<p>On my last purchase, I asked the salesperson to give me their best price and they gave me a number. He then told me that I could spend some time with the sales manager to knock the price down further. I declined to do that and just took the discount immediately offered. The salesperson has to earn a living too and I want the business to be around for a long time so I usually don’t go after the last dime in a negotiation. I paid less for my current car than what I paid in 2000; it seems that there is barely any inflation in car prices for the high-volume models.</p>
<p>We needed to buy a replacement Corolla very quickly after our final au pair totaled one. We went on the Toyota website to locate the vehicle with the exact features we wanted in a 30 minute driving radius. We then called each dealer, explained what we were doing, gave them the VIN of the car they owned and said they had 30 minutes to call us back with their best deal and we would be in the next day to buy with cash. </p>
<p>We took the lowest offer from a dealer we’ve never returned to. The sales manager told us it was such a high volume car and we weren’t looking for a high end model, that he was happy to move it for very little profit to get credit for selling a vehicle. </p>
<p>Another tip for buying a car is to buy one at the end of the month/quarter when they are looking to meet goals. (that would be this week!). </p>
<p>PS - we bought our Edge from a Costco dealer, but didn’t know they were one until we started negotiating. H works for a Fortune 100 company that has set prices with all major car companies, so we noted that AAA & Costco and asked them what the best price was. Costco won by a mile. (H had his smartphone out and was looking up suggested prices, so we had an idea of what we should be paying. The Costco deal was quite good and that was before incentives).</p>
<p>We’ve been car shopping too, and the Accord seems to be our definite front runner. I agree with you on the leather/cloth seats. We also don’t want a sun roof, but I do want all the other things that come with the higher end model, and leather and sun roofs are just part of the package. We drove the accord and the Subaru Forester. They both drove nicely, but the forster was more plasticy and bit truck like. We have had a Honda Van for years now and love it, so we are Honda fans. Our D is starting to drive now, so our priorities are safety and drivability. The Accord did very well on the IIHS crash tests, even the newest small overlap crash test. I also loved the Volvo S60 but the price, and maintenance costs knocked that out of the running…but it did superbly on all the crash tests.</p>
<p>The tests were changed this year to include front drivers side impact (near the wheel) and Honda updated the Accord to meet this test while Toyota didn’t with the Camry which explains why the Camry slipped in the safety ratings this year.</p>
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I think you should provide some feedback on your experience to Costco somehow. I don’t think the dealers are supposed to behave like this. The Toyota dealer I discussed the Costco deal with didn’t behave like that but rather like I expect the fleet department to behave. Note that I did manage to talk them down to a price somewhat better than the Costco price due to my awareness of the prices at various dealerships. I think Costco would have something to say to that dealership about your experience and if there’s enough negative feedback I’d hope Costco would drop them. Maybe they’ll even get back to you with a better deal than you’d normally get.</p>
<p>As far as answering questions about the car - by the time I’m interested in a car I ‘always’ know more about the vehicle than any of the people I interact with at the dealership. I don’t know why people even ask the salespeople questions about the vehicle since they usually know very little, will answer incorrectly based on guesses on their part, and sometimes will outright lie. Don’t expect that they know anything. The internet is your friend and can give you all of the objective info you need. In addition, go to Edmunds, Motor Trend, and some other car sites to read comparison tests and test drive reports for the type of vehicle you’re interested in. They can be insightful.</p>
<p>I purchased some cars simply by contacting the fleet departments by phone or the ‘internet sales’ department by email. Through that method I was able to get it down to the dealerships that are willing to deal (i.e. eliminate some) and ended up conducting entire transactions without ever going to the dealership other than to pick up the car. You can even see the exact inventory at most dealers, generally in real time, and can find one with the car you want.</p>
<p>I like the way Audi drives. We have found it by accident, went to buy an Avalon, but it ws missing something that we were looking for and dealer has offered to check the Audi (at the same price). It worked out well.<br>
We also have found out that Internet inventory was not very reliable. And another consideration is that checking some dealerships outside of bigger city limits in some smaller places is very rewarding.</p>
