sff
Very sleazy sales tactics. If they were advertising the car certified for a specific price, it seems like false advertising. I would go to another dealer or push the fraud angle and beat them up (in a negotiating way, not actual physical violence) until you get the price you want without all the sleazy add on fees.
I would go to another dealer. I wouldn’t trust anything they told me. My only experience with Toyota was about 8 years ago and they were take it or leave it for a Camry. I left it, because my husband won’t buy a car unless it’s the deal of the century.
If you buy from craigslist, bring the transaction to your local bank or credit union. Meet in inside and then go out if needed, the banker or credit union person will help you with the paperwork for the transaction, you deposit the money immediately and every moment is on film.
Husband says “scam, nitrogen in the tires is scam as is a lot of what you wrote the dealer wants.
Not a good place to buy.
Sorry but happy you asked the question on Free Republic as you know most truly want to help.
We did this for our last two cars and are ecstatic with them. Saved a ton and got reliable cars we could tweak in good ways (got WeatherTech mats and trunk liners, AMSOIL oil changes, lifetime all-wheel alignments packages at Sears (only $189), etc.).
If you’re going to the dealer you need to use the NADA guide for pricing, not the Kelly Blue book.
this is the book that the dealers use.
I recommend a 4Runner I have had four of them and they are the most well constructed vehicles available.
Just curious, what state do you live in?
Get a Jeep.
Might want to check out TrueCar.com - you don’t need to go through them as I did, but the site does give you a good idea of what the market average for the used car you’re looking at is in your area.
We use Carmax for the reasons you give. No haggle, no comission. Price is there and only about 1 car in 10 trades meets their standards to be sold by Carmax. Let them do the cherry picking for you, then let them garantee that car for free for the first “X” days as per policy. Few other dealerships offer that and stand behind that.
The other cheaper (money to risk ratio) is review the car on Consumer Reports for reliability (and I agree, Toyota is amongst the best) and find someone like we did. We found an independent Farmers Insurance salesman that cherry picks and sells 2-3 Lexus cars a month at the Dealer’s auctions and flips them on the side. We got a 2003 ES300 with 85,000 miles and full Lexus service record, no accidents for $8,500 and no rust. Old but low miles. Price couldn’t be beat - so we took the risk and 14 months later we are still giggling about this steal.
Yes, a used car dealer trying to screw the customer is normal. The proper response is a 4 letter vulgarity plus 'you' to the sales manager (not the salesman) on the way out. Or have some fun - I didn't like that car, could you show me some more - eating up as much of the salesman's time as you can before you walk out the door without doing business.
Geez - didn’t they try to hit you up for undercoating - their approach was dishonest - I’d take a walk....
I take it you’re in South Florida. I’m not surprised you had such an experience. I wish you’d name the dealer so other people can avoid them, too.
A 2-3 yr old Toyota with 40k miles costs just as much as a new Toyota.
I have been a clean up guy, body man, tech, finance manager, general manager and bank rep in the used car business. Ask anything.
The Certified part just means the dealership put a Toyota warranty on the unit, said it met certain used car standards (Most likely the same ones he has on the other cars on the lot) and the unit meets certain year and mileage specs. So the certified part is worth as much as the warranty.
Nitrogen is critically important in your tires. If you are a race car driver and you dont want your Camry LE sedan experiencing too much fluctuation in tire pressure depending on how hard you are pushing the car in the turns. Sarcasm off lol
If you can pay cash or get your own financing look at a long standing independent used car lot. They buy their cars from the same auctions as the franchise (Toyota, Ford etc) dealers. The difference is the franchise dealer sends a guy to auction and pays him 100 dollars a piece to buy cars. So he raises his hand 30 times and goes to play golf. The independent guy uses his cash out of his pocket or his liability in the form of floorplan. Independent dealers are more careful.
Carmax doesnt haggle because they sell everything for a healthy profit. Also nobody in that building knows poop about cars...
As far as any dealer fees, they are legal as long as they are applied equally to every deal. It should be hard printed into each bill of sale. That makes it legal, but they are still dollars and you need to take that into consideration. Looks like they are adding 1500 worth of fluff to the deal that you need to incorporate into your decision.
Carfax is very reliable for newer cars, the vast majority of which are covered by insurance all the time. It gets fuzzy when you are looking at 7 plus year old cars. They may be wrecked under liability ins and the ins company doesnt know. On older cars believe your eyes and nose.
There will always be another car.
Last used car I bought, I knew, like you, what I wanted. I searched for the dealers within 100 miles & searched their used car listings to see what they had, and I got it down to 6 cars. Narrowed it down to two after calling dealerships then all I had to decide on was how far I wanted to drive. One time the computer truly saved me money!
I know you’re not in TX, but this is the ONLY place we’ll buy used cars from. And, it just so happens, the last used car we bought from them was a Toyota.
They don’t haggle...the most you’ll ever get off of their price is $500.00.
We took the car we bought to the local Toyota dealership for an overall look and they said ‘you got a great car’. And, it has been.
You can compare prices with their inventory.
...next call to make..BBB (BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU)
...it’s called “bait and switch”
Take any car to your independent shop that does not sell cars for a buyers inspection. They will find what is wrong with it because they want you to bring it to them if you buy it to repair. Their reputation is built by your experience with them only. Don’t rely on the dealers check out, the tech practically gets in trouble if he finds a problem. Any leaks they just spray of with brake cleaner. I am a tech. I have worked both independent and dealer shops.