Can't understand the pricing on the new trucks

I recently bought my new tundra - not many on the lot - one SR5, limited, 1794 and platinum. I’ve been looking at tundras for 10 weeks, the 19s were a good deal but not many on the lot. Every time I would try to “make a deal” with the salesman by giving a quote under their asking by $1500-2000, they wouldn’t bite - 3 days later called back about the truck and it was sold (happened twice). The last time I went to the dealer, they had a limited in silver and platinum in mesquite brown - platinum was better priced by didn’t like the color, 1794 interior color scheme wasn’t my taste, bought the limited. Wasn’t able to get them down at all, at that point I was worried my trade in was going to breakdown so pulled the trigger on the truck. I love it, if it wasn’t for the trade in I would have waited another 3 months.

 

Because people will pay it.

Thats all there is to it.

If they wont then they will lower the price.

 

Don't go to dealers that have a markup then. For $3,000 you can fly across the country and drive it home and still have money left over.

 

I'd fly to another location and pick up if I knew who was selling at that price. Unfortunately, the pricing of cars and trucks is not transparent like almost every other commodity sold over the internet. I do wonder if the current sales model will continue to hold up as more and more commodity items are sold competitively over the internet. Some of that is already seen with the Carvana (?) ads where used vehicles are sold this way and a car carrier drops the vehicle at your house a couple of days later.

So as practical as what you suggest about flying in is - it is impossible to know what any dealer will sell a truck for without engaging with many of them directly. And since there is no way to know who is willing to deal and who isn't, is not practical to just make random calls to engage with numerous dealers. The distribution of vehicles through dealerships is deliberately not transparent because the dealers do not want to compete with each other.

Thanks to everyone who offered advice and information here - I really appreciate it. Looks like patience is the best course.

 

Go to the dealer in 10/31... if they have what you want on their lot... offer invoice minus any rebate. They will sell you the truck.

 

The dealerships do not give discounts!!! They make you feel like it though...

 

Soooooooooo true

 

I say go a day or so earlier so they can think about it. Make your offer out in the lot and walk away. If they are on sales quota for the month then go back next month or shop around.
I looked around for a couple of months on line then went to some dealers. I make my offer and they countered and that was it no budge. Bastard didn't even come out of the office. Went to the Toyota dealership just down from the road and was kicking tires. They sell a lot of Tundras to the people who work at the plant and also handle the lease plan for employees.

Told the guy I been all over and I want to spend $25K out the door. Big motor etc. Saw my SR5 with leather, CM and said let me know if you can get me that one for $25K and walked to my car. Factory certified and asking 28K or 29K, forget. He called me around lunch the next day and he was ready to sell, he was on quota but the dealerhip was behind for the month. Ended up a $1K over my target with TTL, but my original offer was a lowball. Another caveat was I wrote a check on the spot for it. Basically got it for $24K. The guy who I bought it from was a younger pretty good kid. He said anything that sits on the lot for more than 30 days starts to make them nervous.

 

I'd say don't step foot in a dealership until the price has been agreed upon. It's a great time to buy a vehicle online because you can figure out exactly what everyone else is paying in your area. Negotiate via email, forward the offer from one dealership to the other and make them match the price. Keep going back and forth until someone can't match the price. Negotiating price has never been easier. This will be easier in a month or two when there are more trucks on the lot.

 

It's a good idea. I was buying used so had to see what they had. Pics don't show flaws as well as my eye. I did look on-line for a lot. New is probably different cuz they're going to be close to the same. Tundra has the most confusing option packages I've ever seen.

 

Dealerships are like Casinos, neither are in it to lose money. People buy cars once every what...3 / 5 / 7 years, but they think they got one over on the organization who deals in multiple transactions every single day, 6 - 7 days a week. Right.

 

A lot of dealers won’t even bother wasting time on internet sales at the end of the month. The last couple days dealers will often wheel and deal more than any other time. The end of financial quarters is even better (you just missed September but if you can wait for December... you might get an incredible deal). The other thing is manufacturer to dealer cash comes and goes... and you would never even know about that. Best thing is do a TON of research. Read every “prices paid” thread you can. Go to leasehackr and slick deals and places like that to see what kinds of deals people are getting right now. Set your target at the lowest price. If you have trade, know the value of it (get online quotes from vroom, etc) and if there’s a car max near you get a quote from them too. If they offer you a unicorn deal, be ready to sign on the spot and take delivery that day. Those spur of the moment, last minute end of month deals you sign an hour before the dealership closes on the last day of the month can be the best ones so long as you’ve done your research and know what the going rate is of what you’re looking for.

I leased my 2019 Tundra Crewmax SR5 ORP for $296/month on a 24/12K contract through Ally with a true sign and drive (MSRP was $49,000)... dealer even made my first payment. Did the deal September 28th. No way anyone could get that deal right now. Be patient but be ready to jump on the right offer.

