Looking for the best way to buy or lease a car? New or used,
the process never made more sense! The internet auto industry is continuously
evolving to make the shopper's life easier. New tools and features are
empowering shoppers with the information they need to make confident decisions.
I look at classifieds as outdated and full of pitfalls.
AutoTrader.com and Cars.com are websites that function more like classifieds
where private sellers and dealers post their new and used cars. Classifieds are
my least favorite way to find deals. They still require a lot of research,
haggling, visiting multiple dealers, giving out your contact information and
most likely dealing with all the usual drama. That method is still widely
popular but I think it's fading with rise of simpler and more effective methods
of car buying and leasing.
We've always been told that it's a good idea to be a savvy
shopper by haggling and looking for the best deals but now imagine a world
where the best deals are competing and looking for you. This is what's been
happening on websites like GearMint,
Edmunds and TrueCar.
The main feature of Edmunds and
TrueCar is that you can get up-front price guarantees
emailed to you by dealers for new car purchases without the need to haggle. Be
careful though. The price guarantee doesn't necessarily include all the small
dealer fees and financing rates that can quickly add up. So you still might
need to haggle a bit. Nevertheless, people are still able to use these tools to
save time and money.
GearMint is for new and used car buying
and leasing as well as trade-ins. The process can be broken up into 3 steps:
Tell them what you want: The shopper
posts the type of car they are looking for and their budget and receive online
offers from dealers. It's also free to use!
Hassle-free Online Offers: The shopper
can avoid spam emails and endless calls by not sharing their contact
information with dealers.
Simple Evaluation: The offers are public
and can receive votes and advice from other shoppers. Dealers have ratings and
reviews on their profiles. The shopper and the dealer can send private messages
to get more information and hash-out some of the minor details such as
additional fees,
The GearMint process is also fairly simple and might have a
higher potential to be more effective and hassle-free.
These car websites can't do everything for you. You still
have some homework to do. It always helps to know in advance the type of car
you want, whether you are looking to buy or lease, how much you can afford to
pay, to set a budget and read more car buying tips from other auto blogs. All
of this is key to getting a good deal. These websites can help you get great
competitive deals from your local dealers and from any device with internet
access. You no longer have to visit various dealerships or look through 100's
of online and offline classifieds.
