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Autobytel.com - What has your experience been?

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Comments

  • abtsellerabtseller Member Posts: 291
    The same dealerships usually end up with the same leads from multiple sources. Most dealerships buy "territories" which direct all the leads from a certain lead provider to their in-boxes

    Ed
  • kevin111kevin111 Member Posts: 991
    the car dealers. I like it when I have multiple dealers to work than just one. By going to as many car purchase websites for dealer prices I was able to contact at least 4 dealer managers and have them bid against themselves. I found that even when they overlapped (which they often do), it still works.
  • suzzannsuzzann Member Posts: 56
    That goes to multiple dealers, but you have to agree to a price first. Autobytel is nice because you get a quote right away.
  • tomtravtomtrav Member Posts: 5
    i submitted a request for a quote on a new solara on 5/26.i'm still waiting for a response from ABT dealer.
  • masspectormasspector Member Posts: 509
    And you will be waiting. ABT has turned from being a very useful service in the mid nineties to a message taker for the big car dealers in your area. When I tried to use it resently I either did not get a response, or I got an email to call them or come to the dealership.
  • suzzannsuzzann Member Posts: 56
    It all depends on where you are located. Tom should contact Autobytel and have them get after their dealer. I was contacted within a day. It's the dealer who is responsible for responding, not Autobytel.
  • abtsellerabtseller Member Posts: 291
    varies by the make represented. We buy all the leads for Toyota, Chevy, Nissan, etc, within a "territory." Its entirely possible that there are some places not represented, or its also possible that the dealer network for whatever you're looking to buy isn't represented by an internet-savvy dealership.

    You're not likely to get a price emailed back in the first try anymore, you will likely have to call the internet manager in the ABT email, or at least get a two way email going in order to get a price quote.

    Ed
  • masspectormasspector Member Posts: 509
    suzann: were you just contacted or were you contacted and immediately given the dealerships rock bottom lowest price? Like I said above, I got a response, it was just not a price quote as I was expecting.

    I make my comments from experience. I think abtseller can back me up on this. I used the service very successfully in 1996 and got the results that I expected. When I tried to use the service in 2002, it was a bomb.

    Back then, internet buyers were a new thing. Dealers thought that informed shoppers were usually ready to buy so they gave their best price upfront. When I was contacted by the dealer in 96 he quoted me invoice plus I kept the rebate on the car I wanted. My only problem was my trade in value. My price on the new car was set from the outset.

    In 2002, dealers buy these leads and everyone uses the internet to get invoice price and then try to grind dealers down for more off the car. Almost every buyer wants to pay invoice or less. Along with pricing info, the internet has informed consumers of dealer tricks to get more profit. Dealers do not want to give out their best price upfront because they know they will be shopped to some other dealer and may lose the sale. New car sales are very skinny nowadays for dealers so they want you on the phone or in the showroom before giving a price. I have heard abtseller and other sales guys say this all the time on TH. I am not knocking them for doing it this way, but all I can say was that I had a much more pleasant ABT experience in 1996 than in 2002.
  • abtsellerabtseller Member Posts: 291
    pleasant back then also. Now a days, instead of a trendy smart shopper, most of them just want a number to beat their local dealer over the head with.

    Sad, but true. And, with what the dealer has to pay for the leads, it is not cost effective to just "give them a number" you actually have to try and engage the customer in a conversation and try to sell them on the process first.

    Ed
  • suzzannsuzzann Member Posts: 56
    I used Autobytel to get a price and shopped it using another service. The dealer with Autobytel was straightforward and beat the price I had been originally quoted, but was in turn beaten by the next internet service I used.

    I would have been disappointed if the dealer had tried to "engage" me in the process. All I wanted was a price on a particular car. He called me up, made his offer and I suppose, moved on to the next customer.
  • abtsellerabtseller Member Posts: 291
    which is fulfilling his part of the deal. Next.

