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Comments
The dealer did say that it is hard to find the LEs with #7. He was surprised that it was coming in.
Bev
: )
Mackabee
Even if I didn't get anything off, it would still be worth my purchase. If I keep my current Chrysler van, I'd have to pay a lot of money to maintain it. Can't wait to get my Sienna!!!
Originally, I was supposed to get a Red XLE w/ GJ/#16 (leather, DVD, moonroof, traction control, side air bags, heated seats, and a bunch of other stuff) and CF (floor mats $196 MSRP). It was coming from the factory and supposed to arrive May 15. MSRP was $35,511, and I was getting $34,211 plus tax and licenses. There was also another Red XLE w/ GJ/#16 available sooner, but it also had a bunch of other options I didn't want to pay for like N1 (auto dimming mirror - $199 MSRP) and Z1 (floor mats, cargo nets, first aid kit - $274 MSRP).
The sales manager really wanted to book the sale this month, so he gave me the one with the N1 and Z1 for essentially the same price - $34,238. So I get the car about 3 weeks earlier with a few freebie options for $27 more. Savings now comes out to $1550 off MSRP.
Everything has been a breeze so far, and I'm am anxious to take delivery next week. The Internet Sales Mgr was incredibly responsive and a pleasure to deal with. Very up front with details and best offers. I would gladly refer people to him. Other Bay Area dealers were either really slow to respond or evasive in quotes or not close to matching the deal I got at Dublin. If I worked harder, I may have been able to find a better deal, but I was fairly thorough over the course of about two days effort. So for the amount of work and time I've invested, I was happy to take this deal in a heartbeat.
Now the questions ...
I was handed off to a finance guy to complete the paperwork and hadn't done my homework as well here. Here's what was tacked on to the $34,238:
$45 - document fee
$268 - license fees
$5 - California tire fees
$2828.35 - California sales tax (ouch! wish I lived in Virginia or somewhere else with lower state sales tax)
I have no idea if the license fee is reasonable and/or negotiable. The rest seem reasonable, especially since there's no TDA or other stuff that I've seen other people write/complain about.
Also, I'm thinking about getting the 7yr/75k Platinum warranty. Dealer quoted $1300, but I think I would take it for closer to $1000. Four extra years of warranty on things like the DVD, sunroof, power doors and liftgate, heated seats, etc seems like it would pay off.
Finally, I probably made the mistake of taking the maintenance pre-pay. 11 scheduled maintenance visits including 15K, 30K, and 45K for $1088 (discounted from $1299). The dealer showed me estimates of the 15K, 30K and 45K service alone, which came out to well over $1000. Since I regularly take our cars into the dealer for all scheduled maintenance, I figured with the oil changes and other visits, it would save money. Now that I've come home and read the articles and postings about the maintenance pre-pay, I'm thinking I shouldn't have. Or at least I should have negotiated it down further. I did call a couple dealers and get varying estimates of 30K service from $429 to $499. 45K service was in the mid to high $200s.
Any advice here would be much appreciated. I did call the finance guy back and he pleasantly said we could revisit both the Platinum extended warranty and the pre-paid service when I go pick up the car next week. To be clear, this stuff has nothing to do with the Internet Sales Mgr. This is with the finance guy, who did not do any pressure sales of any of this stuff, but merely laid out these options and provided some cost/payoff comparisons. I have not placed any deposit and intend to pay in full at pickup. Though I signed the contract today, I am willing to make a big stink if they won't let me change my mind about the pre-paid service if it turns out not to be a good deal or if the license fees turn out to be excessive. I can't imagine they will want to lose the sale in what so far has been an excellent experience that will lead to many referrals.
Sorry for the extremely long post. Hope some of it is helpful for others and hope I get some insight as well.
Prepaid Maintenance Plans
and congrats on the new van!
Steve, Host
I did read that article, which is what made me start to worry after I got home from signing the contract today with the prepaid maintenance. However, the article's $250 estimate for 30K service seems pretty low for a Sienna. That's why I called two dealers and asked the service departments for how much it would cost if I brought in my 2002 Sienna for 30K service (I specifically called the service depts and pretended I had a 2002 Sienna because I wanted to be sure they weren't inflating their estimates for prospective customers of the pre-paid plan). The estimates I got were $499 and $429. If those are really accurate, then I don't feel so bad about getting the pre-paid plan. Even considering the time value of money (especially in today's down market), I think I come out ahead with the plan if I do all the scheduled maintenance and oil changes.
Thanks again for your input, Steve.
Dealers sometimes "pad" the services over what the manual recommends. Manufacturers sometimes gloss over needed stuff too (supposedly), so the cost of ownership for their models will look lower than the competition.
Steve, Host
There were some $650 worth of extra options on the van, of which I consider the running side-board ($350) the only truly junk option (in my opinion). I negotiated for these options at cost. And, the van was available for pick-up immediately, and I thought of the $350 as the cost of getting it immediately.
On Friday, I was still getting responses from various dealers in the OH, PA, MD, WV region (I'd spammed some 75 dealers) and then the Internet Mgr at Bennett called me at 4pm on Friday, and we had a deal within 15 minutes. I live in the Pittsburgh area, where the max. 2 dealers would come off MSRP was $500 (since I had no trade-in). BTW, the lowest deal I got was $750 over invoice from Performance Toyota in Wooster, OH. But, OH dealers can only order few option packages (LE#1,3 and LE#5- I think). You can check from the toyota site, by giving the Wooster,OH zip code. That was the dealbreaker for me. I wanted the LE#7.
Lastly, a few tips:
1. The @gettoyota.com email addresses which you get on the toyota site for dealer-locator doesnt work. These are for dealers who dont have websites (or distinct email addresses or contact forms).
