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I used one of those quote companies online. I filled out the information ON LINE. I expected: 1. Quotes; 2. ON LINE response.
What I got:
10 phone calls within the hour
ZERO quotes
The phone calls were inviting me to visit the dealership. If I wanted to do that, I would have done that. If I wanted to TALK ON THE FREAKING phone, I would have called my friends.
I still have no quotes. I have no way to respond to surveys that ask 1 question: Did DealerDumbo contact you? The answer is yes but it is worse than a NO. I DO NOT WANT PHONE CALLS. I am capable of dialing numbers, if I did.
So, aside from venting, does anyone know of a company (I used it 8 years ago when I bought my car) to get a quote, online?
Dealers can be irritating at times, i recently accompanied Mom to buy a new car, before the dealer will even talk price he wants your name, address and phone number, then when you get home the sales personnel are ringing your house morning noon and night.
I finally told Mom to give the next place no information and just talk about what the car comes with and how much it cost,well the guy got very insistent on wanting personal info and when he realized he wasnt going to get it he got rather rude and belligerent then stated the Nissan Murano we were interested in was going to cost $60K final Needless to say we went elsewhere and found a Toyota Dealer that didnt want all that personal info up front, Mom walked out with a brand new Toyota Rav4 Sport model..
I sometimes think these dealerships forget who's actually doing who a favor by buying a car off their lot, until i sign on that dotted line i call the shots,once i do sign i'm then subject to the integrity of the dealer.
When I bought my Toyota I did it completely online through Toyota.com. The entire deal was done, financing complete etc. I was contacted by a dealer that said we have the truck you requested in stock. Say the word and we'll run the paperwork... I gave them the OK to do so. By the time I got there the paperwork was ready and the truck was prepped. I walked in signed a few forms and walked out. Whole deal took 20 mins tops... Never talked to a sales guy, never met the sales manager or anything else. Dealt with the finance guy and that was it...
Some people have told me Toyota no longer offers that service but I have not tried again...
8 years ago we bought our Sportage - I got a quote online, went to see the car, dealer gave me a runaround about not having THAT car available, tried to get me to go for the 4wd and then pay extra for roof racks, etc. It was the end of freaking Dec. I am not paying extra for anything. If that's the car that's in stock, I'll take it, but I am not paying extra for what I do not want. And I specifically did not want 4wd or 6 cyl. So I walked when the salesman went to get the mgr. I got home and phone was ringing. Nasty woman. So I called a dealer they hadn't even gotten to give me a quote. I told him the price I had been quoted and asked if he'd meet that price. He said yup and I picked up the car next day. Dealership in another state so I returned only for the first year of free service. BTW, we pay cash for our cars. I do NOT tell dealership until it's time to pay.
E-mail the dealer directly. Don't use a service. Many dealerships have a manager directly in charge of internet relations, so e-mail that person. If they don't the fleet manager is always a good way to go. E-mail them a description of what you're looking for and be as specific as possible (Make, Model, Trim, Color, Accessories, etc).
Send that e-mail out to as many dealerships as you're comfortable going to for the car, then wait. Get the lowest quote, forward it to the next 2-3 lowest, and keep going round til someone says 'Uncle'.
My $.02. I've had a few friends whom have used methods similar to this and had it work out for them.
Alternatively, if you're willing to put in a little bit more work, you can do what I did a couple of months ago. Identify all the dealerships that you're willing to get to, go to their individual websites. Find the directory (though not all dealership websites will have one) and email the "Internet Sales Manager/Specialist" directly. If you want, you can just send one email and just include the email addresses of every dealership in the "TO" or "BCC" fields.
In your email, tell them EXACTLY what you want (color, style, accessories, etc.), ask for the out-the-door (OTD) price that includes tax, title, fee, etc., give them your zip code only, when you expect to pick up the car, etc. Do not include your phone number (or they'll be bombarding you with calls), tell them to ONLY communicate via email. If any refuses to give you a quote or tells you that they'll match or beat whatever price you get as long as you bring the other party's quote into their place, then skip them because they're just trying to bait-and-switch you (easier in person than committing to a written quote). Warning: I suggest making an entirely new email account/address for this sole purpose only because you may end up stuck on their advertising distribution list. This way, once you're done, you can get rid of the address.
Anyway, I emailed ALL the Honda dealerships in my state (small state so only about 20 total) and received a response rate of slightly over 50%. Eventually got a 2011 Civic LX Sedan for an awesome $16,700 OTD cash only transaction at the end of March (highest quoted price was $19,700, so I got a huge range of prices by doing this).
Last edited by psychofan; 07-13-2011 at 08:21 AM..
whiteboyslo and psychofans approach are the right way to go if you want to do the competitive quote via email thing. A lot of people are trying this method, so some dealers are getting a little resistant to it, just ignore the ones who are. The ones who respond are going to be the higher volume dealers and the hungry dealers.
Another piece of advice is to do this during the last few days of the month with the promise of closing the deal before the end of the month as long as the quote is acceptable. The dealers that are needing to push inventory to meet quotas will be all over it and willing to deal.
Thanks so much - good advice and I'm on it - if only hubby hadn't just called and said he wanted me to check out the Hyundai SUV.
Back to the drawing board and off to do a road test.
I want a new car but hubby wants used. We have had the best experience with this KIA that I can't see going used now. I will not finance a vehicle and the prices have gone up since we bought this. We will need a slightly more powerful vehicle as we will be doing some light towing - besides, I don't think Sportage even comes as a 4cyl anymore. What a pleasure this car has been.
I was hoping it would last repair free for the next 8 years but I think that's asking a lot.
I am going through this now. But I emailed the dealers directly. Not one phone call because I didn't give my phone number. I asked for the dealer's bottom line price on a particular vehicle. I would say 80% gave me a quote and 20% wanted me to call or come in. I scratched those off the list. I probably got quotes from 25 dealers. I would say 20 of them were within $500 of each other. 4 were much higher and one was a lot cheaper (over a $1,000).
Make sure you ask them for what the dealer fees are as well. Some of them offer you a good price and then make it up in made up fees.
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Needless to say we went elsewhere and found a Toyota Dealer that didnt want all that personal info up front, Mom walked out with a brand new Toyota Rav4 Sport model..
