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

[its phillip]

I think so. OTD was $27,518.13. 2019 CX-5 touring w/preferred package. Around $1500 below invoice and $400-2000 less than other dealerships I was talking to.

 

[TankTop5]

USAA car buying service is great. When you submit a request 3 dealers get it and they all know there are two other dealers they are competing against so they will generally have very aggressive pricing.


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[tmurnin]

Since we're talking about these things, are the "company partner" discounts really meaningful? Referring to things like Ford's X-Plan, BMW's Corporate Sales Program, Nissan's Vehicle Purchase Program, Volvo A-Plan, VW Partner Program, etc. Do you really save with these programs or can you do just as well negotiating your own deal?

 

[TankTop5]

Since we're talking about these things, are the "company partner" discounts really meaningful? Referring to things like Ford's X-Plan, BMW's Corporate Sales Program, Nissan's Vehicle Purchase Program, Volvo A-Plan, VW Partner Program, etc. Do you really save with these programs or can you do just as well negotiating your own deal?

Yes you can do just as well spending three hours negotiating with me or you can walk in with a partner code and do it the easy way


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[MR.MAGOO]

If one is an Auto Club AAA member, they have a car buying service, maybe you can save a few hundred or more dollars.

I'm still waiting for the bright beautiful day when buying a car or firearm is as easy as buying from Amazon or whatever! Or using a vending machine.

 

[TankTop5]

If one is an Auto Club AAA member, they have a car buying service, maybe you can save a few hundred or more dollars.

I'm still waiting for the bright beautiful day when buying a car or firearm is as easy as buying from Amazon or whatever! Or using a vending machine.

Guns in vending machines, we can dream can’t we.

USAA, AAA, Costco, American Express (hundreds more) etc... are all managed by TrueCar and are all treated the same by the dealer. Shopping multiple different websites will not get you a better deal, shopping multiple different dealers will.


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[shkumar4963]

Guns in vending machines, we can dream can’t we.

USAA, AAA, Costco, American Express (hundreds more) etc... are all managed by TrueCar and are all treated the same by the dealer. Shopping multiple different websites will not get you a better deal, shopping multiple different dealers will.


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Ain't that the truth. And everyone has the tools needed for that. Google, email, phone.

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[panteragstk]

Guns in vending machines, we can dream can’t we.

USAA, AAA, Costco, American Express (hundreds more) etc... are all managed by TrueCar and are all treated the same by the dealer. Shopping multiple different websites will not get you a better deal, shopping multiple different dealers will.


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That brings up a question. If all these programs are just TrueCar, then it would make sense to use TrueCar with multiple dealers? Last time I used TrueCar it wanted my info to give me a price (could have been doing it wrong) which isn't happening since the last thing I want is to be cold called.

I still have a dealer that is probably 4.5 hours away from me calling 6 years after I first went there. I don't even live in that area and haven't for 2 years. Didn't even buy a car from them. You'd think I'd have dropped off their call list at this point.

 

[TankTop5]

That brings up a question. If all these programs are just TrueCar, then it would make sense to use TrueCar with multiple dealers? Last time I used TrueCar it wanted my info to give me a price (could have been doing it wrong) which isn't happening since the last thing I want is to be cold called.

I still have a dealer that is probably 4.5 hours away from me calling 6 years after I first went there. I don't even live in that area and haven't for 2 years. Didn't even buy a car from them. You'd think I'd have dropped off their call list at this point.

Yes you can go straight to true car, or you can even negotiate your own deal and do better, but it will take a lot of work for very little difference in price. Lots of companies were running their own auto buying program but it’s a lot of work when you can just farm it out to someone else. Also from state to state there are lots of compliance and regulations and it’s easier if one company can handle all of that. USAA’s old car buying program, ZAG, got in hot water a few years ago and is pretty much gone.




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[panteragstk]

Yes you can go straight to true car, or you can even negotiate your own deal and do better, but it will take a lot of work for very little difference in price. Lots of companies were running their own auto buying program but it’s a lot of work when you can just farm it out to someone else. Also from state to state there are lots of compliance and regulations and it’s easier if one company can handle all of that. USAA’s old car buying program, ZAG, got in hot water a few years ago and is pretty much gone.




