alright i'm finally getting down to buying my fj. the months are flying by and i'm so happy to say that at the end of this year or beginning of next i will be a proud new owner. so i really want to have a good plan of action when working with my dealer. so far i have a few guys who all say msrp which is what they all say is the lowest they can go... b/s. i'm 22 and i know i'm a prime candidate to get jerked around. i plan to buy from austin, dallas, houston, or even corpus either in the metro area or out. i'm totally at the mercy of who will play ball but that kind of area should give me some options. first off - how much are the dealers making off comission? i know normally they have a 5-10k cushion to work with on most vehicles. so whats asking too much on a trade in. i've got a loaded '95 mustang gt convertible to get rid of either by trade or out right sale. want it? pm me. seriously. the other thing is time is not of the essence i just want to get an fj whenever i can find a GOOD deal...no rush. i'm looking for the pretty basic model 4x4 auto, convience package, rear locker, and hitch... maybe a roof rack, rock rails, or wheels. will add a-trac button and passenger armrest at a later date. i would think thats pretty easy for a dealer to get. what else am i looking at paying besides tt&l? any hidden costs, fees besides the find me a fj fee (that is usually given back or put towards purchase)? sorry this is so long. thanks to all you hardcore posters who read it all the way through. any help is much appreciated. adios.
well i too am shopping for a fj but i have learned a bit of whats going on
A. your not gonna find a fj that dont have the junk pile fjammer
B. watch for bull like convience package b waterproof seats its a lie had one straight up tell me this i filled him in and he hung up on me (seats are stock 8 way adjustable scion Xb seats)
C. cars direct are buying these at 3k over invoice so expect the screwing to be passed onto you
D. most these dealers can flex but wont because demand is high and they will say there not allowed to its crap tell em to deal or you walk dont let em bully you!
E. at the port there adding roof racks and every thing under the sun to them to ensure they make lots of over head and you will have to fight tooth and nail to get em to remove things like passenger side armrests (why do i need armrests for my passengers if i dont get any)
if you dont have a time issue hold out and wait for them to have to sell they will slash prices , dont be like me i pissed off 5 dealerships today by calling there bluff on the lies they say (50k for a fully loaded 4x4 at with stock leather seats! my ass lol)
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I ordered my Cherry 2wd Auto. at MSRP from Freeman Toyota in Hurst, TX (between Fort Worth and Dallas) over the internet with only the conv. package and the diff. from the factory. Port/dealer installed optiones I wanted were the predator bars, window tint and alarm. They originally said it would take 60-90 days to get what I want, but got lucky to find what I wanted within 2 weeks. Good luck!
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2007 Black Cherry 2wd
Conv. Package with Diff.
Predator Bars
Zinik 18" Alloys
285/60/18 Bridgestone Alenza H/L's
MB Quart 269 Component Speakers
Kenwood DPX 301 head unit
Scion aluminum Shift Knob
Aries alu. Grab Handles
Gobi Stealth Roof Rack waiting to be installed...
well i too am shopping for a fj but i have learned a bit of whats going on
A. your not gonna find a fj that dont have the junk pile fjammer
B. watch for bull like convience package b waterproof seats its a lie had one straight up tell me this i filled him in and he hung up on me (seats are stock 8 way adjustable scion Xb seats)
C. cars direct are buying these at 3k over invoice so expect the screwing to be passed onto you
D. most these dealers can flex but wont because demand is high and they will say there not allowed to its crap tell em to deal or you walk dont let em bully you!
E. at the port there adding roof racks and every thing under the sun to them to ensure they make lots of over head and you will have to fight tooth and nail to get em to remove things like passenger side armrests (why do i need armrests for my passengers if i dont get any)
if you dont have a time issue hold out and wait for them to have to sell they will slash prices , dont be like me i pissed off 5 dealerships today by calling there bluff on the lies they say (50k for a fully loaded 4x4 at with stock leather seats! my ass lol)
- I have seen plenty without the FJammer. I have the FJ and IMO isn't junk.
- How are the water proof seats BS? I dont care what they came out of, they work fine and have thus far been waterproof.
- Different parts of the country have higher demand than others. There a plenty on the lots in some places while in other places you have to get on a waiting list. Here, you can get them below MSRP and I had no wait.
- The port is adding alot of stuff, but here more models are showing up with less port added options.
Cliff Notes: Dont label your opinions as facts. Situations vary with locations.
i agree that the high demand really throws a wrench in the price right now. i was hoping that by early next year or late this year it would die off some. still seems to be in full swing though. so far with the very few dealers i've talked to are champion corpus(i live here right now) was nice a bit unknowing of most things and runs a monopoly on toyota down here. they are probably off my buy list. classic toyota in round rock is pretty nice again the sales people lie until you stop them but as you will see later offer a decent deal. and charles maund austin who wouldn't even give me the time of day when my girlfriend and i went in because they had some sucker hooked on to buy either a 2wd or 4wd fully loaded with extra b/s options like leather seats and soccer mom package. of those two vehicles one was 30 something and the other was almost 40 . it was a guy chosing between yellow or blue with no clue what he was buying. and man did we get the evil eye from him when we went near one to get a closer look. that is such crap on a vehicle that bases 23k 4x4 auto. again off my list for sure! this smiley is a representation of how charles maund toyota treats customers but anyway the lady at the reception desk is very nice there. i've got classic to say they will give me msrp for sure absolutely no questions asked so thats good. i might go with them. my plan was to get a good trade in and maybe have them swing some options if i get under their skin enough. i absolutely don't want package 1 or 2. they add 2000 that i am not willing to spend for what i get. i like some of the features but all i really want is a-trac and thats easily added afterwards. thanks for the posts the feedback is great. chrsmall where did you get yours? sounds like you worked with a good dealer. i can easily get msrp. but below it would be amazing and i know it can be and has been done more than once. enjoy.
