Anonymous wrote:We ended up at Alexandria Toyota. Committed to paying only MSRP, plus a $1600 dealer installed protection package (interior/exterior/windshield). We would not ordinarily buy the protection package, but I guess it has some value. Requested a $1k deposit, but they don’t charge the card until you’ve agreed to accept delivery of a car that meets your basic specifications (but it might have add-ons you don’t want). You have to decide whether you want the add-ons (and to pay for them) or if you want to keep waiting on the list for a car that meets your specifications more closely.
They had some certified pre-owned on the lot. Lots of miles and priced over MSRP for new. Surely the resale market will cool off soon.
We didn’t feel great about the process, but we didn’t want to keep waiting for things to get better. Our current minivan is 10 and on the cusp of needing $$$ work.
They said the car would take 12-15 months to come in, but it looks like it's coming in at about 3 months. We were flexible on color, so I think that helped. Also, this may suggest that the market is loosening up and folks will be able to negotiate again sometime soon! Best of luck to all of you in the market!