Is there a replacement for Mass Buying Power?
December 23, 2011 6:57 PM Subscribe
Whatever happened to Mass Buying Power, and more importantly, who took their place?
Last time I bought a car (2009) there was an organisation called Mass Buying Power (for those of you who don't live here, "mass" is a common abbreviation used in Massachusetts to avoid having to remember how to spell it.) They had contracted with lots of dealerships to sell cars at a set, low price above actual dealer cost. No "bargaining" or hassle required. Tell them what you want, they give you a dealer name and give the dealer your name, you go buy the car. Slick.
Mrs. qurlyjoe totaled that car this morning (she's ok, no one else hurt), so we need another one. But the massbuy.com domain is kaput. Expired and sold in 2010, apparently.
I'm bummed.
Does anyone know if there's an equivalent program in existence now that performs this valuable service?
Last time I bought a car (2009) there was an organisation called Mass Buying Power (for those of you who don't live here, "mass" is a common abbreviation used in Massachusetts to avoid having to remember how to spell it.) They had contracted with lots of dealerships to sell cars at a set, low price above actual dealer cost. No "bargaining" or hassle required. Tell them what you want, they give you a dealer name and give the dealer your name, you go buy the car. Slick.
Mrs. qurlyjoe totaled that car this morning (she's ok, no one else hurt), so we need another one. But the massbuy.com domain is kaput. Expired and sold in 2010, apparently.
I'm bummed.
Does anyone know if there's an equivalent program in existence now that performs this valuable service?
A friend just recommended AAA's Car Buying Service for this.
posted by roger ackroyd at 8:53 AM on December 24, 2011
posted by roger ackroyd at 8:53 AM on December 24, 2011
truecar.com for price research and car buying.
posted by Brian Puccio at 11:22 AM on December 24, 2011
posted by Brian Puccio at 11:22 AM on December 24, 2011
Response by poster: of these four possibilities, the Costco program seems the best bet. Slightly better price than AAA's and there's no certified truecar dealer within 175 miles.
I'll probably try both Costco and AAA just to see what kind of dealer experience I get.
Thanks.
posted by qurlyjoe at 3:02 PM on December 25, 2011
I'll probably try both Costco and AAA just to see what kind of dealer experience I get.
Thanks.
posted by qurlyjoe at 3:02 PM on December 25, 2011
Response by poster: For anyone looking for this kind of program, CostcoAuto is the winner out of the three suggestions.
People who enjoy "bargaining" with car salespersons can likely work themselves a better deal, but I'm not one of those people--I'd rather stick hot pokers in my eyes--and this was a done deal in about 90 minutes, including a test drive. It helped that I knew exactly what I wanted, and they didn't have to go through their pitch at all.
AAA's program only offered 2012 cars, and the 2012 model of what I wanted doesn't come in a manual transmission. Truecar, as I mentioned earlier, doesn't have anyone local to me.
posted by qurlyjoe at 5:26 AM on December 27, 2011
People who enjoy "bargaining" with car salespersons can likely work themselves a better deal, but I'm not one of those people--I'd rather stick hot pokers in my eyes--and this was a done deal in about 90 minutes, including a test drive. It helped that I knew exactly what I wanted, and they didn't have to go through their pitch at all.
AAA's program only offered 2012 cars, and the 2012 model of what I wanted doesn't come in a manual transmission. Truecar, as I mentioned earlier, doesn't have anyone local to me.
posted by qurlyjoe at 5:26 AM on December 27, 2011
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posted by Kadin2048 at 7:01 PM on December 23, 2011