<p>I have been dealing with the internet sales department and make it clear that I will NOT be pressured. I have made it clear that I have done a LOT of research and have on-line quotes. We will see how close any of them will come to the car prices I’ve seen on-line for my zip code. I told them I am NOT interested in haggling or hassling AT ALL. There is a HUGE amount of inventory for the car I’m most interested in, including many with the same colors and leather seats I want. I have decided to be less picky about the color of the paint and seats if I get the price I want.</p>
<p>This can be a win-win, since it is the end of the week and month and quarter this Sunday. I also have cash, so we don’t have to haggle or hassle about any financing or trade-ins. I will probably donate my vehicle as usual to a charity, who will auction it off and give the charity the proceeds.</p>
<p>If none of the three dealerships are interested in working with me, I can go to the other types of mini-SUV on my list. I am NOT stuck on this vehicle, or could even buy in OR or CA and ship the vehicle to our home. The plane fare and shipping fees could be less than the price difference, depending.</p>
<p>I drove Audis for 18 years. Great feeling and handling - absolutely miserable on maintenance costs and really, really expensive parts that are maintenance items. I could not believe the differences in maintenance costs between Audis and Toyotas. The folks in my office all have the same opinion of Audi. For me it was a love-hate relationship.</p>
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I’m just curious - how much does it cost to ship a car from California to Hawaii and how long does it take?</p>
<p>When we’ve shipped in the past, it has been about $500-1000, depending. It can take a week or two. We have functioning vehicles, so I’m not concerned about how long it takes, but the additional cost and hassle would have to be factored in to decide whether to bother buying off island or out of state. Sadly, I believe it costs about the same amount to ship the car from here to a neighbor island, so they have an even tougher time getting competitive pricing for their vehicles.</p>
<p>I am concerned about maintenance costs and the cost of parts. Have loved the inexpensive and pretty trouble-free Toyota Sienna van that we’ve had since 1999, but it is pretty much time to move on and retire it. Everything works except the anti-lock brakes, and it only has < 110,000 miles. Sadly, have read the Kelly Blue Book value on these is about $2000 or less.</p>
<p>Just got off the phone with my mechanic. He agreed that both of my top choices, the Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV4 are fairly low maintenance, so it should work well for me, especially with my low mileage driving. I told him I’ll be happy to see him for oil changes and safety checks but don’t need to see him for 4 digit repair bills. He laughed. Will see whether I LIKE driving either or both vehicles.</p>
<p>One problem with the RAV4 is that it doesn’t have a leather seat option, just a “leatherette,” form of vinyl. H really wants us to have leather seats in our vehicles and several of the ones we’ve driven over the past few years have had leather seats. Will report what happens with my “game strategy” for buying a Honda CR-V. </p>
<p>I’m quite hopeful, as I have never been a haggler. When I bought a car in 1986, I had the price of how much it would cost to get the vehicle I wanted in OR and have it shipped to me and asked them to match or beat it. Originally, the salesman waffled but the manager reluctantly approved the sale, as I told them I’d walk otherwise.</p>
<p>In 1999, when we purchased a Toyota, we used the fleet sales department, even though I was only purchasing one van. There was no haggling and he let me charge the van on my credit cards, so no cash and no financing. One of the credit cards had 0% interest for 18 months and the other gave me cash back. I was able to pay the balance in full before the end of the 18 months and paid the other one as soon as I got the statement.</p>
<p>I think you have a unique situation since you’re somewhat isolated on an island. If you want a new car, or possibly even a recently used car that’s still under a factory warranty, you should probably limit your choices to the dealers available on your island for ease of warranty service. It’s different than some of us who have virtually every manufacturer dealer fairly close by and for some of them, multiple dealers close by.</p>
<p>I haven’t seen Acura or Lexus mentioned much. They’re both upscale/luxo versions of Honda/Toyota and you may have dealers for them on your island. They’ll cost more of course, but you might want to check them out - i.e. the Acura RDX and the Lexus RX for smaller crossovers.</p>
<p>If you’re trying to save some bucks then you might want to consider ‘factory certified used cars’ from one of the dealers on your island. They’ll still be relatively new, s/b safe, will have lots of features, will be covered under a warranty for peace of mind, yet be less expensive than a new car.</p>
<p>You can still just contact the fleet department directly to see what price they give you if you know exactly what car you want. Now they’re typically the fleet/internet sales department and you may be able to deal with them via email to the point of having a set price before you ever step foot at the dealership.</p>
