Costco offers its members a Costco Auto Program that provides customers with pre-arranged special membership pricing in vehicle dealerships across the country. To enjoy any of the benefits in the program, you must be a member of the program.

What do you need to know about Costco Auto Program?

Here is some basic information you need to know about the Costco auto program;

The service is specifically designed for car dealers to help car dealers get access to direct customers from Costco.

Only car dealers are allowed to participate in the program.

Car dealers are required to pay a certain percentage monthly to activate their plan. The payment allows the dealers to get across to Costco customers and offer their services to them directly.

When Costco customers purchase a vehicle from any of the car dealers in the auto program, it does not receive any percentage from the sales. This helps encourage car dealers to join the auto program.

The vehicles that are available in the program include; 

● New vehicles

● Pre-owned vehicles

● Parts and services

● Recreational vehicle.

In addition, the Program is used by its members although nonmembers can use some of the research options. Only Costco members are eligible to get the discount price. The Costco auto program membership can be of Costco gold star membership that costs $60 and gold star executive membership that costs $120.

Dealers Agreement Policy

Costco works with one dealer per brand in a defined geographical area at the Costco warehouse and also, within each participating dealership, only reputable salespeople are authorized to work with the customer that is shopping through the program.

How Does Costco Select Dealership?

Here are some factors Costco look for when selecting a dealership;

Price range

Customer satisfaction

The reputation of the brand

The professionalism of the brand’s salespeople.

Note that before a salesperson can be selected to represent a dealer at the Costco Auto Program, the person must have worked with that brand for at least 6 months.

Costco Auto Program Policies

When you are purchasing a vehicle through the Costco Auto Program, you are not purchasing from Costco but from its dealers. This means that the dealership provides and contains information on warranties, returns deliveries, and lots more. 

The program does not include trade-in. This enables car buyers to trade in their vehicles for credit if they want to purchase a new one. Costco also offers an incentive to its gold star business Costco members apart from the 15% discounts that are offered to members or non-members on parts, services, and accessories.

The Goldstar business receives a 100$ coupon for oil changes, extended warranty plans, parts, and accessories from the dealership where the vehicle is purchased. The same incentive is also applied to gold star executive members but for this time around, it is for the value of $200. For now, the average discount rate for customers that want to purchase this program is $1,000. However, the discount rate also differs depending on the dealer, dealership, and vehicle.

In addition, the auto program can be beneficial to both the dealers and the customers.

Benefits

The Costco Auto Program is a genuine program that ensures review safety dealerships for its customers. Its benefit includes;

● Fixed Price 

It ensures no haggle pricing and the fixed pricing relieves customers’ pressure and stress of negotiation with dealers.

● Transparent Pricing

 In the auto program, the invoice price of how much the dealer paid the manufacturer for the vehicle is clearly shown to Costco associates. The lists also show the MSRP and this guarantees transparency between the dealers and car buyers.

● Large Selection

Car buyers have many options available to them through the Auto Program, including several makes and models of cars, SUVs, trucks, vans, RVs, ATVs, UTVs, and more.

Disadvantages

● The Costco auto program is only available to Costco-paying members. The Gold star membership price is $60 per year and the executive membership is $120 per year.

● No Negotiation. Haggle-free can be a positive, but it can also have its cons. Customers that are skilled in negotiating can get better deals than the Auto Program offers.

● Receiving lots of emails from participating dealers; when you become a “lead” through the Costco Auto Program you will inevitably receive a lot of emails from participating. Apart from it, you will also receive persistent emails from dealers. 

Conclusion

The Costco program is a profitable program that ensures customers of transparent pricing, peace of mind, and grants them savings regardless of if they use the program to purchase a car or not. If you are a car dealer, the program is a sure way for you to reach out to your potential customers without spending a lot of money on advertisements.

Can you haggle with the Costco auto program? 

No, you can’t. All vehicle has fixed prices. 

Can you save with the Costco auto problem?

Yes, the Costco auto program allows the average vehicle transaction discount of $1,000.