A friend asked me to assist her buying a new car.
She wants a 2017 Toyota Sienna XLE.
How can I determine the best price and how can I achieve it?
Never felt I got a good deal when purchasing a new vehicle.
Have to act before 10-31-17, as zero percent financing expires on 11-1.
Thanks guys.

Email several dealerships with the exact car, trim, and options that you want.

Pick the best deal that the internet sales managers have offered you.

Go to the most convenient dealership. Show them the best deal you got in writing. Tell him to beat that deal. Not match it. Beat it.

Show up on 10/30. End of the month puts the most pressure on the sales guys.

Walk away if you have to. They'll chase you. Then they'll give you some BS about how they had to use one of their friends and family discounts.

Then, when it's just about all done, ask for some floor mats or something. Just to really drive it in.

Use the calculator on your phone. They'll try to use some bullshit with monthly payments, interest rates, down payments and trade-ins to confuse you. You can get flustered, or you can just fight back with a calculator. Sure buddy, if they move the monthly payment, fight back and move on the down payment.

Just before buying a Jeep Grand Cherokee I went to several online forums (jeepgarage.org, jeepforum.com). There are extensive threads on the subject for just about any vehicle fan forum.

The tactic involved getting quotes from 2-3 dealerships internet managers, negotiating a percentage below dealer invoice. I think I got 5% below invoice on the exact vehicle I wanted.

Your mileage may vary depending on the supply and demand of the specific vehicle you want, but you can shoot for a goal based on shared experiences on such forums.

I just bought a new car yesterday. I found a forum for the model I wanted and they had a thread to list your discount. Discounts ranged from 3 to 8% off sticker price depending on what part of the country you are in. I found what I wanted on a lot, ordering takes 3 months, and offered 8.5% below sticker price out the door. Took about 2 weeks of bargaining but they finally agreed. I then told them that I wanted it delivered to my house because I'm 150 miles from their dealership, after a couple more days of bargaining they finally agreed. Plus their taking care of tax, title, and putting plates on it. Never had to step foot in their dealership. Just watch the extra fees that they try to tack on, doc fee, environmental fee...... Refuse to pay them. Get a quote in writing to make sure they don't add the extra fees.

The last 2 cars previous to the one I bought yesterday were Toyotas, If you can find a left over 2017, new, they will discount it heavily. Mine stickered at $40,500 and I got it for $33,000. 60 Months zero per cent interest is a great deal, basically same as cash.

Edmunds.com true market value pricing has been pretty reliable for me. I have also used Costco pricing with good results.

Last two purchases were “this one only” deep dealer discounts that couldn’t be beat.

I certainly don’t miss the old days spending hours haggling.

Check online prices on the model at the 'no haggle' CarMax site. They are big into Toyota I think. Yes, it may be in a different State, just get an idea then adjust.

I tried the car buying service from USAA last Spring. It gave me an idea where the local floor was with a Honda CR-V. A handful of dealers played along, ended up going with one.

There are still a few games going on when buying. Depending on how much you want to help you could go in with her. They try to 'up sell' a fair amount of nonsense. Besides the various extended warranties you have 'paint conditioning' some 'dealer ad ons' and other bs. One dealership had $995 as a dealer installed 'paint reconditioning scheme'. I dropped that like a red hot coal.

I'm warmed up after being around dealerships this Spring/Fall come on over, I'll go play some games. Besides the CR-V, I got a deal I didn't turn down trading my 14 for a 2017 Silverado. The incentives are there to clear out the 17's. I added GM employee pricing(wife's side) to the incentives. The bigger issue with me was the trade price on my 14. I won't bore you with the details, nice salesguy, church connection with management, & a few other factors.

I went to car buying strategies website to finder true dealer cost. Then subtract all offers and incentives. Email every dealer in your state with that price. Tell them you are prepared to buy immediately, and the only thing stopping you is price.

I got my 2017 Toyota Tundra 4x4 at dealer cost using this method. It took a couple of months..

Good info listed above. I am going through the same process also.

Regarding all the upselling add-ons, doc fees etc. I don't really care what they 'add-on' as long as the TOTAL price is at the amount I have researched to pay.

They can monkey around with the price all they want - but in the end - having done the research - you will know if your OUT THE DOOR price is a good one.

One recent email went like this:

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Was looking at some numbers some more:

your stock number 27xxx (2017 Red / V6 4x4)

$31,000 truck price
+ destination $1,000
+ $1,250 tax / tags
+ $1,300 installed options (navi / towing)
~ $34,550

$13,000 down payment $21,550 financed (I have credit union financing at xxx % maybe you can beat that...)

Thanks - Let me know

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For instance - another one I was looking at has window tint installed at the dealer along with running board steps. Fine. But the TOTAL price I am willing to pay is still 'X'.

Whatever you do - do the RESEARCH first. The last thing you want to do is walk in and start talking numbers without knowledge before-hand. Make sure you understand the TRIM levels and what you get at each trim level.

Also - do not be a 'monthly payment' shopper. Focus on the TOTAL OTD price. They don't want you to do this.

Have some financing - if possible - lined up ahead of time so you know if the dealer offered financing is competitive.

Lastly - be wary of the extended warranty pitch / GAP pitch. You CAN buy FACTORY warranties (not aftermarket) from other dealers after the sale competing on price.

