Never, never bring your wallet into a car dealership until after you've committed to a price and a vehicle.
Negotiate via email.

Always arrange financing before you enter dealership.
Best to pay off loan immediately regardless.

Costco for new, Carmax for used.

This is not helpful, but reminds me:
Not in DMV, woman friend went into Volvo some years ago. They totally ignored her, refused to help or engage with her.
She finally walked out, went across the road and bought a Saab for cash.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BMW of Fairfax was great but that doesn't much help you get a Mazda or Subaru

Their service department sucks. Terrible customer service.

Our experience has differed.

I bought a used car at Gaithersburg Mazda. I was a very straightforward buyer. I knew which car I wanted and I was paying cash. The process was very easy. 2 friends of mine bought there as well - 1 bought new and 1 bought used and both had good experiences, which is why I went there.

Anonymous wrote:I think the best approach is first figure out exactly what make/model/extras you want. If you go test drive, try not to engage and don’t give them your cell number.

Then go home and get on the computer and try to figure how many cars there are within 200 miles of your house that meet your criteria. If there are only 2-3, then you don’t have much bargaining power. If there are al lot more, that is better. Then send emails to a handful of dealerships that you know have the a car you want, and state what you want and see what they offer in terms of price. DO NOT speak on the phone or in person to anyone. Just negotiate thru email. Once you reach an agreement with a dealer, then go in and complete the transaction.

This is exactly how it’s done. Very low stress! I actually find it really fun to negotiate. I’m getting ready to help my soon to graduate daughter and recognize the car world has changed but I’m still confident we will get a good deal. Don’t ever assume you have reached rock bottom until you have gone back to everyone who gave you a quote.

While I like the no haggle of Fitzgeralds, their price has always been one of the higher ones for every car we shopped. It’s a shame because I have wanted to give them our business. I don’t even attempt Darcars because we had a terrible experience with them long ago. Otherwise, it often is just the luck of the draw with whether you like the salesperson or not. Since we do the entire haggle by internet we only have to spend time with them once.

OP, I feel you. I cried at the dealership. I wish I had walked away. I want a new car, but I can't get myself to go to a dealership again.My HRV is only 5 years old with under 18k miles on it, but it's just too slow for me. I'm also looking at Mazda since I loved my Mazda-3 previously.
I went for a test-drive on Rockville Pike. It was fast and nobody was pushing anything.
I cried at the dealership last time from anger when trying to get the financing. The total amount financed-$26k, @ 3.99 % interest quoted for 5-years didn't match up. The finance guy kept adding some warranty into that payment that I had just declined. I have finance degree. The heck I can't put three numbers into a calculator.
The manager comes over trying to tell me that he simply made a mistake holding a paper and explaining.
He leaves the paper there and on that paper under my credit score shows 2.99% interest. So, I was going to get screwed several times. Not to mention, all the taxes and fees were like $4500 which already seemed overkill
I was fine with 2.99% as I was going to pay it off early anyway. Now I have a car I want to sell and another I want to buy and I just can't get myself to go in.
I don't want to trade in. I want to sell separately. I was told by friends not to walk in there and ask for the "white car", but I really want white or silver with light seats and tinted back windows.
Good luck and let us know how it goes for you.

I leased from herb gordon Subaru and it was awful, but probably not their fault? Maybe a little. I don’t think it really made a price difference in the end. The pricing is all pretty transparent online but I had to make a lot of choices about mileage etc and it felt like a gauntlet of being scammed for sure. I’m just always going to hate buying cars though. It’s a grudge purchase for me.

Hate Dar Cars Toyota in Silver Spring. The were the worst with adding on dealers fees during the pandemic. We were looking for a Toyota Sienna and the only two dealers that were not tacking on thousands of dollars to the MSRP were Safford Brown passport Toyota.

Pohanka was the best!

I’m in Frederick and Frederick Subaru is pretty good. Shockley Honda isn’t bad, though the up sell for service plans was a little aggressive. Darcars Toyota in Frederick, not a fan.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BMW of Fairfax was great but that doesn't much help you get a Mazda or Subaru

Their service department sucks. Terrible customer service.

That’s too bad, because with a BMW, you will need the service department a lot.

Anonymous wrote:Fitzgerald Subaru is great. Their OTD cost really can't be beat and they don't haggle, or try to upsell (aside from their service plan, which we've used a lot).

The Subaru "Gold Plus" extended warranty plan is amazing. It's the real deal. You can buy it from any dealership, so definitely read the Subaru forums to see who is selling it for cheapest.

I just tried purchasing there, but Herb Gordon consistently offered better prices.

Anonymous wrote:Even buying new I find the whole experience really off-putting.
The last 2 times I purchased a car the whole process was dragged out for hours - and they spoke to my DH as opposed to me even though they knew I would be the person who would be owning the car.
I am looking to purchase either a new Subaru OR Mazda - I need to test drive both in order to make a decision.

I am not looking to be cheap and get the absolute best financial deal - I am looking to get a fair deal and be treated with respect.

Any dealerships in the greater DC area (and I am willing to travel - Fredrick / Baltimore / Annapolis / Manassas?)
Just looking for a decent car buying experience

Herb Gordon Subaru in Silver Spring. Bought from them in 2015 and 2023. Both times were very easy.

Anonymous wrote:BMW of Fairfax was great but that doesn't much help you get a Mazda or Subaru

Their service department sucks. Terrible customer service.

BMW of Fairfax was great but that doesn't much help you get a Mazda or Subaru