Have you used a car buying service?

Walt34

Walt34

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We got the bad news that the transmission in DW's 2003 Buick Century is toast at 174k miles and the fix would cost about what the car is worth so it is new car time for DW. We'll almost certainly (although I won't tell the salesman that!) replace it with a new Honda Accord 4 cyl. It's like no one has anything bad to say about the make/model, including Consumer Reports and they're pretty picky (which is good). We've yet to actually drive one, we'll probably do that Monday.

I'm inclined to go through a car buying service and since I'm already subscribed to Consumer Reports Online ($20/year) their car pricing is free. They contact three dealers, get prices from them, and forward the results.

Has anyone else used a car buying/pricing service? Which ones? Likes/dislikes? Results good/bad/indifferent? Cost?

Thanks for sharing your experience.
 
I used USAA's car buying service which is also the same service PenFed CU offers. I was happy with it. I probably could have gotten a slightly better deal had I haggled back and forth with several dealers, but to me the gain wouldn't have been worth the pain.

There is no cost for the service.
 
Sorry to hear about the demise of DW's car. A Honda Accord should be a great choice (speaking from experience). I signed up for a car buying service in 2012 when replacing mine. However, it was of limited utility since Honda dealers are discouraged from participating.
 
I used the Consumer Reports car pricing feature when I bought my 2010 Camry back in 2009. I feel like I was able to make a good deal and was completely happy with the price I paid. It may have helped that I was living in a town where car dealers were struggling due to the recent closure of a major employer, with lots of folks out of work, thus very slow sales. Timing and circumstances probably had a lot to do with it. Oh yeah, I was also able to get $4500 cash for clunkers money for my old truck with a bum transmission, too!
 
I used Costco car buying service for my new car earlier this year. Easiest process ever. Sent an email with the specs I wanted. When the car was in, I got a call. The deal was pretty good. No hassle pricing.
 
Not sure if you call it a buying service, through work I used the X plan from Ford to buy my truck. Went to ford.com, entered the truck I wanted, it spit out a build sheet and a price .4% over dealer invoice. Took it to the local dealer who honored it and tacked on $100 for paperwork. Took any stress about getting the best deal out of the situation.
 
I used Costco for my current car. I did a fair bit of research before buying and discovered that the Costco negotiated price was about as good as I could have expected with a good deal of haggling. I don't like haggling so I appreciated the Costco option. The dealership raised their trade-in offer to match the offer I got at Carmax which saved me a little bit of hassle - I also don't like DIY sales. I guess I don't like much about cars.
 
I used the Costco car buying service to help my mother buy a car a few months ago, and agree it is super simple and gets a very good price. The quote comes back almost instantly, and the car dealer contacts you very quickly.

Costco actually only has official relationships with one (or a few?) dealers for a given brand in your area, so you get that one price quote. My mother preferred working with her Honda dealer just down the road from her house, so we simply took the Costco printed out offer from the other dealer (which was about 15 minutes away), and asked if they could match it. They grumbled quite a bit, but did it anyway.
 
To those using the Costco service - is that a real 'out the door' price (minus tax and required fees)? Or do you still have to play the game of the added 'rustproofing', or pin stripe, or 'clear coat' or other dealer options at a ridiculous price?

-ERD50
 
I used a local, private buying service to buy a '92 Prelude.
Later used AAA's negotiating service (bought from a dealer, not from AAA) to buy a '98 4Runner.
Great experience both times. Don't really like the negotiating part.
 
ERD50 said:
To those using the Costco service - is that a real 'out the door' price (minus tax and required fees)? Or do you still have to play the game of the added 'rustproofing', or pin stripe, or 'clear coat' or other dealer options at a ridiculous price?

-ERD50
Click to expand...
And don't forget the "mandatory" paperwork fee, maybe registration or title fee, etc.

At a dealer, I always negotiate bottom line. Just a month ago bought a used car and they said salesman made a mistake and the title fee was $25 more. Reminded them I negotiated bottom line and did they wish to jeopardize a sale over $25? They backed off.
 
Maybe depends what you want in buying service. Years ago ( pre internet) I used one, gave them the specs, they went and did the negotiating and delivered it to me. With the internet now you can do most of it yourself. If you just want price quotes , most of the car sites ( edmunds etc ) will do that. CarsDirect has purchase program, never looked at the Costco program ( don't have one around here ). Most dealers have caught on to the internet and have a "internet sales dept" that skips most of the BS .
 
