Online Services Experiences (Carsdirect.com, Carwoo.com, etc.)

rroyce10 · December 2002

.... Your welcome - you shouldn't have any problem finding one for that $17ish figure, there has a been a bunch of them that have run through the Seattle auctions ..

Good luck ...

Terry.

bottgers · December 2002

......and just for the heck of it thought I'd check out their price for a 2003 Mazda MPV LX. Wouldn't you know it, it just so happens their price is lower than any I've seen for this vehicle yet. They quoted me a price of $20,491. I submitted a purchase request online last weekend, but I never heard back from them. When I submitted the request, I was told I'd hear back from them in 1 to 2 business days. I don't know why I haven't heard from them. Have any of you delt with these folks before, and if so, would you recommend them?

bretfraz · December 2002

I did and found 8 threads in addition to yours about CarsDirect. I'm sure there's lots of illumination info in one or all of those threads.

masspector · December 2002

Watch out. You can probably get the car cheaper from a local dealer. This was the case the last time I looked at carsdirect. The car I was looking for was just about invoice on their website. I thought great. But after a little more research I discovered a $2000 factory to dealer incentive that almost no websites listed and my local dealers were throwing into the pot. Even the ad in the local paper included it. So I ended up getting my car for $2000 than was listed on carsdirect.com.

Just do some more research and look for any hidden money. My limited experience with carsdirect is that they are not any better of a deal than you can make on your own. It may save some time or hassle if you like their price, but it is probably not the lowest you can get.

Also be aware that carsdirect.com lets you configure vehicles that are not available in the market, anywhere. You may be able to order it, but this was not the case with the Toyota I was looking at. I needed it in a month and the dealers said about 6 months to make it, if at all.

bottgers · December 2002

......the MVP I'm looking for is the base LX with no extra options, and this is to keep the price down as much as possible. Almost every dealership I've contacted has LX models, but ALL of them so far have additional options. I don't know why they think they always have to get optioned out vehicles. Not everybody always wants the add-ons. The MPV comes very nicely equipped without the extras. For me, they're just price hikers. Unless I can get a dealer to agree on a no optioned LX price match, then I'll probably have to order one. This sucks!

tblazer503 · December 2002

try going in to the "new vehicle" tab on edmunds.com and research the MPV. when you actually get into the TMV, etc area, a window should pop up with local companies that do "internet deals" try them out... They may be slightly more than you can negotiate on your own, but are generally very fair in their prices. You should get a few I think the distance radius is like 30miles or something.

sysop · December 2002

bottgers · December 2002

CarMan@Edmunds · December 2002

Hey bottgers. Dealers should be able to cut very attractive deals on the 2003 MPV right now. In addition to the fact that they are usually willing to cut fairly thin deals this time of year because showroom traffic is usually very slow during the week or two prior to Christmas, Mazda is providing $1,500 dealer cash on the 2003 MPV at this time. When one combines this cash with a thin deal and the fact that there is a dealer volume bonus program running on '03 MPVs you should be able to negotiate a heck of a deal on your own without worrying about going through an Internet company. Look up the dealer invoice price of the exact model that you are interested in. Then subtract the dealer cash and add a hundred or two hundred bucks and you should be able to get a deal done without any problem, provided you can find an MPV that is stripped as you would like it to be.

Car_man
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ar15 · October 2003

I attempted to use Carsdirect.com with no luck. Their web site was easy to use and useful, but the response I got from them was unacceptable.

I was shopping for a new Toyota Sequoia. I went to their site, chose my car and options, and I said I would be purchasing within 7 days. They claimed on their site they could search for a vehicle in inventory and get it for me at $200 over invoice. It sounded like a good deal.

I immediately recieved an email from Carsdirect confirming my order. It was a day and a half later before they attempted to phone me. They weren't calling to tell me they found my vehicle, he called to confirm my selections. After we verified my selection, he told me that because I live in Alabama it would be tough to locate the vehicle that I want, but he would try. SEVEN days later I recieved an email saying they had no luck and my order was canceled.

Well, I went to one of the two Toyota dealerships in town. He did not have what I wanted in stock, but searched the list of already ordered Sequoias for the Southeastern dealerships. The search came up with several that were close to what I wanted. We selected one, and are having the dealer add the couple of options that weren't already ordered on the car.

Now the questions are: why didn't carsdirect do the exact thing I accomplished? Why was carsdirect so slow to respond to a buyer who was ready to purchase immediately?

Carsdirect waisted my time. I won't use them again.

