U.S. Automaker offers no haggle pricing, money back guarantee

MONEY-SAVING MOMENT: Chevy’s new no haggle pricing will allow most car buyers to really steal a deal on a new car purchase.

The car business is having a mediocre time right now, with some automakers really struggling. So Chevy is emulating Carmax with its no haggle ‘the price is the price’ policy for the remainder of the summer.

With this policy, there’s no question about price on a product you want. I’ve looked at the pricing and think that really good shoppers may find a better deal — but everybody else will probably save money. Plus, a policy like this eliminates the hassle of having to go through the grind at a car dealership.

In addition, Chevy’s “Love It or Return It” program means that right now new car buyers can essentially test drive their purchase for up to 4,000 miles. If you don’t like it, you bring it back up to 60 days after the purchase.

Automakers need more pricing programs and customer friendly policies like this that don’t make you feel like you’re in a situation you dread when it’s time to buy a new car!

Meanwhile, Chrysler has done the tired old thing of offering no payments for 90 days. Yet in many cases, it’s better to get credit union financing than any financing from a dealer. You need to worry about the total cost of a car purchase, not what it’s going to cost for the first 90 days of ownership.

Finally, I have some sad news to pass along. After seven and a half years, I’ve finally sold my beloved Scion xB because my wife was concerned it was no longer safe for our kids.

I did the sale while in Florida at the beach, and a “for sale” sign in the window attracted a lot of interest from surfer dudes who were 30 years my junior. But I quickly got a much better offer from a dealer, so that’s where I unloaded it.

So a moment of silence for my Scion. I bought it for $12,000 and change and sold it for $8,000. You will be missed!

Editor’s note: This segment originally aired July 16, 2012.