Is buying car through CostCo, Sam's, or BJ's Club a good option?

[GrimSurfer]

Maybe wait until something like "college starts" or Christmas... each of these times correspond to periods when the mainstream's financial flows towards things other than cars...

 

[TankTop5]

Thanks for the comments. I am looking at he Kia Nero EV which will be out very soon. It is (I believe) going to be a high demand car, so I may wait a few months for things to settle out, or maybe Toyota or Lexus will announce plans for an EV that my daughter can get at a discount in the next year or two (though it seems they are pursuing Hydrogen vehicles)!
Happily, there is no rush as my old car still works well enough.
I'm not committed to the Nero EV, if something else checks the boxes:
1) Prefer an EV, but a plug-in hybrid would be acceptable.
2) Taller than a sedan (to be able to read traffic)
3) 0-60 in around 8 seconds or less (not a high bar, I don't need fast, but I don't want a vehicle that feels slow)
4) Will fit my Bari Sax in the back (~44" long). My current Chevy Sonic won't so I have to put it in the back seat where it is easily visible - I'm not sure how tempting an instrument case is to a thief, but I know it'd cost me more to replace the sax than what I paid for the Sonic new!
5) If EV, the range needs to be comfortably and consistently over 150 miles between charges (the Nero is 230mi).

I would also consider a plug-in Chevy Volt if they run killer deals since they are discontinuing the model, but I don't know if demand vs production levels will result in an exceptional deal or not. It violates rule #2, but if the deal is good enough.

Chevy Bolt? 230 mile range and until the end of this month before the federal tax rebate changes your true net cost is around $20k on a $40k car


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[TankTop5]

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[shkumar4963]

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Probably others have already mentioned this.

Costco is a lead generation engine for car dealers for which they have to pay. It makes sense that they will be able to sell that car cheaper if you did not come through this lead generation platform.

Best to poll 5 to 10 area dealers using phone/email for the lowest price they can provide on a specific car with options. DO NOT VISIT at this stage Some dealers will not respond as they know that they can not compete with price. Those who do, confirm the price through email or text with clear indication that you will walk out if the price is higher than quoted.

Choose the best price and then look for the color in the inventory.

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[TankTop5]

Probably others have already mentioned this.

Costco is a lead generation engine for car dealers for which they have to pay. It makes sense that they will be able to sell that car cheaper if you did not come through this lead generation platform.

Best to poll 5 to 10 area dealers using phone/email for the lowest price they can provide on a specific car with options. DO NOT VISIT at this stage Some dealers will not respond as they know that they can not compete with price. Those who do, confirm the price through email or text with clear indication that you will walk out if the price is higher than quoted.

Choose the best price and then look for the color in the inventory.

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I won’t list who I work for as I’m not here to sell cars but to learn about hi fi, the guy who said always be closing was a moron and probably divorced several times over. I will tell you I have almost two decades in auto sales, probably the closest to an expert in my field as you will find.

Absolutely shop online but please communicate back and forth. The closing ratio of internet leads is about 12% and 50% of leads never respond. If you submit an online request and don’t respond I promise you won’t get our best price, if you’re lucky we will send you automated emails until you block us and waste both of our time. Only shop 3 dealerships and please don’t send the same request through different websites, ie; cars.com, truecar, kbb etc. We can see all this, after you’ve submitted an online request we can see when you visit our website, when you open an email and more (you really don’t want to know what your digital footprint leaves). Sorry I got distracted... squirrel!

Tell the dealerships you’re shopping other dealers and you’re just looking for the best price. Do not lie and say one dealer is giving better numbers than they are, it’s math, numbers don’t lie, no really. Also be nice, I can’t stress this enough, it’ll get you further than you think. We know there are three dealers within ten minutes of your house and we can all get our hands on the same car as the next guy and no matter what someone says about floor plans, manufacturer incentives or any other bs nobody gets a car from the manufacturer for less than the next guy. We all want to win and earn your business and we will all go to the bottom dollar to do it, we need your business more than you need ours. Ignore what the great and mighty Trump says, the economy isn’t that good and we need every deal we can get.

Now let me tell you what happens in finance... hahahahaha, lol, no!

