buying car from dealership not close to your house?

Go Blue 99 · Post by **Go Blue 99** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 9:36 am

I've been reading up on the strategy on getting the lowest new car price possible (emailing/calling every dealer and pitting them against each other). If you did this, did you have any concern about not buying from a dealership that is close to you?

We are set on buying a new Hyundai. Via online inventory search, I've found 5 dealerships in a 45 mile radius that have the exact model we want. The closest dealership is only 3 miles away, and the next closest is 15 miles. My wife wants to buy from the closest one, even if we have to pay $500-$750 more. She thinks if there are any warranty-covered issues or complaints, a dealership that you didn't purchase from would be less eager to help you.

Would you pursue the lowest price regardless of dealer location, or would you pay a little more for a close dealership?

cheese_breath · Post by **cheese_breath** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 9:45 am

Any dealer should be willing to perform your warranty and service work for you. They make lots of money from their service departments, and they're not going to cut off their noses to spite their faces. Plus the manufacturer wouldn't take kindly to it if they refused you. That said, not all service departments are equal, and not all services have to be performed by a dealer. You may want to have some services performed by a good, less inexpensive independent shop.

sscritic · Post by **sscritic** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 9:46 am

When I was a young lad growing up in CA, my father bought an MGB from a dealer in Washington DC. That was in a time when shipping charges were real shipping charges and not a flat rate charged to every customer no matter how long or short the shipment actually is. We had a good time driving it across the country, although my dad wasn't real happy when I went over some railroad tracks outside Chicago a little too fast and bent the frame. I don't think the distance of our home from the dealer made any difference, but my driving did.

Post by **prudent** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 9:59 am

Have done it twice and did this. When I needed some maintenance done, I contacted the closer dealer and talked to the service manager. I explained that I preferred to work with a different dealer for service and asked straight up if his service department would be interested in handling service on the car. They made the assumption that I was unhappy with the original dealer (which I never said) and were more than happy to welcome me. I used a tone that implied I was giving them a tryout rather than making them think I really wanted to use them for my own convenience. Had no troubles either time.

WhyNotUs · Post by **WhyNotUs** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 10:01 am

Every dealer competes for sales and then competes for service. The sales and service are two different departments and like any organization the dealership may have one together and not the other. I would not pick either over the difference between 3, 5, or 15 miles but rather who gets a deal done and who knows how to fix the car. As previously noted, warranty repairs are paid by the parent company and there is lots of competition for that work.
My wife got a Hyundai about 180 miles away from home, while it was not the closest dealer the others were not that much closer. We bought from the dealer that made us an incredible deal and do the routine maintenance at a dealership with a great rep for service (so far so good).
Go Bucks! (good game Blue)

Steelersfan · Post by **Steelersfan** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 10:31 am

I bought my current car from a dealer about 25 miles away when the dealer close to me was at least $1,000 over the other's price. I never had the car serviced at the place I bought it and have had it serviced for years at the closer one.

I've never had an issue with it and neither have they.

sscritic · Post by **sscritic** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 10:40 am

Have you seen the prices charged by a dealer service department? You had better believe service is not a loss leader for sales. They make money, and they want you as a customer.

P.S. I have had my car serviced at five different dealers since I bought it, and I think the original dealer only had it once, when it was brand new (my memory is such that I might never have taken it to the original dealer, so in that case change five to four). There is one dealer's service department that I liked, so I once drove fifty miles (past a number of dealers, probably five or so, although I didn't count) to get there. Now I live farther away, so I will likely give the closest one a try (I did use that dealer about 10 years ago when my key wouldn't work the ignition and I had the car towed to the closest dealer - did you get that I have come full circle?).

Go Blue 99 · Post by **Go Blue 99** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 10:52 am

Ok thanks all. I guess I should have realized Hyundai pays the dealer for warranty work, so it's not like they are doing it for free.

denovo · Post by **denovo** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 10:58 am

Go Blue 99 wrote:Ok thanks all. I guess I should have realized Hyundai pays the dealer for warranty work, so it's not like they are doing it for free.

