OT: New car buying during Corvid

[buddybikes]

Our daughter, lives 2 day drive away, needs a new car. We have the means to handle situation, but actual bid/negotiation during this pandemic remotely is hard part. She currently has a 2007 Prius that is running ok, but battery getting old, and things can start to deteriorate (she is uncomfortable driving home due to this situation). A new Prius is what is desired, as used would be a risk and newer Prius's hold value least on retail level. I have begun email process, and see their standard discounts (750.00 and bit more online price). How do I takes things now to trade in her car and get best deal I can remotely?

I don't want her selling privately. She has UC and the on meds that concerns us from Corvid situation.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

thx

[AngryScientist]

my insurance company (USAA) has a car negotiating service. When we bought our van i just gave them the VIN number of the one i wanted and they negotiated the lowest price.

i believe some other places offer this service.

i believe i got a fair deal in this manner. i never buy new cars so this was a first for us and i think it worked out well as i hate the "let me talk to my manager" game.

[dbnm]

Costco also has a service for its members.

[Alan]

USAA uses True Car which anyone can use. See site at:

https://www.truecar.com/

You can contact the internet sales person at a dealer to get an email quote. Don't talk to a regular sales person as then they get a commission. Don't finance thru a dealer. Get your own prearranged from your bank or credit union. Ck Edmunds and other services for current market pricing.

Am sure others will add a lot to this.

Alan

[yinzerniner]

Our daughter, lives 2 day drive away, needs a new car. We have the means to handle situation, but actual bid/negotiation during this pandemic remotely is hard part. She currently has a 2007 Prius that is running ok, but battery getting old, and things can start to deteriorate (she is uncomfortable driving home due to this situation). A new Prius is what is desired, as used would be a risk and newer Prius's hold value least on retail level. I have begun email process, and see their standard discounts (750.00 and bit more online price). How do I takes things now to trade in her car and get best deal I can remotely?

I don't want her selling privately. She has UC and the on meds that concerns us from Corvid situation.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

thx

This dude regularly posts on Jalopnik and I know a few people that have used him. Apparently it was the best couple hundred bucks spent EVER and he gets deals really quickly, including trade in value.

https://automatchconsulting.com/

[AngryScientist]

I bet you do pretty well right now too. dealerships have got to be pretty eager to move cars.

[avalonracing]

Great deals right now. For instance, VW is doing 180 days of deferred payments and 0% financing for 72 months.

[srcarter]

I purchased a new car (Prius) about 5 years ago. I did it entirely by email (except pickup). I emailed the fleet manager/email sales manager at about 10 dealerships in the San Francisco Bay Area with the desired car (trim level and color). Did it at the end of a month. I got about 8 bids, with one or two insisting that I call them. Went back to the top 3, and got a second round. I politely declined an offer from one close to me, and told them the lowest bid. They then matched the lowest price. Price easily beat the best I could find online through TrueCar (which used to show more information, and is/was the engine behind several insurance car buying services like USAA/AAA/CostCo). The whole process took about 2 afternoons of emails. If I recall correctly, the spread of bids was about +/- $3000.

It was simplest not to have a trade-in involved in the comparison. Selling a used Prius here in the SF area is easy, but I am not sure about in these times and in her location.

One caution is that I have since been on email lists for several car dealers for years, and many were difficult to unsubscribe. If I did it again, I would create a temporary email address so i could block the dealerships.

[vqdriver]

published deals and incentives are the starting point, especially on a car like the prius. if you're willing to pull the trigger, there is very little a dealership will refuse right now. expect them to take a loss, the only question is how big of a loss. all that before any hybrid/electric incentives or tax credits

and altho it may complicate things, i'd do the trade in at the same time. it's going to be more headache than it's worth to deal with separately in these circumstances.

[old fat man]

Great deals right now. For instance, VW is doing 180 days of deferred payments and 0% financing for 72 months.

