Question about new car purchasing and how much more to negotiate

[Anonymous]

Looking at a 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid XLE with AWD. I’m having a hard time figuring out the accurate invoice for it (maybe I’m not looking at right websites?). MSRP is $44,497. I just got a deal for an out the door price of $44,000 (includes taxes and everything). Is that good or should I keep negotiating? Sorry this is my first time purchasing a car so want to make sure I’m getting a good deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking at a 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid XLE with AWD. I’m having a hard time figuring out the accurate invoice for it (maybe I’m not looking at right websites?). MSRP is $44,497. I just got a deal for an out the door price of $44,000 (includes taxes and everything). Is that good or should I keep negotiating? Sorry this is my first time purchasing a car so want to make sure I’m getting a good deal.

Not a Toyota expert and haven't looked right now, but if OTD including taxes and fees is less than MSRP that's more or less the ballpark I'd expect. Generally for a new car these days at that price point I'd expect the "price" to be a few thousand off MSRP. Then add in fees and taxes.

With the internet and competition in major areas, there's a lot less "haggling" to be done on the sticker price of new vehicles than there used to be. There can still be some and you can take a stab at another few hundred or a thousand off, but you probably won't get much more than that, at least not without a ton of headache and wasting time.

Also don't forget about the other areas they'll try to make money from you on. If financing, get a quote from your bank or credit union (especially if service-connected like PenFed, Navy Federal, or USAA) and walk in with that. Let the dealer try to "beat it" and you'll save some money there. If trading in, get a Carvana or CarMax appraisal first and make the dealer match it. And when the finance manager tries to sell you on the extended warranty, say no (you can ALWAYS buy an extension when the original warranty expires, and make the different Toyota dealers in the region compete to sell it to you). Whether a service plan or any other extras are worth it is up to you.

[Anonymous]

Seems like a good deal.

[Anonymous]

According to true car, a great price is $39k -$40,500. An excellent price is lower than $39k before taxes. How much do you care to save another few hundred?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking at a 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid XLE with AWD. I’m having a hard time figuring out the accurate invoice for it (maybe I’m not looking at right websites?). MSRP is $44,497. I just got a deal for an out the door price of $44,000 (includes taxes and everything). Is that good or should I keep negotiating? Sorry this is my first time purchasing a car so want to make sure I’m getting a good deal.

Not a Toyota expert and haven't looked right now, but if OTD including taxes and fees is less than MSRP that's more or less the ballpark I'd expect. Generally for a new car these days at that price point I'd expect the "price" to be a few thousand off MSRP. Then add in fees and taxes.

With the internet and competition in major areas, there's a lot less "haggling" to be done on the sticker price of new vehicles than there used to be. There can still be some and you can take a stab at another few hundred or a thousand off, but you probably won't get much more than that, at least not without a ton of headache and wasting time.

Also don't forget about the other areas they'll try to make money from you on. If financing, get a quote from your bank or credit union (especially if service-connected like PenFed, Navy Federal, or USAA) and walk in with that. Let the dealer try to "beat it" and you'll save some money there. If trading in, get a Carvana or CarMax appraisal first and make the dealer match it. And when the finance manager tries to sell you on the extended warranty, say no (you can ALWAYS buy an extension when the original warranty expires, and make the different Toyota dealers in the region compete to sell it to you). Whether a service plan or any other extras are worth it is up to you.

Ended up at $42,500 out the door. Couldn’t resist pushing them some more. I paid in cash, the financing deals aren’t great right now, even at 0% for a few months, doesn’t make sense to finance, they wouldn’t budge on any further discounts and said they weren’t sure if I could just pay off immediately after getting financing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking at a 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid XLE with AWD. I’m having a hard time figuring out the accurate invoice for it (maybe I’m not looking at right websites?). MSRP is $44,497. I just got a deal for an out the door price of $44,000 (includes taxes and everything). Is that good or should I keep negotiating? Sorry this is my first time purchasing a car so want to make sure I’m getting a good deal.

Not a Toyota expert and haven't looked right now, but if OTD including taxes and fees is less than MSRP that's more or less the ballpark I'd expect. Generally for a new car these days at that price point I'd expect the "price" to be a few thousand off MSRP. Then add in fees and taxes.

