Wife's getting a new car!

[Kincaid]

So last Saturday we signed the order through the Costco Program.

My wife is getting a 2013 Volkswagen Beetle 2.5L 5-cyl. 5 speed manual. Has sunroof, Fender sound system and navigation, which is every option they have. Will be in "Moonrock Silver" which is a pale gold color with a brownish tint. She is over the moon(rock) about it. First car we've ever ordered from the factory but this time we had to because it is very difficult to get a manual transmission with all the luxury options. In the entire Pacific Northwest there was only a red one and a black one like this. Red was her 4th color choice and black was a no-go for her.

I could not talk her into the diesel, and she did not want the turbo (nor did I, because then the ultra-cool body color dash and door frames become boring black carbon fiber and I didn't like the turbo wheel choices and it costs quite a bit more).

We got it for $200 under invoice through Costco - not totally kickass but I think it was better than we could have done negotiating and what do you expect for a car so early in it's life cycle? Completely haggle free and even the accessories (splash guards and alarm system) came nicely discounted and we didn't have to argue about those either.

It will look like this:

Suhweet!

[journeyforce]

Nice!!

Are the wheels alloy or just hubcaps over steel wheels? I think I would have preferred steel wheels to alloy since VW brought back the vintage style dog dish VW hubcaps which I think makes the car look very vintage looking(I like the dog dish caps)

The car looks much in its 2012 design then the old New Beetle it replaced

[Kincaid]

The wheels are alloy with plastic chrome center cap - all of the chrome center is a single plastic cover.

I like the dog dish caps too although I am not sure that those are not actually alloy wheels too. They look very good on the silver and gray cars IMO. If I had any other color I'd really really really want them painted to match the body color.

[Kincaid]

FWIW, I completely recommend the Costco buying program, if anyone is a member. I had to recheck the figures and found out that the car was $200 under invoice and all the accessories were at dealer invoice! I had also priced things on Edmunds.com for their True Minimum Pricing Value (which is what I used to make sure I wasn't getting ripped off when I bought the Vibe) and also used TrueCar to check their pricing.


Here's the actual figures for MSRP on our car as ordered:

$24,095 2013 Beetle 2.5L with 5 speed manual
220 splash guards installed
235 rubber floor mats and trunk protector
325 alarm retrofit
795 destination charge

$25,670 Total MSRP

For comparison purposes, here is the True Minimum Value from Edmunds.com:

$23,352 2013 Beetle 2.5L with 5 speed manual
194 splash guards installed
209 rubber floor mats and trunk protector
285 alarm retrofit (Edmunds doesn't seem to acknowledge this so I guessed)
795 destination charge

$24,835 Total Edmunds TMV

And that doesn't even include Edmunds $237 increase for "regional pricing"!


My cost:

$22,931 2013 Beetle 2.5L with 5 speed manual
170 splash guards installed
185 rubber floor mats and trunk protector
250 alarm retrofit
795 destination charge

$24,331 Total my cost

Now, the dealer will add $348 in fees and license charges (and phony stuff I am sure) but there doesn't seem to be any upcharge for the newness of the model or for the region, as Edmunds made me fear.

I am happy as a clam about using Costco buying service.

I should note that TrueCar was actually within about $27 of the Costco price, and I did have one dealer call me and say he'd honor TrueCar's figure.

I also spoke to a friend that has bought two cars thru Costco's service, and he got $500 below invoice on a Hyundai Elantra and later got $1600 below invoice on a Hyundai Sonata. He also said that on those cars he checked TrueCar and found that Costco was several hundred lower.

I can't say enough about Costco and this dealer I bought from. I did read some reviews and it sounds like the buying experience will vary depending on the dealer. I was afraid they would try to charge more for the car because it was ordered (when in fact it actually costs them a bit less because they do not have to incur flooring charges) or that they would try to make up some profit by haggling over the accessories. The entire experience was pleasant and took about 1/2 hour to complete (after doing all my homework online).

[09vGT]

Looks cool! I really like them, though, I would only get a turbo, only because I think the others look a bit girly. A friend of mine used to have an '02 Beetle Turbo and it was a BLAST to drive!

[Kincaid]

I lucked out that VW had no "dusty rose" or "buttercream yellow" colors this year or that's what she'd have wanted.

Dropped by the dealer and confirmed that the order has now been put in. Also saw a cool "Fender" version is coming out and will have a "sunburst wood" dash like a Fender guitar - should look very cool.

Here's a link to a pic of the dash:

http://www.motorauthority.com/pictures/ ... #100391849" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;