Should I buy a new car from a dealer out of my area?
June 9, 2022 8:34 AM Subscribe
If the car I want, Brand X is sold 50, 100, 1000 miles distant, is there a downside?
Do all dealers Brand X have to respect warranties?
Can confirm that jonathanhughes says - I have since moved a multiple days drive from where I bought my car, the only downside is I never got that first free oil change that the dealership promised me.
posted by coffeecat at 8:54 AM on June 9, 2022
posted by coffeecat at 8:54 AM on June 9, 2022
The downside is that you have to get the car back to where you live. That's not trivial - driving a car 1000 miles takes a couple of days, a lot of gas, and adds 1000 miles to the odometer, and that's not including the time and cost of getting to the dealer 1000 miles away in the first place. But it's also not impossible. I know people who have done it, and I would imagine more people are doing it now that specific model/color/trim package combinations are harder to find. If you have the resources, go for it.
posted by kevinbelt at 9:02 AM on June 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by kevinbelt at 9:02 AM on June 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
I see no problem with buying from a dealer anywhere. What I would do is try to make a deal to have them flatbed the vehicle to your area. As noted above, putting on an instant 1,000 miles is costly in terms of warranty time, gas, etc. Some local dealers would almost rather you buy it elsewhere and service it at their shop. It is cyclical, and now is a good time for dealers to be selling, but there are times that after incentives and a lot of holdbacks. they barely make any money on the sale, they make it on the extras and servicing of the vehicle over the life of the vehicle. I prepaid (Ford) for the standard services (10k, 20k, 30k etc and oil services) and I can bring it to any dealer. I have used 3 different dealers for this. They get paid by Ford so they are ok with it. I am in some computer system so they all call me Mr. Gunn and treat me as well as a car dealer ever treats someone.
If it is more than say 200 miles, a lot of local dealers will make a deal with the away dealer and trade them for the specific car you want. If you locate the vehicle you want and it is hundreds of miles away, do not contact that dealer and show interest yet. First ask your local dealer to see if they can make a trade for it. In this hot car market, I think this is less likely to happen, but it is done. I have done it wrt to a vehicle that had a color and another feature I wanted that was in Virginia while I was in NY.
(Fwiw, I have come to regret the feature. I wanted the 36 gallon gas tank v the standard 25 gallon. I carry around a lot of $ in the back of my truck in the form of prepaid gasoline. At $5/gallon, it costs me $180 to fill my tank from empty. I had to call my cc company to ask them to allow a much higher block when at a gas station. With prices rising everyday, it is a benefit to prepay so to speak.)
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:29 AM on June 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
If it is more than say 200 miles, a lot of local dealers will make a deal with the away dealer and trade them for the specific car you want. If you locate the vehicle you want and it is hundreds of miles away, do not contact that dealer and show interest yet. First ask your local dealer to see if they can make a trade for it. In this hot car market, I think this is less likely to happen, but it is done. I have done it wrt to a vehicle that had a color and another feature I wanted that was in Virginia while I was in NY.
(Fwiw, I have come to regret the feature. I wanted the 36 gallon gas tank v the standard 25 gallon. I carry around a lot of $ in the back of my truck in the form of prepaid gasoline. At $5/gallon, it costs me $180 to fill my tank from empty. I had to call my cc company to ask them to allow a much higher block when at a gas station. With prices rising everyday, it is a benefit to prepay so to speak.)
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:29 AM on June 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
I once bought a car in a city I've never been back to when I was on a road trip, and mine died. Also sad about those promised oil changes. Of course, the car I got was terrible since it was pre-internet reviews and they didn't have a lot of inventory, but the dealership and experience was pretty good.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:46 AM on June 9, 2022
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:46 AM on June 9, 2022
It depends on how badly the local dealer wants your business. They can absolutely negotiate with the other dealer for that vehicle or whatever comparable vehicle they have in inventory or in other friendly franchises in the area.
Warranty is from the manufacturer and part of being a dealer is the necessity to accept manufacturer warranty jobs. After all, they will be paid by the manufacturer for those jobs at written rates.
