Question About True Car And Dealers ..

[crazyoildude]

Someone i know is buying a new suv and they got a true car price from one dealer but they want to use another dealer that does not participate in true car...Is there a reason they should not use the other dealer that does not participate?

The reason they want to use another dealer is the one from true car charges double for their doc fee $499.00 ..And they also want to charge for etching the windows $399 which they say is mandatory, the other dealer gives you a choice to not want that and if you do want the etching its also half the price.

 

[Leo99]

Every dealer sets their own prices. If you can get the SUV at the better dealer for the price you want, buy it. It has nothing to do with TrueCar. Only focus on bottom line. Don't worry about document fees and etching fees. Only the bottom line all in price.

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
Someone i know is buying a new suv and they got a true car price from one dealer but they want to use another dealer that does not participate in true car...Is there a reason they should not use the other dealer that does not participate?

The reason they want to use another dealer is the one from true car charges double for their doc fee $499.00 ..And they also want to charge for etching the windows $399 which they say is mandatory, the other dealer gives you a choice to not want that and if you do want the etching its also half the price.


Sounds like the True Car dealer is a bit slimey. Who says etching the windows in mandatory?

To me, it sounds like the True Car dealer is one to avoid here. I don't know much about the other dealer.

I do know that I only negotiate the bottom line. So if they want to call some of the money above that line doc fees and VIN etching, it's fine with me. But it doesn't impact my OTD offer.

I try to avoid dealers with "sucker stickers."

 

[AirgunSavant]

I never had to do any of that using True Car.
I however negotiated beyond True Car prior to the purchase.
I used it only as a guide line and True Car is not the end all.
Plus if you're using the credit unions version of True car you may find that is $800 higher.
So always use the website version and not your banks version.
Its not the end all price. You can do far better.

 

[crazyoildude]

i think the true car price is one thing then they add the doc fee and other fees but im not sure does anyone know the correct answer>?

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
i think the true car price is one thing then they add the doc fee and other fees but im not sure does anyone know the correct answer>?


That's likely true. There can be other "fees" on top of the TrueCar price.

My new Camry has the window etching. The dealer told me the etching is tied to an anti-theft insurance policy that was optional. If I didn't want the insurance, there was no charge for the etching. My car came with the etching and a pinstripe but there was no extra line item charge for them.

 

[Quattro Pete]

TrueCar is paid by the dealerships, so they dont necessarily have your interest in mind. The purpose of true car is to generate leads for the dealerships. Their purpose is not necessarily to get you the best deal.

 

[AirgunSavant]

Well said!

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
TrueCar is paid by the dealerships, so they dont necessarily have your interest in mind. The purpose of true car is to generate leads for the dealerships. Their purpose is not necessarily to get you the best deal.

 

[Lyman]

True car is for people that don't want to negotiate. I like to make my own deals. I have only dealt with one dealer in my life that wasn't a slime ball.

 

[Malo83]

Best deals are made thru the dealer Internet Mgr, bought my last 2 cars all on the internet, never set foot on the lot, only to go pick up the car after settling on a low price

 

[Tdbo]

Originally Posted By: Malo83
Best deals are made thru the dealer Internet Mgr, bought my last 2 cars all on the internet, never set foot on the lot, only to go pick up the car after settling on a low price

Plus one.

 

[mehullica]

Best way to shop online is to get a quote from one dealer, then forward that email to another dealer asking to beat that price & so on until you've received quotes from 4-5 dealers. Each dealer will know the others price so they know you're not bluffing them trying to get a better deal & you'll get the best price in your area without much work

 

[Tdbo]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
Someone i know is buying a new suv and they got a true car price from one dealer but they want to use another dealer that does not participate in true car...Is there a reason they should not use the other dealer that does not participate?

The reason they want to use another dealer is the one from true car charges double for their doc fee $499.00 ..And they also want to charge for etching the windows $399 which they say is mandatory, the other dealer gives you a choice to not want that and if you do want the etching its also half the price.


Sounds like the True Car dealer is a bit slimey. Who says etching the windows in mandatory?

To me, it sounds like the True Car dealer is one to avoid here. I don't know much about the other dealer.

I do know that I only negotiate the bottom line. So if they want to call some of the money above that line doc fees and VIN etching, it's fine with me. But it doesn't impact my OTD offer.

I try to avoid dealers with "sucker stickers."



The customer decides whether or not it is mandatory.
The one time that I had a dealer tell me that, I got out of my chair and started for the door.
It became "non-mandatory" before I made it to the door.
I still kept walking anyway.
I was plenty PO'd by that point anyway.

 

[MNgopher]

Lots of good advice in here.

Truecar is really for generating leads for the dealership. They pay Truecar something like $30 a lead...

After that, the truecar price may or may not be a deal. You've got to do your homework. In my case, I undercut the truecar price rather substantially. Of the three dealerships they referred me to, one never contacted me (ironically the one I bought from at a much lower price), one contacted me but didn't have anything remotely close to what I wanted in inventory (and was focused only on moving what they had), and the other relentlessly hounded me, and did have something pretty close to what I wanted.

At the end of the day, all that matters is the OTD price. I don't care what they do to the numbers behind it - the OTD price is all that matters. My new truck was a $75 doc fee, taxes, and the purchase price. Nothing else, and no pressure to add anything...

 

[Tdbo]

Originally Posted By: mehullica
Best way to shop online is to get a quote from one dealer, then forward that email to another dealer asking to beat that price & so on until you've received quotes from 4-5 dealers. Each dealer will know the others price so they know you're not bluffing them trying to get a better deal & you'll get the best price in your area without much work



Just send out a group email to a group of selected dealers within a predesignated radius and let nature take its course.
The individual or dealer that works the hardest for me with the best OTD price gets my business.
Why would I want to reward someone who was going to charge me more with my business?

 

[Leo99]

Before I bought my Camry, I cross shopped an Accord. My local Honda dealer wouldn't provide any prices via email but other dealers would. Some gave me their prices for every model of Accord and all less than TrueCar. Easy enough.

 

[Eddie]

OUT THE DOOR PRICE is the only price I'd go by. Let the dealer take money from one line to another makes no difference to me. Ed

 

[97prizm]

I work for a dealership and this is how true car works. We and other true car certified ddealerships pay money to be certified. we the dealership set the vehicle price. All true car does is take price haggling out plus adds ppresentation ie the vehicle up front with your name on it etc. The fact a guy could start a business off of another business and for it to be perceivedas a less eexpensive option is crazy. Non-truecar dealerships aren't necessarily more expensivE.

 

[crazyoildude]

How about costco?