Truecar recent experience? Any suggestions?

[Hubub]

Hi, I went to True Car to get some pricing on vehicles. I got a price estimate for a few specific vehicles with Vin #s that match my criteria. Let's say I find a specific vehicle, with a vin#, at a specific dealer, with a price I am interested in.

I would hope the True Car Price is honored and that there weren't any additional surprise fees or costs.

How might I proceed to make sure that the quote will be honored before driving out to the dealer as it might be a long drive?

Any recent True Car experience?

[Cyan]

My TrueCar experiences - although they may not meet your definition of recent.

I've used TrueCar 3 times so far.

• Through Consumer Reports in 2013 and 2015 - for new cars in these cases.
• Through the TrueCar website in 2019 - for an advertised TrueCar discount on a Certified Used Car.

Each transaction was with a unique dealer and each transactions went well. The cars were all as-specified, and all quotes were honored. With all transactions, there were no hints of any price changes, upsells, etc.

I still have all three cars.

[Hubub]

Thanks for sharing! I prefer a no haggle approach. Fingers crossed it works for me.

[yolointopants]

Hi, I went to True Car to get some pricing on vehicles. I got a price estimate for a few specific vehicles with Vin #s that match my criteria. Let's say I find a specific vehicle, with a vin#, at a specific dealer, with a price I am interested in.

I would hope the True Car Price is honored and that there weren't any additional surprise fees or costs.

How might I proceed to make sure that the quote will be honored before driving out to the dealer as it might be a long drive?

Any recent True Car experience?

I tried it once a while ago. The true car price was not honored.

I should've just walked away. But I don't buy enough cars to get good at buying cars. You live you learn. I think this was only the second or third car we'd ever purchased in 25 years.

Also tried the Costco car buying program. That was a waste of my time. Costco people were good about following up with me to figure out what went wrong.

[toddthebod]

The Truecar and Costco prices should be the starting point for negotiation, not the end of it.

[an_asker]

The Truecar and Costco prices should be the starting point for negotiation, not the end of it.

This is what I was told a few years ago as well.

That said, we bought two vehicles using Truecar as a reference point a while (six years or so) back and we were in the ballpark - not much up or down from that figure.

Lately (again, this is with reference to a few years ago), we noticed that their prices were going up, i.e., their prices about six years ago were not the deals that they were eight years ago.

PS: I might be a bit off in the number of years, though it definitely has been more than five years ...

[stan1]

AutoNation (large dealership) owns about 6% of TrueCar as of 2022. I would not expect TrueCar to be fully independent given this conflict of interest.

[neowiser]

I printed out the Truecar information for the type of car I wanted to buy, which showed the average price paid and the lowest price paid in my area. The printout gave me leverage in the showroom, and the salesman said most people don't come prepared with that information. They tried to low-ball on my trade-in to compensate for the "good price" on the car I wanted, so I had to walk out on their 'final offer'. I got about 10 minutes away when they called to say they would accept my offer, so I returned. Always be prepared to walk out, and don't drive very far away until you're sure they're not going to call you back.

[tibbitts]

I printed out the Truecar information for the type of car I wanted to buy, which showed the average price paid and the lowest price paid in my area. The printout gave me leverage in the showroom, and the salesman said most people don't come prepared with that information. They tried to low-ball on my trade-in to compensate for the "good price" on the car I wanted, so I had to walk out on their 'final offer'. I got about 10 minutes away when they called to say they would accept my offer, so I returned. Always be prepared to walk out, and don't drive very far away until you're sure they're not going to call you back.

100% of the 3 or 4 times I've walked away in hopes of the dealer agreeing to a better price, it's never come. In fact I've never been contacted again.

[neowiser]

I printed out the Truecar information for the type of car I wanted to buy, which showed the average price paid and the lowest price paid in my area. The printout gave me leverage in the showroom, and the salesman said most people don't come prepared with that information. They tried to low-ball on my trade-in to compensate for the "good price" on the car I wanted, so I had to walk out on their 'final offer'. I got about 10 minutes away when they called to say they would accept my offer, so I returned. Always be prepared to walk out, and don't drive very far away until you're sure they're not going to call you back.