As a recent buyer, I'll share my thoughts on the process.
1- As far as MSRP goes, it seems to be the going price in most places. It was certainly the case in the Pacific NW. I tried several different dealers and all were willing to sell at MSRP, but no lower. Basically a supply and demand thing--if you don't want to pay MSRP, someone else will. This may change if you're willing to hold off for six months or so and see if the market changes.
Also, if it's a trustworthy dealership they'll show you exactly how much they're making on the car. From what I know of the auto market (which is limited), the Japanese automakers don't have the large $5-10K cushion that is common with the US automakers, thus not as much play when haggling for a price, especially on a high-demand car.
2- Sell your car yourself if you want to get the most out of it. If you don't want to hassle with it, be prepared to take a couple thousand less. FJs are in high demand and dealers are taking advantage of that fact when it comes to trading in your car. Don't be afraid to walk away from a deal if you don't get what you want for a value, but also keep in mind most dealers are going to be within $500 or so of each other. Kinda comes down to how bad you want that FJ.
3- I'd recommend getting the roof rack, rock rails, and wheels as aftermarket items. You can browse the forums here on each item to see why (usability, quality, and so on).
4- Don't pay more than $1000 for the extended warrany. You can get it cheaper from dealers that post on this site. Possible downside of doing it after the purchase is that you can't finance it as part of your loan. Once you get into the finance office and they get to the warrany bit, tell them you can get it online from another dealer for $100 over cost (which is about $850-$900 total) and they'll likely meet that deal or at least come close to it.
Good luck with your search. It takes a while, but well worth it in the end.
Last edited by ink_junkie : 09-19-2006 at 09:10 AM.
hey ink junkie wow that is exactly the kind of info i was looking for thanks a bunch. i was really curious about the price cushion on the fj's because this is not only my 1st NEW car but my 1st toyota/japanese vehicle as well. the info on the accessories i highly agree with you on. i love tinkering and buying aftermarket anyway. the warranty stuff i had no idea about thats a huge plus to know about. with all the help of you guys in this forum i'm going to have a strong case when walking into the dealership. i've done alot of research on the fj but this is about the best group of responses i've had on my journey thus far. again thanks for all the help. please keep the posts coming. any response is always of interest to me. Bostonian1976 sounds good. will do. well i'm off to TAMUCC to bomb a test :-( but keep the posts coming. gives me something GOOD to look forward to when i get back.
Last edited by typerider : 09-19-2006 at 09:08 AM.
Hubert Vester Toyota in Wilson, NC. They were really good to work with. It's a small town about 40 min. away from Greenville that doesnt take kindly to "jap" cars I guess. They had a few on the lot everytime i went there (about 3 times prior to buying). I still had to haggle but i got what i feel is a good price. I searched all over the east coast before buying. SET(south east toyo) has a vehicle database you look through, so when I bought I knew of every FJ within SET everything about each of them, including the VIN.
more dealer Q and A
so i really want to have a good plan of action when working with my dealer. so far i have a few guys who all say msrp which is what they all say is the lowest they can go... b/s. i'm 22 and i know i'm a prime candidate to get jerked around. i plan to buy from austin, dallas, houston, or even corpus either in the metro area or out. i'm totally at the mercy of who will play ball but that kind of area should give me some options. first off - how much are the dealers making off comission? i know normally they have a 5-10k cushion to work with on most vehicles. so whats asking too much on a trade in. i've got a loaded '95 mustang gt convertible to get rid of either by trade or out right sale. want it? pm me. seriously. the other thing is time is not of the essence i just want to get an fj whenever i can find a GOOD deal...no rush. i'm looking for the pretty basic model 4x4 auto, convience package, rear locker, and hitch... maybe a roof rack, rock rails, or wheels. will add a-trac button and passenger armrest at a later date. i would think thats pretty easy for a dealer to get. what else am i looking at paying besides tt&l? any hidden costs, fees besides the find me a fj fee (that is usually given back or put towards purchase)? sorry this is so long. thanks to all you hardcore posters who read it all the way through. any help is much appreciated. adios.
) , all-pro front sway bar links 
. it was a guy chosing between yellow or blue with no clue what he was buying. and man did we get the evil eye from him when we went near one to get a closer look. that is such crap on a vehicle that bases 23k 4x4 auto. again off my list for sure! this smiley is a representation of how charles maund toyota treats customers 
but anyway the lady at the reception desk is very nice there. i've got classic to say they will give me msrp for sure absolutely no questions asked so thats good. i might go with them. my plan was to get a good trade in and maybe have them swing some options if i get under their skin enough. i absolutely don't want package 1 or 2. they add 2000 that i am not willing to spend for what i get. i like some of the features but all i really want is a-trac and thats easily added afterwards. thanks for the posts the feedback is great. chrsmall where did you get yours? sounds like you worked with a good dealer. i can easily get msrp. but below it would be amazing and i know it can be and has been done more than once. enjoy.
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