It makes sense that contacting lots of dealers for quotes and then using those quotes to try to get lower quotes is a smart way to get a good price on a car, but how are people contacting the dealership? Sites like edumunds.com and cars.com allow you to fill out forms and then they send your message out to a few dealerships. Does anyone actually know who receives these e-mails? Is there a better method than using these sites? I've heard people say things like, "You should talk to the Fleet manager" or "You should talk to the internet sales guy". Are these the people that receive those e-mails from the car sites? Are buyers sending e-mail to fleet/internet sales people outside of the car site system? If so, how do they get that contact information? If it helps, I'm in Southern California (Santa Barbara).
i went to toyota's main site... then locate dealer.... put in my zip (or a zip in the area i was looking as i fanned out) and then from there went to the individual dealership sites.... each had an internet sales/get a quote area to fill out my name, number, which car, etc.....
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(desertbriez @ Jun 16 2007, 09:07 PM) [snapback]463289[/snapback]</div> Okay. That's what I was planning to do, I just wanted to make sure that there wasn't some better way that I was supposed to be contacting them that would be more productive (i.e., fleet people vs. sales people). Just out of curiosity, for the people that went through a process like this, were the dealerships pretty good about getting back to you via e-mail rather than calling you (if that was your preference)? I would really prefer not to talk on the phone with anybody until it's actually necessary (when I bought my MINI, my phone would ring off the hook each time I did anything on the dealer page). Thanks!
the fleet people usually are the "internet" people (at least further south here in socal!) they all pretty much wanted a call.... they'd call and leave a message or email saying to contact them....
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MINI Driver @ Jun 17 2007, 12:16 AM) [snapback]463297[/snapback]</div> I filled out the form at edmunds and began getting emails and phone calls almost immediately. I mentioned that I preferred to be contacted by email, but a few called anyway. I imagine every dealer is different, tho, so my experience might not be yours (I'm at the opposite end of the country).
I too went through Edmunds.com. I sent the generic request for a quote and within a few hours I had replies from 5 local dealers wanting to know exactly what I was looking for. I replied I wanted Magnetic Gray pacakage #5. Most emailed back, but one called. I had quotes from mid $23K to the high $24's. Each email quote I got came from the fleet/internet department. When I finally made a decision, I called the rep and said I be there in the morning to pick up the car. No haggling. No hassels. I was out the door in about an hour. This is the 2nd car I've purchased this way and see no reason to stop in the future. I hate the ideal of having to negotiate a price in person. When I'm at home on the internet I have so many more resources at my finger tips that I can make a well informed decision. The guy I bought my car from said he doesn't get paid a commission of the sales price. Instead he gets paid by the amount of units he sells. Good luck
this was our second time using the internet to buy a car, too..... i did notice that last time (when we were buying our acura) that we got mostly emails, as requested with quotes.... then a couple follow-up phone calls.... this time, with the prius..... i didn't get any emails with quotes.... all phone calls (emails saying to call for a quote.... then finally one dealership did send a quote via email... but that was one out of 10-15 dealerships i contacted (i contacted a LOT of dealerships because i was adament about getting magnetic grey and apparently they are/were hard to come by!) i'm impressed with the whole email/internet thing.... both times the dealerships we chose were truly no-hassle once we got to the dealership! (now if i just didn't have to deal with the ICKY, CREEPY, PUSHY salesmen when i'm in the looking mode... just wanting to test drive and "kick the tires"! )
I reaserched what I wanted. I Just popped in at a dealer and went for a quick ride. Then went to the main Toyota site, put in zip, name etc for 3-4 dealers. Some responded with ''what can i do for you?". I was disappointed 'cus I clearly stated what I specifically wanted etc. Some responded, some did not. Finally one came back with Everything requested and a realistic price. We had an initial meeting. But....hummn that car had been sold, But we have these avail....... No I'll order and wait. SALESMAN WAS GREAT, RESPONDED TO E-MAILS AND PHONE CALL EACH AND EVERY TIME. hE DID WHAT HE SAID HE WOULD DO. However the dealership turned out to be a confusing and time consuming operation. Moral to the story ---use the internet first-researchwhat you want and stick to it....Know what you want !!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pixeltaker @ Jun 16 2007, 11:30 PM) [snapback]463337[/snapback]</div> This is pretty much my thinking exactly. Why go sit in someone's office with no way to check on what they say when I've got the whole friggin' internet at my fingertips here at home? We (the car is for my wife) are looking for Magnetic Grey #2, which, as people have metioned, seems to be in short supply, so I think our bargaining power will be slightly reduced (we might not be able to wait for a car to be ordered), but I'm excited about contacting lots of folks. Thanks, everyone, for your tips. We'll be canvassing LA dealerships via e-mail next week!
After you pick a dealer and salesman, give them a deposit and let them "so called --order it". My guy said 30 days , I said OK. He called me in less than two weeks. They located one at the port, shipped in less than 4-5 days from that time.. Good luck.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(desertbriez @ Jun 17 2007, 11:16 AM) [snapback]463430[/snapback]</div> Rent one - another PriusChat member suggested this and it was a great way to try it out. Cost me about $75 total, I put nearly 300 miles on it in two days. No sales person bugging me, plenty of time to see if it fits in the garage, how it handles anywhere I feel like going, etc. Was a great way to do it. When looking for a rental I found that three out of five local Toyota dealers had rental facilities. I didn't talk to a car sales person at any point in the process.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Malarkey @ Jun 24 2007, 03:44 PM) [snapback]467372[/snapback]</div> Unless you can test drive a friend's Prius (I could and did), great idea -- assuming there is any uncertainty about wanting the car vs. how best to buy it. Phil
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dorf @ Jun 17 2007, 03:37 PM) [snapback]463545[/snapback]</div> What dealership in Little Rock did you work with? I'm looking for a Prius now and was wondering which dealership you felt was trustworthy?