Yeah, I missed that one by about 40 days. Signed the lease on an alltrack on 3/1. Damn.

[scoobydrew]

I purchased a new car (Prius) about 5 years ago. I did it entirely by email (except pickup). I emailed the fleet manager/email sales manager at about 10 dealerships in the San Francisco Bay Area with the desired car (trim level and color). Did it at the end of a month. I got about 8 bids, with one or two insisting that I call them. Went back to the top 3, and got a second round. I politely declined an offer from one close to me, and told them the lowest bid. They then matched the lowest price. Price easily beat the best I could find online through TrueCar (which used to show more information, and is/was the engine behind several insurance car buying services like USAA/AAA/CostCo). The whole process took about 2 afternoons of emails. If I recall correctly, the spread of bids was about +/- $3000.

It was simplest not to have a trade-in involved in the comparison. Selling a used Prius here in the SF area is easy, but I am not sure about in these times and in her location.

One caution is that I have since been on email lists for several car dealers for years, and many were difficult to unsubscribe. If I did it again, I would create a temporary email address so i could block the dealerships.

This is pretty much what I did when I purchased a new car last Fall. I wanted a certain model, trim, and color. I first used Car Gurus (new/used car listings site) to find out which dealers had the model/trim/color I wanted on the lot. I then went on the dealership's site to find the listed car. You can either email the online sales manager directly or request a quote (usually by clicking a button next to the listing). Some of them require only an email (create/use a temporary email address as mentioned by srcarter), but some needed a phone number too (I avoided these dealerships). You will usually get a quote within the same day, which may or may not be competitive. I did most of the negotiation and price matching described above via email. After obtaining the best price, I phoned the sales manager just to confirm the price and when we could arrange the best time to go check out the car. In my case, the guy brought out the car right in front. I walked around it, checked it out, test drove it, went into his office to do paperwork, went into the finance guy's office to do additional paperwork, and I was driving off the lot in my new car. Relatively stress free buying experience.

Truecar is another great option. I gave it a shot and the dealerships came back with great prices, but they didn't have the color I wanted. So depending on how picky you are about the trim and color, they might not have what you want on the lot.

[C40_guy]

...some needed a phone number too (I avoided these dealerships).

You can create a Google Voice number that automatically forwards to another phone, or immediately goes to voice mail. Give this number out to people you don't/never want to talk with. :)

Voice mails can be delivered by email...

[wtex]

do NOT use your real email or phone on TrueCar - you will be called and spammed like you wouldn't believe within 15 minutes.
Use a throwaway email and Google number.
TrueCar pricing was meh in my experience, KBB, Edmunds, and Autotrader a bit more real world

[mulp]

Some great information here, thanks all!

[AngryScientist]

i think USAA using trucar is something relatively new.

i dont remember them working that way when i bought my van, but that was years ago now.

[Hellgate]

i think USAA using trucar is something relatively new.



i dont remember them working that way when i bought my van, but that was years ago now.USAA is ending their partnership with them as a part of a broader restructuring effort.

https://www.autonews.com/retail/truecar-sees-unexpected-end-usaa-partnership-q4-loss-widens

[SoCalSteve]

2 different transactions...

Maybe have her sell her used Prius at a place like CarMax (they buy pretty much everything) and then do the second transaction with a Toyota dealership for the new car.

It’s always recommended to do 2 different “ deals “.

It would be a very clean ( but maybe not the most convenient ) way to do it.

[Ozz]

USAA is ending their partnership with them as a part of a broader restructuring effort.

https://www.autonews.com/retail/truecar-sees-unexpected-end-usaa-partnership-q4-loss-widens
Interesting....I used USAA/TrueCar to buy my car last fall. Pretty easy really....felt I got a fair to good deal.

[joosttx]

are you getting a corvitte?:banana:

Seriously, I wish it were in better condition as we are turning in my Wife's Prius lease next month. I would of been happy to buy it off of you.