I used AAA once. They did a pretty good job getting me what I wanted for the price I was willing to pay.
 
A friend of mine used the Costco service. When she visited the dealers in our area several said they offered the same price as Costco. She asked them to give her a quote which in each case was a couple hundred over the Costco price for the same care. Frankly I would rather go through Costco because if the dealer tries to play games they put their contract with Costco at risk.
 
Only car buying service I've tried was getting USAA price on my '10 Altima (buying new). Price quoted was a bit higher than I ended up negotiating myself from local dealer using Edmunds.com "True Market Value" for "Build Your Own" model with exact options (MSRP) of specific car I eventually bought. But then- I actually enjoy the negotiations. I'm always prepared with best info I can get on latest automaker invoice/holdbacks/incentives/rebates/etc, buy at end of month (dealers want to meet/exceed quotas), refuse to pay for add-ons (e,g. paint 'sealant', rustproofing, etc.), and politely make it clear I will NOT buy the car if I don't get my price. If dealer thinks you have fallen in love with one specific car (color, options, etc), then they have you by the shorts ;)
Buying service or not, keep in mind dealers will always be less willing to discount models in high demand/short supply. IMHO, car buying services can be useful for those who hate negotiating at all. But one still has to watch out for those $$$$ dealer add-ons (inc unreasonable doc fees). And remember you still need to haggle over value of your trade-in (if any).
 
rbmrtn said:
Maybe depends what you want in buying service. Years ago ( pre internet) I used one, gave them the specs, they went and did the negotiating and delivered it to me. With the internet now you can do most of it yourself. If you just want price quotes , most of the car sites ( edmunds etc ) will do that. CarsDirect has purchase program, never looked at the Costco program ( don't have one around here ). Most dealers have caught on to the internet and have a "internet sales dept" that skips most of the BS .
Click to expand...

The last two cars I have purchased have been online through the internet dept. of the dealership. Told them what I wanted and they gave me their bottom line price. No haggling, no stress. Only way to buy a car.
 
smurray5991 said:
Costco actually only has official relationships with one (or a few?) dealers for a given brand in your area, so you get that one price quote. My mother preferred working with her Honda dealer just down the road from her house, so we simply took the Costco printed out offer from the other dealer (which was about 15 minutes away), and asked if they could match it. They grumbled quite a bit, but did it anyway.
Click to expand...

That's what I plan to do with the CR quote. If the closest dealer will match it I'll buy there. If not, I'll go another 30 minutes down the road.

The CR quote is a "certificate" that you're supposed to print and take to the dealer. I hadn't finished printing it before the dealer called on the phone.
 
Many many years ago (before the internet was popular) I used a place called CarBargains. I picked out the options I wanted and received a print out of the invoice prices and quotes from several dealers in my area that made the lowest bids.

From what I see, CarBargains is still around:

CarBargains - New Car Shopping Service Homepage
 
I haven't bought a car without using an online car buying service for at least 20 years. They're free, so why not take advantage. I am convinced we got better deals as a result, or at the very least cut out lengthy haggling. When you start out online, it seems dealers know you have as much info as you can get in advance, something a cold walk in buyer may not.

You start with a firm price, and I have always been able to negotiate a further discount from the "Internet price." It's usually important that you give the impression of car buying as an emotionless commodity transaction. Try to appear indifferent about a specific car or even color, dealers know they have you if you've clearly "fallen in love with the car." Even if it's true, never tell a dealer they have the exact model, options and color you have to have. Be prepared to walk to make your point, they'll get in touch soon enough if they can offer a further discount.

If dealer A gives you a price online, you give dealer B, C, D a chance to beat it (not match IMO) - if they do you buy, if not you buy from dealer A.

I used to use autobytel.com (not sure if they are still around), edmunds.com lately - but there are several good ones, nothing stopping you from trying more than one. Best of luck...
 
Last edited:
REWahoo said:
I used USAA's car buying service which is also the same service PenFed CU offers. I was happy with it. I probably could have gotten a slightly better deal had I haggled back and forth with several dealers, but to me the gain wouldn't have been worth the pain.

There is no cost for the service.
Click to expand...


That's exactly what I did 2 years ago and I was happy with the process and the auto that I ended up with.
 
COSTCO is the best option. I have negotiated some car purchases for friends and family over the years, but accepted beer and pizza as payment.......:)
 
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