Ever Bought a New Car Online?

[Joez]

I've been kicking a lot of tires, and am considering buying one online (carorder.com or carsdirect.com).

Have you done this?

Were you satisfied with the experience?

Thanks,
Joe

[horge]

Not I, Joe, but....
it sounds scary: buying something without seeing or testing it. Just the thought of trying to return it for refund or replacement (if I had to) gives me the heebie-jeebies.

[goby]

horge,

true, but in this great country of AMERICA (sorry, don't know if the rules are the same where you are or not) we have this thing called the "lemon law" that requires MANUFACTURERS (not the reseller) to replace defective vehicles (now there are some requirements to the car being considdered a lemon, but nonetheless....its a law).

I would think that all things considdred, buying a car online, or at your local dealer wouldn't be all that different. I guess the only difference is that you dont get to test drive your exact vehicle. but if you test drive one at the dealer, they SHOULD be all the same.

I was in the same boat as you looking for a diamond for my fiance recently. Luckily the place that had the best prices online was also about an hour away...so i got the best of both worlds, but after dealing with these people I would not hesitate to order from them again.

FWIW.,..

g
o
b
y


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It's all fun and games until someone looses and eye....
www.iag.net/~vigg (http://www.iag.net/~vigg)

[Joez]

Thanks,

You actually do get to test drive the online vehicle before you turn over the check. When they deliver it, or you pick it up, there is usually a checklist that you go through before accepting it.

I don't know about buyers in general, but whenever I've bought a new car, I drive it and do a cursory inspection only. After that, it is up to the manufacturer (through an authorized dealer) to fix anything that comes up during the warranty period.

I'm sort of torn about doing it because I've gone to several dealers to try out quite a few models. I'd like the profit to go to a dealer who took the time to show me the vehicle, but the difference is thousands of dollars.

When I make my final choice, I'll give a dealer a shot at matching the price. But I won't give them hundreds or thousands of dollars for their troubles.

I'll let you know about my experience.

[aLittletank]

I would have no problem buying a new car online. not used of course but new. the manufactures warranty and the above mentioned lemon laws are enough protection to keep you from getting burned.

please keep us posted
Allen

[signu459]

Joez,

I have bought two new cars in the last two years. A VW Passat and Nissan Frontier (truck). In both cases I did a huge ammount of research on the net about all the cars I was interested in. Once I narrowed it down to the auto I wanted I learned all the fetures and cost by heart. If you take all that info plus you bid from the online store I would bet that several dealers will match the price. IMO the better informed you are the better deal you will get. If the sales person realizes that he can't BS you on features and you know the invoice cost plus all dealer incentives, they will know you have the power. Arm yourself as best you can, if you do I will bet you find just as good of a deal.

One other thing. From what I know about you I really doubt your the type of person that would do this. But please don't test drive a car at a dealership that you intend on buying online. The dealer ship is not there to provide test drives for online stores. :D

What kind of car are you thinking of getting?

Good luck and haggle the heck out of them.

[Joez]

Thanks for the comments sig.

I've test driven quite a few (Toyota Avalon, I30, Lexus GS300, LS400, Audi A6, E320, 528i, Seville). When I settle on one, I will give the dealer who took me on a test the chance to match an online price. But I won't give them thousands of dollars for their trouble.

You touch on a good point though: is it OK to waste a vendor's time if there's no possibility of buying from them? The answer in my mind is No.

Usually I come close to walking out when I buy a car because most of the salespeople I've dealt with are basically slimey. Buying online is a great idea.

[Larry M]

I'm thinking out loud here, I should just go to the sites and check for myself. I have to buy a new 4-wheel drive pickup this year for my business. You can really save some serious bucks buying on-line?

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Larry M

See my tanks at Northern Reef (http://www.reefcentral.com/northernreef/index.htm)

[Joez]

The online car places (Some sell the cars: carsdirect.com, greenlight.com, cars.com, carsdirect.com, others hook you up with a dealer) that I've looked at sell the vehicles for a couple/few thousand below MSRP. I noticed that on a hot selling model, the price was at MSRP.

Depending on what you want and where you are, you can save thousands of dollars and a lot of stress.

It is also possible to get a dealer at or below that price if you want to work for it.

The best thing about these services is that it is easy to configure your vehicle and compare it to others.

Other resources that help: Consumer Reports Online and Edmunds.

[signu459]

JoeZ FYI in case you don't already know

The Toyota Avalon and the Lexus 300's ( and maybe the 320) are made in the same factory on the same line. They are even interchangable within the line. What I mean is you could see two Avalons come off then one Lexus then another Avalon. They are on the same body and drive train.

