I placed an order on February 26th for a Chrysler Sebring convertible. I got an E-mail with an order # promising to be contacted within one day. Two days later I sent an e-mail. No reply. Next day I called and got an answering machine. I left a message. No call back. As of today--eight days after placing an order--I have yet to be contacted.
I did buy a Lincoln LS 2 years ago fom the late lamented Carorder.com and they were fabulous. Based on my experience I would definitely avoid Cars direct.com
I shopped several makes/models before settling on a Matrix. The price information was somewhat useful, but limited by their inability to match option combinations to reality.
I recently used them to help my stepson find a new Pontiac Grand Am GT1. All of my experiences with the Cars Direct people were positive, and the price was excellent. The delivery of the vehicle, however, was another story. Cerritos Pontiac was the dealer we took delivery at, and we should not have done so on a Saturday. It was a zoo. I had spoken to the internet/fleet manager and made an appointment for 12 noon, but we had to wait about 40 minutes to finally see him, even though he was paged twice during that time. When we finally met him, he handed us off to another person to complete the delivery, who was obviously inexperienced and because of this we spent way too long at the dealer. This was a cash transaction, and to top the story off---the dealer lost the check. We were contacted by a Cars Direct representative 12 days later and so advised. She also told us to pay the dealer directly, which has taken another 3 days of red tape (stop payment order, faxes back and forth to the dealer, phone calls, etc.) to accomplish. In summary, I was totally satisfied with Cars Direct, but I didn't care at all for the "service" at Cerritos Pontiac. So, it all depends on the dealer in your area that they use. My stepson loves the car, except he had to accept a color (silver) fouth down on his wish list; and the price made it ALMOST worth the hassle.
The day I posted my message Carsdirect did call me. I spoke to their Chrysler rep from a West Palm Beach dealership, who asked me to authorize a $500 credit card payment for them to place the order. I asked them to fax the order first for review. They did, and there it was--$599.95 "document fees" (a/k/a dealer's rip-off) I objected, and he offered to split it in half. I still objected, and he offered to reduce the price of the car by $599.95 but would keep the fee there. I found that right out of the box another dealer gave me a better price (without knowing Carsdirect's quote) and doesn't add any dealer fees. The point was supposed to be to get a good price without having to negotiate or haggle . Very very disappointing. Bad show Carsdirect.
This is long, sorry. I found their quote to be a total waste of the time it took for me to input my information on their site. Their quote was $100 under MSRP. Big whoop. They did contact me the next day. They confirmed their crappy quote and told me it was high because I was so "remote". Their nearest affiliated dealer was 280 miles away. They sure don't have many affiliated dealers. There are 4 Hyundai dealers as close as 30-60 miles from me. I told them that a dealer only 118 miles away offered $500 below invoice and said "Thanks anyway, I'll go with them". She immediately got pushy (not wanting to let me off the phone, very patronizing as well) and asked what the price was. I told her and she asked where I got that figure from. I told her Edmund's (and that two dealers had confirmed that figure) and she got huffy and told me how inaccurate and deceiving Edmund's is...blah, blah, blah. Then she told me their invoice price (which was about $400 higher and did not include $160 in options included my price and that I had selected on their website. She should have had my selections right in front of her). I called her on the difference. Again, she downs Edmund's. Then I asked her straight out if they included an advertising fee in their invoice price. She said no and had the gall to ask me if I knew what invoice was. I told her to take me off her list and do not call again. So of course she doesn't listen and has a Mgr cut into the line. Lo and behold the Mgr confirms my suspicion that an ad fee was included. Why the other woman didn't just come out and say so, I don't know. End result, Mgr was nice and polite and agreed not to contact me any further. I will never deal with them again! Now, get this. A dealership I had contacted (who happened to have the exact model, color, options I wanted in stock) also claimed to be a Carsdirect affiliate. They are only 190 miles away and offered $700 below invoice. All I can figure is that Carsdirect goes with the state you live in. I'm in Georgia, but only a few miles from Florida. Stupid policy. The dealership promised me a great deal and special treatment even after I told them that I didn't want anything to do with Carsdirect. One other thing to beware of...dealers quoting Carsdirect's invoice prices. One guy claimed to offer $300-400 below invoice, but the figures didn't add up. It was more like straight invoice, not below. I called him on it. He asked where I got my figures...Edmund's. He says Edmund's is the least accurate, hardest to understand/navigate, and a lot of other crap. He says Kelley Blue Book is very accurate, but Carsdirect is the best. I say "Okay". Then head straight to Kelley. They match Edmund's exactly. then I go to Carsdirect and sure enough they match the dealer. Then I notice the small print "About These Prices" under the invoice price on Carsdirect. Click the link and you get a window telling you that they usually add an estimate of advertising and fuel charges to the invoice. The model I was looking for had $428.91 added to the published invoice. Of course I told the dealer and he was hesitant at first. Finally he agreed to check the actual invoice and correct it. Just don't let them quote Carsdirect's invoice price then try to tack on "advertising" or "marketing" fees afterward. He was trying to add over $300 in advertising fees to the already padded Carsdirect invoice price. It seems pretty sleazy on Carsdirect's part. The only way they let you know is if you notice the small print, click and read almost all the way through the pop up. Why not just list it in the open like the destination charge? I say be wary of them. I give all the credit for my great deal to Edmund's. $1400 cheaper than Carsdirect's price. Sorry it was so long, but hope it helps someone.