The only thing you'll miss are the extras, like free or discounted "shop rental", extra oil changes and tire rotations and inspections, and so on if you went with an out-of-town dealer, and those you can often negotiate.
posted by kschang at 9:51 AM on June 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
Warranty is from the manufacturer and part of being a dealer is the necessity to accept manufacturer warranty jobs. After all, they will be paid by the manufacturer for those jobs at written rates.
The only thing you'll miss are the extras, like free or discounted "shop rental", extra oil changes and tire rotations and inspections, and so on if you went with an out-of-town dealer, and those you can often negotiate.
posted by kschang at 9:51 AM on June 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
I bought my current SUV from local dealer. He brought it in from another dealer for me. He used their database to find the one with my specifications. Didn't cost me anything extra.
posted by Ftsqg at 9:59 AM on June 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Ftsqg at 9:59 AM on June 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
A bunch of not-local dealers here place billboards right down the road from local dealers saying "you can get a better deal from us" and "the money you save makes it worth the drive." Some are in a different state and there are sometimes savings from buying in that state and bringing it over on temporary plates.
As others have said, what you might lose is any local perks. Beyond what feels like the local competition area -- say, "the dealers that duel it out on local TV/radio and in newspapers" -- your local dealer may be able to set up a trade.
posted by holgate at 11:24 AM on June 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
As others have said, what you might lose is any local perks. Beyond what feels like the local competition area -- say, "the dealers that duel it out on local TV/radio and in newspapers" -- your local dealer may be able to set up a trade.
posted by holgate at 11:24 AM on June 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
The downside is that you have to get the car back to where you live. That's not trivial…
In some cases, the difference in dealer markup may more than pay the cost of having the car shipped. I’ve never done this but I understand that it’s reasonably common, especially in the current market.
From what I’ve read, some dealers discourage out-of-state customers and some go out of their way to court them.
posted by musicinmybrain at 2:35 PM on June 9, 2022
In some cases, the difference in dealer markup may more than pay the cost of having the car shipped. I’ve never done this but I understand that it’s reasonably common, especially in the current market.
From what I’ve read, some dealers discourage out-of-state customers and some go out of their way to court them.
posted by musicinmybrain at 2:35 PM on June 9, 2022
Everyone else has good advice and insight. I only have an example: my other half works at a Toyota dealership in Pennsylvania. They had a guy fly in from NY state to buy a car, then he drove it home. The reason was that in NY, the dealerships were asking $10,000 OVER the sticker price, and his dealership was only asking $3,000 over. (My other half is a mechanic).
He said you can take your Brand X to any Brand X dealer and they are supposed to honor whatever warranty you have, no matter what state you are in.
posted by annieb at 6:41 PM on June 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
He said you can take your Brand X to any Brand X dealer and they are supposed to honor whatever warranty you have, no matter what state you are in.
posted by annieb at 6:41 PM on June 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
Back when I owned a Saturn, I took it in to the dealer in my parent's home town replace the radio under warrantee, and they found and fixed an oil leak as well (also under warrantee), so you should be good.
I bought my current car out of state (while visiting my parents). That was a little annoying. Texas dealers will do the state inspection and put on the front license plate holder, which aren't necessary in Alabama. (AL may require an inspection, but it won't be valid in TX.) There was also an annoying delay in getting the paperwork and tax money sent to Texas. On the plus side, they screwed up calculating the tax on the car, so we got some money back.
posted by Spike Glee at 8:41 AM on June 10, 2022
I bought my current car out of state (while visiting my parents). That was a little annoying. Texas dealers will do the state inspection and put on the front license plate holder, which aren't necessary in Alabama. (AL may require an inspection, but it won't be valid in TX.) There was also an annoying delay in getting the paperwork and tax money sent to Texas. On the plus side, they screwed up calculating the tax on the car, so we got some money back.
posted by Spike Glee at 8:41 AM on June 10, 2022
« Older Help me find this specific rocks glass | Caring for myself when caring for people who won't... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by jonathanhughes at 8:38 AM on June 9, 2022 [4 favorites]