My credit union approved me for a new car loan, and they have a link to a company called MVCP, or the Motor Vehicle Certification Program. MVCP states that if I go to one of their member dealerships I'll pay "dealer invoice" for the car and save many thousands of dollars. Basically, everything is pre-negotiated.

I notice that MVCP is on a lot of credit union websites. Does anyone have experience with it? Is it on the up and up. It sounds to good to be true.

I believe if memory serves correctly they are vendors contracted by the credit unions. Most of us dealers have affiliations with them. The particulars can vary from dealer to dealer.

Okay, just out of curiosity, what's the approximate difference between MSRP and Dealer Invoice? About 10%? And wouldn't it be just as easy for me to negotiate that on my own with any dealer, rather than have to go to a dealer that uses the MVCP program? Thanks for responding.

it varies significantly. I believe edmunds dot com offers transactions prices in your zip code that are fairly reliable.

10% would be on the very high edge.

If this is for new cars, it's probably like the Costco or USAA buying programs. The price is pre-negotiated, but the dealer pays the program a commission for sending the buyer to him. Now because of that, if you were a really shrewd negotiator, you could theroretically get a better price directly from the dealer because he wouldn't have to pay a middleman. But a lot of people don't want that hassle so these programs have some merit.