Costco is a discount warehouse where members can buy anything from cashews to chairs. The power of the buying power of Costco also offers a new car buying service. They act as an agent for you and set you up with a good price for a car.
Why would anyone want to do this? For one thing, since Costco is the go-between, you don’t have to spend part of your life haggling over the price of the car and play the waiting game.
But should you buy your next car from Costco? There are pros and cons to this and depending on your situation and needs, letting Costco handle all the grunt work may be the best solution for you.
How Does It Work?First off, to take advantage of the new car auto buying service at Costco, you need to have a paid membership, which starts at $55 for a whole year. After this is taken care of, all you need to do is to grab a car program pamphlet or talk to a Costco representative about your car needs.
You tell the rep what you can afford, whether you want to buy or lease, and choose up to three different models with the options you want and the rep will do all the work for you by negotiating a good price from a listing of dealers that have signed on with the Costco plan.
The dealers are pre-screened, so getting a dishonest one is highly unlikely. You can see the approximate invoice price or what the dealer paid for the car, (not counting any kickbacks and promotions they get back from the manufacturer) and you can take your pick of dealers.
Your end is to call up the dealer and close the deal, if you like what you see and hear.
Is It Worth It?If you want the absolute rock bottom price for a new car you are interested in, Costco probably won’t be able to get that for you. What it can do is to get you a very good price on a new car without you having to sweat it out at the car dealership.
If you hate the “car game,” when visiting car dealers, letting Costco do all the preliminary footwork may be worth giving up some cash. After all, they say time is money.
Can You Do Better?Sure you can. But you’ll have to spend days if not weeks in tracking down a deal you like. And even then, the car salesman will be putting pressure on you to buy extra options, warranties, and assorted things you don’t really need.
And if you don’t know what you’re doing, you may get a real good price, but the sneaky car dealer may inflate your annual percentage rate or add hidden fees to make up for the “loss.”
But if you do know what you’re doing, and you enjoy the hunt, you may get a better deal than if you went through Costco.
Source:
Cheapism