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Car Buying Service-Any experiences!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by gunguy05, Aug 24, 2008.

  1. gunguy05

    gunguy05 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2008
    61
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    Location:
    Georgia
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Has anyone here used a car buying service to purchase a new prius.... or any other car for that matter. I have looked at carsdirect, which doesn't offer services in my area. Also the capital one auto buying service. Let me first say that i absolutely HATE going to the dealer. I think i actually like the dentist better... at least i don't feel like the dentist is trying to screw me!! Any advice or experiences with them. WHat about trades, wonder how that works.
     
  2. FrankZ

    FrankZ New Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2008
    65
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    Location:
    Duluth, GA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    I got my Prius in June through Car Solutions, through my Credit Union. Easy as can be. I've bought several cars now using this service and each purchase was a good experience. Never had to set foot in a dealership and play that unpleasant game with the jackals that work in them. And in the case of the Prius, I was probably among the last in this area to pay below MSRP (slightly-but still below).
     
  3. amichel

    amichel New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2008
    16
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    Location:
    Chattanooga
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    I bought my car through the dealer, but had only email and phone contact with him until the day I walked in and paid for and picked up the car. We had already agreed on the price online, so there was no haggling. It was MSRP, of course. I had to finance, so I had already arranged that and had the check with me. It only took about half an hour at the dealership, and most of that was the salesperson showing me some of the cool stuff about the Prius. Most dealership have an internet sales department, and I highly recommend going that route. Very stress-free.:)
     
  4. Eunurse

    Eunurse New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2008
    32
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    Location:
    Orange County Ca
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    I purchased my last car, a honda crv, using Cars.com. They had you select several dealers in your area and gave you the cost you should expect to pay and then the dealers call with $. This was not available for the Prisu when I decided to buy as all teh dealers in so. cal were charging $3-5K over MSRP or I would have used the site. A friend used a broker service for his Prius but this was in Dec '07, did not pay over MSRP and was very pleased with the firm he used.
     
  5. SW03ES

    SW03ES Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2004
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    Location:
    Gaithersburg, MD
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Car brokers are great, I actually looked into starting a car brokerage.

    Really the people they benefit are folks that hate, and are not good at the whole car sales negotiation thing. If you really do your research and you know what the car you're looking at is selling for in your area, you can probably do as well or better on your own. The Prius is a weird circumstance because of the demand, but when I bought the Lexus I went straight through the internet sales department at several dealers. I ordered the car, hammered out the deal and everything over email and never even met the gal until I walked in to pick up the car. It was great.

    BUT I had the time and inclination to do all that research, and I know a lot about the car sales industry in general...

    For someone who doesn't...car brokers are a great choice
     
  6. Rest

    Rest Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2005
    1,210
    53
    2
    Location:
    CA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    You really don't need a car broker of any kind. A computer with Internet access is all you need. Make the emails yourself to find a good price.
     
  7. zaxinc

    zaxinc New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2006
    67
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    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    At the risk of sounding like I'm spamming or adverstising, a guy I know does this. I recommended a neighbor and a co-worker to his website. They had no complaints. I'm not a newbie, nor do I get anything out of this.

    http://www.accoladeapbs.com/home.html

    Dealing with car salesmen can be a traumatic experience and a real turn off, so I can see why people would use these services.

    I actually went through Costco and got $500 off the Prius.
     
  8. kohnen

    kohnen Grumpy, Cranky Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2007
    317
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    Location:
    Fullerton CA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Yup. In April '07, I bought my Prius by e-mailing all of the retailers in my area, telling them that I wanted an 07 Package 6 Prius, and wanted the out-the-door price.

    I got some form letter "Come on down and we'll talk" responses. I sent those folks a second e-mail followed by a phone call saying: "On this day, I will buy a Prius with Package 6 from the lowest priced dealer. If you're that dealer, I'll buy from you. If you don't give me a best and final offer, you won't get the business."

    I got a few thousand below MSRP, and was very happy.

    (That was April 07 in CA, just after the DMV stopped issuing car pool stickers, so there was a fair amount of extra stock on the lots).