How To Buy A New Car

Midpack said:
We expect to buy DW a new car in the next 6 months plus or minus. I'm planning to follow the Clark Howard's guidance AND the Costco approach, and take whichever is best.
Click to expand...
I did the Clark Howard thing, then the Costco thing within a few days. It turned out one of the Costco affiliated dealers had already responded to me - with a lower price!

But worst case, use the Costco price as an initial bargaining price.
 
Great post!

Buying new cars, oh what fun, you deserve the best for your hard earned money.

Here's a thought. What if you could buy the best car produced today Directly from the manufacturer who built it. Yes, No Dealer run a round.

It's called a Tesla.
Built in CA.
Starts at $35K Not including any State rebate. Not including the Federal tax credit, if you qualify.

Or a Certified Previously owned Tesla Mdl S OR Mdl X ,..for a bit more $$.
 
Faraday said:
What if you could buy the best car produced today Directly from the manufacturer who built it. Yes, No Dealer run a round.

It's called a Tesla.
Click to expand...

(My bold) I wonder how you came to this conclusion?? :confused::confused:

Isn't best defined by what meets your particular needs? :confused:
 
calmloki said:
So how do you decide on the car before all this cunning wheely-dealing? Do you just read reviews and then buy over the phone or internet? At various times I thought the Fiat 500 and the Honda CRV were serious contenders for our garage - a couple minutes drive time changed my mind. Do you just go in and brave the sales staff at the dealership and test drive car after car? It took us hours just to drive a few different cars, and dealing with the upbeat, hopeful and eager salesmen wore me out during that time.
Click to expand...

"How're you doing today?" is the typical line I get soon as I open the door at a dealership. The salesmen wait just outside the entrance and pounce soon as my door's opening.

"Doing great, doing some comparison shopping. We're not running numbers, we're not talking to anyone inside, haven't gotten that far yet. We're just hoping to test out the XYZ with ABC before we hit the next dealership. You got time for that?"

This has, 100% of the time, shut down any aspect that I don't want to deal with. Just test drive the car on my short list, get the salesman's card, and roll back out. Every now and then someone will try to wiggle in talking to a finance manager or run numbers, but I just remind them that from the start I said I wasn't interested and haven't changed my mind yet.

Then once everything's narrowed down, I just e-mail and text the sales managers, maybe get hold of a general manager or internet sales director if I'm lucky, and just start forwarding e-mails with best price offers back and forth until the numbers stop dropping.

I'll compare those prices to what people say they've paid on forums dedicated to that particular vehicle, and if it's more expensive, I'll just wait. If it's at the lower end or cheaper, I'll go to the dealership.

I've found it's good to bring the SO in so she can make sure she likes the vehicle too, but she becomes more emotionally invested, which makes negotiating more difficult. I leave her at home when it's time to go in, since I don't have a problem getting up and walking out at the drop of a hat.
 
Just got back from test driving a car on our short list. I explained up front it was one of a few cars I wanted to test drive and was not buying today. That worked. Now I'll do the internet bidding war and Costco buying service to nail down the price.
 
aja8888 said:
Originally Posted by Faraday View Post

What if you could buy the best car produced today Directly from the manufacturer who built it. Yes, No Dealer run a round.

It's called a Tesla.
Click to expand...
(My bold) I wonder how you came to this conclusion?? :confused::confused:

Isn't best defined by what meets your particular needs? :confused:
Click to expand...

Not if every single post you ever posted to this forum is a PRO-Tesla post.

One trick pony. I wonder if he/she has any interest in Early Retirement? Or maybe is counting on TSLA to provide it?

-ERD50
 
ERD50 said:
Not if every single post you ever posted to this forum is a PRO-Tesla post.

-ERD50
Click to expand...

I'm neutral on Tesla and electric cars in general.

