Car discount, what would you expect?

[tammymacb]

I truly hate car shopping. But, it's time to get DH a new "yet used" vehicle. We've been watching craigslist, autotrader and we were planning on driving to CarMax tomorrow to check out cars and prices.

Well, DH was on CarMax site yesterday when one of his coworkers noticed and asked him what he was looking to buy. My husband told him he was looking for a used, Toyota SUV. His friend said, "Why didn't you let me know?" DH said, "Why would I tell you?"

Well it turns out that this friend's brother owns two large Toyota dealerships about and hour or two from our home. The friend called his brother ( the dealership owner ) who called my DH to see what he was looking for. He told him as a friend of his brothers, he could get him a great deal.

We've been looking on his site and he told DH to call him with any he's interested in, he'll give DH a price and it can be yes or no. No pressure.

What kind of discount would you expect from the OWNER of a car dealership who is doing a brother a favor? I have no idea what to expect.

 

[cvjw]

We just bought a new car last weekend - a Subaru, not a Toyota, but we were at the Toyota dealership. We have bought several new cars from this Toyota dealership in the past, and they told us they would give us a great deal. We were looking at a 2012 Highlander, with a sticker price of $32,500. They told us we could drive out for $30,000 - we thought that was a pretty good deal, as taxes are about $2000 on top of the $32,500 sticker price.

FYI, they were really pushing the bigger Toyota trucks and SUV's - I don't think they are selling as well as the smaller trucks and SUV's - you could probably get an even better deal on one of those.

 

[tlbwriter]

Honestly, I would not expect (or ask for) a bigger discount than any other customer could get just by asking. Go to Edmunds.com and see what those vehicles are selling for in your area.

 

[kermit116]

One of my co-workers used to work in sales at a large car dealership for about 15 years. He once told me that a standard "I know somebody at the dealership" discount was for the dealership to offer the vehicle at invoice price rather than sticker. The percentage discount will vary depending on the price of the vehicle. Now, this was for new cars but I could imagine if you look at MSRP vs. invoice on the car you want, you will probably get an idea of what kind of discount to expect. And, like PP said, you can always ask for a better discount, I just wouldn't count on getting a huge discount simply based on knowing someone at the dealership.

 

[tammymacb]

Thanks.

And for the record, "we" didn't ask for any discount. The call was made by the owners brother and DH didn't even know that his coworker had an "in".

That being said, the reason I'm trying to figure it out is that, like I said, the dealership is between an hour to two away. So, if the discount isn't worth the drive, we'll be looking at other options.

 

[swilshire]

I always shoot for invoice price and that would probably be about what a friend of a relative could expect.

Sheila

 

[angwill]

I truly hate car shopping. But, it's time to get DH a new "yet used" vehicle. We've been watching craigslist, autotrader and we were planning on driving to CarMax tomorrow to check out cars and prices.

Well, DH was on CarMax site yesterday when one of his coworkers noticed and asked him what he was looking to buy. My husband told him he was looking for a used, Toyota SUV. His friend said, "Why didn't you let me know?" DH said, "Why would I tell you?"

Well it turns out that this friend's brother owns two large Toyota dealerships about and hour or two from our home. The friend called his brother ( the dealership owner ) who called my DH to see what he was looking for. He told him as a friend of his brothers, he could get him a great deal.

We've been looking on his site and he told DH to call him with any he's interested in, he'll give DH a price and it can be yes or no. No pressure.

What kind of discount would you expect from the OWNER of a car dealership who is doing a brother a favor? I have no idea what to expect.

Look at prices at Carmax's Toyota branch in Kenosha. They sell new Toyotas there. When we bought ours in 2007 I called every dealer around me in a 100 mile radius and none could even match Carmax's price on a new Toyota. Make sure the specs are the same when pricing as well. I would see if he could even match the Carmax price and if not he isn't giving you a special deal.

 

[tlbwriter]

That being said, the reason I'm trying to figure it out is that, like I said, the dealership is between an hour to two away. So, if the discount isn't worth the drive, we'll be looking at other options.

We usually buy a cars in a bigger city about an hour away, and are able to get to a "starting point" online through their internet sales department. I'm like you; I don't want to drive all that way just to find out they're not going to give me what I want. Are you going to be trading a vehicle too, or just buying?

 

[Irin997]

We've been looking on his site and he told DH to call him with any he's interested in, he'll give DH a price and it can be yes or no. No pressure.

You have your answer right here. Just call the guy with what you're looking for and it'll save you a trip if you don't like his price.

 

[Sadie22]

I go with Consumers Reports Rock Bottom Price. Cost of the vehicle less any rebates and incentives and dealer holdbacks. Less than dealer invoice.

 

[the Fidge]

FYI when purchasing from a Toyota dealer I also purchased their repair program. It was a life saver, my mechanic told me out of all the programs offered Toyota has the best which at the time the cost of the repair would have been 1800.00 and all I did was sign. Something to consider when purchasing a used car. Good luck and happy driving your new to you car!