Military Auto Source feedback?

[joeimp]

Hi all a bit off topic but thought I'd see if any of my fellow vet Calgunners have ever purchased a vehicle through Military Auto Source. I'm headed to "an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia" and was thinking about ordering a new truck.

Car shopping is definitely a buyer's market right now. Appreciate any feedback from your experience with MAS.

[Snoopy47]

Just remember there are two prices involved in car buying.

The Price of the Vehicle itself.

The Price of the Financing.

Try and figure out the paid in full cash price. Anything else above that is the financing costs and is astronomically clouded.

If you can secure a car loan through your bank or credit union you technically have both Prices already separated. You can get the vehicle at the Paid in Full CASH price, and then simply own a straight forward loan to your bank/credit union.

Also, if you separate out both like I just mentioned, when you pay down the loan faster you wont have to pay extra financing costs. If you get a combined loan where the payments are fixed and the financing costs are combined with the price you lose against the Time Value of Money calculation if you decide to pay off the loan sooner.

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I'm trying to explain this in easy terms to understand. Part of my financial career was working for a credit union and supplying dealers with loans and I got to see all the mechanics of the deals, and how financing costs end up being very hard for the buyer to figure out.

You want a regular amortizing loan where if you pay sooner (like a normal home loan) you don't own any interest payments on the principle balances you are paying down sooner. If it's all combined in the price then you are getting screwed.

Then of course you want the lowest interest rate as possible.

[coryhenry]

I have researched several vehicles through the program and have not found the prices to be competitive with what I can negotiate at home.

[Mr.Caketown]

I have researched several vehicles through the program and have not found the prices to be competitive with what I can negotiate at home.

^^^ this

When i went to an undisclosed sandbox in 2012 i began looking for a truck. After returning , I went to a dealership 7 days later with a pre approved check and ended up saving more ( i think 1500) conpared to that program.

[Milsurp1]

[joeimp]

Great feedback

Thank you for all the comments. The MAS website says they will price match any dealer, so I wanted to give them an opportunity. However, I have attempted to contact them multiple times over the past month and no one has even acknowledged me. So I'm not optimistic about it.

My dad has probably purchased ten vehicles over the years from the little dealership in my hometown, so I'll see what they can do for me.

I've also searched neighboring states, but between the lack of inventory and the fact I'll have to pay CA state tax anyways, it won't make much of a price difference.

I'm looking at ordering the new Ranger. Ford is currently offering major rebates, so I would be surprised if anyone can match.

[joeimp]

Just wanted to share what I've learned. So far MAS does appear to be competitive with the dealer. The vehicle I've priced does seem to come in a few thousand less than what I'm finding locally.

[kenl]

I've bought two cars through the program, the 1st in the late 70s, the second about 6 years ago. Price was ok, but for me the main benefit is it's built to your specs, not to a dealer's. The disadvantage is that you have to wait for them to build it, and there is the possibility that the trim that you've ordered was discontinued by the factory. That happened to me on the second car, but because MAS didn't want to loose the sale, I came out ahead with a better package at a nice discount as a result.

The program worked for me.