Need help locating/buying new AWD Rav4

[BarbWire]

I am currently in central Texas, and need to buy a vehicle in the next two weeks (just returned from abroad and am now renting a car at $200/week). I will fly to anywhere reasonable (within say 1500 miles and not on fire) for a RAV4 AWD. When I bought a 4Runner a few years ago, I had to fly to Denver to get a 4WD.

Looking for a 2021 or 2020 RAV4 AWD, LE or XLE trim, with a moonroof (this means XLE +"XLE grade convenience package").

Nothing is available locally, of course -- AWD are scarce in TX, need to go to a snowy climate. And two of the three Austin-area local dealerships have absolutely horrible reputations for decades.

So how do I search/locate/negotiate a long distance deal? I can go to each dealer's website (eg., Toyota in Albuquerque, in Bozeman, in Denver, etc) or is there a more efficient way to search? And then when I locate I assume I will have to pay darn near MSRP because these are popular.

Even better: can anyone recommend a Toyota dealership they think is excellent, which might have what I want in stock? I hate leaving a dealership feeling like I need a shower.

Ugh. I hate buying cars.

 

[statsman]

Nothing is available locally, of course -- AWD are scarce in TX, need to go to a snowy climate.

Having been in Central Texas for almost two years now, I don't get this. Sure, there isn't a lot of snow here, nor real steep grades to have to deal with. But between the clay soil and poor rain runoff on the roads, an AWD would be a plus all year.

Our main SUV is front-wheel drive only, and I can spin the tires from a stop and have experienced a bit of fishtailing with this vehicle, even during the summer months. Conversely, the wife's 13 year-old SUV, with a sportier engine and AWD, maintains control at all times.

Sorry about the commentary. Good luck in your search.

 

[audreyh1]

In 2005 I bought my Jeep Liberty in Austin area by emailing dealers in the area for quotes. I required 4WD as well as some more safety features like side air bags. A dealer from New Braunfels responded with a good price - they would custom order the Jeep for me from Chrysler, so I got it built to order. Took a few weeks, but was worth it. Even had my name on the window sticker - built for ....

Yes, 4WD/AWD on some models can be hard to find in TX. Colorado and New Mexico, where they deal with snow, it’s much more common.

There are so many car dealers along the Austin (Georgetown) through San Antonio corridor plus west along I10, that I imagine you can find someone to work with you.

 

[euro]

Check out Carmax - they will ship cars from their other locations for a reasonable price. So if one is available at their Denver location, they'll ship it to TX for probably $200

 

[RunningBum]

Try cars.com. Or a car buying service, like Costco's, for example. Maybe you belong to a credit union that has that service.

 

[finnski1]

I am currently in central Texas, and need to buy a vehicle in the next two weeks (just returned from abroad and am now renting a car at $200/week). I will fly to anywhere reasonable (within say 1500 miles and not on fire) for a RAV4 AWD. When I bought a 4Runner a few years ago, I had to fly to Denver to get a 4WD.

Looking for a 2021 or 2020 RAV4 AWD, LE or XLE trim, with a moonroof (this means XLE +"XLE grade convenience package").

Nothing is available locally, of course -- AWD are scarce in TX, need to go to a snowy climate. And two of the three Austin-area local dealerships have absolutely horrible reputations for decades.

So how do I search/locate/negotiate a long distance deal? I can go to each dealer's website (eg., Toyota in Albuquerque, in Bozeman, in Denver, etc) or is there a more efficient way to search? And then when I locate I assume I will have to pay darn near MSRP because these are popular.

Even better: can anyone recommend a Toyota dealership they think is excellent, which might have what I want in stock? I hate leaving a dealership feeling like I need a shower.

Ugh. I hate buying cars.

you can search on cargurus.com to see the models you want.
Can filter by ,color, trim level etc and distance from your house.
Could then negotiate from there and try hard to get your price. I know the new rav 4 is pretty popular(especially the new xle hybrid) but there are deals to be had.


I just put in RAV 4 LE, XLe and XLE premium with AWD in each and a sunroof and got 1967 results starting around$ 28,000 for a 2020

Then can sort by lowest price etc.

 

[RunningBum]

I got 14 hits for a 2020 or 2021 new or used XLE or LE with AWD and a moonroof, within 200 miles of Austin. 153 if you can live without a moonroof. I'm sure the number would also increase if you up the distance.

