NIADA

December 21, 2014 9:29 PM

What is the deal with buying a car from a NIADA member?

Mentioned we were in the market for a car and someone told us about a guy that she just bought a car from. Says it was a great deal, yadda yadda yadda. A little too enthusiastic of an endorsement for me taste. I am skeptical. Why would he be able to give such a great deal that others cannot? Also we are in another state. Does that matter?

We were given a name & phone number. I won't mention his name in this post, but googling shows him listed here: The Leasing Professionals

posted by falsedmitri to Travel & Transportation (6 answers total)

Not sure about the NIADA, but I used TrueCar and car specific forums for helping friends purchase three cars over the last year. The forums had some killer deals that I wasn't able to replicate (horrible at bargaining), but the truecar price gave me a good ball park to evaluate whether the dealer was giving me an inflated price over the average/invoice/MSRP.
posted by palionex at 9:53 PM on December 21, 2014

It's not clear why you think the supposedly great deal had anything to do with the dealer's NIADA membership. Skepticism is prudent around the claims of car salesmen, of course, but I think we're a little thin on information here. Do you know what the supposedly great deal was? Did you talk to the dealer yourself? Did he offer you a price on a specific car?
posted by jon1270 at 3:50 AM on December 22, 2014

Response by poster: Haven't talked to the dealer yet. We were told he has "acres" of cars. The person recommending bought a new Honda CR-V. I don't remember the exact price that was paid.
posted by falsedmitri at 8:08 AM on December 22, 2014

We were told he has "acres" of cars.

Many dealers' lots are several acres in size, so that's probably technically true.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:07 AM on December 22, 2014

Response by poster: And yet this guy has no internet presence, which I find odd, if not self-defeating.
posted by falsedmitri at 9:29 AM on December 22, 2014

Best answer: I just bought a car after a looooong search, so I looked at the NIADA website to see what dealers in my area I recognized. Short answer: a couple of CarMaxes and that's it. Lots of sketchy-looking roadside car lots with no internet presence.

Unless you've got bad credit, bad negotiating skills, or other impediments, I'd look elsewhere. Admittedly, you can certainly start the conversation with this guy to see what kind of deal he might offer--but see below for why that might not be the best move.

As to the other question in your post, unless you live in a state which is understanding about these things (in the form of reciprocal agreements), buying a car across state lines is a huge pain in the ass. You often have to temp register the car in state of purchase and perma-register in state of residence. Extra money, no fun.

There are literally hundreds of car dealers in every state. If you don't like car dealers, go look for an auto broker. Internet negotiation is a growing and totally valid tactic and there's no way with this guy. Etc. etc.
posted by librarylis at 8:38 PM on December 22, 2014