Thumbs UP for TrueCar!

[Nessism]

Shopping for a new vehicle so signed up for Consumer Report for access to their reviews. Narrowed down the search and then requested quotes via the CR TrueCar link. Within a day or so I had written quotes via email. TrueCar has historical sales price data so you can compare your quote against sales transactions for the same vehicle. I took the lowest quote and tried to get another dealer to match/beat it and they refused. Sales guy told me to go buy the car since that deal was very good. So I did. Prior to requesting pricing through TrueCar I visited a dealer right near my home and the sales guys were monumental A-holes. They were pressuring me to "take a car home today" from the first minute I started talking to them. Maybe I got lucky but the price I received through TrueCar was excellent and it eliminated all the BS price negotiating at the dealer. My sales guy does all the internet sales, including those for Costco and the like. I asked him about Costco and he told me that the price I got was less. At any rate, I give the process a big thumbs up for BS elimination.

 

[razel]

Wholly agree. Just bought a car recently as well. I think it was carsdirect or cars.com that also had a great chart showing price/mile and where the car you are interested in lies compared to others it currently lists.

However if I end up finding that same car on TrueCar, then sometimes if your car insurance company has a truecar affiliate, you'll get an additional discount (eg. allstate.truecar.com). It's often $100-$500. Also it's been a trend lately (1-2 years) that Internet prices for car dealers are final, so it just makes TrueCar's discount more valuable.

The only other issue I ran into was when purchasing, those additional fees they tack on. I got dinged $680 for some anti-theft guarantee crap. Dealer said I couldn't return it, but luckily through that theft company I was able to get a prorated refund. Take notice of those fee and don't sign that car sale long paper slip until they remove it. They cannot add things to your cart without them telling you.

 

[slugg]

When I bought my ND Miata, I beat TrueCar's price by over $3k.

TrueCar just seems like yet another avenue for spam, if you ask me.

 

[NutBucket]

It used to be better before they partnered up with dealerships.

 

[Raizinman]

Their biggest red flag is that they work with the dealership and are paid by the dealerships. Not the consumer. They are in business to keep the dealerships happy, not the consumer!


Let’s take an example: Let’s say you want to purchase vehicle ABC. It’s MSRP is $48,000. The dealer cost is $40,000. The dealer will be happy to sell this vehicle all day for $45,000. Now, it is the end of the month, quotas have not been bet and new models are due in a few days. Someone comes in and offers $41,000 on this vehicle. The dealership accepts this price (when they normally would not). Do they tell TrueCar? Of course not. They don’t want everyone coming in wanting to purchase this same vehicle for $41,000. They only tell TrueCar the information they want.


Discounts from one dealer to another can be big. One inner city dealer where rent is very high might have a small inventory and sell cars at a higher price. Another dealer outside the city might have a large inventory and work on quantity in selling cars. The bottom line is: You don’t need a middle man like TrueCar pushing you to their dealers. You can do better on your own. If you search the Internet you can find lots of cases of where people bought cars much cheaper than TrueCar. Just do your homework, shop and negotiate.


The biggest downfall of TrueCar is that they work for the dealership. Right out of the box, they are bias against the consumer.

 

[NutBucket]

But don't forget the average American doesn't like to bargain so True Car may still work out well for them.

 

[slugg]

But don't forget the average American doesn't like to bargain so True Car may still work out well for them.

They may think they're getting a deal, but they're not. Users of True Car think it worked out for them, but it really worked out for the dealer. Think what you want; truecar said my car was a smoking deal at almost $30k, but I did my homework and negotiated for myself and bought it for less than $26k.

 

[NutBucket]

Again, you negotiated. If you don't like to negotiate all bets are off and you may do better going through True Car than just walking in off the street.

 

[slugg]

Again, you negotiated. If you don't like to negotiate all bets are off and you may do better going through True Car than just walking in off the street.

What Raizinman and I are saying is that TrueCar is equivalent to just walking in off the street. TrueCar works for the dealers, not the consumers. If you pay TrueCar prices, you are paying dealer asking prices.

One thing that has changed somewhat is that now some dealers take online sales seriously. If you don't want to negotiate, you can email 20 dealers (make sure to email their actual online sales rep) and tell them you're asking for quotes from 20 dealers. Tell them you won't negotiate, but that you will immediately buy the car from the dealer with the lowest quote. Out of the 20 dealers that you email, maybe 5 will respond with an actual quote. I think you'll find that this quote will obliterate TrueCar. Then you can just walk in and buy the thing.

