How to buy a new vehicle on the internet?

[Gallaher]

While we have done well saving, investing and retiring early, I am befuddled by more consumer oriented endeavors.
Specifically, I have seen reference to specing, out a vehicle online and allowing dealers to compete (bid) for your business.

HOW?

I know what I want, van for camper conversion. Also, I’d rather have an un-sedated root canal than deal with multiple car salespeople.

What is the process to purchase a vehicle, no trade, cash, online while getting a good price?

I’ve always paid cash for late model used cars and drove them into the ground. Last bought a new car in 1994.

Recently, I realize that we are affluent and can blow some dough.
Of course, I will complete the van conversion myself.
Thanks

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

I did it by phone. Got a salesperson on the phone from 2 dealerships that had the car I wanted. I let them compete. And I lied about what "the other guy" was doing for me until they both quit budging. Better price than anticipated. Went down to write check and pickup keys. I had one via text bc he gave me his card wgen I test drove. The other one I called the dealer main number and I saud give me the salesman "up" and I told him I was buying x car today cash money from him or a guy at abc dealer. I gave him the vin of the specific car we were negotiating on to avoid ""confusion"" on their part. Impress me. So I would talk to him and text the other guy. Wrote out a t chart to compare the deals. Line through as deal improved. 2 bottom lines. Chose best for me. Took a couple hours maybe? Off and on. You wont best a car salesman. But they are greedy for a sale so competition is key.

Now if you are ordering? Aint gonna work.

 

[38Chevy454]

Now at end of the year and end of the month is actually a great time to get a good deal. Dealers want to meet their quota, or meet some incentive, such that you could get one that will sell for a better price, if it puts them over the sales number target.


Start now, contacting on internet and get serious if you need to complete the deal by COB 12/31.


Any end of the quarter (3/31, 6/30, 9/30) are also good times to negotiate. Do some prep work and check what mfr incentives are out there. Educate yourself if the demand for your desired vehicle is high or low. Low demand means better pricing for you. Also know what the invoice price is for what you want, and any option packages or individual options. Disregard sticker price, deal with invoice price as basis for negotiation. To get the best deal you may need to settle for what that dealer has on the lot. So figure out your priorities on color, interior, options, etc. Don' be afraid to take a low financing deal, it may make the deal and you can pay it off in couple months if you want. Or keep the 0.9 or whatever low interest rate and your money in your savings. Don't fall for any of the add-ons after the initial deal. No ext warranty, super paint protection, prepaid maintenance plan, or whatever they try to sell. Get an out the door price before you go to sign papers, and make sure they don't add in something. Out the door, all inclusive price.

 

[Gallaher]

Well, thanks for the responses.
So far I’ve learned how to buy on the phone....(knew that) and how to buy from a dealer on the internet...knew that too.

I thought that people were using websites that allowed them to pick a few dealers, spec out a vehicle and let dealers make their best offers.
May be a business opportunity to an app designer
Thanks

 

[Ready]

Check out www.edmunds.com. Find the car you want. Edmunds will send out a price request to three different dealers who will reach out to you to compete for your business.

 

[Gallaher]

Thank you Ready!
That appears to be exactly what I was looking for

 

[FIREHAPPY]

I used TrueCar for my last two car purchases. Just be prepared to receive multiple initial offers in writing and a lot of phone calls almost immediately from various dealers after sending your contact info. (I still have a landline and used that number instead of my cell)

I ignored the calls and communicated via email for the first round of discussions. The price quotes were all over the board so I could weed out the uncompetitive bids.

On my first purchase, i used the TrueCar quote with the lowest price to incent the dealer close to my house to match the deal.

Using TrueCar is just the kickoff of the overall process since you still have to negotiate other terms but it has been helpful to me.

Good luck!

 

[chassis]

A camper van conversion isn't a mainstream vehicle. "Specing out" or "configuring" a new vehicle such as an SUV, minivan, pickup truck or sedan, is very easy.

You need to surf camper van dealer's websites and use the phone for this one.

If you want to order a bare van that you will either convert yourself, or take to a specialist for conversion, I recommend buying a vehicle currently on a dealer's lot. This can be done by surfing dealer websites and browsing their inventory.

 

[Bamaman]

You will first need to decide on what brand of van you want. Just about every manufacturer is offering European styled vans and many have 3 different roof heights and two different wheelbases. Some offer extended rear ends.