[gasman]

A different tact-

Why not replace the battery pack ? The Toyota Prius is remarkably reliable. Does she have other issues with the car that have her worried ?
I just had the battery pack replaced on our 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid-which continues to run great and has not been as good as the Prius. It will be a couple thousand to replace the battery pack- I think I paid about $2 K but it's way cheaper than buying a new car.

[Hellgate]

Interesting....I used USAA/TrueCar to buy my car last fall. Pretty easy really....felt I got a fair to good deal.They are also divesting the wealth management and real estate.

They're focusing on the core business, banking and insurance.

[buddybikes]

Thanks for the input. Our daughter lives in Nashville and we in NE. Being a single woman she is nervous on long drives (also drive to midwest). It is in decent shape, body looks great, no dents. MPH down in the 30's. She doesn't know mechanics to do things like bearings, springs, ball joints and whatever and bit of a worry wart. When I began looking she actually said it was fine, but daddy isn't. Carmax is interesting, will look into that, with her now WAH, makes things easier for delay.

We aren't leasing, we buy our cars and run them "into the ground", this was bought new.

I am encouraging her to stay with Prius's, as we've had them for 16 years now and never gotten stuck. Gas will change overnight, we bought our last one, I believe when prices were low.

(my wife's car is Lexus 200h)

[Morgul Bismark]

don't finance thru a dealer. Get your own prearranged from your bank or credit union.
While I would normally agree with this, however at this particular time some manufacturers are offering very good financing deals. It isn't just the interest rate, but in some cases they may make the first few payments or may have additional incentives available if you finance through the manufacturer.

[sailorboy]

Yeah, I missed that one by about 40 days. Signed the lease on an alltrack on 3/1. Damn.

This is what I am wondering about...would there be any incentive for a dealer to allow me to convert my lease to financing with these lower or even zero rates?

I figure it's not in their interest to make less money on me than they have a contract for already, but I suppose I could try the tact that I can't pay and would turn the car back in anyhow.

[Morgul Bismark]

I am going to be purchasing a car within the week. To that end I have been in contact with roughly half a dozen dealers all from the same brand. What has been interesting is there are a couple who don't want to barely budge off MSRP and then others who when asked will immediately offer up a price below invoice and make it clear there are additional incentives available. Part of that comes down to how long the car in question has been on the lot, but it also seems clear that some dealers are out to lure in the few customers in the market to buy and make a sale, while others are acting like they won't see a new car on the lot for a long long time so they better maximize profit on each one they do sell.

That being the case, it definitely behooves you to shop around. It hasn't taken long to figure out who wants to make a sale (any sale) and who still thinks they have a precious object if they wait for the right unicorn buyer to come along.

[zap]

Great deals right now. For instance, VW is doing 180 days of deferred payments and 0% financing for 72 months.

Great deals????? 72 months.....:eek:

Man, if it's not 20% or more off msrp.......

[NHAero]

Steve, why are you scared of a few crows?

that concerns us from Corvid situation.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

thx

[HenryA]

2 different transactions...

Maybe have her sell her used Prius at a place like CarMax (they buy pretty much everything) and then do the second transaction with a Toyota dealership for the new car.

It’s always recommended to do 2 different “ deals “.

It would be a very clean ( but maybe not the most convenient ) way to do it.

For overall ease this is a great idea. And it will also save you some money. Try Carmax first though and see if the offer is anything near reasonable. Dealers don’t need to add to inventory now. But get the quote. If its ok then do it.

Buying the new one should be simple if paying cash. Call a few dealers around Nashville and tell them you have cash and will take delivery right away and that you need their best price one time only. Be a little bit of a polite asshole. Short and to the point.

[whateveronfire]

I bet you do pretty well right now too. dealerships have got to be pretty eager to move cars.

My brother just bought a truck and he said they were beyond desperate. He did most it over the phone and via email.

[HenryA]

Also keep in mind that the “out of town” buyer thing puts the dealer on notice that you aren’t going to come back if they don’t grab your business. They know they got one shot.

