<p>Has anyone used the Costco Auto Program to buy a car? How was your experience with it and would you recommend using this program to get a car?</p>
<p>I am wondering the same. I believe I read that it didn’t always end up being the cheapest, but it is the least hassle-free. < Unless you buy a scion, which is already a fixed no-haggle price)
I need to Asia my friend… I think she used Costco to buy her car.</p>
<p>We used Costco to buy a Honda Fit. It made the whole process very easy, we got a great deal, and we also got some add-on stuff, in our case it was $100 credit for Honda accessories that we used to get a liner for the back cargo area.</p>
<p>In general, the more expensive the car the more you save. I know some people who have saved several thousand dollars, our savings was more like one thousand.</p>
<p>Have a friends who has bought 2 cars from Costco. Since the friends lived about an hour + 15 minutes outside town in a rural area, but not too far from an interstate exit, Costco even allowed the car to be dropped off at the interstate exit instead of making the friend drive all the way into town to pick up the car.</p>
<p>IME, the Costco program seems very similar to the car-buying program offered thru my credit union. You specify the model and extras wanted; they contact their supplier who tells them if that make/model is available and what colors are available and then you can choose from those. Credit union handles all the paperwork for a flat fee. </p>
<p>Not necessarily the absolutely lowest price available but no haggling and no hidden surprise! fees. And they don’t try to upsell you.</p>
<p>I have found that dealing directly with the internet manager generally gets you a better deal than the Costco Auto Program and it is also a relatively “painless” way to purchase a vehicle. They will work off the invoice and there is very little, if any, haggling involved.</p>
<p>My husband bought his car late last year using the Costco program. It went very well. There was some haggling over accessories and it all came out in our favor. He researches cars like no one else and was very pleased with the resulting price.</p>
<p>I used AAA as my buying service, which I believe is similar to the COSTCO buying service. It was great, saved me a lot of time and hassle. The exact car we wanted (model, color, options, dealer added roof rack) was delivered to our home and I paid with a personal check. Their fee of $300 was clearly disclosed. I had done lots of research so I was more than satisfied with my final price. Could I have done $100 or $200 better by calling around and haggling and possibly settling for a different color? Maybe, but not worth it to me.</p>
<p>I almost used it (or the AAA one - can’t remember, both both are about the same) but ended up just going straight with the internet sales department. The price I got going straight with the internet dept was a little lower than the Costco/AAA price but I did do just a little bit of haggling - all remotely though. Once I walked into the dealership it was painless because the entire deal was already done - NO SALES PEOPLE!</p>
<p>I’ve purchased through the internet/fleet department multiple times for multiple makes of cars and it’s by far a superior way to purchase a vehicle over the usual salesperson approach. It’s less expensive, less aggravating (by not having to deal with salespeople hijinks), and quicker (when physically at the dealership you’re just picking up the car - not dealing with sales people/so-called managers, etc.).</p>
<p>I think the Costco/AAA program will route you through one particular dealer in your area. You can always get the price through that program but also contact the internet sales departments of a few other dealers via email or the link on the page and ask their price for the same thing.</p>
<p>Make sure you know exactly what you want as far as particular model, trim level, options, colors and what you’re willing to give up or substitute (ex: colors) before starting the process regardless of which way you go.</p>
<p>And - say NO to any dealer installed doo-dads or treatments - NO to alarms, undercoating, paint protector, etc. This is where dealers have a super high margin and can make a lot of money. At best these are generally a waste of money and at worst they can actually damage the car.</p>
<p>^And don’t forget to also say no to those extended warranties, particularly when the vehicle has a reliable track record.</p>
<p>^^ I forgot to add that one - but I agree with you on that jshain.</p>
<p>Have not bought a car for ages (last was 2002). What is the “Internet Sales” department now? Is it on the specific make web site, a dealer’s web site or make/model specific? Lets say I need a Chevy Truck or Honda Accord, where do I go?</p>
<p>Last two cars I bought, I used edmunds.com to request quotes for the car I wanted.</p>
<p>Over the next few days, offers showed up in my email from 4 or 5 dealers. I picked the one that worked best for me, no pain at all. I didn’t even have to track down the individual internet sales person at each dealer.</p>
<p>My extended warranty story: many years ago I got talked into a 5 year, 100000 mile extended warranty on a new car, for about $800 or so. About halfway through, one of the bolts used to hold on the valve cover broke off. The warranty wouldn’t cover it because it wasn’t a moving part or some ridiculous loophole like that. I was pretty irritated, it would have been a $1200 repair to get fixed (I never bothered, there were multiple bolts and it never leaked oil or anything).</p>
<p>Fast forward to when the car had 99,400 miles on it. Then the compressor for the air conditioner seized. And wouldn’t you know, the extended warranty covered it. So I got my money’s worth. I had to be careful not to let the car get over 100,000 before I took it in.</p>
<p>Best factory warranty story: we inherited FIL’s grandpa-mobile, a Buick LeSabre. At 7 years 10 months, with 79000 miles on the car, the catalytic convert failed. Federal law requires emissions equipment be warrantied for 8 years, 80000 miles. Win! Free new converter plus all the labor is free too.</p>
<p>I like stories.</p>
<p>
You go to the specific website for the dealer (ex: Lake Tahoe Ford) and look around for something that says ‘Internet Sales’ or possibly ‘Fleet Sales’ or something similar. You then usually send them a message via a browser form or via an email. They usually ask for your phone number and I usually don’t give it, preferring to communicate via email until a price point is reached.</p>
<p>My company offers an audo buying service to us - i believe it’s similar to the costco program - but there are no fees. It’s quite nice. If I had bought a new car this time around I had planned on using it - the costs came out to be about 3k less then going through a regular dealership.</p>
<p>Just used the Costco program to buy a Honda Fit for DD1 and the Mrs. drives a Civic also from Costco. Both from the same local dealer, at invoice + $100 depending on who do you believe + rebates/incentives if any. Very happy with the process on both times.</p>
<p>No business can survive on $100 in a 20K+ transaction. The “invoice” is just the “retail price” whereas the MSRP is a smoke screen, where the dealer starts to discount.</p>
<p>You just have to compare the out of pocket…</p>
<p>turbo93, Even with dealer “hold back” money, invoice plus $100 is a very good deal on a Honda Fit, imo. High demand cars are not priced as aggresively as other less popular models. I believe you did as well on the Costco Auto Buying Program as you would have done through the Internet sales dept. in this particular instance.</p>
<p>I tried the Costco route, but their offer wasn’t for much less than the sticker price. When I declined and got up to leave they wanted to dicker… the “Costco” connection didn’t do anything.</p>
<p>I ended up doing the same thing that is mentioned above. Went to Edmunds, got emails from the internet reps at a few dealers and got a great deal.</p>
<p>This was a few years ago for a Prius and I paid nearly $2000 less than the Costco dealer offer.</p>
<p>We just completed the purchase of a used car through a dealer. Contacted CostCo auto program, but the nearest dealer was 50 miles away!</p>
<p>Went through internet sales at the dealer and got a great price on a certified used 2011.
Was able to use edmunds.com to get value and knew what to negotiate.</p>
<p>We have purchased our last two cars through Costco. People who are adept at wheeler-dealering and want to spend weeks getting the very best deal may well do better on their own. Yes, some dealers have a fleet/Internet salesperson who will be able to offer as good a price. Like other group sales deals, Costcos gets the average person a good deal with no time wasted.
You do still need to say no to the add-ons…like undercoating and upholstery protection…</p>