Find Toyota Dealers in Waukegan, Illinois

Classis Toyota in Waukegan IL

Hello: My husband and I just purchased a 2000 Sienna LE with LE Extra Value Package (UN) and the rear bumper protector (EF). We love it and we got a good deal at Classic Toyota in Waukegan, IL. The dealer quoted us a price of $23,291 (which includes the $480 destination charge) plus tax (5.5%), transfer of title from our trade-in ($25.00), and a documentary fee ($48.30). Including the $48.30 doc fee (added dealer profit!), we paid 1.8% over the total invoice for this vehicle ($22,455). Not sure how much dealer holdback they got in addition, but I got the impression from them that this dealership is one that makes the bulk of its profit from Toyota for selling large quantities of their vehicles, which enables them to give individual customers good deals. Despite our getting a good deal, there's still a slight sour taste in my mouth. Our initial price quote via the internet sales team was $23,095 (not including EF), but when we arrived to have our trade-in appraised, the price magically inflated to $23,325. The reason we were given for the price increase was VERY suspicious: They claimed the specific vehicle that was coming in was newer within the 2000 model year, and that there are quarterly price increases by the manufacturer to dealer as the production year progresses. I haven't found anything to support this claim on this or other web sites. (Has anybody heard of this?) As it turned out, the vehicle that arrived the next day was the wrong color, and we found out in a roundabout way that it had a couple of features that we hadn't wanted (center console box and the rear bumper protector). Needless to say, we didn't take that vehicle, and I now suspect that the added features (which the salespeople never informed us about) plus a desire for greater profit (imagine that!) accounted for the price increase. I have to say I would much more appreciate a dealer simply telling me straight that they need more profit in order to make the deal than to try pulling things over on me. In any case, in the end we chose to move forward on the deal at $23,291 because it was still much lower than the True Market Value recommended on Edmunds.com. In case anyone is interested, I used the blanket email approach that others have talked about to get price quotes from dealers within a 100 mile radius. We chose Classic Toyota because theirs was the best quote. I didn't specify what I was willing to pay, instead asking for their best price. Also, I sent each message individually rather than including all of the recipients' addresses in the header. In an earlier post, someone suggested doing it individually so as not to make price fixing an easy option for them to pursue. This seemed to work very well, and I will do it again the next time we buy a new car. In the meantime, we'll enjoy our beautiful new Napa Burgundy 2000 Sienna LE! If I can manage to get it up our driveway and into our narrow garage doors without smashing the side mirrors, I'll be even happier. So far so good! :) Cheers, Heather