PM sent.

[yngpunk]

For overall ease this is a great idea. And it will also save you some money. Try Carmax first though and see if the offer is anything near reasonable. Dealers don’t need to add to inventory now. But get the quote. If its ok then do it.



I would also check the "online" car buying services like Carvana and Webuyanytcar. Easy to get a firm quote online, and in the case of carvana they will come to you to pick up car, whereas with webuyanycar you need to drive the vehicle to one of their buying locations. Most likely get a better price than carmax.

[Hank Scorpio]

Somewhat related: Is now the time to make an all time low comedy offer on a car? I am looking at used 2016-2017 Volvo XC-90's. In NJ i can't imagine the dealers are moving more than 5 cars month.

[Cbh]

2 different transactions...

Maybe have her sell her used Prius at a place like CarMax (they buy pretty much everything) and then do the second transaction with a Toyota dealership for the new car.

It’s always recommended to do 2 different “ deals “.

It would be a very clean ( but maybe not the most convenient ) way to do it.

This probably varies by state, but here in Texas if you trade in on a new purchase it reduces your taxable value on the transaction so there may be an incentive to do one transaction if the trade-in vale is close to The carmax offer. Either way getting an offer from a carmax or similar to buy your existing car will help you Better negotiate a trade. Definitely get you offer from carmax before talking to the Toyota dealer.

[d_douglas]

Somewhat related: Is now the time to make an all time low comedy offer on a car? I am looking at used 2016-2017 Volvo XC-90's. In NJ i can't imagine the dealers are moving more than 5 cars month.

Good question! I am on the receiving end of this, as we have a Mazda CX-9 that I want to ditch, but it’s a bad time to sell! My wife says to just put it out there and see what happens. I would love to sell this thing, but don’t want to have crazy low offers as my only option.

[C40_guy]

Somewhat related: Is now the time to make an all time low comedy offer on a car? I am looking at used 2016-2017 Volvo XC-90's. In NJ i can't imagine the dealers are moving more than 5 cars month.

Makes sense. See if you can get one that's CPO, or have the dealer add CPO to the one you want.

[bigbill]

While I would normally agree with this, however at this particular time some manufacturers are offering very good financing deals. It isn't just the interest rate, but in some cases they may make the first few payments or may have additional incentives available if you finance through the manufacturer.

Right. My current vehicle is financed through Ford at 2.49%. USAA was offering 2.9% at the time. Using Ford finance, I got all my rebates. Currently, Ford is offering 0% for 60/72/84 months. I don't want or need a new vehicle, but it is a decent time to buy. Even better if you can find a leftover previous year vehicle.

[bigbill]

Interesting....I used USAA/TrueCar to buy my car last fall. Pretty easy really....felt I got a fair to good deal.

I used it to buy my son's car in 2016. Did it online, walked into the dealer with a cashier's check. But yeah, USAA is spinning off their non-banking stuff. My IRA is going to be managed by Schwab starting next month.

[palincss]

i think USAA using trucar is something relatively new.

i dont remember them working that way when i bought my van, but that was years ago now.

"Relatively" is relative. I bought a car in 2015 using USAA's car buying service and I don't think it was new then. Used it again in 2016 and in 2017, and would happily have used it again in future. However, Consumer Reports has a similar service.

[jimcav]

Somewhat related: Is now the time to make an all time low comedy offer on a car? I am looking at used 2016-2017 Volvo XC-90's. In NJ i can't imagine the dealers are moving more than 5 cars month.

we had to take our jeep for service yesterday and the associate told us they really wanted to move used car off the lot, and that the very best deal were there (used vs new). I didn't ask any "why's that" questions, but he was very specific.

[Hank Scorpio]

Will follow up if I am able to make a deal or not. I did have a brief text exchange with the local volvo dealer last weekend and he still wanted to play the stereotypical used car dealer games. "These cars sell themselves", "We are still open for business and selling cars" etc etc.

