2018 Tundra SR5 Price Check

Another $10,000 off a new Tundra WOW! I think it's time for me to trade my 2017!

 

Congrats! Thats an awesome looking MGM Tundra!

 

3 Tundra's so far with over $10,000 off each, If that the real deal, I'm trading my 17 in!

 

You know that they will want to get rid of the '18s when the '19s start rolling in. I can't remember if I said it or not but the truck that I bought had sat on the lot for 2 months.

 

The one I'm buying has an invoice date over 6 months old as do quite a few I've seen on lots right now

 

Wait!! they marked it up $7300 because it’s blue, and it’s a 4.6 not 5.7. Who pays anything extra for a factory color? Pretty easy to get the first $7k discount for the paint (which cost them little to nothing extra). A bit of dealer smoke and mirrors on this one. A bit of dealer smoke and mirrors.

 

That could be right!

 

Yeah, I heard a few time's wait till end of month or close to end of year, either way those are amazing deals especially the Platinum, I've never ever heard of 10-14 thousand off with those added options as well!

 

Sorry, this is really long but if it can help you all out in the negotiation trenches then go get them!

I should also point out this negotiation took three days, well 5 if you count the two days I ignored their calls...

Day One 23 July- Call the dealership asked if they had the truck I wanted on the lot. They won't play as nice if they don't have the truck on THEIR lot. Once I knew they had one, I showed up on my motorcycle (not my trade in). BS'd with a group of fleet managers for about 20 minutes who kept trying to get me to take one for a test drive and sit down with one of their salesmen. I politely refused (I said, Why when you are the one who makes the decisions around here [stroked the ego]). I handed him my card and told him to call me when he wanted to sell me a truck, and left.

Day Two 24 July- Fred the fleet manager gave my card to one of their salesmen and he called me three times while I was at work. I didn't answer. On the fourth call, I answered and told the salesmen that he must be desperate to sell me a truck because he's been blowing up my phone all day. He tried the typical "what payment are you looking for?" routine, in which I told him CASH. Then I told him before I come back to the dealership and waste more of his and MY time, I want to close this deal over the phone. Ironically, he drew first blood, which threw me off guard. He said straight up, I can knock 5k off of the asking price. I told him to give me some time to think about it. I called three other dealerships, saved their numbers on my phone (for later face to face negotiations). 2 said they would match the deal however they didn't have the exact color I was looking for (but my target dealership didn't know that). I was talking with a friend of mine who works for a Ford dealership in Texas and told him what I was doing. He reminded me that I should wait until the end of the week because it's close to the end of the month (dealership desperation time). So for the next two days, I ignored several phone calls, (which was harder than I thought it would be!).

Day Three 27 July- At 10:00 AM I call the dealership and asked for Fred. I explained to Fred that the salesperson who he gave my card to, said that the most he could discount off of the truck was 5k, so I was calling him because "if anyone could discount more, you would be the guy to close this deal." I told him 3 other dealerships in the area already told me they would match the 5k off sticker offer, I told him I was returning the dealerships SEVERAL calls to either 1) come to terms and close this deal, or 2) agree to stop calling me. He assured me that HE could make me a very happy person. So I threw out my first offer. 40k...and said nothing (the next person who talks next, loses). There was some long awkward silence for what seemed like an eternity. He breaks first..."I can't even buy a truck from here for that much of a discount". He tells me he would do 6500k. I told him I needed to call the other dealerships and see if they would match the offer because frankly, I wasn't feeling like a very important person, and I thought he was "the man". He assures me that no other dealership could beat that offer, and agrees to let me try.

Noon- he calls me back, I told him I waiting on the other dealership to call back with their offers. I might be able to stop by after I get off of work, and be there by 5.
5:01 PM my phone rings (dealership desperation time is setting in HARD). I told him that I had another dealership make me a better offer and was heading to the bank to get a cashier's check (know he knows I'm serious about buying). He tells me that if I show him proof of their offer, he would match. (hmmm, calling my bluff, smart) I told him I'd stop by, but didn't want to waste too much of his time.
6:00 PM- I show up at the dealership in my (future) trade-in...and this time I brought my secret weapon.....the wife!!!

In the truck, right before I walk in the door of the dealership, I called the salesman from the OTHER dealership..two rings... and hang up.
He calls me back, and tell him I'm talking to the other dealership but I don't understand what they are telling me. He is MORE than happy to explain anything they are trying to tell me, as OTHER dealerships, not his, play these types of games....eyeroll. I agreed to call him back with what they are offering.

Fred comes over and asked for the other dealerships paperwork. I tell Fred, I don't have any paperwork, I deal strictly over the phone. They told me they would discount 8500k but I know you can't match that or beat it, and I'm tired of going back and forth. He says he would match it. I call the dealership in front of him and tell the salesman that he is offering 8500k discount, can you beat it? Crazy enough, he said he would, which makes me very happy! Let me call you back. Time to deploy my secret weapon.