With the internet and competition in major areas, there's a lot less "haggling" to be done on the sticker price of new vehicles than there used to be. There can still be some and you can take a stab at another few hundred or a thousand off, but you probably won't get much more than that, at least not without a ton of headache and wasting time.

Also don't forget about the other areas they'll try to make money from you on. If financing, get a quote from your bank or credit union (especially if service-connected like PenFed, Navy Federal, or USAA) and walk in with that. Let the dealer try to "beat it" and you'll save some money there. If trading in, get a Carvana or CarMax appraisal first and make the dealer match it. And when the finance manager tries to sell you on the extended warranty, say no (you can ALWAYS buy an extension when the original warranty expires, and make the different Toyota dealers in the region compete to sell it to you). Whether a service plan or any other extras are worth it is up to you.

Ended up at $42,500 out the door. Couldn’t resist pushing them some more. I paid in cash, the financing deals aren’t great right now, even at 0% for a few months, doesn’t make sense to finance, they wouldn’t budge on any further discounts and said they weren’t sure if I could just pay off immediately after getting financing.

Sounds like you did a good job. Enjoy the new car! I personally lean toward financing these days with rates as low as they are, but I'm with you, I wouldn't finance unless there was no prepayment penalty (and it's odd that they weren't sure!).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking at a 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid XLE with AWD. I’m having a hard time figuring out the accurate invoice for it (maybe I’m not looking at right websites?). MSRP is $44,497. I just got a deal for an out the door price of $44,000 (includes taxes and everything). Is that good or should I keep negotiating? Sorry this is my first time purchasing a car so want to make sure I’m getting a good deal.

Not a Toyota expert and haven't looked right now, but if OTD including taxes and fees is less than MSRP that's more or less the ballpark I'd expect. Generally for a new car these days at that price point I'd expect the "price" to be a few thousand off MSRP. Then add in fees and taxes.

With the internet and competition in major areas, there's a lot less "haggling" to be done on the sticker price of new vehicles than there used to be. There can still be some and you can take a stab at another few hundred or a thousand off, but you probably won't get much more than that, at least not without a ton of headache and wasting time.

Also don't forget about the other areas they'll try to make money from you on. If financing, get a quote from your bank or credit union (especially if service-connected like PenFed, Navy Federal, or USAA) and walk in with that. Let the dealer try to "beat it" and you'll save some money there. If trading in, get a Carvana or CarMax appraisal first and make the dealer match it. And when the finance manager tries to sell you on the extended warranty, say no (you can ALWAYS buy an extension when the original warranty expires, and make the different Toyota dealers in the region compete to sell it to you). Whether a service plan or any other extras are worth it is up to you.

Ended up at $42,500 out the door. Couldn’t resist pushing them some more. I paid in cash, the financing deals aren’t great right now, even at 0% for a few months, doesn’t make sense to finance, they wouldn’t budge on any further discounts and said they weren’t sure if I could just pay off immediately after getting financing.

Sounds like you did a good job. Enjoy the new car! I personally lean toward financing these days with rates as low as they are, but I'm with you, I wouldn't finance unless there was no prepayment penalty (and it's odd that they weren't sure!).

Thanks, excited to get it! I think they knew (I feel like they know every single detail of a car and financing) but when they saw i was on the fence and needed convincing, they just wanted me out of there at that point. Likely didn’t help I brought my two toddlers and they were running in circles around the cars by that point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking at a 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid XLE with AWD. I’m having a hard time figuring out the accurate invoice for it (maybe I’m not looking at right websites?). MSRP is $44,497. I just got a deal for an out the door price of $44,000 (includes taxes and everything). Is that good or should I keep negotiating? Sorry this is my first time purchasing a car so want to make sure I’m getting a good deal.

Not a Toyota expert and haven't looked right now, but if OTD including taxes and fees is less than MSRP that's more or less the ballpark I'd expect. Generally for a new car these days at that price point I'd expect the "price" to be a few thousand off MSRP. Then add in fees and taxes.

