Just purchased a 2024 Land Cruiser, LC Trim - Black exterior w/Java interior, equipped w/Premium Package and Illuminated door sills. I've scanned this forum regularly and have picked up a few pieces of great advice, figured I'd return the favor. Happy to walk through:
1. Background/What I intend to use the vehicle for
EDIT:
1. When dealerships promoted mark-ups, I politely told them that I'd be sharing my purchasing experience on the forums/online - a few seemed to pull back and be less aggressive. Would recommend you do the same
2. When test driving, I'd recommend peeping the video from the thread called 'the hybrid that can't' and revving the engine to make sure you don't hear knocking. I did, but while in park, not neutral
Hope this helps everyone. Good luck!
- Background/What I intend to use the vehicle for
- My purchasing process
- Purchasing advice, negotiation tactics
1. Background/What I intend to use the vehicle for
- I'm new to the Los Angeles area, am 6' tall, mid-thirties, no kids, but have a huge dog. I'm frequently in Mammoth snowboarding during the winter, road-tripping across the country (work remote, in tech so I don't commute), and fish/hike a bunch all over Socal
- FWIW - I've worked in Enterprise Software for 10+ years, in sales
- Just got the windows tinted and plan on throwing some 80/90% on-road All-Terrain tires (don't want to lose MPG, nor create unnecessary wind-noise, but will hit the dirt a few times a year - if you have suggestions on what tires to grab/where do I even start? please share!)
- Originally interested in the 2025 4Runner for the rear rolldown window and overall more cargo space than my previous car (both of which my dog would've loved) but after sitting in the 4th gen Tacoma - the space/headroom feels super cramped, windshield seems to have very limited visibility, and the materials don't seem premium at all
- Went to check out a 2024 Tacoma to compare drive/feel to 6th gen/2024 4runner and it had a clearly misaligned rear gate, the panels don't seem to fit well, and is clearly lacking in build quality compared to the LC. Lots of hard plastics, just seemed very rushed (think 2015 Tesla quality)
- Were grabbing sandwiches in the area and happened to visit Toyota Santa Monica to kill time, test drove a Blk/Blk LC w/Premium and loved it, told them I won't support mark-ups and offered to pay cash for MSRP if they could give me +$1k above KBB value for my trade in - suggested we made a deal that day. They tried to push an $8k mark-up, told them to kick rocks and reverted back to my MSRP deal. They declined, then called back an hour after I had left and offered the deal I proposed - though by then I had seen the Java interior wanted to check it out
- From here, I started to check inventory dates on the Toyota website - scanning it for LC's with the specific options I was interested in
- Visited Toyota Westminster the following weekend to peep a Blk/Brwn LC w/Premium - they wanted a ridiculous mark-up $5-8k?, also were extremely rude. Made up my find it was going to be MSRP-ONLY and my specific add-ons only, ie: no crossbars, no dashcam, no theft deterrent alarm BS and +$1k above KBB for my trade in. They were extremely rude, the finance manager tries to pull that four-square napkin BS, and told me "next time, bring your tools before you go to war bro" complete waste of time, dudes a loser - avoid at all costs
- Saw Northridge had one incoming, exactly how I wanted it spec'd (Blk/Brwn, Premium, All Weather Cargo Mats, illuminated Door Sills) - told them to call me as soon as it touched the lot, I'd pay cash and be in that day and asked that they don't add dealer add-on BS! (they said it would be added regardless and that there's a mark-up, I was confident in my negotiation skills, then deflected and asked for them to just to call me when it hit the lot)
- Visited Toyota Hollywood, same deal - offered CASH for MSRP today if they removed $2k from sticker (because it had a bunch of add-ons I didn't want - tried to spec it to Northridge's one, showed Window Sticker), +$1k trade in - communicated that I didn't support paying dealer add-on BS. Told them I was first on the list at Northridge but I'd take theirs if they matched the price - because I didn't need the add-ons. They declined, couldn't go under MSRP by $2k having only had it on the lot for a day
- Remained in communication with Northridge, through the Hollywood visit - they called as soon as it arrived. I asked to be transferred to the finance manager and made my same offer - MSRP, cash, KBB for trade in - today... who said he needed GM approval to sell @ MSRP, called me back in 5 minutes and said we had a deal
- To my surprise, when I arrived some other sales rep was showing the car to another gentleman. We grabbed the keys and that guy hopped in and test drove it. I was lowkey pretty pissed, fully realizing that most of these sales guys have zero shame, and there's no such thing as loyalty or dignity. To be fair, I had a great experience with AJ from Northridge Toyota, he's new. Their Finance manager David and Walid kept it real - though wish they had considered my verbal commitment OTP as locked-in as I did. I had told them MSRP, cash-in hand, I'll be there in 30 mins, we have a deal - I'll buy it
- Arrived around 6ish, paperwork took a few hours, they tried to pitch some warranties, I declined - left after closing ~9PM
- DON'T PAY DEALER MARK-UPS!
