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Post by librarylady on Dec 21, 2021 16:02:17 GMT
I had no idea Costco offered vehicles!
My sister was telling me that her son ordered her vehicle and his last 2 vehicles through Costco...online. That just boggles my mind. Have any of you done this?
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Dec 21, 2021 16:13:50 GMT
Not personally, but I know someone who did. Online car shopping is quickly becoming a thing it seems. Just last night I saw an ad on tv for Nissan offering online ordering and home delivery. Used car companies Carvana and Vroom also have online ordering and home delivery. They will even pick up your trade-in.
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Post by janniepea on Dec 21, 2021 16:16:19 GMT
We haven’t but 2 of my friends have and they both said it was such a great process and would do it again.
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Post by busy on Dec 21, 2021 16:25:07 GMT
I wouldn't hesitate to order a new car online *after* I'd test driven the model locally. We bought our last three cars via the USAA car buying service. We did all the paperwork online and the cars were delivered directly to our home. We just had to sign a couple papers to take possession. It was fabulous. Unfortunately, they've discontinued that service.
We were recently shopping for a car and there was almost no inventory anywhere and the dealers were saying people are just ordering directly from the factory without even test driving. That's not for me. I could love the way a car looks and it could have all the features I want, but if I don't like the way it handles, it's not for me. And there's no way to know that without driving it. I know those services offer the option to return but I would not want to deal with that.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Dec 21, 2021 16:29:05 GMT
When we bought my Highlander we didn't actually go through Costco but after we had decided on the final price, I mentioned we are Costco members and they took $2500 off the price.  |
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tracylynn
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,868 
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Post by tracylynn on Dec 21, 2021 16:30:37 GMT
Online car buying is going to be the way of the future.
I purchased a new vehicle (Ford) this summer. Inventory is super low and expected to remain so through most of next year. They were telling me that Dealerships (of all Makes) in the US are going to an ordering way of purchasing cars. They'll have limited inventory on the lots - for test driving, etc. Those cars can be purchased, but the days of going to a car lot and having 20 different versions of the same car available is long gone.
If you like the car you test drove, but want a specific color and specific features, you'll have to order it. Typically the order process takes 3 months. Right now, because of the chip shortage and backlog of car orders, it's taking 6+ months.
I got lucky and the car I wanted was on the lot, but I believe the next time I buy a car (8-10 years) the process will look very different.
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Post by busy on Dec 21, 2021 16:44:50 GMT
Online car buying is going to be the way of the future. I purchased a new vehicle (Ford) this summer. Inventory is super low and expected to remain so through most of next year. They were telling me that Dealerships (of all Makes) in the US are going to an ordering way of purchasing cars. They'll have limited inventory on the lots - for test driving, etc. Those cars can be purchased, but the days of going to a car lot and having 20 different versions of the same car available is long gone. If you like the car you test drove, but want a specific color and specific features, you'll have to order it. Typically the order process takes 3 months. Right now, because of the chip shortage and backlog of car orders, it's taking 6+ months. I got lucky and the car I wanted was on the lot, but I believe the next time I buy a car (8-10 years) the process will look very different. I agree. What we ran into was that many lots didn't even have any version of some models to drive. And people were ordering them anyway. That's where I draw the line. I think one of covid's longest term business impacts will be commercial real estate. The trend was already in motion, but covid has accelerated it. Banks (and others) are closing a lot of branches and divesting of the real estate. Many companies have moved into smaller offices to accommodate a workforce with more flexibility to WFH and some have gone fully remote. Things like car lots, that have historically been a big waste of land, will probably downsize in time because the trend will be as you described. I think there will be a trend to build new fast food locations that are drive-through only, smaller footprint, less parking, etc. Grocery stores and the like could be reconfigured or built differently to make curbside pickup and delivery more efficient. It's going to be interesting to see how things change in the next ten years or so. |
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Deleted
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May 18, 2024 12:31:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2021 17:16:09 GMT
We have twice, both new vehicles, a Toyota Highlander and a Chevy Silverado truck. The dealer's price for the end of the model year + incentives basically matched the Costco price on the truck, although we still went through it as Costco had their own incentive and we got a $750 Costco gift card. I know on my Highlander they sent a coupon after for 50% off an accessory at the dealership, too.
Couldn't be any easier, and my dealer did a trade to get exactly what I wanted. You aren't committed to buy and can change models, etc. I would say the dealership experience was very straight-forward when you come through with it (which worked well since we went in knowing exactly what we wanted) and both dealerships had dedicated sales people that handle the Costco transactions.
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Post by littlemama on Dec 21, 2021 17:19:59 GMT
Yep! I used them for my Subaru. You arent actually buying the car thru Costco. They partner with certain dealerships to give you a deal.
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Deleted
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May 18, 2024 12:31:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2021 17:21:46 GMT
And just so you know, the Costco program just starts online. You input what you are looking for and they send you a quote from a specific dealership. You go test drive and work face-to-face with the dealership from there. At least that's how it was pre-COVID....
You don't get to pick the dealer, Costco will send you to one in your area. DH was eyeing the specific truck he wanted online and fortunately they sent him to that same dealer, I assume because what he requested was an exact match to what they had.
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Jili
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SLPea
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Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Dec 21, 2021 17:29:46 GMT
And just so you know, the Costco program just starts online. You input what you are looking for and they send you a quote from a specific dealership. You go test drive and work face-to-face with the dealership from there. At least that's how it was pre-COVID.... You don't get to pick the dealer, Costco will send you to one in your area. DH was eyeing the specific truck he wanted online and fortunately they sent him to that same dealer, I assume because what he requested was an exact match to what they had. This. We’ve done it twice and had great experiences. I think we’ll do it again when the time comes. |
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Post by flanz on Dec 21, 2021 18:35:15 GMT
We went to our local Toyota dealership and chose our car.
Mentioned that we were Costco members and without needing to lift a finger, they took $2,500 off of the price we had agreed on. This was 3 years ago.
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Post by workingclassdog on Dec 21, 2021 19:07:02 GMT
If you like the car you test drove, but want a specific color and specific features, you'll have to order it. Typically the order process takes 3 months. Right now, because of the chip shortage and backlog of car orders, it's taking 6+ months. I have had three friends so far special order their vehicles and all of them were within 2 months. This is as recent as a few weeks ago. One Tesla and two Fords. |
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GiantsFan
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Jun 27, 2014 14:44:56 GMT
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Post by GiantsFan on Dec 21, 2021 22:29:42 GMT
We tried. The dealership actually gave us a better deal than the Costco price. (It was year-end and they had a huge discount on the model we bought.)
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Post by mikklynn on Dec 22, 2021 12:58:55 GMT
And just so you know, the Costco program just starts online. You input what you are looking for and they send you a quote from a specific dealership. You go test drive and work face-to-face with the dealership from there. At least that's how it was pre-COVID.... You don't get to pick the dealer, Costco will send you to one in your area. DH was eyeing the specific truck he wanted online and fortunately they sent him to that same dealer, I assume because what he requested was an exact match to what they had. That is how it went for us, too. It was fantastic. The dealership has specific sales staff that handle Costco customers. Did you know they will give you a discount on used cars, too? I made an appointment with the dealership we used for our new car for our DD to look at used cars. They have a "guaranteed lowest price" policy, so there is no negotiating the price. When we asked if they offered a Costco discount, they took off another $1,000. |
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