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Costco Auto Buying Program: Scam or Good Deal?


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costcoauto
I’m paranoid about getting scammed.

It’s almost to the point where I don’t even want to answer the phone out of fear I’ll accidentally blurt out my social security number to someone claiming to work at my bank.

When it comes to car buying, my guard goes up like I’m a schizophrenic at a CIA interrogation.

That’s why I was intrigued when I discovered an auto buying program at Costco. The company claims Costco saves members a lot of hassle and an average of $1,000 off a typical transaction price. It works like this:

Members choose the make and model they’re interested in, then Costco refers them to a local dealer who shows the customer the vehicle’s invoice price, the MSRP, and the Costco no-haggle price.

A no-haggle price with built-in savings sounds pretty good on the surface, but still my paranoia wasn’t eased by browsing Costco’s website. Digging a little deeper online, I found a lawsuit filed in January by a New Jersey woman who says the program is deceptive.

Her main accusation, according the paperwork, is:

The Costco auto program is misleading and deceptive because its “members only” price is exclusively defined in reference to the “invoice price” of authorized dealers. The Costco auto program does not control the underlying invoice price, and its participating dealers can and do manipulate that price in any number of ways.

A-ha! I knew there had to be something. Everyone knows dealers try to squeeze every ounce of cash they can out of people, so if there’s a price they’ll immediately accept, they must have a good amount of profit built in.

If you’d like to try getting a great deal another way, CarGurus can help. The article How To Negotiate a Great Deal on a Used Car can help anyone find and complete a solid deal themselves.

Would you use an online listing site to shop for a used car? Why or why not?

-tgriffith

Find great deals on Used Cars in your area at CarGurus.

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Bring along CarGurus’ mobile app to help check prices, find good deals, and research cars on your smartphone.

Best of the Box Cars?


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Now, this thing looks to me like it was designed by a Japanese Frenchman, and that’s a compliment. Nissan’s Cube Mobile Device (so-called per their website) has been called “cute” so often that Carlos Ghosn must have heartburn. But he won’t complain when these cars start selling, as they will in May in Nissan showrooms.

At a time when the car industry sorely needs a lift and a new life, perhaps a stylish, well-made Mobile Device can help blow some fresh air into a despondent market. The Cube offers so much in the way of utility and styling at a base price of under $14,000 that city buyers will find it hard to resist. The side-hinged rear hatch, the sliding rear seat, and the boxy shape all give it really good cargo capability.

The base version features a 122-hp, 1.8-liter four with a six-speed transmission. There are three other trims—up to the $19,360 Krom—that enable you to add all kinds of goodies and a continuously variable automatic. Performance is pretty decent, but don’t try to do the Nurburgring in this car.

2010_kia_soul_430_1208-1There have been several shootouts of competing box cars. In one, pitting the Scion xB and the Kia Soul Sport (right), against the Cube, they gave the edge to the Kia. But that car looks like somebody stepped on it, and the Cube . . . well, you know we think it’s cute.

If you were in the market, which of the box cars—Kia Soul, Scion xB, or Nissan Cube—would you likely buy, and why?

—jgoods

2009 Ford F-150 vs Ram 1500


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Both the F-150 and Ram 1500 are being introduced for 2009 with major overhauls, and both Ford and Dodge are airing TV commercials saying they have the tougher truck.

The market for these trucks has been cut in half during the last 4 years, with nearly 3 million pickups selling in 2004 and a projected 1.6 million this year. Which pickup is truly the toughest and most deserving of your cash?

I’m going to get to the bottom of this and tell you.

First, the 2009 Ford F-150:

The 2009 F-150 borrows it’s looks from last year’s Super Duty truck and creates one massive and intimidating front end, with a body to match. It’s offered in a near-endless array of trims with prices beginning around $20K and sailing all the way across the $40K barrier. The big news here is that all trim levels have a base 4.6L V8 engine. No more V6’s for the ol’ F-150!

Step up to the 5.4 V8 though and get slightly better fuel economy, to the tune of 15/20. Not bad for a mighty truck!

Innovation in the F-150 includes a trailer towing package that monitors your trailer and adjusts itself if it senses sway, giving you a level of trailer control never seen before. Speaking of trailers: the F-150 can tow up to 11,300 pounds and offers a payload capacity of 3,030 pounds.

Ride quality though is where the tradeoffs may come, as Ford continues to rely on the traditional rear leaf spring system. Why not though, since no self-respecting truck company would ever build a truck with sissy coil springs. Right?

Enter the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500:

It’s true; they broke the cardinal rule of truck-dom and are using coil springs on the rear. Albeit massive coil springs, but still…

Well not to worry! Dodge took a risk and it looks like everything’s going to work out just fine, though at the cost of not matching Ford’s tow numbers. 

