Finally had time in my busy schedule to get a test drive for tomorrow (saturday) morning. Just going to a local dealer to drive one around for a few. I'm not going to be able to buy for about a month, or 2 tops.. but while I'm there just wondering is there anything I should be aware of or ask for like any special deals going on in general? Any chance they'll give me a no payments for 6 months deal so I can afford to get it now?
Location: currently Huntsville, AL, originally from Honolulu
Posts: 1,640
Re: Test drive!
Well enjoy the ride and good luck beating down the temptation
If you have been hanging out here for awhile, then there may be a good chance that you know more about the FJ than the salesperson showing/demonstrating it to you. But you never know, there is also a chance you run into a super-stud who actually knows the product.
Offers will vary by location and dealer. Don't know where you are at so, I can't (others either) comment on what or who to beware of, etc.
Well let me tell ya... I went to do a test drive last Saturday,& drove away with a '07 leftover with 5 miles on it. Fully loaded, this FJ has every thing they offer on it,(short of the TRD model),I loved it from the min. I read the dealer hand out. Rear Locker,stock from the factory, I'm no hard core rock crawler but,I was sold.I now have over 1000 miles on it and can't find a damn thing that I don't like(with the ex. of the factory tires-need BFG AT's at least)
The dealer started working the deal off the sticker price-ended up w/ my trade-in(5000) & 750.00 rebate & some other kind of scribble #'s at around $28,000. I said "give me a break you've got '08's out there w/ the same sticker price,let's start at 28,000" & after an hour or 2 of dickering around we ended up in the very low 20's. Sorry for the ex. long story but I love the truck. The only diff. in upgrade pack. 1 & 2 is the Subwoffer(nice but not that big a deal in my opin.)They need to move the 07's, just go in with the deal you want & if they can't do it, make like your ready to walk & I'm sure they'll run the #'s one more time.Good luck,You won't be let down by the FJ , Let me know how you make out....
Thanks I would love to buy right now, but at the moment the funds just aren't there. I'm in the process of selling my house and after that happens I'll have plenty to spare for a shiney new truck. I'm doing research now and some test drives. I've been reading & posting here for a couple weeks. I've also been looking into the 4 door jeeps and H3s, but the FJ is at the top of my list.
I have a 03 Honda Element right now, I'll be trading it in. I thought about financing for a few months then paying it off when the house sells, but I don't know if I want to have that extra $400ish a month on top of other bills at the moment. Plus I figure if I really like driving it and I wait a month or 2, I should be able to get a SE. So in the meantime I'm gonna drive the FJ, JK and H3 over the next couple of weeks and see what I like the best. I'm pretty much certain the FJ is gonna come out on top. I don't need a rock crawler (but I wouldn't mind having that kinda power just in case), I need a good truck to drive to work and put 50 miles a day on and occasionally play in the mud or drive on the beach on weekends. Something real great to hold me over for the next 5 years or so till the Hx comes out
FJ seems to have everything I want minus the nav & hard drive but I can add that aftermarket. I do want an awesome radio I'm sure the H3 will have all I want but I think that's a little on the big side and more than I wanna spend. The JK I worry about reliability (but the new lifetime warranty seems nice) and theft. I've been reading a lot of posts about folks breaking in or ripping off the spare tires and Jeeps basically being an easier target for people that wanna break into cars. But the option to take the top and doors off really seems sweet. Since it's gonna have to be a daily driver for me it's really gonna just come down to what drives the best and what's the most comfy.
Also one thing I noticed that was weird is on the dealer site they have 2 '07's and 4 '08's in stock. The 07's are both $31k, the most expensive 08 is 29k.. far as I can tell there's nothing fancy extra on the 07's.. was there a general price drop for 08? dunno why they'd be selling old leftovers for more...
Well that was fun. I drove it around for a while, the dealer let me just take it and he didn't have to come along.. so I went out on the highway to see how fast it could go And I drove it around on some of the bumpiest roads I know too. A lot of folks said the blindspots were bad but I thought it was OK. My Element has plenty of blind spots too, maybe I'm just kinda used to that. What I hated most though was having to get back in my Element to drive home. Oh well
Also one thing I noticed that was weird is on the dealer site they have 2 '07's and 4 '08's in stock. The 07's are both $31k, the most expensive 08 is 29k.. far as I can tell there's nothing fancy extra on the 07's.. was there a general price drop for 08? dunno why they'd be selling old leftovers for more...
The prices you mention here are too high. Shop around and you will do better. Ask the dealer to show you the invoice. If he will do that then he is a reputable dealer. Remember he gets his holdback as well as any other current dealer incentives. Offer him about 200 over his invoice as a start. Stop at 500 over. If he won't do that, he doesn't want to sell the vehicle. Keep shopping.
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Mike
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The prices you mention here are too high. Shop around and you will do better. Ask the dealer to show you the invoice. If he will do that then he is a reputable dealer. Remember he gets his holdback as well as any other current dealer incentives. Offer him about 200 over his invoice as a start. Stop at 500 over. If he won't do that, he doesn't want to sell the vehicle. Keep shopping.
x2 - shop around and don't be afraid to walk away from a deal - chances are they've made more and have one just like it at another dealer. Going in near the end of the month, especially if the weather is crappy doesn't hurt either. Good luck!
- Chris 
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