Grey beard enjoys internet quoting

jsprat · 04-29-2007, 10:17 AM

Thanks to the many internet car forums, and especially Cbondhonda's advice on this forum, I obtained quotes by email.

What a nice experience. Hope it is helpful to others. I have been buying cars for 30 years. this was the best experience, and I felt I knew I had a fair price.

the process:

Requested quotes from 5 dealers, 30 minutes to 2 hours away from my rural western NY home. Detailed my options and asked for price out the door.

All but 1 replied in one day with warm welcome and suggestion to come on down for a test drive.

I replied I had done that already and was ready to buy.

Local Credit Union negotiated prices with nearest dealer, since I was not sure if my rural area would really do the email thing.

To my delight, 3 quotes came the next day. 1 dealer made contact after 3 days. The nearby dealer did not quote, since I already had his via Credit U.

Best price was about MSRP if all options free!... I jumped at that, "will see you tomorrow, but please do confirm your otd price"

The fellow quickly apologized for being misleading and offered real otd - $1,000 less than nearby dealer.

I called local guy, asked for his best price, since most of the email quotes were much lower than his.

He dropped $300, and we had a deal.

Range of quotes vs final:

$400 higher - 45 minutes from home
$400 lower - 2 hours from home
$700 lower - 2 hours from home and a little sleazy
no quote - 2 hours away, slow to quote and did not have the color I wanted

OTD cost to me for my deal:

$20,690 base Fiji Blue Pearl Si coupe (photos on the FBP site)
658 XM radio
147 splash guards
1,100 17" 7 spoke alloy wheels (see new driver post for more on the story)
105 trunk tray (I am a bicycing addict who was thrilled to find it fits ok)
10 temp plate (bought out of state)
55 document fee
5 tire tax (NYS beats Taxachusetts...)
10 Notary
$22,780 TOTAL

**Yodums** · 04-29-2007, 01:39 PM

Glad it worked out for the best. I agree with you, the board has lots of resources for all members to use - salesman, aftermarket sponsors, company reps visit this board, etc.

Did you opt for the coupe or sedan?

jsprat · 04-29-2007, 05:43 PM

the coupe (also see Fiji Blue Pearl photo site and new members intro site)

Yeah - internet really levels the playing field - at last the consumer has almost the same info as the dealers

04-29-2007, 10:17 AM	#1 (permalink)
jsprat Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: western NY Posts: 8 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Grey beard enjoys internet quoting Thanks to the many internet car forums, and especially Cbondhonda's advice on this forum, I obtained quotes by email. What a nice experience. Hope it is helpful to others. I have been buying cars for 30 years. this was the best experience, and I felt I knew I had a fair price. the process: Requested quotes from 5 dealers, 30 minutes to 2 hours away from my rural western NY home. Detailed my options and asked for price out the door. All but 1 replied in one day with warm welcome and suggestion to come on down for a test drive. I replied I had done that already and was ready to buy. Local Credit Union negotiated prices with nearest dealer, since I was not sure if my rural area would really do the email thing. To my delight, 3 quotes came the next day. 1 dealer made contact after 3 days. The nearby dealer did not quote, since I already had his via Credit U. Best price was about MSRP if all options free!... I jumped at that, "will see you tomorrow, but please do confirm your otd price" The fellow quickly apologized for being misleading and offered real otd - $1,000 less than nearby dealer. I called local guy, asked for his best price, since most of the email quotes were much lower than his. He dropped $300, and we had a deal. Range of quotes vs final: $400 higher - 45 minutes from home $400 lower - 2 hours from home $700 lower - 2 hours from home and a little sleazy no quote - 2 hours away, slow to quote and did not have the color I wanted OTD cost to me for my deal: $20,690 base Fiji Blue Pearl Si coupe (photos on the FBP site) 658 XM radio 147 splash guards 1,100 17" 7 spoke alloy wheels (see new driver post for more on the story) 105 trunk tray (I am a bicycing addict who was thrilled to find it fits ok) 10 temp plate (bought out of state) 55 document fee 5 tire tax (NYS beats Taxachusetts...) 10 Notary $22,780 TOTAL Last edited by jsprat; 04-29-2007 at 05:48 PM. Reason: added "coupe" to car desription

04-29-2007, 01:39 PM	#2 (permalink)
Yodums Scrodums Join Date: May 2006 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 8,236 Hiro Nakamura iTrader: 9 / 100%	Glad it worked out for the best. I agree with you, the board has lots of resources for all members to use - salesman, aftermarket sponsors, company reps visit this board, etc. Did you opt for the coupe or sedan? __________________ 2007 Taffeta White Civic Si Coupe

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04-29-2007, 05:43 PM	#3 (permalink)
jsprat Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: western NY Posts: 8 iTrader: 0 / 0%	the coupe (also see Fiji Blue Pearl photo site and new members intro site) Yeah - internet really levels the playing field - at last the consumer has almost the same info as the dealers