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Can you tell me more about CarQuotes.ca? |
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What is the "Dealer Cost"? |
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Where does CarQuotes.ca get its information? Is providing this information to the public legal? |
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Does CarQuotes.ca recommend specific dealerships? |
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I am worried about providing personal information. Does CarQuotes.ca have a privacy policy? |
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Will CarQuotes.ca sell or share my information with anybody else? |
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What are "Cookies"? Does CarQuotes.ca use them? |
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The CarQuotes.ca website looks different than most other websites. Where's the annoying advertising that I'm used to? |
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Do you have a question not covered by this FAQ? |
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What is included in a CarQuotes.ca Pricing Report? Can I see a sample? |
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How many pricing reports do I get with my membership? |
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How much does a CarQuotes.ca membership cost? |
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Is there a time limit on my membership or can I request my pricing reports whenever I like? |
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I know the model of the vehicle I want to purchase (eg. Honda Civic) but am not sure of the trim level (eg. DX, LX, Si, Si-G). Will purchasing the single plan membership provide information on all available trim levels or will I need separate quotes for each? |
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What happens if I select the wrong vehicle when ordering a pricing report? |
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Will I be billed in Canadian or American dollars? |
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Which credit cards does CarQuotes.ca accept as payment? |
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Who handles the processing of credit cards for CarQuotes.ca? |
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How much over the dealer invoice should I expect to pay for a vehicle? |
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Does CarQuotes.ca have "Dealer Cost" information for remaining 2011, current 2012 and new 2013 vehicles? |
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Does CarQuotes.ca provide pricing information on dealer installed accessories and options? |
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Do your pricing reports consider the incentives and rebates offered by manufacturers? |
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What is "Dealer Holdback"? |
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Does the pricing information provided by CarQuotes.ca take the "Dealer Holdback" into consideration? |
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Are the vehicle incentives and rebates offered by my local dealership the same all for all other dealerships in Canada? |
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Does CarQuotes.ca offer pricing on Pre-Delivery Inspection? |
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Why aren't there any rebates or incentives listed for the vehicle I selected? |
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I purchased a membership in the past and received a pricing report for a vehicle. I think that since then there may be a new rebate program or a price change. I would like to find out if the information has changed. Do I need to purchase another pricing report? |
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| Can you tell me more about CarQuotes.ca?
CarQuotes.ca is located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and was launched on January 1, 2001. The CarQuotes.ca website was designed to offer Canadian consumers an alternative to the traditional new car buying and leasing experience.
CarQuotes.ca provides Canadians with the "Dealer Cost" cost for any new car sold in Canada. The "Dealer Cost" is the price charged to the dealership by the manufacturer for the new vehicle. You will know the true price of the vehicle and just how much the dealership has "marked-up" the vehicle price. CarQuotes.ca also provides the "Dealer Cost" cost for any factory installed options on the vehicle.
As Canada’s leader in the market of providing "Dealer Cost" pricing information to the consumer, CarQuotes.ca gives new car buyers something different from any other online car buying service. Whether leasing, buying or financing your new car, CarQuotes.ca puts the consumer in control of the new car purchasing process. |
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| What is the "Dealer Cost"?
CarQuotes.ca can provide you with the "Dealer Cost" price charged to the dealership by the manufacturer for the vehicle of your choice and its options. This is not the published retail price or MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) a.k.a. sticker price that almost nobody ever pays, but the wholesale price which you can use to negotiate a better deal.
You will know if the sales person is being honest with you and exactly how much the dealership is making from the sale of the vehicle.
Since CarQuotes.ca began, we have received countless horror stories from our customers telling our staff how dealership sales people were blatantly lying to them about the cost of vehicles and options.
Make no mistake, dealerships are out to make money. Many dealership salespeople view a poorly informed customer as an opportunity to make extra money. |
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| Where does CarQuotes.ca get its information? Is providing this information to the public legal?
CarQuotes.ca gets it's information from specific Canadian dealerships. These dealerships believe that an informed consumer realizes that dealerships must make a fair profit to survive. They also believe that a well-informed consumer is much easier to deal with than an uninformed one.
New car dealerships in the United States have long conducted business while the dealer invoice cost of new vehicles has been readily available through many sources. CarQuotes.ca is now bringing this same information to Canadians. Not to undermine the dealer's business process, but to ease the negotiation experience for both sides.
Providing this information to the public may be annoying to some car dealerships but it is quite legal. |
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| Does CarQuotes.ca recommend specific dealerships?
To avoid a possible conflict of interest, CarQuotes.ca does not recommend any specific dealerships. CarQuotes.ca customers are encouraged to shop around and visit different dealerships. |
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| I am worried about providing personal information over the Internet. Does CarQuotes.ca have a privacy policy?
