Buying a car online vs at a dealership

[carbuddy]

I am debating looking into purchasing a car online. I am so sick and tired of listening to car sales people try to upsell and teeter around what the price of the car is. I absolutely despise them. Has anyone had a good experience with online purchases? It seems to me like there are so many more options and a more competitive market. If you have had a good experience with a certain site please recommend!

[Setec Astronomy]

IMO you're never going to get around the dealer BS, you still have to go in that room where they try to force you to buy the upsell items, tell you it's already on the car and they can't take it off, lie to you about the mfr warranty, etc.

IME you just have to project a no BS attitude from the beginning (it's easier at a smaller dealer where the BS isn't so institutionalized). I've walked out of dealers because they wouldn't discuss pricing without taking my name and address. Me: "Why do you need my name and address in your computer to tell me what the price of the car is?" Them: "that's our policy" Me: "Well, my policy is not to deal with people like you" (or something like that) and I walked out.

The next dealer tried the same thing and I simply said "look, I want to buy this car, what is your price??" (it was a leftover). And the kid dropped his BS and just told me the price, and there was no haggling and no BS after that. I've had this experience more than once, it seems once they realize you aren't going to accept any BS, they don't even try to sell you the paint protection, the interior protection, the extended warranty, the vinyl stripes for $400, the $3 vinyl door edging for $300, etc.

Of course that's if you're a serious buyer that doesn't need their financing, etc.

By the way, looking at your posting history and your screen name, my gut tells me you are a spammer and that shortly you will sneak in some links for an online car buying service of some kind. I hope I'm wrong.

[netoje]

By the way, looking at your posting history and your screen name, my gut tells me you are a spammer and that shortly you will sneak in some links for an online car buying service of some kind. I hope I'm wrong.

I was typing a long detailed response and hit refresh on accident then saw this.
Now I think I will wait to see how this plays out. I have a feeling you are right.

[Shortspark]

You guys might be right and "carbuddy" is a spammer but I will reserve judgement on that until I have a little more proof. Calling someone a spammer is as bad as a "troll" and that is pretty darn bad. The question seems legit only because it has to do with cars. I have seen questions here raised on topics that not only do not have to do with detailing but have nothing to do with cars whatsoever.

Assuming "carbuddy" is sincere, I can offer some input. If he is not, no real harm done other than about ten minutes of my time. I can say that I shop on-line for everything, including cars. I even bought a brand new Mercedes ML350 on line in May. The deal was made, the price agreed upon and the order to the factory went in without my ever leaving my desk. The first time I entered the dealership and met my sales rep was the day the car arrived and was prepped. I live way out in the country and there are no Mercedes dealerships close to me except one very small dealer about 40 miles from me and they don't discount much. Accordingly, I shopped on the internet at several dealerships within a couple hundred miles of me. I contacted the internet managers via email and told them what I wanted as to color and options and the percentage under MSRP I was willing to spend (based on real testimony from buyers at Edmunds and other sources). I knew what I could get the car for generally but it all depended on the market area I was in.

Finally, one of the internet managers said they could get a car very similar to what I wanted (it had one or two other options I was not really interested in but could live with - lets face it, I can live with it but who really needs a heated steering wheel here in Texas!!). It was coming off the assembly line soon and was scheduled to go to a dealer up north in Boston. If I was interested, he would trade one of his cars coming off the line with the Boston dealership and have their car transferred to Texas for me. He also said he would sell the car at a price right at what I was looking to spend. His dealership was located 140 miles away but that was not a big problem for me. I never made a deposit and never even talked to him by phone - everything was done by internet while sitting at my desk sipping on my coffee. I could not have been more pleased with the time and bother (not to mention travel) I saved.

The transaction went smoothly, the car is just beautiful and I have enjoyed the heck out of it. The Mercedes is everything everyone says it is - and more. Of course I read all the reviews, both user and professional on this SUV and I did go to another dealer closer to me for a test drive so I was not doing this blindly. I would never think of laying down that kind of money (it was very expensive) without knowing what I wanted.

My experience has made me a firm believer in shopping for cars on the web. Just pay attention to everything, know what you want to pay, know what options you want and what you are willing to live with if the exact car is not available at the time, if you are willing to order from the factory, etc. If you do your homework first, shopping for cars via the internet can be a most rewarding and time saving experience, especially if you live in remote areas where your dealers are hundreds of miles away from you.

[y8s]

totally depends on the dealership:

Mazda: will hound you and upsell you and work HARD for their money.

MINI: you give them a fair and competetive price and if they agree, they write up the deal.

I've bought both new and the difference was night and day. almost enough to make me want to stick to a brand of car just for that buying experience.

