As a COSTCO member, I decided to try their auto buying service to buy a new Toyota. They informed me that the participating dealer in my area is Central Florida Toyota, and gave me the names of the contacts there who would provide me with the "COSTCO price". I contacted the dealership, and the first thing the salesperson (Steven) told me was, "I can do even better than the COSTCO price."!!?!! (so what good is the COSTCO program?!!).
The dealership is quite a way from where I live, so I told him that, while the price he quoted sounded good (I'd been pricing the vehicle at local dealerships), the deal-maker or deal-breaker would be what they would give me for my trade. I was trading in a 2004 Toyota Tundra with only 24,000 miles, and nearly a year left on the original, bumper-to-bumper warranty. He assured me that they would give me top dollar, so my wife and I drove all the way down. As is usual, we were kept waiting for some time while they "appraised" my trade, and finally, another employee - an older man - came in to talk with us. He told me that my truck had been in an accident, and that they could, therefore, not offer me more than $4,000 for it (about 1/3 the value, according to every index). It's true that I was in a 'fender-bender' right after buying the truck, but the damage was minor, and was completely fixed. There was no damage to the engine or the frame, and the airbag didn't even deploy, as it was a minor accident. We were stunned, and left the dealership.
Other dealers, including Toyota dealers, routinely offered at least twice that amount. Central Florida Toyota only wanted to lure us into the dealership to rip us off. I have complained to COSTCO, and am very glad we didn't do business with this dealership. I ended up buying a Nissan - got a good price on the vehicle, and a fair price on my trade. No more Toyotas for me.
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