2013 and Earlier - Toyota Highlander Prices Paid and Buying Experience

loucapri

It might be harder to find.
Most Limited V6 is 4wd. If you also want a specific color, GOOD LUCK

bobgordon

Bought a '04 Highlander LTD 4WD Millennium Silver.

Sticker was $35,867.00 with all the options.
Wholesale price on it is $27,838 minus options so thats where I started.
Got these options;
SR) Power Tilt/Slide Moonroof.
GY) Driver/Passenger Curtain & Side Air Bags & Sunvisors w/Illumination.
TO) Tow Prep Package.
EJ) Premium JBL ETR/Cass/6 CD Changer w/8 Speakers.
LA) Leather Seat Package Includes; Leather Trim Seats w/Front Headrests & Leather Door Trim.
HD) Drivers/Passengers Seat Heaters.
CF) Carpet/Cargo Mat Set.

Paid invoice on all the options and subtracted Dealerhold back of $628 for a total of $30,754.00 + tax + license.

Whats killing me is the "accessorizing" I'm doing now! :-(

akengland

Sounds like you did well. Except for the color, this is the exact configuration we are looking for. Where did you purchase your Highlander?

Thanks!

ddpstc

Just wonder how do get that $1000 rebate because Toyota has no rebate for Highlander until after August 4th and it is only $750. $24,300 before taxes, [non-permissible content removed]., and lic. is a very good deal.

ddpstc

Steve:
I checked Edmunds frequently and did not see any $1000 rebate for Highlander before August 4. Is the $1000 rebate is for California? I live in Minnesota and the August rebate for Highlander is only $750.

ddpstc

I think it is. I did not go to SAMs Club for my Highlander but I got the quotes from dealers provided by Edmunds.com. I paid $139 below invoice, so you had a better deal.

ddpstc

Did you get the $750 rebate? I did not get the $628 dealer holdback like you. I only got $139 off from invoice.

stever

The $750 rebate just started on August 5 according to our Incentives page (it may vary by region).

The older incentives have rolled off the site, so I'm not sure what I saw now (weaseling off the hook, lol).

Incentives do vary by region and the amounts often vary depending on whether you are financing or not. Incentives are a well kept secret until the release date and they change often, making it hard for Edmunds to stay current on all of them. And we rarely have special rebates listed, like college grad or loyalty incentives.

Steve, Host

ddpstc

$1000 rebate in July is a very good deal. I shopped for the Highlander in July but there was no Highlander rebate in MN at that time. So I waited and check Edmunds.com from time to time. In August Toyota announced the rebate but only $750. I got $139 off from invoice at Rudy Luther of Wayzata, the best deal in MN. I heard that other dealers out side MN gave more $$$ off invoice.

bobgordon

akengland,
Bought it @ Toyota of Naperville in Naperville Illinois.

I went the last day of the month (July) and the sales person wanted to sell 30 vehicles that month, she was at 28. After I gave her the figures I was willing to pay, she went to her sales manager and he came back saying "you did your home work...". He didn't want to haggle any more than me so they accepted my offer.
I wanted the new color Toyota has, a light green but they didn't have any in stock so the silver was my second choice. Plus I've always had dark colored vehicles so hopefully, this will stay clean (at least look it) longer.

ddpstc, no I didn't get the $750 rebate. It wasn't offered at the time like Steve mentioned.

I just finished installing a small electrical jack in the trim around the radio/climate controls for my radar detector. I didn't like the cord hanging all the way down to the cig lighter socket.

casanova2

I am shopping around here in Ohio for an AWD V6 w/3rd row (MSRP $29,907) and the best deal I can get is $27,099 before incentives, that's invoice price for the state of Ohio. The car includes the appearance pkg, convenience pkg, daytime lights, heated mirrors, etc, cloth trim.

How does this stack up against others' experience in this region (OH, KY, MI, TN)?

ddpstc

From what I know, you can use SAMS Club or Costco car buying program to get from $150 to $300 off invoice in addition to the $750 rebate. The discounts you get may depend on the region.
I didn't use Costco or SAMS Club for mine and wish that I would have read this forum before.
Good luck and enyoy your shopping.

casanova2

Thanks for the tip. I had in fact tried Costco and they only covered one dealership in the entire Cleveland area. That dealer offered invoice + $500, I finally found one dealer who offered invoice - $100, that's what I'm going with.

