I'm an Auto Club member and instead of going through a dealership (or multiple) directly, I was thinking of using the AAA Car Buying service. Has anyone done that? What's your experience been like (good or bad)?
When I was in the market, signed up with both AAA and Costco- would not have saved more than 3 or 400, but I did get a much better deal locally because they wanted my business.
I joined Costco for the sole purpose of using their car buying service. My advice? In the immortal words of Nancy Reagan "Just say no". There are four Toyota dealers here in the valley. Only one participates. I never saw the invoice. I never saw the special Costco price. Basically all Costco did was serve as an introduction to the Internet Department. I could have found them on my own. The only good that came out of it was Costco sent me an email with a voucher for $200 at the Parts/Service counter. I don't think they did this out of the kindness of their heart. What I want to know is how much money did they make off of me? I ended up paying $21,690.51 out the door for a 2012 Model 2 in early February this year. Sales tax and official fees ($28.25) totalled $1,651.42 making the base price of the car $20,039.09 Car came with floor/trunk mats and bumper protector from the factory and door edge guard, body side moldings and window tint installed at dealership.
I have no expereience with AAA. However with Costco, I guess it depends. When my husband was looking to buy his leaf, Costco connected him with a dealership in the area and a voucher for $2000 off their price. He took this voucher to a different dealer, and because they wanted the business, they also honored it.
GEICO has one that they use and I tried it out. I believe it was TrueCar. Got a fantastic deal on my Prius and got a nice bidding war started. I also did the Consumer Reports Car Report to essentially show me how I low I could go in negotiations which helped immensely too. Would go that route again without a doubt. I didn't pay extra at all...it was included with my insurance and I am sure that many car insurance companies have the same thing.
Love the write-up. It was very similar to my experience. In order to use the service, you need to be ready to buy a car like yesterday. I did insist that they contacted me via e-mail, and they would still call, but I didn't answer. So, I would really recommend doing that. It is not fun receiving constant calls and trying to keep what dealer you are talking to straight. Plus, I don't like keeping a notepad with me at all times because I don't like typing on my phone! Get everything in writing!
Although I ended up not buying a car through one of their dealers (it was the early days of the C and none had exactly what I wanted), I was quite satisfied with CarWoo's procedures. Their dealers contact you *only* by email through the site and do not have your phone number or actual email address unless you give it to them.
I tried the auto-buying service from my credit union. I sent them an e-mail, but after a week, I got no response. So yesterday, I went through the AAA buying service (via their web site). They sent the info to a local dealership and I got a response that night and was contacted the next morning. They have what I want in stock (right model, right color, right options with a few items they can add). I will test drive it on Saturday.
OK, I got it! I got it at their invoice price. Some of the accessories (rear bumper applique and body side moldings) to be added later. FYI, C4 in blue streak metallic, with sunroof.