With the internet and competition in major areas, there's a lot less "haggling" to be done on the sticker price of new vehicles than there used to be. There can still be some and you can take a stab at another few hundred or a thousand off, but you probably won't get much more than that, at least not without a ton of headache and wasting time.

Also don't forget about the other areas they'll try to make money from you on. If financing, get a quote from your bank or credit union (especially if service-connected like PenFed, Navy Federal, or USAA) and walk in with that. Let the dealer try to "beat it" and you'll save some money there. If trading in, get a Carvana or CarMax appraisal first and make the dealer match it. And when the finance manager tries to sell you on the extended warranty, say no (you can ALWAYS buy an extension when the original warranty expires, and make the different Toyota dealers in the region compete to sell it to you). Whether a service plan or any other extras are worth it is up to you.

+1000 on refusing the extended warranty

[Anonymous]

Standard discount on a Toyota Highlander Hybrid is 15 percent, plus tax tags and registration. 18 percent is considered a good deal. Without knowing what tax rate was paid by the OP, we don't know what discount he got. OTD prices are commonly known as meaningless for comparing deals.

[Anonymous]

Shop around, go on Toyota groups and see what they paid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Standard discount on a Toyota Highlander Hybrid is 15 percent, plus tax tags and registration. 18 percent is considered a good deal. Without knowing what tax rate was paid by the OP, we don't know what discount he got. OTD prices are commonly known as meaningless for comparing deals.

Perhaps on an older model Toyota, but the newer ones are more in demand, you’re definitely not going to get 18%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Standard discount on a Toyota Highlander Hybrid is 15 percent, plus tax tags and registration. 18 percent is considered a good deal. Without knowing what tax rate was paid by the OP, we don't know what discount he got. OTD prices are commonly known as meaningless for comparing deals.

Perhaps on an older model Toyota, but the newer ones are more in demand, you’re definitely not going to get 18%.

Yea, whatever you say. The people posting their deals on Toyota forums are just lying, collectively.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Ended up at $42,500 out the door. Couldn’t resist pushing them some more. I paid in cash, the financing deals aren’t great right now, even at 0% for a few months, doesn’t make sense to finance, they wouldn’t budge on any further discounts and said they weren’t sure if I could just pay off immediately after getting financing.

They "weren't sure' if you can pay off after financing = yes you can, but they lose their financing commission. You have to keep the loan for a few months in order for the dealer to get a commission on the financing.

Also, you can always pay off car loans early. It will be stated clearly on the loan docs in a big box thanks to the regulations from the CFPB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Ended up at $42,500 out the door. Couldn’t resist pushing them some more. I paid in cash, the financing deals aren’t great right now, even at 0% for a few months, doesn’t make sense to finance, they wouldn’t budge on any further discounts and said they weren’t sure if I could just pay off immediately after getting financing.

They "weren't sure' if you can pay off after financing = yes you can, but they lose their financing commission. You have to keep the loan for a few months in order for the dealer to get a commission on the financing.

Also, you can always pay off car loans early. It will be stated clearly on the loan docs in a big box thanks to the regulations from the CFPB.

This, and if you don't plan on ever going to the dealer again, you can payoff immediately even if you say you'll hold the loan (they won't put any agreement not to in writing because it violates the clear terms of the loan)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Standard discount on a Toyota Highlander Hybrid is 15 percent, plus tax tags and registration. 18 percent is considered a good deal. Without knowing what tax rate was paid by the OP, we don't know what discount he got. OTD prices are commonly known as meaningless for comparing deals.

Perhaps on an older model Toyota, but the newer ones are more in demand, you’re definitely not going to get 18%.

Yea, whatever you say. The people posting their deals on Toyota forums are just lying, collectively.

OP here, looks like folks are in the 44-45k range out the door but that’s in the NE from the brief look I took on one forum. I’m in the South, we have more inventory I believe, which explains the 42,500 out the door pricing for me, my taxes are only $2k too. I contacted 16 dealerships and narrowed them down to one, my only other best offer was 43,000 out the door. Seems like you can get some good deals on the 2020s though, kind of wish I’d looked into them more but what’s done is done.