 

[BarbWire]

Thanks, all. I have been on CarGuru for the past hour or so, and now have a list of dealerships to contact.

If I can find something not in Texas (Gulf States Distributorship) then the prices are more likely to be discounted and the vehicles not loaded with "distributorship options) which are expensive fluff.

Can't live without a moonroof. I have made that compromise on my last three vehicles, and nope -- never again. It's the best way to vent a vehicle in summer heat, and lovely when camping. The sunroof in my 1991 Mazda Navajo was the cat's meow.

Suppose that I find a vehicle that ticks my boxes in, say, Colorado Springs. I am having a devil of a time getting Costco to refer me to a dealership there -- it sees they are stuck on the zip code of my mail service address near Houston. Does anyone know how to adjust location?

 

[BarbWire]

I got 14 hits for a 2020 or 2021 new or used XLE or LE with AWD and a moonroof, within 200 miles of Austin. 153 if you can live without a moonroof. I'm sure the number would also increase if you up the distance.

What search engine?

 

[finnski1]

Thanks, all. I have been on CarGuru for the past hour or so, and now have a list of dealerships to contact.

If I can find something not in Texas (Gulf States Distributorship) then the prices are more likely to be discounted and the vehicles not loaded with "distributorship options) which are expensive fluff.

Can't live without a moonroof. I have made that compromise on my last three vehicles, and nope -- never again. It's the best way to vent a vehicle in summer heat, and lovely when camping. The sunroof in my 1991 Mazda Navajo was the cat's meow.

Suppose that I find a vehicle that ticks my boxes in, say, Colorado Springs. I am having a devil of a time getting Costco to refer me to a dealership there -- it sees they are stuck on the zip code of my mail service address near Houston. Does anyone know how to adjust location?

Texas prices seem high for AWD versions. Like $2-3000 high but then again I am in NH where just about everyone buys AWD and there may be a lot more of them to choose from.

 

[RunningBum]

What search engine?

cars.com, as I mentioned in my post immediately above.

 

[BarbWire]

Texas prices seem high for AWD versions. Like $2-3000 high but then again I am in NH where just about everyone buys AWD and there may be a lot more of them to choose from.

AWD prices are high in Texas, and Toyota prices are especially high due to the Gulf States Distributorship, which keeps very tight reins on the pricing and has a lot of distributorship mark-up.


That's why I am willing to fly elsewhere to find a good deal ... and have a nice autumn drive back to hot and humid Texas.

 

[finnski1]

AWD prices are high in Texas, and Toyota prices are especially high due to the Gulf States Distributorship, which keeps very tight reins on the pricing and has a lot of distributorship mark-up.


That's why I am willing to fly elsewhere to find a good deal ... and have a nice autumn drive back to hot and humid Texas.

Well NH is getting near peak foliage right now and it is a beautiful 72 deg out.

 

[BarbWire]

Soooo tempting, but I guess I need to check the quarantine and travel rules ....

 

[Aerides]

That's why I am willing to fly elsewhere to find a good deal ... and have a nice autumn drive back to hot and humid Texas.

In that case, what I'd do is look at the best single leg flights out of your nearest airport, and circle 5 places you'd like to visit. For example - DFW to Jackson, Wy. (dfw really goes most everywhere in 1 leg).

Then google the dealer inventories in those 5 circles.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I wish I had some decent advice for you, but I can only wish you luck. My DW recently purchased a 4Runner and like you, she had a very specific set of options that she wanted and wasn't going to concede. She doesn't quite view a car as an appliance like I do.

Anyway, after searching locally for about a week and getting the run around from 4 different dealers within 100 miles, she found one in the DFW area. There was more gnashing of teeth, lots of calls and texts, and finally a deal was made. She made the 4 hour trip to the dealership and spent almost NINE HOURS dealing with their bull squeeze. This was about a month ago and while she got the vehicle she wanted, she is still battling the dealership for the paperwork and some other odds and ends. A recurring trend we saw in regards to the 'yotas was that the online inventory (on the main Toyota.com site) almost NEVER matched what was actually in stock. One of the dealers said that it data can be as old as a week...that makes shopping nationwide quite the challenge.

My last vehicle was purchased at CarMax and the process was very simple. I recently sold that same vehicle to Carvana for more than I paid for it. I am currently looking for an older 4Runner "beater" since I don't think we are quite ready to be a single car family. I am in no hurry, so I won't be playing stupid games with anyone.

