Need advise, buying new car & what did you pay?

[yecats]

I am looking to buy a new Toyota Carolla or Yaris (I need to get great gas mileage) and car really can't go over about 16K. It has been nearly 12 years since I last bought a new car so I am looking for advise as to how to get the salesmen down on the price or best time to buy (is it better to get a 2008 now or go for 2009). Any advice/help on getting a great deal and if you own one of those two toyota's how do you like your vehicle and what did you pay for it. Thanks for the help

[momsgoofy]

I just went through this process with DS getting his first car. We were looking for a car that would last him through 2 years of high school and 4 years of college, one that gets good gas mileage, safe, and didn't kill us with the insurance.

We looked at...
2007 and 2008 Ford Mustang, which I said no to after driving it...too much power for a new driver, the worst gas mileage and insurance was high. (I just had to appease him by looking...lol)
2008 Pontiac G5...decent gas mileage, 4 cylinder so not too much power, insurance was the lowest on this car, but it just didn't drive as nice as the others.
2009 Toyota Corolla...the local dealer told me that it's hard to find any 2008 models since the 2009 was just released. This is a great car on gas mileage, safety, and insurance. The problem for us was that DS really wanted the "S" model (sporty), but the dealer couldn't get any on the lot or when they did they flew off so quickly.
2008 Mazda 3 i touring value package...this is the car we ended up with because it gets good gas mileage (24 city/31 highway), high rating for safety, has front, side and curtain airbags, ABS, and the insurance wasn't the worst. DS & I were both impressed with the sporty-ness factor. It handles great on the road and for those who like a manual, it comes with a "sport stick" I think it's called...means you can have it in straight automatic or you can manually shift the gears yourself without a clutch. We both like the feature that allows DS to connect his ipod to the stereo so no need of the big 6 disc changer.

Now, all the cars we were looking at were pretty basic/ base package vehicles...automatic transmission, power locks and windows, ABS, single CD player. They were all starting in the $17,500 range around here so if you're not willing to go over 16K, you may need to look at the Toyota Yaris as it was less expensive. Frankly, the 4 door Yaris is nice...tried to get DS to look at it, but he didn't like it as much.

Best advice? Knowledge is power!

Look online at the car sites...Ford, Toyota, etc. to see what the car you want prices out at then go to the following sites to see what is really being paid.
www.edmunds.com (excellent source with reviews)
www.kbb.com (kelly blue book)
www.nada.com

Check out the cars you are interested in with Consumer Reports either in the magazine or online if you have access.

Know if there are any rebates available to you. (The pontiac had a $1500 rebate available to us, which would lower the price.)

Know your bottom line price and stick to it.

Don't hesitate to consider a used car if it's right for you.

Don't hesitate to barter with the sales person. DS told the guy that if he wanted to leave the dealership logo sticker on the car then the sales guy better knock off $1000 because that is what it cost to advertise on his car. I about died when he said that to the salesman, but you know what? They removed that ugly logo.

Once you know the car you want, if you have several dealers in your area, go to them all and see which one can give you the best deal, best service and feels right for you. When I bought my last car, one dealer was really pushy, wanted me to sign a paper saying if they could find the car I was looking for (I was very specific on what I wanted) at a specific price that I would buy it. I said no and the sales manager got kinda mad and said to me, "Well, if we're going through the trouble of locating this vehicle and all you're gonna go to another dealership to see if you can get a better deal, then I wanna be sure you're gonna buy from us." I just stood up and said to him, "Thanks for you time. I'm sorry that you can't help me find the car I want to buy." I felt like (and should have) said, "Buddy, if you can't deal with that kind of situation, then you better get out of sales cause that is the name of the game."

Also, the local Toyota dealership lost any of my future business after the fact. The salesman knew we were very interested in the Corolla S as I'd asked him to call me as soon as one showed up. Well, about a week later he called to tell me they still didn't have any, but one of the sales members bought one and I could come look at it. (Yeah, like the person would let me go test drive his personal car.) When I politely told him, thank you, but no, we had opted for one of the other cars we were looking at, he asked which one so I told him. Then I added, "but thank you very much for you time and assistance..." and before I could finish the guy hung up on me. So, if you get treated poorly, either let them know it or don't deal with them.

Lastly, as a woman I have found some salesmen to be a bit too uh, macho for my taste...too much of the little lady attitude and I don't care for that. When I was looking at the mustangs I was checking out the tire size to see if they were high performance or not since I know they cost more to replace and the sales guy was looking at me like I was nuts.

Best of luck to you in your new purchase!

[golfgal]

See if you can find a used Corolla, that will help keep your costs down. Memorial Day weekend is usually a BIG sale weekend for car dealerships so that will help. We bought our old Corolla during a Memorial Day sale, 19 years ago. It is probably the best car on the market. It is well built, great gas mileage and rarely needs repairs. The guy we sold our car to a few years ago is STILL driving it. Other then general things like tires, brakes, etc. the only 'repair' we did was putting in a new starter.

Do your homework on the car. Go to Edmunds.com and see what the car should sell for then go in and offer less. If the dealership won't take your price, walk away. Toyota's don't have the markup on them that American cars do but there is still wiggle room on the price, especially these days.

[corndog]

1) Learn and understand what holdback is
2) Share it with the dealer

[nannerbadnanner]

Do your negotiating via the internet instead of at the dealership if you already know what you want and are prepared to buy. I just bought a new (used) car this week, and I reached an agreement with the internet sales manager before going into the dealership. The general sales manager tried to backtrack when I got there so I just walked out. He chased me out to my car and I got the deal I had already agreed to with the internet manager.

Since we knew what we wanted, I watched prices on www.autorader.com and was ready to move when I found the right price. I also used www.edmunds.com. I like the forums because people post what they are actually paying in the "real world" so that really helped me know what a good deal was.