Buying new car over the internet

[DuckMuck]

Hello everybody,

I bought a vacation home in the Phoenix, Arizona area and I want to equip it with a vehicle. So lately, because I am located in Vancouver, BC at the moment, I have been doing a lot of "internet car shopping" and price comparisons using edmunds.com, carsdirect.com, etc. Basically, these services send my request for a car and options to various dealerships in the Phoenix area, and they give back a reasonable quote...no haggling or dealing with salesmen at the dealership...once the price is a agreed upon, I walk into the dealership, check the car over, pay, and drive off with the vehicle within a couple of hours (provided it is in stock)...very simple...

At first, I was considering getting a new Honda Civic Hybrid Sedan...or a Honda Civic EX Sedan...but the quotes I got back did not have any significant discounts (couple of hundreds at most) because the cars are so new and in high demand lately...so I started looking for a new Nighthawk Black Pearl/Black Honda Accord EX-L Coupe...apparently, Accord sales are kinda slow lately, so there are a lot of dealer discounts...anyhow, the BEST price I got from the internet quotes is $21,896US (destination fee included)...the MSRP + destination fee is $25,600US (according to Edmunds)...so that represents a savings of around $3704US or around 14.46%...is this a good price or discount for such a vehicle? I think when I bought my Mercedes new from the dealership 10 years ago, I barely got any discount at all...for those who have done the internet vs. going into the dealership directly comparison, did you find an advantageous saving dealing through the internet?

Also, because American car insurance is privatized and there are many insurance companies, can anybody recommend a good site to compare rates, or any strategies on finding the best insurance rates? Thank you for any feedback...

[Mike Murrell]

My 2 cents - been there.

You're better off going in and going thru the old fashioned "haggle". Sorry, but that's just how it is.

In life, one must fight for every little crumb and buying a car is a classic example of this.

There are no "significant" savings in buying a car over the WEB. If you believe so, you are either lazy or short on time.

Duck Muck - I'm not suggesting you're lazy; hope you get my point.

[Jim B.]

Soliciting bids over the internet can be interesting, I tried to help a neighbor get a new Honda Civic that way once, and would have saved her only $100, but then that was several years ago, things could be different now

The internet still helps with quick research on prices and options, but not so much with factory to dealer incentives, advertising fees, individual dealer sales schemes (whether salesmen paid by unit sales or commissions) demand for the particular car at the time and how many the dealer has in stock at the time and whether you happen to go in when they are really hungry to make a sale, such as tghe last day of the month.

Going in in person can usually net you the best deal possible. I personally wouldn't begrudge a salesman (woman) a reasonable commission, providing I could hope for excellent PDI service, and good care after the sale also.

I would rather have the car with the colors and options I wanted rather than get something just "close" and beat the dealer down to the last nickel for a unit I din't especially like.

Sometimes the dealer can "trade" cars with another nearby dealer to get you a car in the right color/extras, but then you will have to take delivery with a car with more mileage on it.

I'd suspect there is more than one dealer in the Phoenix/Scottsdale/Glendale/Tucson area from which to choose, so the odds are pretty good you can find something you really like.

For insurance, though, what worked for me was to find a carrier that was reasonable, and stay with them a long time, and eventually got loyalty discounts from them. (In my case it was State Farm)

[Mistress]

Originally Posted by Mike Murrell

My 2 cents - been there.

You're better off going in and going thru the old fashioned "haggle". Sorry, but that's just how it is.

In life, one must fight for every little crumb and buying a car is a classic example of this.

There are no "significant" savings in buying a car over the WEB. If you believe so, you are either lazy or short on time.

Duck Muck - I'm not suggesting you're lazy; hope you get my point.

Agreed. Dealing with someone in person has it's advantages, you can get a certain sense about the transaction. Before I finalized the transaction for my Mercedes, I cut the cashiers check for several hundred dollars below the asking price and the owner accepted it. Something about being there in person was the key. Call Liberty Mutual (they are less expensive and you get a person on the phone not a recording) for your car insurance and stay away from Progressive, they are involved in several law suits for non-payment on claims.

[Dee8go]

Yeah, I tend to think the methods that are commonly believed to yield the best deals often have caveats or some smoke and mirrors that end up making the deal less advantageous than the one you might have made in person. Even though the haggling can be a pain in the butt.

As far as insurance goes, I have found Liberty Mutual's rates to be very good. It may vary by states. I don't know for sure about that. Giving them your home owner's insurance business, too, will usually result in some additional savings as well.

Good luck with all of it.