Buying a new car

Why do you have to buy today? Dealership is going to take advantage of you because of that. There is a lot of research that goes into car buying. What model are you going to buy for the Tacoma? I'll post more advice in a bit, but don't jump into it and don't let them know that you are wanting to trade in.

 

Alright, so here is my advice:

• Ran a quick value check on your car, based on what you stated (not knowing color or any additional mods, if any) and as an outstanding condition (Dealer unlikely to view this way, it has a trade in value of $17,700 per edmunds). Dealer will offer you somewhere between $15k - $18k on your trade-in, I doubt you'll get to break even.
• DO NOT negotiate based on "keeping your same note". Dealership will prey on this and will just fudge the numbers around to land you at your target monthly price. Instead negotiate based on final sale price, with EVERYTHING included (i.e. tax, title, doc fee, etc).
  • With this in mind, what's your credit looking like? Do you know what your credit score is?
    • If you have great credit, Toyota currently has a special on Tacoma's (and other cars) if you buy new of 1.9% interest (this is assuming you have credit in the 780 range and up).
    • Financing department will usually be sleezy and try to hook you up on a larger interest rate initially if you haven't done your research.
    • I would look into financing independent from the dealership through a credit union, some credit unions have deals with dealerships where there is a discount on the price of the car if you go through them.
• Leave your emotions at home. Dealerships prey on individuals that are all excited and can't keep their emotions in check. You have to be ready to walk out if you don't like the deal and be firm, dealerships will give you a bunch of idiot excuses how you are hurting their feelings, blah blah just to get you to stay.
• Know the type of vehicle you want. I'm not sure what model you are looking for, but if it's not a Tacoma Limited or PRO, there is likely plenty of inventory and I'd recommend you email and text with a few dealers before trying to close on a deal. This requires a ton of patience since most will want to get you to come in. Don't go in, it's not necessary, unless you are absolutely ready to buy a car. Don't let them dictate what you do.
• Know the invoice price of the vehicle you want to buy and try to negotiate as close as you can to that price (below if you can). Search "edmunds true car value" to do your research.
• Don't let them know you are interested in trading-in until the very end.
  • If I were you, I'd go to CarMax and get an idea of how much they are willing to pay for your car. I'd also get that same report carmax gives you. You can probably get more at the dealership, but you have to be patient.
• Once you are in finance, I'd reject all the programs they offer you (Extended warranties, GAP insurance, paint protection, etc). It's not worth it.
  • You can go through your car insurance for a cheaper GAP insurance rate if you really want it.
  • You can wait on the extended warranty, your 3/36k should cover you and your 5/60k on the transmission and motor should be good enough. It's a Toyota for goodness sakes, just treat it right and it will be good. Finance guy will give you a bunch of bullshit trying to sell, but their rates are usually much higher. You can find your own third party company if you really want the extended warranty and likely get it at a cheaper rate.

Dealerships are sleazy businesses and they prey on your emotions. They will **** you over if you have not done any research at all and don't know what you are getting yourself into. You don't owe them explanations on anything and if they don't like it then tell them to **** themselves, ultimately they need your business.

Right now, used car market is what people are looking at and dealerships are trying to get all the inventory they can get. New cars are not selling as much. You can get a damn good deal if you are patient.

I just bought a car a week ago and I paid below the invoice price listed on edmunds, which was about $6,000 less than MSRP. I also got as much as possible on my trade in as well. I ended up with a 1.9% interest loan.

Ultimately, my philosophy in the past has been against buying a new car since value depreciates the moment you drive out of the lot, but I chose to go new anyways this time around. I don't know your flexibility nor your finances, but thankfully, my wife and I are in good enough position that we can easily bought a new car and with me negotiating the price down, it made it that much easier to swallow.

