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New from Northern Virginia

Discussion in 'New Member Introductions' started by GuardianT4, Mar 12, 2018.

  1. Mar 12, 2018 at 4:52 PM
    #1
    GuardianT4

    GuardianT4 [OP] New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2018
    Member:
    #5654
    Messages:
    2
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Jaime
    Vehicle:
    2018 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro
    Hey everyone,

    Been looking forward to this day for quite some time now. First off, couldn't have done it without the help of this site and what everyone had to say about the 4Runner line-ups. This is my first Toyota and couldn't be more happy about my recent purchase.

    So I went for the 2018 TRD Pro. As many of you have said before, my choice all depended on what I planned to use it for and what I planned to do to it - mods, upgrades etc. This option seemed ideal to me. Although I like working on cars, it's not something I have much time for these days so keeping it stock was in my best interest. The biggest advantage I had coming into this was that I was in no rush. I couldn't have stressed that enough when talking to dealerships. I'll share my buying experience in hopes that another potential buyer can learn from any mistakes I might've made and/or any good things I might've done (with the help from all of you, of course) that helped me land this bad boy.

    First off, be wary of using the USAA Car Buying Service - if you're a member. I had no clue coming into this that they'd share my contact info with 'certified dealerships' in my area. I was specifically looking for a Midnight Black TRD Pro, however, it took the next best thing and shot that information to numerous dealerships (I tried in my area first, then tried again in another area and again in another area....the number of dealerships added up haha). The number of calls and emails were unreal. While I didn't appreciate it, I'll take full responsibility for that one. With that being said, I was able to get pre-approved for two loans with fair interest rates - one with USAA and the other with Navy Federal. I took the lowest and used that later at the dealership.

    Second, be sure what you want to get and don't take no for an answer...also be patient. This may not apply to the majority. I say this taking into consideration the demand in my region/area and maybe some luck I had. After a couple of weeks searching the internet, particularly cargurus.com, I finally found one in Maryland and inquired. Turned out the salesman didn't even know they were due for one. After a couple of emails back and forth, he found it and quoted me 5k over MSRP. First off, god bless the patience this guy had and the determination to at least get me to come in to check it out. It was a two hour drive for me, so I made it clear if I were driving that far, I'd have to be assured I wouldn't pay a penny more than MSRP. Within the same day, he got me down to that price and told me that deal was only for "today". Too bad I had to work that particular day and at that point, I was contemplating just waiting on another that was due for a dealership closer to me in May.

    After a week of going back and forth trying to figure out how I would fit a visit into my schedule - I work full-time and go to school full-time - spring break finally rolled around and it just so happened that I'm in between jobs, so I had a week off as well. There was really no excuse at this point and the TRD Pro was still there!

    At the dealership, I finally met the person I had been talking to for the past week. I was relieved to find out he was a recently separated vet like myself. We were both in the sand not too long ago and we both had enough respect to be straight with each other. It helped big time when it came to the final numbers. Well, as it turned out, my TRD Pro had not been test-driven once. It had been put to the side for some odd reason and not out on display. The people that inquired came in asking for lower than MSRP, which is understandable but as it was explained to me, most of them didn't know a thing about TRD Pros. All they saw were nice wheels and different bumper. Too bad for them. Or good...depending on what they were looking for.

    I was reassured when I stepped in and saw only 8 miles on it. Who knows if I was really the first, but I knew I definitely wasn't the 10th. Instantly, I was in love but made sure not to show it. After acting cool and still determined for MSRP, I got what I asked for plus 1k Military Rebate on top of trade-in (1300k - Yes, I know. Like I said, no time to do it myself) and a couple k's as down payment.

    Shout out to Koons Toyota in Westminster, MD and to Tyler as well. Couldn't be more happy with the purchase. And finally, again, a huge thank you to all of you. I just made this account but had been lurking for quite some time now. Looking forward to being a part of the club!

    20180312_114034.jpg
     
    rsimi72 and Grumpy Uncle like this.
  2. Mar 12, 2018 at 5:17 PM
    #2
    Bob

    Bob Member Staff Member

    Joined:
    Apr 3, 2014
    Member:
    #1
    Messages:
    2,244
    First Name:
    Bob
    SoCal
    Welcome to the site and congrats. Good write up about your experience
     
    GuardianT4[OP] likes this.
  3. Mar 12, 2018 at 5:20 PM
    #3
    Grumpy Uncle

    Grumpy Uncle New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 10, 2018
    Member:
    #5639
    Messages:
    101
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Pat
    Vehicle:
    2018 Limited MGM, hers. 2016 Tundra CM BLK, mine
    Grey TRD Wheels, Nitto Terra Grapplers, 3"Toytec Eibach
    Welcome from CO, nice ride. I was a SIGDET dude.
     
    GuardianT4[OP] likes this.
  4. Mar 19, 2018 at 8:49 AM
    #4
    Opteron

    Opteron New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2018
    Member:
    #5648
    Messages:
    38
    Gender:
    Male
    Vehicle:
    2018 4Runner SR5 premium
    None
    Nice price , here in so cal they fly off the lot with 5k markup.
     

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