Woodsie
Trail Wise!
Colorado
Posts: 272
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Post by Woodsie on Jul 19, 2015 15:38:06 GMT -8
My old Saturn is in the process of giving up the ghost. It's 12 years old with 196,000 miles. I knew the day was coming that I would need to buy something more reliable and stop putting money into the Saturn.
Have any of you used True Car or similar internet-based programs to buy a car? If so, do you recommend going that way? Do you know of better websites that offer help in buying a car? I prefer buying a new car - I tend to keep cars until they become too costly to keep running. The thought of going to a dealership and haggling over a price makes me want to barf.
Ideas? Suggestions?
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bass
Trail Wise!
Posts: 1,420
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Post by bass on Jul 19, 2015 16:12:33 GMT -8
I recently bought a new Toyota Camry. I used the internet to avoid having to drive around to numerous dealers and in order to avoid the haggling. Costo and True Car are a very good start. Most all dealerships have an internet presence now and know to give their best price up front to internet customers.
One thing that you should be careful to include when comparing the cost from different dealers is the fees. Car dealers know that most people compare prices so some of the less ethical ones will lure you in with a good low quote only to jack your cost up with a lot of pricy fees. They add these pricy fees at the last minute - hoping that you will go ahead with the deal although they have changed it. I walked out of one dealership when they added a $550 "document processing" fee and several other dubious fees to the quoted and agreed upon price. So I learned to ask about fees before I drove to a dealership to look at the car. I had to drive to a dealership 200 miles away in another state for the best deal. But I saved about $2000 for my effort. I think that it was worth it.
Also, you should consider trying to sell your Saturn yourself. I recommend not have a "trade-in" to complicate the transaction. Not having a "trade-in" makes it so much easier to compare. Carmax will usually give you a price for what they will pay for your Saturn. That is the least you should accept. But while you at Carmax you might look around. Carmax is usually pretty competitive on the price of their used cars too.
Good luck.
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Woodsie
Trail Wise!
Colorado
Posts: 272
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Post by Woodsie on Jul 19, 2015 16:45:05 GMT -8
Thanks, Bass. Good advice, especially about the extra fees they may try to tack on the price. I am planning to sell my car myself, even if it is to a junkyard. I will check CarMax, although I doubt they would be interested in buying an old car with high mileage.
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Post by llamero on Jul 19, 2015 16:57:16 GMT -8
I have also been a buy and hold owner. Two years ago I bought a new Nissan Altima after driving my Nissan Sentra for 21 years. The experience is probably different for everyone, but I think the most important thing you can do is to know exactly what you want before you make offers. It took me months to figure it out: shopping the internet, driving through lots and test driving cars, but in the end it made the purchase much easier. Also it really helped me to buy at the end of month and end of sales quarter. Search the company web site for incentives, use Edmonds.com for reviews and shop on the internet. Knowing exactly what I wanted I called a dealer Friday afternoon about half an hour before closing and spoke with the sales manager (also important). We struck a deal in about 15 minutes. I knew he had exactly what I wanted because the Nissan website told me so. Sure enough. I didn't talk trade in until my deal was done, but they offered me $800 for my $1200 Sentra. I took it and I am living happily ever after at 33.2 luxury mpg.
Good luck and happy shopping.
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bass
Trail Wise!
Posts: 1,420
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Post by bass on Jul 20, 2015 5:26:48 GMT -8
llamero posted: I think the most important thing you can do is to know exactly what you want before you make offers.
Yes! That is the most important part. I also used Consumer Reports and read up on different cars on the internet before starting to actually shop the dealerships. It takes a lot of willpower to test drive and not "fall in love" that that particular car and colour, etc at the expense of your pocketbook. But having done the research and knowing exactly what I wanted first helped me to subdue the impulse.
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Post by Lamebeaver on Jul 20, 2015 6:19:28 GMT -8
I'll never buy a new car, but I've heard good things about H M Brown (auto broker).
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JiminMD
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Unrepentant Smartass
Posts: 955
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Post by JiminMD on Jul 20, 2015 6:32:33 GMT -8
I bank with USAA and they offer TrueCar as an included benefit. When I bought my Subaru two years ago I used the program. It made the process simpler than any other car buying experience that I've ever had. With patience and a willingness to haggle, I MIGHT have eventually been able to get an equally good price but it would have taken a lot of work.
Long and short is that I was very happy with the buying experience and will use True Car again.
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Woodsie
Trail Wise!
Colorado
Posts: 272
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Post by Woodsie on Jul 20, 2015 17:28:03 GMT -8
I made the purchase today - a 2015 Subaru Forester. I had quotes from True Car, Price Promise, and Cars Direct. The dealer actually offered LESS than the lowest quote I had. The Subaru dealership I dealt with made the car buying experience pretty much painless. I will pick up the car tomorrow. On a plus side, the mechanic who has been doing the work on my Saturn is buying it from me for more than I could get as a trade-in. I don't care if he fixes the mechanical problems and resells it for a higher price; I'm just glad to get it off my hands. Lamebeaver, I considered buying used but used Subarus prices aren't that much lower than a new one, unless they are several years old. I tend to keep cars until they become too costly to maintain, so getting a new car was the best bet for me. I've had my Saturn for 12 years and 196,000 miles, and now it needs about $3,000 of mechanical work. I didn't want to put that kind of money into an old car. Plus now I have all-wheel drive ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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Post by hikinggods on Jul 20, 2015 18:54:17 GMT -8
We bought our Forester at Heuberger's-- nobody else could touch their price. That was 6 years ago! Hope you have the same good luck we have had with ours.
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Post by llamero on Jul 20, 2015 19:34:38 GMT -8
Congratulations Woodsie, may you have many trouble free miles.
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tomas
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Posts: 1,906
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Post by tomas on Jul 20, 2015 19:34:39 GMT -8
I bought an Outback last fall from a dealer that has a no haggle gimmick. Made buying a car fun a d I love the car.
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Post by Crockett on Jul 20, 2015 19:38:03 GMT -8
Change the oil regularly and your Subaru will last forever. I'm on my third now. My second one, a 1998 Forester, was just short of the 500,000 km mark (about 300,000 miles) when I sold it and it still ran great. Rarely had to even add any oil between changes but it was at the point where it needed too much front-end work to justify keeping it. If I could do that stuff myself I would have kept it.
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Post by cloudwalker on Jul 20, 2015 20:15:36 GMT -8
Pics or it didn't happen!!
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JiminMD
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Unrepentant Smartass
Posts: 955
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Post by JiminMD on Jul 21, 2015 4:26:23 GMT -8
As the owner of a 2014 Forrester, I commend your choice. Sue is the best snow car I've ever owned. In trying to convince my wife to upgrade her 10 year old Hyundai to an Outback.
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bass
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Post by bass on Jul 21, 2015 4:28:15 GMT -8
Congrats!
I also found when I was looking that I wouldn't save much by buying used less that 3 years old. And one problem with buying used is that you take a small risk that you are buying someone else's problem - a problem that you don't discover until after the deal is done. And popular cars like your new Subaru are popular for a reason. That means that people hold onto them and thus there are few on the used market.
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