Warning- Carsdirect will tell you they can also help you with financing. I already had an excellent rate from peoplefirst.com, which Carsdirect said they could beat. I thought- o.k. let me know. Carsdirect couldn't find my car so I terminated the deal, and ended getting the car for several hundred less directly from a dealer.
Now back to the financing, so far I've received two letters from banks rejecting my loan application that Carsdirect made on my behalf! I never was informed that they would do this or authorized this! Who knows how many more may be coming! First letter said application that they submitted was incomplete, second gave no reason. I have excellent credit, but am now very concerned that they flooded multiple banks with requests without my consent.
I would not recommend this service. Conversely I have nothing but good things to say about peoplefirst.com for financing. I applied one evening and was called the next day with approval and had my blank check (authorized up to pre negotiated amount) in 2 days. It was easy and I got a great rate. Thumbs down carsdirect. Thumbs up peoplefirst.com
I decided against buying the Sebring convertible and bought a Mustang convertible instead. Carsdirect.com's price is $20,471.00. The local one price Ford Store (Maroone, Margate Florida) had a price of $19,750.00 for the exact same car. I don't know if Carsdirect.com would have added dealer's fees but the Ford store had no add-ons.
I placed an order for a 2002 Hyundai Elantra at Carsdirect on Wednesday night. I was applying for a loan at my credit union but went ahead and applied online at CD too. Got a call Thursday confirming the order but they would have to shop the loan and they'd call me in a week (at my suggestion)... no problem, my CU came through on Monday and I called my CD rep. She worked hard to find the car exactly as specified and tonight we drove home in our new car -- one week later.
During the time my rep was searching, I was too. I had no luck finding what we wanted in the color we wanted so I know she had her work cut out for her.
So how about price? How does $605 below invoice sound? --- And that's before the $750 rebate!
We got a 2002 Elantra, AT, pkg 4(moonroof, CD, keyless remote, alarm, etc, etc -- ie: loaded), mud guards, mats and wind deflector for $12761 after rebate -- that's $1355 below invoice. Well actually, that's not quite true... the invoice had a $395 ad fee so we are $1750 below! BTW, the CD price was $823 below TMV.
That's part of the story... of course, I still had to deal with the dealer. We went 100 miles to get the car. The dealer would have delivered but being the perpetual skeptic, I felt better going there just in case it wasn't true. I couldn't have been more pleased. The fleet manager was a great guy, the deal was exactly as my CD rep had quoted and the only unhappy person in all this was the F&I manager who had to do the paperwork but didn't have a chance to scam me for undercoating or inflated interest rates.
The keys to a good deal:
-Patience -Research -Will -Decisiveness -Financing in hand -More research -The ability to say "no."
Funny thing about the last one... I never had to say "no."
When I was in the market for a car, I used Carsdirect.com extensively to put together several different configurations on many, many cars. I find that their configuration system is the easiest of any that I have come across. As far as buying a car from them, I don't think I would. I just like the old face to face way of doing business better.
Tried to use it and it was difficult to get a call back from a knowledgable sales consultant. Also their prices are way too high. The vehicle I ended up purchasing was thousands less at my local dealer due to a factory to dealer incentive program. I guess if you do not want to haggle it is ok, but to me it was worth it to haggle some. I also experienced the fact that this website will let you configure a vehicle based on brochure options, when in fact there are no vehicles ordered that way by the dealers. For my vehicle all that were available had an extra package and a sunroof. I configured the vehicle on carsdirect with no sunroof and it went right through like this type of vehicle was available.
carsdirect is a dealership group/network. A bunch of dealers banded together to pawn themselves off as an internet company (like carorder.com). The plan is to divert the emerging internet market back toward the traditional dealer-based distribution system with its usual sucker-hunting gimmicks.
Is carsdirect a seperate third party company or is it just a bunch of dealers like dusti said above?
I tend to believe dusti. When I was at the internet dept of a toyota dealer he went right to carsdirect for pricing and said that it was the most accurate. Of course it was about $2,000 higher than invoice on the car I was interested in.
If I came onto your lot to buy a car and I ask you the price, are you going to tell me your lowest selling price up front? I doubt it. You are going to try to get the most profit out of the sale. I am trying to get the lowest price. Two diametrically opposed goals. This guy was doing the same thing just through the internet.
The car that I did buy was $2,000 more on carsdirect than what I ended up paying. It looked good on carsdirect because it was just a little below invoice, but the car was a slow seller and there was an additional $2000 factory to dealer incentive. So I got mine about $2400 below invoice. But at one dealer for this car I got a newbie sales guy and when we started talking price, he read me off the MSRP. When I got up to walk out his salesmanager came over with his "invoice" book and all of the sudden the price dropped like $6000. This is a real world example of why I believe carsdirect is overpriced. I am sure it is great if you want to pick your car, color, and see a price quote and buy. It is nice and fast and conveinent. But hey $2400 buys a lot of conveinence for me.
I just bought a new Deville DTS and found both Carsdirect and Edmunds to be quite helpful in my research. Although they both had the same MSRP for the car, Carsdirct had a higher invoice price by $521 but its Carsdirect price was $1500 less than Edmunds TMV. They both explained hold back and customer 1K (or financing)incentives well, but Carsdirect failed to mention 2k dealer cash mentioned by Edmunds (or at least, I failed to see it).
