[Icemaster]

OK, so maybe this is somewhat anthema here, but I (mostly) trust you guys and wanted your thoughts.

Has anyone ever used or considered using a car buying service to purchase a new car? If so, what was your experience and would you do it again?

I've looked at a couple and the fees don't seem to be unreasonable for the amount of time and PITA that they seem to offer in return.

Situation is this: I'm looking at a new Jetta TDI and not many (none, in fact...) of the dealerships I've looked at are selling them for less than sticker given market conditions. If that's going to be the case, rather than go through all the BS of trying to pit dealer against dealer, I'm thinking of using a third party service to do the leg work for me. If they get me a discount, great. If not then they've still saved me time which I don't have a lot of right now.

On the surface, it's not a bad looking idea. It's what's under the surface that makes me nervous.

What're your thoughts? Any feedback would be appreciated.