How to make buying a car less of a chore

[Moemg]

When I need to go car shopping I just bring my SO . He is a talker so while I get to check out the cars he keeps the sales people busy with stories of growing up on an Island off Florida . I will rent him to you for a reasonable fee .

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I am off to the "St"ealer tomorrow. For Breakfast & to re-negotiate a new lease. 2 months to go so no pressure.

 

[Hermit]

When I need to go car shopping I just bring my SO . He is a talker so while I get to check out the cars he keeps the sales people busy with stories of growing up on an Island off Florida . I will rent him to you for a reasonable fee .

 

[PaloAlto]

Of course, my next car will be the Tesla Model 3. So all of the above gets thrown out the window, and I pay list price and wait (years) for my car to be ready for delivery.

I also booked the model 3 last year and am in the first 200K bookings. Being based in Tesla's backyard (SF Bay Area) I hope to have a delivery date within the next year or so. We are "buy & hold" car buyers. We drive a 2006 Mercedes SLK and 2010 BMW X5 with no plans to get rid of them. DW needs a new sedan because her 2007 BMW 3 is a bit banged up (runs fine but it a bit of an eyesore). Any thoughts on how to consider Tesla Model 3 vs BMW 3 Series long term ownership? We usually pay upfront cash for cars, just took a loan once in 2007 because the dealer was knocking off an extra $500 off our price and it was 0.5% interest rate.

Sorry if this is a bit off topic for the OP's topic

 

[Hermit]

While I was waiting at the Jeep dealer to have my Jeep not fixed, I spent a couple hours at the Ford and Chevrolet dealers specing a heavy work truck. I got the info I needed and now will be able to compare those and Dodge trucks (I got that data on the first day) while shopping for a slide-in camper. That will be very good information.

I think my plan will be to see what I can work through Costco when it comes time to buy. That is probably the best I can do.

BTW, the Jeep's problem is the horn does not work. They have had it for a total of 18 hours while I hung around waiting for it to get fixed. (two days plus most of a third day I spent driving down to pick it up in the middle ) If they cannot fix it in that amount of time, I worry what damage they might do with more time.

 

[W2R]

When I need to go car shopping I just bring my SO . He is a talker so while I get to check out the cars he keeps the sales people busy with stories of growing up on an Island off Florida . I will rent him to you for a reasonable fee .

Are you still thinking of buying another car, and if so what kind? Or did you buy one already? Or maybe you decided to stick with your Honda?

I thought that thread of yours on the topic was fascinating, especially since you and I seem to have pretty much the same taste in cars (both liked our Solaras a lot, both turned off by too much electronics in some cars, and so on).

So far I am still sticking with my 2009 Venza, mostly because I can't seem to find any new car that appeals to me. Finding the right car is even harder for me than buying it.

 

[imoldernu]

Just bought a car for my daughter this afternoon.

It was about as painful of an experience as I expected it to be.

Thank you for the memories. Great post!

Made me realize that now our two cars are legally old enough to drink, how much I love them.

 

[Ronstar]

Bought a new truck today - 2.5 hours at the dealership. Good thing I researched everything and had several contacts with the salesman before I went there.

 

[REWahoo]

Bought a new truck today - 2.5 hours at the dealership. Good thing I researched everything and had several contacts with the salesman before I went there.

Don't leave us hanging - what did you buy?

 

[meierlde]

One of the problems I had useing True Car etc, is that since I live in the country, it would only take me to the nearest city, not give a choice of a second that is 40 mi further (I was looking at imports so since my town has only Gm,Ford and Chrysler dealers I had to look in the nearby metro areas). Interestingly dealers in the nearby city did not have many cars with the safety systems but the 40 mi further city had a lot more. (I could not persuade true car to look there without changing the zip code)
But I finally lucked out and caught the local Chevy dealer selling a car with most of the safety equipment for 16% off list, and took it.

 

[Fedup]

That was kind of my plan too, but they still managed to waste my time. It's what they do. If I wasn't sitting with my DD and DW, I might have walked, but they know that you must have some reluctance to walking, even if it's only because you'd need to drive X miles to another stealership.

My plan included having internet quotes in hand that were at a level I was willing to pay. But they played games. They write up the deal and it doesn't come back with the right price. Do you simply get up and walk out, or do you say "That's $1,800 too high, what happened to the internet deal?" and let them sharpen their pencil? I did the latter. Then I figured if the other dealer could get below MSRP by 10%, why can't you do that too, so once I had the internet offer, I made an offer that was a bit more than 10% off MSRP and ended up getting that.

Each time they pulled the "I don't know if they'll approve this, I'll go to bat for you...", DD and I giggled and reenacted the scene from "Fargo" where the salesman goes into the manager's office and talks about sports while the customer waits, lol!

https://youtu.be/E5gwc4UizUc?t=15

Interesting, this never happened to me. I got the right price at the dealer, called to confirm the car and got there to get paperwork done. No haggling. But I didn't have any kids with me.

 

[aja8888]

I think my plan will be to see what I can work through Costco when it comes time to buy. That is probably the best I can do.

I tried this last December when Costco had a year end deal of an additional $700 prepaid Visa if you bought a vehicle using their "program". What a disaster....two GMC dealers tried to put me into a truck $20 K more than the options I wanted. I even printed out a "build sheet" for the truck I wanted and they had the gall to say that the option package I wanted was "not available" facepalm.

They also said that Costco buyers get "supplier" pricing which in the case I compared, was several thousand dollars MORE than if I just walked in off the street and priced the same truck.

