Has anyone out there ever bought a new car via Autobuytel.com or any other such company? If so, what was the experience like? Would you do it again?
I tried. I found it a waste of time. I was unable to get quotes (thru Autobytel) online after email responses from 3 dealers. They all wanted me to “come in and talk”, or claimed they didn’t have enough info, though I specified everything, including options and color scheme.
These were Mazda dealers. Perhaps other brands would have better dealerships.
I found it completely useless. The research is better done elsewhere. I found the automakers websites helpful, also Consumer Reports online. And Edmunds.com for dealer invoice prices.
I found the car, and got about 25 confusing e-mails about this deal and that deal, but went to the dealer and talked to someone who wasn’t involved in internet deals.
So, I got the typical haggle process going and bought the friggin’ thing.
The internet is good for developing leads when it comes to big purchases, but going to the dealer seems to be more efficient:
They can screw you faster, but you see it coming.
I bought my Accord in '98 using AutoByTel and it was fabulous. To preface this experience, I went into my local dealer and threw out a price at which to start the haggling. The salesman said it was “too low” and that they wouldn’t even start to haggle with me unless I came up on my initial starting point. They said Accords were too popular to deal at that level.
Naturally, I walked out, and tried Autobytel, if for no other reason than to figure out if I was being ridiculous as my local Honda dealer would have me believe.
My offer from AutobyTel (at a dealer 20 miles away) was a mere $500 more than my starting point, the one the other dealership threw me out for. I do have to note that I had to hold the dealer to the Autobytel terms–he wanted to do the sales pitch on me, but I reminded him that Autobytel is supposed to be a no-haggle, best-offer type deal. He quickly shut up and named the figure, which we took.
I have since learned that the fee that Autobytel charges the dealers for these referrals is higher than other services, so the “no haggle, lowest price” offer you get via Autobytel may be a bit higher than the price that same dealer may quote you from another referral service.
The next time, when we were buying our CR-V in 2000, I used a different service (whose name I couldn’t remember) but instead of accepting the offer, I used it to haggle with my local dealer.
I certainly am happy with the experience.
This grabbed my attention, since my son is the sales manager of the largest Mazda dealer in Houston, TX. Before that he was one of the 50 top Mazda salesmen nationwide. At that time he sold about 20% of his cars over the internet. He had someone fly down from Michigan to pick up a car. Couldn’t ever get a good explaination for that one, but still it happened. I’m sorry you didn’t have a good experience with your efforts. I’m not sure he does much with the internet now, because it’s hard to get someone to handle it. I’ve heard that over 1/2 the cars sold are sold over the internet, but that is hard to believe.
This grabbed my attention, since my son is the sales manager of the largest Mazda dealer in ** Houston, TX**. Before that he was one of the 50 top Mazda salesmen nationwide. At that time he sold about 20% of his cars over the internet. He had someone fly down from Michigan to pick up a car. Couldn’t ever get a good explaination for that one, but still it happened. I’m sorry you didn’t have a good experience with your efforts. I’m not sure he does much with the internet now, because it’s hard to get someone to handle it. I’ve heard that over 1/2 the cars sold are sold over the internet, but that is hard to believe.
I bought my 2001 VW Jetta online. It was great. I too went to my local dealer and started the haggling process, but they wouldn’t go any lower than $1500 over invoice. I thought that was ridiculous, so I went to Autobuytel and paid the fee to get quotes. It was totally worth it. One of the dealers that contacted me asked me to call him, and I did. He immediately gave me a quote of $500 over invoice without any sales pitch. Another dealer gave me a quote online, after I sent my options preferences, of $300 over invoice. I took that quote and went to my local dealer. They told me the quote was a sham. So, I drove to Dallas and picked up my new Jetta for $300 over invoice.
I think the key is to find out if the salesman you are working for deals only, or at least primarily, in internet sales. If he does, you will likely get little to no sales pitch. In my experience, most VW dealerships have an internet sales manager, and they are extremely easy to work with. I’ll never buy another car the traditional way again.
I purchased a new Subaru Impreza wagon in Nov. 2000 after soliciting quotes over the Net. I got five firm offers, plus two time-wasters (“why don’t you come down to the dealership and we’ll talk it over”). I took the lowest offer, which was a couple of hundred over the known factory invoice (as listed on Edmunds.com) and was perfectly satisfied by the result. I won’t buy a car the old way again.
Generally, a dealer is likely to be serious about taking Internet customers if their fleet manager, or a specific assigned staff member, handles these accounts. If it’s just some mook off the floor, don’t bother.
I would say the process will work best if there are several dealers within a reasonable radius of your home.