New car buying strategies

[Anonymous]

We are ready to buy a car and are looking for the best price. We tried emailing dealers to ask for their best price on the exact car we were looking for and that didn’t pan out. Most didn’t respond and the couple that did had very high prices.

We also got quotes on TrueCar from 3 dealers and one is significantly less than the other two, though about 1k higher than the TrueCar average (which I assume is nationwide).

How should we proceed now? I’ve read conflicting things.

[Anonymous]

I’ve had good luck using the Costco buyer program.

[Anonymous]

What type of vehicle are you looking for OP? We have had a miserable time trying to buy a Honda Pilot. We were told to go into the dealers to negotiate more effectively and they barely want to move the price of the 2018s now even with the 2019s out. It’s so frustrating!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What type of vehicle are you looking for OP? We have had a miserable time trying to buy a Honda Pilot. We were told to go into the dealers to negotiate more effectively and they barely want to move the price of the 2018s now even with the 2019s out. It’s so frustrating!

Why should they negotiate with such a popular vehicle?

[Anonymous]

We are looking at an Acura RDX

[Anonymous]

The 2019 is a redesign so you should get great deals on th 2018 RDX

[Anonymous]

Have people had luck with emailing dealers? Or calling? Or using a service of some sort?

[Anonymous]

I had great luck with emailing dealers when we bought a Toyota RAV4 recently. I also got a quote from the TrueCar-affiliated dealer and the Costco-affiliated dealer. Ultimately, I got the best deal from a dealer that was not affiliated with any program.

[Anonymous]

I wonder if it’s because it’s a new Acura that they aren’t willing to respond to emails?

[Anonymous]

Skip the local dealerships and shop elsewhere. I bough my last car at a dealer in NC and had it shipped to me.

[Anonymous]

My brother had success using the AAA car buying service, in case you’re a member of AAA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Skip the local dealerships and shop elsewhere. I bough my last car at a dealer in NC and had it shipped to me.

Did you use a service or do this yourself?

[Anonymous]

Also did you arrange shipping yourself or have the dealer do it (and how much did it cost)?

[Anonymous]

go to cars.com, select the cars you want from different dealers inside a radius.

pick 2-3 cars, call the dealer and start comparing back and forth - the cars.com price should be within1-2K of your best deal depending on the model.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I’ve had good luck using the Costco buyer program.

I got a quote from Costco but their dealership was far, so I used it as a match to get local dealership and to lower their pilot price. But i got a more basic trim so maybe that’s why they worked with me.