Also most car salesmen know less about selling cars than you or the next guy. Most dealerships keep the salesman as dumb as they can and generally the salesman doesn’t know if he made money on the deal until after you’re driving home. Lastly most salesman don’t make as much as you think on each deal, they’re struggling through life just like you and more importantly they’re much more honest than you think! That’s the main reason a dealership keeps them dumb, because most of them are nice guys and if they understood everything going on they’d give away the farm!


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[TankTop5]

Ok, so on to the ever so top secret finance. When you go in listen and read, re read if necessary. If you don’t understand have them explain it until you do, most people try to act like they understand and just sign away because they feel embarrassed. There are more laws regulating finance than what you would think and finance managers have gone to schools to teach them these laws. If you sign away then later read what you signed and find out you spent an extra $6,000 I can just about guarantee you that contract is airtight and nobody screwed you but you. Lastly, before you sign anything in finance (anything you sign before finance is meaningless and you can walk at any time) ask what warranties and other products are in addition to the car. Ask them to separate those products, get a calculator and add it up.

Lastly (I already said lastly) if you read the back of the contract I’ll slap you through the internet. Only printed items filling in blanks mean anything.


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[shkumar4963]

I won’t list who I work for as I’m not here to sell cars but to learn about hi fi, the guy who said always be closing was a moron and probably divorced several times over. I will tell you I have almost two decades in auto sales, probably the closest to an expert in my field as you will find.

Absolutely shop online but please communicate back and forth. The closing ratio of internet leads is about 12% and 50% of leads never respond. If you submit an online request and don’t respond I promise you won’t get our best price, if you’re lucky we will send you automated emails until you block us and waste both of our time. Only shop 3 dealerships and please don’t send the same request through different websites, ie; cars.com, truecar, kbb etc. We can see all this, after you’ve submitted an online request we can see when you visit our website, when you open an email and more (you really don’t want to know what your digital footprint leaves). Sorry I got distracted... squirrel!

Tell the dealerships you’re shopping other dealers and you’re just looking for the best price. Do not lie and say one dealer is giving better numbers than they are, it’s math, numbers don’t lie, no really. Also be nice, I can’t stress this enough, it’ll get you further than you think. We know there are three dealers within ten minutes of your house and we can all get our hands on the same car as the next guy and no matter what someone says about floor plans, manufacturer incentives or any other bs nobody gets a car from the manufacturer for less than the next guy. We all want to win and earn your business and we will all go to the bottom dollar to do it, we need your business more than you need ours. Ignore what the great and mighty Trump says, the economy isn’t that good and we need every deal we can get.

Now let me tell you what happens in finance... hahahahaha, lol, no!

Also most car salesmen know less about selling cars than you or the next guy. Most dealerships keep the salesman as dumb as they can and generally the salesman doesn’t know if he made money on the deal until after you’re driving home. Lastly most salesman don’t make as much as you think on each deal, they’re struggling through life just like you and more importantly they’re much more honest than you think! That’s the main reason a dealership keeps them dumb, because most of them are nice guys and if they understood everything going on they’d give away the farm!


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Not sure what he meant by getting divorce.... Maybe his experience.

But he was right about several things:

1. Be extremely polite. Sales people will help as much as they can but they don't want to deal with jerks. Most of the time they don't make any decisions, it is the floor managers and above who decide.

2. Don't send multiple requests through different websites. Dealers get a lot of request and often just send automated response. Instead, call and find the email address of the internet sales manager. Send him a detailed email with specifics about the model and option etc. Follow this with a phone call to him. He will work for you if he thinks you are serious.

3. Don't be discouraged if one dealer is not willing to budge. Different dealers have different strategies. Some want to win on price while others try to win on service. Dealers with the worst looking dealership often give the best deals.

4. Do send to 5 to 10 dealers. Often, dealers who are farther from you will give better deals. I sent to 10 dealers and bought the car from a dealer 200 miles away at 18 percent discount. Local dealer was giving 2.5 percent discount. Dealers make more money servicing the car and so you will get great service from your local dealer even if you did not buy the car from him.

Good luck. Treat it as a game and win.