I paid the Carsdirect price. I got it because I utilized both sites as well as others, although these two were the most helpful. Btw, I'm in Chicago.
Depending on whose "invoice" you use I paid 2600-3100 under. Looks like I got the customer 1k, most or all of the dealer 2k incentive and perhaps the dealer gave me a little hold back as well. I assured him that he'd be getting my service business.
I think the dealer made 500-1000 profit on me, depending on whose invoice you use, but I'm not upset with Edmunds or Carsdirect or the dealer, though the salesman walked all over a large back lot showing me different colors, insulted me by offering to sell the car at list price minus the 1k customer cash, my due diligence research served me well.
I got the car I wanted with the equipment I wanted without having to wait for it or visit a dozen dealers (I visited three and six on-line sites). I didn't expect the dealer to lose money on the deal, but since its such a slow moving brand I wonder just how good my deal was. Doc and transfer totaling $130 were the only fees plus taxes.
It was a cash deal with no trade or financing to muddy the water.
Shop around, due your homework and don't depend on any one source. No source is perfect. Edmunds and Carsdirct both have fantastic research,Carbuyingtips.com was also helpful. Dealers can also be helpful if you remember that they are businessmen who will work for you in most cases, especially if you've done your homework.
Your question has no answer. There is no number I can give you as my "lowest selling price." The only number that matters is the one that we could both agree to.
Think I'm being evasive? Ask yourself what the lowest salary is that you'd do your job for. Got a number? Fine. Now try and convince me that you couldn't live on $100 a year less. Agree to this new number? Fine. But I thought the first number was the lowest you'd accept? Now convince me you couldn't live on another $50 less per year. Where does it end? Taking it to a ridiculous extreme, we could go for a long time cutting your salary by $1 per year until you truly couldn't live on the amount.
See my point? There is no such thing as a definitive answer to "What's your lowest price?"
When you sell your car in the paper asking $10,000 what is your answer to someone who asks what's the lowest you'll take? Does the answer change whether you get one call per week or whether you're answering your tenth call that day?
I was a first time new car buyer and didn't want to deal with any salesman. So I went to CarsDirect.com
They didn't have any dealers in my immediate area, so I had to drive about 130 miles to pick my vehicle up (not a problem for me).
I got my 2002 Dodge Ram Quad Cab 4x4 for about $4k less than sticker (including $1500 rebate). I compared this to Edmunds TMV, and the Carsdirect price was a little lower.
I read some earlier posts about Invoices not matching. My Carsdirect.com invoice and my Window sticker on my vehicle match right down to the penny.
I just bought a Mazda 626 ES-V6 using CDC, and while nothing's perfect, it was about as positive a car-buying experience as I think you could have.
No, I didn't get EXACTLY what I wanted, but considering Mazda doesn't make the car anymore and we were limited to what was out there, it was close enough--had a hard-to-find options combo I was looking for, for a price that was about 200 above my best calculation of wholesale per Consumer Reports pricing report. And that was before knocking off a 3 grand rebate in lieu of zero percent financing.
Throughout the process, the rep was accessible and responsive. Even though I didn't reject anything outright, I could tell he was listening carefully because he kept coming back with cars that were closer and closer to what I was looking for. The guy showed so much interest and initiative and came back with a deal that was so good based on my research, I didn't even bother looking elsewhere because I couldn't see anyone beating it by enough to make it worth the hassle.
Of course, the finance guy just couldn't stop himself from trying to sell me an alarm system for a car that already has one as standard equipment. But other than that, the dealership was aces. The people were friendly, the car was ready when I got there, I was taken on a test drive before any papers were proffered for signature, allowed ample time to examine outside and under the hood. There was no wavering on price given me by the CDC rep. I even got a decent (not exceptional) deal on my trade-in. The best surprise was that there were no surprises.
The whole process from start to finish took less than a week. Top it off with the Mazda Promise of a full tank of gas, and the result, for me anyway, was a thoroughly enjoyable car-buying experience.
I'm currently trying to buy a 2002 EB Explorer and the dealerships around me are asking $900-1500 over invoice! Carsdirect is right at invoice. I asked them if I could still get Ford's 0/60 financing and they said yes - but we'll see - that's the only thing I'm worried about. BTW, on this car, Edmunds and KBB had the exact same invoice prices as Carsdirect.
Watch out for a rebate or factory to dealer incentive on your vehicle. When I was looking at a 2002 QX4 carsdirect was about at invoice. I thought great. But when I checked the local lots I was able to get the vehicle for about $2300 below invoice because of a factory to dealer incentive of $2000. Also carsdirect lets you configure and price cars that really do not exist in the market, i found this to be true with Toyotas.
Audi---What's a fire sale price? I will give you $10,000 for that loaded 2002 626 ES. LOL
Then it's just semantics. That's how Consumer Reports defines "wholesale." Also, I've since discovered the car includes the fog lights, which I didn't order and for which I was not charged, so that more than wipes out the 200 bucks. As for the fog lights, granted, you don't need them too often here in sunny Southern California, but on those rare occasions you do, they can be literal life savers. I'm sure you've heard the horror stories of the fog on the I-5 "grapevine," but I've found myself driving through beautiful downtown Burbank, not being able to see two feet in front of me due to an early morning marine layer drifting in from the coast. So if I use 'em just once, I'll be damn glad they're there.
