Sorry, meant to respond to @cgemaj 
I have a friend who had serious administrative issues with them, but the issues were eventually resolved after a lot of hassle. Iâve heard some similar stories from other people online. But it isnât a scam or anything, just a bit hit or miss with paperwork.
Thank you! Yes Iâm open to hearing about any options at this point and from peoples experiences!!
Those who did CostcoâŠcan you explain in first grade terms how it works? The website isnât very helpful
UGH⊠thanks for the info!!!
Correct- its not a scam, its more likely gross incompetence and a paperwork nightmare, but the owners, the âownersâ were stuck with a car they paid for but couldnât drive for months. There were a lot of stories in the news, and surely many are available to see on line.
She told me they told her they have a parking garage and parking available out front. I am not familiar with the area at all but tempted to take her for a drive there to see the layout.
How about Carsense (now called carshop)? Anyone have any experience with them?
No experience in the used car side of Costco, but plenty on the new car side:
Iâve obtained several cars via Costco and the prices were usually very good, with good transparency.
So we would have to go in in order for them to show us the price? Here is what I show when I put in a car example from Nissan:
âOn the year, make, model and trim you selected, your Costco Member discount is as follows:
Market Adjustment-100%â. Iâm assuming that means they wonât mark it up?
I would do this for sure. If they have an accessible garage that would help - but you will want to know what the daily rate is for sure! âParking available out frontâ is probably metered; if it isnât, spots may be difficult to come by. Depends on where the office is - closer to Fairmount I know the street parking is really hit or miss. I would go in the morning to get a feel for it all. Also check the daily traffic on the route(s) she would be driving.
She could do train/walk or train/subway (1 or 2 stops) - not impossible, just not an ideal commute. The flip side is no daily traffic worries or parking expense.
HmmmâŠI donât know, but thatâs what it sounds like. I usually just call the dealer and get more specifics about the pricing. The nice thing about Costco is that it is probably such a huge referral source for dealers that they are not going to play games (too much) with referred customers.
If the pricing seems worthwhile, then I will go into the dealer and negotiate final terms.
Again, I stress my experience is only with the new car side. Perhaps Google something like this to see if you can find more specifics on their used car side: costco used car buying program review
Finding a good used car with lowish mileage was tough before the pandemic and harder now. When we had looked in the past, the available cars with low mileage were not that much cheaper and often had upgrades that I didnât need or want. Those upgrades made the cost that much higher.
For that reason, we have been buying new and generally keeping our cars until they give out or the repair cost is not justified. We had to pay over sticker for our last car in the winter of 2021 as our Nissan Altima with 220K miles gave out. No real chance to shop around.
One of my kids bought a used car in 2019 and even then a decent car with around 50K miles was close to $14K. The new ones were twice as much, however.
Yup⊠itâs just crazy. I honestly feel for families who canât afford it. You need a car to get to work but when buying a car is unaffordable, what do they do??
I know several people who hire someone who is knowledgeable in how to do this to buy cars from auto auctions. We were too nervous to do this, but I know a few who have been quite successful at it.
We were in NOLA recently and I was surprised at the number of Uber/Lyft drivers who were renting cars through the ride share companies. The cost is pretty high, but allows the person to obtain a car they can use for other purposes. Many of the drivers had several jobs, with the driving on the side somewhat to earn the money to pay for the use of the car.
S/DiL live in Philly zipcode and have had myold Honda CRV for the 8 years they are there. DiL takes the train to work; parking is so expensive (their apartment is one of the few that doesnât charge for open parking) and a big car would be a nightmare. I say buy the car with 50k miles â a good Honda or Subaru can last well into the 100k range with regular care. Sheâs not going to drive it as much as you think.
When DHâs previous convertible had the tacata airbag issue and we were waiting for the replacement passenger airbag, the car company told us not to drive the car (ie not to put anyone in the passenger seat) and had us rent a month at a time from one of 2 car rental companies and they reimbursed us. Due to our schedules, we had to pick up the car every month on a Friday. After a few months the available cars within the budget we were given got yukkier. And when we got there to pick up or try to renew/ extend our vehicle, There were many people there renting for Uber/lyft for the weekend. There was a special program available to drivers for this.
We buy our cars new and keep them until they no longer run. Hâs Tundra was purchased in 2018 and Toyota had 0% financing which is what we did. It will be paid off this month. The truck only has 45K miles on it so we will have it for many years.
D2 bought her Subaru Crosstrek 5 years ago and financed at 1% and it was paid off last month. Since she went WFH fulltime 3 years ago her car only has 35K miles so she should have it for a long time.
We also usually run our cars practically into the ground, unless someone does that for us (as in DHâs recently totaled 2010 convertible by some driver that ran him off the road and kept going). I kept my previous crossover for 13 years and then sold it to a friend very inexpensively for her son. Not sure what we will do with my EV, though, when we are close to the end of the battery warranty. I believe its covered or 8 years. I have had the car o almost 5 years now. So far, so good.
IMO having a good mechanic/auto shop is the key to a used car, especially if the car is no longer on warranty. Also, some cars are known for longevityâToyota, Honda, etc. Iâd look for an auto with this reputation as well as finding a mechanic who could service the car.
Also check the safety ratings. Car Safety Ratings | Vehicles, Car Seats, Tires | NHTSA
There were a few cars that I dismissed because of low safety ratings.