Anonymous wrote:OP here.
Just to post an update in case it may help someone.
We ended up buying Pilot Ex-l Awd base (leather, sunroof, remote start, power liftgate, no honda sense, no navi, no rear entertainment system).
I managed to negotiate a steal of a price - about $1400 less than lowest advertised price in the country.
The best otd price for Highlander xle awd I got was 37250 which is also pretty good, but the Pilot was even better esp. with 0,9% apr for 60 months.
Truecar is useful, but ultimately I didn’t use it. You can do better without it. If you do use it, it essentially sets the floor for how much you can save. Also there are lots of emails and what sucked was that you specify exact model, trim, options but they spam you with stuff that doesn’t fit.
For example you specify Crv Touring, they send you offers for LX base. You want AWD, they send you FWD. frustrating.
My advice: Create a new gmail account. Then using that gmail acct get a Google Voice account. Use only those to negotiate. This way you create a proxy between you and the dealers. After 4+ weeks of shopping, hundred+ emails, I never spoke to anyone on the phone until we were ready to buy.
If they’re pushing you to come in or call, don’t do it. Its a trap. Just move onto to the next dealership.
Lastly if you want to save more money. Email best offer you got and ask other dealer to beat it. And so on. I ended up saving $700 more by playing three dealers against each other.
Lastly, always negotiate “OTD” price. This is out the door price.
If you’re paying by check - negotiate the price beforehand. And bring just one check - with agreed price pre-written on the check, so you don’t get bullied into paying more.
So what did you end up paying? (since this is anonymous)