Toyota Corolla Prices Paid and Buying Experiences

Just bought it two days ago. It came with so much it would take me an hour to put it all down, but a few of the goodies are folding power mirrors, tire pressure monitoring, floor and truck mats, keyless entry w/key transmitter, Opitron meters w/illumination ceremony, speedometer gauge with outside temperature, mpg for 2 trips etc, AC w/clean air filter, all this is standard. Also cruise control, the JBL stereo package with 8 speakers in 6 locations (very nice), XM radio, Bluetooth, steering wheel mounted audio and hands free control 16' alloy wheels with steel belted radials, VSC and TRAC w/off switch. I wanted the rear spoiler. Toyota advertises it but it's not available yet. So I have to wait. The price is $425.
 
According to Edmunds car pricing the MSRP is $20,828, Invoice $18,080, What Others Are Paying $20, 828. I paid $18, 700 and 20,300 OTD with our expensive CA T/L fees.
 
I bought it at Magnussen's Auburn Toyota in Auburn, CA. I bought it through the asst fleet and internet manager. He told me he only made $200 on the car. Never just walk in and deal with a salesman. Always call the dealer and ask the name of the fleet and internet manager and/or assistant and deal with them and bargain, bargain, bargain. Or just go check out the cars at a dealership, decide what you want and buy it online. You can still bargain online. I love to bargain. I should start a business LOL.
 
I was going to buy a Prius and then started doing cost comparisons. With this car you can go to your own private mechanic, you don't have to go to the dealer for maintenance, etc. With the Prius you can only go to the dealer and their prices are HIGH. With the $$$ you save between the 2 cars (in my case I saved $8000) you can buy a lot of gas. There are other costs savings involved also. So I'm only getting 35mpg instead of 45. It's worth it. Depending on how you drive you can get up to 41mpg. On the way home from the dealer, 20 miles, all uphill I got 36.2mpg going 60 mph.
 
The new body style is really nice, they look like Camrys. The seats are way more comfy than any other Corolla and both interior and exterior are quite spiffy. The car handles well on the street and highway and it's really zippy. I'm a happy car owner.
 
One last thing. A lot of the accessories you can get on line at a much cheaper price than you can with the dealer and they are genuine Toyota. Go to www.dealerfit.com and plug in the car. They don't have the 2009 stuff out yet, but a lot of the 2008 stuff, like the cargo net, cargo tote are the same.
 
If you are buying sheepskin seat covers you can go to www.sheepskin.com They don't have a category for 2009 because they say the 2007 one will fit just fine. And they make them for the side air bags, which is what you want.

Replies to this message:
• tmmigirl1 (Feb 28, 2008 12:42 pm)
  • jilliew (Feb 28, 2008 2:19 pm)
    • danohall (Apr 05, 2008 1:30 pm) and 4 more...
  • hause7 (Feb 28, 2008 10:26 pm)
    • tmmigirl1 (Mar 01, 2008 6:08 pm)

Replying to: jilliew (Feb 22, 2008 7:05 pm)

Replies to this message:
• jilliew (Feb 28, 2008 2:19 pm)
  • danohall (Apr 05, 2008 1:30 pm)
    • jilliew (Apr 05, 2008 7:09 pm) and 3 more...
• hause7 (Feb 28, 2008 10:26 pm)
  • tmmigirl1 (Mar 01, 2008 6:08 pm)

Replying to: tmmigirl1 (Feb 28, 2008 12:42 pm)

Wow, you got a very good price also.Especially with a three year service package and that warranty. Pays to work for Toyota. I think I might get the 100,000 warranty also. For $900 it's worth the piece of mind. I know if one of those computers fail it can cost a fortune. Average the price out over the years it's not that expensive. I've never had a Toyota before, but I know people that do and they love them. One girl I know has 400k on hers and is about to get rid of it. I didn't get the power heating package which I would have liked to have. I want the rear spoiler, did another search and found it for $139 with lights, painted to match the car and free shipping. It's not goong to cost much to put it on, I'm buying the rear exhaust tip and fog lights. Found some cool ones on ebay. They're called Bling Lights. I have a mechanic that only works on Subarus, Toyotas, and Hondas and he charges about a 1/3 of what the dealer charges. I've had him for 11 years, along with my Subara and it's been almost a free ride. I'm taking my car and cell phone to the Verizon store today and they are going to set it up with the bluetooth. They do it for free.I just couldn't figure it out. I have the power windows and steering, keyless and steering controls also. It's awesome. I'm thinking about maybe getting the moon roof put in.

Replies to this message:
• danohall (Apr 05, 2008 1:30 pm)
  • jilliew (Apr 05, 2008 7:09 pm)
    • mnf (Aug 03, 2008 9:32 pm) and 2 more...

Replying to: tmmigirl1 (Feb 28, 2008 12:42 pm)

Replies to this message:
• tmmigirl1 (Mar 01, 2008 6:08 pm)

Replying to: hause7 (Feb 28, 2008 10:26 pm)

Replying to: jilliew (Feb 28, 2008 2:19 pm)

Replies to this message:
• jilliew (Apr 05, 2008 7:09 pm)
  • mnf (Aug 03, 2008 9:32 pm)
    • jilliew (Aug 07, 2008 4:18 pm) and 1 more...

Replying to: danohall (Apr 05, 2008 1:30 pm)

Hi, I got the spoiler at www.spoilersource.com had it installed and it looks real nice. When you hit the brakes, and your brake lights, rear window light and spoiler LEDs all light up it looks like Xmas. I had bought a set of f/r mud flaps, rear bumper protector, cargo net and the spoiler and took it all to a body shop and they charged me $150 to put it all on. You are right about the bling lights, even if you cut through the plastic grills they wouldn't fit right. I took them to my mechanic, the body shop, a car stereo shop and they all said there was no way they would fit and look nice and if they did cut up the grills, they wouldn't be protected from the weather and they would get water damage. Toyota wants $150 each fog light and the same to install them. What a rip off. I wrote the Bling Lights Racing guy also and told him I wanted my $$$$ back because he misrepresented the lights and haven't heard from him either. I am going to contact PayPal tonight and file a claim against him. If you or anybody else comes across some good fog lights that will fit, let me know. Jill

Replies to this message:
• mnf (Aug 03, 2008 9:32 pm)
  • jilliew (Aug 07, 2008 4:18 pm)
    • mnf (Aug 07, 2008 6:40 pm)

Replying to: jilliew (Apr 05, 2008 7:09 pm)

Replies to this message:
• jilliew (Aug 07, 2008 4:18 pm)
  • mnf (Aug 07, 2008 6:40 pm)

Replying to: mnf (Aug 03, 2008 9:32 pm)

I had sort of given up but went on ebay and did find something other than those Bling Lights, for which I got a full refund. I wasn't about to cut up my car. The 3 on ebay all look like you just pull your plastic mold out and put the new ones in, wire it and install the switch. Not something I can do. LOL All the lights are clear and they don't tell you how far you are going to be able to see. Tell me if these are the same ones you saw.
 
http://search.ebay.com/Foglights-Corolla-XLE_W0QQdfspZ32QQfromZR40QQssPageNameZR- C0023QQ_trksidZp1638Q2em120
 
Also trying to find a half mask but no luck. Seems like there is one out there for every car but this one.

Replies to this message:
• mnf (Aug 07, 2008 6:40 pm)

Replying to: jilliew (Aug 07, 2008 4:18 pm)