how do I go about buying a car?

[Anonymous]

The last time I bought a car, I walked into a random dealership and overpaid. It was a great car (time for an upgrade now) but I don't want to be ripped off again.

so...I am looking for something a couple of years old with low mileage as close to new as possible. Where is the best place to look?

[Anonymous]

Carmax. At a minimum you can test drive a bunch of different cars all in one place.

[Anonymous]

This is what we do:
1) Go to Consumer Reports to get a review of the car, then find out how much the car costs the dealership. Never pay the price that's on the sticker.
2) When you go into the dealership negotiate the total price of the car, not the monthly payments.
3) get your own financing unless the dealership has a better deal. If you finance through the dealership, the may try to tell you that you dont qualify for their best rate. So know your credit score.
4) Whatever deal they offer you, walk away. Walk away several times until you get their last best offer.
5) Never tell them if you have a trade in until after you see their best offer

[Anonymous]

buy the book don;t get taken everytime and stick to the guidleines savesd thousands...........

[Anonymous]

I did a lot of research and used USAA car buying service as well as Consumer Reports.

I ended up, however, buying cars through Fitzgerald dealerships (one Toyota and one Subaru) the last two times. I found that the prices they offered me were below USAAs and lined up about the same as they would have negotiating from dealer cost. In both cases I paid about $300 above dealer cost -- and I didn't have to haggle at all.

So I would definitely recommend talking to them. I did finance the purchases myself and didn't trade anything in.

[Anonymous]

OP here, I have saved for it so I won't be doing any financing. I'll remember the trade in tip!
Is carmax a good place to buy from?

[Anonymous]

Look on Edmond's or KKB for reviews and general pricing information.

Once you narrow down what you want, look on Autotrader to compare what is actually out there and check websites for car dealers in your area.

Then, get online quotes on the price out the door for similar cars at dealers in your area (think further than you'd actually go) and use it for bargaining against the car you decide on. Be sure to note who doesn't charge destination fees, etc. Note if a different car has better mileage or other selling points, you can use these.

Going to see the car you want close to closing is great, and going back another day to get it. This also shows you're willing to walk.

Get them to throw in other extras, like making sure there's a full tank of gas when you leave.

Mention you'll review them online (positively or negatively), depending on how the negotiations are going.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, I have saved for it so I won't be doing any financing. I'll remember the trade in tip!
Is carmax a good place to buy from?

It is if you can't stomach haggling, but their margins are awfully big.

I recently bought an 08 subaru. guy originally wanted 23 for it. I offered 20. He took it to carmax and they offered 19. He sold it to me. Later I saw similar car (same make/model/trim but more mileage) on carmax listed for 23.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did a lot of research and used USAA car buying service as well as Consumer Reports.

I ended up, however, buying cars through Fitzgerald dealerships (one Toyota and one Subaru) the last two times. I found that the prices they offered me were below USAAs and lined up about the same as they would have negotiating from dealer cost. In both cases I paid about $300 above dealer cost -- and I didn't have to haggle at all.

So I would definitely recommend talking to them. I did finance the purchases myself and didn't trade anything in.

Interesting, we've bought our last two cars using the USAA car buying service (you need to be a member). It's great because it is zero haggle and the price has always been good -- especially if there are existing incentives and rebates to combine with the USAA discount. However, I was told by several dealers that the USAA price is generally the very best discount out there -- so that's not actually true? Did you go in with the USAA price or go in just to talk and found that the price was lower?

[Anonymous]

I didn't go in with the USAA price but I knew it (we are also members and actually did our financing through USAA). I got the Fitzgerald internet price and clarified it online, so I was able to compare everything before we went in to see the car.

For the most recent purchase (just a few weeks ago), the USAA price was about $200 lower but the Fitzgerald price included freight which the USAA dealers refused to negotiate away, so the net price from Fitzgerald was lower.

[Anonymous]

I am the PP who mentioned that book, for all of you who bought a car go buy it and it iwll make you sick. All the things you mentioned, the no haggle, the USAA Edmonds, KBB are all in it and explains how they are in bed with the auto makers.

Your goal should be to pay 8-12 % less than dealer cost not $3000 over

[Anonymous]

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Get-Taken-Every-Time/product-reviews/0141001496/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

i agree here is the link

saved thousands

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, I have saved for it so I won't be doing any financing. I'll remember the trade in tip!
Is carmax a good place to buy from?

It is if you can't stomach haggling, but their margins are awfully big.

I recently bought an 08 subaru. guy originally wanted 23 for it. I offered 20. He took it to carmax and they offered 19. He sold it to me. Later I saw similar car (same make/model/trim but more mileage) on carmax listed for 23.

I second this PP. If you really are not one for going in and dicking around and haggling for hours over the price, Carmax is for you. You will possibly pay $1000-$2000 more for the car than at another dealership, but if you're looking for an easy, pleasant experience, you might consider it worth it. DH and I bought a car from Carmax in Dulles last fall; from walking in to walking out with keys in hand was under 2 hours flat. They give you a price, tell you what your payment will be, and if you're okay with it, you're good to go. If you're one who wants the best deal possible, Carmax might not be for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did a lot of research and used USAA car buying service as well as Consumer Reports.

I ended up, however, buying cars through Fitzgerald dealerships (one Toyota and one Subaru) the last two times. I found that the prices they offered me were below USAAs and lined up about the same as they would have negotiating from dealer cost. In both cases I paid about $300 above dealer cost -- and I didn't have to haggle at all.

So I would definitely recommend talking to them. I did finance the purchases myself and didn't trade anything in.

We printed out the price of the car that we wanted from Fitgerald's web-site (their "no haggle" price). We went to another closer dealership and looked at the same model and said we had this price, what can you do? The manager beat the price (only slightly, but $100 is still $100 in my pocket). That and the time of year that we bought, and various other things that were time specific, we saved a lot of money on the purchase. Even if you don't buy from Fitzgerald, you should use their prices at other dealers to see if the other dealers will beat that price.

[Anonymous]

http://www.truecar.com/prices-new/honda/pilot-pricing/2012/8C6B92DB/
use this and a few other site to get "dealer cost". Once you know the car and the price you want, email every dealer in the area and go with the best price. The dealer cost is your end point with taxes, tags, shipping etc.- ie you should be below the dealer cost for everything. It will take time and going back a few times to the dealer. It helps if you don't care about color.