# Costco car buying program



## Phids (Sep 24, 2020)

Anyone bought a car through Costco before? Thoughts on the experience? Or is there an alternative method that you prefer for car buying?


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## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

Phids said:


> Anyone bought a car through Costco before? Thoughts on the experience? Or is there an alternative method that you prefer for car buying?


yes - I've used it several times. You will get in OK deal but not a great deal.

The reason is the prices are pre-negotiated with Costco and they typically CANNOT go lower than that price as they are allowed to deviate.

You are better off using something like TruCar or something like that where it blasts what you want to many dealers and they compete. Be sure to set up a disposable email so you can block them once you buy the car.

I actually had the sales manager explain this to me on my last car purchased.

Having said that, you are not going to get a deal on any car right now and many dealers have paused working with Costco so they can charge more.


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## Phids (Sep 24, 2020)

@DFW_ZoysiaIn the past I used the USAA car buying program, which I believe was done in conjunction with TruCar, but USAA has since dropped the program.

I am reluctantly in the situation of being forced to buy a car. My wife grazed a yellow parking garage pylon while going around 5 mph, but it was enough to cause the front passenger door to no longer open. I just found out the cost of repair is $6000, and so that doesn't seem like a great investment on a 2012 Mazda.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

I'm in need of replacing my very old F-150 with 300,000 miles on it but just can't stomach the prices right now. With demand being so much higher than supply I may just have to keep this truck until the wheels fall off.


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## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

Redtwin said:


> I'm in need of replacing my very old F-150 with 300,000 miles on it but just can't stomach the prices right now. With demand being so much higher than supply I may just have to keep this truck until the wheels fall off.


It's a double edged sward - you can sell your truck for a crazy high price, but then you'd need to buy something at a crazy high price.


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## falconsfan (Mar 25, 2019)

If you can wait 6 months there will be better deals available. Auto loan delinquencies are way up and car prices are trending down although still too high. The pendulum is swinging back.


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## Phids (Sep 24, 2020)

falconsfan said:


> If you can wait 6 months there will be better deals available. Auto loan delinquencies are way up and car prices are trending down although still too high. The pendulum is swinging back.


What makes you say that prices will be coming down? I had been planning on making a purchase of a used vehicle in summer of 2020 but held off, and unfortunately prices have just gone up and up and up. With inflation here, why do you think car prices will come down?

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/price-trends/


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## falconsfan (Mar 25, 2019)

Supply chains issues, cheap money, and government checks largely fueled the increases. Today car loan, personal loan and credit card defaults are all rising. This will result in more repos and lower demand, meaning more cars to sell and that will lower used car prices. Loan rates are also rising sharply which will cause consumers to hold off on purchasing new cars. A new vehicle purchase is pretty attractive with zero percent financing. You don't see that much anymore. Supply chains are improving as well. Retail sales of new cars fell 17% in May by one report. There are no guarantees but I'd expect car prices to fall in the next 6-12 months as inventories build and the job market cools. Carvana stock is down 91% this year as their business model no longer makes sense.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

Didnt read the thread Phids, because I'm out of town for a tournament tomorrow. I've used USAA car buying to buy my last truck. My brother used USAA once and Costco once, said the experience was similar. If the program has it at that price, you get it at that price. They have no ability to argue the price. It is what it says no matter how much bs they try to feed you.

That's how the programs are designed to work and dealers know this when they sign on. Be prepared for them to push back some or undervalue a trade....etc. I forced my last dealer to make me an offer on the trade first before I would talk price on my truck. I let them know what I thought my trade was worth, backed up by paperwork/research, then told them I wanted that amount, they tried to haggle a little. AFTER all that, I disclosed I had a USAA agreed upon price they had to honor.

They tried to fudge my trade numbers down from there, but I asked them if they wanted to lose the sale over $800 when I went in with my own financing trade and large down $. They weren't thrilled, but I got what I wanted on my trade and the price as promised on the vehicle.

Hope that helps some. Remember, I used USAA, brother used USAA & Costo, he said same process for him with both. He used one once and the other the second time due to different dealers with different inventories.


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## jessyrich (6 mo ago)

I prefer carfax to be honest. The whole our family are their clients for ages now and most of our deals are very good.
You can always monitor their reviews here - https://carfax.pissedconsumer.com/review.html and see what current customers can say about their service and recent deals.


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## thebmrust (Jun 29, 2020)

Using Costco car program:
Go to dealer.
Pick car.
Haggle price.
Walk away.
Haggle more.
Get it in writing.
Mention the costco program.
Pick best deal.


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