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[shkumar4963]

Ok, so on to the ever so top secret finance. When you go in listen and read, re read if necessary. If you don’t understand have them explain it until you do, most people try to act like they understand and just sign away because they feel embarrassed. There are more laws regulating finance than what you would think and finance managers have gone to schools to teach them these laws. If you sign away then later read what you signed and find out you spent an extra $6,000 I can just about guarantee you that contract is airtight and nobody screwed you but you. Lastly, before you sign anything in finance (anything you sign before finance is meaningless and you can walk at any time) ask what warranties and other products are in addition to the car. Ask them to separate those products, get a calculator and add it up.

Lastly (I already said lastly) if you read the back of the contract I’ll slap you through the internet. Only printed items filling in blanks mean anything.


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One more thing, do not buy anything additional after the price has been decided. nothing...

If you want a warranty, include it in the initial quote request. Dealers know that they make better margins on warranties, and them knowing that you want to buy a warranty will help them give you better price on the car.

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[TankTop5]

One more thing do not buy anything additional after the price has been decided. nothing...

If you wanted a warranty, include it in the initial quote request. Dealers know that they make better margin on warranties, and knowing that you want to buy a warranty will help them give you better price on the car.

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You did so well on your last post, unfortunately you fell apart here. What you’ve said sounds good in theory but no dealership worth it’s salt will talk about finance products before you get to finance unless the desk manager has already found another job. Like I said earlier front end profit nationally is about $400 and finance profit is about $1,700 domestic and $1,300 import nationally unless you sell Subaru or VW, then I pity your soul. If the majority of profit in a car deal is made by finance then the entire goal of the sales department is to set up the finance department to maximize profit. Let me put it this way, your average salesman makes $4k a month, the sales manager makes $10k a month and the finance guy makes $20k a month. The finance department makes 80% of the profit, if a desk manager is screwing with finance money they should have their resume polished.

The guy who said, “always be closing” is the poster child for an Amway infomercial. You’ve got to know when to clock out for the day and spend time with your family. I’m still married to my first wife, I plan to keep it that way.

I came here to learn about hi fi, many here can see through the bs in a receivers advertised specs. I’ve spent about a week just trying to figure that out and I’m still lost. In the same way when the average person buys a car or does any other major financial transaction they simply don’t understand what they’re looking at. It’s all spelled out in plain basic English and the math is 5th grade at best. Luckily the average American isn’t all that smart and it can be written out plainly and they just sign rather than being embarrassed for not understanding. I’m not trying to offend but it’s human nature, nobody wants to look stupid. It’s easier to justify to yourself that you think you understand rather than ask questions and admit you don’t. Dealerships don’t cheat, they just rely on basic human nature to make poor decisions. Do not ever underestimate the human ability to look a wise and foolish decision in the face and willfully choose the foolish one. The hardest thing for a salesman is to step back and allow people to think for themselves without trying to stop them.


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[Kvn_Walker]

As someone whose younger self made some really, really, REALLY dumb decisions in a finance office, I know TT5's words to be true. I've gotten screwed many times but I learned from all those mistakes. My last 4 car buying experiences have been fairly pleasant.

And it is so true that customers hang themselves if given the rope. Will the dealership lie? Sometimes, yes. Will they put misleading ads in print and on the radio? Yes. Will they push a really bad deal in front of you? Yes. But only you can sign that paper, and once you do, you own it.

 

[GrimSurfer]

Financing is just another revenue stream for the dealer. It's assumed that most customers will take it.

That's why it's best to have financing pre-arranged or cash in hand. The dealer will agree to a good deal on price, knowing that he/she will make money (sometimes at the customer expense) on the terms of financing.

Start negotiations by asking to agree on the price first. Then, after a price is agreed, the salesman will want to talk financing... to which you reply "no need for dealer financing".

"Play, don't be played".

 

[panteragstk]

You did so well on your last post, unfortunately you fell apart here. What you’ve said sounds good in theory but no dealership worth it’s salt will talk about finance products before you get to finance unless the desk manager has already found another job. Like I said earlier front end profit nationally is about $400 and finance profit is about $1,700 domestic and $1,300 import nationally unless you sell Subaru or VW, then I pity your soul. If the majority of profit in a car deal is made by finance then the entire goal of the sales department is to set up the finance department to maximize profit. Let me put it this way, your average salesman makes $4k a month, the sales manager makes $10k a month and the finance guy makes $20k a month. The finance department makes 80% of the profit, if a desk manager is screwing with finance money they should have their resume polished.