Biggest mistake people make is not doing enough research. If you’re leasing, understand all the variables of a lease (residual, money factor, cap cost, etc). If you’re buying, understand all the ways a dealer makes extra money off the deal (writing you with their bank for financing, low balling your trade, selling you extended warranties and paint protection, etc). Sure the dealer will always make money, but it’s up to you to get the best deal you can and not get ripped off.

 

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I was at my local Toyota Dealer here in the Denver area and they have 89 20’s on the lot. I’m so used to getting at least 10k of of MSRP with my last few Fords that I must say it’s a shock when the Toyota dealer says he can take off 1k lol. I’m going to continue my search for my first Tundra and just take my time to see how pricing goes the next few months.

 

Research the prices paid threads everywhere. Find out the invoice and subtract any incentives. Be patient and make offers at the end of the month on trucks that are sitting on the lot. Shop different dealers. I like my 2017 and 2019 Tundras... but this iteration is ancient. There are and will be deals to be had.

 

There are some dealers that have robust internet departments. Just look around and you will find a salesperson that does strictly net sales.

 

I bought a 2020 platinum last week and think I got a pretty good deal. Went in test drove one in mesquite brown. Didn’t like the color but loved the platinum. I told the dealer to find me an MGM 2020 platinum. In the meantime, I found a couple places that were about 100 miles away from me that had them. Got them to give me prices. Had them send me over quotes, sent this to another dealer and said beat this and I’ll buy it from you. Did this a couple times and brought the quote into the dealer once he found my MGM. He said there’s no way I can give it to you for that price. I said I have no problem driving 100 miles to save 2k. Either match it or I’m walking. In the end I got the 2020 platinum for 50k plus 1k rebate. So 49k plus taxes, titles etc. this also had spray in bedliner, running boards, console tray and moonroof. Also it’s best to get financing before you even go in. I live in Ohio so I got mine through pnc. My credit is in the 800s so I got a great rate for 60 months. The dealer told me what they could offer and it wasn’t close. Banker told me the dealer always adds in extra APR because the banks will give them money for it. They’re basically trying to steal money from you. And tell them to pound any addons like extended warranties, corrosion guard, wheel and tire warranties right up their asses because they wrap them into your payment so you’re paying interest on them. You can buy a great warranty though Toyota for a lot cheaper and pay it at once. In the end don’t let the dealer intimidate you. Own that fucker and be a hardass because you’re trying to get the best deal and not get ripped off and their job is to get as much money out of you as possible.

 

Yep, and here is why. A large majority of Americans have nothing in savings to cover an emergency. But still opt to take on a huge truck or car payment. Living for today and not tomorrow. Not wise.


https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/financial-security-january-2019/

 

The world needs more base model and regular cab trucks.

 

I was at my local Toyota Dealer here in the Denver area and they have 89 20’s on the lot. I’m so used to getting at least 10k of of MSRP with my last few Fords that I must say it’s a shock when the Toyota dealer says he can take off 1k lol. I’m going to continue my search for my first Tundra and just take my time to see how pricing goes the next few months.[/QUOTE]

As of yesterday the three area Toyota dealers had 2, 2 and 4 2020 Tundras on their lots and most of them were lower-trim models.

 

There's a really good write up over in the general Tundra discussion section of this forum on how to get the best price on a new vehicle (takes some work, though).

I agree that part of the higher price is low inventory at the start of the model year but cynically I wonder if Toyota will keep prices somewhat high to "encourage" people to wait for the redesign in a couple years.

 

FWIW. I went on both CARGURUS and Autotrader. I had narrowed it down to model and color. Started emailing all of the dealers within a 200 mi. radius and got the truck I wanted for the price I wanted when all of the local dealers in my area wouldn't deal and told me I'd never get that truck at that price.

 

Like you, it's not hard for me to be cynical about car dealers based on a lifetime of negative experiences, but I don't agree with your thinking about pricing. In fact, I expect Toyota might be most concerned about how they will be able to sell all the 100,000 Tundras (based on past history) they will make this model year, with a new model just ahead. And maintaining price might become more difficult the closer they get to the new model introduction. I could be completely wrong, but I expect the 2020 model pricing will soften the closer it is to that date. Otherwise, if they stiffen up on pricing, they could end up with a pipeline full of unsold trucks when the new model is introduced.

 

I hope that's true because I'm in the market for a truck so, if it's discounted enough to be significantly cheaper than a Sierra, maybe it would be worth the worse fuel economy, lower capacities and potential transmission and TSS issues.

 

I've been a Ford guy for a long time... got a Tundra 10/1 and haven't looked back. It's a beast and a GREAT ride. My local dealer negotiated the price over the phone. Since we were close, I walked in to introduce myself and take the truck for a spin. End of month has always worked well. Tried something new this time around - went in on evening of EOM (9/30) and walked out. They called 8:30am 10/1 and mentioned "we have a deal if you can come in today"... Enjoy. Profile pic looks great.