I've really got nothing against dealerships. My dad put food on our table throughout his career selling industrial forklift trucks out of a dealership. And, yes, I got totally screwed on my last car I bought through a dealership, but, hey, caveat emptor, older but wiser, etc., etc. But the fact is, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this, in my present position I work a minimum of 60 hours a week and sometimes as much as 72. That doesn't leave much time and energy for cruising the car lots and crunching numbers in the sales offices. Most weeks, I'm lucky if I can find the time to do my laundry. That's one of the reasons I held onto my last 626 for eight years before trading it in.
So if you know what you want and what you should be paying for it, CDC can be a good way to go. For the record, I, and not CDC, was the reason the transaction took several days. I'm sure the total time I actually spent talking to the CDC rep was well under 30 minutes. And, again, because of my schedule, I was the one who had to postpone picking up the car for two days after it was ready and waiting for me. The only part of it that took any time at all was checking and signing the paperwork, negotiating my trade-in and stopping my hands from shaking long enough to write out the check.
And the dealer's not left out of the equation, either. As it happens, the dealership I was sent to by CDC has an excellent local reputation--I first heard good things about them from a service manager at a COMPETING dealership--so that just gave me more confidence that CDC knows what it's doing. So the dealership now has me as a lead, and because of the way I was treated, I would recommend them to others who don't want to go the internet route--I have not removed their temp plates from my car. And if I go the dealership route next time around, I'll certainly stop in there, even though they're 35 miles away from me.
Didn't mean to be so long-winded about this--all right, ya got me. Because I work 60-72 hours a week, I have no life. But I've read the posts here, so I know significant numbers of people haven't seen this process go so smoothly. All's I'm saying is that it worked for me. As I said to the CDC rep when we were all done, they lived up to their billing. In the current climate of corporate malfeasance and rapaciousness amid a general atmosphere that it's perfectly acceptable to lie to and screw over the consumer as long as your lawyers are better than their lawyers, that's no small thing anymore.
Is this thing working? Is anyone still awake out there? Isn't this where the violins were supposed to come in?
I purchased a 2002 4Runner Sport from CarsDirect. Simple, fast, and best of all I didn't have to drive to and waste time with several dealerships to get a reasonable price. As for builds, Toyota builds their cars differently from region to region. For example, 4Runner in Texas is not optioned the same way as 4Runner in Arizona. Would I buy from CarsDirect again, yep. CarsDirect just makes the car buying process painless. Of course, you still need to do all your research before buying.
Personally, I used CD to price out my '02 Trailblazer in aug of 01. They had quoted me about 28k for a ls option 3. TMV was about 27,8. I printed the CD quote just in case, and checked what the dealer had. They didn't have the configuration I wanted(missing a few nonessentials) So I repriced it when I got home. I will admit that since MSRP was 29,7 and invoice was 27,0 for my trim, and the fact that it had only been out for about 3 months, I had a difficult time getting my price. After 10 hours of negotiating, they gave me the truck for 27,4 and paid off my 00 civic ex which was KBB'd and edmund TMV'd at 13k-14k (still owed 15k). The main thing I used CD and TMV for was to get my bearings on how much I should realistically pay(how much another dealer is willing to offer off the bat)CD and how much others are paying(TMV) Then I offered them 26k for the truck and they came down from their 33,7 asking price. Took a while, but got 2 free oil changes, 2 tanks of gas, and a few other goodies thrown in with the deal. Oh, and if you go to a dealer, I would recommend going in the morning on a monday or tuesday. =o) IMO, thats the better time to buy. Edit: If you have a trade in, I wouldn't go through carsdirect. How are they going to be able to value your trade in? You still would need to negotiate, and then whats the sense? might as well try on your own.
tblazer pointed out something I missed. I didn't have a trade in. My truck was stolen... but if I had the truck, I would sale it rather than trading it in.
I used CD just to price out the cars, I've always found it cheaper to use a certain other service when it comes time to buy directly from a dealer.
As to trades, it's silly not to sell your own. I love the stories like tblazer's. Negotiate for ten hours!? Sorry, I've got better things to do with my time. With what I do for a living, I could be out hundreds of dollars wasting my time like that.
but good sense to others who don't want to deal with strangers, arranging appointments, the hassle of not knowing when/if it will sell, messing with the paperwork, losing the sales tax advantage, etc. This all takes time and effort too! Anyway, depends on if you get what you think is fair on a trade...personally, I don't have the time or inclination to sell on my own. See you're not the only one who's time is valuable...lol
I would have been out about 350 if I was getting paid, but since it was my day off... I went from 33,7 to 27,4 thats 6,3 thats 630 an hour! Lets even go with MSRP... 29,4 to 27,4 thats still 200 per hour! Besides, the Civic had its own little issues(rail rust forming on paint, $1500 worth of door dings and someone backing into the hood, cherry burns(2) in the rear seat, underbody all trashed from being lowered, worn out tires, needed front brake pads, clutch, and a Transmission fluid change from taking it racing too much) They did their little inspection and paid it off, I don't want the new owner to know who I am... and I have sold cars privately before, you should try it last one took about 2 weeks, 8 meetings, phone calls, negotiating, etc. On top of that, if you consider it, they know your phone number, your name, address.... Dealerships xfer title to their name so you have nothing to do with the deal.. Do you realistically think I could have gotten more than KBB for the car? Highly unlikely. Did the dealer make money? probably... but I don't really care because I got a good deal on the truck, and the car got paid off even though I was upsidedown on it... in fact, I love the fact that I owe less on my SUV than the KBB value is... =o) I guess it just depends on what you consider your time worth... I don't mind playing mind games and hardball for 200-300 per hour... Kinda makes me feel like a psychiatrist... =o) If you feel comfortable getting a car for much more than you could, feel free, it's a free world. Funny you are amused by people like me, but when you sell your own car, if it breaks and the buyer gets pissed what are you going to do when he knocks on your door? hmmm... oh well to each his own...
