Buying An Avensis - Advice Needed

[GrantR]

Hi,

My local Toyota main dealer has a number of Avensis T3S models with around 14,000 miles on a '03 plate available at £12,995.

After expressing an interest, I got them down to £12,600.

I'd like to know if this is a good deal or not?

They don't seem to have dropped that much and every time I watch the likes of Top Gear or the Channel 4 equivalent, the presenters always manage to scoop huge discounts from dealers and heap derision on those paying the ticket price. I don't have anything to trade in against it, and would probably be paying cash (via bank loan) rather than taking the dealer's finance package with a higher APR.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

Grant

[SMW]

I think they can do bettter than this.

You would get a better price if you took their finance but then you don't have a part X so you are still a good customer.

You can get a BRAND NEW one for £14135 - only £1535 more than the price they are asking for the second hand one.

Show them the internet brokers price (I have attached link below) and if they won't go lower then beg, steal or borrow the extra 1500 quid and get a brand new one !

Good Luck.

http://www.broker4cars.co.uk/pricewindows/...ota/avensis.htm

[joebw]

I'd tend to agree with SMW that a new one might be a better bet (I have just ordered an 04 Avensis 1.8 T3X via an online broker) but from the research I've done I think you would always have to add around £300 to the prices shown on the brokers' websites for metallic paint to make the comparison fair (assuming the second hand ones you mention are metallic, which I guess is most likely)

Since I ordered mine in mid-February, the new Toyota price list issued on 1 Mar 04 shows an increase in the price of a 1.8 T3S or T3X of £382. However some of the online brokers' websites from where I had printed out quotations now show price increases of £700 to £800 since February. I understand the main reason for the increase is the 04 Avensis 1.8 now includes Stability Control as standard, whereas it used to be standard only on the 2.0.

Hope that helps

[GrantR]

Thanks for the advice.

I've just been to another dealer (in the same chain) and got them down to £12,400 plus 1 year's free insurance using their finance: £500 deposit, £11,900 over 4 years at 7.6% APR, making the monthly repayments £285.

This is for the T3S with 13,000 miles on an 03 plate (Apr 03) and metallic paint.

I am opting out of a company car scheme (previously had a 2001 Corolla which goes back next week) so I don't really want to spend more than the company is giving me in allowances (£300 per month once the Tax Man has had his share!) to keep me on the road.

I must say that I am becoming very tempted ...

Grant

[SMW]

Co-Op loan rate is currently 5.9 APR - Tesco is 6.8, both better than the dealers.

Where are you ? Might be able to suggest a better dealer to visit.

[GrantR]

I'm in Ligh******er, Surrey and have tried all the local dealers (Reading, Bracknell, Sandhurst, Guildford, Slough). 5.9 APR at Tesco is a "Typical" APR. Unfortunately they have very limited guidelines as to who qualifies for these particular rates, and , although my credit history is fine, you find that unless you happen to be a 43.5 year-old Meteorologist from Crewe then you'll still qualify, just not at the rate they advertise.

When I asked a bank who purported to have a 6.9% offer, I was approved, but because I couldn't fulfill the exact criteria, the rate was pushed up to 8.3%.

By playing one dealer off against the other I've got the APR down to 6.7% :D , so I'm going to go with that and pick up the car next week.

Thanks for the replies

Grant

[matty2767]

i got £3k off the list price of my t3x 04 plate with an apr on the rest of 6.5% and it was delivered on saturday. there are about a dozen dealers in our local area and i just kept ringing round until they wouldnt go any lower. i only went to two dealers in person and one of those was to test drive the car. they are selling them in the local paper on an 03 plate for more than what i payed brand new so it pays to weigh up the whole deal not just the price.

it would have been cheaper from an online broker but buying it from round the corner means i can always nip back and be in their face if anything goes wrong. at the end of the day no matter how much they go on about the warranty being european your contract is with the dealer who sold you the car.

