New Stress-Free Way to Buy a Car

A few months ago, I alerted you guys to a new car buying service in California called Roadster.com (here is my initial review). Since that time, I've been hearing a lot of positive things, both from my readers who purchased through their service, and also review sites such as Yelp - where they have a perfect 5-star overall rating.

Today, I want to alert you to a new service they're launching called Roadster Express. It's the closest thing to actually buying a car online that I've ever seen. The no-haggle prices and fees are all broken down and listed up-front, and include taxes, fees, discounts and incentives - calculated down to the last penny.

The listed prices are already negotiated with deep discounts off MSRP, so you can rest assured you're not only saving time and hassle, but also getting a good deal. (I checked the prices against other no-haggle services such as TrueCar and Edmunds Price Promise, and found them to be competitive - some were priced lower, some higher, but usually within plus or minus $200).

The big difference with Roadster, however, is that when you purchase a vehicle through them, you never have to set foot in a dealership and never have to communicate with a car salesperson. A Roadster concierge guides you through the process and even delivers the vehicle to your home or office. The paperwork only takes about 10 minutes, and they will even handle your trade-in.

Roadster shows all prices, taxes, fees and discounts broken down by category

The Roadster Express service is currently available on 28 of the most popular new models. These models are heavily stocked across dealerships, and having a large inventory of vehicles to choose from is the only way to make something like this possible. If you're looking to buy a less popular model, you should use the Roadster Concierge service instead (that's where a concierge finds and negotiates the price of the car for you - there is no guaranteed upfront pricing, but you are not obligated to purchase, and pay no fees unless you actually complete the purchase).

Note that Roadster does charge a $295 fee for both their Express and Concierge services, so keep that in mind. (Personally, I think the frustration, time, and hassle they save is well worth the price). Also, Roadster is ONLY available to California residents right now, but they will be expanding nationwide as they grow.

If you do end up using this service, I'd love to hear about your experience. Email me at gregg@realcartips.com.