For my driving, an electric car would work for only 1/2 our needs, maybe less. I see a lot of challenges ahead for integrating electric cars (not hybrids) into the mainstream U.S. population. But I also think that electric cars will find a level where they will be practical for some families. I don't think we will ever own one as I am getting lazier by the day and find that our ICE cars are simple, very reliable, easy to operate, and fuel is readily available.
 
aja8888 said:
(My bold) I wonder how you came to this conclusion?? :confused::confused:

Isn't best defined by what meets your particular needs? :confused:
Click to expand...

Good questions.

Not to drift to far from the original post but, as witnessed here, the Dealership experience is slight better than a root canal, but some will disagree.

Speak of Experience. I started pumping gas and checking oil at 15, as a lube man at 17, repairing vehicles at a early age, like that pretty VW you got. Although, As a certified Sun and Sae mechanic, today it's Mechatronics baby! But back then I couldn't conceive of a car manufacturer cheating my smog certs!

So after so many years in anything with 1,2,3,4,6,18 wheels I've seen my share of Ice. And it unending profit motive.

Best vehicle produced. Proof? Tear a Tesla down and put it back together, note the Simplicity and redundant systems, go ahead, like Ford is doing. Two thousand less moving parts than Ice vehicle.

Safest by any standard.
i.e., safest vehicle in production today, No not total nirvana, but dang near, and with Ota software updates to a vehicle that comes Std. with all the Hardware necessary for Auto Pilot., I think it is something consider. Unless, of course you enjoy paying, pumping gas, getting oil changes, replacing belts, shifty transmissions,and oh yeah, get your smog checked.

On the other hand, if you do own a Tesla you won't be able to do those fun things, And You won't be able to asphyxiate yourself or others in the car when sitting idle at the stoplight..or in your Garage surfing the Net with Tesla's built in Browser with Hvac on.

Did you hear of the girls who took Dad's Mdl S off a cliff at high speed, flew 30' down a hillside, rolled and ended upright. All the girls were ok, with minor scrapes. Try T-boning a Tesla. You'll be on the losing end.

"Best" yes, safest, most advanced vehicle built today with Kaizen, continuous improvement delivered overnight while parked.

Best for your needs? indeed that maybe different.

Best of all,.. Driving a Tesla is the most fun ever!

Did I mention there's even a way to free Supercharging, Worldwide, for life.
 
aja8888 said:
I'm neutral on Tesla and electric cars in general.

For my driving, an electric car would work for only 1/2 our needs, maybe less. I see a lot of challenges ahead for integrating electric cars (not hybrids) into the mainstream U.S. population. But I also think that electric cars will find a level where they will be practical for some families. I don't think we will ever own one as I am getting lazier by the day and find that our ICE cars are simple, very reliable, easy to operate, and fuel is readily available.
Click to expand...


" You find that our Ice cars are simple,.."
So when it breaks down you repair it yourself because you find they are simple.

I'm lazy. : )

It took me a day to disasemble a automatic transmission, put the 100 parts in a cooker. Then the next day to rebuild it, install it back into the car, and call the owner to come pick it up, with a check or credit card.
Simple?
Tesla doesn't have a automatic transmission. It has 1 gear forward, one reverse.

The Tesla 4pole three phase, induction motor? You'll never have need to rebuild it. But, eventually there are two roller bearing to replace. Thats it. That's two moving parts vs two thousand. Thats the definition of Simple.

somewhat retired, thanks mostly to dear wife.. an ol Ice.
":)

But here is the real question for you:

I really like 76, don't you? but, I swear by Chevron gasoline with Textron, it gives you more power than Arco, Arco's gas is cheap and smelly. Chevron, especially the High test, 91 Octane, and those cute car-toons commercials are cute.

However, Mobil 1 actually cleans your engine while you drive, so I'm all for that..at any price! So you see my dilemma.. which one is Best?

Btw. In Neutral gets you nowhere.
 
Last edited:
LOL! Love it.


Van Nuys Blvd. 1976, Wed. night cruise night, July, its 90 degrees on the pavement. The girls look great, you might sneak a cold bud,.

This 56 Chevy Bel Air, two door with post, stuffed V8 Big Block, Shift mod 400 Turbo Tranny, n 4.56 Posi-traction rear is going to smoke you at the light. Not tire smoke.

