I compared the consumers report 10% off and the Costco saleswomans 5% off and talked to the customer service person at the Wharton nj Costco they told they were not involved but to call the car buying service. She gave photo copy’s of what could offer I told them I would work the numbers and get back to them. I went to the dealer identified by Costco found the woman identified to me as their Costco sales person took a test Drive then she wrote down their offer to me. I used my Costco car buying service found a dealer near my nearest Costco. The deal I got was good but I had to work at it I joined consumers reports and was quoted price 10% less than Sticker. I don’t think you’re getting a great deal. So go ahead and congratulate yourself for buying at or a little below invoice. A high end Limited with MSRP of $43,490 invoices at $41,820, but can be had for about $34,800. I can buy it at any of several dealers for a hair over $24,000. The Touring model has a base MSRP of $31,490 the invoice is $30,660. Most of the latter will be 1000’s less in price.Ī gimmick like the Costco buying service may get you a price near the invoice, but it’s dollars to donuts you can do a lot better than invoice if you try. Try this test if you don’t believe it: check internet prices for a few dealers that stock a very few # of units of the car you’re interested in, then check prices for dealers that stock 60-80 units. Ever hear of year-end holdbacks? Ever hear of hidden incentives to dealers that they don’t reveal to you? Manufacturers reward high volume dealers with kickbacks. Invoice, shimvoice!! The invoice you’re shown at the dealership is RARELY the amount they paid for the car. And oh by the way, indicates that I should have gotten it for less. But I will probably never use it again, unless the dealership is very close to home. Now, if you are the kind of person who doesn’t have the guts to negotiate, then by all means use this program. But the dealership didn’t even show us the price until about 2 hours into the process, and I just wanted to get it over with at that point. I would have never purchased a car so far from home, for the same price that I probably could have gotten it from the dealership that is very close to my home. What made it so disappointing is that Costco claims they have only 1 Kia dealership in Ohio, so I had to go quite a distance from my home. This is new car #11 for me, so I’m not new to the buying process, and pretty much know what to expect. The actual discount was adequate, but it wasn’t any more than I could have gotten at any dealership. I purchased a $43,000 vehicle through the Costco Auto Program, and was disappointed. Would you use an online listing site to shop for a used car? Why or why not?įind great deals on Used Cars in your area at CarGurus.īring along CarGurus’ mobile app to help check prices, find good deals, and research cars on your smartphone.įiled Under: Car Shopping Tagged With: Costco auto buying program Reader Interactions
The article How To Negotiate a Great Deal on a Used Car can help anyone find and complete a solid deal themselves. If you’d like to try getting a great deal another way, CarGurus can help. Everyone knows dealers try to squeeze every ounce of cash they can out of people, so if there’s a price they’ll immediately accept, they must have a good amount of profit built in. The Costco auto program does not control the underlying invoice price, and its participating dealers can and do manipulate that price in any number of ways.Ī-ha! I knew there had to be something. The Costco auto program is misleading and deceptive because its “members only” price is exclusively defined in reference to the “invoice price” of authorized dealers. Her main accusation, according the paperwork, is: Digging a little deeper online, I found a lawsuit filed in January by a New Jersey woman who says the program is deceptive. Members choose the make and model they’re interested in, then Costco refers them to a local dealer who shows the customer the vehicle’s invoice price, the MSRP, and the Costco no-haggle price.Ī no-haggle price with built-in savings sounds pretty good on the surface, but still my paranoia wasn’t eased by browsing Costco’s website. The company claims Costco saves members a lot of hassle and an average of $1,000 off a typical transaction price. That’s why I was intrigued when I discovered an auto buying program at Costco. When it comes to car buying, my guard goes up like I’m a schizophrenic at a CIA interrogation. It’s almost to the point where I don’t even want to answer the phone out of fear I’ll accidentally blurt out my social security number to someone claiming to work at my bank.