Me? I took that quote, brought it into a different dealer, and offered $1k less. They said no, so I walked out. They called me the next day and said they could do $800 less than the quote. I had them throw in a couple accessories and we made a deal. Easy peasy.

But hey, if you enjoy overpaying thousands of dollars, then True Car is a fantastic solution.

 

[Raizinman]

Again, you negotiated. If you don't like to negotiate all bets are off and you may do better going through True Car than just walking in off the street.

I often accompany my friends to assist with negotiating for new or used cars. I've been in that business my entire life. I know how the game is played. You certainly must know someone who can assist you when it comes time to buy or lease a car. I charge them a nice lunch after saving them literally thousands of dollars (because they are good friends).

This is the bottom line:
If they are playing the negotiation game and you are not, they will win every time (TrueCar or not).

 

[NutBucket]

Oh I agree. Negotiation is in my blood LOL.

 

[agent00f]

Dealers literally pay TrueCar for the referral. So all things equal that middleman money, some hundreds of dollars, is coming out of your pocket.

 

[postmortemIA]

Even better than TrueCar is finding forums with actual best prices paid.. you'll see that many beat TrueCar prices.

 

[Kaido]

It used to be better before they partnered up with dealerships.

Even better than TrueCar is finding forums with actual best prices paid.. you'll see that many beat TrueCar prices.

Yup, pays to research. Truecar started off good but has gotten a little cozy with the dealers. I was able to beat Truecar by about $1,500 on my last car. Still, Truecar has consistently saved $3,000 to $3,500 right off the bat of pretty much every car I looked at when car shopping. I had some fun letting the salespeople give their pitch & pricing and then whipping out the Truecar certificate for a few grand off

 

[Viper GTS]

The old TrueCar was better. The new one is worthwhile as a research tool but its primary use IMO is getting access to credit union special financing.

When I bought my RS in February below MSRP was simply not going to happen. The TrueCar pricing I got was ~$5k over MSRP. I ended up paying MSRP on February 28th at the dealer who had been most stubborn about wanting $5k over. But - Because the transaction was initiated through my credit union's car buying service (which used TrueCar) I got 1.74% financing. Ford Credit was offering 4.99% at the time. I'm not even sure the dealer ever fulfilled their part of it (paying TrueCar), all that mattered to my credit union was that it started through their site.

Viper GTS

 

[NutBucket]

Dealerships can finance through whoever they choose. Some are just lazy so they'll only finance through the manufacturer. Others would rather make whatever profit they can from selling the loan so they'll try to beat whatever rate quote you come in with.

I've had a dealer finance through a credit union before as it beat my credit union by a small amount. My current loan is through BofA even though Subaru's finance bank is Chase. It all just depends.

 

[Kaido]

Dealerships can finance through whoever they choose. Some are just lazy so they'll only finance through the manufacturer. Others would rather make whatever profit they can from selling the loan so they'll try to beat whatever rate quote you come in with.

I've had a dealer finance through a credit union before as it beat my credit union by a small amount. My current loan is through BofA even though Subaru's finance bank is Chase. It all just depends.

Sometimes it pays to go that route tho...my Subaru dealer only beat my bank by like .01%, but they threw in the gap insurance as an incentive to go through them, so that saved me a few bucks on my insurance every month, plus their gap insurance was separate from my insurance in case I ever wanted to change providers.

 

[WackyDan]

Here is some more advice... Consumer reports charges $15 for a sales report based on the model you are looking at, options and location.

When I bought my truck, I used TrueCar and those Consumer Reports to help zero in on whether the deal I got was good for me. That $15 was well spent.

I spent 3+ weeks going back and forth to dealers (Two Ford Dealers and two RAM dealers) and settled on the Ford. Went in the last day of the month as planned and told them the changes to the build sheet and that I would write them a check that day for deposit if they met my out the door price. The sales guy said they could probably get close. I said, there is no close... Either you let it go at that price out the door or no deal and I go to the other dealer.

Got my price... Which ended up being nearly 10k off MSRP and I ordered the truck as none of them on the lot had the bed length I wanted.

Bit of research and patience always pays off.