    Ed
  • masspectormasspector Member Posts: 509
    Now you are going to make all the sales guys mad. How dare you want to use the internet and email to get a price and then use it to shop at not only another dealer, but (ghast) two other dealers. Just kidding.

    Question: Did the ABT dealer call you for follow up to see when you were coming down to buy?
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Never fails to amaze me...the pain, time and trouble some folks put themselves through in order to "save" a lousy buck....
  • masspectormasspector Member Posts: 509
    I totally respect your opinions on here, but spending a few minutes responding to an email or talking on the phone to a salesman is not a lot of pain, time , or trouble.

    My perfect new car buying scenario (no trade in):

    I decide the model and options I want.

    Test drive the car and make sure it is the one I want.

    I use the web or a service like ABT to solicit email itemized price quotes from several dealers. (with all fees included, OTD price)

    I take the lowest quote and email back the others to see if they can beat it.

    Repeat step above a few times until I think I am at the rock bottom price.

    Print out my low price quote, setup an appt at that dealer and then go in and buy my car.

    Now let me see 10 minutes times about 15 emails equals 150 minutes. One 10 minute phone call to set up appt. Time to purchase car. Total equals about 3 hours. And most of that time was from the comfort of my office or home.

    I do not think 3 hours total to shop for a car is a lot of wasted time. Of course if I only saved $50 off my first email quote that I recieved back, I would agree with you. But that is rarely the case. The first quote will be high and I can work down from there, at least several hundred dollars, if not several thousand.

    I think that this is the most efficient use of the sales guys time too. He finds your car, emails you a quote and is then off to the next one. If he has the best price he will get the deal, instead of spending hours with you on the showroom or phone to "engage" you. (No offense ABTseller).

    This is just my humble opinion. I know you guys say this does not work. Of course I have never had a chance to use it because it is very rarely that you can get an email quote back from a dealer website or ABT. I know this from recent experience.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    That *sigh* came after reading several humorous (to me) posts from some folks who are scared to death that they just *might* pay a little bit more than their neighbor did.

    I accept that...to each his own...we are all different.

    The dealers who didn't respond to your e-mail blast are smart not to. They have been down that road before.
  • masspectormasspector Member Posts: 509
    I am assuming you know your side of the business better than me, but "The dealers who didn't respond to your e-mail blast are smart not to. They have been down that road before." left a bad taste in my mouth and did not improve my opinion of car dealers as tricksters. So when I did go shopping, I had to use my same old advesarial tactics since I did not know which dealer was being honest and upfront and which were not. The non respose to my emails just confirmed to me as the buyer that dealers were still trying to play tricks and not provide me with an upfront rock bottm price. Dealers need to embrace this new medium and use it to its full potential. It can be a great cost saving tool if used properly. I am sure most dealers are from the old school however and are mostly afraid of this new technology. It is not going away, it will only grow. GM power buyer is a great example. I get to see exactly what a dealer has in stock and even see the window sticker. Awesome. And I do not have to bother a salesman. Now if we could just get a pop up window with all of the dealer fees so we would know what they are before we see the F&I guy. LOL.

    Buyer's remorse is the worst in the computer business. Your neighbor will always get a better deal a few months down the road. Just the nature of the technology business. I wonder if people fret about that. Of course a lot of places give a low price gaurantee for at least 30 days. Has that ever been tried in the car business, Isell?
  • suzzannsuzzann Member Posts: 56
    Let's not get adversarial here too!

    Had the Autobytel dealer been the lowest bid I would have bought from him. He was $300 higher than the dealer I bought from and found using another service. No, he didn't follow up with me, that was my responsibility if I wanted to buy from him. He was up front and honest and I respect that.

