In late 2003, I went to my local Toyota dealer to ask if they had any old 2003 models around, as the 2004s had come out. He said no, Toyotas sell fast and they never have a supply of older ones. He said also that he was paying almost as much for used Toyotas as he was selling the new ones for. In other words, little or no discounts to buyers.

It is probably because typically, a Toyota is known to run forever. They stay on the road for a long time. I had never had a Toyota, until my DH bought me a truck for his birthday (LOL) and I love it. I would say you get your money's worth with them.

You need to see more than one dealer. The biggest dealer in our city lies like a dog, anything to sell. That dealer told me there weren't any white Nissan Muranos in the state of Kansas. I found out the same day there were 3 in a neighboring town.

My husband bought a Toyota Rav-4 in 1998 so that when my oldest daughter turned 16 she could have a car (she is now almost 23) and has very little go wrong with it.
I myself own a 1992 Toyota 4-Runner. The only two things that have had to be replaced were the raditor and the clutch cable. The SUV is 17 yrs old and I have spent less than $600.00 for repairs -- would have cost probably twice that, OMG $1,200, except that my nephew is a Toyota dealership mechanic and only charges me for the part. YES!!! Way to go Toyota!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I've purchased my Toyotas (three of them now), I decided precisely what I want and then call the dealers and say, "I want a 2003 Toyota Camry LE with premium wheels, factory sunroof, and mudflaps. I will be bringing you a check and I need to know the dollar amount of the check you'll need. Give me your best price, as I'm shopping around."

I've had real good success with that method, with prices varying by $1,500 on the same exact car.

I don't think there is a lot of buffer in the Toyota prices, but I understand that right now - car sales are way down.

BTW, I've always read that the most economical way to buy a car is to buy it BRAND NEW, take good care of it and keep it until it's time for the junk yard.

We purchased a new Rav 4 for my daughter last year. I went online and found out what dealers in my area had the exact model we wanted and I also ordered the Rav 4 car report from Consumer Reports to use in negotiating the price. Then my daughter and I went to the 4 dealers that had the car she wanted and bought it where we got the best price. We also had an old, old Pontiac as a trade in. It turned out that the dealer in the lowest socio-economic neighborhood gave us the best deal. My husband thinks it's because he was actually going to sell the Pontiac where the dealers in the more expensive neighborhoods would wholesale it to auction. We also got them to throw in the first oil change and a cargo liner for the back.

All the dealers told me that there is little negotiating room, especially on the Rav 4 since it is one of their most popular models and consistently ranked toward the top of its' class. After we got to what we thought was the best price I then asked them if the price would be any better if I wrote a check on the spot or leased it. Sometimes dealers get incentives from the manufacturers for certain types of purchases.

There is more wriggle room with some models. We got a GX470 from Lexus two years ago and we were able to deal a little more and this was before the gas and economy crises became full blown.

Good luck.

I'd love to have a Rav4. DD recently got one. They have lots more room than they did in 2005 when we got our Matrix or I'd have gotten one then. The next year they made them bigger.

My DD was looking at RAV4s, Mazda3 wagons and Vibes. We ended up getting her a 05 Vibe at a very good price off Craigslist. The Vibe is a Pontiac, but has a Toyota engine (the same as the Corolla I think). It gets very good reviews from ConsumerReports.

We just sold her 94 Toyota Celica last week. It had been a really good car for her, the only major cost was a clutch a couple years ago.

You can never go wrong with Toyota!! Look at a dealer in a highly populated area. They tend to be $2000 cheaper than small town dealers. (Not sure where you're located). This is from my DH who sold Toyota's many years ago. :)

Blessings,:
Haley

I had two Toyota Camry's, one an SE and the other an LE. Now I have a Nissan Sentra, and wish I had my Camry LE back, wah!

I first bought a Toyota Camry 1990 brand new. Then I sold it for top dollar and bought a 2001 brand new. I just sold it (top dollar) and bought a new 2009 Toyota Highlander Limited. I love it!! My credit union as a rep that does all the leg work for you, finds you what you want/color/additions/everything! I gave him 3 choices, (Lexus/Toyota Sport SUV/Highlander SUV) and he came back with 2 deals, they couldn't find a 2009 Lexus like I wanted because the 2010 just came out and were quite a bit more money, so people were snapping up the 09's.

