I need help negotiating value of a used Tacoma, my first time buying a car

Hi everyone,

I've been looking around for Tacos in the $20k-25k range. I don't do much towing, just need a truck for furniture moving/waste removal during the summer months, and a commuter car during the fall and spring. Most of the Tacos I'm considering are v4, rwd, access cab, and I want less than 70k miles if possible.

I found a 2014 Tacoma, v4, rwd, access, less than 50k miles, Toyota Certified. The listed price is $23k but they're asking for around $25k with all the taxes & fees. I only have $22k to spend and don't want to take out a loan.

Do you think that this car is really worth $25k?

Also, should I consider looking for independent sellers instead of going to a Toyota dealership?

Thanks

 

1. No such thing as a V4 Tacoma. I4 or V6
2. $20+ is way too much for a 2wd
3. I would buy from a private party and have a shop do a thorough inspection before buying.

 

You can buy a new 2018 base model, 4 cyl, access cab for $25k.
https://www.toyota.com/tacoma/

You can get so much more truck for your money, they call it a "stealership" for a reason.

 

Here’s what I do when buying a car and getting the best price. This process which removes the emotion and is canned behavior script of what you should do and what the Toyota dealer will do:

1. Go to truecar and get the exact value and invoice pricing for the car and option combination. Consider paying for the $15 (or whatever) Consumer Reports car report— it has the same information, but it also tells you how much the dealer paid for the car, which is even lower than that invoice price.

2. Do your homework, and recon the inventory at the dealer, meaning know the cars and options and colors on site for that week, every week. Go onsite to see what they have, and also check online to make sure the Vins and options match.

3. Write down on a notecard the price range between what the dealer paid, the invoice price, and what you are willing to pay, for each of the cars and options and colors.

4. So the notecard should look like a range of three numbers for each car including “dealer’s cost”, then “invoice price”, then “price you are willing to pay”. Do that for the 3 or 4 cars you are interested in. You might want to also include the Taxes and Title estimate at each price point— and since it’s a Toyota dealer add 0.5% to 1% for operation fees (to the car price only), since apparently only the buying customers pay directly for admins and other overhead labors. This is a minor ‘gotcha’ at most Toyota dealers, but it’s a necessary evil.

5. Have your finances and 3rd party loan check already set up, or your cash ready. Don’t go to the dealer until you have this ready, and know you’ll get a good rate from Toyota Financial if you’re using them.

6. Only when ready to buy, go to the dealer. When you arrive, don’t let the sales person know you want to buy...elude that you are just browsing. When you find the car you are interested in, ask the salesperson for help...make sure you just point to the car, refer to it as ‘that one’ and definitely don’t call it out by name or color. Play dumb, ask basic questions ask about fuel mileage and sun visor mirror lights, power windows and sunglass holders. Try to be as dumb as possible, on purpose. Even ask how many quads the stereo has. Talk and play along with the salesperson.

7. If it’s the car you want and you are willing to buy, ask for a test drive. When he/she asks whether you are interested, tell him perhaps, but that you would like to discuss the price. He’ll casually ask if you have a trade, or if you are interested in Toyota loans during the walk to the sales office...just say no.

8. When you sit down, he is going to make an initial offer which is roughly only $1000 off the sticker—ignore it. Take out your card, and lay it on your leg and keep it hidden. You offer him, $250 to $500 more than what the dealer paid....he’ll run in to the sales manager, and come out saying it’s too low, or he’ll ask you how you knew that price—it’s not an insult offer, but they will take you seriously.

9. Salesperson will lower his initial offer by a few hundred or meet you halfway. Make a counter offer for $100 to $300 less than the invoice price. Goal is to get an offer at near the invoice price for acceptance. It also helps to remind the dealer that you are willing to head to other dealers even out of state for the car.

10. Salesperson will run to the sales manager again, and offer the car at Invoice or slightly below or above. If he comes back with something significantly higher or firm at the prior offer, assess how close it is to your “price your willing to pay”.

11. If the offer is at Invoice price, or comfortably lower than the “price you’re willing to pay”, then accept. If not, then respectfully decline, then leave immediately. They might give it to you at the invoice price at this point. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be a binary offer...you’ll need to see that offer and compare it against your note card within a few seconds, then rapidly decide.

12. Once the price is agreed, then discuss trade-ins and finances. Make sure to cross off the add-ons like pin striping and floor mats, and glass etching. Those are all freebies usually (or part of that overhead fee above).

13. Decline any offers for permanent clear coat protection (snake oil), and determine what warranty you might need...I’m 2 for 2 (technically 3 for 3) on never really needing even a Toyota standard warranty, so you probably don’t need anything super long.

That’s how I do it and it works for me! Good luck!

 

I think you are pretty much right on, you are much more informed than I am, (that is a good thing) my only advise is from the "Get Go" make sure you both are on the same page in that you are dealing with an "Out the Door" price, I have seen where at the end of the negotiations dealers will sometimes add on some ridiculous charges leading you to believe they are normal, if that should happen, Walk!!, Number 12, it has been my experience that the discussion dealing with trade-ins is established early in the game, but that is just my experience. right before agreeing to the deal, ask for a few oil changes, you can usually squeeze a few out of them. Also keep in mind dealers have to make a profit, they are not going to give it to you.

 

Thanks everyone. I think I'm going to save money by buying from a private party and do inspections with my own mechanic. Mbrogz I will definitely use your strategies if anything pops up at a dealership that I really like.

 

Just curious, but why do you say that? I guess a "truck" without 4wd isn't much of a truck

 

Because you can get a really nice 4wd for $20K+. If you really have no use for 4wd, you should be able to find something nice for less than $20K. Have you educated yourself on the difference between 5 lug and 6 lug 2wd? I think you need to do lots more research on the different configurations of Tacomas before you drop $20K. Do you need pulling power or is gas mileage a primary concern? Do you want manual or automatic trans? Power windows, AC, and cruise or bare bones? When I bought my Taco, I was very specific in what I wanted. Even the color was important to me.

 

As stated before Toyota doesn't make a V4, they make an I4. The letters stand for the organization of the cylinders.

You only have to spend what you have to spend. Do not consider taking out a loan on a vehicle that is too much. Just keep saving and come back when you have more cash.

You KBB for double checking prices on vehicles, because every city will have different values for these trucks.

I bought my truck certified used from a Toyota dealer. I got a good deal on my Tacoma back when I bought it and the sales manager I worked with treated me right. I bought the truck with 27K on it so it was nice that it was certified to extend the factory warranty just because you never know how previous owners treat their trucks regardless of maintenance records.

 

Good points. Yes I've done a fair amount of research but this is my own first truck, I only have experience working with my bosses F-150. 5 lug is smaller, lower wheels, better for gas mileage? I want mileage over pulling power, and yeah I wont get a color I don't love. Don't know what bare bones means. I live in socal where I'll never really need 4wd, and I'll definitely need AC haha