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Online Car Buying?

Posted by Cliff on from the opinions-and-experiences dept.

MattF asks: "Anyone willing to share experiences using any of the online dealers such as carorder.com or carsdirect.com? I'm looking to buy a new car and am considering purchasing through one of these sites since you don't seem to have to deal with a salesperson trying to sell me something I don't want. "

7 comments

  1. Article at Fast Company by PrecisionLinux · · Score: 1

    The latest issue of Fast Company has an article featuring Tom and Ray of NPR's Car Talk. They discuss some common-sense approaches to car shopping on the Internet.

  2. CarsDirect.com by draziw · · Score: 1

    Two people I work with used . One of the car orders was for a new Volvo S40 right after they came out. The Volvo took longer to get, and was built just for her. Both people were very happy with the price, service, and cars they got. The cars were delivered to work for the people that ordered them - kinda cool

    In some cases you can get a better price if you are willing to haggle at a local dealer. My dad ended up getting a Camry for a few hundred less than the carsdirect price by going to a local dealer.

    1. Re:CarsDirect.com by daviddennis · · Score: 2

      Cars Direct strikes me as a little pricey for the high-end European cars I fancy (but have not yet acquired). I asked them about this, and it looks like they are really much better geared up to focus on the massive middle instead of the high end.

      It wouldn't hurt to visit your local dealer armed with the CarsDirect price and see if you can improve on the deal. I kinda like being able to see, feel and pinch the car before purchase anyway.

      D

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  3. edmunds.com by calvid · · Score: 2

    Though you can't actually buy a car there, edmunds.com has lots of great information available. They may have more info about buying online now, I haven't been there since I bought my car last year.

    1. Re:edmunds.com by bluGill · · Score: 3

      I'll second the Edmunds advice. I also used Kelly's blue book when I bought my car

      Most dealers are onto the internet. That is they know that you know their price. Some (but by no means all) have realised that you know their fair profit and try to get things done quickly at a good price. After all, if you know their numbers they have to haggel different.

      Two days ago I test drove a '95 S10. I liked it, so I drove it home, hit the internet and looked up the values. I then walked into the dealer with the knowledge of what they paid and what they expected to get it for. Since I knew my trade in better then them I was able to make them an offer that included a fair profit for them and a good price for me. I was out in an hour (and it only took that long because my trade-in was in my dads name yet, so I had wait for him to get that paperwork)

      I would recomend using your local dealer first. That is do the research on the internet, and then walk into the lcoal dealer and make a fair offer. If they don't take it walk - if they don't call back in a day changing their mind (This is a common practice) check the internet. Although dealers are big buisness, they are local, and I like to support the local guy if possibal.

  4. CraOrder is OK by nik_t · · Score: 1

    I bought a car via CarOrder.com, and reasonably happy with the buying process. Prices were good, and I liked that I could do most of the stuff via email. There was some initial delay with returning my emails, but no problems other than that. I picked the car from one of dealers in my area about 10 days after starting to deal with CarOrder (I was very specific about the specs I wanted to get).

    CarsDirect quoted substantially higher price, and autobytel people have never contacted me back. So, if the price is good, I would certainly recommend CarOrder (unless you really enjoy haggling with dealers on your free time).

  5. AutoWeb and AutoByTel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    First off I've got to reiterate that you need to check out Edmunds. An amazing resource.

    I used www.autoweb.com a few years ago to find a used Miata. The ability to basically grep the classifieds is very cool. I found a long list of the exact car I was after and the price was fair.

    More recently I tried www.autoweb.com and www.autobytel.com to find a new car. Within a few months I was looking at Honda Civic hatchbacks and Volkwagen Beetles and simply had a terrible time using both services. None of the local dealers that I was asssigned to ever contacted me. After a few days I would always get a note from the corporation asking if I'd been satisfied with the service. I always wrote back explaining that I hadn't heard anything and even then never was able to hook up with a dealer that was any help. Based on my experiences I passed on their stock when they both went public.

    I saw CarsDirect.com at Comdex and it sounds like a good deal. They don't have to dump you in the hands of a local dealer, they control the entire process. I plan on giving them a shot next time I'm in the market to buy a car.