Detroit Free Press On-line car buying: Is it up to speed?
Must-read article at freep.com
Losers:
"Cars.com then required me to click through a tedious series of pages on extended warranties -- an annoyance reminiscent of the same hard sell from traditional salespeople."
"Carprices.com wasn't much easier to navigate, and I had trouble picking colors and options. [...] never heard [ response from order] from Carprices.com."
Good, but expensive
"Certainly the quickest and most intuitive site was Carpoint.com, which required the fewest clicks to order a new car. Carpoint.com also provided easy access to invoice prices, sticker prices and critiques."
real competition
"The fastest quote came from Autoweb.com, the only service that sent the quote via e-mail instead of having a salesman phone me. That eliminated the phone tag I played with other dealers. I appreciated the time savings. Autoweb.com's nonnegotiable price was $20,881, $699 less than Carpoint.com."
Winner: ABTL
[quote was $20,661] Was I getting the best possible deal? To be sure, I called a dealership that wasn't associated with my on-line services and asked a salesman to beat the Autobytel.com price. After a minute of hemming and hawing, Ferndale Honda shaved off $100.
Bottom line: With only a few more minutes work, I had a nicely equipped Honda Accord for $20,561, nearly 10 percent off the sticker price of $22,785.
But wait! As if he knew I was snooping around for a better deal, my Autobytel.com dealer fired off an uncanny e-mail only hours after I had called Ferndale Honda:
"Please keep in touch during your purchasing process," he give me a call. If a dealer beats it and you get it in writing, we will either beat it or pay you $100."
Who could argue with that? If I were buying today, I'd go with Autobytel.com.
[...]
Another pleasant surprise came from Autobytel.com's Internet sales director at Mitchell Honda in Brighton. He left one of the friendliest voice mails I've ever received -- perky but not obsequious:
"My job is to get you the most competitive price on the market and make your life as easy as possible!" he said. "I hope you have a great day!"
[ That doesn't remind me of any auto sales attitude I've encountered in the past! ] |