Then you realize you need to stop! lol,
S -can the front drum brakes for Corvette Disc's, reinforce lower control arm. sits low,

Bet?

Was that you?

Today I do that with Electricity. And 1 gear forward.
Fun!
":)

Back to Dealership, and the Assoc. for Dealerships, I heard someone say, it's a sharks den. Haven't we had enough?
Buy Direct.
 
Last edited:
Some of you work WTH ! *way too hard

Over the last 10 or so new cars purchased by large extended family, we normally start by looking at Edmunds and KBB forum discussions, then get a quote from Costco (which is ALWAYS 2k or more above best OTD price) participating dealer(s).

We NEVER NEVER give out a real phone number (use a Google Voice setup just for THIS purchase) and we NEVER NEVER give out a real primary email (use a new disposable Gmail address setup just for this purchase). These 2 quick and simple steps eliminate 100% of spam now and later.

A simple and easy variation we used for last 2 new cars was to email several dealers and attach the PDF quote from Costco, asking them to beat it substantially, indicate color not important, equipment had to match or be better (ie. we always use the Top of the Line with automation systems already included). We do NOT return phone calls, we reply back only via email and restate if necessary the content of the original message. We do NOT respond to offers to test drive, meet up, few more questions, lets talk requests, any discussion over the phone is totally unnecessary.

There were 3 emails back and we accepted 1, emailed ahead of time DL, insurance, registration, title info and literally drove up, paid cash (local bank check and cash), picked up key - in less than 30 minutes and had never spoken with anyone at dealer before or since purchases.

Both purchases were 4k below best truecar price and more than 2k below Costco dealer price and Yes, we did check back with them also but they could not or would not match best offer.

Be aware also that dealers lie often. More than once, have showed up with an email and fax sent that same day, only to have either floor manager or sales manager say something like Oh, we never agreed to that ... or ... Oh, that person no longer works here, let go today ... or .. Oh, we made a mistake, we lied, we did not mean it .... etc.. .. Be ready to simply walk out, no need to vent any emotional content or have any followup, just move on.
 
Last edited:
I'm another one questioning how much reward there is for the effort. When I looked at the 'True Car' prices, it seems the difference between 'good deal' and a 'great deal' was a few hundred dollars. How much work to go from 'good' to 'great'?

Sure, that's not chump change, but I don't want to deal with the cr@p that was just described - show up with an agreed to offer, and have the dealer reneg after you traveled there? Now I wasted gas & time, and might find the same scam at the next place? No thanks.

I want Amazon to sell cars.

-ERD50
 
I absolutely love Clark Howard but just reading his process wore me out. After a nice 30 minute nap, I can now post on the board. To me, this just screams ridiculous. It's a freaking car for Christ's sake! The purchase of my last home was quite a bit more simple than that (albeit there was no mortgage involved) and that tells me that the car buying process is out of control.

Just last week, I thought I might be in the market for a replacement car. Thankfully, the issue that I thought I was having w/ current ride wasn't an issue at all, so I can continue using it for the foreseeable future. Nonetheless, I was curious as to what the going price was for a particular new car. I decided to try the True Car website and man...I am glad I used my throwaway email and Googlevoice (spam) number because for 3 days straight, 4 different dealers BLEW UP my email and voicemail. I didn't follow through since everything was A-OK w/ my ride, but I can only imagine how annoying it would have been to actually follow through with the process.

On the other hand, I used the Carvana website and found what appeared to be a very reasonably priced used car. The buying process appeared to be very simple and that's what I like. No haggling, no BS. Buy the car and test drive it for 7 days. You don't like it? Send it back. So, when it does come time to get rid of my current ride, I will most likely use the Carvana service. Buying brand new? Just not worth the hassle for me.
 
ExFlyBoy5 said:
...