Pity, I expected Costco to have better deals, maybe they vary regionally?

rochmn

Hi ddpstc, I am from Minnesota also and a first-time new car buyer.
There are three questions I would like to know from you or anyone on the forum:

1) how can I estimate the final walk-out door price? Which kind of
fees (TDA, doc fee, etc etc) are the ones I should not pay?

2) I heard that Highlander requires premium gas. Is it true?

3) when you bought from Rudys luther, were you able to get the 0% or
1.9% finance?

Thanks

ddpstc

Hi Rochmn:
The lowest walk out price in MN will be about $100 to $150 below invoice. You can go to edmunds.com to get the quotes from 4 local dealers (Toy. City, Rudy Luther, Maplewood, and Denny Hecker). The lowest quote is likely to come from Rudy Luther because the Internet Sales Manager there joined Rudy Luther 4 months ago (from Toy. City) and he is motivated to show off his performance to the new employer. You may also use SAMS club or Costco car buying networks to see if you can get better deals. I lived in Rochester before and I did not buy my Camry from the local Universal Toyota. Instead I bought it from La Cross, WI.

Here are the financial incentives that I lifted from edmunds.com when you don't pay cash:

0.0% APR Term: 36 months Get Dealer Pricing
1.9% APR Term: 48 months Get Dealer Pricing
1.9% APR Term: 60 months Get Dealer Pricing
Restrictions $750 Customer cash may not be combined with 0% - 1.9% APR

The 4cyl. requires regular 87 octane gasoline.
Only V3 3.3 L engine requires premium gas. I heard that the V6 engine also suffers hesitation. In my opinion the acceleration for the 4 cyl is adequate to drive in MN. In other states such as the Mountain states, CA, PA with a lot of hills you may want the V6.
Enjoy the shopping and good luck.

araman

Are you also a SAMS club member? (Not sure if its there in your area though). I went through costco initially and the dealer quoted invoice + $650, but said he is open to negotiate.

Tried through Sams Club and the same dealer (different salesman though) quoted invoice - $200!, but cant negotiate. I went through Sams club since even if I had negotiated with costco doubt if he would have to match Sams club price.

Andy

casanova2

Not a Sam's Club member unfortunately, none near my place that I know of and I prefer Costco to Sam's anyways!

But I am beginning to think that these "links" between Costco/Sam's and a certain car dealer are, on the whole, better than walking in off the street but not as good as negotiating aggressively if armed with lots of facts (e.g. FightingChance.com reports).

It took me two whole days on the phone, having spoken with perhaps 20 dealers in the OH, KY, TN, MI region to identify three or four who were willing to go after my business at a good price, others called my bluff on the pricing and, well, I called theirs!

ddpstc

$650 above invoice price for the 2004 Highlander is riculous. Costco should get rid of these dealears. By Jan 2005, you could buy the 2005 Highlander for $650 over invoice and enjoy the higher value of the 2005 model (approx. $1500-$2000 over the 2004 model).

casanova2

I think Costco and Sam's might be guilty of not negotiating hard enough. Toyota dealers are known for being arrogant (see Fortune magazine article from current issue) and my guess is that they get some sweet-talking Costco or Sam's Club person who wants to throw a bone their way and they say "Sure, we'd love to be Costco/Sam's exclusive representative."

In reality, it *always* pays to negotiate hard but fair and to never, never, never, never, never accept the first deal dealers throw your way.

stever

I think the warehouse clubs try to make it a bit easier for members who want to avoid some of the hassle of buying a car, but it is possible to beat the warehouse price.

Steve, Host

gamfam

Is it possible to purchase a 2004 limited Highlander without leather? My dealer says that if I want a Highlander limited then I must get leather.

casanova2

Sounds about right, far as I'm aware the Ltds come only in leather.

hmurphy

I'm shopping around for an 04 Limited V6 AWD and have received quotes between $31,400 and $31,600 (not including the $750 rebate).

