[skru_fase]

It seems a couple of people have bought or received quotes from cars4u, and the price seems to be really good. Does anybody have any comments (positive or negative) on their buying experience through them? Are there any serious disadvantages to buying through an online service like this?

EDIT:Thread title :twisted:

 

[dinu01]

Moved to Pricing.

See the other threads in that section for more info.

 

[kleung21]

We bought our Mazda 3 through Cars4U.com... Went through Vlad Dekin 416-385-8055 ext 3089 (I get no kickbacks!).

We are happy with the car but it took quite a while to get... (4-5 weeks). Also, we had to settle on a second choice color or continue to wait... What type of questions do you have.

They work with Erin Mills Mazda. When we got the car; the service was good. BUT, I'm still waiting for an Xbox! (Apparently they were out of stock). I'll keep you updated.

I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

Kevin

 

[skru_fase]

Im dealing with Vlad as well. I just went to Downtown Mazda today and they couldn't come close to cars4u'quote, they offered $300 off as opposed to $1000.

Did the price you were quoted end up being the actual 'on the road' price?

Just curious, how much did you save off retail through a dealer?

 

[dinu01]

How much does it cost to use cars4u.ca?

 

[skru_fase]

FREE!!!!

It's a win win situation from what I can see. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to buy a car. It saves so much time bargaining with the dealerships. All you have to do is show them the quote you got online and they will either say they can't compare, or they will match it (which is what the last dealer I went to did - Gyro Mazda)

You've gotta love the internet!

 

[kleung21]

Savings

Hi there Skru... I'm surprised you managed to get $1000 off... We got about $650 off (before tax) off a Mazda 3 GT sedan (auto). Did you get any other incentive discounts?

The final price quoted was the price that we paid on the road. The service was good and the price certainly seemed better than what the dealers were able to come up with at the time.

The only thing that annoyed me was that it took so long to get the car. I phoned before hand to confirm that we could get the specific car/color combo and was assured that it would be available. It wasn't (although a higher GFX trim was).

HOWEVER, to be fair, Vlad was quite upfront and honest about it when he informed us that we weren't able to get the specific car... HOWEVER, this was 3 weeks after we signed!

In the end, we got our second choice color AND we missed out on the XBOX deal AND our car was delayed. I think this is no worse than any other dealership; but it didn't go off flawlessly.

Out of curiosity... When are you expecting your car to arrive? IF they can give you a VIN number; it's a VERY good thing as it means they actually have a car in mind/alloted to you. If you don't have a VIN number, you might want to chase him down for one.

Still, it saved me hours of driving around to different dealerships. I think CARS4U is a good alternative in negotiating/getting a deal on a hot new arrival like a Mazda 3 (in Canada anyways).

I am sure that once the supply is balanced out; you can negotiate a better deal than the cars4u pricing.

PS - SKRU; would you mind emailing me? I just want to compare quotes if you don't mind.

 

[dinu01]

Really?

Not bad - I'd try negotiating on my own first, then if the site does better, just tell them I want to use the site.

Another Q: To check the offer, yes I can use the net for free. But if I want the dealer to make the deal w/cars4u.ca, do I have to pay teh site a fee or not?

If no, how do they make their $? Commission from dealers for referrals???

 

[kleung21]

Good Dealerships - slightly off topic

On a slightly off topic note... In Toronto; we had a good direct dealership experience with Avante Mazda (Richmond Hill). We ended up buying online but that would have been our second choice. They were very honest about their best pricing and car availability. Seemed relatively honest with no BS.



Markham Mazda... AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!

This is based upon 2 separate experiences with them... The second time; I phoned before hand to make sure that the model we wanted (a GT) was available for demo AND on the lot... They assured me they had one on the phone... Took the time to drive out there, not only did they not have ANY GT's at the time... They tried to pawn the GS on me as being all the car that was needed. This is after I pointed out that the car we were sitting in did not seem to match GT trim specs! They didn't even bother to tell me that they we weren't in a GT! This is after I arrived at their doorstep and said something like, "Ok, let's take a look at the GT!" I have witnesses!

What a complete waste of my time... If this is the type of service before you buy your car....