On the other hand, I used the Carvana website and found what appeared to be a very reasonably priced used car. The buying process appeared to be very simple and that's what I like. No haggling, no BS. Buy the car and test drive it for 7 days. You don't like it? Send it back. So, when it does come time to get rid of my current ride, I will most likely use the Carvana service. Buying brand new? Just not worth the hassle for me.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I just checked that Carvana site, interesting. I prefer to buy new, I keep my cars long enough that I just don't want to give up those first couple years of really new and up-to-date. But I actually hung on to my old car year after year after year because I dread the buying process so much.

But that Carvana process sounds simple enough, I could actually see myself buying more often, and therefore having (on average) a newer car with newer features. We will probably think about replacing DW's car in 3-4 years (it's a 2011 CRV), and this process might help push me to do it sooner, rather than later.

Anyone here actually buy a car through Carvana? Thoughts?

-ERD50
 
I love cars. I love window shopping too. I've checked a bunch of websites but usually won't take the bait. I see more dealer websites offer less info unless you interact via email phone or chat. So I saw a nice vintage collector car that I was interested in and it says "click here for more pics" so I click and submit my email. I get flooded with follow up emails ( but no more pics) and I reply but no one at the dealer is reading the emails. Another time I am contacted by a Sales Mgr and he has the same name as a high school classmate so I reply "is that you?" But again the emails are all robo generated. I guess I need to develop disposable contact accounts.
 
Reading up on the Carvana process and still trying to evaluate how much fantasy is involved with their "auto vending machine". Saw an interview with CEO on CNBC awhile back and he was speaking of a literal vending machine but they only showed animated images. Now I see they have a new vending machine that can hold 30 cars. That's a trivial quantity so it's an appeal to someone that loves the idea of buying from a machine?
 
Last edited:
I enjoy haggling over cars to know I've gotten the best price possible, it's a game if you know how it all works. I am happy to go through the Clark Howard process, though I only contact about 3 dealers, not 5 or 6. It doesn't take that much time if you control the process, and don't engage dealers who want to control you. Our last few new cars were in the $25-35K range and IME the difference between the best and worst deal available at a given time is typically at least $1,000, and I've seen a spread as wide as $3,000. That's a lot of money to throw away IMO even "amortized" over the life of the car, that could be spent on something else.

And a key point from all sources, whatever you do, if you buy in the last few days of the month you're more likely to get a (much) better deal. For up here in the frozen north, the last days of March seem to be a really good time (even better if it snows), car dealers get really lonely that time of year.

And for many models, buying from inventory just before the next years models come out usually yields (much) better deals too. It can be tricky to time it right, when I've done it I checked the lot a few times to know when to engage.

But I respect the fact that most people don't enjoy the process. For them Costco, TrueCar, Caravana or those services are probably close to the best deal possible without much grief. But IMO no one should just walk into a dealership unprepared, the odds of getting fleeced to the tune of $1,000 or more are good.
 
Last edited:
May I reccommend a book for all you Ice car shoppers and buyers to read.

Propaganda
-Edward Bernays
1928
 
Television commercial in Seattle area for Honda of Seattle and Toyota of Seattle: Buy your car on-line with them including the trade-in. Do everything on line, then, just bring the check (and your trade-in) in by appointment. Can also schedule a test drive by appointment. Their web sites are set up for this, not sure about the details.

- Rita
 
Moderator Misjudgement

No, no, troll.
Just a happy owner.

sheep. You brought it up. I would never call anybody that.

Animal Farm
-George Orwell
1954 ?

No. Don't know all. Still learning, you with me?

Happy trails
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
New Car Dealer REQUIRES Financing
2 3
Replies
61
Views
3K
brucethebroker
B
PaunchyPirate
Car loan application as a retiree
2 3
Replies
64
Views
4K
Dash man
Dash man
Chuckanut
Buying a New Car
2
Replies
48
Views
3K
Car-Guy
Car-Guy
S
Reconciling micro observations with macro trends? (is the economy really doing well?)
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
Koolau
Koolau
S
Problems with Fidelity Bond depth of book
Replies
3
Views
482
foxfirev5
foxfirev5

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom