This review is specific to Edmunds Price Promise Guarantee. If you are not familiar with it, it essentially allows you to search for a vehicle on Edmunds.com and will return results from various dealers in the area or region that you have specified. Upon finding a vehicle that you would like, you print out a certificate, walk in to the dealer and pay that price for the car.

Or at least that's what they want you to believe...

I was looking for a Hyundai Elantra and discovered the whole Edmunds Price Promise process and thought it would be a good thing to check out. Upon putting all the information in I found some great prices and was beyond excited! Note: When you get your search results sometimes it shows the price and other times you have to put your information and e-mail in and THEN it will bring you to the price certificate page. So, you print off the "Certificate" which has your name and "No Haggle Price". So, my wife and I found some great deals and printed a few off. Then we were flooded with calls from various dealerships that we inquired about through the Price Promise. In any case, we woke up around 5am and began a 3 1/2 drive to the dealership where we saw the car. We went through the usual dance of giving them our info, test driving vehicles, and then sitting down to negotiate. However, I wasnt worried because I had the Price Promise certificate and and my approval letter from my credit union. When I happily handed it over to the salesman he goes, "Oh, that is just a starting price and includes all incentives..." The certificate clearly stated that it included Hyundais $1,500 bonus cash but ALSO said, "You may ALSO qualify for these incentives too" which was listed BELOW the total price promise of the car which means those specific discounts has NOT been applied. After wasting ALL that time and getting irritated with the dealership, we drove another 30 minutes to a different dealer that we also had the certificate for. Guess what? Same freaking story "that is a starting price". Be aware that there went just 1 or 2 cars listed at this price, there were multiple - at least 6 at one dealer and about 10 at another that were very close in the $13,250 price range.

I WAS LIVID. Having just wasted all that time researching vehicles, driving, and believing that Edmunds Price Promise was actually a PROMISE. Please note that on their own website it specifically says this:

A certificate that guarantees your savings
A specific car available right now
A dedicated dealer contact to guide you through your purchase

http://www.edmunds.com/price-promise.html

It also says on the certificates to bring it to the dealership and avoid all haggling! It is guaranteed!

SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM and a big waste of time.

We ended up going home and wasting the ENTIRE day, gas, food costs, and everything else because we actually believed the hype from the Price Promise.

I immediately went home and contacted Edmunds and when they responded, the Sr Customer care lady essentially stated, "The prices do seem extremely low when compared to other dealers... ill have to check and see if that is a problem on our end or theirs... we cannot force a dealer to give you that car to you for that price". WELL how is that any useful and HOW IS THAT A GUARANTEE?

She offered me a lousy $50 certificate to amazon and help in finding a car... which we did ourselves.

So, instead of getting a 2016 vehicle for $13,250 as GUARANTEED by Edmunds Price Promise no haggle... we ended up paying well over $3,000 more for the same vehicles as the Price Promise and it would have been more had we not known someone who worked at that dealership.

AVOID THE LIE, HOPE, AND WASTE OF TIME THAT COMES WITH THE PRICE PROMISE OF EDMUNDS. Never again will I trust anything of their site, promise, or any other info they spew out. I AM LIVID with them and their false advertising, marketing gimmicks, and co-scamming with the dealers they partner with.

After wasting all that time driving, getting approved from my credit union for a price i thought i needed and then having to get my credit run again for a higher loan amount... all because of the FALSE Price Promise from Edmunds... wow... a whole $50 gift card for all of that. NOT A HAPPY CONSUMER AND WHAT A PATHETIC ATTEMPT TO RECTIFY THE SITUATION.

I RECOMMEND EVERYONE AVOID THEIR SITE AFTER MY EXPERIENCE. If for some reason they get in touch with me I will provide an update.

Ignore my grammar/punctuation mistakes... I am just livid with the situation and don't want to remind myself of the whole awful ordeal.

UPDATE: I got in touch with Edmunds a few more time and it was just more corporate jargon and excuses. Nothing else was done about the experience I had. All they stated they were doing was letting upper management know about the case and possibly get in touch with the dealer(s) who I dealt with when trying to buy the new vehicle.

My opinion still stands to AVOID Edmunds at all cost when using it to search for a new vehicle. However, I am sure using it for a used vehicle search is just as bad.