did you offer in person or email?

email will almost never work for low ball offers.

also search the Edmunds forums to see what prices others are really paying, and try to see if there are any lowball dealers.

If after trying in person, you aren't getting the formula 'target' price, you'll know the target price is too low, so its ethier time to try a different car, or up the price you will pay.

tgif777 said:OP, what state are you in?

In S. Cal., a 2009 Corolla LE with automatic transmission, carpet floor mats, remote keyless entry, outside rear view mirror with heater is $16266 plus TTL. This quote is from the largest Toyota dealer in the US. (Dealer name starts with L****).

I use Mrblackpcs method and got a really good deal on my Mazda3. Do you really have to get a Toyota? Have you consider other brand.

I use e-mail methods buy my last 2 cars and it works wonder.

Good Luck.

I'm in Tampa, Florida.

Why not just get the base model, then get an aftermarket 6 CD and keyless?

The reason you're probably having some difficulty is that everyone is trying to buy smaller cars at this point, so the dealer is likely having no problems moving Corollas.

Try this. 2009 LE Auto. 6cd changer. Power doorlock. $16,002. No haggle pricing.

http://www.fitzmall.com/fitzway/carfind/RESULTSB.ASP?V_XREFID=LFT9Z20D875*O:2008-04-25T01:00:43.583

And best of all, this car is out of the grasp of Southeastern Toyota distributorship. Got a 2008 Corolla S model with alloy rims for under $15,000 2 months ago. Quite satisfied with them. They can move the car to DC area with no extra charge.

swagatalakshmi said:Thanks but they do not have Toyotas in Florida. if anyone has any other suggestion, please let me know. Got a quote : 2008 Mazda3 i sport with ac, 6 cd and ABS for 15.4K OTD. Is this deal any good ?
Remember that calculator you linked in your first post? Does that tell you it's a good deal?

S105dude said:swagatalakshmi said:Thanks but they do not have Toyotas in Florida. if anyone has any other suggestion, please let me know. Got a quote : 2008 Mazda3 i sport with ac, 6 cd and ABS for 15.4K OTD. Is this deal any good ?

You've got to do some homework here on FW and on Edmunds. I know it's easy to just keep asking if x deal is a good one but you'll be better off learning how to do it yourself. That Mazda 3i sounds like a good deal. If that doesn't include side airbags, you might want to add that in. Keep in mind that if you're after fuel efficiency, the Corolla will beat the 3 in that respect.

I did all the homework and horribly confused. I selected three cars : Toyota Corolla LE (1st choice), Nissan Sentra 2S (2nd hoice) and Mazda 3 (3rd choice). I did the calculation based on the formula given above (data source is Edmunds).

Target OTD for Tyotota (with options) 15.7K
Target OTD for Nissan 15.6K
Target OTD for Mazda3 15.5K

Nobody is ready to sell a Toyota for 15.7K. My offer went up and up and now it is 16.5K and still no seller.
For Nissan Sentra, the lowest quote I got is 16.7K and the dealership is not ready to go down.
For Mazda, on the otherhand, everybody quoted below OTD target (in the range of 15.2-15.4K) without any negotiation !!!

I'm wondering how good is the calculator !!

I found this website which calculates 2009 Toyota Corolla LE's suggested secret price as $16650 same as MSRP !! No wonder my offer (16,500) to 5-6 dealers didn't generate any interest. I must say demand for Toyota Corollas are so high that it demands $1500+ premium.

Here : http://www.carpricesecrets.com

2009 Toyota Corolla LE $16,500
2008 Nissan Sentra 2S $15,267
2008 Mazda 3 i sport $13,332

PMonkeyDishwasher said:The $3000 you'd be saving by getting the 3 would make up for the fuel efficiency difference between the 3 and the Corolla. But I believe side curtain airbags are standard on the Toyota and not on the Mazda.

Good point. I generally say all things being equal, go for the Corolla if you're after fuel efficiency - but it's NOT equal and that $3K will buy a lot of gas. It might be worth it to some to have a little more power and a little less MPG.

Definitely add the side curtain airbags. The car is not a death trap without them but if you're ever T-boned, at that instant you'll either a) wish you had side curtain airbags or b) be thankful you got side curtain airbags.

swagatalakshmi said:I'm still thinking about the Corolla ... may be I'll differ my purchase by another 3 months ...

I'm not sure the price will be all that much lower only three months from now. Have you thought about trying to snag an '08? It's late in the game but you might find a dealer with some '08s left willing to let go of them cheap. If you really like the Corolla, you should think about buying it anyway. I know paying close to MSRP is a bit painful but it's a nice car and the revised 1.8L I4 now features dual-VVTi which gives you a slight boost in power and a decrease in NVH compared to its predecessor - all while maintaining the same phenomenal fuel efficiency.

I've yet to test drive the '09 Corolla but I did check it out at a car show a few months ago. I've driven an '06 Corolla extensively and it's a great car. The redesigned '09 should be even better.

When I bought my Camry, gas was still at or less than $3/gal. With gas prices headed where they are, when it comes time to replace our second, older Camry (which we bought when premium unleaded was $1.50/gal!), I think it will be with a Corolla. I had a brand new '08 Corolla loaner earlier this year and averaged 38.5 MPG in the same conditions that my car averages 24 MPG. That's a nice savings!

Anyway.. Good luck. You can't go wrong with the Corolla. As far as the 3, I test drove one and didn't particularly care for it - it didn't feel as refined. Keep in mind though that I'm not after a thrilling driving experience, hence my purchase of a Camry .