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First of all, is the vehicle you want common or somewhat rare? The more specific you are about what you want, the more likely you may have to travel to get it at the best price.
If there is a significant price difference then you need to make the personal decision if it is enough to warrant traveling that particular distance. I have purchased vehicles in Dallas, Hartford, CT. and Boston area and drove them home to Wisconsin. What I wanted was cheaper there than at home. In one case the Suburban was $4,000 - 5,000 less than anything within 200 miles (including Chicago). Gas prices had spiked in the east coast and dealers were giving away Suburbans and full size utilities. For a $100 airplane ticket and ~$350 in tolls/gas I saved close to $3500 over anything close to home.
Dealers who push off service for local purchasers are foolish. Service money spends the same regardless of where the vehicle was purchased.
Trbstang- I am surprise you go outside of Houston for good price. Houston and Dallas has some of the lowest price in the country..
I buy cars for the hell of it, all the time.
Want to buy me one? I need a new Mustang GT premium- Ruby red/black with performance pack. Just can't afford more than a Corolla payment right now!
I've gone out of Houston for 4 cars, 3 used and one new. I'm pretty particular on what I want, and look until I find one at the best price. And all of these I've not had to negotiate on them at all. Their internet or offered price over the phone was good enough for me to jump on the deals.
'07 EB Explorer in '08, 21K miles w/3rd row, $34K sticker, Ford certified, $17,900 in Ft Worth. Houston dealers wanted $22-23K for the same specs. It was a rental, and had some previous hail damage, but no way you could ever tell. Looked brand new.
'10 Vibe GT in '12, 36K, red, in Corsicana, TX for $12,400. No buyers of small dead brand cars there so it sat for 2 months. Houston dealers, if they had them, were $14K or so.
'14 Rogue SV, new. ~10% under sticker. Daughter wanted red and beige, and the only one around was in San Antonio. Houston dealers blew me off until the next week to pick it up or did not want to deal "since it is a new model and in demand", so I called the internet manager in SA, got a better price (told him to "make it worth my time to drive there!"), and we picked it up the next day for her b-day.
'03 Vibe GT, private party, 207K for $2,900. Well maintained adult owned in excellent condition except for roof and hood paint/clear coat. Nothing could compare locally and I looked for several weeks. Great little car.
A little while back I was looking at new Yukon Denalis. I went to a big city 200mi away, did a test drive and got a quote. I tested there because it was at an automall with a couple other makes I wanted to test as well, a one stop shop. I went to my local dealer and told them I liked supporting a local business and if they could come within $1k of the big city dealer, I'd buy from them. Local dealer wanted $8k more and would not budge. After hearing that, I walked straight out the door.
I didn't end up buying a Denali in the end, but it was a valuable lesson. For me to fly anywhere and pick something up is probably around $200 for a plane ticket and another $300 for food and lodging along the way back. So $500. I would probably have to save a net $2000 before that became practical.
I will probably travel at least several hundred miles away to buy a used Toyota Previa or Sienna when I'm ready to buy one to turn into a mini-camper. Oddly, they are much cheaper and with less mileage when I look farther away, such as around Portland or Boise. Especially the AWD models. So, when I'm ready, I'll probably do a mini-vacation, including renting a car, and it will still be worth it.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
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I traveled from Nor Cal to Houston to buy a used 97 viper gts. Flew in and drove it back to Ca. Saved about $8,000 so to me it was well worth it.
For the right amount I would go cross country if needed.
We bought a car over the internet, because this model (Prius Touring) was not sold in the Southeast. It was shipped to us from Newport, RI, no problems at all! It depends on the total package. I would not hesitate to go afar for something that is a good deal or desirable...
Travel costs + what your time is worth. If that exceeds the savings, it's not worth the trip.
For a 2 hour trip, I'm assuming that's about 100 miles. At the current GSA vehicle per mile allowance of 57.5 cents per mile, that's $115. You've got to drive your new car home, so that's another $57.50. If you bring someone else with you to pick up the new car, you're spending 8 hours of time. If you both take home $50 per hour at you jobs, that's $400. Therefore, it would be worth it if you saved $457.50.
In other words, it's simple math from an empirical standpoint. However, as others have pointed out, the uniqueness of the vehicle and how badly you want it are also factors - but that's a personal decision.
Travel costs + what your time is worth. If that exceeds the savings, it's not worth the trip.
For a 2 hour trip, I'm assuming that's about 100 miles. At the current GSA vehicle per mile allowance of 57.5 cents per mile, that's $115. You've got to drive your new car home, so that's another $57.50. If you bring someone else with you to pick up the new car, you're spending 8 hours of time. If you both take home $50 per hour at you jobs, that's $400. Therefore, it would be worth it if you saved $457.50.
In other words, it's simple math from an empirical standpoint. However, as others have pointed out, the uniqueness of the vehicle and how badly you want it are also factors - but that's a personal decision.
This is well documented in the book "The Millionaire Next Door," You need to be concerned with the time value of money AND the money value of your time!
I had a guy years ago drive from Maine to Florida to buy a car I was selling. He was an older gentleman and wanted my specific car, he almost paid full asking price (18,000) for a 10-12 year old but it had very low miles (36,000). He drove his brother's car to the west coast of Florida, then took a Greyhound bus to the east coast and asked me to pick him up at the bus station (which I did). He then took a 20 minute ride back to my house (never actually test drove the car). Handed me a cashiers check from a local bank and left to drive back to Maine! He emailed a few days later to report the car ran great and to thank me for the car.
He wanted this specific model as he already drove one 300,000 miles and knew how to work on this particular car. He was going to keep his old car as a parts car/donor and start driving mine as a daily driver.
Crazy story but the money was good and I never saw the car again!
Me personally: I drove 3 hours to a dealer to buy 3 trucks in about a 15 month period. Guy was a straight shooter and the price was insane (10K+ off sticker). Local dealer was 3K off sticker and wouldn't budge. When I called he knew exactly what I wanted and it would be waiting there when I arrived.
First of all, is the vehicle you want common or somewhat rare? The more specific you are about what you want, the more likely you may have to travel to get it at the best price.
It's pretty common although not at that price.
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I need a new Mustang GT premium- Ruby red/black with performance pack. Just can't afford more than a Corolla payment right now!
