🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <2gql2ca.mzimmers@netcom.com>, mzimmers@netcom.com (Michael Zimmers) writes:
> This is a repost necessitated by some net.vandal who cancelled
> the original post this weekend.

Or perhaps someone who felt that it looked too much like an ad...
 
> I want to pass along what has simply *got* to be the best way to buy
> a new car/truck.  It's run by a not-for-profit group known as Consumers'
> Checkbook, and it's called Car Bargains.  Here's how it works:
 
> 1. Call them at 800 475 7283 and give them the make and model of the
>    car you're interested in.  At this time you'll also need to square
>    away a payment of $96 to them (this can be done via credit card).
 
They're charging you 96 bucks for this service? Doesn't sound so
great to me.

> 2. Within ten working days, they'll furnish you with bids for a markup
>    commitment from at least five local dealers (in my case they got 11).
>    These bids include the charges for destination, advertising allowance,
>    document fees, and surcharges for getting a car from another lot, or
>    ordering one from the factory.  Near as I can see, there are no
>    variables left for them to juke you with.

Two weeks, an awful long time to wait. 
 
> 3. Pick the low bidder, or a near-low bidder who's very close to your home,
>    and visit them.  Blow off the salesleaze and ask for the sales manager.
>    Show him the bid for a reminder.
 
> 4. Peruse the selections and choose the car that suits your tastes for
>    color and options.  This is the beauty of Car Bargains -- because of
>    the markup commitment, all options are yours at dealer cost.
 
> 5. Arrange financing or payment and drive off.
 
> Car Bargains will also give you some information about your current
> vehicle's value, as well as what the dealer is likely to offer.  They
> throw in some tips about financing and extended service plans, and in
> general it's the best $96 a car shopper can spend.  No hassle, no garbage
> from the dealer, and a great price.  Because the car I bought is a new
> body style and very "hot", I paid $1200 over cost.  The friend who
> turned me onto Car Bargains recently got a BMW 325i for $495 over cost,
> and I suspect that this is a representative figure.
 
> For the Bay Area residents, let me throw in a plug for Val Strough Mazda
> in Seaside.  Their sales manager, Mark Brosseau, is a real breath of
> fresh air -- professional, low pressure, and accomodating.  Anyone
> considering a Honda or Mazda should give him a chance to earn the 
> business (using, of course, the Car Bargains service).

Let me offer an alternative way which is probably better: Check
with you local AAA, membership warehouse, credit union, etc. to
see if they have a program where you can deal with fleet managers
(Auto Club of So Cal and Pace Membership Warehouse both offer the
service). If you aren't a member of the appropriate group,
joining is likely to be less than $96 and will carry other
benefits (e.g., emergency road service, the priviledge to buy
salsa by the gallon). If you don't have access to an org which
can give you a referral, don't sweat it... I doubt that any fleet
manager would turn away your business.

Before you get the referral slips, find out what kind of car you
want. Read Consumer Reports or whatever other sources of
information you can get a hold of. Stop by the appropriate
dealership(s) and get the glossy brochure. This is useful if only
to give you some idea of what the options and colors are. Decide
what you want from this, but be flexible. (E.g., I wanted a
silver Miata with ABS. There was none to be had so I settled for
white.)

Now, go to AAA, Pace, wherever and get the dealer referral.
They'll give you somewhere between 1 and 5 depending on who they
are but you can always go back for more. Referrals have
expiration dates but I've never seen anyone care. 

You'll contact the dealership yourself and talk to the fleet
manager. Tell him or her (a little under half of the fleet
managers I talked to were female... a much better fraction than
you'll see walking the floor) what you want and they'll be able
to give you prices over the phone (some may want you to come in
for the price, although generally it's more likely they don't
want to deal with you in person until you're ready to commit to a
purchase). The price quotes I got were the invoice price plus
markup plus taxes etc. Thus it was easy to tell who had the best
price since I knew exactly what the markup was. And yes, options
are at invoice price.

Next thing. If the car you want isn't on the lot, the fleet
manager will try to find one for you. In the case of my silver
Miata, I had a manager searching computer records for two weeks.
She finally found one on a boat, but I couldn't afford to wait
for it to clear customs and there was no guarantee that it wasn't
already spoken for.

Another hint. Get financing through your bank/credit union. You
will almost always get a better interest rate (especially if you
belong to a credit union) than you would through the dealer. Be
sure to let the fleet manager know that you have your own
financing. (Note: The one place where dealer financing can beat
the bank--but only in the short term--is in arranging a loan
when you can't make a big enough down payment.)

End result: I paid four or five hundred (I forget which) over
invoice on a 92 Miata in February. Is it possible to do better?
Yes. I could probably have cut that down to 300 over talking to
the sleaze on the floor and the manager, but it was worth a
couple hundred bucks to me just to avoid dealing with them.

-dh