All could be possible given the locale of the dealer but I can't imagine they are moving anything close to their normal volume. Also I have been watching their inventory since before this began and vehicles were already sitting, some I have watched for three months now.

[C40_guy]

we had to take our jeep for service yesterday and the associate told us they really wanted to move used car off the lot, and that the very best deal were there (used vs new). I didn't ask any "why's that" questions, but he was very specific.

Used cars are probably financed by the dealership, where new cars may be financed by the manufacturer. There may also be a lot more profit in the sale of a used car...thousands versus hundreds.

A used car may also represent more immediate service revenue streams, whereas a new car may not need any attention for a while.

On the other hand, dealerships are measured by the number of new cars they sell each month, and they get future allocations based on their performance. So they *do* want to sell new cars too...but they may be faced with high carrying costs on those used cars that outweighs future allotment concerns.

[HenryA]

Car dealers have many ways to make profit when they sell you a car. One of them is finance. If the dealer has a sharp interest rate and you use them they might make a few more dollars on the deal.

However you buy now, this may be the very best time to buy a vehicle in a decade. The dealers (and mfgs) are just flattened right now. Worst ever maybe.

[jtakeda]

2 different transactions...

Maybe have her sell her used Prius at a place like CarMax (they buy pretty much everything) and then do the second transaction with a Toyota dealership for the new car.

It’s always recommended to do 2 different “ deals “.

It would be a very clean ( but maybe not the most convenient ) way to do it.

+1

They take some money for the convenience. You’ll get a lot more as 2 transactions unless the current car is totally thrashed and you don’t want to deal with it

[Ken Robb]

I don't know if it's still like this but a while back new car dealers got free "flooring" from the manufacturer for a period of time and if they still had a car in inventory past that time they had to start paying interest on it until it sold. This explains why some cars on the lot were pushed harder than others by the sales team who often got "spiffs" (bonuses) for selling old stock.

[Morgul Bismark]

+1

They take some money for the convenience. You’ll get a lot more as 2 transactions unless the current car is totally thrashed and you don’t want to deal with it

I'm in agreement that in general I think two separate transactions makes the most sense. That said, (depending on your state) when you trade a car as part of the deal you may be able to effectively lower the purchase price that your sales tax gets calculated against.

For example: let's say your dealer will give you $10,000 for your trade. CarMax is offering $10,500. If your state allows you to deduct the $10,000 trade value from the price of the car prior to calculating sales tax you would still come out ahead with a $10,000 trade value if your sales tax rate was over 5%. In my part of California sales tax is 9%, so my hypothetical trade would save me $900 in sales tax. Thus, I would be $400 better off for having done the trade compared to the $10,500 hypothetical CarMax offer.

The other strategy would be to get a CarMax offer and try to use that at the time you buy to try to boost the dealer's trade offer. Hopefully get the dealer to match CarMax and then also get the sales tax savings.

[zzy]

I've actually been looking at buying a used car right now, but with the DMV closed how would I get a plate and registration? Any one have a wite of guice I can use to get the process started?

[Blue Jays]

"...I've actually been looking at buying a used car right now, but with the DMV closed how would I get a plate and registration?..."

Most state DMV offices have extended licenses, registrations, and assorted vehicle inspections by several months.
My bet is most police officers are not eager to pull-over otherwise law-abiding people for an expired temporary tag, anyway.

[Morgul Bismark]

I've actually been looking at buying a used car right now, but with the DMV closed how would I get a plate and registration?
Looks like for New York I would call 518-486-9786 (https://dmv.ny.gov/contact-us/dmv-phone-numbers) plus some transactions can be done online (https://dmv.ny.gov/more-info/all-online-transactions)

Not a NY resident, but that's where I would start just looking at the NY DMV website.

