OhM Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 When I got out the title for the trade-in, I was amazed to see that we actually paid $2800 less than we did 10 years ago! It's a similar model, with nicer features. So...is it because of the recession? Cheaper construction? And would that be body/features or engine? Is it the Toyota recall situation? The new body style/2011's come out next month (Feb.), so maybe they just want to get rid of the old ones? We were overjoyed with the deal we found after soliciting quotes, but I have to say it worries me just a bit, because we're intending to keep this one another 10 years (and 200K+ miles!), so I'm hoping they haven't been cheapened up to keep cost down. :( Any thoughts or experience on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 From what I read in the Lemon-Aide Used Car Guide (We were researching cars last month for our own purchase) Toyota's quality has gone down some in the last five years (My fav. company, Hyundai, stole a lot of your company's quality control engineers several years back :D). Still, they were very good to begin with so I wouldn't worry about your van lasting 10 years. Even a lot of domestics will last a good decade now. Keeping on top of regular maintenance is at least as important as the maker in getting the most out of a car. I think the price drop is likely more related to competition (Kia and Hyundai are giving Toyota a run for their money as they're of similar quality but less expensive) and the economic environment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyFL Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Can I ask what kind of deal you were able to get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhM Posted February 1, 2010 Author Share Posted February 1, 2010 Can I ask what kind of deal you were able to get? With Toyota's rebate offer right now, we ended up at 18% off MSRP. Even a little better than we had hoped because it had been a "demonstrator", so it already had 1600 miles on it (and we used that to talk them down another $1000). Edmunds.com was good for research into invoice price (including options) and this spreadsheet was great for figuring out the dealer's actual cost. According to those sources, I got it for 1.1% over dealer cost. (?!) We knew what model we wanted, with what features, so I e-mailed that info to 8 dealerships in our area, and asked them for their best prices. Of the 8, 2 didn't respond at all, 1 responded and didn't want to play that game, 1 wouldn't budge off of MSRP, and the other 5 gave me prices. Of those, 3 said "call me back; we can beat any offer by $100" - but I tried to make it clear up front that I wasn't coming back around. For the first time ever, I felt like I got a good deal on a car. I'm just hoping, like I said, that it's as reliable as the last Toyota I had! Dawn's info put my mind at ease a bit. We shall see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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