Car buying dilemma

So I'm in the market for a car. We decide on which one after several different test drives. Since we have Costco, we decided to use their program, and had to go to a certain dealer to use the program. We went last night with all intentions of purchasing the car this weekend. They have a 0% financing up to 72 months, and something like $1000 rebate.

When we get there, (and we had called before) the Costco guy were not there. A salesman sat with us, and said he could get the numbers for us, but he basically gave us the runaround for two hours. At 9 PM, the dealership closed, and the only thing we had accomplished was to determine which exact model and options we wanted, and that he did not have any of the colors that we were interested in. The one color he does have, we both hate. He can't get any of the colors that we wanted until after May is over, and he said that we would lose the May incentives for this, but they would probably have June incentives, but he didn't know what they would be. They could be better, or they could be worse. He also promised to give us the Costco price sheets, and he emailed them this morning, but for the wrong car.

So, would you take a chance and see what the June rebates are to get the color you want? Or would you go to a different dealer all together and try to negotiate? The Cosco program is supposed to take the haggling out of the equation. The price is the price, they can't add any extra fees and stuff, and that's it. Neither of us loves negotiating . Ugh I hate car buying!!

Would you:

A) buy the ugly color (I keep my cars for a long time, so far 11 years and now 7 years so I'll be in the ugly color forever)
B) take a chance on the June deal
C) try to get another dealer to negotiate

Car buying dilemma

First I would try and see the Costco guy. They will find you a color if you are going to walk away.
Then I would go to another dealer.


We just bought a car in March. They only had 1 coming in but it had a hitch for an extra $600. My dh said give it to me or I walk. We got it included they didn't want to lose the deal.

Make sure you do your research and find out how much most are paying for the car. Then go with that # and don't budge. I would not settle for a car color I don't like. To much $$$$ for something you hate

Car buying dilemma

When we looked at the Costco price, we actually found it to be higher than what we could negotiate.

And especially if you keep them for that long, I would not settle
On the color

Car buying dilemma

forget costco

go online and search the dealers inventory for the car you want, then go and work with those dealers. be prepared to walk out

it sucks but its what you have to do

Re: Car buying dilemma

Costco could not match the deal I found on my own. Go when it is raining at the end of the month to the dealer that has the make model and color you want.contact the on line sales division before hand they give the best deals.

Message edited 5/28/2016 10:37:26 PM.

Re: Car buying dilemma

I refuse to deal with car dealers in person. I negotiate over the phone, have them fax me the price upon which we have agreed during the phone conversation , and then I go in.

Re: Car buying dilemma

We just used the Costco program to get our new Odyssey. It was really worth it for us. I never said anything about having a Costco membership until we had already negotiated some money off the sticker than I mentioned the Costco price. The dealership we worked with Huntington Honda doesn't have a Costco "guy" all the sales people just know how to work with it. I would search for a new dealership or wait to see what their Costco guy says. For us it was $3k savings which was worth it.

Car buying dilemma

I would find a dealership with the car you want (I found mine in the dealer's online inventory, but many times that isn't a real time listing of their stock). Try to negotiate a better deal than costco. If you can't, show them the costco quote for the other dealer and see if they'll match it. Or, if you think the costco price is best, just show them that at the start.

Car buying dilemma

Thank you, all. DH emailed the Internet manager at that dealer ( early I talked to in the first place) and said that he wants to go with someone else. In The meantime, I emailed another dealer who we had done the test drive with and told him about the Costco price and asked him for his final out the door price. Said we are ready to do the deal if the price is right. I'm hoping he will come back with a good answer. I keep checking my email like I had a first date and am waiting for the guy to call me!

Man I hate car shopping!

Car buying dilemma

Non-update: it's 2 hours after opening and no email or phone call. So he's busy, not in, or doesn't give a crap lol. Ugh.

Re: Car buying dilemma

Car buying dilemma

Different dealer. Thus us 100% a run around..been there done this. Unfortunately so many car dealers are dishonest.

Car buying dilemma

I would just email all nearby dealerships(that you are willing to drive to) with a specific feature list of the car. Be very specific. Go to the manufacturer website so you use the exact terms for your options. Ask them to give u an out of the door price including registration, taxes etc. I didn't put in our phone number at all. I sent over 25 emails. Got about 18 quotes back. Negotiated over Internet with three top choices and walked in to the final one with an exact price on hand. No haggling after as it is a written offer. The internet dept is usually a different sales force and they have their own quotas to meet. So they are very motivated. The finance guys will try to bull s$$t u on what a steal the Internet guys gave away etc. but it's all BS. It was incredibly less stressful. I hate waiting around while they try to force you to buy additional $$ items. Obviously, this strategy works only if you are very sure on what features you want in your car and you aren't looking to trade in another car. Another tip use a throw away email address as the automated Internet forms keep sending junk mail. Good luck!

Message edited 5/29/2016 9:25:47 PM.

Re: Car buying dilemma

Car buying dilemma

Grrr. Working with a different dealer, via email, he gives me a price for a car missing one of the options I wanted. So I write him back saying he's missing option a. I explain what we want again, asking for a vin number. He writes me back with the car that's now missing option B but has option a. So the original quote, is probably going to be about $4000 more than what we thought. I just gave him the Vin number of the one we thought he was talking about, we'll see what he says about this one.

Re: Car buying dilemma

Costco wasn't a good option for us because the dealership was so far from our house - not worth it for us. The price wound up being very comparable to a local dealer. We negotiated and bought something off the lot. If you aren't buying a very popular car, you'll definitely get a better deal today than tomorrow (May 31 than Jun 1) since sales people have incentives to hit their numbers for the month.

ETA: I wouldn't buy a car in a color I don't like. It's a lot of money not to like it. And likely you aren't saving much by buying the color you don't like.

Message edited 5/31/2016 11:17:59 AM.