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Last new vehicle I bought I got less than what TrueCar had, but it took FOREVER as you said. Helped that I already had financing before I went. Finance guy couldn't even come close (something like 3% higher APR) which was odd since I was financing through Chase which is one of their preferred lenders (he says).

It helped that I had a 3 week old baby and a toddler with me. They wanted me out fast, but it still took too damn long.

Any tips on saving time? I don't have the patience to sit there while they "talk to their manager" 100 times. Especially since I'll probably trade something in that I owe WAY less than trade-in pricing per KBB. I figure they'll make enough off my trade that they'll be less of a PITA when it comes to the new car. Maybe.

 

[shkumar4963]

That brings up a question. If all these programs are just TrueCar, then it would make sense to use TrueCar with multiple dealers? Last time I used TrueCar it wanted my info to give me a price (could have been doing it wrong) which isn't happening since the last thing I want is to be cold called.

I still have a dealer that is probably 4.5 hours away from me calling 6 years after I first went there. I don't even live in that area and haven't for 2 years. Didn't even buy a car from them. You'd think I'd have dropped off their call list at this point.

Create a new Gmail account. I made the same mistake and am still being spammed by several dealers. I did save 18% off the MSRP, so I guess I can live with it.

By the way, I did not use one of the services . Just used email and phone to contact several nearby and not so nearby dealers.

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[TankTop5]

Last new vehicle I bought I got less than what TrueCar had, but it took FOREVER as you said. Helped that I already had financing before I went. Finance guy couldn't even come close (something like 3% higher APR) which was odd since I was financing through Chase which is one of their preferred lenders (he says).

It helped that I had a 3 week old baby and a toddler with me. They wanted me out fast, but it still took too damn long.

Any tips on saving time? I don't have the patience to sit there while they "talk to their manager" 100 times. Especially since I'll probably trade something in that I owe WAY less than trade-in pricing per KBB. I figure they'll make enough off my trade that they'll be less of a PITA when it comes to the new car. Maybe.

“Finance guy couldn’t even come close....”

If the finance guy couldn’t beat your rate by 0.02 or 2.2 doesn’t matter. He couldn’t beat you bank so he just chose a number over yours to end the conversation and move on to another part of the conversation where he can make some money.

To save time you can negotiate the entire deal before arriving at the dealer. You aren’t actually saving time, you are simply using the time at home instead of doing it at the dealer.


All that said...

If you think you are going to get to the dealership and renegotiate and save even more money, you are a dickhead. If you want to shop online from the luxury of your home and get the best deal, then please, when you get to the dealership respect the salesman’s time and get it over as quickly as possible. The salesman has worked very hard to make the absolute least amount possible, please respect his time and MoveOn and give him a great online review. You may not see it but salesman work very hard behind the scenes to make your car deal happen, just because you don’t see them work hard doesn’t mean they don’t. Above all else, be nice. You may think you have a salesman that has only sold two cars in their career but you may be dealing with someone who has sold 20,000, you have bought maybe 13 cars in your life and think you’re smart. If you are nice they will work hard for you, if you are not you may pay more for a $20,000 car then you did for a $200,000 home and thank them and feel like you’ve got a great deal walking out the door.

 

[panteragstk]

“Finance guy couldn’t even come close....”

If the finance guy couldn’t beat your rate by 0.02 or 2.2 doesn’t matter. He couldn’t beat you bank so he just chose a number over yours to end the conversation and move on to another part of the conversation where he can make some money.

To save time you can negotiate the entire deal before arriving at the dealer. You aren’t actually saving time, you are simply using the time at home instead of doing it at the dealer.


All that said...

If you think you are going to get to the dealership and renegotiate and save even more money, you are a dickhead. If you want to shop online from the luxury of your home and get the best deal, then please, when you get to the dealership respect the salesman’s time and get it over as quickly as possible. The salesman has worked very hard to make the absolute least amount possible, please respect his time and MoveOn and give him a great online review. You may not see it but salesman work very hard behind the scenes to make your car deal happen, just because you don’t see them work hard doesn’t mean they don’t. Above all else, be nice. You may think you have a salesman that has only sold two cars in their career but you may be dealing with someone who has sold 20,000, you have bought maybe 13 cars in your life and think you’re smart. If you are nice they will work hard for you, if you are not you may pay more for a $20,000 car then you did for a $200,000 home and thank them and feel like you’ve got a great deal walking out the door.