BTW: 18 months ago I purchased another car using a different online service. With this service, I had an offer within an hour of my submission and drove home with the car the same day.

audia8q · October 2003

The reason they couldnt do it is simple. They are not car dealers. They are just middlemen who add cost to the process.

you know a couple years ago everyone on edmunds was telling us that these types of buying services would be the END of auto dealerships.

well, all the dealerships are still around what few services that are left are providing the type of service you experienced.

prodigalsun · October 2003

There are people who have expressed satisfaction with the Carsdirect experience in other threads on this site.

I don't much understand it myself, Carsdirct has got to have at least a $300 per unit markup. I'd rather take my chances haggling.

cfg1 · October 2003

Why didn't you go back to the same service you used 18 months ago?

ar15 · October 2003

previously (Autobytel) contacts local dealers and has them contact you. It is then up to you to do the final haggling. I bought a Volvo V70 this way and got exactly the deal I wanted from the 1st dealer that responded. I didn't know about carsdirect then.

I stumbled onto carsdirect this time while researching the vehicle I just purchased. What I liked about the carsdirect approach is that they promised a $200 price over invoice with no haggling. I thought that I MIGHT be able to haggle a slightly lower price myself, but why bother when this seemed to be such a good deal.

jasmith52 · October 2003

I just looked up (for fun) a Chevrolet Cavalier.

I noticed that Cars Direct is padding the invoice price of the cars they sell by about $200. They then wanted $300 over their inflated invoice.

Check out their price (cars direct invoice) on any car and then compare it to the Edmunds invoice price.

So the real price that you pay through carsdirect is about $500 over actual invoice. This is a standard fleet deal that you can get anywhere. You don't need cars direct for this price. Also if you argue hard at the dealer, you probably can beat the $500 (actual) over invoice that cars direct charges.

masspector · October 2003

If you read the fine print on the CD pricing it says that the extra above invoice is an estimate of dealer charged ad fees. Some would say that this is a legit charge. I am not going to argue that here. That is why it is different for each vehicle. I tried using CD for my last purchase, but between this inflated invoice and they said that above that I would have to pay doc fees and SET fees, I said forget it. I was able to negotiate a deal $300 below the real invoice price, no SET fee and a moderate doc fee.

masspector · October 2003

If state laws in every state did not prevent businesses other than dealers from selling new cars, companies like CD might make a difference in car buying, But you are correct, as long as these laws are in place, everyone is forced to buy from a dealer. So its just more of the same ole same ole. Nothing innovative.

mirth · October 2003

One difference - carsdirect invoice includes advertising, Edmunds does not (read the Edmunds fine print).

peeete · October 2003

of CD is that it gives a buyer a general idea of a reasonable price for a vehicle. Basically, you shouldnt pay more than the CD price on an apples-to-apples comparison basis.

I do think that they frequently do not have the lowest prices around, but on occaision they do. If nothing else it is entertaining, and it can give a buyer with a limited budget some ballpark idea of what a car will cost after rebates, factory to dealer cash etc. So I do think it serves it purpose.

It can also be a good negotiation tool. Earlier this year I was thinking about buying a toyota. I was haggling with the sales person who was offerring a price about $300 higher than the CD price. I pulled out the CD printout, and he wispered they were a CD dealer. Naturally the price dropped $300 in about 2 seconds

CD does add on ad fees (which they always disclose), however I believe they do it on some american cars where one usually doe not see this fee. So I do wonder about that.

landru2 · October 2003

I'm curious about these conspiratorial-sounding laws that prevent anyone but car dealers from selling cars. You make it sound like you could start selling new Hondas out of your garage if it wasn't for those darned laws. If this CD company started selling new cars wouldn't they just become another car dealer?

New cars aren't doled out to dealerships by state law. Individuals and companies pay the new car manufacturers for the right to sell their cars through a franchise. Just like McDonalds won't let you sell their products from your back-yard barbeque, Honda won't just give their new cars to anyone to re-sell. They have to meet certain standards and processes that result in a business known as a 'gasp' dealership.

cwjacobsen · October 2003

Question: What makes Edmunds the "real Invoice," and the one with the regional advertising fee an "inflated invoice?" Edmunds doesn't invoice cars, manufacturers do. Even Edmunds used to rather prominantly acknowledge that 1) their numbers did not include regional advertising and 2) that regional advertising was a legitimate part of the dealer's invoice from the manufacturer.

It would seem more accurate to say that Edmunds is an "incomplete invoice" and that CD was attempting to at least approximate the "real invoice."