[joebw]

I tried to get a £12,500 loan first of all from cahoot (with whom I've had an account for 3 years) as they were offering 5.9% APR. They offered me a maximum of £8,000 at 6.9%, so I refused this. I then tried the Co-Operative Bank, also offering 5.9% APR - gave them all the same info, and got it straight away! So, they clearly have different criteria, and being a customer does not seem to be relevant. The money is now in my account but the car is not ready yet - and in fact I just heard last week that they now expect it to be delivered in 5 weeks. I am not best pleased about this, so am still considering other options, as I can cancel the order if necessary....

matty... any further info you are willing to divulge about your deal could be extremely helpful. I asked my local dealer if they could get anywhere close to the £2,100 discount off list price that I was getting from the online broker and was told "no - we would make a loss if we sold you one at that price." The salesman siad if he was me he would go for the online deal as he couldn't even get close to it! So, it's very interesting that you've got £3k off the list price. I assume taking their finance has clinched the deal, but even at 6.5% APR I am surprised they are making enough profit on that to make it worthwhile giving you a £3k discount. How long did you have to wait for delivery?

Do you have idea whether the same dealer might do the same for someone else? I still have an option to cancel my current order and repay the entire loan to the Co-Op Bank before the first repayment is due on 28 March, and I would lose no money. I am also wanting a T3X 1.8 Hatchback in Silver Steel.

Hope you don't mind me asking you all the questions.

Thanks

Joe

[matty2767]

joebw

as you live close to notts you should be able to get the same kind of deal i did. just keep pushing. remember if your not happy with the price - walk away.

heres (briefly) how it went for me.

went to first dealer in derby. they offered nothing off the price (list price 17k incl met paint). but i had the whatcar magazine and decided to ring round a few dealers. rang 4 different dealers and each time they beat the previous price. the one we decided on wasnt the cheapest but it was the best apr (6.5%) if i took out their finance so we decided to go there. on the way we passed another delear, which i hadnt rang before, and popped in. they matched the cheapest deal but the apr was 12% so i told them the other dealership in the same group had offered me 6.5% and they had a deal if they matched that. they did and i got the t3x (6 week delivery, which i wanted so i got an 04 plate) for £15800 incl met paint and the paint sealent whatsit. should have cost £17500 i think. oh and they forgot the setup and cancellation fees for the loan so that was another £200. then £1k off for taking their finance.

bear in mind i had negotiated the price of the car before discussing any finance options. it is agaisnt the law to alter the price of the car depending on your part ex, who your are getting the cash from etc. they offered me the price of the car. then we haggled on the finance.

tell them you have been offered ££££ on the car at another dealer and see what they say even if you are bending the truth a bit. the way i see it they would have no qualms about hiding charges from you to make more profit so why not reverse it and do the same to them. once you have a proper price you wont be lying anymore. they should offer 5% off the list price straight away. it is the rest that takes a little more work. if you dont haggle at all you should get the 5% off which is £15328 and if you take their finance they give you £1000. so thats £14328. saving £1767.

http://www.toyota.co.uk/cgi-bin/toyota/bv/...jsp?id=homepage

the what car target price for the car you want is £15054 compared to a list of £16095 and it looks like the prices have gone up about £300 since last month. :(

let me know if you need any more details. i could ask our dealer to give you a ring if you want. email me if you want.

[joebw]

matty - many thanks for the info about how you got that deal. Just tried to send you an email via the board but I got the error message that I am not allowed to send an email. Also tried to PM, but got a similar message - not allowed - don't know why! So, will post here anyway...

Sounds like you went to a lot of trouble to get the deal. I'd certainly be interested to talk to the dealer you bought from but understand if you'd prefer not to divulge that information - after all it was you that went to all the trouble! If you feel like it, please email me details.

Hope you're enjoying the new car.

Thanks again

Joe

[SMW]

Just tried to send you an email via the board but I got the error message that I am not allowed to send an email. Also tried to PM, but got a similar message - not allowed - don't know why!

Joe

You need to have 10 'posts' under your belt before these services become available to you - it's to stop people just joining up - never posting anything and them bombarding members with spam.

[joebw]

SMW thanks for the info re emailing/PM

matty - cheers for the email - which I've just replied to