I wanted to see if another wholesale club like Costco had the same kind of programs for discounts (totally not coming from envy of that $1250 incentive flying around here).
It looks like, at some point, BJ’s offered something similar (at least with Fords according to this)
Links on that article go nowhere.
Does anyone know if this is still a thing with BJ’s? If not, what happened to their “Auto Buying Program”
@Ursus Who’s the guy that got all pissy no one told him about possible upcoming incentives? Please have him sign up for this membership now too.
If I could only remember all guys who got all pissy here… 
Found him. You already mentioned Sam’s Club to him.
On this same note (since I am considering just grabbing a $60 Coscto membership just for the potential incentives)… is the “backdate” typically the same every time for the Costco incentive? E.g “must have been a cardholder before 4/30/20” on an incentive that shows up in May?
People, there are no specialty for being a Costco, BJ’s, AMEX, AARP, AAA, etc member. All of these companies go though Truecar and discounts on truecar are set by the dealers. If a car has a $5000 markup and you get a $1000 discount from BJ’s, $1000 from Costco, $1000 from AAA, $2000 from AARP, all add up to the same $5000 discount you get from walking into a dealer and negotiating. In fact, you are likely to get a better rate by walking in as Truecar charges $400/car sold. So thats another $400 of benefit to you.
This is wrong - you can use a broker and stack the discount into that pricing
Adding a broker into the equation is not going to stretch the markup on a car.
Turns out I was able to renew a lapsed Costco membership and it showed my original membership start date - so worked for this offer
I think I understand what you are saying. But having these incentives puts you in a better position to negotiate from an ok deal to a good or great deal, no?
If I “walk into a dealer and negotiate” (I’ve already made a mistake) what incentive do they have to let me know I could get another $1000 off for being a Costco member? If I had told them upfront I qualify for the Costco incentive, do you think they would be less aggressive on their dealer discount?
Scenario 1: Dealer comes out with 8% off MSRP and I tell them I qualify for Coscto which brings total (for simple math) discount to 9%
Scenario 2: I tell dealer I qualify for Costco incentive. Dealer comes back with 7% discount + Costco incentive, bringing the total discount to 8%
Isn’t the point to get the dealer to x% discount before incentives?
Yes. Costco discount comes off the total markup. It is not a manufacturer rebate or special incentives for chase private clients where it is additional discount.
There is no additional discount for being a costco member. If a dealer were to give you $4000 off the car, they dont care what you break that discount into. You can name what ever you like for your satisfaction.
If you negotiated all 10% of the markup on a car and then present a costco deal, you are not getting additional discount.
Understood. My point is how you get to that “total” 10%. If the negotiation is basically halted at 8% (before any incentives have been brought up) and you whip out the Costco card and idk AARP or something that gets you to that 10% you do benefit from those membership since the dealer basically wasn’t budging beyond 8%.
I understand what you are saying. But technically the the dealer can say no to it. Costco has a “pre-negotiated price” which is like 2-3K off the MSRP usually. So they can just say its either you take this 8% or take the costco offer. Its basically a choice just like choosing to halt negotiation at 8%. Some may give it to you so that they don’t come off as rude.
We are not talking about Costco’s pre-negotiated pricing. These are incentives that stack on top of whatever discount you negotiate.
In that case it should be the 10% + the additional incentive.
Yes, that’s how it works. “Normal” targeted discount with Costco cash on top.
It’s brand dependent - Costco for Volvo is an extra rebate program of $1250/$2000 depending on vehicle.
Another example would be farmers/reality assoc for FCA being $500-$1000 dependent on market.
However, you’re right that most of these programs lead you to Truecar as opposed to an extra discount.
Costco also leads you to TrueCar on Volvo outside of their once-a-year extra rebate. Then it becomes just standard Truecar program as @fredyge94 said before