Never bought a new car before!

[AmandaHayley]

Hi there,
I am thinking about getting the 09 AWD Matrix. I have an appt with the dealership this Saturday. Is there any information I should be armed with?

I have been surfing the Toyota site and there are some options I want, and others I don't, but they come in the sport package- I would love a moon roof and cruise control, but I really don't need a 6-CD changer and a compass mirror etc. Does anyone know if I can add on options individually?

I live in Calgary and drive up to the mountains a few times a month in the winter for snowboarding- is it worth the AWD, or should will winter tires suffice? Do I need an Extra Care Package? Will knowing the invoice price help me if I want to lease the car and not straight out buy it?

Thanks in advanced for your tips

[jdhog]

Hello!

My advice first would be to test drive it and see if you like the visibility, ergonomics etc.....Also if you are gonna go carve some lines in the mountains I would say definately get AWD as you will probobaly hate yourself if you don't. Also think about getting you a roof rack for your board.

The cd changer and care package, cc etc is not really a big deal I doubt but you will prob get the cd changer as standard in the AWD. The Aux jack is standard great for your ipod.

My advice on dealing with the dealers is just always be prepared to walk away.

Good luck!

[Smar969905]

1. Dealers are always ready to sell you a car that day. If they get too pushy with you, walk away. the best dealers are the ones that will listen to what you want, let you test drive some of the different options, and suggest anything you may not have considered. most importantly, they are there to sell cars, if not to you then somebody else.

2. dealers are there to make money, so if you are seriously going in for the car, then be ready to get a sky high price on it. you counter with a rock bottom price, and work your way to the middle. do your research first though, and find out what the retail price of the car should be in your area. for this, i have always used www.kbb.com (kelley blue book), but there is also www.nada.com for vehicle value.

3. AWD is great for snow, but if you aren't used to it in snowy conditions, it does make the car handle differently. i test drove a subaru when it was snowing out. i have always drive FWD before, and in a parking lot, i did an e-brake turn with the clutch in, and the car didn't spin like i was expecting. if you are comfortable in driving in the snow with FWD, and you aren't driving in it all the time, then i suggest you stick with FWD. Tires make a big difference in driving conditions. the better the performance tires for dry roads, the worse those same tires are for snow/ice.

just me, but my suggestion is to go with something else besides the 09 matrix because it is just a fugly thing, but go with FWD if you do go with a matrix.

[un4seen]

Test drive, test drive, test drive ...

As for the salesperson, be up front and honest with them - what youre going to use the car for, what you want, who will be driving it, etc. Maybe the Corolla is a better fit ... maybe not. The Sales guys have two hats ... the 'product info' hat and the 'sales hat'. They dont get to put on the second hat unless they do a good job with the first.

As for negotiation ... the mark up is not that high on the Yaris/Corolla/Matrix anyways. So while there is room for negotiation, you will start at MSRP and go down a bit from there. Ive never heard of a Toyota dealer ask ABOVE MSRP on those vehicles, even if they are in high demand. The 'first quote' price will probably be right off the Toyota website.

Oh, and when negotiating, use accessories as barganing chips ... theyll much more likely to throw in $1500 worth of accessories than take $1500 off the price.

Hope that helps !