add a touch more sound proofing. That's it! Anyone who's driven a Lexus RX300 will recognize all the features put into this minivan - even the dashboard is an upgraded version. Honda and Mazda can not touch the incredible design, smooth ride, and comfort. I got $1800 off MSRP for this vehicle. My buddies are making fun of me for being a guy driving a minivan. Who cares. This thing rides like a mid-sized SUV, and guess what, my 3 year old and 5 year old won't get killed if I crash the car.

daveb13

My Sienna also seems to be out of alignmnent. I thought that I was being to fussy. After reading your post, I will take it to the dealer to have it looked at. Has anyone else experienced this?

Other than that, the vehicle is great.

rarmv

It's a long story with a very happy ending. They seemed very unorganized at first, but I think they are getting a lot of business from these boards. I placed an order for my van at the end of April with someone who is no longer there. I would only check back once a week. In June I was told that they had a van coming in for me from another dealer the next day. When I called the next day that person was no longer there and the van wasn't either. They did have an allocation for me though. It was going to be built on 7/7. the person who had taken the original order from me had ordered XLE pkg 12, not what I wanted. The new salesperson took my order for an Arctic Frost XLE LTD pkg5 with Z1 and CF and I verified the price at that time (2 1/2% over invoice). I had them sign the allocation sheet and fax it to me, I couldn't wait that much more time for something that might not come through. I was nervous because of some of the posts I had seen here.

On 7/13 I flew up to PA and they picked me up at my hotel very close to the dealership the next morning. The salesperson and finance person were very nice and the test drive and transaction took just under 2 hours. This was important because I left the dealer and drove (solo) directly to Tampa.

The drive was tough, but the buying experience was the best I've ever had. The price was exactly what they said it would be and once they got the new person working on it, the van arrived when they said it would.

I'm sorry to hear about the bad experiences of some recent posts. I'm glad I got a great deal while the getting was good. Thanks again to everyone on town hall for the info, it saved me thousands of dollars.

ncflyer

OK, I really don't know if they halted production or if they are slowing allocations IN CASE they have to halt production. Maybe someone out there works for Toyota?? To clarify what I posted earlier, my dealer didnt' say the early August allocation is cancelled, he said it would be combined with his late August allocation. So who knows what that really means-- maybe they stopped the early Aug allocation IN CASE there is a problem, but if there's no problem it will be business as usual by the end of the month. I really don't know.

hst1

After waiting for over 4 months for our van from Bennett and them raising the price over 2K , we are back at square one. We live in Philly... how far is Basil toyota from there? Does anyone have the name of a great salesperson they had there, what type of prices did they quote? How was the experience? I am due with our second child in November, so I need to work fast... any ideas out there would be great!!!Thanks!!!!

nyfn1

Toyota moved production of the sienna from KY to INdiana - it took them a while to retool the plant = that is why there was a halt in production

suni2

Please e-mail me for all the info about Basil.

mackabee

The reason there is a halt is they are about to begin production on the 2004 Tundras and Sequoias. Once they get enough of these in the pipeline, production of Sienna will resume. No need to panic here. Remember, these three vehicles are now being built in this plant.
                              : )
                              Mackabee

winedogs

Until yesterday I was a fan of Bennett Toyota. Back in May, I put a $500 deposit on a Sienna for delivery in August/early September. My price was spelled out for me including: TDA, destination, and the $850 commission. Earlier this week I read several posts bashing Bennett. I called the internet manager at Bennett and he assured me that those claims were false and everything was on schedule for my van. Later that day, I received an e-mail that Bennett could not honor my contract price. The internet manager said that they forgot to add TDA and Destination to the price of my vehicle. I had a fax from Bennett showing that TDA and destination where already included in the price of my vehicle. Long story short, after a long heated conversation with the SALES MANAGER, he changed his tune and admitted that TDA and destination where already included and that I was being charged an extra promotional fee that the salesperson did not include. He further stated that the sales people who offered this deal have since been let go. I pointed out that my deal was made through the INTERNET MGR and that he is still with Bennett. The sales manager said that the internet manager was miss informed from the fired employees's.

To the point! There was fine print in my contract that stated my agreement was not binding if not signed by an authorized person from the dealership. Needless to say I thought the contract would be honored by any respectable dealership. Bennett used this as a loophole to raise my price by $1020. A true BAIT AND SWITCH!!!

Please, everyone read the fine print before making a deal.

If anyone wants to see how not to make a deal, I can show you the contract and the e-mail Bennett sent me with false information. Feel free to contact me.

FINALLY, I CAN'T TELL YOU WHO AND WHO NOT TO DO BUSINESS WITH, BUT I WOULD RUN FROM BENNETT.

ajsako

Hi there, this is all relevant to my buying my Sienna, so I hope I can post this here! I am trying to figure out which tax I pay. We live in Ohio and the tax is different depending on what county you live in. Do I pay tax according to my county or the county where I buy the car? What about out of state? What do I pay? Thanks so much!
-April, who is STILL shopping for her Sienna!

ajsako

Ok, I have one more question, sorry!! We REALLY want package #14, but have been told we cannot order it right now in any region of the company by what I believe to be a very honest dealer. We did get a fair price on an XLE Limited, but we just can't stretch it that far, unfortunately, because I would LOVE to have it :+) Anyway, I wanted to see what you all would suggest as an alternate plan. I would really like to have a moonroof, but aftermarket cost is $1200!!! Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!