Internet vs. Traditional Car Buying

johnvkaravitis

John V. Karavitis I don't know about this. Have you personally done this a lot? I mean, it seems to me that, as the Internet isn't brand new, car salespeople are used to people coming in and test driving without intending to buy. Don't they make you fill out financing forms before you test drive, so that they can at least start the financial credit check on you before the test drive is even finished? I woudl also think that caqr dealers would set up some sort of protection so that they aren't just there to have cars ready for people to test drive. I'm just curious, has anyone else done this consistently, and "99.9% of salespeople don't know how to respond"? So how do the 0.01% of salespeople respind, then? John V. Karavitis

nvbanker

In my experience, the internet option is almost always a dealer's internet sales department, and you still pick up the car from inventory at the dealership, so they're not just there for test drives. Not sure you always get the best deal through the internet, maybe you will, but it's easy to shop dealerships that way, and take the best offer.

georgiatwo

Hi, I agree with buying cars 2-3 years old rather than new. But for some reason, alot of the used models are priced higher. I am looking to buy a 3 year or less Honda CRV (very basic model with no extra options/features), The cheapest price I have found locally is $21,700 and that is a new one from dealer. I need 36K miles or less, automatic transmission as it is for my daughter in college. I live in Georgia but am willing to travel up to 400 miles to get the best price. Do you have any suggestion as to the best place to buy from and also what is the dealer cost for a basic 2011 CRV?
I appreciate your help.

fezo

You have found the exception to the rule here. CRV's hardly depreciate at all.

mikefm58

My experience has been the same as yours with hardly used CRVs. Why buy used when for just a small price more you can get new? I had a '99 CRV bought new for about 17K-18K that I sold 8 years later with about 140K miles for $6K, I couldn't believe how well they held their value.

nvbanker

I am a used car dealer, I buy all my cars at the major auctions. Honda is the gold standard for used cars, and unless you want to buy a VERY used Honda, I recommend you buy new as well. All used cars have increased dramatically in price since Cash for Clunkers, which took a million used cars off the road, decreased the supply, and drove used car prices through the roof. The market has not recovered. Rental companies are now keeping cars for up to 50,000 miles before selling them at the auctions. Used to let them go at 10,000 miles. This further decreases used car inventory, drives prices up. Dealers are keeping most trades and retailing them, where they used to wholesale many more through the auctions. So, in summary, unless you want a huge gas guzzler, or a GM or Chrysler product, expect to pay a king's ransom for a used car. And Honda particularly, is ridiculously high. Buy a new one.

georgiatwo

Thank you very much for your detailed reply. I like Hondas but would definitely consider another brand as long as it has a good reputation and safety. I currently own a Toyota Avalon and have been pleased with Toyotas. The reason I zeroed in on the Honda CRV is because of all the great overall reports as far as total cost of ownership, safety and reliability. I did test drive a new 2011 CRV and noticed that it has alot of blind spots....that is a concern for me as my daughter will be driving whatever we purchase. Any suggestions as far as a safe, reliable and economic gently used or new sedan or compact SUV? Thanks

im_brentwood

nvbanker is spot on, used car prices are huge right now.

If you want a small SUV I'd also look at a Hyundai Tucson and a Kia Sportage, both are excellent vehicles. Not sure on the Kia thought, but I work at a Hyundai store in Jersey and new Tucson availability is near zero though.

You may fare better in GA however...

Best thing to do is forget about numbers, and go look at a bunch of cars, find what YOU like and then work on figures..etc.

A great deal on a car that doesn't work for ya isn't a great deal at all.

fushigi

nvbanker is spot on, used car prices are huge right now.

Agree except for nvbanker's jab at Cash for Clunkers. The economy caused new car sales to plummet by around 40%. With fewer new car sales there are fewer cars traded in. So fewer used cars enter the market. From there it's basic supply & demand.

Georgiatwo, you can also look at the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport and Nissan Rogue; maybe even the Juke.

The Kia, Hyundai, Juke, and Mitsubishi all get over 30MPG highway with FWD. All except the Juke offer excellent warranties. They are also priced similar to each other with the Tucson & Juke starting higher in the most basic trim. The Mitsu has large outside mirrors which might help with the visibility issue you noted on the CR-V. And suitably equipped they all offer rear view cameras.

A great deal on a car that doesn't work for ya isn't a great deal at all.

Too true.

georgiatwo

Thank you for the great advice. I think it is wise to drive several different types.....I had read so many safety and overall reliability reports that I overlooked the comfort and ease. My daughter will be 19 soon and beginning her 2nd year of college....she thought that she was possibly being overly cautious. But I want her to feel safe and comfortable while driving. I did find this very good article that talks about blind spots, something I was not aware of in newer vechicles: link title
Thanks again for all the input."

im_brentwood

You're right about cash for clunkers. It didn't take many nice cars out of the marketplace, it took a lot of beaters out of the marketplace.

There's a few factors at work here...

A number of manufacturers have supply issues right now, at Hyundai we are feeling this in a big way. This means a lot of dealers are really trying to push their used car business.