I intially used CD as part of my online research when I was shopping for my new car ('02 Hyundai Elantra GT, auto, carbon blue). After e-mailing local dealers and finding NOBODY had the vehicle I wanted, I decided to give CD a shot. The price fell right where I felt was fair (a shade below Edmund's TMV). Placed my order and received a call from a rep the next day. Apparently, the vehicle I was looking for was in VERY short supply, but she'd try her best. It took a couple of weeks, but she came through! Picked up the car three weeks ago (was in the dealership less than an hour). CD is definitely worth a look, especially if you don't want to spend time or patience at a dealership. I'll use them again.
What's the commitment to CD if they find close, but not exactly, what you specified in the initial order? I would like to try the service, otherwise I would have to order through a dealer, but they may not be able to find what I am looking for.
There is none. You don't put down any $$$ until YOU agree to. When you tell the rep "I'll take it", they send you an email that you have to respond to in order to commit to the purchase. So, if they can't find what you want, you could always say "thanks for trying".
To be sure, no dealer near me (and there are three within 25 miles of my house) could get their hands on the car I bought. CD had trouble, too. I guess it was a stroke of luck that CD found one that hadn't hit the lot yet (when the rep called, she said it was "still on the boat"!) If you've got a specific model/color/option combo in mind, as I did, they may be your best chance.
Sorry - the post was removed. We don't allow profanity OR for individual salespeople/managers/technicians to be named on the boards without their consent.
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I too was considering carsdirect and being the conscientious person that I am, checked the site for the fine print and they require a credit card deposit to move forward in the process which they say isn't charged unless you agree to proceed. So in effect, you are putting up some "cash" to engage a carsdirect rep in finding you a vehicle. If you're cool with that, let me know what happens :-) Anyone who bought through CD, what was the credit card depo amount and if you didn't proceed with the purchase were there any issues?
(see below: go to help center -> buying advice)
Whether you've chosen to work with a top local dealer or a CarsDirect.com Vehicle Specialist, you will then submit your request by filling out a contact information form. If you've chosen to work with a CarsDirect Vehicle Specialist, you'll also need to lock in the guaranteed CarsDirect price with a credit card deposit. You will then be contacted within one business day by a vehicle expert who will help you buy a car or truck. Your credit card will not be charged until you've spoken to your Vehicle Specialist and agreed to a specific vehicle.
I got a quote from Cars Direct on a 2003 Altima. The invoice price of this car is 18,497. The MSRP is 19,776(what my local dealer is asking for). CD's price w/ the same options is 18,186. That's definitely a lot tower than the MSRP price and barely higher than the invoice price. Does this sound too good to be true?
I put $500 on my Amex for the deposit. I proceeded with the purchase, so I can't speak for what problems (if any) there are. I don't think they'd want to tee off anyone by messing with peoples' deposits. Besides, one could always call their CC company and tell them to not pay. Frankly, I think it's safer than leaving a deposit check with a dealer.
Your quote is not unrealistic at all - compare it to Edmunds' TMV. I got my car a shade below the TMV.
I'll tell you - this is the third new car I've purchased, and the CD process was BY FAR the easiest and least stressful way I've ever done. I'll go back to them again.
w/ the internet sales division in my neck of the woods. It was actually a local dealer, and he gave me 610 above invoice on an '03 accord. The only time I would have had to put a deposit is if he had to do a locate on the car, it was at their dealership, so I went, thought it over, came back a day later and bought it. Whole process took about 6 hours total. (including initial phone call, both visits, 2 test drives, and f&i) not too bad. I was also preapproved from my local CU at 5.4% BTW, edmunds referenced the dealership when I was researching, it popped up a dealers in your area thingy and i clicked on it and poof.
I'm an Internet Manager at a dealership. I think it's great that everyone is researching their vehicles. I used a number of different resources in quoting prices.
Can I ask all of you: Do you submit purchase requests when you are ready to buy, or only when you are looking for more information?
Only when I buy. I'm also in sales, so I don't want to waste anyone's time until I'm serious.
BTW, I'm in the market for an MPV, but all the dealers out here in the northwest slap a 2K sucker sticker on them. It doesn't seem to me as if they are all that hot right now. How well do they move in your neck of the woods?
.... It's the end of the year, there is a ton of rebates and finance programs .. if I was you, I would be hunting a great deal on a Mazda or a Mercedes, pick your poison.
These last couple of weeks of the year are called the "tumbleweed time" .. and I'm sure you can find a MPV for just a few hundred over invoice, then minus the rebate (if any) ..