Keep in mind I'm looking at a platinum. The wife speaks up and says, "what about that one?" and points at a Limited. "I mean, it has most of the same things as the platinum, and you won't use half of that stuff anyway." "You told me in the truck that you WANTED this truck, you don't NEED it" "I think the other dealership was willing to make you a lot better offer, let's just go over there and see what they have to say"

Fred walked away, which I thought he wasn't willing to play anymore. So I called the other dealership back, the salesman said dealerships will show you many discounts but attempt to add them back in at the bottom "for accounting purposes". Fred came back while I was on the phone with the other dealership, he told me to hang the phone up because they are not willing to discount 10k off of the truck and sets a paper down on the table showing a bottom line number of 42k. My wife looks at the paper and says, "there isn't anything on here about the trade-in". Thank you wifey...I've trained you well! I hang up the phone and tell Fred that the other dealership was just about to make me a stupid offer on my trade-in to earn my business. Fred is about to throw up and punch me in the face...I'm good with either one as long as I get the deal I'm looking for. Fred doesn't want to ask me, but he does anyway... What kind of stupid deal? 23k for my trade-in...because Fred, I told them if they can't make me a good deal on my other Tundra as a trade-in, then you're telling me that they do not retain value. So I'll just go buy a Ford F150, and save another 15k. Fred takes that paper from me and says "I don't know who if I'm doing this more for you or for me!" Comes back with 10k off, and 21500 for my trade-in bottom price $20,500 plus 1230 in taxes. I told him since the bank was closed I'd have to come back in the morning...he said if I would just finance it through them he would throw in siderails and a tonneau cover to offset the interest. (Dealer desperation time, works EVERYTIME)

 

@Boomer thanks for the insider tips and tricks. I am just curious as to why you worked with the fleet manager as appose to the regular sales reps.
Are they easier to deal or negotiate with or was it just out of luck that you came across?

Thanks

 

G10dra,

They are more experienced and make the final decisions on how much you pay for the vehicle. The salesperson will sit there and tell you that they are on your side when they know that it is just the opposite. The dealerships job is to get you to pay as much for the vehicle as possible while making you think you got the best deal possible...I hate wasting time in dealerships. I've had the best of luck doing the majority of my negotiating over the phone. Another tip I've used in the past is calling my bank and asking them which dealership to use and what are the trending prices on the vehicle you are interested in buying. Someone on this thread said it, the dealerships are not going to lose money on a sale, but it's not about the individual sale when they are plus 50-60k in the black, then it becomes about the volume of sales. But for me, they will have to dip into those profits a bit to get the sale, and a few referrals in the future.
~Boomer

 

Thanks for the good info and tips!

 

WOW, this was one heck of a grind down!
Will have to try this on a Limited I want - end of the month !

 

I bought my limited double cab last month. It also has the spraying bed liner.
It was 46,600 and I got it for 40,600. In the end I got them to throw in the front and rear Trd sway bars.
I felt like it was a good deal. Not an army recruiting deal, but good for me.

 

I figured the cements are selling for a bit more as they seem popular? I dont see many cement colored tundras on lots. Mostly white, silver or MGM.

 

Reached out to the dealer that a member said they got 10k off on a Platinum.. sent them a offer from a local dealer that was giving 8k off a on platinum, asked them to beat it.. Said no can do.
Timing is everything to get a crazy deal, I shopped an Audi deal for a month and got no bites in the whole state of Florida . Went up to GA and took the deal.. 2 weeks later 2 of the Florida dealers said they would do the deal and one was slightly better. I always look for the dealer with the most old inventory, especially now since the 2019s are already showing up on dealer lots.

 

Nice truck!
TRD antisway bars are worth their weight and I am having a hard time finding a Tundra with the TRD Sport package (20" wheels, Anti-sway bars, Bilstein shocks)....
Everyone has the Off road package which is missing the 20" wheels and sway bars...

How did you get the red logo inserts - on your own or was it dealer installed?

 

That’s funny. They had to DX my truck because all they had was a sport with 20 inch wheels. I wanted an electric back window and the Offroad wheels. So it was sport or limited. I plastudipped the badges and got the rear inserts at tuffskinz.com I think. Got the front letters there as well.

 

I came into this thread nervously because I just bought my first truck yesterday. I had every intention of lifting and throwing new tires and wheels on so I stayed away from the TRD models and got a 18 Tundra Crew Max Superwhite 4x4 5.7L. It has the convenience package, entune, sonar package and rubber mats inside with your regular steel wheels and regular tires. Sticker was $44k and I talked them down to $38 plus California tax and registrations fees. I don’t think I got too screwed but I definitely didn’t get a good of a deal as some in here.

 

Congrats.. Someone will always chime in with "got a better deal" or some crazy deal of a lifetime.
All that matters is you are happy, and it looks like you got a solid deal.
Downside of waiting for that killer dea is having to settle for a color you dont want or model that has options you dont need.

 

That's better than what I have been receiving - 10% off MSRP is the best I can find.
In So Cal with all the dealers around - maybe wait till the end of August or September as forum members have chimed in....

You did do better about 14% !

 

It’s a good deal. You should be pleased.

 

Fly to AZ or NV. Drive back.

 

I heard a rumor that if you buy a truck outside the state, you have to pay taxes twice (originating state + home state) ???

Is that true ??

 

Not true.

 

Depends. In some states my experience has been you may have to pay the difference in sales tax when you register. So if you paid 8% in AZ and go to register in CA where say sales tax is 10% you may be held responsible to pay the difference in 2% sales tax. At least that's how it was when I lived in CA and tried to register a car there.

 

They re-tax you in Texas if you buy a new vehicle from another state and bring it in.

 

I believe that's that case in Georgia, a friend of mine moved to ATL from NJ and the DMV at ATL is charging tax on the current value of the car.
that's kinda stupid when you already paid tax when you purchased the vehicle.

But I've heard that some dealers won't charge you tax if you're from out of state, they let you do the DMV work yourself and pay the tax at DMV when you go to register.

 

You just have to prove you paid taxes equivalent to where you're registering

 

It is in California. It also has to meet California emissions standards and other CA BS