[carbuddy]

Thanks for your incite ShortSpark! I feel that I am able to search for more options and even can see the car thru pictures. I mean really, we all know what the car looks like, its the details that are important. The dealer only has its current inventory on the lot and will try to sell anything that has wheels! What sites do you recommend?

As for this spammer talk, I'm not sure whether to take as a compliment to not. I am new to forums and I am in search of the previous experience from the group and what your recommendations are.

I live the chicagoland area with multiple dealerships, but dont have the time to drive the lots and compare.

Thanks for your time and I will be looking for some ideas.

[StephenK]

Maybe i am old fashion but i still like it best when i can drive the car before buying it. I have worked at enough dealerships to know that just cause the blue 2012 shelby 500 drove great does not mean the black one next to it is going to drive great. Remember recalls alot of the times are within a certain vin number range.

[Shortspark]

Thanks for your incite ShortSpark! I feel that I am able to search for more options and even can see the car thru pictures. I mean really, we all know what the car looks like, its the details that are important. The dealer only has its current inventory on the lot and will try to sell anything that has wheels! What sites do you recommend?

As for this spammer talk, I'm not sure whether to take as a compliment to not. I am new to forums and I am in search of the previous experience from the group and what your recommendations are.

I live the chicagoland area with multiple dealerships, but dont have the time to drive the lots and compare.

Thanks for your time and I will be looking for some ideas.

The sites I would recommend are not for buying but rather for research. In my last post I was talking about needing to work with the internet manager at various dealership websites to actually buy the car. There are "broker" sites that can act as a middle man for you but I've never used them and don't know anything about their service or fees. I might be inclined to use a broker for certain exotics or vintage vehicles but not for new models in the main stream which I can handle on my own.

The sites for researching new cars are plentiful, however, and those are the ones I would recommend. I would start with Edmunds or Consumer Reports. There you can not only find expert and owner reviews of the car you are looking at but also information as to options available, MSRP price/invoice price and actual price/lease paid by customers. You can also go to the various general auto sites such as Autoblog and Motor Trend for more professional reviews and impressions. The best thing to do at first is simply google the car you are interested in and put "review" at the end of the model year. That will bring up a lot of information about the car you are interested in. This kind of research was what I meant before when I said you need to do your "homework" if you plan on buying on the internet without going to the dealerships in person.

Don't worry about the "spammer" thing as forum newbies such as yourself sometime say things or come across in a way at first that give experienced posters reason to pause and question. It is all part of forum life so don't take it personal - and good luck buying your car. PS-once you buy it don't forget to come back here to learn how to properly care and detail it!!

[ZimRandy]

Same topic, different forums. "carbuddy" has been busy lately. A little googling returns these links.......


MBWorld.org Forums - Search Results

Buying a car online vs at a dealership - FlyerTalk Forums

Buying a car online vs at a dealership - Toyota FJ Cruiser Forum

Buying a car online vs at a dealership - Honda Civic Forum

Buying a car online vs at a dealership - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

Buying a car online vs at a dealership - Genesis Forum: GenCoupe Hyundai Genesis Forums

Buying a car online vs at a dealership - ChicagoZ.com- A Forum for Everything Nissan Z, 350z, 370z, Infiniti G35, G37, GTR, and MORE!

Like Mike Phillips stated, you can get an idea about someone from their posting history......

Personally, I smell a shill / spam for a website called qcertified / aftermarket warranties or maybe carbuddy is just doing a lot of research, but I've been wrong before.

Check Engine Light after only 2 weeks of owning her - MBWorld.org Forums

Should I purchase a warranty for my 2010 Chevy Impala? If so, who would you reccomend I check out? - Page 2

Should I purchase a warranty for my 2010 Chevy Impala? - ChicagoZ.com- A Forum for Everything Nissan Z, 350z, 370z, Infiniti G35, G37, GTR, and MORE!

Should I purchase a warranty for my 2010 Chevy Impala? - Saturn ION RedLine Forums

Should I purchase a warranty for my 2010 Hyundai accent?? - Genesis Forum: GenCoupe Hyundai Genesis Forums

Would you purchase a warranty for the Challenger? [Archive] - Dodge Challenger Forum: Challenger & SRT8 Forums


Swedespeed Forums - I am looking into buying a 2010 Volvo and the dealer is trying to push warranty?

Would you purchase a warranty for the Dart?


A Case For Extended Warranties - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

[Dadillac]

I haven't read the posts in this thread. But I want to chime in on all the salesman BS. I have bought a lot of cars through the years. I didn't get really educated in buying until about 10 years ago. When I go to a dealer and find a car I am interested in I leave and do research. I never fall in love with a car too much that I cannot walk away from it. I find out what the car can really be had for and then I return to the dealer. I speak to the salesman and hear him out. I then tell him/her what I will pay. Then it is up to them to accept the offer or let me walk away. This approach has saved me many thousands of dollars.

Don