Dealers hate ending the year with the floorplan, inventory and a possible miss at any CSI or volume bonus .. that my friend, is a buyers market.
Thanks Terry, I'll check some out. Same holds true for used, I'm assuming. The local dealer has a nice '02 LX with 17K miles for 20K. I'm thinking I could probably get them down to 17-18k, with the miles.
Comments
I did buy a Lincoln LS 2 years ago fom the late lamented Carorder.com and they were fabulous. Based on my experience I would definitely avoid Cars direct.com
I shopped several makes/models before settling on a Matrix. The price information was somewhat useful, but limited by their inability to match option combinations to reality.
I objected, and he offered to split it in half. I still objected, and he offered to reduce the price of the car by $599.95 but would keep the fee there.
I found that right out of the box another dealer gave me a better price (without knowing Carsdirect's quote) and doesn't add any dealer fees.
The point was supposed to be to get a good price without having to negotiate or haggle . Very very disappointing. Bad show Carsdirect.
I found their quote to be a total waste of the time it took for me to input my information on their site. Their quote was $100 under MSRP. Big whoop. They did contact me the next day. They confirmed their crappy quote and told me it was high because I was so "remote". Their nearest affiliated dealer was 280 miles away. They sure don't have many affiliated dealers. There are 4 Hyundai dealers as close as 30-60 miles from me. I told them that a dealer only 118 miles away offered $500 below invoice and said "Thanks anyway, I'll go with them". She immediately got pushy (not wanting to let me off the phone, very patronizing as well) and asked what the price was. I told her and she asked where I got that figure from. I told her Edmund's (and that two dealers had confirmed that figure) and she got huffy and told me how inaccurate and deceiving Edmund's is...blah, blah, blah. Then she told me their invoice price (which was about $400 higher and did not include $160 in options included my price and that I had selected on their website. She should have had my selections right in front of her). I called her on the difference. Again, she downs Edmund's. Then I asked her straight out if they included an advertising fee in their invoice price. She said no and had the gall to ask me if I knew what invoice was. I told her to take me off her list and do not call again. So of course she doesn't listen and has a Mgr cut into the line. Lo and behold the Mgr confirms my suspicion that an ad fee was included. Why the other woman didn't just come out and say so, I don't know. End result, Mgr was nice and polite and agreed not to contact me any further. I will never deal with them again!
Now, get this. A dealership I had contacted (who happened to have the exact model, color, options I wanted in stock) also claimed to be a Carsdirect affiliate. They are only 190 miles away and offered $700 below invoice. All I can figure is that Carsdirect goes with the state you live in. I'm in Georgia, but only a few miles from Florida. Stupid policy. The dealership promised me a great deal and special treatment even after I told them that I didn't want anything to do with Carsdirect.
One other thing to beware of...dealers quoting Carsdirect's invoice prices. One guy claimed to offer $300-400 below invoice, but the figures didn't add up. It was more like straight invoice, not below. I called him on it. He asked where I got my figures...Edmund's. He says Edmund's is the least accurate, hardest to understand/navigate, and a lot of other crap. He says Kelley Blue Book is very accurate, but Carsdirect is the best. I say "Okay". Then head straight to Kelley. They match Edmund's exactly. then I go to Carsdirect and sure enough they match the dealer. Then I notice the small print "About These Prices" under the invoice price on Carsdirect. Click the link and you get a window telling you that they usually add an estimate of advertising and fuel charges to the invoice. The model I was looking for had $428.91 added to the published invoice. Of course I told the dealer and he was hesitant at first. Finally he agreed to check the actual invoice and correct it. Just don't let them quote Carsdirect's invoice price then try to tack on "advertising" or "marketing" fees afterward. He was trying to add over $300 in advertising fees to the already padded Carsdirect invoice price. It seems pretty sleazy on Carsdirect's part. The only way they let you know is if you notice the small print, click and read almost all the way through the pop up. Why not just list it in the open like the destination charge? I say be wary of them.
I give all the credit for my great deal to Edmund's. $1400 cheaper than Carsdirect's price. Sorry it was so long, but hope it helps someone.
Now back to the financing, so far I've received two letters from banks rejecting my loan application that Carsdirect made on my behalf! I never was informed that they would do this or authorized this! Who knows how many more may be coming! First letter said application that they submitted was incomplete, second gave no reason. I have excellent credit, but am now very concerned that they flooded multiple banks with requests without my consent.
I would not recommend this service. Conversely I have nothing but good things to say about peoplefirst.com for financing. I applied one evening and was called the next day with approval and had my blank check (authorized up to pre negotiated amount) in 2 days. It was easy and I got a great rate. Thumbs down carsdirect. Thumbs up peoplefirst.com
then, go look up Edmund's TMV for the same vehicle.
...seems like just about every vehicle quote is at least a good 500$ over TMV...
During the time my rep was searching, I was too. I had no luck finding what we wanted in the color we wanted so I know she had her work cut out for her.
So how about price? How does $605 below invoice sound? --- And that's before the $750 rebate!
We got a 2002 Elantra, AT, pkg 4(moonroof, CD, keyless remote, alarm, etc, etc -- ie: loaded), mud guards, mats and wind deflector for $12761 after rebate -- that's $1355 below invoice. Well actually, that's not quite true... the invoice had a $395 ad fee so we are $1750 below! BTW, the CD price was $823 below TMV.