See my thread on this topic.

http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=124638

I hope you are not settling on the initial quotes they give you via internet, that's an opening price and you can probably get them down a considerable amount more. But as others have mentioned, the service department couldn't give a fig where you bought the thing.

denovo · Post by **denovo** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 10:59 am

sscritic wrote:Have you seen the prices charged by a dealer service department? You had better believe service is not a loss leader for sales. They make money, and they want you as a customer.

P.S. I have had my car serviced at five different dealers since I bought it, and I think the original dealer only had it once, when it was brand new (my memory is such that I might never have taken it to the original dealer, so in that case change five to four). There is one dealer's service department that I liked, so I once drove fifty miles (past a number of dealers, probably five or so, although I didn't count) to get there. Now I live farther away, so I will likely give the closest one a try (I did use that dealer about 10 years ago when my key wouldn't work the ignition and I had the car towed to the closest dealer - did you get that I have come full circle?).

Stay away from the stealerships for service! Even if your car is under warranty, you can service it at an independent shop, just keep good records and proof you serviced it. They still have to honor the warranty. Magnuson-Moss to the rescue!

bertilak · Post by **bertilak** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 11:07 am

Many years ago I bought a Subaru that had lots of electrical problems from day one. The dealer's warranty fix was to keep replacing the same fuse over and over again, keeping the car in the shop for several days each time. I took the car to a different dealer and, contrary to all the above, that dealer would not work on the car!

I had to go to the regional manager to get the second dealer to accept the car for warranty work. The second dealer found a worn wire shorting against something. He put in a replacement wire and made sure it was routed properly. No problems after that ... well until the car eventually wore itself out years later.

Mingus · Post by **Mingus** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 11:12 am

I bought my car from the dealership closest to my house. They also pretty much exactly matched the best price I got from a dealer an hour and half away.

Made the the buying process a lot easier.

FrugalInvestor · Post by **FrugalInvestor** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 11:19 am

It makes no difference where you buy your car vs. where you have it serviced. Dealers' service departments are very profitable so any dealer will be happy to take care of either warranty or non-warranty service for you. The trick is keeping the dealer from doing (and charging for) too much service. Buy your car wherever you find the best deal and you will be welcomed by any other dealer's service department.

Dave76 · Post by **Dave76** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 11:45 am

Go Blue 99 wrote:I've been reading up on the strategy on getting the lowest new car price possible (emailing/calling every dealer and pitting them against each other). If you did this, did you have any concern about not buying from a dealership that is close to you?

I bought a 2012 Hyundai from a dealership 80 miles from home. No dealership in my area had the model with the options I wanted. I get the car serviced at a local dealership. The car is a piece of junk, but they honor the warranty.

As for Hyundai itself -- I just spent over $700 in rear brakes on a car that has 19k on the odometer. I will never buy a Hyundai again.

cheese_breath · Post by **cheese_breath** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 11:48 am

It might also be that the dealership closest to your home has a lousy service department, and you wouldn't want to take your car there no matter where you bought it.

jeff1949 · Post by **jeff1949** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 11:57 am

I recently bought a Toyota Camry hybrid from a dealer that was 60 miles from our home because they offered the best price. I have had the car serviced at the dealer that is only 6 miles from our home and have been very happy with them. The sales departments are quite different and separate from the service departments of most auto dealers I believe.

lthenderson · Post by **lthenderson** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 12:09 pm

I haven't bought any new cars from far away but I've bought a couple used cars from dealers well over 500 miles away. I bought both on ebay and then bought one-way tickets to pick them up and drive them home. Because I live in such a rural area, doing something like that allows me to get the specific make, model, options on a used car and a price that I like without a lot of work. I've never had any problems taking them into the local dealer if a need arises because I maintain a good relationship with him.

