cons of buying online?

[tonylop33]

I have bought three cars out of state. Dealing with Clint was the easiest of the three and way easier actually than with dealers where I have bought in person.

[ZionsWrath]

Only thing I can see to worry about is the transit damage. Just ask him to leave on the shipping tape? It's brand new not much can be wrong really

[vho]

+1 to all the recommendations for Clint!

[Zoti]

I just picked up my new subaru BRZ today from Clint. Flew to Denver. Got picked up by the dealer at the airport.

Over all took about an hour from the moment I stepped into the dealership.

The price was exactly as agreed. Saved about $3500-$4000 compared with a local DFW dealer quote.
They offered extended warranty etc. I declined and there was no pressure to buy.
They have beaten the finance I got from PenFed (by .04% but I promised him that if he beats it he will get the finance) the terms were exactly the same at zero down and 1.7% for 60 months.
I got a $50 gift card as well which I spent on an accessory for the car.

There are good car salesman out there. If you want a Subaru, call Clint from Heuberger motors in Colorado Springs, CO.

I will refer anyone that is looking for a subaru to Clint. Even if I had paid the $650 shipping it would have been a lot cheaper. But I decided to fly and have a couple of days in Colorado. It's a beautiful place.

[HeubergerMotors]

Originally Posted by ZionsWrath

Only thing I can see to worry about is the transit damage. Just ask him to leave on the shipping tape? It's brand new not much can be wrong really

This won't happen, why because if there is a dent or huge scrape its on you when it gets home. Out of 120 cars I've shipped past four months 7 were damaged and easily fixed ...

[tacoss23]

I never bought a car online before, or at least without personally test driving it and inspecting it.

For a used car, it's always a bad idea, very bad idea.

For a new car, it comes down to dealing with a good, honest salesperson/dealership.

When I was looking for my BRZ I found out about Clint in these forums. People were going on about how good he was and the amazing experience they had buying from him. At one point I actually thought they could be fake reviews, because they were so good, and literally NOTHING negative. But there were so many people talking about it that I thought..."I'll give it a try"

Long story short, it's true, this guy is great and his dealership offers an unbeatable price, including shipping.

I'm a month away (or so) from receiving my BRZ from Clint, and will definitely buy from him again. 2015 WRX STI?? I just wish I found out about him before we bought my gf's Crosstrek few months ago.

[chickdigger802]

Originally Posted by tacoss23

I never bought a car online before, or at least without personally test driving it and inspecting it.

For a used car, it's always a bad idea, very bad idea.

For a new car, it comes down to dealing with a good, honest salesperson/dealership.

When I was looking for my BRZ I found out about Clint in these forums. People were going on about how good he was and the amazing experience they had buying from him. At one point I actually thought they could be fake reviews, because they were so good, and literally NOTHING negative. But there were so many people talking about it that I thought..."I'll give it a try"

Long story short, it's true, this guy is great and his dealership offers an unbeatable price, including shipping.

I'm a month away (or so) from receiving my BRZ from Clint, and will definitely buy from him again. 2015 WRX STI?? I just wish I found out about him before we bought my gf's Crosstrek few months ago.

main reason i asked lol. I talked with clint earlier, he seems like a decent guy.

But yeah, making a ~30k purchase... you gotta be 120% sure i guess lol.

[SigmaHyperion]

Originally Posted by chickdigger802

main reason i asked lol. I talked with clint earlier, he seems like a decent guy.

But yeah, making a ~30k purchase... you gotta be 120% sure i guess lol.

I'll just chime in and reiterate what's already been said many times in this thread. And I'm a real person... last time I checked anyways. Picked up my car from @HeubergerMotors on Friday, took a meandering 2.5-day journey back home.

My only problem with Clint -- that I didn't know about him when I bought my wife's car 2 months prior to my BRZ. We didn't consider Subaru for her car, but for the prices he would've been able to offer us, she'd be in a Subaru right now, that's for sure.

I can't even think of a "con" for dealing with Clint.... I suppose if you're not sure about your credit and ability to get financing it may not be the greatest idea. Normally they don't run your credit until only a couple days before you leave, so you could be stuck with a non-refundable plane ticket if things don't pan out. But that's the worst that could happen, and I'm sure they'd be willing to do at least a 'soft' check for your score earlier in the process if you really wanted them to if that was a concern you had. I could see if you bought online from someone less reputable you could face the issue of surprise fees and various other addons once you arrive and they know they've 'got' you -- but you'll get NONE of that from Heuberger.

But the "pros"...

Pricing. Of course. I get Subaru VIP pricing, and still Clint blew that away.

Ease of the transaction. I seriously spent a total of less than an hour of total time on the deal. Time in and out of the dealership was, quite literally, measured in MINUTES not hours. There was no hard sell on anything, only a minor peep in financing about extended warranties, which I refused and that was that.

And something that applies to Heuberger alone and only if you go there to pick it up -- you have the opportunity to drive your car through some of the best roads and beautiful scenery there is.

This is why I would never, ever, ever, ever consider shipping my vehicle (unless maybe I was taking delivery in winter). Not when I have the opportunity to drive my car through this:

[tacoss23]

Originally Posted by SigmaHyperion

Normally they don't run your credit until only a couple days before you leave, so you could be stuck with a non-refundable plane ticket if things don't pan out.

This is not really a "con", it's actually more of a preference:

You don't have to go and pickup your car in person, you chose to do it, and you also didn't have financing, therefore creating this situation yourself (having to worry about buying plane tickets in advance).

