i just put an order for my tc. and...

i was wondering what kind of factory installed/dealer installed options were worth the money. for example: i would not think the bumper applique and cf b-pillar being worth the cost at the dealer as opposed to mcgeorges and self-installing it.

thanks! someday soon hopefully i'll join the ranks of tc owners. (and hopefully i don't get creaks and rattling :D )

 

Your gonna pay more at the dealer 9 out of 10 times. If you would like to spend the money and have it done by the dealer then do so. Its always gonna be cheaper to do it yourself Its your car your money your choice people really can't tell you whats best for YOU.

 

well, i was thinking more along the lines of degrees of difficulty for the installs... like the cargo net would obviously be a lot easier than the TRD exhaust, but some might not be so easy to tell.

just basically gauging people's experiences and any difficulties they might've had with installing certain options they purchased after the car...

 

the only things i would have installed is the super charger and maybe the suspenion stuff

 

Remember too, that what every overpiced items you pay through the dealer, and gets added to everything else to your loan, you will actually be paying much more than the overpriced item's original price through compound interest.

For example,
$300 in options @ 7% compound interest loan w/60 payments = $356.42 actual cost.
$1000 in options @ 7% compound interest loan w/60 payments = $1188.07 actual cost.

The worse your interest rate, the higher the added cost.
The less payments you make, the cheaper the actual cost.

 

Very smart! I didn't even think to say that.

 

Agreed. Even then, I would try to negotiate the installed price in advance, and I might not even finance them.

 

Well, I might be wrong but I think the TRD parts istalled at the dealer come with Toyota warranty. So, from a certain point of view I think it's worth to do it at the dealer. My question is (and sorry for craping your thread, imjonk) would the dealer agree to install TRD parts you purchase from another place?

 

With the SC it makes a great deal of sense to shop around for the install prices between 5-10-15 dealerships and buy the kit itself from on of the online places (saves a lot of dough on tax).

E.g. Matrix/rolla SC MSRP is $2999, I found it from one of the online retailers (still a dealer, but smarter one) for $2450 shipped, did not have to pay tax because the item was shipped from out of state. Then I called all dealers in Atlanta area for quotes on the install. Since nobody even knew that SC for Matrix is out I got numbers as high as $1800. Average was in the $1200 for labor. Finally found one dealer that did the job for $450 and provided a free loaner for the day. Total cost $2900 - less than MSRP of the part itself.

Morale: DIY, buy online, pay cash (or put on 0% APR credit card and pay it off).

 

Ask the people who bought springs online then tried to have them installed at the dealers. I bet there are still people with TRD springs sitting in their garage because the dealers wanted $500-800 just to install them. In my opinion, ask the dealer "How much to buy the TRD springs/struts/whatever and have them installed?" Then negotiate that price. My dealer wanted to charge me almost $800 for springs+installation, but I had gotten a quote of $350-375 from my salesman so they honored that.

For something like the Supercharger it might still make sense to order it online and have it installed locally, but for parts that you're only saving $100-200 on online, you'll usually get jacked on the labor costs.