The guy who said, “always be closing” is the poster child for an Amway infomercial. You’ve got to know when to clock out for the day and spend time with your family. I’m still married to my first wife, I plan to keep it that way.

I came here to learn about hi fi, many here can see through the bs in a receivers advertised specs. I’ve spent about a week just trying to figure that out and I’m still lost. In the same way when the average person buys a car or does any other major financial transaction they simply don’t understand what they’re looking at. It’s all spelled out in plain basic English and the math is 5th grade at best. Luckily the average American isn’t all that smart and it can be written out plainly and they just sign rather than being embarrassed for not understanding. I’m not trying to offend but it’s human nature, nobody wants to look stupid. It’s easier to justify to yourself that you think you understand rather than ask questions and admit you don’t. Dealerships don’t cheat, they just rely on basic human nature to make poor decisions. Do not ever underestimate the human ability to look a wise and foolish decision in the face and willfully choose the foolish one. The hardest thing for a salesman is to step back and allow people to think for themselves without trying to stop them.


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Just so you know (and I think have maybe figured out) we all like learning about just about anything. Your posts on the subject of cars and car dealers have been very helpful to me. Thanks.

 

[Hetfield]

I have to say something in favor of these programs. If you are someone that hate to haggle and doesn't want to fight with the dealer and salesperson then this is not a bad way to go. Just my opinion.

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[TankTop5]

I have to say something in favor of these programs. If you are someone that hate to haggle and doesn't want to fight with the dealer and salesperson then this is not a bad way to go. Just my opinion.

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Absolutely, and they are good deals almost all the time unless you’re hunting something specialized.


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[TankTop5]

Just so you know (and I think have maybe figured out) we all like learning about just about anything. Your posts on the subject of cars and car dealers have been very helpful to me. Thanks.

Thanks for the compliment. One thing I learned long ago, information is free if you will go after it. If someone has information and they won’t freely share it then they are most likely manipulating you or their target audience. In auto sales all the information is easily available, it’s up to the consumer to find that information. If you’re at a dealership looking to make a purchase the only information they provide is enough for you to make the decision they want, not you. Dealers don’t need to lie or cheat, the general public makes plenty of bad decisions without our help.


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[GrimSurfer]

If someone has information and they won’t freely share it then they are most likely manipulating you or their target audience.

Very well said. If people, groups, government, and the world followed such advice, humanity would be the better for it.

 

[KEW]

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Thanks for calling my attention to this!
I did not realize the incentives added up so well!
What is the $1571 "conquest" discount? I have not heard of that one.
Also, what is the $2500 for?
Unfortunately, Georgia decided to discontinue the tax credit for EV's. On top of that, they have added a ~$200/year road use tax on any EV's that do not use any gas!

My concerns about the Bolt are whether my sax will fit the trunk space (it doesn't fit in my Sonic) and I have heard that the seat is not very comfortable - I have been good recently, but have had back problems over the years, so just something I need to evaluate.

I don't like the pressure of having to decide so quickly (obviously not your fault); so, unless the Bolt really impresses, I may likely wait until my daughter starts her internship and see what options are available.

Thanks again!!!

 

[TankTop5]

The $2500 discount is a dealer discount and the $1571 discount means you have to own a different vehicle other than GM registered to your address and it must be newer than 99. Sounds like Georgia does not like EV’s. The example I posted was for my region, different parts of the country may be a little different. The $2500 dealer discount is because EV’s do not sell very well in the mountain states especially in the winter. currently EV’s only makes sense with lots of federal tax incentives, the technology and pricing just isn’t there yet, however the more people that buy them the more manufacturers will invest into the technology and it will eventually get to a point where they will be able to stand on their own without federal incentives. Lastly, look into whether or not your local utility will give you a discount on your electric bill for having an EV, many do and it’s a percentage of your cumulative usage, not just the electricity you use to charge your car.


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[its phillip]

We bought a car yesterday using the USAA car buying service. Was pretty painless.

 

[mtrycrafts]

We bought a car yesterday using the USAA car buying service. Was pretty painless.

Was it a good deal besides being painless?