Has anyone ever used an online car-buying service? If so, what was your experience with it?

Question

Would you recommend a car-buying service or not? Why or why not?

Thanks to all who took the time to answer. All the answers have been good and useful so far. Now, can anyone give me some recommendations for where to go online to find info on HOW to negotiate a price for a car?

Answer 1

Price out the car you want on carsdirect.com and then take the printout to your local dealers and ask them to match or beat the price. Sometimes these online services will send you to a dealer not near you and that dealer has to pay the service a fee. Use the online pricing info to negotiate with your local dealers.

Answer 2

I know alittle mechanics, I have the ability to do some work on my own. The internet is a great place especially craigslist! I bought a volvo 240 for $1000 and after a little work on my part, the timing belt $35, some brake parts $170. It had a smog so I knew that it had a good engine. I did the tuneup myself about $60 bucks or so, new plugs new wires new cap and rotor. I changed out the automatic transmission fluid. I have had the car for 6,000 trouble free miles. It had a dent, which i popped out, it needed some trim pieces which I got at a junkyard for less than ten bucks. The fuse box needed to be cleaned out the terminals and the fuses. I recently had to buy new tires all around which cost $350 with a warranty. If you are not mechanically inclined then hiring a mobile mechanic to look over a car in the $1000-$5000 range and above is recommended. I am 100% sure that in this economy that I could find a good running car, or one that needs some mainatence for between $1,000-$3,000. Craigslist will let you search by keywords and price or a combination of the two. For example you could put in Camry and the price range of $1500-$4000 to see what pops up.

Answer 3

First of all, there are no online car buying services. There are services that refer your request to local dealers to get you a good price and simplify the process of negotiating. And some, like CarsDirect, help with paperwork, but state laws dictate that all new car sales MUST take place at a licensed car dealer.

Having said the above, most of the online car "buying" services have worked out good prices with dealers. However, if you're a good negotiator, you can usually get a better price.

Answer 4

If you are interested in buying a car, a government online car auction might be the best opportunity for you.
There are there kinds of car auctions:
Dealer only auctions --- only licensed dealers are allowed to buy or sell cars,You can not get in or bid without being a licensed car dealer or an employee.
Public auctions --- the public is allowed in.In fact,you usually cant by anything from public 'open' auctions because usually the pricing is too high.
Government and Police auctions --- Every day, the government confiscates, seizes and repossesses thousands of Vehicles.These vehicles are usually typically listed at 90% OFF their original value and auctions usually start at $100.

Four months ago,I bouht a near new SUV from online government auction.It only cost me $730 and i have not had one problem with it yet .
You can check out http://seized-car-auction.info ,That site lists top 5 Police auction sites and help you choose the best one.
Good luck!

Answer 5

My sister bought a car through http://carsdirect.com and was very happy with the experience (she hates haggling). The only problem that came up was after she'd begun the sales process through them. She was given the information for the dealership that would actually sell her the car so that she could arrange a test drive (Carsdirect is just a broker that sells on the behalf of local dealerships -- for a commission, of course).

After the test drive she made the mistake of telling the dealership salesman she wanted to buy it (instead of going home and contacting her Carsdirect advisor). The salesman quoted her a price $1500 more than the Carsdirect price! He proceeded to give her a BS story about how "Carsdirect obviously made a mistake in their price quote" and "we'd be losing money if we sold the car at that price". After she balked at that, he "consulted" with his manager and gave a rock bottom price of $200 above the Carsdirect quote as a "good faith" gesture to compensate her for her time, even though they "wouldn't be making any money" from that price. She still walked away from their supposedly generous offer and consulted her Carsdirect advisor. Needless to say, the dealership salesman was lying his a** off, because there was a sizeable direct-to-dealer incentive at the time, which is why the car was so cheap.

So, bottom line in my sister's experience --
car-buying service = good
dealership = bad

Answer 6

It works for some ppl. As a rule you can find the same deal if not a better one than the buying service. If you don't have the time to shop then it is a good idea....only if you are considering a new car. A used car is a different story. You really need to take a look for yourself when it comes down to finding you a used car because of all of the variables, condition, ride quality etc. Good luck.....Adub.

Answer 7

Well, I came close. I went to Ford'sweb site and spec'ed out a car. Even down to the brand of tires, color, options, etc. Then the web site asked me which dealer I wanted to go with. I picked the dealer and about 3 days later, they called me to come pick up the car. It was perfect, in regards to what I ordered, everything was just as I had requested. They had it sitting in front of the showroom with the top down, all clean and ready to go. I cut them a check and in about 15 minutes, I was running down the road. It worked for me.

Answer 8

My wife used Stoneage.com in 2000 (I don't know if they're still in business or not). They hooked her up with a local Chevy dealer and she literally saved thousands on her Venture van. It listed for around 28k and she got it for like 22k. She bought it right off the delivery truck so the dealership didn't have anything tied up in it...advertising etc.

Stoneage.com helped her locate the car and also found her the best financing.

Answer 9

www.edmunds.com