<VV> Car Buying- the wave of the future?

[Russ Moorhouse]

When I purchased my '05 Silverado, I looked at them at a local dealership, 
researched it in the brochure and on-line.  I used both Edmunds and KBB to 
figure the price I should pay and then sent out what I was looking for to 
dealers in a 50 mile radius.  I got zero replies.  However, three people I 
work with have had great success using this method.  It was just a matter of 
going to the dealership and signing papers - in and out in about an hour. 
One guy even got it for less than he was figuring and it had a few more 
options than he was planning on buying.

The only thing I got out of my attempt was the exact truck I wanted, which I 
found at a distant dealership.  I ended up dealing with the same dealer and 
salesman that I have dealt with for several years.  After much convincing 
him that they had nothing I wanted and neither did any of the other near by 
dealership, he finally got this truck from the distant dealer who never 
replied to my request for a quote.  This distant dealership, where my truck 
came from had TV ads touting how great their internet purchasing was.  Maybe 
something went wrong with my request for a quote from the Chevy site, since 
I never got a response from any dealership, and we have plenty in a 50 mile 
radius.

A common compliant from those I know, who have had success in internet 
buying, is a large number of the dealers will call you or send you an email 
asking you to give them a call to discuss the transaction, rather than 
sending you a quote.  That's not the way it's supposed to be and all of 
these people just ignored these salesman and only dealt with those who sent 
out quotes.  None had any bait and switch tactics pulled on them either. 
The car they wanted was prepped and waiting for them when they got to the 
dealership.

This is a great way of not having to deal with salesmen, provided they 
respond to your request.

Russ Moorhouse
'65 Corsa coupe 140 HP
Group Corvair Member
Corsa Member
Kent Island, MD