Most people would probably choose to ship their vehicles, like myself, therefore eliminating that con.

However, even if you decide that there is a need to go and pick up your vehicle in person, or like this guy, you want to have a nice scenery road trip, then you always have the option to not book a plane ticket before you get your financing done.

[thill]

I would also hope that people know their credit score and rating before they buy a car....

Let me put this another way, there have been multiple situations where dealers told me my credit score was not high enough to qualify for the lowest interest rate and they had to give me a higher rate. I laughed at them and told them my score was well over 800 and that I have financing already lined up.

[Zoti]

Originally Posted by SigmaHyperion

I'll just chime in and reiterate what's already been said many times in this thread. And I'm a real person... last time I checked anyways. Picked up my car from @HeubergerMotors on Friday, took a meandering 2.5-day journey back home.

My only problem with Clint -- that I didn't know about him when I bought my wife's car 2 months prior to my BRZ. We didn't consider Subaru for her car, but for the prices he would've been able to offer us, she'd be in a Subaru right now, that's for sure.

I can't even think of a "con" for dealing with Clint.... I suppose if you're not sure about your credit and ability to get financing it may not be the greatest idea. Normally they don't run your credit until only a couple days before you leave, so you could be stuck with a non-refundable plane ticket if things don't pan out. But that's the worst that could happen, and I'm sure they'd be willing to do at least a 'soft' check for your score earlier in the process if you really wanted them to if that was a concern you had. I could see if you bought online from someone less reputable you could face the issue of surprise fees and various other addons once you arrive and they know they've 'got' you -- but you'll get NONE of that from Heuberger.

But the "pros"...

Pricing. Of course. I get Subaru VIP pricing, and still Clint blew that away.

Ease of the transaction. I seriously spent a total of less than an hour of total time on the deal. Time in and out of the dealership was, quite literally, measured in MINUTES not hours. There was no hard sell on anything, only a minor peep in financing about extended warranties, which I refused and that was that.

And something that applies to Heuberger alone and only if you go there to pick it up -- you have the opportunity to drive your car through some of the best roads and beautiful scenery there is.

This is why I would never, ever, ever, ever consider shipping my vehicle (unless maybe I was taking delivery in winter). Not when I have the opportunity to drive my car through this:

I did the same thing and only a few hours before you. We decided to stay in Colorado Springs for one night and drove around and up to pikes peak. It was fun.

We drove back to TX over two days and it was an easy drive of about 5 hours every day. The roads back were great and most were 75mph limit.

I was surprised to get 32MPG. Love this car.

[ThisIsChrisKim]

Originally Posted by thill

I would also hope that people know their credit score and rating before they buy a car....

Let me put this another way, there have been multiple situations where dealers told me my credit score was not high enough to qualify for the lowest interest rate and they had to give me a higher rate. I laughed at them and told them my score was well over 800 and that I have financing already lined up.

That's interesting. During the financial crisis in 2008, I bought my previous car at 0% and my credit score at the time was around 770 and I was 24 years old. They told me my credit could basically buy anything I wanted. This time, I got 1.5% with a 820 score at 29 years old and was told I could buy anything, too. I always figured once credit scores got to a certain point (threshold effect), the dealer would do anything they could to get you their best rate.

[chrisl]

Originally Posted by SigmaHyperion

I'll just chime in and reiterate what's already been said many times in this thread. And I'm a real person... last time I checked anyways. Picked up my car from @HeubergerMotors on Friday, took a meandering 2.5-day journey back home.

My only problem with Clint -- that I didn't know about him when I bought my wife's car 2 months prior to my BRZ. We didn't consider Subaru for her car, but for the prices he would've been able to offer us, she'd be in a Subaru right now, that's for sure.

I can't even think of a "con" for dealing with Clint.... I suppose if you're not sure about your credit and ability to get financing it may not be the greatest idea. Normally they don't run your credit until only a couple days before you leave, so you could be stuck with a non-refundable plane ticket if things don't pan out. But that's the worst that could happen, and I'm sure they'd be willing to do at least a 'soft' check for your score earlier in the process if you really wanted them to if that was a concern you had. I could see if you bought online from someone less reputable you could face the issue of surprise fees and various other addons once you arrive and they know they've 'got' you -- but you'll get NONE of that from Heuberger.

But the "pros"...

Pricing. Of course. I get Subaru VIP pricing, and still Clint blew that away.

Ease of the transaction. I seriously spent a total of less than an hour of total time on the deal. Time in and out of the dealership was, quite literally, measured in MINUTES not hours. There was no hard sell on anything, only a minor peep in financing about extended warranties, which I refused and that was that.

And something that applies to Heuberger alone and only if you go there to pick it up -- you have the opportunity to drive your car through some of the best roads and beautiful scenery there is.

This is why I would never, ever, ever, ever consider shipping my vehicle (unless maybe I was taking delivery in winter). Not when I have the opportunity to drive my car through this:

That's gorgeous, and I don't recognize the exact location. Where in Colorado is that - I may need to drive up there some weekend...

[SigmaHyperion]

Originally Posted by chrisl

That's gorgeous, and I don't recognize the exact location. Where in Colorado is that - I may need to drive up there some weekend...

Ridgway State Park. At the visitor center at the top of the cliffs in the center of the lake It's in the far Southwest corner of the state. Go there and make the drive south to Durango through the San Juan National Forest. Absolutely awesome. And if you're on the eastern side of the state, get there via Hwy 24 through Gunnison and Montrose.

If you think that's gorgeous, this is what the view is just a few feet away and looking southwest (above photo was facing southeast).