As someone with 24 years' in the auto business, I would suggest a Ford van. They have an extensive dealer base, and they're not the most expensive. But I warn you that the Coronavirus has disrupted truck production, and UPS/FedEx have added an army of new trucks to their fleets. Inventories on dealer lots are low.

There is a great wave of travel van building going on with so many being documented on YouTube.com. I wish I had the freedom to build such a rig and hit the road in my retirement.

The big gun of Ford dealers is Akins Ford in Winder, GA, and he's the largest car dealer in Georgia. They have about 15 Transit units in stock and on the way. And their prices are as low as you will find, and people fly in there to buy vehicles daily.

 

[mrfeh]

I find the relevant dealers within driving distance and go to their web sites. Find the vehicle you want from their inventory (or specify what vehicle you want) and ask them for their best price.

Except for the actual purchase, everything can be done via email and maybe a phone call.

 

[bobandsherry]

If you have a Costco membership, they offer car buying as one of their perks.

That said, any of the "do it for me" options such as Costco, Edmunds and TrueCar all won't get you the best deal -- they have their own profit/margin built in, so you are paying them in the end. Do the legwork, save a few more $$$.

Personally, I will send an email to the Sales Manager, let them know exactly what I'm looking for and that I'm buying in next week, two weeks, etc. Send out a to various dealerships in the area and let them get back to me. Once I agree on a price I ask that final offer be sent by email and that all paperwork be ready for me to sign when I arrive. You are the customer, let them know what you expect

 

[mh]

While we have done well saving, investing and retiring early, I am befuddled by more consumer oriented endeavors.
Specifically, I have seen reference to specing, out a vehicle online and allowing dealers to compete (bid) for your business.

HOW?

I know what I want, van for camper conversion. Also, I’d rather have an un-sedated root canal than deal with multiple car salespeople.

What is the process to purchase a vehicle, no trade, cash, online while getting a good price?

I’ve always paid cash for late model used cars and drove them into the ground. Last bought a new car in 1994.

Recently, I realize that we are affluent and can blow some dough.
Of course, I will complete the van conversion myself.
Thanks

I knew what car I wanted, ( Kia Soul or something similar ) so I just surfed carfax for a few weeks , looking for one that fit my criteria ( under 60k miles and less than 3 years old ) there was one that came up at a Kia dealer 30 miles away, at the kind of price I wanted, and I bought it . I used the two weeks to get a feel for prices.

 

[travelover]

I knew what I wanted so I got a quote from Costco. That gave me a maximum price. I then contacted all the dealers via email within about 30 miles and asked them for an out the door price on the specific vehicle I wanted. Some responded with a price, some insisted that I come in. I eliminated the uncooperative and then started playing those that responded against each other until the bidding essentially ground to a halt as I'd reached rock bottom. It was $500-ish below the Costco price. I agreed to buy from the low dealer and wrote a check when I picked up the vehicle. The only time I went to a dealership was to test drive the car, which was before I began the buying process described above. In that instance, I just drove the car and left - no BS, intimidation or games.

I sold my old car on Craigslist by meeting a lady at the local police station. She test drove it and paid me cash for it.

 

[RetiredAtThirty-eight]

I feel for you! I'm a good negotiator but I hate the games dealerships play. Yes, a root canal is a better experience!

Fortunately, we bought our last two cars online and it was a breeze. No negotiations, no hassle and we got the lowest possible price. But Tesla doesn't offer vans (yet).

Good luck!

 

[Starsky]

We bought our Camry online and the dealer we bought from had a dedicated internet sales group. I posted what we wanted on Truecar and the emails started coming in from local dealers. It was an easy transaction, and they offered me a great price ($22K for a new Camry Hybrid) but that was pre-COVID.

I also bought my 4Runner the same way. You should be able to get a great price since you don't have to talk with the reps if you don't want to. You can do it all via email, but you'll need to be very specific about the trim, color(s) and options you want.

 

[OldShooter]

The best deal on new cars will be to buy a "left over" new car from last model year or a "brass hat" company car that is one model year old but has never been sold to anyone. DW's Mini Countryman was a brass hat and we saved thousand$. It sold with the "Certified Used Car" warranty on top of the factory warranty. The only negative is that it has every option known to man and the user interface is almost incomprehensible. It even has a pop-up heads-up-display panel.