I’d been thinking that my current car is a bit too small, and I’m just about (early December) to pay off the 5-year loan I took out on it, but the news about the tariffs to be imposed, and my wish to buy a hybrid, have made me think of buying a new car before January 20th, when I expect the prices will rise sharply. Otherwise I could have waited and enjoyed a year or three of no car-payments.
My questions are 1) Is there an easy way to figure out about how much I should be paying? People have described the ways to learn the amount that the dealer will sell it for and still turn a profit, but these ways seem a bit complicated to me. I don’t feel I need to beat the dealer down to the absolute lowest lowest figure he’s ever willingly sold a car for, but I would like to know I’m not getting ripped off for thousands above what I could get it for. So: simple, direct method? Or do I need to take the complicated steps that have been explained to me (and which I’ve forgotten, but I can review my old notes.)
2)I could join Costco and use their car-buying system, but I don’t really feel the need to become a Costco customer for my other shopping. If it’s cost efficient to buy a car through Costco, though, I’ll do it. Has anyone used Costco’s buy-buying services and found them either very satisfactory or very unsatisfactory?
I have a specific model in mind (Rav4 hybrid) that I test drove a few years ago, and it seemed ok, but not sure if this specific a choice is limiting me unnecessarily or just simplifying my life by not needing to look at a jillion different cars.
Opinions on any or all of the above questions appreciated.
My opinion; thinking that your current car is “a bit too small” isn’t a compelling reason to start with car payments just as your current ones are ending. Neither should you enjoy just a year or three of no car payments. Instead, I think you should keep your paid-off car indefinitely,
If your situation changes that your car is definitely too small (you regularly need to carry six passengers, say, and your current car only holds two), consider getting a new one but feeling it’s a “bit too small” isn’t really a strong reason.
I agree with this but it’s softened a bit if we fill in the unsaid, “… a bit too small, showing its age, and is at peak age-resale value.”
If a new purchase is decided, I think OP’s strategy should begin by selecting the target vehicle. The purchasing path is different for various vehicle types with some being a lot more competitive than others.
We’ve looked at it. It’s largely similar to the frequent employer programs where they indicate you get the car at dealer cost plus a tiny margin. The problem is similar to said programs where you get minimal flexibility in choices, models, etc. Which as pointed out by @Dewey_Finn is going to leave you pretty high and dry for the most popular models. You’ll still get a decent price more often than not, and a hell of a lot less haggling, but IMHO not worth getting Costco for alone.
Of course, it wasn’t even an option for our recent purchase, because we wanted a Rav4 Prime, which, well, is super popular and still flying out the door. With the probable (?) loss of EV incentives in the near future, probably worse than when we got ours in September.
Costco membership (if that’s all you need to get to buy a car from them) runs to like $50 a year, and it’s not too hard to find something they sell that you want to buy and that costs at least $50 less from them than from, say, Amazon – often a soon-to-be discontinued model.
For the record, it’s $65 these days, at which level you basically get to shop there. I believe but haven’t verified you need the higher level for some of the services including the car program.
for the tiers.
for the car buying program, again, LOTS of limitations on what vehicles are included. Toyota isn’t even currently a listed partner.
Note that the Costco car buying service is similar to others available from credit unions or the auto-related websites or elsewhere. It’s not unique. I think most such services connect you to the fleet sales manager at the dealership for a “no haggle” price.
The primary impetus for buying a new car NOW, as opposed to a few years down the line, is my fear, as covered in the other thread, that Trump’s tariffs will goose the price a few thousand dollars, and that rise in cost will be in effect permanent.
Thinking that way, my other reasons are that I wanted a RAV4 years ago but they didn’t have any in stock when I was looking (3-4 month wait) though they did have other cars and I needed transportation at the time, so I settled on a small sedan. Also, some of the bells and whistles, like a decent GPS system on the display, weren’t included in the package of the car I bought (they said it was but they lied) but they are included in the 2025 RAV4.
Mostly though, this is motivated by my fear of Trump tariffs and the effect they seem inevitably to have on car prices. If a Rav4 is going to cost 3K (or whatever) more two years down the line, why not buy one now?
I specified the RAV4, as opposed to similar cars, because 1) I’ve been driving Toyota for years and I’m used to their dashboard design, etc, and they’ve proven to be very reliable. But also I specified one car because I find it confusing to compare a variety of models, prices, features, which is why I asked if this specificity is more limiting or more efficient. I could see it going either way so I’m looking for your opinions on whether this is a smart way to shop for cars, picking one model and concentrating on it, or picking a variety of acceptable cars and looking into all of them.
How about just putting whatever money you currently spend on car payments into a savings account? That way, if and when Trump institutes tariffs, you’ll have money set aside to pay the difference. If no tariffs are instituted, you’ll have a pile of money. Buying now just because you fear future tariffs seems unwise.
Thinking of buying a new car and actually going out and buying a new car are two different things.
The longer you wait the greater the chance the availability of new cars goes down in light of Trump’s anticipated tariffs beginning on January 20, 2025. You can bet many others are past the thinking stage and may use the longer Thanksgiving weekend to go out, test drive, and buy a new vehicle now.
Fair enough. I wouldn’t even need to do something that specific. I’ll have the extra two or three thousand in the future without doing anything at all. I’m just trying to figure out if spending the money now (and getting a new car with 0 miles and a new warranty, plus getting the car I really wanted 5 years ago) makes sense because of the tariffs. Are they definitely going to take effect on January 21st? Are they going to affect all imported cars? Will they be as costly as 10% or 20% or more? These are all questions that I suppose are better answered in the Politics and Elections thread, but they do figure into my thinking.
I’m willing to bet that the tariffs don’t take effect on January 20, January 21 or any date in the future. And, BTW, some Toyota RAV4 hybrids are assembled in US plants, so they may not be subject to tariffs.
this is essentially it. The Costco program will give you a good price without the need to compare dealer prices, negotiate, and haggle. But, depending on the car you are looking at, if you want to put in the time to do the above, you can probably get a better price for most models.