In 08 a lot of leasing programs dried up, this means that the supply of nice 3 year old cars coming off lease has dried up.

And of course the drop in sales in 08-09 means that there's just not a lot of nice 2-4 year old cars out there, period.

Auction volumes are down, from where I sit, by as much as a third from where they were a year or two ago.

im_brentwood

Exactly!

People on here sometimes worry too much about the "deal" and less about what the deal is on. Give ya an example, right now if you want a Hyundai Elantra, you're probably going to pay sticker or darn close to it, at least in my market. We don't discount them and they tend to last a day or two in stock. Yet $1500 off a Corolla usually ends up only being $4-500 less than the Elantra which has a better warranty and better resale!

Regardless, you and your daughter need to go drive a bunch of cars and then let us know what cars work for you.

fushigi

Good points. Whenever there's a major, extended market interruption there are frequently multiple causes. Sometimes they feed off each other to amplify the effect, sometimes they're relatively standalone.

Economics and Supply/Demand issues are very complicated on a global scale. Micro, regional, and macro economies often work against each other which doesn't help things much either.

graphicguy

nvbanker and im_brentwood are the pros here. So, I'll have to defer to their experiences on used. I know I just traded in an Acura and was pretty surprised how strong the money was on it.

Regarding dealing on the internet, I just purchased my first car using (mostly) internet communications. It was both good and bad. I was looking for a very specific car (BMW coupe) in a specific color combo. The good, I was able to contact several dealers to see if they had such a beast. What's even better with BMW dealers, most, if not all of them, keep their car database inventory up-to-date, so it's easy to kind of shop on line to see what they have. Some had inventory on line, but wouldn't list colors or options. This doesn't help at all.

I think the Japanese Tsunami hurt the stock levels of Toyota and Honda, too.

Just to show how the used car market seems to be overheated, I had dealers giving me "ball park" trade figures on my Acura over the phone. That was a first for me, also.

Long and short of it, my selling dealer had to snatch my car at the port (NJ) and have it diverted to his store. He did that before even having a deal with me.

As far as the deal itself, I mentioned that I was pleasantly surprised what the trade value was on my Acura. I had shopped it at several different dealers to get a general idea what it was worth as a trade before I formulated an amount I would accept (word of advice, stay away from a CARMAX buy bid....they seriously low ball).

Based on the VIN# the dealer gave me on the car they had being delivered from the port (do a search for internet VIN# codes to get car, color and option groups on a new car), and searching on line for BMW incentives and cost (Trucar.com was very helpful), I was able to formulate what I considered a fair offer to buy the car.

I took all of this information, typed it up, added the taxes and license fees, then scanned it and emailed it to the dealership. It helps to have a sales person who's been at the dealership for a while (mine was there for 22 years) so you don't have a person who doesn't know how to work up a phone/internet deal. After a slight bit of hesitation (since they had not seen my car, and I had not driven their car since it was at the port), we agreed on a deal with the caveat we both had to inspect each other's vehicle.

This was all done via email and phone calls. I didn't go to the dealership to do any of this.

Their car came in. I got a nice detail job done on my car and drove it to them. They gave it a cursory look, started it up, drove it about 200 yards up and back from their store. They came back, shook my hand and said "we have a deal".

Mine was a cash deal, so there were no "let's get you financed" paperwork. Just signed odometer statements, application for title, tags on the car, and I was on my way.

Easy stuff. But, it did take me a month to decided (and test drive) what I might have wanted.....then I had to find the car I wanted, which took a couple of weeks. Let the dealership find what you want, however. Much easier that way.

carthell

Huh, you've had the experience that I was expecting back in 2001, but never got. For the most part, I got nothing, or a constant barrage of "make an appointment" e-mails, and one sale offer. I ended up going to Carmax instead.

Of course BMW dealers might be different, possibly then and now.

I'm still hoping for a quick sales process for my next purchase, since I already know what I want.

nvbanker

I have to agree. I use the internet to find the inventory of certain dealers, and if they post them well, I will go buy that car if the deal is good. But so many dealers have horrible websites, and all they are after is your contact info so they can harrass you about a sale. True internet sales of cars hasn't really evolved yet - seems there is no substitute for sitting in the car, test driving it and "kicking the tires"......

stever

If you are in the process of car shopping, using online forums and tools and plan to visit a dealer soon, a reporter would like to hear from you. Please email PR@edmunds.com by Tuesday, November 13, 2012 and provide a few lines about your experience so far.

Sandman6472

Steve, that e-mail address didn't work for me. Help!!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

Kirstie_H

Hm... if you copied & pasted it, it won't work because our forums system turns the @ sign into an image (so spammers can't harvest email addresses).
Try typing it in, or make sure the @ sign is there. Let us know if that works.

stever

A reporter would like to speak to Sandy victims who lost a car in the storm and are trying to replace it. If this fits your description, please send your daytime contact info to pr@edmunds.com no later than Tuesday, November 20, 2012 at 9 a.m. PT/noon ET.