CarQuotes.ca is a strong advocate of privacy on the Internet. When you place an order, we require your name, email address, mailing address and phone number so that we may contact you regarding your order and so that we can be certain that you are located in Canada.We currently do not service areas outside Canada.
CarQuotes.ca may provide aggregate statistics about our customers, sales, traffic patterns, and related site information to reputable third-party vendors, but these statistics will include no personally identifying or financially sensitive information.
To view our online privacy policy please click here. |
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| Will CarQuotes.ca sell or share my information with anybody else?
We share your financial information only with those third parties that are directly involved in the filling of your order. These parties include the company that processes your credit card information and your credit card company. Only that information which is absolutely necessary is shared with third parties that are directly involved with your order.
CarQuotes.ca will never sell, rent or trade any of your personal information to any third party. Period. |
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| What are "Cookies"? Does CarQuotes.ca use them?
"Cookies" are small pieces of information that are stored by your Internet browser on your computer's hard drive. Many organizations use cookies to track your every move on their site. A cookie is a unique identifier that a web server places on your computer, much like personal serial number that can be used to retrieve your records from their databases. CarQuotes.ca does not use cookies. Many websites use cookies containing personally identifying information, claiming that cookies make your visit to their site more convenient and enjoyable.
CarQuotes.ca is against the use of cookies as a tool to influence consumers. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually change your browser to prevent that.
To view your cookies using Internet Explorer 5.0: on your task bar, click: Tools, then Internet Options. Under the tab General (the default tab) click Settings, then View Files. If using Netscape Navigator: locate the file c:\Program Files\Netscape\Users\\cookies.txt and open it in any text editor. |
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| The CarQuotes.ca website looks different than most other websites. Where's the annoying advertising that I'm used to?
Unlike many other websites, CarQuotes.ca does not support the notion of adding distracting advertising to its website in order to influence customers. Not only is advertising often annoying, it also increases the loading time of websites.
CarQuotes.ca is committed to providing its valued visitors with an enjoyable online experience. |
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| Do you have a question not covered by this FAQ?
If you have a question that is not covered by this FAQ don't hesitate to contact our Customer Care team. We will do our best to reply to you as quickly as possible.
Our customer service team is available Monday to Friday, 6am to 10pm EST, 6am to 7pm EST weekends. If your request is made outside of our office hours it may not be returned until the next working day. |
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| What is included in a CarQuotes.ca Pricing Report? Can I see a sample?
All Pricing Reports include the "Dealer Cost" price of the vehicle (what the dealer paid), CarQuotes.ca equipment recommendations, invoice prices for all factory-installed options, current leasing and purchase rates, up to date detailed incentive programs on the selected vehicle and solid advice on how to negotiate your best deal.
For a detailed sample of a CarQuotes.ca Pricing Report go here. Please note that this is just a sample and that numbers quoted may not be accurate. |
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| How many pricing reports do I get with my membership?
CarQuotes.ca offers three types of memberships designed to meet your needs. The Platinum plan includes 5 pricing reports, the Premium plan includes 3 pricing reports and the Basic plan includes 1 pricing report.
For more information on membership packages as well as additional benefits for CarQuotes.ca members please visit our Memberships Area |
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| How much does a CarQuotes.ca membership cost?
The cost of a Basic Plan membership (1 pricing report) is $21. The cost of a Premium Plan membership (3 pricing reports) is $32. The cost of a Platinum Plan membership (5 pricing reports) is $42.
All prices quoted are in Canadian dollars and include all applicable taxes.
For more information on membership packages as well as additional benefits for CarQuotes.ca members please visit our Memberships Area. |
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| Is there a time limit on my membership or can I request my pricing reports whenever I like?
There is no time limit on our multi-report memberships. You can order any remaining pricing reports from our system whenever you like.
When you receive your first pricing report, we will give you a password to access our online order form for members to order your remaining reports. It's very easy. |
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| I know the model of the vehicle I want to purchase (eg. Honda Civic) but am not sure of the trim level (eg. DX, LX, Si, Si-G). Will purchasing the single plan membership provide information on all available trim levels or will I need separate reports for each?
Unfortunately, you would need three seperate reports. Vehicles in the CarQuotes.ca pricing system are listed according to trim level and individual trim levels frequently have different available options.
In a case such as this, you can find our how many reports you will need by simply going to the Vehicle Profiles Area of our website and looking at the different trim levels available for the vehicle you're interested in. |
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| What happens if I select the wrong vehicle when ordering a pricing report?
If you select the wrong vehicle when ordering a pricing report, you should notify our Customer Care team as soon as possible. You will not be penalized. Mistakes happen. |
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| Will I be billed in Canadian or American dollars?
