Free CarWoo Car Buying Service & 50% off Plus Service Plan

To reiterate, dealers on the free model cannot view competing offers made by other dealerships. And the reference of being a "CarWoo! Certified Dealer" simply means that they have registered with CarWoo (paid or free) and are set-up to respond to active leads.

So, I've been lurking on this thread and reading through most people suggestions. etc. I'm in the market for a new car but have no timeframe which I believe can only benefit me. However, I fear that I might miss a better opportnity since the '13's are rolling out and it doesn't look like I'll be "ready to buy until 1-2 months from now. With that being said, can anyone comment on my questions?

- Where can I find the absolute invoice price for my car? How can I factor in other dealer incentives to really and truly figure out what I should pay?

I've read plenty of sites from Truecar, CarWoo, etc. and it seems they are all different in some regard. I have absolutely no problem (and especially don't have a timeframe to buy) to get up and walk out but I want to be confident in the price that's in my head and go around until someone gives it to me. Any help is really appreciated. thanks!

Quote from SgtPorkExplosio : So, I've been lurking on this thread and reading through most people suggestions. etc. I'm in the market for a new car but have no timeframe which I believe can only benefit me. However, I fear that I might miss a better opportnity since the '13's are rolling out and it doesn't look like I'll be "ready to buy until 1-2 months from now. With that being said, can anyone comment on my questions? - Where can I find the absolute invoice price for my car? How can I factor in other dealer incentives to really and truly figure out what I should pay? I've read plenty of sites from Truecar, CarWoo, etc. and it seems they are all different in some regard. I have absolutely no problem (and especially don't have a timeframe to buy) to get up and walk out but I want to be confident in the price that's in my head and go around until someone gives it to me. Any help is really appreciated. thanks!

Unless you have a friend who works at a dealership good luck knowing the ABSOLUTE number. The reason all the sites are different is because they don't know for sure. As you said, time is on your side here so take it nice and easy. Use the sites and come up with a number that seems reasonable for your car (look at what other people are paying for it) and start with the lowest number for the options you want and take it from there. As you said, you can always walk out, sometimes numerous times. If they know you are serious you will eventually get close to what you want.

Also, look up stats for the dealerships in your area. My experience was that the dealerships with the lowest volume were more willing to bend on the price to make the sale. The dealership with the higher volume REFUSED to move on the price and I walked out 3 times so I knew they weren't messing around. The lower volume place caved fairly quickly.

Start interacting with the dealers this weekend and then come back with your "final" offer at the end of the month where they are more pressured to make sales. Also, depending on the car, the later you wait into the model year the more likely you are to get a deal as they want to clear the old inventory. However, if you are dead set on options or colors you sort of have to take what they have left at that point so factor that in.

Finally, check out local credit unions to see what the best private loan rate you can get is BEFORE you start negotiations. I found private loans as low as 1.49% for 60 months through credit unions. If the dealer's number for financing is too high tell him you just want to focus on the price of the car and deal with financing later. Once you hammer him down on price of the car, then talk financing and if his number is too high tell him you would love to give them your loan but you can find lower elsewhere. If he won't come down, then just finance privately. However, another trick I have seen people use is they work out a lower price with for the car with the dealer in exchange for a higher interest rate loan. Sometimes manufacturer's offer rebates only if you finance through them. The dealer will think he is getting one over on you but as soon as you purchase the car, go to your credit union the next day and pay off the loan through the dealership and refinance the loan with them for the lower rate. Just make sure there are no prepayment penalties (which there usually aren't).

Invoice is not a mystery. It is standard and well known, and it is in fact the price that the dealership pays up front to get the vehicle on their lot.

BUT, in the past 10 years as consumers have become better informed from sites like edmunds.com, armed with previously unknown invoice prices and bartering deals that cut harder into profit margins. And as a result, invoice prices have crept up curiously close to MSRP/Sticker prices.

Now why is that? does that mean dealers are making less money on cars? Of course not! The money has just been moved around.
They get thousands back from the manufacturer AFTER the sale in the form of holdback, factory to dealer incentives, sales and volume bonuses.

these are numbers that are very hard for consumers to know without insider information, and make it harder to precisely negotiate a fair price.

