Is it really that good? Anyone use it?

 

I did. In my case, my cost was dealer invoice +1,800. Not all dealers participate.

 

A good friend just bought a 2013 Lexus RX350 through Costco. Said it was well worth it.

 

I negoiated with the dealer for a price better than Costco for our 2012 Subaru Outback. Costco is easy non-negotiating pricing that is an OK value but not great if you want to negotiate.

 

Does Costco allow for custom builds from the factory or are you limited to what participating dealers have on their lots?

 

Costco (or for that matter any auto-buying service that the dealer may be a participant) allows spec builds. Again, it depends on the level of participation.

Like any marketing program, some dealers participate, some don't. If yours doesn't, you can find one who does. Not all MINI dealers in my area (SoCal) participate (some even charge premiums). If you prefer to negotiate with a sales-motivated dealer (as when buying a Subaru Outback), then a buying program is unnecessary.

 

My local dealer made it pretty clear to me that if I wanted a spec build, I'd be paying MSRP. I wish I could see Costco's prices without joining up first, so I could evaluate whether it was worth it.

 

I got mine through Costco. I was directed to the fleet manager who took good care of me. I was able to order the car over the phone and he would have had the car delivered to my home for free if I wanted. (the dealership is over an hour away.)

When I asked him the differences between 2012/13 he emailed me some info. I had tried to find it on the web previously with no luck.

I paid invoice + $1500. maybe I could have gotten it a little less if I was a good negotiator (which I'm not) but I also didn't have to deal with any extra fees other than tax and license. I've heard some of the other local dealers do that.

 

Just found out about Costco pricing after ordering my car, but after reading people's experiences, not sure it would have been different. Was offered $1200 off MSRP with my order - only other fee is the $200 doc fee. Guess it wouldn't hurt to ask though. Wonder if its standard or if they do their Costco pricing on a case-by-case basis?

 

If it hasn't changed, if you sign up for Costco and don't purchase anything with your membership, you can return it for a full refund before the year period ends.

 

The point of Costco pricing is for you to purchase/lease whatever you want with the proper options. We've had 2 Subaru's built using the special pricing and paid $500 over invoice or less. Costco has an evaluation program for every dealer that "participates" which you can let them know about that restriction from your dealer. Costco pricing is supposed to be only available once you have contacted them and let them contact a dealer on your behalf at which time you're allowed to see the Costco pricing. FYI on MINIs the best deals are available on everything except the R60 which is only priced at $500 off MSRP as recently as a couple of months ago. I actually didn't use the service for my R60 but I was comfortable with the deal I worked out on my own.

 

Didn't work at all for me last November. The dealer they sent me to only offered $300 off MSRP. I had already been offered $900 off and ever dealer offered me $500 on the spot. I ended up getting $1,500 off MSRP on my own.

It's my experience that most of those discount services can be easily beat on your own, but it is always a good starting point to work DOWN from.