- Tell them you'll only entertain MSRP only as you're next on the list @ an MSRP dealer but will purchase theirs if they match (google toyota MSRP only dealerships, there are a handful of Google.docs incredible people are put together) *you've gotta be willing to walk away!
- Pit the dealerships against each other, visit one, test drive, make some competitive offers that day directly with the finance manager, then leave - but text them - securing an MSRP offer in writing. Walk into another dealership and leverage your MSRP offer to negate their mark-ups. Show them the texts.
- Straight up refuse paying the dealer-add-on fee's, completely avoid it pretending it doesn't exist - they'll remove it, I promise ($400 for paint protection, $650 dash cam, $500 theft deterrent alarm? LOL... zero-in on MSRP. Pay ZERO attention to that other BS. I walked in and explained that I'm next on the list at multiple MSRP-only dealerships (Longo, Anaheim, etc)
- They'll get salty that you're referring to much larger dealerships that are higher-volume and can afford to eat into margins by selling MSRP. Reply and ask them: if you're shopping for dish soap, are between two Target stores, and one is cheaper than the other - why would you go to the more expensive one? why is this any different?
- Most MSRP-only dealers (ie: Longo) inventory won't show up on toyota.com's website - as their inventory is reserved and accounted for. Call and get on their waitlists because chances are no one ahead of you wants the same color/package combo you want (I called Longo yesterday, got on the list at roughly spot 45, not a single person wanted Blk/Brown LC lol)
- Have crystal-clear examples on why you CAN'T have the add-ons:
- Cross bars? Sorry, it won't fit in my garage with them - the extra few inches will hit my garage-top
- Paint protection film? My cousin owns a shop and we're going to wrap it - so we'll need to remove it regardless
- Theft deterrent alarm? I've already purchased an aftermarket one, don't need yours
- Point being - if you clearly can't have these add-ons = end of negotiation. How can you argue for me to buy the crossbars if it takes away the ability for me to park it in my garage? (push for them to discount it, they can remove it after you buy)
- They'll try to confuse you by grabbing paper and drawing those four quadrants/boxes during negotiations. Negotiate logically, first agreeing to the purchasing price, then how you pay for it ie: finance/lease terms/cash, then trade-in. Negotiate logically, 1 by 1. Be sure to lead them, don't let them lead you
- If they can't go cheaper, get them to throw in additional incentives in order to make it worthwhile ie: maintenance costs, extended warranty, all-weather mats, keychains, etc. I'm surprised at how terrible most sales reps were at negotiating here... Rule #1 is never lower purchase price, instead sweeten the incentives...
- Firmly propose the deal you want, and be willing to walk away. I cut to the chase, told them cash for MSRP, KBB for my trade in, and we have a deal... stuck my hand out for a handshake. That doesn't have to be your offer, ie: you can tell them $10k down, 5% rates pending +750 credit score, payments under $600/mo - I'll buy today. You'll see very quickly who's full of it and who's actually got the huevos to cut a deal
- Lastly, it seems as if their ability to discount/sweeten the deal is highly dependent on where their quota-attainment is for the month. It sounds like there's both a # of vehicles sold component along with a separate quota-piece which they receive a kickback % based on sale price, which includes accelerators (ie: +150% of quota-retirement has a higher kickback % than +125%, which is higher than +100%, etc) which is why certain dealerships can hold out and won't entertain lower prices (their monthly attainment is likely higher or they might need a bigger sale to close the gap. vs. another dealership who might be in accelerators having over-achieved and might want to maximize his/her kickout quicker) hope that makes sense - in short, they'll be able to negotiate more if their monthly attainment is suffering
EDIT:
1. When dealerships promoted mark-ups, I politely told them that I'd be sharing my purchasing experience on the forums/online - a few seemed to pull back and be less aggressive. Would recommend you do the same
2. When test driving, I'd recommend peeping the video from the thread called 'the hybrid that can't' and revving the engine to make sure you don't hear knocking. I did, but while in park, not neutral
Hope this helps everyone. Good luck!
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