100% of the 3 or 4 times I've walked away in hopes of the dealer agreeing to a better price, it's never come. In fact I've never been contacted again.

I think that's why it's important to have accurate data. I wasn't going for a great price, just a fair price. If inventory is increasing for the make and model and you've offered a fair price, your chances are good that they don't want you going elsewhere.

[yolointopants]

I printed out the Truecar information for the type of car I wanted to buy, which showed the average price paid and the lowest price paid in my area. The printout gave me leverage in the showroom, and the salesman said most people don't come prepared with that information. They tried to low-ball on my trade-in to compensate for the "good price" on the car I wanted, so I had to walk out on their 'final offer'. I got about 10 minutes away when they called to say they would accept my offer, so I returned. Always be prepared to walk out, and don't drive very far away until you're sure they're not going to call you back.

100% of the 3 or 4 times I've walked away in hopes of the dealer agreeing to a better price, it's never come. In fact I've never been contacted again.

I was talking to a coworker today who went to buy a car. He said he walked in there, wanted to pay a specific price, the dealership balked at it. He walked.

He went home, the next day they called and they said OK we can do that price. So he went back to the dealership, and they threw on another fee.

He got up and he walked away completely livid.

The next day they called back and said OK, for real this time, we're sorry, yes we will do your OTD price.

By then he said he was so fed up and so mad that he never bought a new car. Just fixed his old one up and was content with it.

[runr]

Hi, I went to True Car to get some pricing on vehicles. I got a price estimate for a few specific vehicles with Vin #s that match my criteria. Let's say I find a specific vehicle, with a vin#, at a specific dealer, with a price I am interested in.

I would hope the True Car Price is honored and that there weren't any additional surprise fees or costs.

How might I proceed to make sure that the quote will be honored before driving out to the dealer as it might be a long drive?

Any recent True Car experience?

I tried it once a while ago. The true car price was not honored.

I should've just walked away. But I don't buy enough cars to get good at buying cars. You live you learn. I think this was only the second or third car we'd ever purchased in 25 years.

Also tried the Costco car buying program. That was a waste of my time. Costco people were good about following up with me to figure out what went wrong.

What game did the costco car buying program, play? Perhaps the dealer was just playing games which is the norm for them

[runr]

I printed out the Truecar information for the type of car I wanted to buy, which showed the average price paid and the lowest price paid in my area. The printout gave me leverage in the showroom, and the salesman said most people don't come prepared with that information. They tried to low-ball on my trade-in to compensate for the "good price" on the car I wanted, so I had to walk out on their 'final offer'. I got about 10 minutes away when they called to say they would accept my offer, so I returned. Always be prepared to walk out, and don't drive very far away until you're sure they're not going to call you back.

100% of the 3 or 4 times I've walked away in hopes of the dealer agreeing to a better price, it's never come. In fact I've never been contacted again.

I was talking to a coworker today who went to buy a car. He said he walked in there, wanted to pay a specific price, the dealership balked at it. He walked.

He went home, the next day they called and they said OK we can do that price. So he went back to the dealership, and they threw on another fee.

He got up and he walked away completely livid.

The next day they called back and said OK, for real this time, we're sorry, yes we will do your OTD price.

By then he said he was so fed up and so mad that he never bought a new car. Just fixed his old one up and was content with it.

LOL....blessing in disguise, I think some dealers are allowing to do finance online prior to picking up car, not sure how that works entirely. But I definitely learned my lesson not to put a down payment for a brand new car, prior to seeing the car.

[runr]

When truecar first started, they gave valuable data and the dealers were livid. Now they have changed and it appears to be more or a lead generation service to the dealers.