The options I requested are:
Leather/heated seats
Sunroof
CD changer
Tow prep
Carpet mat set
Side/curtain airbags

The wholesale price for this car is $30,991, so the quote range sounds reasonable to me, but I thought I'd check the board. I know that user "bobgordon" recently got the same model/options for $30,867, but I haven't been able to get anyone anwhere near that.

I appreciate your input.

casanova2

Where are you located?

hmurphy

In the Chicago area

ddpstc

The highest price that you want to pay for a 2004 HL for this month (August 2004) is: Invoice + $540 destination charge - $750 rebate.

bmwx

I just leased an X3 2.5 for 39 months after visiting the Toyota, Honda and Nissan dealers. The terms are very attractive. I am paying $370/month for a manual shift.
The car performance is way superior than the Pilot or Highlander in my humble opinion.

bobgordon

Did you happen to call/visit Toyota of Naperville?
If not, I'll be happy to give you more info and a contact name there.

Let me know.
:-)

hmurphy

I e-mailed a quote request to Toyota of Naperville using the general sales e-mail address. I assume that it was the internet sales person who responded.

I appreciate any advice you can give.

bobgordon

"You've got mail"....
:-)

rhouser2

i posted several days ago that the limited highlanders are available without leather. apperantly my post got deleted. in january or 04 i attended the omaha ne. auto show and asked a rep at the toyota display. come to find out this gent was from the toyota district office in kansas city. this is where the orders from area dealers are compiled and sent on to japan for building. he daid if you want a highlander limited without leather just have your dearler order it. no problem. after all the sales lit for the highlander says that cloth is standard and leather seats are a stand alone option.
in june i taked to a sales person at a toyota dealer in omaha, ne. i asked if i could get a highlander limited without leather. he said he had never seen one that way but would check it out. a few minutes later he came back with a large book and said yes you can. we would have to order it, but it can be done. no problem and would take about 6 - 7 weeks to get it.
the toyota web page lists options in groups that are most popular for a certain area. this doesn't mean it has to ordered that way. check aroundand insist on getting what you want.

gamfam

Thanks for the information. It all makes sense. I asked the dealer at least four times and he insisted that I could not get a limited without leather. After I heard the wrong information over and over again, I started to believe it. I may wait for the 2005s and order what I want. Thanks again.

lee_w

I apologize if you were deleted recently. We have been making some software updates and it has resulted in a few technical difficulties. I think things are on track and the the new software looks good! Sorry again for any inconvenience!

hmurphy

I bought an 04 AWD V6 Limited in "Sonora Gold" from Carmax in Kenosha, WI, last night for $31,600. I opted for the 1.9% financing from Toyota instead of the $750 rebate.

The usual options: leather, heated seats, CD changer, tow prep, curtain airbags, sunroof, carpet mats; plus cargo net and first aid kit.

They gave me a reasonable price on my trade-in (03 Honda Accord EX-V6) and it was an altogether pleasant buying experience.

The sales agent went over the car's operations more thoroughly than any agent I've ever dealt with, and the financing, taxes, fees ,etc. were dealt with in a very straightforward manner.

(bobgordon, it turned out that your sales contact at Naperville was unable to do both the lower price and the special financing, so I opted to go elsewhere. She was very pleasant, though, and I appreciate the referral.)

hmurphy

I should add that $31,600 was the vehicle price (including options and destination fee) and didn't include county/state taxes, title, plate transfer fee, etc.

bobgordon

Congrats and glad you found what you were looking for.
Happy to help!

hmurphy

Thanks! I love the car!

northerncal

Hi all,

This board has been great reading in preparation for buying thanks to everyone for posting their sales numbers. Generally my philosophy has been to start at invoice and to go down from there. Three dealerships let me walk out the door without even a negotiation as soon as I told then how I wanted to deal. I shed a small tear everytime one of the chummy salesmen turned into an ice princess when he asked how much I wanted to pay. I didn't know this, but apparently dealerships are not in business to "give cars away!" I was saddened to hear such news and will work tirelessly until that day comes!