Good luck - I will say just shop for a good price. Don't torture yourself to save $200...

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You need to know what they paid for that vehicle. Easy to find out at Edmunds or KBB. Then you need to know how much you want them to make above and beyond that number. Don't forget about the Hold Back which is just extra money they get from the manufacturer. Usually runs around 3-5%. Trading in a vehicle is always a bad idea but I have to admit I have done it a few times. Sell your old car yourself.

If the manufacturer is offering rebates or cash back, never let them bring that into the negotiations. That money is from the factory to YOU and has nothing to do with the dealer. Negotiate your best price then the cash back lowers that figure even further. The sales manager loves to use it in negotiations but don't let them.

Remember that some cars like Corvettes or redesigned models will be more in demand and your negotiation will be limited. We bought a new CR-V in May and it was completely redone so my negotiating was tempered by the fact that a lot of folks wanted one.

Don't let the "invoice" fool you in to thinking that's what the dealer paid. They have hold backs that the dealer will get when the car is sold. Think of it as a rebate to the deal from the manufacturer when they sell the car.

Tell them you want to finance it so they can factor in all the deals. WHen it comes to signing change your mind and pay cash. Or just pay it off in the first month.

tell them an admin fee is BS and waive the 500 bucks.

Always go to the dealership fed, and always walk out. Go on the 28th for 2-3 hours negotiating with the plan to walk out.
Then come back on the 31st to make the deal.

Edmunds has a tutorial on the tricks that dealers play to keep you from getting your best deal. Their pricing tool is pretty good also, if you browse thru their web site you will be better able to play the car buying game.

Like others have mentioned don't forget to subtract the hold back. The Car buying strategies website factors holdback into the dealer cost. Don't forget to then subtract incentives/rebates/offers. The intent is to find a dealership that is looking to hit a number by the end of the month/quarter/year, and get them to sell something to you at or near true cost so that they make that number and the manager/salesement/etc get their bonus.

Edmunds and Truecar already mentioned. You can set a target price from these so you know when it is a reasonably good deal. The dealer will claim these "include lease prices" so they aren't valid...who knows ?


Be willing to solicit prices and offers from outside your local area. You would drive or even fly a few hundred miles to save $2K, right ? (at least I would).

Keep insisting that you want exactly what you want and all the extras are irrelevant to you on price and just a waste of money from your perspective. I usually am really looking for a "base" model, but of course the dealer only carries "loaded" models.

I don't know how much it really works, but a long time ago I heard that you should be willing to spend A LONG time, asking questions, taking test drives, looking at different options, etc, even if you don't really want them. Basically, waste as much of the salesman's time as possible...in multiple visits. Finally he feels like he HAS to make a sale or it is all wasted time. An extra $2K discount is a big deal to you, but it is just another number to him, so eventually the price comes down. This seems to actually work for me, and I just bought 2 new cars in the past couple years.

Don't sign up for ANY of the extras pushed at you after the "price" has been set. (Unless you really want them, of course.)

"Documentation Fee" ? What the hell is that ?!?!? I'll drive over and get the plates at the DMV myself!

Toyota also has great deals at the end of Feb, usually with zero percent then, too, on all prior year models. Don't feel pressured by "end of the month" limits.

Trading in a car? Go to Edmonds or Kelly Blue Book and get a price for it. They will try to offset some of what you’re taking off on the new car by giving you less for the trade-in. I had one tell me he couldn’t give me anything for a trade-in because the car was 8 years old and a discontinued model. KKB showed it was still worth $4500 trade-in. Guess who was about to get screwed? He tried doing me a favor and giving me $3000 which btw happens to be what the state was giving for older cars to get some of the older polluters off the road. Nope! I did allow him to get by with $4000 or I’d walk on his $40K sale. I also said nothing about how I was going to pay for it until I was with the finance guy and ready to finish up.

You have a lot of power on a Sienna right now. It's not selling well & the new model goes into production soon. There's a lot of inventory to move.

I paid a lot less for my truck (2015 Sierra) than what True Car said was a 'good' price. It doesn't take into account rural areas as much as it should - to get any type of 'same volume' it had to go to larger cities. I live 2+ hours from any town larger than 100k. Just not that many similar vehicles to compare to get a good idea of what they sell for.
I had a little inside info - I get supplier pricing & the dealership put a similar truck on the internet at fleet price, so I knew where 'almost bottom' was. I set my max at supplier price & went from there.

Reach out to 3 dealerships closest to you that have the car you want. Let them know exactly what you are looking for and the price you want. Get all of their offers and then let them know what each other are offering. The will offer close to bottom dollar most of the time.

The dealers and sales guys love this stuff. If it weren't for all these games buyers try to play, moving cars would be deathly boring. It’s fairly hideous sitting around waiting anyway.

Whether you are a price buyer, insisting on the lowest price, a payments buyer needing a payment to fit your budget, a interest rate buyer, a trade in buyer, whatever, the dealer can take care of you. The ritual is flexible enough to give the buyer what he wants, but when money changes hands, it will be an amount the dealer wants, in one form or another.

Extended negotiations just means you are serious about buying.

It’s a lousy business. They lose enough money on every sale. That has to be made up in volume. Two NFL teams were owned by car dealers from San Antonio, Red McCombs who owned the Vikings, and Tom Benson who still owns the Saints, just to keep their car business afloat!