Mingus · Post by **Mingus** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 12:15 pm

Dave76 wrote:
Go Blue 99 wrote:
As for Hyundai itself -- I just spent over $700 in rear brakes on a car that has 19k on the odometer. I will never buy a Hyundai again.

Huh?? How is that possible? What could possibly go wrong with rear brakes in 19K miles? Rear brakes typically last well over 100K miles. Was the parking brake left on? Even so, I can't imagine it costing more than $200 for a rear brake job.

nisiprius · Post by **nisiprius** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 12:24 pm

Twice, I've had difficulties getting warranty work from dealerships where I did not buy the car. It's a tricky business--it's one of those things where in theory it should not happen, but a dealer who does not want to deal with your warranty work can be fairly obstinate--plus, of course, the fear that if they are doing work they don't think they will be well paid for, they may do a slapdash job.

In one case, I had a Chevrolet-marque car, and there was a convenient Buick dealership near where I worked. I started bringing it there for oil changes and when I went there the first time I specifically asked them if they would do warranty work on Chevrolets and was told (verbally) they would. I didn't get it in writing. With 30,000 miles, one day the oil light comes on when the dipstick shows full. I take it there, and get told "O no, we are a Buick dealer and you have a Chevrolet, no warranty work for you."

In another case--gas gauge failure at about 20,000 miles--dealer 1/2 mile from my house said no. I actually contacted the zone office and was told that (in that zone? at that time?) it was in fact that carmaker's policy that if you lived within ten miles of the dealership where you bought the car, you must get your warranty work from that dealership and no other, even if others were closer or more convenient.

FrugalInvestor · Post by **FrugalInvestor** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 12:49 pm

nisiprius wrote:Twice, I've had difficulties getting warranty work from dealerships where I did not buy the car. It's a tricky business--it's one of those things where in theory it should not happen, but a dealer who does not want to deal with your warranty work can be fairly obstinate--plus, of course, the fear that if they are doing work they don't think they will be well paid for, they may do a slapdash job.

In one case, I had a Chevrolet-marque car, and there was a convenient Buick dealership near where I worked. I started bringing it there for oil changes and when I went there the first time I specifically asked them if they would do warranty work on Chevrolets and was told (verbally) they would. I didn't get it in writing. With 30,000 miles, one day the oil light comes on when the dipstick shows full. I take it there, and get told "O no, we are a Buick dealer and you have a Chevrolet, no warranty work for you."

In another case--gas gauge failure at about 20,000 miles--dealer 1/2 mile from my house said no. I actually contacted the zone office and was told that (in that zone? at that time?) it was in fact that carmaker's policy that if you lived within ten miles of the dealership where you bought the car, you must get your warranty work from that dealership and no other, even if others were closer or more convenient.

Typically you must go to a dealer that handles your brand in order to get warranty service (i.e. Buick to Buick dealer, Toyota to Toyota dealer). This, I imagine, has to do with ordering parts and receiving manufacturer reimbursement for the service performed.

Receiving non-warranty service like oil and filter changes at a 'related' brand (Buick at Chevy dealer, Lexus at Toyota dealer) is usually no problem at all. As a matter of fact I always had my Lexus serviced at the Toyota dealer because Toyota charged about 50% for the exact same service. Many parts cross over from brand to brand and model to model within a car family such as GM. For example, a Lexus RX has many if not most parts in common with a Toyota Highlander.