[alfaspider]

When truecar first started, they gave valuable data and the dealers were livid. Now they have changed and it appears to be more or a lead generation service to the dealers.

Came here to post this. They sold out to the dealerships and are completely worthless now.

[henry]

Hi, I went to True Car to get some pricing on vehicles. I got a price estimate for a few specific vehicles with Vin #s that match my criteria. Let's say I find a specific vehicle, with a vin#, at a specific dealer, with a price I am interested in.

I would hope the True Car Price is honored and that there weren't any additional surprise fees or costs.

How might I proceed to make sure that the quote will be honored before driving out to the dealer as it might be a long drive?

Any recent True Car experience?

I used it when I bought my car earlier this year. The offer was about $900 less than MSRP on specific vehicle and VIN#. Submitted my info online through Truecar and a sales person from the dealiership called me back within an hour and I went later that day for a test drive. When I got there, that salesperson said she was busy with another customer so I got handed off to another sales rep. The topic of Truecar never came up but I did test drive the exact car that I had the offer on. Salesperson asked what color and trim were you interested in and I said I like that color and I pointed to one the same color as the one I had the offer on and it happened to be the exact car/VIN that I had the offer on. Later, after sitting down to talk about price, their first offer was similar to what the Truecar price was. I negotiated another $1100 off MSRP. Likely there was more room to negotiate off, but it was good enough for me and I bought the car.

[LotsaGray]

I printed out the Truecar information for the type of car I wanted to buy, which showed the average price paid and the lowest price paid in my area. The printout gave me leverage in the showroom, and the salesman said most people don't come prepared with that information. They tried to low-ball on my trade-in to compensate for the "good price" on the car I wanted, so I had to walk out on their 'final offer'. I got about 10 minutes away when they called to say they would accept my offer, so I returned. Always be prepared to walk out, and don't drive very far away until you're sure they're not going to call you back.

I make it clear, X is my final best offer but it is good exactly until I drive away. If I get to the street, it is too late and I will not return period. Probably won’t even answer the phone if they call. I will simply take business elsewhere. THEN I STICK TO IT. I don’t have time to play games. I will also let them know if they play any such games t won’t consider them for future purchases either.

I don’t have an issue with them saying ‘no, we can’t do that deal’. Just say that, maybe it works next time. There is a dealer who insisted on playing games and then blocked a dealer dealer trade thinking it would force me back to him. 20+ years later and probably 7 family purchases and we will still drive past them. Once I turned down a dealer dealer trade involving them and had selling dealer locate from different dealer.

[yolointopants]

Hi, I went to True Car to get some pricing on vehicles. I got a price estimate for a few specific vehicles with Vin #s that match my criteria. Let's say I find a specific vehicle, with a vin#, at a specific dealer, with a price I am interested in.

I would hope the True Car Price is honored and that there weren't any additional surprise fees or costs.

How might I proceed to make sure that the quote will be honored before driving out to the dealer as it might be a long drive?

Any recent True Car experience?

I tried it once a while ago. The true car price was not honored.

I should've just walked away. But I don't buy enough cars to get good at buying cars. You live you learn. I think this was only the second or third car we'd ever purchased in 25 years.

Also tried the Costco car buying program. That was a waste of my time. Costco people were good about following up with me to figure out what went wrong.

What game did the costco car buying program, play? Perhaps the dealer was just playing games which is the norm for them

Well the whole thing is supposed to be a very simple price out the door. Maybe except the doc fee and whatever other ancillary crap they can sneak in but generally speaking, within a very narrow range.

So I filled out the forms, the dealership contact me. I say "yes, I'm interested in the vehicle, Costco says I should ask for your Costco preferred price list through the Costco purchasing program which is how I found you."

Well then it turns into "yeah there's a Costco discount but it depends on the model and this particular model is a little bit more in high demand and this one hasn't come in yet so we don't know the discount blah blah blah."

