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USAA Car Buying Service

6K views 19 replies 14 participants last post by  Rancho 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
My apologies if this is in the wrong section...

I previously owned a 2004 Rubicon when I lived in Germany. I've since sold that vehicle and went back to the world of Volkswagen. While I love VW very much, a Wrangler is calling me yet again. I currently drive a Honda Fit, and it feels like I'm driving Nicki Minaj's private parts; you know, all talk & no game?

I am a USAA member and am looking into their car buying service where you build a vehicle on their website and they give you a list of preferred dealers near you with estimated cost certificates. The average is $3500-$5200 off MSRP! This means I can afford a Hard Rock instead of a Sahara!

Have any of you used USAA's car buying service? Is it a painless negotiation process? Do you really save almost $4,000 off MSRP? Is this service better than using the 1% below invoice TreadLightly membership?

-Andy
 
#2 ·
I got quotes from several dealers using the USAA service and the pricing varied between dealers partnered with USAA. The discount in 1-2 dealers was good while others it was just token. The snag was they didn't have a Jeep I wanted and the price changed if they had to trade. I was looking for a 10A which was coveted (at least by dealers) and the discounts were not as good as standard Rubis.

Bottom line do the math and get the best deal you can using whatever options you have. You should do no worse than the TreadLightly discount.
 
#3 ·
I looked into this with USAA however it was for a used vehicle as I wanted to replace my old 2011 with another 2011 in the Mango Tango color I'd originally wanted. I had some issues with dealerships having the Jeep I'd seen on the USAA website and although it seemed like it would be great some of the dealers didn't seem as knowledgable as I'd expect about the vehicle or USAA car buying service. I ended up getting pre approval for an auto loan with USAA and found a Jeep on my own and took the printed check to them and it was a breeze. The dealer for some reason tried getting me to check out loans through them but I declined as I already had a great interest rate and prefer to avoid dealers shot gunning my credit. Not sure why the dealer wanted to do that but they may push for that. Definitely saved time at the dealership.
 
#4 ·
I used it to negotiate the price of my Rubicon down. I basically told them that I'd pay no more than what USAA said I would pay for the vehicle that I was ordering.

I also had $500 in Jeep Bonus Cash which I subtracted from the USAA price. The dealer actually took another couple of hundred off the price to make it a nice round number. We had a deal so I ordered the Jeep.

Then after the fact, Chrysler opened up the VW Conquest program and I got another $1000 off the price of the Jeep AFTER we settled on a price. Got to love the animosity between Fiat and VW.
 
#10 ·
I used it to negotiate the price of my Rubicon down. I basically told them that I'd pay no more than what USAA said I would pay for the vehicle that I was ordering.

I also had $500 in Jeep Bonus Cash which I subtracted from the USAA price. The dealer actually took another couple of hundred off the price to make it a nice round number. We had a deal so I ordered the Jeep.

Then after the fact, Chrysler opened up the VW Conquest program and I got another $1000 off the price of the Jeep AFTER we settled on a price. Got to love the animosity between Fiat and VW.
What is the VW Conquest program. Please elaborate.:happyyes:
 
#6 ·
My apologies if this is in the wrong section...

I previously owned a 2004 Rubicon when I lived in Germany. I've since sold that vehicle and went back to the world of Volkswagen. While I love VW very much, a Wrangler is calling me yet again. I currently drive a Honda Fit, and it feels like I'm driving Nicki Minaj's vagina; you know, all talk & no game?

I am a USAA member and am looking into their car buying service where you build a vehicle on their website and they give you a list of preferred dealers near you with estimated cost certificates. The average is $3500-$5200 off MSRP! This means I can afford a Hard Rock instead of a Sahara!

Have any of you used USAA's car buying service? Is it a painless negotiation process? Do you really save almost $4,000 off MSRP? Is this service better than using the 1% below invoice TreadLightly membership?

-Andy
Sometimes you can get close to or below invoice. You can get invoice price from edmunds.com. Just build the Jeep you want on there. Then build the Jeep you want on USAA Car Buying Service and compare the two. Also, if you find a Jeep that you want at a dealership, then build that same exact Jeep on edmunds.com and USAA. That way you can determine what the invoice price is and so forth, and then you can be ready to negotiate a lower price on that exact Jeep at the dealership.

I bought my current Rubicon using USAA Car Buying Service for about $34,478 plus TT&L. It was a good deal but I think I could have done a little better had I known more about invoice pricing and edmunds.com

P.S. If the dealer is a certified dealer on USAA Car Buying Service, then as long as you have a certificate for that specific Jeep, then all you need to do is take the certificate into the dealer and the dealer will honor the price. So, if you don't want to haggle, then it's a good deal. If you do want to haggle, then I think you can still get the lower interest rate on your auto loan through USAA as long as the dealer is certified in car buying service. I don't think you actually have to use the certificate, but don't quote me on that. Read the fine print.
 
#8 ·
The USAA buying service has nothing to do with the financing. However, USAA also offers cars loans at some pretty good rates. I found them to be more competitive than banks but not as great as some Credit Unions. USAAs service is top shelf. :thumb:

Usually bankruptcy starts to fade into the sunset after 2-3 years, even though there used to be a "7 year" rule. Banks are eager to put their money to work, specially on secured loans and high interest credit cards.
 