That's part of the story... of course, I still had to deal with the dealer. We went 100 miles to get the car. The dealer would have delivered but being the perpetual skeptic, I felt better going there just in case it wasn't true. I couldn't have been more pleased. The fleet manager was a great guy, the deal was exactly as my CD rep had quoted and the only unhappy person in all this was the F&I manager who had to do the paperwork but didn't have a chance to scam me for undercoating or inflated interest rates.
The keys to a good deal:
-Patience
-Research
-Will
-Decisiveness
-Financing in hand
-More research
-The ability to say "no."
Funny thing about the last one... I never had to say "no."
If it didn't happen to me I wouldn't believe it.
I tend to believe dusti. When I was at the internet dept of a toyota dealer he went right to carsdirect for pricing and said that it was the most accurate. Of course it was about $2,000 higher than invoice on the car I was interested in.
Yup, the internet sure has brought us a long way.
If I came onto your lot to buy a car and I ask you the price, are you going to tell me your lowest selling price up front? I doubt it. You are going to try to get the most profit out of the sale. I am trying to get the lowest price. Two diametrically opposed goals. This guy was doing the same thing just through the internet.
The car that I did buy was $2,000 more on carsdirect than what I ended up paying. It looked good on carsdirect because it was just a little below invoice, but the car was a slow seller and there was an additional $2000 factory to dealer incentive. So I got mine about $2400 below invoice. But at one dealer for this car I got a newbie sales guy and when we started talking price, he read me off the MSRP. When I got up to walk out his salesmanager came over with his "invoice" book and all of the sudden the price dropped like $6000. This is a real world example of why I believe carsdirect is overpriced. I am sure it is great if you want to pick your car, color, and see a price quote and buy. It is nice and fast and conveinent. But hey $2400 buys a lot of conveinence for me.
I paid the Carsdirect price. I got it because I utilized both sites as well as others, although these two were the most helpful. Btw, I'm in Chicago.
Depending on whose "invoice" you use I paid 2600-3100 under. Looks like I got the customer 1k, most or all of the dealer 2k incentive and perhaps the dealer gave me a little hold back as well. I assured him that he'd be getting my service business.
I think the dealer made 500-1000 profit on me, depending on whose invoice you use, but I'm not upset with Edmunds or Carsdirect or the dealer, though the salesman walked all over a large back lot showing me different colors, insulted me by offering to sell the car at list price minus the 1k customer cash, my due diligence research served me well.
I got the car I wanted with the equipment I wanted without having to wait for it or visit a dozen dealers (I visited three and six on-line sites). I didn't expect the dealer to lose money on the deal, but since its such a slow moving brand I wonder just how good my deal was. Doc and transfer totaling $130 were the only fees plus taxes.
It was a cash deal with no trade or financing to muddy the water.
Shop around, due your homework and don't depend on any one source. No source is perfect. Edmunds and Carsdirct both have fantastic research,Carbuyingtips.com was also helpful. Dealers can also be helpful if you remember that they are businessmen who will work for you in most cases, especially if you've done your homework.
Your question has no answer. There is no number I can give you as my "lowest selling price." The only number that matters is the one that we could both agree to.
Think I'm being evasive? Ask yourself what the lowest salary is that you'd do your job for. Got a number? Fine. Now try and convince me that you couldn't live on $100 a year less. Agree to this new number? Fine. But I thought the first number was the lowest you'd accept? Now convince me you couldn't live on another $50 less per year. Where does it end? Taking it to a ridiculous extreme, we could go for a long time cutting your salary by $1 per year until you truly couldn't live on the amount.
See my point? There is no such thing as a definitive answer to "What's your lowest price?"
When you sell your car in the paper asking $10,000 what is your answer to someone who asks what's the lowest you'll take? Does the answer change whether you get one call per week or whether you're answering your tenth call that day?
I was a first time new car buyer and didn't want to deal with any salesman. So I went to CarsDirect.com
They didn't have any dealers in my immediate area, so I had to drive about 130 miles to pick my vehicle up (not a problem for me).
I got my 2002 Dodge Ram Quad Cab 4x4 for about $4k less than sticker (including $1500 rebate). I compared this to Edmunds TMV, and the Carsdirect price was a little lower.
I read some earlier posts about Invoices not matching. My Carsdirect.com invoice and my Window sticker on my vehicle match right down to the penny.
I will definitely go with CarsDirect.com again.
No, I didn't get EXACTLY what I wanted, but considering Mazda doesn't make the car anymore and we were limited to what was out there, it was close enough--had a hard-to-find options combo I was looking for, for a price that was about 200 above my best calculation of wholesale per Consumer Reports pricing report. And that was before knocking off a 3 grand rebate in lieu of zero percent financing.
Throughout the process, the rep was accessible and responsive. Even though I didn't reject anything outright, I could tell he was listening carefully because he kept coming back with cars that were closer and closer to what I was looking for. The guy showed so much interest and initiative and came back with a deal that was so good based on my research, I didn't even bother looking elsewhere because I couldn't see anyone beating it by enough to make it worth the hassle.
Of course, the finance guy just couldn't stop himself from trying to sell me an alarm system for a car that already has one as standard equipment. But other than that, the dealership was aces. The people were friendly, the car was ready when I got there, I was taken on a test drive before any papers were proffered for signature, allowed ample time to examine outside and under the hood. There was no wavering on price given me by the CDC rep. I even got a decent (not exceptional) deal on my trade-in. The best surprise was that there were no surprises.