All prices quoted are in Canadian dollars and include all applicable taxes. |
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| Which credit cards does CarQuotes.ca accept as payment?
We currently accept Visa and MasterCard. If you would like to suggest another type of credit card or form of payment that we should be accepting, let our Customer Care team know. |
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| Who handles the processing of credit cards for CarQuotes.ca?
Credit card processing for CarQuotes.ca is done by Moneris Solutions.
Moneris Solutions is a new company with over thirty years of experience. They are a joint investment between Royal Bank and Bank of Montreal. By combining the strength, security and stability of two major banks, Moneris is committed to developing innovative business solutions for electronic payments. We invite you to visit their website at http://www.moneris.com.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to contact our Customer Care team. |
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| How much above the "Dealer Cost" should I be willing to pay for a new vehicle?
Most new vehicles can be purchased at a dealership for 6% to 8% over invoice. Some models may occasionally be purchased for as low as 2% over invoice or for as high as full MSRP. This depends on the type of vehicle and on supply and demand.
The “Canadian average mark-up”, which is included with all CarQuotes.ca Pricing Reports acts as a guide. In many situations CarQuotes.ca customers were able to negotiate prices 4% to 5% less than average. |
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| Does CarQuotes.ca have "Dealer Cost" pricing information for remaining 2011, current 2012 and new 2013 vehicles?
We currently have information for all remaining 2011, current 2012 and new 2013 model year vehicles sold in Canada.
CarQuotes.ca prides itself on providing up to date, accurate information to its members. New 2011 and 2012 models are added to our pricing system as quickly as possible. We usually have invoice pricing information on new vehicles even before they go on sale to the public. |
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| Does CarQuotes.ca provide pricing information on dealer installed accessories and options?
We currently do not provide pricing information on dealer installed parts and accessories. These items are ordered through the parts departments of new car dealerships. The price of dealer installed accessories and options change and are based on the volumes ordered. The labour rates charged for installation also varies between dealerships.
It would be difficult for us to provide accurate pricing information on dealer installed accessories and options. |
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| Do CarQuotes.ca pricing reports consider the incentive programs and rebates offered by manufacturers?
We provide detailed information on incentives and rebates separately within each pricing report.
For a detailed sample of a CarQuotes.ca Pricing Report go here. Please note that this is just a sample and that numbers quoted may not be accurate. |
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| What is "Dealer Holdback"?
Automobile manufacturers do have an understandable interest in the dealership network so they have devised a plan called "Dealer Holdback" to help the dealer profit on the front end.
Here's how the system works: First, the manufacturer sells the dealership a vehicle at the "Dealer Cost" price and ships it to them. Then, after the dealership sells the vehicle to a consumer, the manufacturer takes a certain percentage of that vehicle price and puts it in a kitty for that particular dealer.
The percentage that is put into the kitty is dependent on the agreement the manufacturer has with the dealer franchise network (usually 2% - 5% of the MSRP), but it is not dependent on the model or the number of models sold by the dealer.
At the end of the quarter the manufacturer clears out each dealer's holdback kitty, sending them a check for the total amount.
In reality, it provides the dealerships with a two-invoice system, one to show the consumer, as in the one-cent-over-invoice sale, and the other to make the profit they need as a business. |
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| Does the pricing information provided by CarQuotes.ca take the "Dealer Holdback" into consideration?
Pricing information provided by CarQuotes.ca and presented in the pricing reports is determined after deducting the "Dealer Holdback". |
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| Are the vehicle incentives and rebates offered by my local dealership the same all for all other dealerships in Canada?
Usually rebates and incentive programs for a specific manufacturer are the same across all of Canada. On occasion, manufacturers may have regional rebate and incentive programs.
If you believe that there may a regional incentive in your area that may affect information contained in a pricing report, contact our Customer Care team. |
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| Does CarQuotes.ca offer pricing on Pre-Delivery Inspection?
CarQuotes.ca does not offer pricing information on Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI). Pre-Delivery Inspection prices vary from dealership to dealership. CarQuotes.ca cannot provide an accurate invoice cost on Pre-Delivery Inspection. |
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| Why aren't there any rebates or incentives quoted for the vehicle I selected in my pricing report?
If there are no rebate or incentive programs listed in the Pricing Report for the vehicle you selected, this is simply because there are currently no such rebates or incentives available. |
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| I purchased a membership in the past and received a pricing report for a vehicle. I think that since then there may be a new rebate program or a price change. I would like to find out if the information has changed. Do I need to purchase another pricing report?
Of course not. Just contact our Customer Care team. We will be happy to inform you if there have been any changes to the information presented in our pricing reports.
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