In the end, I did not buy using Costco. It was a complete waste of time.

Honestly, does anyone here think that just for being a member of a discount club will get you a special deal from car dealers who would sell you their mother for the right price? I'm not even going to mention the lying and underhanded tactics they pull on all customers.

 

[RetireAge50]

I make out the check including tax and license before I go to the dealer. They squawk and moan and try to sell you stuff but end up giving you the car (which you previously negotiated over the phone).

 

[Moemg]

Are you still thinking of buying another car, and if so what kind? Or did you buy one already? Or maybe you decided to stick with your Honda?

I thought that thread of yours on the topic was fascinating, especially since you and I seem to have pretty much the same taste in cars (both liked our Solaras a lot, both turned off by too much electronics in some cars, and so on).

So far I am still sticking with my 2009 Venza, mostly because I can't seem to find any new car that appeals to me. Finding the right car is even harder for me than buying it.

After car shopping which drove me nuts I decided to wait until the new models come out and then try to deal on a 2017 .

 

[Ronstar]

Don't leave us hanging - what did you buy?

Ford F-150. Traded my 2009 F-150. I traded a little earlier than I would have liked at 92000 miles, but the midwest winters have already started the rusting process on the old truck and I needed to trade before it got worse.

But the radio antenna doesn't clear the top of the garage door opening, so I need to do some antenna surgery before I can park it in the garage.

 

[Bamaman]

We're in the process of relieving our wayward daughter of her 2012 Honda Civic SI and letting her buy and pay for her future transportation. Some guy was caught with illicit drugs driving our car--and the vehicle was taken into possession by the police to the tune of $550 wrecker and storage charges. She's had her chance.

I got the bright idea to take it and my 2008 Lexus IS250 and trade them for a new Civic EX--with little $ difference.

Went to my local Honda dealer and the whole lot was 2016 model vehicles. ? ? ? They must have really scratched Honda's back to take'em. But they added an incredible $3.5K in paint treatments, mud flaps, coon tails, etc. on a secondary window sticker. Any time I see that kind of activity, I run from that dealer because they're going to try to hit me with a $699 Documentary Fee which is 100% profit.

I check online to a home owned big city Honda dealership 2 hours away and find a lot full of 2017 model Civics. They're not a slam and jamb operation. Anyone ought to be able to get a deal on a HR-V model, as they've got'tem running out their ears.

After a little reconditioning, I hope to head out of town, and expect my 24 years in the automobile business will allow me to make a decent deal. I just tell'em on front end I don't buy any extras and will pay cash. I'm also a completely trained F&I guy, so the hawks don't mess with me.

 

[REWahoo]

But the radio antenna doesn't clear the top of the garage door opening, so I need to do some antenna surgery before I can park it in the garage.

Good info. I wasn't sure if pickups were getting taller or maybe I was getting shorter...

 

[athena53]

I make out the check including tax and license before I go to the dealer. They squawk and moan and try to sell you stuff but end up giving you the car (which you previously negotiated over the phone).

Ooh, I like it! Having been subjected to way too many delay tactics in the sales process in the past (yeah, I was stupid enough to fall for the "let me run this by the manager" trick), I'm also thinking of telling them, "you have one hour to do this deal or I'm walking".

 

[Ronstar]

Good info. I wasn't sure if pickups were getting taller or maybe I was getting shorter...

Same here. I do feel like a little old man driving this thing.

This one is about 2" taller than my last one. I need to cut about 4" off this antenna - last one 2".

 

[Scuba]

I also used the Internet dealer bid method last time I bought a car. Edmunds.com had a good tool back then. When DH was buying his last car, one of the salesmen asked him "what would it take for you to buy this car today?" This was after we had informed him we had just started our shopping process, so my husband replied "Sell it to me for $10." That got them to cut the high pressure tactics. We bought from a different dealer.

 

[W2R]

After car shopping which drove me nuts I decided to wait until the new models come out and then try to deal on a 2017 .

Oh good idea! Thanks, and I hope you find just the right car and that you let us know all about it.

 

[W2R]

But the radio antenna doesn't clear the top of the garage door opening, so I need to do some antenna surgery before I can park it in the garage.

Or, you could have a taller garage door installed. I know, that's probably nuts but the former owners of my house put in an extra tall garage door, so I thought of that solution.

 

[Ronstar]

Or, you could have a taller garage door installed. I know, that's probably nuts but the former owners of my house put in an extra tall garage door, so I thought of that solution.

Or I could just build another garage! I tried that a few years ago and the boss said no.

I have 7' high doors, with the door casing at around 6'-10". I should have put in 8' high doors when I built the house. It would be tough now. I'd have to rip out brick, redo the header. Lots of work. Better to build another garage.

 

[Hermit]

Or, you could have a taller garage door installed. I know, that's probably nuts but the former owners of my house put in an extra tall garage door, so I thought of that solution.

I am doing this in my house. One is an 8 foot door, the other 9 foot. The lower garage door is 7 foot 9 inches.

 

[Walt34]

Or, you could have a taller garage door installed. I know, that's probably nuts but the former owners of my house put in an extra tall garage door, so I thought of that solution.

We did that when contracting to have the house built, I think it was ~$150 extra so there would never be a cheaper time to do it. Lots of extras were extremely cheap (this was 2001) - extra electrical outlets were $40 each, ceiling fan mounting boxes, telephone and cable TV outlets all the same price so I got a lot of those figuring there would never be a lower price on them.