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  Chris, 18 Jul 2002 @ 8:02am

  
  

  No Subject Given

  I bought a new Minivan via carsdirect.com last year and it was a good experience. After shopping around the local dealers I was convinced none of them were really giving me a good deal, so I sent the specs to Carsdirect and they emailed within 24 hours with the minivan at a local dealer, at about $1000 less than I had been able to do on my own. One con call with the dealer to set a pick up time, and the minivan was mine. There was a paperwork screwup with the license plates, but I was never able to determine who was at fault, the dealer or carsdirect.

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  • 

    2lazy2Register, 18 Jul 2002 @ 10:06am

    
    

    Re: No Subject Given

    I tried carsdirect and their price was the same as MSRP! Is that because of the particular car I chose (a 2003 Subaru) and indicative of market demand for that car? I don't see the point of the service if they're going to sell at sticker price!

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      Mike (profile), 18 Jul 2002 @ 11:00am

      
      

      Re: No Subject Given

      My experience showed that it was absolutely worthwhile to use every car buying service you could find. I got very very different offers from many different car dealers, and the eventual price I got was much lower than I would have even tried to bargain for on my own. But, maybe (as you point out) that was simply due to the market for my car.

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      • 

        Ally, 18 Jul 2002 @ 8:47pm

        
        

        Re: No Subject Given

        What are the major sites in online car price services? Thanks
        
        www.carsdirect.com
        Any others?

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          Mike (profile), 19 Jul 2002 @ 12:12am

          
          

          Re: No Subject Given

          I'm trying to remember which ones I used... There was CarsDirect, AutoWeb, AutoByTel, InvoiceDealers... That's all I can think of right now. But, I think there were a few more.

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            Anonymous Coward, 19 Jul 2002 @ 7:29am

            
            

            Re: No Subject Given

            Before you start actually shopping, check out edmunds.com. They provide, among other things, a nice "True Market Value" estimate of the price of a particular car. It's apparently based on actual sales data, and seems to be pretty acccurate. If you browse around there, the difference between TMV and MSRP fluctuates a lot depending on the car. When I bought my car (a 2002 Acura RSX), the listed TMV was only like $200 below MSRP, since it's apparently pretty popular.
            
            But in any case, I found edmunds.com to be a great resource for car shopping.

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              Mike (profile), 19 Jul 2002 @ 9:48am

              
              

              Re: No Subject Given

              Yeah. Edmunds is worth checking out, but I wouldn't rely on the TMV alone. When I got my car, I ended up paying over $2,000 less than Edmunds "True Market Value"... so I'm a little skeptical about their numbers.

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