If this is in the wrong spot, feel free to move it.

So I'm still aiming to get an xB. Today, I stopped at the local Scion dealership to check out what they had. A new RS xD, a couple tC's, one being a RS (had TRD badges), a RS xB (2006), and the one car that stood out to me, a bra d new, white xB with the factory 19's. I drooled over it for a long time and had 3 Scion employees coming to see if I needed help.

I'm not sure how much longer I can wait to finally have my xB. I've been obsessing over it for quite some time and I need my fix!! Thing is, the reason I still don't have one is because there has always been financial burdens in the way. I've never purchased a car from a dealership in my life. What does it entail? What hoops do I have to jump through? Above everything, how expensive is it to own an xB. I need mine now, seriously.

 

It's not hard to buy through a dealer, just paperwork to fill out. It's probably easier then a private sale because the dealer will do everything. you just sign the paperwork and drive off..........unless you like to do your owne financing though your own bank.

It's really not difficult and the only thing a dealer will do is try to get you to purchase extra stuff like extended warranties and accessories and things like that. Stand your ground, get what you want, and if your credit is good, your payment likely wont be very high and you'll get a brand new car out of it.

 

yep, took me 15 min to buy my rs3.0.. called ahead when i saw it on scion.com, made my dealer order it, do all the paperwork in advance, approve my credit yada yada...
when the rs3.0 came in, they called me, i went up, signed some papers got the keys and the rest is hostory. Very easy and painless, and they gave me a free coke.. When i got my rs1.0 it took about an hour all totaled.. I went in with my down, i said this is what i want, can you get it in orange, and how fast can you get me one... did the credit check, talked about accessories, etc and went on a test drive..
it wasn't hard at all, and i was actually quite surprised how easy it was to walk in and buy a car..
when i bought my chevy 1500 in 96, it took about 6 hours to complete all the financing, and paperwork and credit check.. When I was getting ready to get the first scion, I was expecting the worst and was met with the best buying experience i have had to date, thats why i bought 2... well..that and the boxes are pure SEX...

 

My advice to you is to know what you need when you go to buy your car. Are you interested in aftermarket stuff for it, or do you want OEM gear (such as premium sound system, spoiler, etc.)?

Will you need GAP insurance?

I would definitely suggest the most important thing you should get is the extended warranty. Your Scion automatically comes with a 33k mile warranty from Toyota; however, I suggest you get the extra warranty that extends the life of your car.

With mine, I got the 7yr/100k mile from my dealer. I financed my car for 7 years, so my investment will basically be protected for the life of my financing should something happen to it. And you definitely have peace of mind because the coverage offered is Wrap Coverage, which is basically bumper-to-bumper.

So consider your options and don't be afraid to haggle! I did and I got a great deal on mine!

 

just buy the car, you will have to pay for tax, tag and title fees no matter what, but anything other than that is just dealership making an extra profit.

accessories, you can buy them all from www.trdsparks.com for a much better price than the dealership will give you, however, some dealerships (like mine) will waive installation charges when you buy accessories at the time of purchase of the car.

do not extra crap like paint sealent, scotchguard interior, undercoating blah blah blah, they are all expensive and unnecessary.

if you plan on keeping the car stock, or not using anything beyond the scion accessories catalogue, get an extended warranty if you worry about mechanical integrity and plan to keep the car a while, but they are pretty reliable.

if you are financing, get GAP insurance, seriously.

some dealerships have service packages, some are good or okay. mine has every other oil change is free, and lifetime loaner car program for whenever they are servicing my car. which is pretty sweet.