The other dealership I REALLY liked in my car searching was Markham Acura (off McCowan and Hwy 7)... I know it's another brand, but the sales experience there was awesome (again, didn't buy an Acura in the end). BUT, apparently, their sales guys are rewarded based upon positive customer feedback rather than sales?!

 

[dinu01]

I have had 2 negative experiences w/the mazda dealer at 401/Morningside - same as yoiur story at Markham.

Anyways, this talk about TO dealers really belongs in the Candian section - there's actually a thred right there

Ok, so I want more cars4u.ca info guys

 

[skru_fase]

The quote I got from cars4u didnt have any other discounts, thats why I almost thought it was too good to be true. As it turns out, the dealership will match it now! Im going to check again w cars4u, but otherwise I might as well go with a dealership for the same price.

As far as availability goes, I wont be needing the car until end of Mar. Cars4u said they wouldnt have a problem, and the dealership has one in stock which they will set aside for me.

Dinu, not sure what you meant abt cars4u charging a fee if the dealer makes a deal w cars4u?

 

[The Dude]

Cars4U.com

I'm also interested in using Cars4U.com.

I was just curious how online dealers are able to offer or negotiate a more attractive price? Do they they negotiate with local dealers or sometimes directly with the manufacturer? Wouldn't Cars4U get the vehicle for less than the price that Cars4U offers the customer? And if so, wouldn't a dealer benefit from matching the Cars4U price?

 

[kleung21]

As requested

Ok, since I already HAVE my car from cars4u, I'm not adverse to sharing info... This is the price quote I got on a Metallic paint, auto, sedan GT. NO OTHER OPTIONS.

I believe that it's about $650-800 off of MSRP. BUT, Avante Mazda does not charge an Admin fee. Essentially, they negotiate with the leasing agent/dealership and I presume they either get a split of the profit or a referral bonus of some sort. They were very friendly and not pushy at all. It DID save time (essentially, you can do everything by fax, email phone) and you don't have to play games with the sales guy.

I mean, if you try to play dealers off each other (which I did with my other car), you end up wasting time going to multiple dealerships. It stops being fun after a while. Here, I went to 1 dealership for test drive / negotiation... and when they said no, I went online.

<Except for when I got dicked around by Markham Mazda>

I think the main advantage here is that the dealerships are still playing the "no-> minimal discount" game here in Toronto. Which is why we just said f*** it and went with the online dealer.

> Cash Option
>
> Selling Price: $21,641.00
> Vehicle Options $0.00
> Freight & PDI: $925.00
> Other Options: $0.00
> Air Tax $100.00
> Fuel Tax: $75.00
> Admin Fee: $150.00
>
> Cash Rebate(s): $0.00
>
> Pre Tax Amount: $22,891.00
>
> Trade in Value: $0.00
>
> GST: $1,602.37
> PST: $1,831.28
>
> Total Cash Price: $26,324.65 + lic
> Vlad Dekin
>

 

[kleung21]

For clarification.. I mean that Avante Mazda doesn't have an admin fee but Cars4U has one.

 

[kleung21]

To answer DINU's question... Just go online and you'll get an automatic quote from their website... No commitment... They tell you the discount up front.

IF you end up getting extra options (auto, a/c, gfx, etc...) phone the sales agent (ie: Vlad or somebody else) and they'll give you an even better quote (they don't charge full price for the options)... Again, no commitments, you don't have to pay them a finder's fee or anything.

To be fair about my delay/second choice color vehicle; they were able to get me my color + GFX package pretty much right away. They were even going to give me dealer cost on the GFX package. The problem was that we didn't WANT the GFX package (17" tires are expensive!).

Kevin

 

[dinu01]

Thanks for the help guys!

It seems that this is a viable option on the 3 in a hot market like Toronto (for now at least).

 

[dugrant153]

edit: Whoa... wait... this site won't work for Vancouver BC will it?

 

[dugrant153]

And does this site just produce quotes?
Or is it an agent system where they go and buy the car for you?
I'm planning on using this at dealers... but dunno if I can...

 

[brumos]

dugrant153,

I'm currently in the process of aquiring a quote from them. They do deal in other provinces. I will post my results once i receive my quote.

 

[dugrant153]

great, let me know what happens
thanks!