The Passat that I have is esentially a Audi A4. Same motor, chasis, drive train but 3" bigger than the A4. If you like the A6 you might like the Passat. You can get it loaded with the 6 and AWD for about 10K less than a similar A6. After two years and 45,000 miles I have to give very high marks for the Passat.

HTH

[This message has been edited by signu459 (edited 05-16-2000).]

[Joez]

Thanks Sig,

One of the guys in my group is a car buff, and during lunches we've gone test driving. He knows cars inside-out and really likes the technology in them. He also is pretty awestruck by the German engineering prowess. Great cars, but some of it is lost on me, and I can't bring myself to pay so much more for them.

For example, the 528 really is a fine driving machine. But on a driver like me, that taut responsiveness is kind of wasted. They tried to get me to push it on the freeway and take turn really hard, but it's just not the way I drive.

Lexus makes some really fine cars too, and their "fit and finish" is outstanding.

I'm going to pick one in the next 2-3 weeks, but if I had to pick one now based on comfort and reliability, it would be the Avalon.

Point well taken about the Passat. The A6/A8 are very nice, but I can't go for the prices.

American cars? I love this country and I want to support our workers, but I need a reliable car that I can load the miles onto without worrying about things wearing out and looking bad. None of the American offerings comes close. At least the Avalon is made here in the U.S.A.

Thanks again!

[This message has been edited by Joez (edited 05-16-2000).]

[Frisco]

My related story: I bought a new car last August, and I came very close to getting it through carorder.com. I looked at a wide array of cars in the 15K-50K range, and in almost every case their site was a winner hands down by price. In most cars that I seriously considered, adding more options didn't add any additional profit for them. So if the base model was 1K above invoice, so was the loaded version of the same car.

The car I ended up with (3 series coupe bmw) was a new release and not available through the site yet; I was already 60 days into the 90 day wait from the factory through a dealer. I didn't order through them because I wasn't willing to wait an additional 90 days; I needed to sell the old car before a major problem came up. Having also looked at the 5 series - I can say that you can get an excellent deal through their site - saving up to about 12K off MSRP if I recall correctly.

You should really reconsider the BMW - I'll certainly never get another American or Japanese car again! Driving is always a pleasure now...

[This message has been edited by Frisco (edited 05-17-2000).]

[Joez]

Thanks for the input Frisco,

Your're right, the 5 Series is a great car.

[signu459]

So did you get one yet??

[Joez]

Hi Sig,

Not yet. Three weeks to go; I'm still getting all my coins into those wrappers!

I'll let you know.

[signu459]

Sounds like your gonna need a truck before you get a car. The cars your looking at aren't cheep that will be a lot of coins.

If I hear of a penny shortage I'll be coming after you.

[Reef Junkie]

Joe,
I'm with Frisco. I bought a 3 series BMW in 1998 and I'm still in love with the car. It's not a matter of driving like a lunatic all the time, but just the assurance that if you need to make a sharp turn(avoid an accident) the car will handle it without a problem. I've avoided some serious accidents with my car. It handles like a slot car. Plus, it's a real head turner.
Later,
Bill

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http://www.homestead.com/reefjunkie/highenergy.html

[Joez]

I know what you mean Bill.

But a BMW combined with my good dashing looks may cause traffic problems!

j/k of course!

The 5 is still under consideration.

[Joez]

Epilog:

I bought an Acura 3.5 RL. It is the best combination (for me) of comfort, reliability, and value.

I was all set to buy it from Carsdirect.com because they had the best price of the online car-buying sites. But, just for the heck of it, I tried Autobytel.com It's a service that hooks you up with a nearby dealer and is supposed to get good prices for you.

Well, the Autobytel.com-associated dealer nearby gave me a price $600 less than carsdirect.com. I did all of the dealing via e-mail (color, accessories, the little dog for the back with the bobbing head, etc.), then went in to do the paperwork. It was a great experience. It was also the dealer I did a test drive with earlier in the process.

The dealer did want to sell me a color they had on the lot (which was not what I wanted). When I found that another dealer had the colors I wanted, I told the Autobytel.com dealer, and they magically found the colors I wanted.

So that's my online car buying experience. It's still very important to do your own research, but I found this very satisfying.

[signu459]

Congrats on your new baby.... in mean car.

And a great one at that! I will have you know that more than likely a good portion of the steel thats in you new Acura was sold to Honda/Acura by me. Small world huh :D

BTW if it rusts it's not my fualt....he he

That will be long time anyhow!