CWJ

landru2 · October 2003

The lowest one is always the real one.

jratcliffe · October 2003

Actually, the laws definitely exist. Their main purpose is to prevent manufacturers from selling directly to consumers, or through manufacturer-owned outlets. Car dealers have tremendous political clout in many states (big donors), and they work hard to protect their turf.

prodigalsun · October 2003

Now is that the double secret invoice price? You know the one where the manufacturer actually pays the dealer to take the car, generally a big brown bag of cash handed under the table when the cars come in on the truck?

masspector · October 2003

jrat answered your question excellently. here in the US they do exist in every state and it has been discussed here many times on edmunds. It is a well known fact that NADA has lobbied hard to get these laws enacted. just like other businesses have lobbied to setup monopolies, the funeral home business comes to mind. They are usually pushed as protecting the consumer, because a dealer must be liscenced by the state. But of course it has the added effect that manufacturers can only sell new cars to liscenced dealers.

masspector · October 2003

I consider the edmunds invoice the "true" invoice, because it is the same as the invoice price on other sites such as KBB, chromedata, etc.

I agree that the ad fees should be prominently posted and considered, but a buyer may be able to negotiate them out on certain cars.

I agree with pete, CD is a good source for a maximum market price, and it can be used in negotiation. i ran into the same situation he did with toyota and a CD dealership. They agreed to meet the CD price. But another dealer had a $500 lower price that the first dealer would not match.

rivertown · October 2003

I bought my Civic Si last year (leftover) $2K under the CD quote.

A board bud just bought an '03 Si at $16.1K CD quote: $18,460. "SAVE BIG MONEY", says the pop-up. ROFLMAO!

cwjacobsen · October 2003

Whether or not you can negotiate this or that fee out of the final deal has nothing to do with what's on the actual invoice. This is not open to opinion or discussion, or appeal to third party website authority, it's a physical fact. The regional advertising fee is either on the invoice or its not. If it is, case closed. It doesn't make any difference how many third party websites ignore it, their invoice prices are incomplete.

Are you saying that it's not on the invoice?

The fact remains, neither Edmunds, KBB, intellichoice, carsdirect, carprices.com, nor any other website actually invoices cars. Manufacturers do. Your willingness to grant greater authority to third party web sites over those who are actually party to the transaction totally mystifies me.

You've been a participant of town hall including repeated discussions of the regional advertising fee for years, after all that time and effort I find it extremely hard to believe that you could still harbor any serious doubt about its existence and whether it appears as part of the manufacturer's invoice.

CWJ

gibber · November 2003

I priced an 2004 Accord EX on CD, and the price was ~500 more than Edmunds, but CD had some kind of 500 discount so they ended about the same. Can I ever expect to pay significantly below invoice for a new accord?

masspector · November 2003

"Your willingness to grant greater authority to third party web sites over those who are actually party to the transaction totally mystifies me."

You answered your own question---"party to the transaction". That in and of itself makes it questionable. I try to do research from many varied resources. I would never outright trust what the manufacturer or dealer said without doing my own research. edmunds has nothing to gain by whatever car i buy, a dealer or manufacturer does.

ar15 · November 2003

mackabee · November 2003

"Edmunds has nothing to gain by whatever car i buy, a dealer or manufacturer does" How do you know? Maybe Edmund's has the "secret handshake" "eye wink" "double, triple, bonus plan" with the manufacturers. Ever noticed all these ads from Nissan, Ford, Toyota, etc,.. on their website?
; )
Mackabee

rabeet · January 2004

I am just finishing up buying a car through Carsdirect.

I used this because I simply do not care for the traditional haggling experience. The price for the vehicle I bought was close enough to keep me happy.

However, dealing with them has been less than perfect. There were several cases of saying one thing, then doing another.

The topper was I obtained the loan through them. I specifically spoke with the CD person about prepayment penalties as I always pay off vehicles within a year or so of buying.

When the final paperwork for the loan arrived, the form states there may be a penalty. I contacted them about this by phone, but have yet to hear back.

Next time, I will do what I did the time before this one. Figure out a price I am happy with, then just call dealers until one can supply what I want at that price. So much for that idea...

yankeefan55 · November 2004

To all Concerned: This is a copy of an email sent to CarsDirect.Com and a dealer in NJ

Dear CCCCC,

We now have our car (2004 Freestar, CarsDirect CT#: 999999999 and I had some issues including the trade-in. First, they gave me $400, not $800 as you said on the phone. xxxx xxxxxxx was the salesman that did the deal with me. Just a little background, I have been buying Fords for 20 years, Escorts, Windstars and Tauruses.