Running into something like the 'ten mile rule' in your example would be extremely rare. I've purchased cars on the other side of the city and the other side of the country and had them serviced under warranty near my home, an hour away or in another state when traveling with absolutely no problem. The question of where the car was purchased never came up although the dealer can probably see this in their database.

cyfan · Post by **cyfan** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 1:23 pm

I just purchased a new car from a dealer 200+ miles from home for various reasons, mainly because I preferred to deal via email quotes and did not want to play the game of having to be present in a showroom for hours at a time to haggle with sales people and their managers. Saving $1200 did not hurt either. My local dealership was hell bent on making me come in just to get a quote - not going to happen. I am not the least bit concerned should I need warranty work as most dealers would jump at the profit margins given that they are paid by the manufacturer for this work. How would it be any different if I purchased a car locally, then moved before the warranty expires? People do it all the time. If I happen to encounter a dealer service department that did not want my warranty business, I would make it very clear to them that not only would I never consider them for a new purchase, but I would be sure to share my experience every chance I got. Not too worried about it.

denovo · Post by **denovo** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 5:14 pm

Sometimes when I found dealers to be unhelpful on service (even when it was a car I bought from them) , before I wizened up and got the hell out of Dodge, it would always be good to subtely raise the specter of reporting them to the corporate office and writing negative reviews on the internet, that would make them start behaving 9 out of 10 times.

Something like "Are you sure how this works, I am going to call XXX Corporate office and double check is that ok?

I guess that's not subtle , really.

frequentT · Post by **frequentT** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 5:39 pm

I have shopped away from the closest the last 2x and would not hesitate to do it again:

Purchased:
Volvo= 140 mi. for $1150 savings
Nissan= 35 mi for $1270

Both local service departments have been very happy to have the business, particularly the Volvo dealer. I have only been to the Nissan dealer once because they sent HV coupon for oil change and tire rotation.

Shop aggressively, communicate only by email until someone hits your price target! Make them put it in writing with total, out the door price. Only then, pick up the phone and make an appointment to collect the car.

Good luck!

cheese_breath · Post by **cheese_breath** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 6:57 pm

FrugalInvestor wrote: Typically you must go to a dealer that handles your brand in order to get warranty service (i.e. Buick to Buick dealer, Toyota to Toyota dealer). This, I imagine, has to do with ordering parts and receiving manufacturer reimbursement for the service performed.

Even though Chevrolet and Buick are both GM brands they operate as separate companies and compete against each other; or at least they did before the bankruptcy. Most likely Chevrolet did not relish the idea of paying a Buick dealer to do their warranty work when they could pay a Chevy dealer instead.

cheese_breath · Post by **cheese_breath** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 7:01 pm

cyfan wrote:If I happen to encounter a dealer service department that did not want my warranty business, I would make it very clear to them that not only would I never consider them for a new purchase, but I would be sure to share my experience every chance I got.

Share it with the manufacturer too. They want to know these things because it reflects on them. It's not unusual for someone to switch to a different brand for their next car because of bad experiences with a dealer.

cheese_breath · Post by **cheese_breath** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 7:02 pm

denovo wrote:Sometimes when I found dealers to be unhelpful on service (even when it was a car I bought from them) , before I wizened up and got the hell out of Dodge

So what brand did you switch to?

Dave76 · Post by **Dave76** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 8:47 pm

Mingus wrote:
Dave76 wrote:
Go Blue 99 wrote:
As for Hyundai itself -- I just spent over $700 in rear brakes on a car that has 19k on the odometer. I will never buy a Hyundai again.
Huh?? How is that possible? What could possibly go wrong with rear brakes in 19K miles? Rear brakes typically last well over 100K miles. Was the parking brake left on? Even so, I can't imagine it costing more than $200 for a rear brake job.

Corrosion ate away at the rotors. I don't know what the calipers looked like, but they needed to be replaced as well. The pads were fine, if I recall correctly. They asked me if the car was ever parked on grass. I always park on blacktop/tarmac.

I've had other problems with this car. This is the first and only 21st century car I have ever owned, and it will be my last. They don't make them like they used to.

jedblanks · Post by **jedblanks** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 4:29 pm

Just bought a Hyundai and the local dealership worked with us on the price and gave us decent trade in value.

Based on past experience I would look for a service department that is concerned with customer satisfaction and "star rating"

I don't think there is a ton of markup in Hyundai cars, but we were able to get a little under invoice.