Because I hate going from dealer to dealer talking and haggling and most of the time being hustled I loved that I could have someone else do the work for me. He got me a good deal, it was fair and I told him I would not spend the first amount the dealer offered. I wanted to stay in my budget. He called the dealer and they came down! But then again the credit union and those dealers want to have a good relationship for everyone's benefit. The credit union has the "buying power" and I don't think I would purchase any other way now that I've experienced what this purchase was like...awesome!

If I were you I would do a little homework from the internet and see what the average price of the car is, then make copies of exactly what you want. And if you don't like what you're hearing (the usual "blah,blah,blah") tell them thanks and start walking away. See what happens. And there are companies out there that has reps that do what my credit union does. Costco is one of them. They have a "buying service" for cars! I think "Cars Direct" does the same thing...at least you could get some prices.

Sorry to be so long winded. I am and hope to continue being a Toyota person. All my cars have been outstanding performers, very low repair costs (if any) and they run like a champ!

Susan

I bought an FJ Cruiser about 3 years ago (the spring they were introduced). Personally? I think they WERE much lower than comparable cars from other lines. But they were in high demand, the company wasn't manufacturing very many of them for sale in N. America--and you're right--Not much wiggle room on price. We got them down a tiny bit, and got a few (negligible) extras tossed in.

DD had the same experience when she was buying a used Toyota--very difficult to get much off on the price. But we're both more than satisified with our cars and the prices we paid for them

I think the thing is with Toyota, the quality is so high, you're getting more than you would with a comparably priced car of another brand. I don't think I've ever met a dissatisified Toyota owner, ever. Everyone who has one, seems to love it. And just look around you when you're driving down a busy road--I find usually about every 3rd or 4th car is a Toyota. Way more than you would think, given the number of various brands out there. You get what you pay for--Toyotas don't discount because they don't have to to sell their cars, AND they know their cars are worth the price.

My dh likes to go online and find out what others paid for a particular model. He takes those numbers and calls around. Whoever is willing to deal with him gets his business. Dh is willing to travel to surrounding states. The local business doesn't have the monopoly if they aren't willing to negotiate.

Dh drives a Toyota and loves it. He's be trying to talk me into a new vehicle. He wants it to be a Toyota, but I haven't really thought about what I want yet because I really like my paid for vehicle. It was top of the line when we bought it. I still love it because we got the features that mean the most to me.

I don't think Toyota plant workers make lower wages, there's a plant in Georgetown KY and they make really good money from what I hear from people who have family that work there. They're one of the most sought out jobs in this area.

I've owned 3 Toyotas and my family has owned quite a few more and I plan to buy another one within the next year. Won't be new, though. I drive too many miles to work and I have two kids coming up on college soon that I'll be helping pay for.

I just got home a little while ago. I appreciate all the responses. It sounds like Toyota doesn't give incentives because they don't have to, not because there's not much mark up. Fair enough... I just wish the sales consultant wouldn't make stuff up (ok, I'm a dreamer).

Kath, I'm actually glad to hear that Toyota auto workers make good money. People around here (where there has been a long standing GM plant) are always blaming GM workers for the price of cars, even though labour is a very small percentage of the cost of a car. They always say Toyota workers get paid about 1/2 what GM workers get paid. I just think that's spiteful thinking and.. oh well, I have lots of thoughts on that but I'll leave it there.

Anyway, if I do decide to buy a vehicle, I'll consider a Toyota, even though I'm not happy that the dealership is moving farther away.

Supply and demand. I was told by a Toyota salesman that they don't have to have specials with the number of cars they sell without specials. At that time they also did not lower the interest rate or give any discounts.
Lynn

Hmm, I just heard on the news last night that Toyota sales are waaaayy down, so I'm not so sure about the wiggle room. It definitely helps to look and sound like you know what you're talking about, and that you won't go lower than X dollars. Do check out Consumer Reports as they will give you the baseline price (what's that called??) for a small fee. My dd's share a Corolla and love, love, love it!