Anyway, I ended up dealing with Barber Toyota in the Fairfield Automall (in between I-80 and highway 12 in Fairfield). The invoice for the car was 28,679 and I paid 28,079. I made it clear to them that if I was hassled in finance I was going to walk. As promised, there wasn't even a hiccup. One interesing thing, on the invoice they included their holdback and "wholesale cash" (not sure exactly what it was called) that totalled around $700. This was different from other dealerships in that I hadn't seen it itemized before. Worse case I figure I paid them $100 in holdback over invoice, best case I paid $600 under invoice. All places I have gone have listed "TDA" or the advertizing fee at near $500. Maybe that's where they got me.

Regardless of what I learn post-purchase, we are happy about the car and feel that we got a reasonable deal. Part of me wanted to keep fighting, but they were keeping the head games to a minimum and I decided to do it.

Here are the details:

Bluestone Mettalic
V6, AWD, 3rd row seat
FE,EH,SR,GY,TO,AG,CQ,HE,LF,CF,R7

Happy hunting!

justabum

Hi everybody,

How do you think I did? I just paid 26,831 OTD (amount includes Tax, License and 1,000 dollar rebate). The following are the options that I got.

Indigo Ink FWD V6 3rd row with:

CQ - Convenience Package
DJ - JBL/Cass/CD/8spk
AG - Appearance Package
HE - Preferred Package
NE - cruise control/Urethane
TO - Tow prep
Z1 - Preferred Accessory Package
R7 - Rear Spoiler

I did this deal with the fleet manager.

keithb1

Let me say I have enjoyed reading the articles from Highlander buyers. I need a crash course in car buying especially since I need a car within 2 weeks. For my entire professional career I have had the use of a company leased vehicle. I am changing companies and will receive a car allowance of $300.00 per month. I really like the looks of the Highlander. It meets my needs to entertain professionals, adequate towing capacity, ample storage space, and mechanically reliable. I would like to purchase a new HL but may have to settle for a used one. Here are some basic questions I have. How do you find the invoice price of a specific vehicle at a specific dearlership? Do you have to go to the dealership to get it? Will they email it to you? Is there a website you can go to for that information? Are the KBB and Edmunds.com suggested prices for used vehicles reliable? I have seen large differences between the two. What is an acceptable offer for a used vehicle without offending the salesperson- 5%, 10%,20% off? Like I said I am such a novice at this process. Thanks in advance for your responses.
Keith

stever

Dealers make a lot of money on used cars - more than on new ones, so tread carefully. Kelley is a dealer service - Edmunds exists for the consumer, so compare prices with that in mind (What is the "Kelley Blue Book" Price?).

I suggest doing an Appraisal on any used one you find, and using TMV if you go new. And check the articles under the Tips link here, especially Confessions of a Car Salesman.

Steve, Host

dc_driver

Keith,

  I have personally found that using the Internet to search dealers inventories and then asking for their best price is the easiest way to buy a new car. Usually, Internet sales managers do not play games and will offer their lowest price up front. I know in the DC area, you can find AWD V6 fairly loaded HL's for about 26K. If you do want a used car, do you have Carmax in your area? I have several co-workers who bought used from them and swear by them (good prices, warranties, inspected cars, no haggle dealing, etc).

keithb1

Steve, DC Driver
Thanks for your comments. I have been reading everything I can regarding tips for buying cars, new or used. ie Consumer Reports, Edmunds.com, Intellichoice, etc. Based on my research it appears the best brands are Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. I am also on the fence regarding leasing or buying and have looked at the profiles of each. My annual mileage will be approximately 20K per year. Do you know anyone who has assumed a lease and their experiences? I am considering taking over the lease for a 2003 Honda Accord with 17 months and 24,000 miles (1400 miles per month) left before additional mileage charges of .15 apply. I would rather have the HL but could substitute the sedan for a short period of time. I just do not want to commit to a 36/48 month lease at this time. DC Driver. I do have Carmax here in Orange Co. California and plan to check them out. Thanks again for your thoughts and advice.
Keith

hondababe

Any suggestions on a good Toyota dealer in San Antonio or Austin, Texas area? I am trading in my CR-V for a Highlander.

casanova2

Taking over a lease is, in general, not a good idea, I'll tell you why. The depreciation on a new vehicle is non-linear; that is, most depreciation occurs in the first 2 years or so of ownership, thereafter it slows down. In a lease, however, you are paying a fixed amount every month from date of purchase to end of lease.