The other problem we had was with 2 other CARXXX salesmen. One named F R. and the other named D C. (Mr. C actually left me his cell number - 777-777-7777). On Thursday, Mr. R called me and said that "no cars can leave the lot before 3:00pm Saturday, when XXXXX came in. I called you at Cars Direct and you then referred me to xxxxx. On Saturday morning, at 8:00am, right before we left the house to buy the car, D C called and said the same thing - no car is leaving the lot until 3:00pm, when XXXXX came in. We went to CARXXXX anyway based on my wife's insistence (the whole family went). I called xxxxxx on the way and he explained that the two other salesman were maybe just "trying to steal the sale".

At this point, I am not sure how far to take this.
These are the issues as I see them:
1. Why is Cars Direct sending people (families) into this kind of environment?
2. I have issues with CARXXXX and will be seeking legal advice and complaining to Ford. It is stressful enough buying a car without it becoming a war between sales people.
3. You said that you had $800 for my trade-in and that was not true. It was a classic bait and switch situation.
4. Faxing copies of documents to my Auto insurer. I faxed the documents myself since CARXXXX did not. Even though CARXXXX said that they would.

It could have been worse if we were more gullible. I assume this is happening more times than you realize. I have discussed these issues with my friends and will discuss the experience on Edmunds.Com and my friends are now very aware of the issues of "buying a car on the internet".

YankeFan55

audia8q · November 2004

Whenever you add an additional layer of expense to a relatively simple transaction like a car sale your just asking to pay more and go thru more hassles.

ktnr · November 2004

I surveyed the Internet Sales Managers of all the Honda dealers around metro Atlanta and the lowest quote came from Hennessy Honda. On CarsDriect.com using the "Get a free dealer quote" link, I was again directed to Hennessy Honda who again provided the same low total-drive-off quote with no B.S. (Other dealers first quoted only base price without indicating what fees they'd be adding making their "quote" meaningless.)

When I used the "Save with CarsDirect" link I was contacted by a CarsDirect salesman who admitted that he would be getting the car from Hennessy Honda too and that his price would be Hennessy's price PLUS a $500 markup for CarsDirect. That was a short conversation!

$500 is a lot to pay for the convenience of not having to E-mail the dealerships in your area to find the best price on your own. Buyer beware.

CarMan@Edmunds · November 2004

Consumers do a good job of who shopping around on their own can almost always get a better deal on their new car or truck than those who go through a buying service. After all, using one of these services does little more than add another party that has to profit from your purchase to the equation.

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307web · December 2004

It's "possible" to do better with skilled negotiation or there would be no room for a buying service to make money, but I bet many people would be better off paying $300 over the lowest possible price compared to getting gouged for thousands if they don't know what they are doing or just don't want the hassle and confrontation needed to get the price discounted down to the last possible dollar.
Not everyone can or wants to deal with fighting with salespeople, sales managers, finance managers etc. to possibly save $300 to $500 on a $30,000 car.
People also trade in cars for thousands less than the private party value to avoid dealing with the hassle of selling themselves.

deadfish · February 2005

Hello Everyone,

I just purchased a new 2005 Honda Civic VP via CarDirect.com.

It was my first time using CarsDirect. I decided to use CarsDirect because I didn't want to go through the haggle process from a dealer. Although, I did visit a local Honda dealer about a car just to feel them out. I will review my CarsDirect expierence with the Positives first:

Positives

-The 'Guranteed Low Price' for the vehicle I purchased never changed from what it had listed for a 2005 Civic VP in my area on their website. It is REALLY Guranteed.

-There are no extra dealer fees

-After I told the CarsDirect operator over the phone what car, color, features etc I wanted it literally took him 2 minutes to call me back to say he found the car that matched my description.

-I never spoke to car salesman, CarsDirect did all the work.

-They deliver the car to your driveway ($50) or you can pick it up (had mine delivered).

-After they find the car and you agree to the price, you can either have them deliver the car or you can go to the dealership where the car is at to check it out and test drive it (the price will never change).

-The only 'extra' fees I paid was the $50 delivery fee which was optional and a $50 office fee. In Sum: you pay the 'Guranteed Low Price' with tax, title Registration and the Documentation fee. That's it. And you never speak to a car salesman unless you request to.

-I calculate that it took me a total of 45 minutes to confirm my deal. I got the car delivered the next day.

-The people that delivered my car were very nice, I did all my paperwork in the comfort of my house.

-There is no commitment to buy until you agree to the terms of CarsDirect and the deal they offer. And even then you don't have to purchase the car. However they will charge $250 after you agree on the price of the car if you drop out later.

Negatives

-They may not find the car you want in your area. (they found mine 2 hours away from where I live) So you might have to drive a distance for a 1 on 1 dealer relationship in the future.

