Yes, I bought my car on the internet
Written: Sep 30 '01
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The Bottom Line
Carsdirect.com gave me the car I wanted, faster and cheaper than local dealers. I absolutely loved this service.
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| Full Review |
Five months ago, I used an internet service (Autoweb.com) and the enormous sum of about $30 to sell my eight year old Ford Tempo (less-than-affectionately dubbed Thumpo). In less than two weeks, I had a swarm of less than serious car-seekers, many who asked if I'd finance (heh), others who told me to hold that car, and they'd be over in a few months when they scraped together the cash (double heh). Though I had more than a few quivering moments, the first person to actually show up and look at the car bought it. For the asking price. And away it went. I didn't cry.
Given that easy experience, and the fact that the internet had already been more than generous to me (it gave me a husband, a vacation in the Caymans, and more good stuff than you want to imagine), you'd think I'd stay on the same track when purchasing my next vehicle.
But no. Part of the problem, of course, was that I had to try on the possibilities. I know, I'm a chick. It's a size thing for me (does this car make my butt look fat?). And, of course, I'm also into engine power, handling, suspension, and all that not-so-girly stuff. To top it off, I'm a big girl with an even bigger husband. . . some cars simply won't work for us.
We talked to friends, rented a few cars, and quickly narrowed it down to the realistic car and the it's too cute for words but impractical car. Realistically, despite the fact we have no kids, no dogs, and already own a Windstar, the most practical vehicle for me was a Dodge Caravan. We'd rented them in 96, 98, and 99, and found them roomy and easy to drive. On the fun side, I lusted for a Volkswagen Beetle. I come from German-cars-only stock, and longed to convince my husband that there really was something to their style and engineering.
Off we went to the Dodge dealer, where we quickly learned that the 2002 Caravan was not going to work for us. To his credit, the dealer was quiet, respectful, sensitive, and didn't push a thing at us. Then again, he couldn't. We were tightly packed in the Caravan, and he had nothing bigger up front.
We mulled over buying another Windstar, but I knew they'd cut inches since we bought our 1996. I refuse to drive GM cars, so my options were limited.
"Let's go look at the Beetle," my husband decided, knowing I'd never get it out of my system until I sat in one and drove it. Knowing what the demand is for them here in the NY Metro area, and having heard tales of price-raising dealers, I went to Carsdirect.com, worked up the exact model I wanted, and got a price: $18465. Hubby had a cow, bellowing that Beetles were $4000 in his day, but when I retorted something about him being a senior citizen, he got quiet.
So off we went to VW dealer #1, where we were told to return on a weekday in order to test drive. Pardon me, bud, but we work. You wanna sell the car, show the car. Nitwit.
Dealer #2 was the slimy salescritter of the year; he wouldn't give us a straight price, he pushed and insulted me when hubby was drooling over a little yellow GLX, and he had no automatics in stock.
Dealer #3 had the car. . . and SHE was refreshingly pleasant. Not only that, she let us drive a Beetle. Zip, zip. She and I began to work the numbers, and I was satisfied. Granted, the car had a fancier stereo than I wanted, but since it was in stock, she offered to cut the price by $300, which meant I'd get the car for $18500. That was close enough to Carsdirect.com's price for me.
Halfway through the paperwork, hubby decided she was "trying to screw us" and stormed out in a fit of anger, shouting like a sailor. I was mortified. I was also heartsick. I'd seen my New Beetle, and it was gorgeous. But he was already out in our car, screaming like a banshee.
Wither thou goest, you know. I apologized, trotted out to the car, and let him have it. We went home, glared at each other, and retreated.
Now out of local VW dealers, I returned to Carsdirect.com, and re-entered the information on the Beetle I wanted. Carsdirect.com will save virtual cars for you, but I chose to start again that night.
Good thing, too, because the car was now pricing at $18036. With my husband now asleep in his recliner, I decided to take a chance. I completed Carsdirect.com's application, including their credit application, typed in my credit card number, and waited. Within minutes, I received a message telling me I'd hear something on the next business day.
That was very early on a Sunday morning. On Monday morning at 10, my secretary buzzed me: "I've got Dave from Carsdirect.com on the phone. Do you want it?" I did.
