Source
r/rav4prime•
ninjon

Advice Seeking Prime at MSRP/ Understanding Dealer Markups and Fees

Hello! Lots of helpful threads on this board which I greatly appreciate. I'm located in Austin and as there are not any Primes to be found in Texas, I'm looking at buying out of state. Months back I got on a few waitlists at Colorado dealerships as that seemed the most practical to get to (in terms of driving distance). Right now, I'm willing to expand my search and consider pretty much anywhere in the US to get what I am looking for, but obviously I want to understand exactly what I am buying before making a cross country roadtrip.

  1. I've seen a few dealerships mentioned where folks were able to secure a Prime at MSRP, but I would love it if people could share where they have had good experiences (specific dealerships, etc) or any general advice that would be helpful when searching.
  2. Anyone have any dealer fees to look out for or experiences that set off red flags in terms of price discrepancies between what you have seen online and what ends up in the final price? Trying to understand what to be aware of.

Thanks!

Posted Feb 6, 2021, 10:24 PM UTC

69
Dmsob1•

Just got off phone w dealer in CA. Same situation, buying out of state. Wanted $10G over MSRP. Negotiated down to $3G over. Told them I heard production was increasing and we would wait!

6
mrchumley-warner•

Wait until later in the month, a lot of those MSRP deals seem to happen as they are closing their books.

5
Night_Owl_16Blueprint SE Weather•

Look on the east coast for MSRP. I’m in CO but bought in MD at MSRP. Several dealers in NJ/NY area are selling at MSRP as well. I’ve heard some people in CT were even getting it slightly under MSRP.

On top of MSRP/packages, expect to see a documentation fee. CA limits theirs to $85, but most on the east coast will be in the $500 range. You’ll also see freight/delivery charge in the $1200 range. I wouldn’t expect to negotiate either of those off with how rare they are at the moment. Some/many CA dealers are also adding totally superfluous things like door edge guards, LoJack and powder coated wheels to pad their profits. I haven’t seen those things being added on the east coast. XSE premiums will be harder to find at the moment than an SE.

4
jimsd•

Door edge guards are actually a port installed item that are part of a given vehicle’s MSRP. You’re right about the other two items though - a dealer I initially thought we’d be getting ours from adds powder coated wheels and then marks an XSE up $5k.

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Night_Owl_16Blueprint SE Weather•

I don't really consider port added items as "part of MSRP". Technically, yes, it plays into that MSRP price, but it is 100% optional and added by the dealership to pad their profit margins. Hence most people not wanting them, but the dealerships refusing to remove them. I guess you'd know about them by the time you were choosing the car, though, since they're on the build sheet.

3
Ssnugglecow•

The SE I’m getting from Valley Hi told me that their port installed stuff (ie edge guards, etc) are standard for their dealership. But if I didn’t want them, to let them know before it arrived at port. Assuming the dealer is being honest (which I assume so, but maybe I’m foolish), they wouldn’t have that added if I requested.

We have a price locked in for an SE all-weather in red with crossbars. It’s MSRP + the aforementioned stuff + tax/title/destination.

They don’t seem to be adding any additional markups, minus the edge guards and some paint protection. In order to get my wife the exact car she wants, I’m willing to pay the seemingly superfluous cost of edge guards and paint protection.

Also, it seems like every time I respond to something on this forum, it’s to jimsd. Lol. Hi neighbor!

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74BMWBavariaBlueprint XSE Premium•

At Longo, they didn’t really seem inclined to remove the port installed items and at this point I didn’t really care but they can definitely make changes to the port installed items. it’s just not beneficial to them since it is considered pre-dealer extras. My salesman was able to talk to their inventory Manager who then contacted the port who then had them swap out the cloth floor mats for the All weather mats. So it can definitely be done I just didn’t want to put up the fuss since the items I was getting were minimally beneficial.

2
littlesoftdog•

Start calling dealers on the east coast the last week of the month. That's how I was offered MSRP.

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ninjonOP•

Thanks all for your responses. I appreciate it.

2