Since dealers can deceptively say "look this is the price Im paying for this car I have to feed my family so I cant go below a few hundred above that" Of course they leave out the fact that they are making several thousand from the manufacturer after they sell the car.

I think their service is only worth it if

• You are not trading in a vehicle
• You are buying a high volume model

What ever they offer on the vehicle, they can always get back from you from your trade-in, which would lead to no savings at all. It becomes just a bait to make you go to their dealership. There is absolutely nothing that guarantees that you will get a fair deal on your trade-in.

If you are looking for a not widely available model, there is no way Carwoo would work for you. Because it is ridiculous really but dealers can submit an offer without having the car that you want at all. And in my case they are making offers for cars that there is no way they can obtain since other dealers would never trade that vehicle to another dealer in the state. Well in the end all the hassle is meaningless.

Quote from SgtPorkExplosio : - Where can I find the absolute invoice price for my car? How can I factor in other dealer incentives to really and truly figure out what I should pay?

You can check the Cardeals newsletter. It comes out weekly I think. If you are a member of consumer checkbook, then it's free, else $10. I am in the market for a new car and got the latest report. Let me know the model you look for and I can tell you if/what the factory-dealer incentives are. The usual consumer incentives you can find on AOL cars or all the other websites.

Also, you can factor 2-3% holdback into the invoice price.

I am interested in knowing the details as well. I am looking for Prius Base 2 and would like know what the actual invoice price is.

Quote from seekingsun : You can check the Cardeals newsletter. It comes out weekly I think. If you are a member of consumer checkbook, then it's free, else $10. I am in the market for a new car and got the latest report. Let me know the model you look for and I can tell you if/what the factory-dealer incentives are. The usual consumer incentives you can find on AOL cars or all the other websites. Also, you can factor 2-3% holdback into the invoice price.

Quote from aolfoooler : I am interested in knowing the details as well. I am looking for Prius Base 2 and would like know what the actual invoice price is.

I only see Corolla and Camry in the list. And no dealer discounts for either, only cash to consumer and special financing.

Quote from demirhan13 : If you are looking for a not widely available model, there is no way Carwoo would work for you.

Minis must be pretty rare then. All I got back from Carwoo was one offer of full sticker price for a 2012.

i just want autonation 50% off sale again.

I found my carwoo experience also less than desirable and I am glad I didn't spend any money on it. I am looking for a fairly popular midsize SUV and there are more than 20 dealers close by. I submitted my info last Thursday and only received one offer back. This offer included discounts I was not eligible for and I requested an out the door price including taxes and fees three times but yet have not received one.

Meanwhile using the old email approach I was able to negotiate down two dealers to a very good price way under invoice.

Bottom line: I like the carwoo concept, but execution (i.e dealer participation) would need lots of improvement.

I used carwoo.com to buy my Acura MDX and loved them. Basically, I posted my requirement on carwoo.com, one of their reps called me the next morning to ask basic stuff: was I going to finance?, did I have a trade in? etc and approved my request.

Within two days, I had about 8 bids - some of them from far off places such as Washington DC and Columbus, OH (I am in Pittsburgh, PA). The price difference between the DC dealer price versus the price from the local dealership nearest me was almost $4000. Long story short, took the bus down to the dealer in DC and bought the car from them.

Loved the experience, smooth and painless. And no, I am not affiliated with carwoo in any way.

I just closed the deal on my own on 2012 Acura TL. CarWoo did send me a quote which was not bad at all as it was only couple of hundreds worse than what I had done on my own. Next time, I will use CarWoo and let them do all the leg work.

Just wanted to give everyone a heads-up. Carwoo has sweetened the offer just a little bit. If you use the link from the thread below, they are throwing in a $25 gift card (generic card, Visa or Amex or whatever) to Slickdealers who end up purchasing a car. See the thread for details.

http://slickdeals.net/f/5125146-F...-buy-a-car