    And, Isell, it was 300 lousy bucks I saved. The Autobytel dealer also beat the first Subaru dealer I visited by a wide margin. I see your posts all over the place about how people should just go to the dealer and buy a car. That works for you, not me. I don't care what my neighbor paid, I care what I paid. Add to that the lousy treatment I received when shopping and you've got a faithful internet shopper who used to just go to one dealer to buy a car. I saved time and money by not negotiating. The car dealers made the internet a safe haven for buying a car by their own actions, the internet wouldn't matter if you all knew how to treat people.
  • abtsellerabtseller Member Posts: 291
    you be willing to pay for the convenience of never having to go into a car dealership to buy a car? What is your time worth to you? How cool would it be to get the new car you want delivered to your door with the paperwork in the glove box?

    Or...

    would you rather take the guys price and throw yourself into the "welcome to our dealership and meet all our managers, the F&I guy, etc" experience that everyone cries about here.

    Is that worth $300?

    Ed
  • suzzannsuzzann Member Posts: 56
    the $300 and had a pleasant buying experience. The sales manager is the one who issued the quote and he turned me over to a salesman who was at worst overly attentive. Very little attempt at selling finance and warranty items, I paid cash and that was it.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Actually, I do know how to treat people. It's hard using a computer on boards like this to convey that.

    My ongoing point is this...I really believe it's up to the BUYER to make an offer rather than try to solicit "bids" from different dealers.

    Send me an e-mail..." I'll buy your Accord SE today for XXXX...can you do that?"

    A message like that will get my attention. I either can or I can't and I will respond in kind.

    But then I take the chance that by accepting, I've just given the shopper another number to shop...oh well, nothing I'll fret over.
  • masspectormasspector Member Posts: 509
    Is one of the reasons that dealers do not like giving out email quotes because they have no signed commitment from the buyer to purchase?
  • suzzannsuzzann Member Posts: 56
    I wound up doing exactly what you recommend, using one of the other internet services to do so. I won't mention which one since this isn't the right thread.

    Had the Autobytel dealer hit anything close to my offer price I would have bought from him. He did beat Carsdirect by a small margin.
  • abtsellerabtseller Member Posts: 291
    would be nice, but I don't know how you could control it.

    Ed
  • kevin111kevin111 Member Posts: 991
    Went to dealerships to test drive cars with the basis that I was not going to buy that day (stated that to the dealers that I was waiting for a check, which was true).

    Used - Autobytel (again, they did not get back to me about 2 of the three cars I tried)

    Cars.com - great
    Carsdirect.com - not bad
    Autoadvantage - good

    Was able to get e-mail quotes, and from there used that as the basis for my barganing.

    Used the phone to call dealerships to see who would give me the best price.

    Gave the dealership where I test-drove the car a final chance to match.

    Went to the dealer to fill out the paperwork.

    No hassels, no pain, just got the car I wanted at the price I wanted.

    By the way, highly recommend Subaru dealerships! The salespeople at the two I visited were great! The one I bought from was courdius, out going, and explained everything well!

    Have had issues with Nissan Dealerships though, high pressure and some sales people seem to be incompetent.
  • kevin111kevin111 Member Posts: 991
    Come to think of it, I did hear back from the other 2 cars as well. One of them was too far from my house but was courtious non-the-less, and the other, I had already talked with using another internet car service.
  • enkelienkeli Member Posts: 1
    After some serious research for the car I was interested in, I contacted the online buying services, and a rather large handful of
    local dealers by email and made my requests for prices, availability and information. I was quite specific about how I wanted to proceed with a potential purchase and the information that I wanted up front. Unfortunately the majority of responses were either a 'here's the price - take it or leave it' or 'come in and we'll talk'. Some dealerships didn't even respond or somehow failed to understand the information I requested...which was very detailed and to the point. I suspect since a lot of people (from what I have read) tend to use quoted prices to do a 'walk in' and negotiate for a car, that I might not have been taken seriously by some dealers. This is understandable, though unfortunate for them since I was quite serious and ready to buy.