Ram is offered with a 3.7L V6, probably for under $20K. Prices and trim levels of course multiply from there, ending upwards of $40K for the top of the line version. Dodge’s 390 horsepower 5.7L V8 Hemi will tow a max of 9,100 pounds and achieve gas mileage of 13/18.

But those coil springs will provide a ride quality never before felt in a pickup.

So which truck should you buy? Well OK, I’ll let you tell me:

Better MPG and higher tow rating of the F-150, or a smoother ride and decent tow capacity with the Ram 1500?

 -tgriffith

Car Trends: Small SUVs and Well-Equipped Compacts


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Ford received a small bit of good news recently – sales of its Focus compact car (pictured above) were up 24 percent for the month of March 2008. Honda saw sales of its Fit subcompact increase as well, by more than 73 percent. Sales of the Nissan Altima and Honda Civic also were up, by 14 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Those were among the few bright spots in auto sales over the past few months. Sales of trucks and SUVs tanked, as car buyers continued to migrate away from larger vehicles to smaller, more fuel-efficient sedans and coupes. It’s easy to understand why, with gas prices soaring into the stratosphere. And it naturally leaves some automakers (such as Honda and Toyota) in better positions than others.

This shift in car-buying patterns has automakers scrambling to rejigger their fleets, and some are doing that more successfully than others. Ford, for instance, actually posted a profit for the first quarter of 2008 (due in part to the fact that the company has trimmed its workforce substantially and has plans to shut down some shifts at truck plants). And all automakers are eyeing smaller, more efficient cars.

Ford, for instance, has plans to expand its fleet of small cars in 2009 with the addition of the new Fiesta, which Ford calls its first “global” small car. Recently unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show, the Fiesta will be powered by a range of fuel-efficient engines and bring “big car features to the small car segment,” according to Ford.

That’s a trend we’ll be seeing more of in the years to come, as automakers add luxury-oriented features like innovative sound systems to their smaller cars in an effort to attract new buyers. For instance, Ford has added its new Sync feature to some Focus trims, and upcoming trims of the Chevy Cobalt are expected to come equipped with audio systems that include USB ports, so drivers can plug portable thumb drives into their car stereos, adding a new functionality that will make it easier for drivers to take their favorite songs with them wherever they go.

Don’t expect automakers to completely abandon SUVs, but you can expect SUVs to become smaller and more efficient. Audi, for instance, just unveiled its new Q5 SUV at the Beijing Auto Show (although to us it looks more like a crossover vehicle or a hunky wagon than an SUV). Powered by a range of fuel-efficient engines and featuring permanent all-wheel-drive, the Q5 will measure about 15 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 5.4 feet high, giving it a smaller overall footprint than many other SUVs. Audi calls it “an SUV of all-new proportions,” and notes that it will be “sportier than any of its competitors.” Whether it will prove a hit with buyers seeking smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles remains to be seen, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.

Two New MINI Coopers Debut In U.S.


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Although they made their official world debut at the Geneva International Motor Show earlier in March, the MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop and MINI John Cooper Works Clubman took their U.S. bows on Thursday, March 20th at the New York International Auto Show. The two new performance-oriented trims, which will be available this summer, feature upgraded powerplants as well as suspensions, exhaust systems, manual transmissions, electrically power-assisted steering, and high-performance brakes developed by British-based John Cooper Works and inspired by the shop’s fifty-year racing history.

In the 1940s, John Cooper, who was trained as a toolmaker, teamed up with his father Charles to create the Cooper 500 Formula 3 race car and form the Cooper Car Company. As a result of his success on the racing circuit, Cooper was tapped to create race-oriented versions of the British-made Mini, starting in the early 1960s. Mini Coopers, as they were dubbed back then, proved popular for decades. Today, the relationship continues, as John Cooper Works, now under the direction of John’s son Mike Cooper, has recently merged with MINI and will create high-performance versions of the popular sub-compact car. The two new MINIs just announced are the first to appear under this relationship.

The John Cooper Works Hardtop and Clubman both pack a 208-horsepower, 1.6-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine under their hoods. The engine can drive the Hardtop from 0 to 60 in just 6.2 seconds, while the larger, cargo-oriented Clubman takes 6.5 seconds to reach 60 mph. Both trims top out at 147 mph.


The engine in both trims links to a specially modified six-speed manual transmission, and both the John Cooper Works Hardtop and Clubman ride on a sport-tuned suspension and exclusive 17-inch light alloy rims with high-performance tires. In addition, both come equipped with a Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) system that incorporates Dynamic Traction Control, the first for a MINI. When the driver deactivates the DSC system, Electronic Differential Lock Control kicks in, providing enhanced stability and cornering ability during aggressive driving. This latter feature is exclusive to the John Cooper Works trims.

Both trims will be created at the factory rather than at the dealer using kits. Of course, the enhancements will boost pricing for both trims by a few thousand dollars, when compared to the standard trims on which they’re based.