Costco Auto Buy Program

[KJF]

Has anyone used this program to buy a new car? We're looking at the 2011 Sienna. We found a few at local dealers, but I don't know if we can get a better deal going into the dealer or going through Costco. Also debating on speaking w/ the dealer first, then telling them we're going to try the Costco thing if we don't like the #.

 

[Janepod]

I tried it last year and it was a huge pain. I was buying a 2010 Toyota Venza. The Costco-affiliated dealers were at least an hour away (I live in CT - would have had to go into NY) so right off the bat that was annoying because I wanted to buy the car at the dealership that would be my "regular" dealership. Strike two: Costco dealers wouldn't give me a price quote via email/fax/phone; I would have to come in and get it in person. Strike three: I told them I wasn't interested and they still called me DAILY for a MONTH. No thanks.

 

[maleficentmom]

USAA has a service, but I have not used it. I live in East Tn and a lot of people go to North Carolina for Toyotas...they are part of Southeast region of Toyota dealers and(as i understood it) have different pricing and incentives from this region(ohio valley).....warning, I bought a used but certified Toyota Sienna with a clean carfax and later found out it had been wrecked, so if you go that route please have it inspected by someone who really knows their stuff,no matter what the dealer shows or tells you.

 

[JoiseyMom]

I used them not that long ago for my 2010 Equinox. They gave me an email price, and I used that price for a dealer more convenient to me. The dealer from Costco wasn't that far, but I still called around. Most Chevy dealers were not negotiating with that model at the time, but I was lucky. If another dealer had not matched the price, I would have gone with the Costco dealer.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I tried it but it was a big pain and not worth the effort.

I had specific requirements so the vehicle I was purchasing would be able to accept an ECV Lift on the back, so it had to be a factory order.

There is a Ford Dealer at the intersection of I-4 and US-27 which I have to pass on the way onto I-4 at Exit 55. The only Ford dealer locally for the Costco Program was two miles after Exit 83, so it was an extra 30 miles of travel.

Once I got the quote from the Costco dealer, I went to the one close to me and not only did they beat the price by $400, but also tossed in four free oil and filter changes.

 

[Swimalie]

I just bought a new car a month ago and used Costco's program. We priced between USAA and Costco and Costco came out about $300 less for our Subaru Forester. We told the dealer we were with Costco and they gave us the price quote right there. No haggling, no hassles, etc. It was great.

My parents used it for both their Toyota 4Runner and my mom's Prius. With the 4Runner they had gotten the price ahead of time but when they went to the dealer, they didn't have the exact car so for the same price they upgraded my dad's car to a sport model with some really nice extras. Again, at no additional cost.

The dealers pay a lot of money per month to be part of these programs. They want a positive experience from the buyer so Costco, USAA or any other will continue to use them.

 

[5stljayhawks]

haven't done cars but do insurance and they save me a ALOT on my car, house and RV - plus if you are executive member there are bunch of extra perks, like free towing and roadside, glass replacement at home and cyber security ins.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

We financed our last vehicle with AAA. They also offer an extended warrenty program. the program was for four years and it started the day the mfg warrenty expired. The great thing about it is that if you do not have to use the warrenty, when it expires they refund the full amt to you. Which is what happened to us. It was kinda nice to get that $1k bonus check. Not sure if they still offer this warrenty.

Also check with credit unions, they sometimes have good rates.

 

[KJF]

Thanks for the replies. I think maybe we'll try the dealer first, then if we're not happy, try Costco next. We're going to do the 2-dealers, so we'll see if one beats the price of the other. I just wasn't sure if Costco was the easy, do it first thing, but since it's a bit mixed, we'll save that one as a second plan of attack

 

[Plumeria9]

Good thread - I just went through a mini-nightmare w/ my '02 Honda Odyssey's tranny going out. The car is 9 years old, but only has 79,000 miles on it, and still looks pretty ok (but who doesn't want a new car?!). Anyhow I was scrambling to find info on buying a new car even though I didn't have a solid idea of what I wanted. We wound up fixing the tranny because Honda gave us a little "goodwill" $$off the repair. But I have Costco, USAA and maybe a few other purchasing programs I was looking at and couldn't come up w/ a definitive answer on which one was best. So now I will be doing my homework and will hopefully get a new SUV in the next couple of years. Thanks!

 

[HM]

We just bought a new car two weeks ago. DH did all the "footwork" over the phone. He talked to dealers about the particular car we wanted and worked out the best deal he could before actually visiting anyone. We don't belong to Costco, so that didn't come up, but we did contact AAA Car Buying Service. We ended up getting one from a dealer not too far from our house.

 

[kfeuer]

We used it when we bought our last vehicle, I didn't find it to be a big hassle. We did end up buying at a different dealership (they matched the price), but that was for convenience more than anything. I think it's a great program for people who aren't good at haggling.

 

[scottmel]

They had a nice volvo incentive last year and I priced it out at the dealer closest to me (maybe 30 miles). Got my Costco price but then decided to have the vehicle serviced there would be a big pain and really I feel funny buying a volvo there and having it serviced here - we usually get a volvo so I am familiar with my dealership. Long story short my dealership beat the Costo price by 400 without my mentioning Costco....

 

[jenn y]

We bought a 2011 sienna in March through the program and for us is was so easy. We had an appointment to meet with the salesperson after I told her what we wanted. They didn't have exactly what we wanted so they got it from another state for us and we got a better interest rate just for belonging to Costco.