    However, Autobytel's referral dealership, Plantation Nissan in Plantation, FL was very quick to respond. The internet manager, Larry Hering, was not only willing to discuss a purchase in detail by email, but was more than happy to quote prices which were very reasonable based on the research I had done. He was friendly, professional and knowledgable. There was no pressure and no B.S. Once we agreed on a price, we spoke by phone and I went to the dealership to put a deposit on a car which he located and brought
    in very quickly.

    Today I happily drove home in my 2002 Nissan Altima 2.5S and the total experience from start to finish exceeded all expectations. The dealership itself is staffed with people who seem to be genuinely service oriented - and I cannot say enough good things about Larry Hering. It was a true delight to do business with him.

    I know that buying a car can be either a hassle or a dream. So many people complain about car salesmen in general being dishonest. I look at it this way: It's not car salesmen who are dishonest people...only that some dishonest people happen to be car salesmen. Larry Hering is not one of those and for anyone in the South Florida area I highly recommend him.

    Cheers!

    Ella
  • internetmaninternetman Member Posts: 1
    Autobytel,carsdirect,AutoUSA, InvoiceDealers.com .....etc are NOT Car Dealers, They do not have any cars!they can not quote you because the DO NOT have any cars to quote. They sell your name & information to Dealers sometimes 2 3 & 4 different Dealers. They are a middleman that you the customer ends up paying for down the line. So when you are looking for a New Car & want the best price go to three dealers websites real dealers. Go the biggest dealer in your area, your Local dealer & one in the middle. ask for a quote from there website tell the all the options colors etc.... Do not worry about what they have in stock it is a new car Dealers swap out cars all the time. Compair the prices Tell the local dealer of your prices Always give your local dealer the Last shot. He will be there for you unlike the Big Dealership. You are going to want to bring your car in for service to your local dealer He will treat you better (loaners etc..) when you brought the car from them. Internet Sales Manager just tell you the truth! :)
  • toyotaofdothantoyotaofdothan Member Posts: 1
    From the sales side: The consumers say they do not expect the dealers to lose money to sell a car; yet will say the dealer has one shot.. So they will get invoice.. call the Dealer B and say Dealer A said I can buy this car for X ( or 0 Profit) if you can beat them; I'll buy it from you..
    Dealer B: I'll let you have it for X-100 (or $100 loss). Dealer mentality is to try and recoup with corporate moneys.
    Consumer then calls Dealer C: Dealer B said I can buy it for x-100; if you can beat it I'll buy from you instead..
    Dealer C : Of course we'll beat that price.. we'll sell it for x-250..

    Consumer then calls Dealer A : I was really wanting to buy this car from you; but I can buy it for x-250 from Dealer C; IF you can beat them I'll buy it from you.. OK, fine.. we'll let you have it for X-350..

    How far that goes depends on how much a dealer is willing to risk to get the manufactures money for selling enough cars.

    If you see what you want and can afford it; quite simply, you should buy it.. Did you dislike the salesperson you dealt with that much that you want to tie him up repeatedly and have him reprimanded for not doing his job of showing you that the vehicle was actually worth something.
    I have seen this go on for days; occupying several hours of your salesman's time and keeping him from several other opportunities to make a living.
    Yes he is there to take care of you; but at what cost to him do you wish to be.. There are salesman that can actually make as little as $35-50 for selling a car at a loss.. If he's got 8-10 hours into doing the additional running to cater to your "deal" and you tell him how great the experience was.. Then you are simply telling him a lie. You have no respect for the hours they put in; and they effort put forth to help you in both selecting your new vehicle and in showing you how to operate everything in it.

    As I said, if you can afford the vehicle you like and want.. and want a quick and simple buying experience.. Buy a new car, pay sticker; and just don't trade annually..
  • benjaminhbenjaminh Member Posts: 6,311
    You make some good points!

    But do you know you were replying to a message from 11 years ago....?
    2018 Acura TLX 2.4 Tech 4WS (mine), 2018 Honda CR-V EX AWD (wife's)
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