I might add... At no time did I tell them my profession, what my down payment would be, who I work for, whether or not I'd be trading in, etc. They asked, I told them it was irrelevant to the discussion. They asked about payments, all I asked for was the out the door price. In sales, the #1 rule is to let your customer talk... So when you go into those dealers, give them only what they need to find you the car you want.

I know some people don't like playing games or negotiating. Nobody is ever taking money from a dealer no matter how awesome they think they are but as long as they make a little and you get a decent deal, it is a win-win for all. I just don't get why people are willing to spend thousands extra for the sake of not negotiating.... These are probably the same people who take out upside down seven year loans on new cars... as well don't ask for raises or promotions at their jobs. Not my problem... Because of them paying extra, I can work a better deal.

 

[SNC]

WOW, I never knew people had such problems buying a car. When I buy a car I get a price I am comfortable with and email my sales guy at the dealer with that amount, and with what I need.
He responds with; its in stock or we need to order. If its there I stop over and hand the finance lady Ann, a check for the amount I gave the sales guy, sign some papers and leave with my new car. Why do people finance cars anyway? You pay an increasing amount on a thing that is decreasing in value every day.

 

[WackyDan]

WOW, I never knew people had such problems buying a car. When I buy a car I get a price I am comfortable with and email my sales guy at the dealer with that amount, and with what I need.
He responds with; its in stock or we need to order. If its there I stop over and hand the finance lady Ann, a check for the amount I gave the sales guy, sign some papers and leave with my new car. Why do people finance cars anyway? You pay an increasing amount on a thing that is decreasing in value every day.

Not everyone has the right financial sense or priorities. Not everyone can walk into the typical dealer and pay in full for a new or used vehicle. Numerous articles out there on how few americans even have $1000 saved for emergencies... much less large purchases.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Where are the more savvy of you actually doing price research? Mostly brand/make forums? I figure sites like KBB are almost as useless as TrueCar, nothing more than a starting point.

I bought my M5 private party for grossly below what it was worth and every other vehicle came from a family-owned dealer that no longer exists, so I've never really had to actually research much.

 

[slugg]

Bel

Where are the more savvy of you actually doing price research? Mostly brand/make forums? I figure sites like KBB are almost as useless as TrueCar, nothing more than a starting point.

I bought my M5 private party for grossly below what it was worth and every other vehicle came from a family-owned dealer that no longer exists, so I've never really had to actually research much.

Believe it or not, eBay is a good place to start and get a ballpark feel for the true value of a car, both used and new. You can see actual sale prices of sold cars over a period of time.

Next, I check forums for the particular make and/or model of the car.

If you're buying used, there's not much more you can do, other than get a feel for the value of the car. Every used car is different and it's very hard to make apples to apples comparisons.

But there's more you can do when buying new. I get LOTS of quotes from basically every dealer. You'll eventually see a pattern in the quotes; the low ones start to hover around a particular number. That's likely their "low margin, but still a profit" number. Wait for an opportune moment and buy the car below that number, like when they need to meet a quota to qualify for their manufacturer holdback. Just tell them "here's my number. I know you can do it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon. I'm not in a rush. When you're ready, call me, and if I haven't already bought it for this price from another dealer, I'll buy it from you."

Then just walk away.

It works.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Every used car is different and it's very hard to make apples to apples comparisons.

Yup this is the hard part, especially since it's very regional. Furthermore, Vegas inventory is complete garbage so I have to do all my shopping in LA which isn't that big a deal but still an added pain.

 

[agent00f]

Where are the more savvy of you actually doing price research? Mostly brand/make forums? I figure sites like KBB are almost as useless as TrueCar, nothing more than a starting point.

I bought my M5 private party for grossly below what it was worth and every other vehicle came from a family-owned dealer that no longer exists, so I've never really had to actually research much.

Generally speaking if you're a decent enough negotiator, the price at which salesmen are willing to let you walk is ~ their bottom line. Of course various dealer bottom lines varies so you still need to try different places.

 

[Scarpozzi]

There are a few car buying service links similar to Costco and others that I've used (when I was serious). Those car dealerships will blow up your phone and Email to get you on the line.

My local dealerships are the same way....full of it and trying to force the inventory they have on you....instead of listening to what you're looking for. I ended up driving 180 miles a state away to buy my 4Runner....and 30 miles away to buy my Honda Odyssey. We negotiated the sales price over the phone before I ever saw the vehicle I was buying. In both cases, I was more than pleased with the process despite how long the actual paperwork side of the process took.