At any rate, have you considered any car buying services? My DW used USAA a number of years ago and it was a pretty smooth process. The exact vehicle she wanted was about 4 hours away (see a trend?) but they arranged to have it delivered and that process was pretty painless. That was an Infiniti, a car I loved and the customer service at the stealerships was actually pretty good.

 

[donheff]

I'm interested in the RAV4 Prime plugin hybrid. That is going to be hard to find.

 

[Bamaman]

The Texas Toyotas are distributed by Gulf States out of Houston, and I warn you that they charge more for Toyotas wholesale than in states where vehicles are distributed directly by Toyota. Texas cars may have unwanted additions/options that pad the price too. It's the same way with Southeast Toyota distributers out of Florida.

I bought my Camry Hybrid from a small independent dealer outside of Nashville for $541 under cost. An absolutely great Toyota dealer is Wolfchase Toyota in Memphis area, and it's a quick flight for you.

 

[RunningBum]

I bought my Camry Hybrid from a small independent dealer outside of Nashville for $541 under cost. An absolutely great Toyota dealer is Wolfchase Toyota in Memphis area, and it's a quick flight for you.

It is? There are no direct flights to Memphis from Austin. She talked of Austin area dealers in the first post.

 

[BarbWire]

The Texas Toyotas are distributed by Gulf States out of Houston, and I warn you that they charge more for Toyotas wholesale than in states where vehicles are distributed directly by Toyota. Texas cars may have unwanted additions/options that pad the price too. It's the same way with Southeast Toyota distributers out of Florida.

I bought my Camry Hybrid from a small independent dealer outside of Nashville for $541 under cost. An absolutely great Toyota dealer is Wolfchase Toyota in Memphis area, and it's a quick flight for you.

Yes, Gulf States makes it very hard for dealers in their region to be competitive. In 2014 when I got a quote from Autonation Toyota in Denver, I asked Autonation Toyota near Austin to match it, and they said they were not allowed to do so by their distributor.

 

[BarbWire]

In that case, what I'd do is look at the best single leg flights out of your nearest airport, and circle 5 places you'd like to visit. For example - DFW to Jackson, Wy. (dfw really goes most everywhere in 1 leg).

Then google the dealer inventories in those 5 circles.

Yes, looking in SLC, DEN, ABQ. Not sure where in WY to look in early October. Bozeman doesn't have anything. Maybe Missoula...

 

[braumeister]

AutoNation Direct might be an option.

https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/technology-and-a-personal-touch-streamline-car-buying.html

 

[BarbWire]

So, assuming that I have found a vehicle that meets my specs a few hours away (as I did this morning) how do I proceed? This vehicle was offered at one price (MSRP-factory rebate) on its information page, but when you clicked on the "start my deal" button -- which I did just to investigate how this worked -- the "cash" price was $1600 higher.

So if I find a vehicle that might interest me, how do I proceed? Online chat just gets you a person who wants your contact info and has no information.

 

[BarbWire]

AutoNation Direct might be an option.

https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/technology-and-a-personal-touch-streamline-car-buying.html

That looks interesting -- thanks. I see that Sonic Automotive has a similar service, and they own Mountain State Toyota in Denver. I am also slowly figuring out the Costco system: inputting a Denver zip code it sent my contact information to Mountain State Toyota, which doesn't seem to have what I want, at least online. So a question for their Costco rep is whether they can find what I want at another dealership and sell it to me at Costco price ....

Oy, vey. I think the sun is now over the yardarm for today; I have a new microbrew to sample.

THANK YOU to everyone for the suggestions and for dealing with my stress in this process which I truly loathe.

 

[BarbWire]

Sorry, two more questions:

* the 2020 models currently have a manufacturer's rebate of $1750, good through 9/30 per dealers' websites. Since they are trying to clear out the 2020s (the 2021 are already available) is it likely that this rebate will be continued into October? I don't know how this game is played.

* The car I purchase has two potential fates: I drive it for a decade, or I sell it in two or three years if I move out of the USA. The price difference between the 2020 and the 2021 seems to be about $3K. The FIRE person in me says "2020 -- save the dough" but should I consider 2021 since I might sell it in 2 or 3 years?

The differences between 2020 and 2021 are cosmetic.

Thank you!


BTW, focusing on Denver and SLC now, both of which are in the Mountain States Distributorship.