4X4 SHOWS

Robyn do your research first...know exactly what you want, extra's etc...and shop around for prices...regional centres might offer better deals...last car I bought was the new BA Falcon Ute..I got a great deal from a dealer in Geelong...worked out a price and made sure that I didn't have to pay any extra's or any increase in price.

then..once you have the price...go to the show and see if you can do a deal..you never know...they may be prepared to talk Turkey with you....

We bought our Cruiser from a Regional dealer...we also looked at Auctions....

cheers

AlLaugh alot..life's too short not to....


brrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

robyn,
plleeeeeeease my ears!
caps lock key...

I dont think its a regular, at the last few shows, most things werent even at a discount..

Infact, one LongRange Tank company was selling for MORE at the show than weekdays!!! Dan mate with a surf hit them with the question of show price they stated $50 more than on the Tuesday the week before.

So expect it to be like the easter show. Used to be good for bargains until they reaslied the potential to rip people a new bum hole.

Generally I go to the show looking for a discount, with something in mond and definitely done my homework on wht its worth, still I must admit I havent shopped for a car, but I did ask for some GU info and got two guys who said they would follow me up and didn't....wonder why they even talked to me.

I have gotten cheap accessories too, hand winch, UHF set, some other odds and sods, and will be looking at lightforce 240's this year....Hope to get better than Truckster's $330 bargain basement price!

Thing at the show is, theres heaps of accessories mobs, so=competition. With vehicles theres makers showing them off=not much or No competition. I would go to the dealers and say you are thinking of buying at the show and what can they offer to get you to buy now.....and see how many times they run up the stairs to "ASK THE BOSS", and make sure they add in the things you want, bullbar, headlight protectors, towbar, etc etc etc cause when ya dealing they do them cheaper than ARB or aftermarket do-ers.

Melbourne Toyota did us a good deal once so try them too!

All the bestSo many places to go!
So much work to do :0(

Robyn, thank you so much for that descriptive image, the smile still lingers!!

Ur a crack up!

Matt!

Robyn , some info from the inside

If you want a new car , dont go and see any dealer , figure out what you want to buy , all the options , colour and so on . Once you have done this, start ringing around . They will ask you to come down , if you do go down to the dealer , they will not bargan as hard ,since the think they have half a chance to sell you something . When its just a inqiuery over the phone , they will do anything to get you there . just quote your best price and tell them to better it to get you there , do this to all the dealers and then get back to them with the lowest price . It will take you around 2 hrs to complete . I guarantee the best deal you will ever do on a car .Craigs hut 2003

G'day Robyn,

It also pays to work out when there is a slack period in sales - and try to deal with Salespeople around that time. When I bought the Prado I worked out that most Prado sales slow down in September & October before picking up for the Xmas period again in late November/December thru January. If the sales guys are selling heaps they have less incentive to bargain with you. However if you catch them (like I did) toward the end of a month - when they have to sell just one or two more cars to make budget and get their bonuses - then you can really talk turkey with them. You have leverage with both the sales guy and the sales manager (since the sales manager generally wants their sales guys to hit bonuses so they stick around and don't have the costs of rehiring another sales person.). I got nearly $5000 worth of extras on the Prado + nearly $5500 off the price (I was quoted $49K for it in August, bought it for $43.5K) - all because I bought from a sales person who needed 2 more sales to make budget that October - and there was one day to go in the month. Signed the deal on the 31st and walked away quite happy.

It's not hard to work out which sales people will deal. They are generally the ones who drop the price to get you on the lot. Find 2 or 3 yards that will bargain and play them off against each other a little. Then go see the 2 that are dropping their price the most. Know exactly what you want before you go in - and know what it's worth. If you can - find out what the yard has paid to get the vehicle on the lot - and remember they have to make some money otherwise they go out of business.

Also - allow money in the budget up front for the accessories and after market goodies that you want to add later. If thinking of going with AT rubber - ask the dealer if they will put this on for you and what it'll cost. Sometimes they'll do a good deal just to sell you the truck. If not - check what a tyre supplier will do as far a trading in the OEM tyres on AT rubber the day you take delivery. Drive the OEM's for 5000K's and they'll drop around 40-60% of their value as trades.

Fourby's in Brisbane (if you're in Brisvegas) will trade tyres for AT or MT rubber from you this way...

Good luck with your purchase! Hope this helps.
Prado Boy

G-day Robyn,
As stated above it is good to shop at the end of the month when the salesmen etc are looking to meet targets.
We started out visiting dealers, looking at the vehicles and possible OEM accessories, then researched aftermarket accessories until we had a list of "must haves" and "might haves".
The idea is that you seek an all up price for the vehicle with the "must haves" (which are generally things that are easier to install during production), but separate individual prices for the easily added aftermarket type items.

We then documented the vehicle details that were a "must" for us, eg. colour, air con, motor, transmission, cruise control, and separately listed other items which were a "might have" eg Tyres, Bullbar, towbar, brake controller, rear window dust deflector, headlight/Bonnet protector etc. It is IMPORTANT to be very specific with your requirements in this regard or you may be short changed. For example - Towbar - (Hayman reese type) rated at 3,500Kg with 350KG Ball weight.
Bullbar - Alloy - airbag and winch compatible.
In the event that they are not able to provide items that comply with your requirements they can propose an alternative.
You will need to obtain (supplied & fitted) prices from the aftermarket industry for the "might haves"
Once we had our list we were than able to approach dealers for their best price and make it clear that we had done our homework, knew what we wanted and were ready to buy. Surprisingly our best ( and very respectable) initial price (before haggling) for the "must haves" was from an internet inquiry (carsales.com - I think)

One other thing, - there is an updated version of the Landcruiser coming soon - it's possible that the price at the Bris Motorshow was for clearance of old stock.
Again, be specific and know the difference between the old & updated models, there may be bargains to be had.

Good luck