I said look, just figure how much off of the MSRP the average discount price for this model of car. I know you have it and I know it exists. Yes it's going to depend on the trim and the features and all that. But you are going to have a set discount price yes?

"Well not really, and it depends, and I don't know if we have this one on the lot anymore."

I was like dude this is not worth my time. Forget it.

I never did get a price. On any vehicle. Zero. And there was no price list that I was supposed to be able to see.

Then after Costco people followed up with me, of course dude is blowing my phone up. I was just done with it and blocked the number.

Call me crazy, but I just want to car buying purchase that is exactly like buying a shed at Home Depot.

10 x 14 garden shed, I can look at Lowe's, Menards, Home Depot, figure out which one I want and I just buy it. There's no BS. It doesn't depend on any sort of psychological chicanery or CIA interrogation techniques.

[larrydmsn]

Just want to share my story. In late December of last year I got a quote on TrueCar website from a specific dealership nearby. The price was terrific, beyond my expectation. I also received an email with the same quote. A salesperson from that dealership then texted me and asked when I could go to the dealership to make the deal. I wasn't very sure they weren't playing a game, I said I hoped you guys were doing business with integrity and would honor what your quoted. He said they would. At the dealership, the guy showed me a quote a few hundreds higher and gave me some reasons. I didn't buy that nonsense but since the new quote was still excellent, we met in the middle and made the deal. Overall, I think starting your car buying process on TrueCar.com can be really helpful. You still have to be prepared to haggle with the dealership though.

[Dottie57]

Hi, I went to True Car to get some pricing on vehicles. I got a price estimate for a few specific vehicles with Vin #s that match my criteria. Let's say I find a specific vehicle, with a vin#, at a specific dealer, with a price I am interested in.

I would hope the True Car Price is honored and that there weren't any additional surprise fees or costs.

How might I proceed to make sure that the quote will be honored before driving out to the dealer as it might be a long drive?

Any recent True Car experience?

I used it when I bought my car earlier this year. The offer was about $900 less than MSRP on specific vehicle and VIN#. Submitted my info online through Truecar and a sales person from the dealiership called me back within an hour and I went later that day for a test drive. When I got there, that salesperson said she was busy with another customer so I got handed off to another sales rep. The topic of Truecar never came up but I did test drive the exact car that I had the offer on. Salesperson asked what color and trim were you interested in and I said I like that color and I pointed to one the same color as the one I had the offer on and it happened to be the exact car/VIN that I had the offer on. Later, after sitting down to talk about price, their first offer was similar to what the Truecar price was. I negotiated another $1100 off MSRP. Likely there was more room to negotiate off, but it was good enough for me and I bought the car.

How do you negotiate? I’ve never understood how you do that.

[henry]

Hi, I went to True Car to get some pricing on vehicles. I got a price estimate for a few specific vehicles with Vin #s that match my criteria. Let's say I find a specific vehicle, with a vin#, at a specific dealer, with a price I am interested in.

I would hope the True Car Price is honored and that there weren't any additional surprise fees or costs.

How might I proceed to make sure that the quote will be honored before driving out to the dealer as it might be a long drive?

Any recent True Car experience?

I used it when I bought my car earlier this year. The offer was about $900 less than MSRP on specific vehicle and VIN#. Submitted my info online through Truecar and a sales person from the dealiership called me back within an hour and I went later that day for a test drive. When I got there, that salesperson said she was busy with another customer so I got handed off to another sales rep. The topic of Truecar never came up but I did test drive the exact car that I had the offer on. Salesperson asked what color and trim were you interested in and I said I like that color and I pointed to one the same color as the one I had the offer on and it happened to be the exact car/VIN that I had the offer on. Later, after sitting down to talk about price, their first offer was similar to what the Truecar price was. I negotiated another $1100 off MSRP. Likely there was more room to negotiate off, but it was good enough for me and I bought the car.

How do you negotiate? I’ve never understood how you do that.