Strangest part? When going over the warrantied items, Hyundai does not cover refrigerant as part of bumper to bumper. They cover the climate control system, but not the stuff inside it.

tim1999 · Post by **tim1999** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 7:16 pm

I did this once. I wanted a specific color and option combination on the car, and there were only 5 "matches" on the whole east coast. The nearest was 75 miles away. I have a dealer for this brand about 5 miles from home that I have bought from before. I had a trade-in. The local dealer was willing to do a "dealer trade" with the 75-mile dealer and bring the car to their dealership to sell to me. Happens all the time. Of course, they did not disclose which other dealer had the car, but I had figured this out myself online. Even after negotiating heavily, they quoted a high price for the combined trade-in and new car deal. I went directly to the far away dealer that had the car. I ended up saving about $2,000 on the total deal by going directly to them and bought the car on the spot.

I get the car serviced at the local dealer exclusively. The only downside is that they don't give free loaner cars unless you bought the car there. I can deal with that to save $2,000.

carolinaman · Post by **carolinaman** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 8:49 pm

The dealer who has serviced my Toyotas the last 30+ years has never sold me a car. I have always got better prices from other dealers. I have been very pleased with the dealer who has done the service. Also, warranty work is backed by manufacturer. I know Toyota would not stand for shoddy warranty service and i suspect the same is true of Hyundai.

As someone else mentioned, once you have your online quotes, go to the lowest quated dealer and try to negotiate a better price. You can normally get a better price. If you are prepared to buy that day, they will give you their best price but it may take a couple of rounds of negotiation. If they do not reduce their price, go to the next dealer, assuming their price is very close.

TheGreyingDuke · Post by **TheGreyingDuke** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 9:23 pm

A couple of random (and mostly off topic points.)

I remember years ago my uncle was driving a 1957 Caddy, windshield needed to be replaced. Went to the Caddy dealer, quoted something like $200, then we drove around the block to the Chevrolet dealer, same windshield, $95.

As to warranty repairs... I am have been told that the payment to the dealer for a warranty repair is actually not all that "lucrative", not low enough to have them turn you away but not anything like their usual rate. I had an Audi with a factory recall on the front suspension and the service advisor shared his dismay at the number of them they were doing and the lousy reimbursement.

FrugalInvestor · Post by **FrugalInvestor** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 9:52 pm

TheGreyingDuke wrote:I remember years ago my uncle was driving a 1957 Caddy, windshield needed to be replaced. Went to the Caddy dealer, quoted something like $200, then we drove around the block to the Chevrolet dealer, same windshield, $95.

As I think I stated earlier in this thread (or maybe another) it still can be that way for non-warranty work. I owned a Lexus RX330 for seven years which is, or at least was at that time, mechanically very similar to the Toyota Highlander. The first few times I took it in for routine service I checked the prices at the Lexus dealer and the Toyota dealer. The cost was typically 50% or less at Toyota. The Toyota dealer's facility was much newer and larger with its own lounge and internet cafe. Guess where my Lexus went for service.

maroon · Post by **maroon** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 9:53 pm

I would not hesitate to buy a car - new or used - from a non-local dealership.

That said, I bought my latest car, a certified used Subaru, from the local dealership earlier this year. I just took the car in for maintenance service (same dealership) and mentioned some rattles, which the dealership identified and addressed for free under "goodwill." Would the dealer have arranged a "goodwill" repair if I hadn't bought the car there? Who knows? (I know this situation doesn't apply to new cars with bumper-to-bumper warranties, but I more often buy used.)

Leif · Post by **Leif** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 11:59 pm

I bought a car about 50 miles from home. They were not the cheapest. However, they were very responsive to my questions. The closest dealer was about 20 miles. I arranged an appointment. The lady was 30 minutes late for the appointment. I almost left. However, I gave them a second chance. The second time looking at several cars in the showroom their batteries were dead so I could not move the seats, nor could they pop the trunk. I gave up on them. To bad, it would have easier to get service.

So I value the attention and the impression they leave. Price is secondary.