The whole process from start to finish took less than a week. Top it off with the Mazda Promise of a full tank of gas, and the result, for me anyway, was a thoroughly enjoyable car-buying experience.
Since Mazda is hooking up Mazda6 allocation to the 626 sales I am offering fire sale prices on 626's.. most mazda dealers are doing this also.
Audi---What's a fire sale price? I will give you $10,000 for that loaded 2002 626 ES. LOL
I've really got nothing against dealerships. My dad put food on our table throughout his career selling industrial forklift trucks out of a dealership. And, yes, I got totally screwed on my last car I bought through a dealership, but, hey, caveat emptor, older but wiser, etc., etc. But the fact is, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this, in my present position I work a minimum of 60 hours a week and sometimes as much as 72. That doesn't leave much time and energy for cruising the car lots and crunching numbers in the sales offices. Most weeks, I'm lucky if I can find the time to do my laundry. That's one of the reasons I held onto my last 626 for eight years before trading it in.
So if you know what you want and what you should be paying for it, CDC can be a good way to go. For the record, I, and not CDC, was the reason the transaction took several days. I'm sure the total time I actually spent talking to the CDC rep was well under 30 minutes. And, again, because of my schedule, I was the one who had to postpone picking up the car for two days after it was ready and waiting for me. The only part of it that took any time at all was checking and signing the paperwork, negotiating my trade-in and stopping my hands from shaking long enough to write out the check.
And the dealer's not left out of the equation, either. As it happens, the dealership I was sent to by CDC has an excellent local reputation--I first heard good things about them from a service manager at a COMPETING dealership--so that just gave me more confidence that CDC knows what it's doing. So the dealership now has me as a lead, and because of the way I was treated, I would recommend them to others who don't want to go the internet route--I have not removed their temp plates from my car. And if I go the dealership route next time around, I'll certainly stop in there, even though they're 35 miles away from me.
Didn't mean to be so long-winded about this--all right, ya got me. Because I work 60-72 hours a week, I have no life. But I've read the posts here, so I know significant numbers of people haven't seen this process go so smoothly. All's I'm saying is that it worked for me. As I said to the CDC rep when we were all done, they lived up to their billing. In the current climate of corporate malfeasance and rapaciousness amid a general atmosphere that it's perfectly acceptable to lie to and screw over the consumer as long as your lawyers are better than their lawyers, that's no small thing anymore.
Is this thing working? Is anyone still awake out there? Isn't this where the violins were supposed to come in?
Okay, I'll shut up now.
Edit: If you have a trade in, I wouldn't go through carsdirect. How are they going to be able to value your trade in? You still would need to negotiate, and then whats the sense? might as well try on your own.
As to trades, it's silly not to sell your own. I love the stories like tblazer's. Negotiate for ten hours!? Sorry, I've got better things to do with my time. With what I do for a living, I could be out hundreds of dollars wasting my time like that.
I guess it just depends on what you consider your time worth... I don't mind playing mind games and hardball for 200-300 per hour... Kinda makes me feel like a psychiatrist... =o) If you feel comfortable getting a car for much more than you could, feel free, it's a free world. Funny you are amused by people like me, but when you sell your own car, if it breaks and the buyer gets pissed what are you going to do when he knocks on your door? hmmm... oh well to each his own...
To be sure, no dealer near me (and there are three within 25 miles of my house) could get their hands on the car I bought. CD had trouble, too. I guess it was a stroke of luck that CD found one that hadn't hit the lot yet (when the rep called, she said it was "still on the boat"!) If you've got a specific model/color/option combo in mind, as I did, they may be your best chance.
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2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
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Anyone who bought through CD, what was the credit card depo amount and if you didn't proceed with the purchase were there any issues?
(see below: go to help center -> buying advice)
Whether you've chosen to work with a top local dealer or a CarsDirect.com Vehicle Specialist, you will then submit your request by filling out a contact information form. If you've chosen to work with a CarsDirect Vehicle Specialist, you'll also need to lock in the guaranteed CarsDirect price with a credit card deposit. You will then be contacted within one business day by a vehicle expert who will help you buy a car or truck. Your credit card will not be charged until you've spoken to your Vehicle Specialist and agreed to a specific vehicle.
I'll tell you - this is the third new car I've purchased, and the CD process was BY FAR the easiest and least stressful way I've ever done. I'll go back to them again.
BTW, edmunds referenced the dealership when I was researching, it popped up a dealers in your area thingy and i clicked on it and poof.
Can I ask all of you: Do you submit purchase requests when you are ready to buy, or only when you are looking for more information?
BTW, I'm in the market for an MPV, but all the dealers out here in the northwest slap a 2K sucker sticker on them. It doesn't seem to me as if they are all that hot right now. How well do they move in your neck of the woods?
These last couple of weeks of the year are called the "tumbleweed time" .. and I'm sure you can find a MPV for just a few hundred over invoice, then minus the rebate (if any) ..
Dealers hate ending the year with the floorplan, inventory and a possible miss at any CSI or volume bonus .. that my friend, is a buyers market.
Good luck ...
Terry.
Appreciate your posts on these forums very much!