2. Check your financing numbers from dinkytown.net. I should have chosen the toyota financing at 4.99% which would have allowed me to get back a $400 student discount, instead of the bank financing 4.2%. My mistake-not the dealers.
The Sienna seems like a very nice van. I think we will enjoy it. Thanks for everything- Edmunds and all you Townhall folks. I would have probably paid MSRP eventually (AND waited 3 months) if not for you all.
-sr15
P.S: Very sorry for the longish post.
Peace, Becky
: )
Mackabee
dtd98
-sr15
: )
Mackabee
I am near Cleveland, Ohio, but several of the packages aren't available here, so I am completely willing to drive to PA or surrounding areas and will even be in TN at the end of May....any suggestions??
How do we get them to the 2-3% over invoice? I am willing to travel a few hours if necessary. Anyone have any suggestions?
ajsako@earthlink.net
Toyota dealer in Wooster,OH is giving $750 over invoice. Good luck.
-sr15
Thanks for the feedback we received from this site. Gave us a lot of insight in what to look for.
Would appreciate suggestions on getting a good deal in Maryland and would like some feedback from owners of LE8 or CE8. During our test drive last week, my wife and I were really bothered by the second row passenger side seatbelt. Do the 8 passenger Siennas have a better seatbelt arrangement?
In general it should be one of the best fitting belts on the car for most users (aside from the very tall). It allows the seat to fold forward with out having it get in the way of the person getting in or out of the 3rd row.
The 8 passenger has the belt attached to the pillar behind the sliding door for the two outer seats and is exactly like the one you didn't like on the center seat. On the 8 passenger, the outer passenger side seat cannot be mounted in the center, it can be removed leaving the narrow center seat and the left side seat. The other arrangement is to have the two outer seats only and remove the center seat for a walk through area.
Thanks for your description of the 8 passenger seating arrangement. Not what the dealer described. Probably makes sense for us to find an 8 and try it out!
Any insight to offer??
Thanks so much!
Good luck.
-sr15
dtd98
First I thought I got a good deal but after browsing on this site I think I paid too much. I saw someone posting saying he got it for 19000.
Is there someone who paid pretty similar price.
I think I could have got an LE symphony.
Thanks so much for all of your help!
-April
Another dealer which contacted me today was Conicelli Toyota who said he'd have matched any deal-even 2% over Invoice. I dont know if it was a lot of hot air, given I'd already told him that I'd got my Sienna. Still, you can try contacting them and try twisting their arm by mentioning the Wooster,OH quote and Bennett Toyota's quote.
A couple of earlier posts mentioned Del Toyota- 2% over invoice. But I was never able to get in touch with them via email and the front desk wouldnt connect me to the Internet Mgr.
So, that's all the info I've got. Good luck.
-sr15
The great 2% deal going on a bit north of here seems to have had the clamps applied to it, as their offer to me was invoice + 3% + $350, and again, there may be some additional costs buried in their invoice, as my calculations based on their 'invoice' comes out to a slightly higher amount than the above San Diego offer.
Since neither dealer has yet to present me with an actual invoice statement, neither of my calculations are final.
But, since there is no actual vehicle on order, and I simply await what arrives on their lots, and can opt to accept or decline, I guess that gives me opportunity to check around some more. It seems to me that we are all starting to get more and more wiggle room as time goes on.
to California. Other dealer says CE will have to
be ordered and can take 3-4 months.
I do not see CEs on any local dealer's inventories.
Why?
Can you post the name of the dealer in San Diego that's offering you a discount? All of the dealers
I've contacted locally are refusing to budge from
MSRP, and told me just to take the offer from the LA
area.
Thanks,
Arul
Not unless you need the van immediately, my guess you will have to wait a few more months for a CE. It may be better to wait anyway. Let them get all the bugs out.
My question is, how long should I wait to see some lower prices? We really need to have something by the end of August (we already have three children!), do you think things will change much by then? Also if we have to "order" then, and there is still a wait, we will be in a very tough spot :+)
Please let me know your thoughts on this!
April
ajsako@earthlink.net
Elizabeth
My question is, how long should I wait to see some lower prices? We really need to have something by the end of August (we already have three children!), do you think things will change much by then? Also if we have to "order" then, and there is still a wait, we will be in a very tough spot :+)
Please let me know your thoughts on this!
April
ajsako@earthlink.net
Having said that, there are major differences in the situations. The Honda basically had no credible competitor while the Toyota has the Honda. Honda made something like 30,000 the first year, while Sienna production was up to 70,000 / year in March. Etc. etc.
So basically, nobody knows how long it will take for prices to come down. It seems to me that the deals that were available in March are harder to find now because there are a lot more people shopping for the Sienna now that the national advertising campaign has hit. Also the mood of the nation is on the upswing, the economy is getting better, the war is less threatening, etc.
I think it depends on how fast Toyota is able to ramp up production (i.e. add a second shift?). My guess is that they will move slowly to avoid mistakes, so it will be 6 months to a year before supply matches demand, but your guess is as good as mine.
LE with BW pakacge (power slide door, traction and stability control, curtain air bag...)
$27665. Same as the MRSP!
Anyone got better deal in Chicago?
Thanks
Also, any idea when Nav will be available?
Thanks
Navigation is out in the XLE, not the limited. I have an XLE with pkg 19 which includes Navigation and DVD. My wife got the minivan and I got the toys.
name? I would like to contact him to get deal
you got. It is not too far for me to drive home
because I line in Austin.
Thanks.
I am looking for way down the road (end of year, Feb at latest) but just want to know whether I should start looking at places out of state to get that pkg.
Thanks!