I have been assisting 3 friends purchase cars in the last few weeks. So far, we have a brand new Mazda C9 7 passenger fully loaded with the game of Costco played with Carlsbad Mazda Dealer who met that price and had desired vehicle on the lot vs waiting for Costco dealer to order and deliver. Seemed like a great deal and easy.

Drove to Santa Monica on Saturday to assist with purchase of a BMW 328 i, certified used, fully loaded with both sport and performance packages, 16000 miles. They did NOT want to budge from internet price. We wandered off to “think” and they called the second we left the lot dropping a whopping $200. We kept driving, went got lunch, wandered the promenade, they call again with the “fact” that someone else is interested in this car and would hate to see her lose a great deal….my friend got emotionally attached to the vehicle and we went back to dealership with a negotiated $300 dollare price drop on a $28,000 USED car.

Currently shopping for another friend who is undecided (read unemotional in her car choice, just wants a reliable car for a great bargain) as to whether she wants Nissan Altima, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, and on whether to purchase new vs used. There is a tremendous amount of inventory out there….I am e-mailing dealers and sharing the results I receive with them. Basically playing them against each other to see who will give me the best deal. Pretty easy for us to review the choices and not wasting my time or dealers wandering around their lots and hearing how they are actually going to lose money on this deal…..