<p>I had a Volvo V70 AWD. Horrendous maintenance costs even if I tried the nearest dealers in our area. Before I bought it Consumer Reports gave excellent ratings to the previous model, the 850 I think. Lesson learned. Never buy a newly introduced model. I agree with Gladdad in regards to Lexus.</p>
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<p>Evidently, Toyota has been moving away from leather to this faux-leather material. It weighs less than leather, it is expected to last longer than leather, and (if I recall correctly, some Toyota salesman asserted, and this may or may not be the case, but…) it costs less in both money and energy to upholster a car in this stuff than in leather.</p>
<p>But here’s what really prompts me to comment: when I test drove a Prius V recently, I really liked the faux-leather seats. Liked them every bit as much as the leather seats in the car I did buy, and better than the leather seats in my aging Honda Pilot. (I didn’t actually buy the Prius V, but that wasn’t the reason why.)</p>
<p>I have the faux leather on the dash - it looks like a piece of leather on the dash, complete with a stitching piece. I do like the look. What looks cheap is smooth plastic. I’ve always felt that really inexperience cars use plastic surfaces that are supposed to feel cheap so that you’ll be encouraged to go up a trim level. Actual manufacturing costs may be the same but one may look and feel better.</p>
<p>Thanks for all these thoughts. There are very limited dealers for Toyota in our state–ONE. At least with Hondas, there are three different dealers, which is something that appealed to me. It is frustrating to have to so few places to work with, but they have been selling at reasonable prices for what I’m looking for, according to all the on-line reports.</p>
<p>We did consider the Lexus, but of course few dealers in our state. Same with Acura. I do like the thought of getting something where there are three dealers, just in case I don’t like one of them for some reason, there are at least two others. ;)</p>
<p>Will test drive a few different vehicles from different companies and see what I think.</p>
<p>On the topic of faux leather… I have had it in two previous cars and have it in the car we purchased tonight! I really love the faux leather or leatherette. I think it holds up really well and is easy to clean. I am excited to have it in the new car.</p>
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<p>Some people prefer fake leather due to better durability, less maintenance, and lower cost.</p>
<p>It still gets hot after the car is parked in the sun.</p>
<p>Ok, now for the latest updates. Just got a phone call from my brother asking me if we want his old Honda Accord (which is much newer than either my van or H’s car).</p>
<p>Also test drove five cars at four dealers. It was much pleasanter than I expected. I asked to speak with the Internet sales person and made it clear I was just looking and would be sending out a request for a quote once I finished the various test drives at different dealers, on the vehicles interesting me. (All of this happened before my brother offered his car.)</p>
<p>My impressions:
Toyota RAV4 is out of stock in Honolulu. Orders will take 1+ month for a basic model and maybe September or later for a more deluxe model. The car had a much stiffer suspension than I’m used to, which meant you felt our many potholes very well! The rear folded down to pretty flat. </p>
<p>Honda CRV drove much more like a car and had a suspension which cushioned more of the bumps and potholes. The rear was very easy to fold down from the rear seat or by opening the back of the SUV. Excellent turning radius. Very quiet ride. There are A LOT of CRVs in stock. It was the only one if the SUVs I drove that didn’t have push button ignition. </p>
<p>Ford Escape had a suspension about halfway between the other two SUVs. They had only one left in the lot because its selling well. Did not have the back up camera the other two brands did. Didn’t particularly notice turning radius. The carpet in the back was VERY low quality. Someone had put the screen (to shield what is in the back storage) down on the carpet and damaged it–I tried to “refluff” it with my hand but it appeared to be permanently damaged and made me wonder about the overall quality of the vehicle. </p>
<p>Ford Focus similarly had you feeling about half the bumps along the road. Nothing that wowed me and I didn’t feel there was much headroom (and I’m only 5’5"). It was ok for me but might be tight for someone taller. </p>
<p>Lastly, I tried the Acura RDX. It had very responsive “crisp” steering and also a decent turning radius (not sure how it compares with the Honda as both turned well). It was a very quiet ride. </p>
<p>I was impressed that the salespeople were ok about backing off when I told them I wasn’t at all interested in talking price but just gathering info I didn’t have from Internet, which I could only really do by driving each of the cars to compare and contrast. Was glad I drove the vehicles all today. Didn’t try the Lexus, but am not too interested since there is only one dealer in state. May try to get there if I’m in the area sometime. </p>
<p>So confused at this point. Had been planning to buy by this month. Maybe I’ll now take/borrow/buy my brother’s car and defer. Will go talk with them tomorrow. They will need the car back when their kids are home for the holidays, but H will be retired then. Maybe we will wait awhile longer.</p>