Truecar buying experience?

Id complain to true car too. I left feedback for another buying program after they kept pestering me for a survey.

 

Bought my 2015 using Truecar from Toyota West in Columbus Ohio. Started the conversation via email to get the OTD price. Once I had the price I began conversations with them on the phone. I flew to OH and drove home. They honored the OTD price and there were no shenanigans what-so-ever. Saw pictures of the truck on-line and was in the perfect condition I expected. I'd recommend checking them out if they have what you want.

Caveats: 1) I paid cash; 2) No trade-in.

 

The cabeats dont matter. They make money on financing and they usually talk trade in value after you negociate the price of the new vehicle

 

Thats why I'm going to see the trade in manager without them knowing what I have picked out. Tell them I want a 4 runner or something and try to max out my trade

 

That's the thing - they DIDN'T make any money financing me, and negotiating a trade-in can end up costing you. The price they sold it to me was the price they had online before I contacted them. I elected to add a couple of things, but they weren't required in the pricing deal.

 

We are saying the same thing.

 

I think Truecar is a ripoff. Back when I bought my 2010 I got a Consumer Reports report for $15 that showed what the dealer paid for the base model and each and every option available. It showed the holdbacks, delivery, and even what a recommended profit margin was for the dealer. I did my research, picked my options, gave the dealer a 7% profit and didn't talk about the holdback (sacred). They didn't like it but I got a great deal I felt.

2 years ago my wife wanted a 2013 Honda CRV-Ex. I went to Consumer Reports again and now all they have is the BS Truecar which is a scam. All I got from that was 10 phone calls from dealers trying to sell me the car. All were within a $100 range. I can be an A-hole with negotiating and ended up much less than Truecar. All Truecar is is the "internet" price all dealers charge. I haven't found where I can find the REAL cost of a vehicle to the dealer anymore. Truecar ain't it.

 

Are you talking what the dealer actually pays or invoice? Personally I feel that if it is close to invoice and several thousand off MSRP, it isnt a bad deal. In my case the truck was 2400 off of MSRP and had to be ordered. That doesnt count the rebate I will be getting for what I finance through toyota

 

Truecar worked well for me recently with the purchase of my wife's subby. We save about 3K, and paid less than the Truecar quote. Through Truecar, I have a quote for invoice on a 16 taco. Going Saturday to write it up hopefully.

 

I don't understand. You went through True Car and you ended it getting it cheaper? How so? Did you ask the dealer to beat the TrueCar price?

 

Is this Consumer Reports service available for the 2016 Tacoma? Nevermind. I re-read your post

 

Internet guy gave me the tc price, then flat out emailed me a better quote. Ended up dropping price another 200 in final sale work up. I didn't let him know. The "regular" sales guy that assisted him with the final sale flat out said that they made some type of mistake, but honored the price. Even so, the original tc price would have earned them the sale without further haggling.

 

No. Invoice is not really what the dealer pays. They get money from hold backs from the manufacture and they don't want you to know about that. Also options are at a much higher profit margin than the base car. They make a killing on options. If they actually sold a vehicle for what they paid, they wouldn't be in business.

 

Exactly. So $500 above invoice seems like everyone wins. I wouldn't pay more than that. I would pay less if I could, but that's not a bad deal. One dealer tried to sell me on their service and quality. I laughed and walked out. Your customer service isn't worth 3k

 

Here's an awesome article about the Truecar of the past and the Truecar of the present. (Bit of a long read, but well worth the time if your interested in doing business via Truecar)

http://www.inc.com/magazine/201411/...-course-truecar-disrupter-gets-disrupted.html

Excerpt from the article:
"While the new TrueCar has probably resulted in some consumers paying more for cars than they did using the old site, Painter believes he finally has a sustainable business model that benefits both buyers and sellers. He points to a recent TrueCar survey showing that most consumers believe dealers make a 20 percent profit on a new car--more than five times the average margin of 3.8 percent--and that if they discovered that dealers made nothing on a car sale, they would voluntarily tip them 8 percent. This shows that car buyers want the dealer to succeed, Painter says--they just don't want to get ripped off. That's where TrueCar comes in."

 

Refreshing