 

To answer your questions:

1. Regarding experience buying during COVID, it depends how you feel about social distancing and masks. Russell and Smith Honda allowed me to go on a test drive by myself, all the other dealers did not. Some of the dealers were not wearing their mask correctly and it was annoying. It sometimes depends on the salesperson, if it bothers you, tell them, otherwise walk out. I recommend doing all your shopping online right now until you are ready to truly buy.
2. All dealerships are the same **** to me, they all play the same stupid games, unless they are one of those "No Haggle" dealerships, then experience is different. No recommendations, my experience is that they all suck and are annoying.
3. The warranty you are talking about is just standard warranties for Honda/Toyota vehicles. I can't speak on others. They know they build a solid product, so obviously, warranties are not ridiculous like what Hyundai/Kias offer (no offense).
4. It depends. Usually they say buy at the end of the month or in the fall when the new inventory is coming in (2021) and they are trying to get rid of their 2020s.

 

I have a Tacoma. Dick didn't get any bigger. But I haven't lifted it yet so who knows!

 

By the way, who cares what the hell your wife said lol. I really hope her talking down because of the car you own on you didn't make you feel like any less of a man.

For the record, I think it's crazy that you still have a $20k note and are looking to buy a brand new car. On the plus side, at least you'll maximize the value on your Kia since those don't tend to hold their value well over time. I won't talk you out of it though, I just think you need to be wise about doing a good job negotiating, especially if you are getting a lower end model on the Tacoma that is widely available. You can definitely win the deal if you are patient enough.

 

Leave the significant other at home when shopping and dealing. Its never wise to bring them and let them compare all the features this one or that one has. Just buy the car and surprise them at home, when they have nothing to compare it to, other than the older car you just traded in. That has been the best convenience in my experience so far. Unless, youre the one that goes absolutely ape **** for an extra cup holder or the shiny interior trim.

 

Then I would recommend going to CarMax to get a baseline quote. I'd assume they give you some sort of condition report and why they valued it at what it was, then use that information to send to several dealerships and ask them what's the best they can give you.

No sense in going to the dealerships and wasting your time man. You can definitely do this all through email. Hell, you don't even have to go to CarMax, just provide an honest evaluation of your car.

Here is the info I sent them (this isn't my previous car info).

 

Like others said, go to CarMax before a dealer. They always offer more (well most of the time) and it gives you a baseline on what you may get for your car. An appraisal/offer from them doesn’t take long. And if they will give you what you want, sell it to them instead or use it as dealer leverage.

 

Careful on the monthly payment stuff. You don’t want to finance more that 60 months. It is very easy to calculate what your monthly payment will be using a simple application with finance price and interest rate. Go in with 1.9-2.5% interest in mind and figure out the sales price you need and negotiate the price. Seconded on getting credit union finance quotes

 

I’m coming to you any time I need anything and everything broken down

 

Couple of things I'd recommend.

1. Getting trade in quote up front. Most of the time the offer is only good for so long, so you'll want to wait until you're ready to buy. I'd also recommend Texas Direct Auto for this.
2. I personally wouldn't focus on the monthly payment. Dealerships will try rolling in the extra amount owed on the Kia into new loan and then stretch out the terms if all you're worried about is monthly payment.
3. I highly recommend test driving first in the lot, but not doing any negotiating there. For one, it's just a pain and they try to trap you there, but it's also harder to say no, and more time consuming. I've done my negotiating online for my past two purchases, and you can get more done this way. Emailing several dealers at once is a better way to get more coverage and faster. Plus, you can compare offers real time and pin them against each other. So once you know you're good with the car, go online.

 

It sure is. Minimum will be at least 1 hour. It's annoying that once you decide to purchase it still takes another 2+ hours lol. Wearing you out is part of the game and at some point you'll get fed up and give into their demands.

 

When we bought our subaru, we negotiated online and had our financing in place. Really just needed to sign paperwork. Dang finance guy still kept us there for close to 3 hours (part of it was just waiting for them to be available). Had to continuously decline the extended warranties (he essentially tried to tell us the car wouldn't last). We're about 83k miles into it...so we've last past that factory warranty just fine.

 

I was going to post the same thing lol. I don’t really care about options. 3500$ for some package... I guess. But I have to have Apple CarPlay. I had a 370z before my current car and I liked it. One day I saw a friend with the car I have now with CarPlay and I went that week and traded my car in. It was also nice to have my insurance go down and able to buy regular instead of premium gas. It looks like my next car may be a Tesla though.

 

Sounds like a mature, mutually respectful and solid relationship.

This is awesome advice.

Your biggest leverage will be walking out the door.

 

Get some rims.