So my buddy just bought a 335i Coupe through TrueCar

http://www.truecar.com/index.html?so...hopsmart04ochz

The dealer wanted 48k for it, and at first wasn't willing to negotiate a lower price, until my friend showed up an "upfront price guarantee" from the site for 44,465 and the dealer just sold it to him, no questions asked!

I'm ready to buy a new car, and just wondering if anyone else has used this site to get an upfront price?

This is the one i want:

 

That looks to be the Anniversary edition - if so don't expect a lot of wriggle room from the dealer.

 

So that's the thing though ... TrueCar has these UpFront price guarantees, that are always above the average price being paid by other consumers, and I guess they have pre-negotiated prices where the dealer is supposed to pass on all of the dealer and consumer incentives to the buyer.

 

Nope, it has darker paint and red calipers.

 

yeah i dont get the point of this. so its a price that any dealer would accept, so by adding guarantee on to the end, its supposed to make the buyer think he has some kind of power that he just wielded on the dealer?

 

You are the member who provides auto research, but does not drive a Z. I don't get it.

 

ha ha. I get it. This is your site. What a scam artist.

 

...right, how is this my site? and how is this a scam?

 

Dont forget, there are many incentives behind the scenes such as loans, kickbacks, quotas, and others contributing to how a dealer marks their cars up. Coming from a family in the car business, believe me when i say they still make their money whether they tell the consumers through websites or not.For example, some dealerships work out deals with the manufacturer that if they meet a certain quota, they will get x off of their next purchase of vehicles. I am not saying that site is wrong, but just not 100% representative. I dont think there is factual data that represents how much dealerships make on a car, otherwise they would be exposing their profits and margins to the public.

 

Good point, and i'm not sure how accurate it is, but TC has a 'TrueCost' which is supposedly the cost of the vehicle to the dealer, which takes into account CSI, Dealer/Consumer Cash, etc ...