Toyota Yaris

I am planning to buy a new Yaris (2008 automatic). Any thoughts on how I could try and get a good deal at the dealership. I am at present in Denver Colorado

Sure, don’t buy a 2008 car. Buying a brand new econo-box is a terrible deal, shop for something 3-5 years old for the same price (or save the difference), you will get much more car and you will not have to eat the initial depreciation if you decide to sell it in the first several years. Let someone else pay for the new car.

Shop multiple dealers, don’t mention what you can afford, don’t mention trade-in if any till the deal is made, and acquire your own financing to see if dealer is in check with their offerings. Also pretend to be interested in extra’s like warranty and also dealer finance when getting price. They give you a better deal on car as they make far more money on these then markup of car especially a low dollar one like Yaris.

… and acquire your own financing"

Also, never borrow money to buy a car, especially a new low-priced car. Pay cash, if you don’t have the cash; borrow the minimum amount possible to buy a functional used car until you can afford something newer.

If you’re going to get a new Yaris make sure it has ABS because the non-ABS models have terrible braking.

As far as deals and new car buying goes-check out edmunds.com

I concur, but if you have to make sure the loan is 3 years or less so you are typically on the upside of the loan for the entire duration.

we bought a new 2007 yaris 4 dr automatic in 2007. we went to 4 different toyta dealers and none would take even a penny off their yaris’s below their asking price. we were told by all 4 dealers that yaris prices are set by toyota and that unless there is a toyota discount at that time, they will not go below msrp. none of the 4 dealers were willing to negotiate on price.

Toyota makes a vehicle that’s NOT ABS and sold in the US???

It’s an option on the Yaris, as it’s an economy model. The Honda Civic only used to come with ABS on the highest level “EX” model as well.

Depends on the model really. You MIGHT be able to get some money knocked off MSRP on one, but the Yaris is probably in demand right now, so they’re not gonna budge.

I buy new cars because I keep them for a long time and don’t want someone else’s headache. I also get what I want on it. But you do make a good point about more for the money. For instance, a 2004 Acura RSX can be had for about the same price as a new Yaris-S. The RSX gets 30 MPG; the Yaris gets 33 MPG. That’s a heck of a lot more car for the same money.

I do understand that some folks buy new higher end cars and keep them for many years, but I suspect a good used car would still last longer then a new yaris (and have higher resale value throughout it’s life). If I was looking for the most car for the money, I would be looking for a 3-5 year old, well-maintained family (boring) car with fairly low miles in the $10-15K price range, and I would keep it until it’s repair costs exceeded it’s value.

I’ll bet that the Yaris drivetrain will last a quarter of a million miles or more if maintained and not abused. It’s inexpensive because they left out all the gadgets, bells, and whistles, not because they cut corners in the engine and transmission.

I’m not sure about the automatic version but the manual version so thoughoughly beats the EPA gas mileage that I wonder if they tested it with the parking brake on. I always get over 40 mpg, sometimes as much as 43-44. My best tank ever was 45.6 mpg.

Thank you.

You can offer what you want. Your better bet is to get them to make the offer, that puts the pressure on them.

I suggest finding a second dealer, even if it is out of town.  Go to both and tell them exactly what you want (if they don't have it they can get it, so you might as well get exactly what you want)  and explain that you are going to one or more other dealers (don't tell them which ones) and you want their best price to compare to the other dears best price.  Explain that the best price wins no second changes. 

This has worked well for me several times.  No haggle.  If they don't want to play your game, they really don't want to sell you a car, just think how well they will service you car after the sale.

The most important part is to remember that they start off holding all the cards. You get to hold more cards by turning the tables.  First never ever go to a dealer and fall in love with a car on the lot.  Let them know, truthfully that you have other options.  Also make sure you don't need to make a deal right away and that they know that. 

Be ready to walk.  You can always come back.  When they say the deal they are offering is only good today; turn the table, tell them that's good since it is a bad deal, you will come back tomorrow if you don't find a good deal elsewhere and maybe they can offer you a good deal tomorrow.  If the salesman needs to talk to his supervisor to ok the deal, tell him you have a better idea, he can bring the supervisor to you, who needs a middle man.  

If you don’t go with the first idea, plan on making a return visit or two. Come back in a week or two and ask if they are serious yet, or spend the time looking elsewhere.

Once they know you are serious and are not going to fall for their tricks you are in the driver’s seat, after all, you don’t need to buy a car, and if you did, you can buy it elsewhere. They need to sell cars to pay the rent.

Don’t get tied up with invoice price and such. Just look at the bottom line. Do you really care if they loose $50 or make $5,000 as long as you are getting what you want at the cheapest price available?

That would be a deal breaker for me. There is no way I’ll pay MSRP for a vehicle. I’d find another vehicle.