Dealer recommendation for buying new? Any US location considered

what is it that you would like to buy?

 

In NorCal many dealers have been doing MSRPs for more than a year now. But you have to live in the same county to be allowed to put down a deposit.

 

Cedar Rapids Toyota put me on their list for a Prius at MSRP, so I'm guessing they won't put a market adjustment on a Camry either. I asked about other fees or 'mandatory' options, and they just charge what they're supposed to charge.

 

I'd recommend you stay away from the shady Toyota dealer here in my town.

 

Elk Grove Toyota - no dealer markup.

 

Start by going to Toyota.com and click on Search Inventory. Enter your zip code and a radius(I like 250 miles, but you can go smaller or larger depending on the results you get). Enter the car you're looking for and see what pops up.

To sort dealers, select the cars most commonly sitting unsold on a lot(bZ4X is pretty good for this) and look for a few different things:
1. SmartPath: not a guarantee they're selling at MSRP, but at least any markup should be shown up front
2. Call dealer for price: in my opinion, this is a very bad sign the dealer is marking up
3. Check the window sticker against the dealer advertised price to see if there's a markup built in
4. Check a few cars to see if the dealer is installing a bunch of really unneeded options to boost their profits


Use a car like the bZ4X to make a list of dealerships close-ish to you. Then use a more desired vehicle(RAV4 Hybrid, Sienna, Prius) to see if individual dealers are marking them up. It can be a painstaking process, but it could save you thousands.