-Warranties are optional

-You may not be able to test drive the car if they deliver it unless you go to the dealership which may be far away. (I didn't test drive my Civic, however when it arrived at my house it was EXACTLY what I wanted.)

-You don't have the option of doing the 1 on 1 negotiating process. You pay the CarsDirect 'Guranteed Low Price' and that's that.

To sum up, I wouldn't recommend CarsDirect to someone who feels they can get a good deal by direct personal negotiation with a car salesman. Or dare I say, someone who actually enjoys the haggle process. CarsDirect is a extremely fast extremely easy no haggle way to buy a NEW car. I wouldn't recommend buying a used car through CarsDirect since there are many more variables with used cars.

northshorejw · March 2005

amen, on the haggling, for me it was about the time

i bought a camry through carsdirect two weeks ago and i was in and out of the dealership in 30 MINUTES - i couldn't believe it

considering the last toyota i bought i spent over 4 hours in the dealership before i drove off the lot - i was so frustrated with killing an entire day that i swore i'd never do it again -

in comparison this was a dream

ctcarguy · March 2005

i'm in the market for a camry and was confused about the "advertising fee" that i saw on the sticker at the dealer; i pulled this off the carsdirect web site:

Invoice is popularly known as the published amount that the dealer paid the manufacturer for the vehicle. This may or may not bear close relation to the dealers actual cost, but can be useful as a benchmark. This figure is available on many other web sites; however, only CarsDirect.com adds an estimate of local and regional fees from the manufacturer to the dealers to this price, which makes it very close to the actual sticker invoice amount for cars at your local dealer. No other source has this level of detail. Most other sources of Invoice are not accurate at a regional and local level.

An estimate of these manufacturer-to-dealers fees (such as an advertising fee) is provided for each car and is added to the Invoice to make this figure as accurate as possible. We make this estimate for most cars in most regions. There are some regions and vehicles for which we do not have estimates of these fees.

For this model, we have added $275.00 to the Invoice to represent these fees.

-----
Now the $275 was what I saw on the sticker at my local dealer. However, I didn't see this on the edmunds or Kelley Blue Book sites - -what gives here?

northshorejw · March 2005

The carsdirect site adds the local advertising fee to the invoice. This won't affect what you pay at all - unless you are getting quotes based on the invoice price - ie. $600 over invoice. I've found that their invoice numbers are really accurate and matched the numbers I saw at a couple of dealerships I went to.

ctcarguy · March 2005

Thanks for the note on the invoice. I ended up getting a Corolla through Carsdirect and think that it went great.

nwng · March 2005

I paid about $1k less than the carsdirect price on an 05ody.

On the other hand, they had the invoice price on my other car when i bought from them two years ago.

Kirstie_H · March 2005

To help with writing an online shopping article in a national magazine, a reporter would like to speak with anyone who bought a new or used car or truck off the internet. The reporter is especially interested in hearing from folks who got great deals. Please respond to jfallon@edmunds.com by Thursday, March 24, 2005.

carbuyer25 · June 2005

Does anyone know how often CarsDirect changes their prices?

tygar · June 2005

I'm deciding whether or not to use CarsDirect to buy a new Sienna CE. I'm getting a slightly lower price (by $300) from CarsDirect than the Edmunds TMV price; based on earlier posts, it seems like the TMV price is usually a little lower. Am I correct in assuming, based on the numbers, that CarsDirect might be a viable buying option in my case, especially since I'm not a skilled haggler?

Does anyone tried the Dealer Price Quote from Edmunds? I was hoping to receive quotes via e-mail, but instead I just got the usual dealer-speak, in e-mails and phone messages. I don't know if the experience is different for people in different areas (I'm in northern New Jersey).

Thanks!

307web · June 2005

If Carsdirect has the car you want at the price you want and you don't want to deal with haggling, then just use them.
Did you talk to them to see if they actually had the car you wanted with the options you wanted?
Just because you can configure the car online at carsdirect.com with certain options and colors, doesn't mean a car exactly like that is readily available.

qbrozen · June 2005

Based on what I've read on their site, they will take your commitment to buy and send it to a bunch of dealers in their network, asking for a vehicle equipped the way you specified at the specified price. Then those dealers will respond. So the only way to find out if the car is available is to actually make the commitment to buy the car first.

tygar - if you use carsdirect, please be sure to come back and post how it worked out for you. I've often thought of using them, but I usually just take the quote to a local dealer and show it to them as a bargaining tool (that is, after they balk at my verbal offer - pulling out other quotes is usually a last resort for me).

Online Services Experiences (Carsdirect.com, Carwoo.com, etc.)

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