I haven’t tried purchasing a car through Costco but after reading a recent blog post, I ‘m thinking I might give it a try the next time I’m in the market for a new vehicle. This is a great story that demonstrates that Costco isn’t only a great place to shop for things like peanut butter and laundry soap, but some of their partner services are also beyond outstanding at saving you money. The post isn’t all that long or detailed, however, he does mention that the price that he was able to get through the Costco dealership agreement was $500.00 less than any other dealer’s price.
I’d love to hear from more people that have purchased their cars using Costco’s program. If you’ve done it, please leave a comment with your story, or you can send it to me at kimberly*at*addictedtocostco*dot*com and I’ll post it for you.
1
Michelle //
2008.06.27 at 4:20 pm
We used Costco to purchase our car a number of years ago. It was the most stress-free car-buying experience we have ever had.
My husband had done some research online, and pretty much knew what vehicle he wanted to check out, before we hit the lot. Using the paper “catalogue” that was provided by Costco, for the local dealers who would support the Costco discount, we pulled onto the Jeep lot, and of course were met by someone who was eager to sell us a car.
My husband looked around for a bit, asked some questions, did some test driving, and then made his choice, adding that we had our Costco membership with us. The salesman looked at us, and said, “Oh!” He then went into his office, wrote a number on a piece paper and said, “This is our Costco price. We don’t barter on it. Take it or leave it.”
That was it. I had braced myself for the long haul, of living at the dealership for the better part of the day, but it didn’t happen that way. My husband looked at the price and filled out the paperwork right then and there. Gone were the endless hours and useless games of some salesman running back and forth to his manager, working so hard to save us a few dollars and seeing if we could get an am/fm radio thrown in for free. We were in and out in a very short amount of time and had a very relaxing car-buying experience…two ideas that I never thought I would put together.
I am quite certain, that when it comes time for us to get another new car, we will once again choose Costco’s car-buying program. I share our experience with anybody I know who is looking to purchase a new vehicle in the hopes that they can be spared some stress, as well a save a few extra dollars.
2
Kimberly //
2008.07.01 at 11:49 am
Thanks Michelle for posting your take on using Costco to buy a car. It’s nice to know that buying a car can actually be a less than painful experience.
I also wanted to make sure that I posted the URL to the Costco Auto website: http://www.costcoauto.com/
You can use it to research vehicles, find out the benefits, as well as locate a dealer in your area.
3
umbriago //
2008.07.01 at 10:13 pm
Hey, I did, too! Two years ago. I am not much of a haggler, but I am much of a cheapskate, so I decided to give it a try. Basically, it worked this way: I chose the car I wanted, submitted my info, and in a day or so I got a call from the designated Costco dealer. I went in, picked out a car from available stock (I’m also not choosy), and they said “this is the price,” and it was about $1,500 off MSRP. This was during GM’s 0% financing offer, almost two years ago to the day, and when you combine the Costco price with 0% financing, it was a no-brainer. (I got a Pontiac Vibe, which gets about 35 MPG, so I could not be happier today.)