Find Toyota Dealers in Columbia, South Carolina

Hey, thanks for the headsup about motoralley. I took a look there, and boy is there a big gap between the pricing of say, even the dealerships in Greenville, SC, and Columbia. I wonder why is that? I'm trying to debate whether it's even worth it for me to look anywhere else since I am upside down in this Kia. I have an appointment with Florence Toyota Tuesday, so I have some deciding to do there. You know how they say hindsight is 20/20? Well, I'm feeling that in spades! I have to ask myself, "If you know you like Toyota, why are you in a Kia?" ;)

I just joined the Forum and was trying to get dealer's quotes. I entered my zip code (19204)in SC and was informed there were no dealers in that area. This is in Columbia and I know there are several Toyota dealers there. Where did I go wrong?

07 XLE V6 Equipped with Vsc& Trac Smart Key Heated Seats Body Side Moldings XM Radio Mats $28,000 OTD. Includes $300 State Sales Tax & $25.00 License & title fee. Started to buy in Ohio to get away from SE Toyota Distriburors; but the dealer (namless) started adding a lot of garbage to the Sales order that was in addition to their internet quote. I walked & ended up buying at Jim Hudson Toyota. Columbia, SC. They also allowed well above Kelly for my trade. Overall, a good car buying experience.

I had a feeling something wasn't right there. None of the research I did led me to believe that I'd pay any other distribution or delivery fee than the SET distribution fee which was $635. Nowhere did I see anything about a $560 fee on top of that. The only thing that gave me pause was that this fee was on the invoice he showed me. The other line they kept giving me was about how they are legaly required to add on the documentation fee. When I asked them why their's was the highest in the state, ($399 here in Charleston as opposed to $189 in Greenville, SC) - they really didn't have an answer. They didn't have the car we wanted on the lot. So they tried to upsell us to a Camry LE with Toyoguard. That basically was going to be just over $1000 more than we were willing to spend. (Their final offer was about $21,050). If Toyoguard was something we really wanted to begin with, we would have jumped on it. The problem with the other dealership I went to – I showed them my price, and they didn't even bother negotiating with me. He came back with a much higher price ($21,700 for a base LE without Toyoguard) and we left. No chasing after us with a better price. Nothing. So frankly, I'm not too enamored with either Toyota dealership in town at the moment. The only advantage West Ashley Toyota had was that they seemd significantly more eager to sell us a car. Gene Reed Toyota almost seemd not to care. We still want a Camry, though. I just don't want to have to drive to Columbia or Myrtle Beach or Orangeburg to get it. Fortuantely, we're in no hurry.

I spent the last 8 months researching exactly what I wanted in a Tacoma. My research consisted of all major reviews, plus the thousands of posts here at edmunds.com. I sent out email to 45 different toyota dealerships at the same time detailing exactly what option I wanted no the truck. In the mail I requested from each dealer the lowest out the door price including the price of the truck, Doc Fees (if any), Tax, Tag & Title. I said in the email that the dealership with lowest price on Thursday would get my business on Friday. I created a spreadsheet and kept track of the quotes as they came in so that the 1st lowest price would get the business. The price quotes varied as much as $2800. Some dealers never responded, but most sent quotes within 48 hrs. On Thursday I called all the dealerships that were within $500 of the lowest price. All but 2 conceeded. The one I bought from and the other quoted 48 hrs later than the other but was within $25, to be fair I went with the first price. The Tacoma I spec'd was as follows: 2006 Tacoma PreRunner 4x2 Double Cab Long Bed SR5#2 (Keyless, Cruise, Tint, Etc) V6 Toyota Towing Package Side Curtain Airbags All Weather Floor Mats Day Time Running Lights The price I paid at Jim Hudson Toyota in Irmo, SC (Near Columbia, SC) was $23810 for the truck + $189 Doc Fee = $23,999. I did almost everything via email with the exception of a few phone calls. The MSRP on this truck's sticker was $26159. I arrived at the dealership this past Saturday at 10:45 am and I drove out with all paperwork completed at 12:04 PM. Jim Hudson Toyota in Irmo, SC is AWESOME.