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Old 10-04-2010, 11:22 AM   #1
fq283
AF Newbie
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Ottawa
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New Car Buying Advice. (CCC) Car Cost Canada, Dealfinder, Car By E-mail

Hi,

I would just like to share my recent new car buying experience. I was looking to buy a Silver 2010 Honda Civic 2 Door Coupe with an Automatic Transmission.

http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/a..._Photo_mod.jpg
http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/a..._Photo_mod.jpg

I started first by becoming a member of (CCC) Car Cost Canada http://carcostcanada.com. That gave me a really good starting point, because within their report I learned what the Wholesale Price was.

From there I added up all the other costs and taxes with a Dealer's Profit of 3% for a Grand Total of $25,048.53

While in the middle of doing this I just happened to come across http://Dealfinder.org on the internet. He's mentioned in the Lemon-Aid Car Buyer's Guide in the section entitled "When and Where to Buy New Vehicles". In addition to that he's recommended by Alterna Savings Bank at the following location http://www.alterna.ca/Templates/Savi...&langtype=1033
under the heading "Car Purchasing Service". Dealfinder.org claimed to be able to get the best price on a new car guaranteed. So I signed up with Dealfinder.org.

While Dealfinder.org was now looking for the car I wanted, I thought it may be interesting to see if I could get a better price, just for fun. That's when I learned about Car By E-Mail.com http://carbyemail.com It's an e-mail service that's linked to 2,368 Dealerships across Canada that you may use to make an offer on a new or used car (ie. Honda, New Car, 2010 Civic Coupe, EX-L etc...) within a certain distance of your Postal Code. In my case I set my "Maximum distance" at 100 km from my Postal Code.

I don't recall exactly how many Dealership within 100 km of the Ottawa area received my e-mail, I think it was around 5 or 6. I think only 3 Dealerships responded to my e-mail because I had a very specific vehicle, trim level, transmission, and color in mind.

There were some e-mails going back and forth between these Dealerships and myself that Thursday morning, and we quickly reached a point where I knew I had to show up in person so they would take me seriously.

I went down to Honda Dealership A first because they had the color I wanted. I let them know that Honda Dealership B had the same car at a better price ($24,800.00 roughly 2.0% Dealer's profit), but it was blue. Honda Dealership A matched Honda Dealership B's price, so I just had to make a quick phone call to see if Dealfinder.org had managed to get a better price. And wouldn't you know it Dealfinder.org beat me by about $40.00.

At this point I was ready to go ahead with Dealfinder.org, but the gentleman who runs it suggested I take a shot at Honda Dealership A's offer, and if I could buy the car for $24,800.00 everything included he would refund me half of his fee. So I went ahead with it, and after about five days of waiting to take delivery I was worried they might try to slip in some "administration fees" or some other BS "fees". But fortunately there were no hidden fees, so I got my car and the gentleman from Dealfinder.org refunded me half of his fee.

(In an unrelated matter, (CCC) Car Cost Canada was slow in responding to a question I had e-mailed them, so they were kind enough to offer me a full refund as compensation, so I took it.)

Not only had I managed to get my car at a good price, but I got almost all my money back from my "membership fees".

If today someone were to ask me for my advice on buying a new car, after what I've been through, I would simply ask them if they do their own taxes every year?

1) If they told me, no they don't, they get H & R Block to do them, I would definitely recommend Dealfinder.org when buying a new car:

Because, for $159.00, plus GST or HST where applicable, you don't really have to do anything. No haggling with salesmen, or sending out and responding to e-mails. No driving from one dealership to another across town, so they'll take you seriously, or trying to make spreadsheets that breakdown the price of the vehicle, and how as little as a 0.5% percentage point moves the cost of the car up or down in increments of roughly $100.00 etc... (You get the idea).

2) However, if someone told me they prefer to do their own taxes, then I would recommend (CCC) Car Cost Canada and Car By E-Mail.com (carbyemail.com).

Yes, you're right that to become a member of (CCC) Car Cost Canada is only $39.95 plus GST or HST where applicable, and Car By E-Mail (carbyemail.com) is free. But then you have to be willing to spend at least a day or two doing the following: figuring out the price you're willing to pay, and how an increase or decrease of 0.5% will affect the overall price of the car. Also, you will probably end up at some point, having to drive across town, from one Dealership to another to let them know that you're serious. Also, you'll have to deal with the two parts of buying a new car that I hate the most, haggling and so-called "administrative fees", or as I like to refer to them "BS fees".

So if you're buying a new car in the near future, I hope this posting has helped you.
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