Thrill of the Chase

SCION "Pure Pricing"

2005-03-29T21:40:00.000-05:00

The topic for this post is SCION, their Pure Pricing philosophy, and how you can still get a "deal" on one of these hot new cars... First, I'm assuming you know what SCION is and perhaps have heard of what they call Pure Pricing. If not, go check it out: http://www.scion.com

Now, back to the chase... Ok, let's first keep in mind that Pure Pricing does not mean a dealer can't sell a SCION for under the MSRP. Also, SCION does allow its dealers to charge customers with a "documentation fee" as long as it is posted with the price of the car. I have looked at several dealers' online inventory and seen a few dealers that do not charge a doc fee but the large majority do. The doc fee typically ranges from $99 to as much as $899. I think of the doc fee as additional dealer profit b/c I am convinced they are not actually using all this money to perform the duty of documentation.

So how are we going to get a deal here? SCION (owned by Toyota) is not giving any manufacturer's rebates on the xA, xB, or tC and we don't expect them to any time soon considering how well they are selling. Although, I will mention that they do have a College Graduate Program that gets you $400 off...

The next avenue to pursue is the dealer. According to Edmunds.com, the SCION dealers pay roughly $700-$1000 less than the MSRP for the vehicle. I looked at over 50 different dealers' online inventories in the Southeast and only found two that have posted prices under the MSRP. Bingo!

One in particular has a new 2005 xA with the 5 speed and no additional accessories with a MSRP of $13671. This price includes their $598.50 doc fee. The posted selling price of this xA is $12587. So they are willing to sell it for $1084 off, but then subtract out the doc fee... $485.50 is the real savings. That may not seem like much, but on a car in this price range, this is a deal.

The same dealer also had (it just sold yesterday) a new 2005 xB with the automatic and no additional accessories with a MSRP of $15728. Again, this price includes the $598.50 doc fee. The posted selling price of this xB was $14262 which is $1466 off. Subtract the doc fee and the real savings here is $867.50. There you go!

So even in a "Pure Pricing" world, there are ways to purchase a vehicle for less than what everyone else is paying for them.

Happy hunting.

Chevy Trailblazer EXT

2005-03-16T20:23:00.000-05:00

Prior to mid February of 2005, the Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT with the preferred equipment group had a MSRP of $31805. Although it wasn't talked about much from GM, they reduced the MSRP of their mid sized SUVs by $1500-$2000 in February. That included the Chevy Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, and Buick Rainier. The regular versions were reduced by $1500 and the extended versions were reduced by $2000.

So the new price of the Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT went down to $29805. Meanwhile, all the GM discounts and rebates still applied. Here's a rundown as of today:

GM Customer Cash Rebate = $2000
GMAC Cash Discount = $1000 (if you finance through GMAC)
GM Card Earnings Redemption Allowance = $2500 (GM sponsored credit card where you earn money towards a GM vehicle)
GM Card Bonus Cash = $1000
Dealer Discount = $2800 (many Chevrolet dealers will sell current inventory for their cost, known as the invoice, minus any other applicable incentives)

That is a total of $9300 off of the revised MSRP of $29805, for a new price of $20505. WOW! That's a great deal.

Guess what,... it just got better this week. GM is struggling to move cars (and particularly SUVs) so they have launched a program with their dealers that any GM vehicle that has been on their lot for more than 120 days will be discounted another $500-$1000. In the case of the Trailblazer EXT, the discount is $1000. So if your dealer has had one for over 120 days, that takes your price down to $19505.

Although the majority of us don't apply, you could even take another $500 off if you are active in the Military and/or $400 off if you are a soon to be or recent College Grad.

All of these discounts are good through the end of March. Of course the dealer discount is going to be different at every dealer...

A brand new $32k Trailblazer EXT for under $20k - I love the Thrill of the Chase!

What is this Blog about?

2005-03-16T20:02:00.000-05:00

Ok, here's the deal. I get a thrill out of finding a good (normally great) deal on a car. In fact, half the time, the "Thrill of the Chase" is as much fun as actually getting the car. This blog is intended to give me an outlet to write about what I see as the best deals out there... At least in my opinion.