Tips on Buying Cars: Car Bargins Buying Service, confessions of a former car salesman, car buying services

Question
Hi Ron,
I'm going to purchase a new Honda Accord.  Do you think it is worth it to use the buying service Car Bargins or would I be better off getting the price report from Consumer Reports or Fighting Chance and deal directiy with a salesman?
Thanks,
George

Answer
George,  

This is an excellent question that more people should be asking.

Everyone, men and women, love to tell you how they got the absolute best deal possible, and how they worked the dealer to get just what they wanted—they’re almost always wrong.

There are a number of car buying services offered on the Internet, some of which make some pretty wild claims. You’ve probably seen some of the testimonials stating how their customers paid thousands of dollars under the actual invoice price, tell you that they have secret information that you can’t find any place else, or promise to get you the absolute best deal.

The most important thing you need to know to have any chance at a great deal is that you need to be an informed consumer. Informed consumers know more about what they want to buy, what it really costs, what they’re willing to pay, and if they’re getting a good deal or not. This means knowing as much as you can about what you want to buy including price (MSRP), dealer’s cost (invoice price), rebates and other incentives that are available, and what you’re trade-in, if any, is worth on the open market, and to the dealer.

This is exactly what I recommend in my book, $ave Thousand$ Buying Your Next Car: Confessions of a Former Car Salesman, which you can see on my site www.Make-Me-Smarter.com. And in the United States, all of this information is available for free from a number of sites. It does take a little homework, but with the possibility of saving thousands of dollars, it’s well worth the time it takes. As a start, you can find a good list of US and Canadian automobile sites to begin your research on at www.SaveOnYourNextCar.com.

Based on my experience working in the business, and after writing a book on the subject, my recommendation is that you look at all of the free information that’s available on the Internet first; I think you’ll be surprised to find that you’re looking at all of the same ‘secret’ information some of the pay services tell you about.

Please let me know what you decide and end up doing, George.

Thanks,


Ron