You should ask almost anyone but me for negotiating skills. But since you are interested, I will give you the summary in my case. This was a 2024 Lexus RX 350 (ICE, nonhybrid). It's Lexus' best selling model and the ICE model is plentiful on their lots. The one I looked at had a $56500 MSRP. The first offer he gave me was about $900 off MSRP. I said that's too high and he asked what I price I had in mind. I said $54500, or $2000 under MSRP. Sales rep said, "Well, we are not that far apart. If I can get you that, will you' buy it today?" I said yes. He went to his manager and came back a few minutes later with that price, and we shook hands on the deal.

[warner25]

When truecar first started, they gave valuable data and the dealers were livid. Now they have changed and it appears to be more or a lead generation service to the dealers.

Came here to post this. They sold out to the dealerships and are completely worthless now.

...then it turns into "yeah there's a Costco discount but it depends on the model and this particular model is a little bit more in high demand and this one hasn't come in yet so we don't know the discount blah blah blah."

...it depends, and I don't know if we have this one on the lot anymore."

I never did get a price. On any vehicle. Zero. And there was no price list that I was supposed to be able to see.

This was my experience back in 2017 too. I tried using the USAA Car Buying Service, which was actually run by TrueCar.

What I expected: I specify a make, model, and trim and get a number of firm offers from nearby dealers to choose from.

What I got instead: Multiple phone calls, text messages, and emails from many salesmen all urging me to "come into the dealership to talk," who didn't even seem to know which model of car I had specified to USAA / TrueCar.

[alfaspider]

Hi, I went to True Car to get some pricing on vehicles. I got a price estimate for a few specific vehicles with Vin #s that match my criteria. Let's say I find a specific vehicle, with a vin#, at a specific dealer, with a price I am interested in.

I would hope the True Car Price is honored and that there weren't any additional surprise fees or costs.

How might I proceed to make sure that the quote will be honored before driving out to the dealer as it might be a long drive?

Any recent True Car experience?

I used it when I bought my car earlier this year. The offer was about $900 less than MSRP on specific vehicle and VIN#. Submitted my info online through Truecar and a sales person from the dealiership called me back within an hour and I went later that day for a test drive. When I got there, that salesperson said she was busy with another customer so I got handed off to another sales rep. The topic of Truecar never came up but I did test drive the exact car that I had the offer on. Salesperson asked what color and trim were you interested in and I said I like that color and I pointed to one the same color as the one I had the offer on and it happened to be the exact car/VIN that I had the offer on. Later, after sitting down to talk about price, their first offer was similar to what the Truecar price was. I negotiated another $1100 off MSRP. Likely there was more room to negotiate off, but it was good enough for me and I bought the car.

How do you negotiate? I’ve never understood how you do that.

It's pretty straightforward. They give you a price, you ask to pay less. Beware if you are financing or trading in a car that they can simply "squeeze the balloon" by inflating financing or deflating a trade-in. It's why I prefer not to combine transactions.

Better dealerships are pretty low margin and will give you competitive pricing right away. Old school dealers will waste hours of your time trying to wear you down. If they pull out a "four square" just get up and walk out and find a better dealership.

[simas]

When truecar first started, they gave valuable data and the dealers were livid. Now they have changed and it appears to be more or a lead generation service to the dealers.

what runr said...

when truecar started they showed the 'dealer invoice' (what dealer paid to manufacturer ) along with kickbacks (rebates, 'bonus cash', etc) that is further subtracted from dealer invoice by manufacturer as an incentive. so you would learn that in reality that 'wonderful' 53K MSRP car cost dealer 40k (41K invoice and 1K special earth is round rebate or whatever current campaign name they make up, conquest of the moon, etc). so anything over 40k is profit to dealer on that specific car sale..
obviously, dealers hated it since 'dealer invoice' is somehow very, very secret information that car dealers want to maintain information asymmetry through cartel association (and screw you over in the process).

currently truecar is nothing but lead generation, showing me 'what others paid in my area' which is useless and not giving me information that is useful.