The last time this was discussed was many years ago so wanted to ask for updated experiences. Someone swerved into DH’s lane on the highway last week, running him off the road, and kept going. Fortunately DH is ok but doubtful the car (which he loved) is. There is no car he really is interested in right now, so he will either buy something used and wait til something he wants comes along (he had a 4 seater hard top convertible which he loved). If he decides to buy new, we are thinking about those car buying services like Costco or AAA offer. Sadly USAA no longer does, and the service that they seem to refer to seems to simply sell your info to dealerships. Any recent experiences with AAA or Costco services? does AARP offer one? Any other military deal ones some dealerships offer military discounts - wonder if we can add it to a buying service price ?) thanks in advance.
We have used the Costco program several times, most recently last year, and had great luck with it.
Also, there are other car buying/leasing services that are smaller that I almost considered using that are very highly rated. You pay them a success fee only if you actually close the deal. The fee varied on the price of the car, but it was not that huge when you consider the car purchase price.
A year ago, getting a car was very difficult, so I needed to consider all options, not just Costco. I am not sure if things have changed.
When my car died, I had no way to go look at cars. I hired an individual who goes to auctions for clients, who was suggested by two friends. He found me a used Toyota Yaris with only 19k miles on it for a total of $11k, including his fee. Still driving it 130k miles later.
I have found that negotiating with the dealer on your own can save just as much as the buying services. (I belong to COSTCO, AAA and a credit union, and the owner loyalty was best on my latest Volvo. Honda we negotiated on our own, with the internet salesperson who did the highest volume of sales). If you belong to a credit union check there for buying service.
Yes, if you have that option, and it’s someone who has automotive expertise, that’s a great option. You end up buying the same cars that dealers will resell the next day, except you’re cutting out the middle man - and you have to “detail” it yourself…
Sadly, DH cancelled/closed our credit union membership. We did buy a car or 2 though the fleet management group back in the day, and it was delivered to our driveway!
Thanks, but we have decided against the auto auction option at this point.
We’ve used Costco, super easy process and did most of the deal over email. When we arrived to pick up car, we were out of the dealership in less than 40 minutes and that included a 20 minute test drive.
Smooth, efficient, would recommend.
We were on the verge of buying a new car early in 2020 (“shoulda-woulda-coulda”), but didn’t. At that time, we started to go through the Costco service, but found another non-Costco dealer that supposedly was going to sell for enough less that it made it worth driving a few extra miles to their lot. We also discovered that different Costco dealers did not necessarily give the same price.
Our best experience has been when we researched going prices of a particular car, and emailed dealers requesting their “best” and total price (including any and all mark-ups, services, taxes, etc.). We then emailed back and explained we were ready to buy - at that price. No sitting at a dealership waiting for the manager.
At the time, the Costco experience seemed a"fair" deal, especially if you don’t have the time to compare dealers. But that was also 3 years ago, in a totally different market. It was also for a new car. Since we didn’t buy at that time, I’m also not sure if the final price would have been less at the alternate dealership once all was complete.
That is about how we got my husband’s Honda.
I did all the legwork and bought the last 2 of DH’s cars via the internet sales. I always signed first initial and last name, and invariably they thought they were dealing with a guy.
My parents have used the Costco program for 2 Lexus’ and were very happy (they are not negotiators, have plenty of money, and were happy with what they paid).
I tried to use the Costco program for a Hyundai in 2022 and the dealership was trying to sell outside of the program (which I honestly didn’t care if I it meant I got a better deal!)
But the sales guys (they always tag team you) were so slimy. It reminded me why we buy used thru a guy we trust who goes to the auctions and finds what you are looking for!
I complained to the Costco program and to the dealership.
I do wonder if part of the difference in my experience and my parents’ was that one was a higher end car dealer and one was lower end??
I don’t recall the exact/all of the details, but Costco buyers don’t pay any market adjustment and some other fees, and got discounts on certain options.
Just an FYI: there have been a lot of nasty weather with flooding in many areas recently. As usual, the flooded out cars will trickle in to flood the auctions and dealerships… so exercise caution!
When I was in college I worked for car dealers, and the slimy car salesman was real, at that dealership at least. RX-7s were a big thing, and people would wait for months to get them. They would sell them out from under people who’d ordered/been waiting, try to get them to take something different that they ordered, etc.
I was looking for a Honda Odyssey when they were hard to get many years ago, and the dealer tried to sneak in an add’l $4k on the price.
There are also very honest/reputable dealers out there, I know.
AARP does have a car buying service. We were going to look into it when we started thinking about buying a new car in early 2020. When the pandemic hit I didn’t want to risk my life shopping for a new car. We’re still driving our old car. Since we didn’t actually used AARP’s service I can’t offer any pros and cons.
I think it is really location-dependent. If you have a trusted dealer who touts lowest price available, I’ve found that to be the best deal versus Costco or any of the other online buying programs. We bought a Subaru almost a year ago.