[chrism2097]

I've owned Chrysler, 2 Nissans, Honda, 3 Chevys, Hyundai, 3 Fords, VW, Subaru, RAM, & Toyota vehicles. Just purchased my first Kia...well, for my wife. 2021 Kia Telluride EX V6 in Black Copper.

We considered and test drove:
Toyota Highlander
Subaru Ascent
VW Atlas
Lexus RX350
Volvo XC60
Honda Pilot

While others had some different and sometimes nicer features, she fell in love with the style and ride of the Kia. Our bank account appreciates the fact that we got it for about $10,000 less than most comparably-equipped competitors.

I live only a couple miles from a Kia dealer, so I went there first. Saw that they had all their Tellurides marked up $7,000 over MSRP. Not knowing that these vehicles are in high demand, I offered $38,000 on a vehicle with a $41,000 MSRP, and a sticker price of $48,000. They refused that offer, and said they MIGHT be able to come down to $46,000. They warned me that I wouldn't find any out there for anywhere near MSRP, and all dealers are marking up $5,000-$10,000.

I came home and hopped on the computer to price compare all Kia dealers within 100 miles (I live in Northern California, so there's a LOT of them). Sure enough, most dealers ask $7,000-$8,000 over MSRP. But I found a nearby dealer (only 15 minutes away) that had a "only one at this price" deal - $1,100 under MSRP. It had all the features we were looking for, and we saved over $8,000.

Just dropped another $400 on Amazon for all-weather floor liners and a few other accessories. Any must-have items for this vehicle that you all recommend?

 

[Celtick4948]

Picked up my Telluride three weeks ago. Gravity Grey SX prestige with Nightfall edition and Dune interior. Waited four months for it. Dealer tried to stick a 3K upcharge originally on top of the dealer price. Knew from research that I expected to pay dealer cost if I wanted this vehicle. I started to walk out and manager came by and said if I would pay the price as I built it without the markup, would I buy? I bought .....even though I never in my life bought at dealer cost. After three weeks with it, I can say I am very pleased. I've had Infiiniti Qx4, Explorer Limted, Acura MD and I can honestly say that the 50K I paid for this vehicle, wth all it has on it, would have cost me around 15K more on comparable SUV's. I am from the N/W suburban Chicago area. Another prior Kia dealer I visited wanted 5K over and would'nt budge. Walked out on them. Goes to show you that patience and searching does work. Also got the Weather-Tec package, would'nt use anything else after all these years.

 

[chrism2097]

Picked up my Telluride three weeks ago. Gravity Grey SX prestige with Nightfall edition and Dune interior. Waited four months for it. Dealer tried to stick a 3K upcharge originally on top of the dealer price. Knew from research that I expected to pay dealer cost if I wanted this vehicle. I started to walk out and manager came by and said if I would pay the price as I built it without the markup, would I buy? I bought .....even though I never in my life bought at dealer cost. After three weeks with it, I can say I am very pleased. I've had Infiiniti Qx4, Explorer Limted, Acura MD and I can honestly say that the 50K I paid for this vehicle, wth all it has on it, would have cost me around 15K more on comparable SUV's. I am from the N/W suburban Chicago area. Another prior Kia dealer I visited wanted 5K over and would'nt budge. Walked out on them. Goes to show you that patience and searching does work. Also got the Weather-Tec package, would'nt use anything else after all these years.

Glad you like it! Yeah, there are some deals to be had if you're patient, or just in the right place at the right time. I fall into the latter category, since we bought it the same day we first even considered the Telluride. My wife is the primary driver. We've had it just over 2 months, and don't even have 1,000 miles on it yet, but so far it's treated us well.