Make the deal?

[flugez]

First post here, but have been lurking for a while. Great site.

I am looking to lease a 2008 Double Cab 5.7L LTD. Only real add-ons are the TRD package and the Daytime Running Lights. The price they are giving me is $37,700. This eems like a decent deal, and I haven't found anything that is much better at other dealerships I have talked to.

I tried to talk them down a bit, but they didn't want to budge. They say that this is only $699 over invoice for them and CANNOT go any lower.

I feel like I should try and get a better deal, say 35-36k, but maybe I am out of line?

Also, the April incentives run out today, but I am thinking they might be just as good or better next month? Although I don't know if a lease rate can get any better than .00010

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Cliffy1]

Its hard to say. You live in Bozeman MT and I'm betting there are not a lot of competing dealerships near by. In an area without competition, that's probably a decent deal. I will not say its unbeatable, but its fair. If you like the truck and its worth it to you and you don't feel like you're being slimed by the dealer, I say go for it.

[flugez]

Yeah, there are not a lot of dealerships around, but none of them beat this price, at least right away. I penciled it out vs. KBB.com, and it seems like a good deal.

I just don't know if I should take the risk of waiting on the May incentives I guess.

Thanks

[Cliffy1]

Originally Posted by flugez

Yeah, there are not a lot of dealerships around, but none of them beat this price, at least right away. I penciled it out vs. KBB.com, and it seems like a good deal.

I just don't know if I should take the risk of waiting on the May incentives I guess.

Thanks

Its hard to say. I'm betting that the cash back improves, but I don't see the interest nor special lease factors improving. It probably will not hurt to wait another couple of days anyway. Unless they sell that truck today, wait until Saturday and go back asking for the same deal and they'll likely take it.

crap... did I just say that? They might take away my salesman's license for spilling that one. LOL

[flugez]

Hahaha, I hope not, appreciate the honesty. That plan is what my preference would be. There are a couple of options included I didn't really ask for, so I thought I might try and get those discounted off (memory package).

I also have one more semi-local dealership to check in with, so I'll see what they have to say.

Thanks again.

[Cliffy1]

Using dealerships farther away can keep the local guys honest, but if possible stick with the locals. This is especially true if they've treated you right and not lied. I believe in rewarding good service and I'll often pay a little more in order to do that. That's just me though.

Good luck with it. It sounds like you're about to make a really nice purchase. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

[flugez]

Yeah, I just talked to that other dealership, and they said they'd offer it at the invoice price, so I hope I can swing that locally. It's not much difference, but I guess it will make me feel like I got the best deal.

First time dealing with these guys, so I don't really feel loyal. But I will if they hook me up on this one.

I think you are right about the Pickup though, I saw it come off the truck today, and it looked awesome, even with some of the shipping plastic still on it.

[flugez]

So...I told the dealership about the other offer, and they got all upset and defensive, like I had screwed them over. Both the sales manager and the salesman. I have never been attacked like that, was weird. So now I am waiting to see what the May incentives will be, and maybe try and find a more friendly dealer.

Am I wrong it saying that the invoice price is NOT the price that the dealership pays for the vehicle? According to them it is, so if I got the Tundra at invoice price, they would not make any money off of the sale. This is contrary to my prior knowledge, and have seen others in this forum state otherwise. If this was the case, how could you ever sell a vehicle for less than invoice?

[anvilt]

They're throwing you a line of BS and trying to bully you into paying their price. That's the kind of tactic that gives car salesmen a bad name. Take a look at fitzmall.com or antwerpentoyota.com and check out those prices. I know they're not local to you, but if those guys can make money selling like that, so can the dealer you're talking to. Very few people know what the true cost of a vehicle is to a new car dealer. You can bet the "invoice" you see isn't the final word. You can get the same pricing at other dealers as the ones mentioned above, but they're just not as open about it and you have to be educated when you go in there.

[Cliffy1]

Its too bad your local guys reacted like that. I don't blame them for being disappointed, but they should NEVER allow that to be heard by a customer. Selling a truck at $600 over invoice isn't screwing anybody, but its also not exactly a "fat" deal either. When the prices gets down to invoice, the salesman gets paid a "mini" which is usually $50. At $600 over, he's often making a couple hundred.

Invoice is not cost and there are plenty of threads about that in this forum. most salesman and some managers are not paid on any of the "hidden money" below invoice.

[FLTundra06]

Originally Posted by Cliffy1

Its too bad your local guys reacted like that. I don't blame them for being disappointed, but they should NEVER allow that to be heard by a customer. Selling a truck at $600 over invoice isn't screwing anybody, but its also not exactly a "fat" deal either. When the prices gets down to invoice, the salesman gets paid a "mini" which is usually $50. At $600 over, he's often making a couple hundred.

Invoice is not cost and there are plenty of threads about that in this forum. most salesman and some managers are not paid on any of the "hidden money" below invoice.

Wow, I would have never guessed a salesperson would make as little as $50 bucks on any deal. Then again the sales manager salesperson deal turns me off big time and they would make zero. I just don't see why I should spend time dealing with someone that can't say what he can sell for. I feel if thats the case then I should be talking to the sales manager. I have bought enough new vehicles that I can spot the type of dealer I wont deal with. I sure would hope that the salesperson at least made a couple $100 though.

[Cliffy1]

I should probably expand on that a bit. A lot of salesmen focus only on the commission of each individual deal. That is a mistake and if a person does this, they will constantly be angry. Many car deals really are $50 or $100 mini deals. Taken by itself, that looks pretty bad. However, most pay plans have volume bonuses. Others have stair steps where the percentage of the profit goes up once they sell a certain number of vehicles. So while that one deal may only pay $50, it could bump them into another pay grade that ends up making them several hundred or more.

A good salesman will sell 12 to 18 cars in a month. Of those, probably half will be minis. A few more will be small, but respectable gross deals ($600 to $1200 over invoice) and one or two really good grosses ($2000+ over invoice). That kind of a month will get a salesman a comfortable living and ability to pay a mortgage. If he sells everything at invoice, he'd better be selling 25 to 35 cars a month and had better have a pay plan that rewards pure volume because otherwise, his home will soon be in forclosure.

There is no safety net in this business. There is no salary at most stores. Stores that have a salary generally pay far less than others and attract burger flippers for employees. Some stores claim to pay a salary plus "bonuses" for volume and profit, but those are just schemes to cover up the commission structure.

Again though... no salesman should ever let this have an effect on how they deal with customers. They chose this line of work and have to take the good deals with the bad.

[bonginator]

I am in Bozeman too and just picked up a 5.7 DC LTD with a lot more options that you are referencing for $35 out-the-door in Longmont, Colorado with a $2750 cash back incentive. Had to drive it up here but they were willing to deal outside of Denver. This was a car that I ordered too exactly as I wanted it. List was $41,069 to give you a sense on the options.

I tried buying in Bozeman as well but couldn't get them to budge on the price. Good luck with your shopping.

[flugez]

Thanks for the comments. I ended up making a deal, after getting an apology from the sales manager. They did come down on price a bit, and offered to give me any aftermarket products at their cost. Still kind of upset about it all, but I got the pickup I wanted at a decent price I think.