Good info.

I'm always nice to the salesman. I know they have a difficult job just due to how I see tins of people treat them. I don't want to waste their time in any way, but it's difficult to feel like mine isn't getting wasted when you have to be at a dealership for half a day to buy a car. It just shouldn't be that much of a pain.

As for my experience with finance, he showed me where Chase came back with a higher number and we both agreed that it was odd. I came in with financing to save my time, but he thought he could get me a better rate and I knew they'd make more money if I got financing through them so I let him run my credit. That part is usually quick.

The part I was really happy with was that he didn't try to sell me any extended warranty or anything else. Guy was just very nice and went through the paperwork quickly since my kids were getting restless.

Bought two cars from them and would again. I just don't like the time aspect. I've been to bad dealerships and this wasn't one of them.

 

[Akamaister]

Best thread I've read so far on car buying. In Hawaii, there are no Honda dealers participating in auto discount programs through AAA, Costco or Sam's Club (2021). Price gouging is back in fashion.

 

[TankTop5]

Best thread I've read so far on car buying. In Hawaii, there are no Honda dealers participating in auto discount programs through AAA, Costco or Sam's Club (2021). Price gouging is back in fashion.

It’s not price gauging it’s supply and demand. There are no cars to sell, period end of story. I’m in Colorado and I have people from Hawaii wanting to buy vehicles from me and ship them to Hawaii. Someone just traded a 2021 Subaru Outback to me, we wholesaled it to Carmax for $2,000 over original MSRP. In other words the wholesale market is above retail, just what do you think retail pricing should be in light of this?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

My Honda Accord 2018 EX-L 2.0T lease is expiring in 30 days.
Point 1) Honda don't make Accord EX-L with a 2.0T engine anymore
Point 2) a few months ago, I got a few leases offers for the 2021 Accord 2.0T sport (cloth seats) for few dollars less than my current lease, but I'm not a huge fan of cloth seats in cars - prior experience. Plus, these offers stopped - I assume due to lack of lease deals and inventory.
Point 3) Car is rarely used, and its current mileage is a bit over 7k miles.
Point 4) From all the cars I ever owned/leased - this is my favorite so far.

I did some research and a seven years old Honda Accord EX-L with v6 is worth around $16k.
So, If I buy out my car from HF, hold it for extra four years - If I were paying the same monthly lease price, in 4 years, I'd "own" it. But If I decide to sell it after seven years of ownership, assuming excellent condition, I think it would be reasonable to expect a similar resell value around 15-16k

 

[Akamaister]

Point 4) From all the cars I ever owned/leased - this is my favorite so far.

Point 5: Just buy the car. A car that is very reliable is worth its weight in silver. The only question I would ask is how the buyout value is determined.

I once leased an Acura NSX in the same condition as your Accord. But, I was about to get married, and needed all the cash in my bank account. A wife is 5x the drain from a leased car. I had to drive through Amish country in a Jeep Grand Cherokee LTD, not a sports car.

 

[jinjuku]

Point 5: Just buy the car. A car that is very reliable is worth its weight in silver. The only question I would ask is how the buyout value is determined.

My Infiniti G35 cost me a whopping $85 a month when it was all said and done. Totally agree with you.

 

[TankTop5]

My Infiniti G35 cost me a whopping $85 a month when it was all said and done. Totally agree with you.

This means absolutely nothing, why even post it? Actually it pisses me off a bit because I get people all the time telling me someone they know only paid X. Generally I find when someone says they pay a really small amount they’re covering up the fact they got ripped off and don’t want others to know, very sad that people think they need to hide like that.

 

[jinjuku]

This means absolutely nothing, why even post it? Actually it pisses me off a bit because I get people all the time telling me someone they know only paid X. Generally I find when someone says they pay a really small amount they’re covering up the fact they got ripped off and don’t want others to know, very sad that people think they need to hide like that.

WTF are you talking about? I purchased a 6 year old G35 with 52K miles on it for $11.5K. Drove it for 9 Years, sold it for $2900. Very sad that people lack any critical reasoning skills.