I did check multiple prices. They really hate to give the price over an email. They really want you to come in to get a price. However that was ok since I wanted to test drive and ask additional questions.

jlawrence01 · Post by **jlawrence01** » Wed Dec 11, 2013 1:45 am

cheese_breath wrote:Any dealer should be willing to perform your warranty and service work for you. They make lots of money from their service departments, and they're not going to cut off their noses to spite their faces. Plus the manufacturer wouldn't take kindly to it if they refused you. That said, not all service departments are equal, and not all services have to be performed by a dealer. You may want to have some services performed by a good, less inexpensive independent shop.

Should and will are two different words. As a fleet manager, I have had two local dealers refuse service on vehicles not sold at their dealership. One of them was an outright refusal, the other wouldn't schedule service for a couple months. The manufacturers do NOT generally intervene in these cases as dealerships are separate businesses.

While they make a lot of money on service, warranty work is much less profitable.

Personally, I prefer to deal with the local dealerships whenever possible. It makes it a lot easier to get your car in for service and if needed, get a free loaner car.

mike143 · Post by **mike143** » Wed Dec 11, 2013 7:32 pm

We bought one town over to save $660, even though they really upset us during the deal. The selling dealership has never seen the vehicle again and never will. Have not had any problems with warranty service with local dealer. They get paid out by the manufacturer for warranty work. Where it might be a disadvantage is if they were going to perform goodwill work.

denovo · Post by **denovo** » Wed Dec 11, 2013 8:56 pm

mike143 wrote:We bought one town over to save $660, even though they really upset us during the deal.

How

mike143 · Post by **mike143** » Wed Dec 11, 2013 9:33 pm

denovo wrote:
mike143 wrote:We bought one town over to save $660, even though they really upset us during the deal.
How

We went there to get a second price and to see what they would do on the trade. The sales person was really push, wasn't listening, just steam rolling. He had my wife (fiancé at the time) sign some paperwork to run her credit to get a rate on financing. He started putting more paper work in front of her and then I noticed a bill of sale she was getting ready to sign, I stopped her. We were there only to get a second price. At this point they hadn't provided a price just a monthly payment (which equated to 6+%), we requested numerous times for a out the door price since we had a PenFed check in hand (2.49%). We finally walked out.

My wife realized the next day they still had her registration. She was so intimidated by them that she didn't want to go back by herself. We went back together to get the registration. This was the day staff previously the after 5pm staff. The day manager ask why we didn't want to give them our business. I laid out everything we went through. He wanted to earn our business and offered $500 off the car or 1.99%. I asked him to write down his best offer, we would go to lunch, and then return with our decision. He had written down $500 off and 1.99%. The difference from other dealership was $500 off car and $160 in financing.

We return and then go to financing. In financing I had to argue with the finance manager about the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act. After all is said and done they don't have the car on the lot in the color we requested, they never mentioned this during the deal. My wife just sold her vehicle the day before and was going out of town. They offer a rental car until the swap with another dealer.

wearymicrobe · Post by **wearymicrobe** » Fri Dec 13, 2013 3:27 pm

Man I once went ~1500 miles to get a new car in the color and options that I wanted as it was a leftover form the year before. ~7K or so off the best pricing I had seen anywhere locally. 1K in transport costs. No dealership cares where you buy a car, they all get paid the same hourly on warranty work no matter who sold the car in the first place.

TX_TURTLE · Post by **TX_TURTLE** » Fri Dec 13, 2013 3:56 pm

Well, my previous car was a BMW 3 series, and I went all the way to Germany to pick it up, taking advantage of BMW's European Delivery program. A few weeks later it was redelivered to a dealership in Atlanta, Georgia (their sales rep had given me a very good deal), so I had to travel twice. But I saved $3,500

.

Never had an issue getting service, the only thing BMW dealerships usually have a policy, they only give loaners to people who bought from them. So I would just wait for the car to be ready every time it needed service.