Also at least in California if you're a AAA member, AAA can do some DMV transactions from their offices (not sure if that is still the case or not or whether that applies in the case of New York, but possibly something to check into)

[scoobydrew]

Looks like for New York I would call 518-486-9786 (https://dmv.ny.gov/contact-us/dmv-phone-numbers) plus some transactions can be done online (https://dmv.ny.gov/more-info/all-online-transactions)

Not a NY resident, but that's where I would start just looking at the NY DMV website.

Also at least in California if you're a AAA member, AAA can do some DMV transactions from their offices (not sure if that is still the case or not or whether that applies in the case of New York, but possibly something to check into)

FYI for anyone in CA, the DMV now has a "Virtual Office" where you can do a "Virtual Title Transfer".

[buddybikes]

Researched Prius Prime, there is a 3,500 company discount in MA, zippo in TN. She gets college grad in both states of course. Unfortunately they can process TN registration in MA. More cars here... This would of worked out great as there is 4,500 tax credit on this vehicle still.

[bigbill]

I'll buy my son a used car this summer. When he left for Annapolis, he wasn't allowed a car for his first two years. He can have one as a junior. I sold the car he drove in high school for $6000 and put that away. I'll use either Navy Federal or whatever USAA is doing to find him a nice 5-year-old used four-door car. Like a Camry or Altima.

When I bought an F150 in 2013, I took the dealer financing at 6.9% to get all the discounts and rebates. After six months, I refinanced at USAA at 1.9%.

[HenryA]

Steve, I’d wait and watch what happens if her present car is ok for now. I know for a fact that dealerships are extraordinarily stressed now and with more coming. In the meantime, call around some more. You could buy one at home or Any state on the way to Nashville.

[TiminVA]

I haven't read the entire thread, but I took my Subaru in for an oil change last week and the service manager said the entire dealership is at about 25% of typical volume. I know him decently well and assume he was telling the truth. I would assume most dealerships are the same so now should be a good time to purchase.

[ColonelJLloyd]

I have purchased exactly one new car in my life and that was our 2011 RAV4 Ltd. My wife's step-father retired from TMMK (Camry plant in KY), we traded-in my wife's Corolla S and used the TEPP (emp purchase program) to buy it.

Our kids are now 3 and 7 and a Highlander or Sienna would be a much better fit for our needs. The RAV4 Ltd is highest trim level and has 75k miles. We will not be keeping it.

Is purchasing a new vehicle using the employee purchase program always going to be the best option?

We really wanted to do an extended (week or so) test of a Sienna, but no dealers in my area offered this and rental agencies don't stock Siennas.

[C40_guy]

\
Is purchasing a new vehicle using the employee purchase program always going to be the best option?

Not necessarily. Depends on the company and the program. Last time I rented a car for personal use, I checked our corporate discount (large software company) and AAA. Turns out the AAA rate was dramatically lower.

So...try your employee purchase program...but also check others. TrueCar, etc. And as other posters have said, try a couple of dealers directly through their internet sales team. You never know.

I mostly buy older german cars with the depreciation already taken out of them. Costs a bit more for maintenance, but overall I think I'm saving a bunch of money... :) Need to have a good independent mechanic (or be able to do most of the work yourself) for this to make sense...

[tylercheung]

I would say also that the Costco auto service gives good pre-negotiated pricing; you would still have to haggle on the trade in though

[josephr]

A different tact-

Why not replace the battery pack ? The Toyota Prius is remarkably reliable. Does she have other issues with the car that have her worried ?
I just had the battery pack replaced on our 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid-which continues to run great and has not been as good as the Prius. It will be a couple thousand to replace the battery pack- I think I paid about $2 K but it's way cheaper than buying a new car.

I'd really look into this---apparently there's a huge market developing for reconditioned battery packs and that they're pretty reliable and and cost effective. Youtube videos claim you can do the switch in your garage pretty easy, if you're handy like that.

As someone with a daughter away in college...I'm too cheap to spend money on a car that's going to sit in the parking lot for 4 months at a time.