Dave introduced himself as my European sales rep, reconfirmed what I was looking for, and told me he had no exact matches, but did have five Beetle GLS automatics for me to choose from, all within my local area. Also, I'd qualified for financing from Chase Bank at 6.65%, which pleased me immensely because this was a lower rate than VW had offered us. (Carsdirect.com "shops" your credit application to four banks, and the one that returns the lowest rate is what's offered to you. Pretty easy.)
Given that only one local dealer had one in stock, I was intrigued. Five? Five indeed. I ruled out the first three based on some serious female criteria (ugly colors); then told him the last two sounded okay, but could he expand the search and try to find me my dream Beetle? I wanted that gorgeous dark blue--VW calls it Marlin Blue; I also insisted on a cream cloth interior.
I asked Dave to expand the search and look for that combo. Within an hour, he called back and gleefully told me he'd found "lots" of Marlin Blue Beetles with cream interiors. In my area. Knowing what the local dealers had said (none nearby, I'd have to have the car driven in from Pennsylvania), I was blown away.
And then Dave said it. "Yeah, cream leatherette interior. Sweet."
Not so sweet. I wasn't about to take leatherette. It was, for all intents and purposes, vinyl. Hot. Sticky. Icky.
I asked Dave about custom ordering my dream Beetle, but learned that would take 12 weeks, thanks to the VW strike this August--they were backlogged at the Beetle plant. And not only that, Marlin Blue only had two cream interior options: leather (which I wanted but had to rule out because it required the moonroof, which I did not want), or leatherette.
So my options were limited. Dave cheerfully read me the list again, and I told him I would decide on either the Techno Blue with grey interior, or the Platinum Grey with black interior. Truth was, the Techno Blue was probably my second choice--but it was really bright. I hadn't seen the Platinum, and the color chip on Carsdirect.com's site wasn't that helpful. So I turned to another web resource; the newbeetle.org website, where I found one photo of the Platinum Grey and realized it had my vote. The color was a metallic charcoal, the finish elegant and funky at the same time.
So that was that. I called Dave back, and before I could get a word out, he told me the Techno Blue had just sold. Serendipity. I said yes to the Platinum, babbled like an idiot about it being a limited edition color (I was wrong, it's just a new color--but to his credit Dave didn't correct me), and waited for my confirmation email.
When it arrived a few minutes later, I read through it, impressed at how simple it was to understand, sent back my reply, and told Dave how I wanted to make my down payment. Carsdirect.com allows you to put up to $2000 on a credit card, so I used the Amex. Miles, you understand.
And speaking of miles, I also picked up another 10,000 miles thanks to Carsdirect.com's relationship with American Airlines; they posted on the day I brought home the car.
By that evening (still Monday, mind you) Dave had sent me the details on the dealer and told me I could pick up my new Beetle after 48 hours. All I had to do was fax him a copy of my license and insurance information. Too easy.
Two days later, my dealer called from Brooklyn. My car was ready for pickup anytime--they'd already gone to the DMV, it was registered, inspected, and eager to meet me. I asked if I needed to bring anything, and was told "just your license and an insurance card."
We made the 30 mile trip to Brooklyn a few days later; it was an absolute pleasure. There was no pressure, no add-on push, no advice on extended warranties, rustproofing, or floormats. The dealer was friendly, low-key, accomodating when my husband wanted to drive it around the block before I signed the paperwork, and only too willing to show us all the features of the car.
Oh yeah, the car. It was gorgeous--more beautiful than I'd dreamed. Freshly washed, with just 17 miles on it, brimming with every possible option and then some. I signed everything, grabbed my funky new keys, flashed everyone a big grin and a thank you, and zipped out of Brooklyn in my beautiful new Beetle.
It is a joy to drive, and it was a joy to buy. Both the dealer and Carsdirect.com followed up within a few days; I had nothing to report but pleasure. I saved time, stress, hassles, and almost $500. You can bet our next car (a Beetle for hubby, I suspect) will be from Carsdirect.com.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
pbyaeger
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Member: Pamela Yaeger
Location: Long Island, NY
Reviews written: 157
Trusted by: 158 members
About Me:
I whine, therefore I am.
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