If you plot a graph, what you'll see is that, by taking over a lease mid-way through or thereabouts, you are on the bad end of the payment curve and are in reality paying more than the lease justifies. The person who owned it before you had lease payments that were SMALLER than the depreciation on the vehicle, you will have lease payments that are HIGHER than the depreciation on the vehicle.

So, the rule of thumb with leases is, do not take over a lease unless you have very, very specific reasons for doing so, you are getting a bad deal.

dc_driver

Keith,

  If you are going to put 20K miles per year on your vehicle, I would suggest not leasing since you will pay extra for this (unless you purchase the car at the end of the lease, but to me that negates many of the positives of leasing in the first place). Instead, I would recommend buying a 1-2 year old vehicle with low miles on it since your vehicle will depreciate more than the person who drives 10-12K a year. Carmax will also transfer any used HL you find at any other Carmax dealers for a resonable price. You should easily be able to find a V6 HL with less than 20K miles on it for 22-25K. Having previously leased a Volkswagen, I can tell you that I will never lease again. Most of the leasing issues that I had were specifically with Volkswagen, but I swore I would never lease again
  I currenltly own a 2002 Altima V6, and am very happy with this car. It has had zero problems, and you can definitely get a loaded one (Bose, sunroof, V6, leather) for under 25K. The Altima has a ton of leg room too, and is a very fun car to drive. I am looking to replace my wife's car with either a Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, or 2005 Subaru Outback... Let is know how it works out, and good luck!

keithb1

DC Driver
Thanks so much for your advice. What a coincidence. Before reading your latest advice/response I have come to realize my best scenario would be to buy a 1-2 yr. old car with low mileage as you recommended. Here's why. I want to spend $15k-$20K maximum. Preferably $15K, put $5K down and finance $10K with my home equity line at 4.66% (interest tax deductible). My goal is to stay as close to the $300.00 car allowance as possible for obvious reasons. Another coicidence is your mentioning the Altima. My curiosity has been picked by advertising and low lease payments for this vehicle. The reviews in Consumer Reports have positive so I will give it a test drive. My personal preference is to get away from a sedan for awhile for reasons stated earlier (towing, Home Depot runs, and the experience of driving something different) If I had my way I would be driving a pickup truck w/shell so an SUV is an acceptable compromise for the time being. I have checked out Carmax and have found some vehicles of interest. Will they still deal off their No Haggle Price? The blue book pricing stated on their website for each vehicle is higher than KBB states. Just another sales game I guess. Well, I am down to 1 1/2 weeks to find a vehicle. Please respond to my question and thanks again for your continued help and advice.
Keith

casanova2

I just purchased a black '04 HL and I turned down the overpriced simonizing. I got a quote however for protective 3M paint film and installation on the grill, fenders, hood, side mirrors, and other forward facing areas for $450+tax.

My question is, is it the considered opinion of otheres on this board that such an outlay will repay me when I come to sell or trade the car in in, say, 3 years or so?

stever

Options may help the car sell faster, but generally don't add much value when it's time to trade it in.

Steve, Host

dc_driver

Keith,

  Carmax is 100% no haggle, so you do not need to worry about them honoring thier price. 15-20K might be a stretch for a low mileage SUV, but check out the Subaru Forrester.. I test drove one about a year ago and really liked it. You should be able to pick one up for less than 20K. They are fun to drive, practical, and very safe. A Toyota Rav4 or Honda CRV might make sense as well.. As for KBB, there is the KBB dealer price (what a dealer is going to give you and charge for a used car, and KBB non-dealer, what you can expect to pay if you bought and sold privately, ie. no dealer.. Check out www.autotrader.com for used cars as well...