#11 ·
The USAA buying service has nothing to do with the financing. However, USAA also offers cars loans at some pretty good rates. I found them to be more competitive than banks but not as great as some Credit Unions. USAAs service is top shelf. :thumb:
Not exactly. There is a relationship. If you use USAA's Car Buying Service to locate your new car, and you also apply for an auto loan through USAA, USAA will lower your interest rate. Again, this is for an auto loan through USAA. You wouldn't get the decreased interest rate if you did not use the Car Buying Service but you still financed through USAA.

New Auto loan rates as low as:
0.59
%
APR

Used Auto loan rates as low as:
1.69
%
APR

for 36 months from USAA Bank with discount when you purchase through the USAA Car Buying Service

Discount off approval rate is .80% APR for new or used vehicles with terms up to 36 months, .50% APR for new or used vehicles with terms from 37-60 months and .25% APR on 61-72 month terms.†

To receive your loan discount, vehicle purchase must be made from the dealer listed on your USAA Car Buying Service Savings Certificate.

Discount will be applied 3-5 days after loan closing. Your monthly payment will not be adjusted; however, your final payment will be lowered to reflect interest savings.

View current auto loan rates
http://usaa.zag.com/Index.html?referrer_id=ZUSA000826

So, you get discounted interest rate if you use the Car Buying Service and you finance through USAA, as opposed to financing through USAA but not using the Car Buying Service (because not all dealers participate with the Car Buying Service).
 
#9 ·
I have used the USAA preferred dealer program twice. I got about 10 grand off my 2013 Chevy Silverado. I traded the Chevy in for my Jeep and got about 3500 off on it. Unless the factory or dealer has a better deal going, USAA is the way to go.
 
#13 ·
Thanks for all the replies; there's some great info in here! Here's another scenario for y'all... when I bought the Honda, I DID transfer $2,000 of negative equity onto it, along with 100% financing. Total loan amount came out to ~$22,500. Right now I owe ~$14,900. I plan on having the car paid off by January, or damn close to it. Should I....

A) Pay off the car (less than 3 years into a 6 year loan)
B) Trade in the car with ~$1,000-$2,000 remaining on loan
C) Save my cash and trade in the vehicle at current loan amount, transferring negative equity, and putting down $10,000-$12,000 in cash, essentially cancelling out the debt

Which is better from a credit standpoint and would one option over another help me with vehicle financing interest rates?
 
#14 ·
From a credit rating standpoint paying off a loan is best but don't use your cash. Keep paying it down until you are ready for a new vehicle. Then sell it yourself. It is easy and you will get the most cash for it. If you have AAA they will handle the whole transaction once you find a buyer via a couple of adds. Unless you make $150-300/hr, selling it yourself is worth your time and effort.

Stop transferring negative equity and live within your means.
 
#15 ·
I used USAA in the last month to purchase my new Sahara. I went through the process to secure my loan through USAA for a low percentage rate. The advised me of the maximum amount of money I could spend on a new vehicle. Then provided me with an echeck to purchase the vehicle with a maximum on the check. I did use their car buying service to locate my vehicle. I located my Sahara with the package I wanted and the dealer participated with the USAA car buying service (SOME DO, AND SOME DO NOT). I called the dealer, told them the circumstances and made them an offer. With my echeck, it was as if I was paying cash on the spot at the dealer for my new Sahara. There was no haggling, because the car buying service was about as low as the dealer would go (I managed to shave off a few more bucks) and within the hour, drove off the lot with my new Jeep.

I will only buy through USAA!

Now remember, Jeep does not typically give the incentives that Dodge does. Or other manufacturers. Jeeps have high resale and they just don't budge much on the price but USAA will save you some money.
 
#16 ·
I attempted to use the USAA buyers program for a new JK last month. In the fine print it states that the discount is on vehicles in dealers stock. Most dealers that I've dealt with in the past will work with you on any vehicle they can find and apply the discount. However, the Jeep dealers in my area would only deal on in stock vehicles. Carl Gregory CDJR (worst dealer I've ever dealt with, hands down) had one that I wanted in transit for delivery, but because it wasn't "in stock, on the lot" they refused to give me the USAA discount. They received it in stock the following week. This worked out to my advantage because they got a 2011 Sahara Tan (one of my favorite colors) in on trade before it arrived, and I got a decent price on a 26000 mile jeep, and an excellent financing rate from USAA. USAA beats anybody around.
 
#17 ·
So i recently purchased my dad an economical car through the USAA Car Buying Service. If the dealer is familiar with the process, you can have them rebuild and show you the price. Or you can rebuild based on the vehicle you find on the lot. USAA I got the Out the Door Price, including dealer fees, destination fees, etc. They tried jacking them up on me and i said I came here expecting to pay this price, so it's this price or no deal. USAA is definitely the way to go.
 
#18 ·
So I want to refinance a $26,000 loan with USAA for my wife's truck and then in the future use the car buying service and get new jeep for myself. Does anyone have any tips on the best way to get that done and should I put myself and my wife on the loan that I am trying to refinance. Also we both have about 700 credit but bankruptcy from 6.5 years ago. Any info would help, thanks
 
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