 

Last I recall, there isn't much haggling you can do on the "price of the car". You pay the sticker price no matter what BUT extras and accessories can be thrown in for free at your demand depending on how desperate the dealer is to sell the car that day. Always go on the last Saturday of the month and have a monthly payment in mind. Never sign anything you haven't read, and get everything in writing. I'm an ex-car salesman. Most dealers are full of hungry sharks but Scions are not price negotiable so extras are your haggle point. If you want the cheapest price, don't accept any extra offers for warranty's etc. Do NOT get emotional about the car in front of your salesperson, they WILL exploit that. I have (shame on me) before and it puts more money in their pocket. Feel free to pick your own salesperson. You don't HAVE to use the one that approaches you first. Make a couple of visits and talk to a few of them. The one you get along with the best is the one you most likely want to buy the car from. It really is painless but those are a few pointers to keep you from getting in too deep. Don't be afraid to walk out if the deal isn't working for you. I can tell you any trick in the book and trust me, most of them work. Don't give them any info they don't ask for either. GL to you and hope you join the Scion family soon!

 

oh, and don't get a "tires for life" program. i read a while ago about how they pretty much make you break even on just getting tires yourself because they require that you get your tires rotated every X thousand miles by the dealership, and that you pay for the rotations, and then you're limited to whatever tires the dealerships stock (which are usually crap) and they don't apply to z-rated tires, which depends on what kind of tires your xb on 19's came with.

 

Those are very good points that rangerryda and draxcaliber bring up.

With my box, I negotiated the warranty down on my box at time of purchase. Scion's policy is that everyone pays the same price on the car. But if they're desperate to move the car, then you can own your salesman. You can knock off the price on some of those extra installations, such as premium HU, etc. But I haggled my warranty down. They told me you can't negotiate the price of a warranty when they sat me down with the Finance Manager, so I said, "okay. See ya." and walked out. I waited for about two hours and got a call back for me to come back in.

By the way, I wouldn't be too concerned with your monthly payment. I would instead be concerned with how much you actually paid for your car. $20 hear or there on a monthly payment isn't that much.

Because a main trick that dealers use is that monthly payment. They lower your payment by adding another year onto your financing. So that means, although your monthly payment is low, you end up paying more for your car. $20 here or there, like I said isn't that much on a monthly payment.

What would you rather pay? $800 in interest to a dealership or $1,700 in interest? I'd rather keep the $900 in my pocket and pay off my car faster.

 

This is some excellent advice, guys! Thanks!

Now did I read correctly that they do a credit check? Does this have to be done even got a test drive? That may extend my wait for a while longer.

 

They do it in whatever order you want to do it in. They are at your mercy in this economy. If they tell you things "have" to be done in this order, leave.

 

Just remember that car dealers NEVER have power over you. You can walk out at ANY TIME as long as you don't sign.

Here's the thing: test drive the vehicles you are interested in and DON'T expect to buy a car the same day. You always want to think things over. It might be a very good idea to bring someone knowledgeable about buying cars with you for the deal so that you don't get scammed.

Dealers will want to run your credit so that they know how much you will be approved for. Once they know, they can try to attach additional services on your purchase and maximize their profit.

If they ask you to fill out a form before you test drive by supplying your SSN and other info that authorizes a credit check, simply walk out. You don't need a credit check to test drive a car, but they will ask for your license in case you crash it while test driving it. I'd recommend taking the car out on a highway and seeing how it handles, too.

It's a very good idea to buy pretty much at the end of the month. Bring a person with you who has experience buying cars to help you on the deal. And once you observe them, it's really simple.

 

avoid toyoguard at all costs, ist a waste of 700 bucks.

On that same notion, do not pay for options you do not want. The first scion dealer I went told me ALL the scions come with the $400 pioneer radio i didnt want and $700 toyoguard, I went to another dealer and found that not to be true. They just ordered all of theirs that way to boost profit margins.

I ended up getting a rs6.0 for the same cost as a 'base' xb with those two options, so make sure you let them know what you are NOT interested in!

If they can't remove something and you really want the car, have them throw in something (option) for free.

 

Absolutely. Everyone is so frightened of salespersons at dealerships, but the truth is you control all aspects of the deal. And if it is not good, you can take the quote they give you, bring it to another dealership, and have them beat it.

Just remember that if you are not comfortable with your salesperson, don't even bother working with him or her. There's definitely another one out there that would be more than happy to work with you to get the deal you want.

Something you might consider as one option is LoJack. They have a pretty good success rate of recovering stolen vehicles, but that is entirely up to you.