Ok an automotive consultant is someone who has access to all dealerships and can find you the exact car you want(good credit or bad credit). He pulls your credit (so there are no surprises) and searches for the car and does all the negotiations with the dealership so you won't have to do any haggleing; all you have to do is test drive the car and sign the contract. Does $199-$249 sound like its worth it?
2007-09-17 05:36:12 · 5 answers · asked by elliottmcc 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Buying & Selling
oh and he/she doesn't work for any dealership.
2007-09-17 05:37:54 · update #1
Honestly, it depends on how good of a negotiator you are. You are paying for a service. If you believe he can save you more than the $199-$249 you're spending on him, then of course it's worth it.
However, before you give the consultants a try, many places already offer similar services through some type of "club" you're in. Things like Sam's Club, Costco Club, and AAA offer similar services, where they have worked out deals with their members to get the best deal possible. While you might still get slightly better than an automotive consultant, it will be awful close to the cost of the services.
2007-09-17 05:43:49 · answer #1 · answered by hsueh010 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
LEARN. Don't have a consultant handle it for you and insulate you from experience you need.
Research cars. Use Edmunds (not Kelly Blue Book) to get values on cars. Read owner reviews/ratings. Check out epinions.com, another site where owners tell of their experiences, good and bad.
As far as financing is concerned,
1. always keep the total price in mind, don't be distracted or assume the price has stayed the same. Don't assume anything. Pay attention when you're finalizing the deal.
2. Check your own credit with all 3 bureaus. Know your score. Call dealerships with cars you're interested in before going there.
3. Tell the sales staff over the phone what your credit score is. Talk before you do the footwork. You can cover a lot of ground and save a lot of time by doing that.
4. Check and see what the insurance would cost for a car you're interested in. If you're financing, you will need full coverage. This will help determine what monthly car payment you can afford.
5. Either get a car with a warrantee of at least 3 months (included), or have a mechanic look the car over before buying. This can save a lot of grief.
Basically, you don't know this "expert" you would hire. There's no way to check credentials. He could be the worst at what he does, and you would have no idea.
Do it by yourself. Do it for yourself. You can.
2007-09-17 07:55:20 · answer #2 · answered by ted-the-toolman 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Possibly. Can you get a list of past customers for references? I just spent two weekends at dealers trying to find the right Jeep and get the right price for trade in, plus a lot of time on the Internet as well. That is time I could have spent doing something else. I would have gladly paid someone $200.00 to that for me.
Of course I saved quite a bit of money by knowing what to do and did my homework on the Jeep I was buying, but I am fairly mechanical and have been working on cars all of my life as a hobby and to save money. Not too many people know what to look for in a car to start with and wouldn't be able to tell a bad tie-rod from a unbalanced tire. I've helped friends buy cars and have saved one of the $3000.00 from what he was going to buy if from the dealer.
If it included a money back if not satisfied type agreement, then I would kind of look on it as a kind of a mini-Realtor for a house who is providing a service that you are not knowledgeable about.
2007-09-17 06:09:22 · answer #3 · answered by smf_hi 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, that is the same as a home loan broker..
totally bad business on the buyers part..
if you are doing this , you don't know if a deal is good or bad..
kick backs are rampant from every angle..
there is no incentive to really help the consumer ..
just one more finger in the pie
the dealer gives he or she a gift every time the sell this weeks lemon
the bank rewards he or she for every interest point they can add to a loan
for me a car is a very personal thing.
there is no way, i would ever have someone other than myself, pick my car for me..
the more i think about it..the whole idea sounds silly to me
2007-09-17 05:47:20 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think so. I have never heard of anything like that. I would rather do that little bit of work myself and save $200.
2007-09-17 05:58:59 · answer #5 · answered by Danielle G 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