Questions on Scion purchasing process

[Northstar24]

Hello! I am currently in the process of looking into the possibility of purchasing a Scion FR-S. It's refreshing knowing that a Toyota fan like myself can finally get behind the wheel of a Toyota again (I used to own a Supra)

I was talking to a salesman today about the purchase, and I came away feeling a little uneasy about the process. I understand that the purchase price of the car is no haggle, and I appreciate that because I HATE dealing with car salesmen.

I got the information I needed about what finance rates are currently available from Toyotal Financial Services, so then I discussed my trade in. (2011 MS3). The salesman told me that like the purchase price of a Scion, trade in value was non-negotiable per Scion's selling rules. I'm not neccesarily against that, but he refused to have my car looked at until a purchase order was written up, which seems kind of fishy to me. Obviously, the trade in value of my current car is going to play a huge part in my decision to by a FR-S. He asked if I had done any research on what my car was worth (of course, I checked KBB and NADA). He said they use 'black book' which isn't available to the public. Several years ago it was NADA they used. The ballpark he gave me was $2k below the low end of both KBB and NADA

Did anyone else run into this during their purchase? Is it normal for Scion? I'd hate to have to spend all the time with paperwork to have them come way under on trade in value, I don't want to waste time, mine or theirs

[moniz]

Better off selling it yourself and paying off any outstanding loan on it. You will come away with a hell of a lot more than trading in.

[ssmtsx]

Your salesman was right in that whatever price they offer for your mazda is the price you're supposed to get. Meaning if they offer you $15K(just throwing a # out) they're not supposed to change that offer. You're not supposed to be able to say "if you give me $16K we have a deal"-It's supposed to be no haggle. Here are the numbers, take them or leave them.

TFS/Scion rates for tier 1+ was 3.24%. The dealership was able to get me 2.04% through wells fargo.

If there is a carmax in your area I would stop by there and have them appraise your car. Its free and only takes about 45minutes. I've sold several cars to them outright. Its a very easy process. The dealer is going to try and screw you on your trade.

[HotLava]

The dealer will screw you. CarMax might be okay. I would try selling to a private party. If you can't find a private party to sell to, you can always go the CarMax route. My Scion dealer offered 2k below CarMax. CarMax is two or three grand below why you might get in a private party offer. Because you have a 2011 car I would say sell it on your own. I got my Scion dealer to match the Car Max price. I didn't want the hassle of selling to a private party, so I left some money on the table. But that's just me . . .

[terrypm]

You can usually get more for your trade if you do a private party sale. A buddy just went to Carmax to get an appraisal yesterday. It was 4K under the book price.

[Liquidsnake]

If your car is in decent shape, try Carmax they are throwing money at people. My Z had a payoff of 20k Carmax offered me 24!!!!!!