---
title: "Costco Auto Program: Who Runs It, Who Pays, What the Price Covers"
description: "The Costco Auto Program is run by Affinity Auto Programs, not Costco, and paid for by dealers. What the no-haggle price covers, and what it leaves out."
url: "https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/costco-auto-program/"
type: "article"
published: "2026-10-06"
modified: "2026-10-06"
site: "Baron Auto"
disclaimer: "This site is under new ownership and is not affiliated with Baron Auto Emporium dealership."
---

# Costco Auto Program: Who Runs It, Who Pays, What the Price Covers

> The Costco Auto Program is run by Affinity Auto Programs, not Costco, and paid for by dealers. What the no-haggle price covers, and what it leaves out.

*Used Car Buying · 22 min read · 4,884 words*

## The short version

- The Costco Auto Program is run by Affinity Auto Programs, Inc., which its own Terms of Use call “an independent company, not an affiliate of Costco Wholesale Corporation.” Costco “and its affiliates do not sell automobiles or negotiate individual transactions.”
- Dealers pay for it: “A participation fee has been paid by the dealers participating in Costco Auto Program.” No document we read charges the member to use it or states the fee. You do need a Costco membership, which Costco prices at $65 a year, or $130 for Executive.
- “Prearranged pricing” is a no-haggle price on a Member-Only Price Sheet. The program tells dealers it works with them “to establish pricing” and that its pricing modules “monitor local markets.” It publishes no price, discount or formula.
- You are referred to one dealership per make and model, and dealers are offered “brand exclusivity for your selected markets.” The trade-in is whatever that dealer offers. Fees, add-ons, tax and financing are not addressed on any car page we could read.
- Member-only incentives are registered certificates, tiered by membership level, that stack with public manufacturer incentives, with a limit of 2 codes per member.
- After a purchase through a referral, a survey within 30 days unlocks one 50% parts-and-service discount at that dealer. BBB rates the operator D- for 2 unanswered complaints; Trustpilot showed 0 reviews.

The Costco Auto Program is a referral service: you register as a Costco member, the program passes your details to a participating dealer, and that dealer shows you a prearranged, no-haggle price. The program never says how good that price is, but its own documents show who sets it and what it leaves out. On 6 October 2026 we read the program’s [home page](https://www.costcoauto.com/) with its Terms of Use (updated February 2019) and Privacy Policy (updated February 12, 2025), its specials and RV pages, its public dealer-recruitment site, the program page and FAQ that Costco publishes on costco.com, Costco’s annual reports on [SEC EDGAR](https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=909832), and the operator’s [BBB profile](https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/san-diego/profile/auto-brokers/affinity-auto-programs-inc-1126-171989469). We entered no ZIP code, membership number or VIN, so this page shows no member price, and this site has no commercial relationship with Costco, the program or any dealer.

**Figure: What the Costco price covers, line by line**

A two-column table setting seven parts of a car deal against what the Costco Auto Program’s own documents say: the vehicle price is prearranged with the dealer and shown on a Member-Only Price Sheet; you are referred to one dealership per make and model and dealers are offered brand exclusivity; the trade-in is whatever the dealer offers; fees, add-ons and tax are not addressed; there is no program financing offer; member-only incentives are registered certificates that stack with public incentives, 2 codes per member; and a survey within 30 days unlocks one 50% parts-and-service discount at the selling dealer.

Read from the Costco Auto Program’s home page, Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, its specials and RV pages, its dealer-recruitment site and the program FAQ published on costco.com on 6 October 2026. No ZIP code, membership number or VIN was entered and no member price is shown.

## Who runs the Costco Auto Program

Not Costco. The Terms of Use open with it: “The Costco Auto Program is operated in the United States by Affinity Auto Programs, Inc., doing business as ‘Costco Auto Program’ ... which is an independent company, not an affiliate of Costco Wholesale Corporation.” A banner on each page of the program’s consumer site that we read repeats the point: “This site is operated by a third party, not by Costco.” The privacy policy adds that it is “separate from Costco’s privacy policy.”

The history is told on the program’s dealer-recruitment site. Price Club, the warehouse club that opened in San Diego in 1976, “launched its auto buying program as part of its services division in 1989.” When Price Club merged with Costco in 1993, “Affinity Development Group (ADG) acquired the auto program component of Costco’s services division.” That makes the program 37 years old and 33 years in Affinity’s hands, by our arithmetic; the consumer site says “more than 35 years.”

The company names vary by page, which matters if you ever need to complain or check a record. The Terms and the privacy policy name Affinity Auto Programs, Inc. The consumer site’s footer reads “Copyright © 2010 – 2026 Affinity Development Group, Inc.” The dealer site’s footer names Affinity Auto Programs, Inc., doing business as Costco Auto Program. BBB files the business as Affinity Auto Programs Inc, with Costco Auto Program as an alternate name and a business start date of 11/20/2000, which is the corporation’s date rather than the program’s.

Costco’s own filings list the program among third-party services, not as a Costco business. Its fiscal 2010 Form 10-K named “the Costco auto purchase program” among the consumer services on which Executive membership offers “additional savings and benefits,” and said “The services are generally provided by third-parties and vary by country and state.” An EDGAR full-text search finds that phrase in 14 consecutive 10-Ks, fiscal 2010 to fiscal 2023. The fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025 10-Ks do not mention it, the search finds no Costco filing that uses the name “Costco Auto Program”, and none of the filings we read gives a figure for it. Costco’s filings offer no financial picture of the program.

## Who pays: dealers, not members

The disclaimer at the foot of the program’s home page answers the money question: “Costco and its affiliates do not sell automobiles or negotiate individual transactions. All vehicles arranged for sale are subject to availability and a price prearranged with the participating franchised dealer. A participation fee has been paid by the dealers participating in Costco Auto Program.” Costco’s own page words it in the present tense: “A participation fee is paid by the dealers.” Neither page says how much the fee is or whether it is charged per sale. On the RV side, “A marketing fee has been paid by Camping World.”

**Who pays whom in the Costco Auto Program, as the documents read on 6 October 2026 put it**

| Party | What the documents say it pays or gets | What is not published |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Participating car dealers | Pay “a participation fee”; get referrals and, per the dealer site, “brand exclusivity for your selected markets” | The fee amount, and whether it is per sale |
| Camping World (RVs) | Has paid “a marketing fee” | The amount |
| You, the member | No program fee appears in any document we read | Any member price, before you register |
| Costco membership | $65 a year (fiscal 2025 10-K); Executive is an extra $65, “a total of $130” at renewal (costco.com) | Nothing; both are printed |
| Costco Wholesale | Receives member data “for customer service, member tracking and satisfaction purposes” (privacy policy) | Whether Costco is paid anything for the program |

Two things follow. First, the program’s customers in the commercial sense are the dealers: the dealer site pitches “Privileged access to over 70 million buyers” who “exceed the national average for household income, home ownership, and credit score.” That does not make the price bad, but it means nobody in the chain is paid by you to find you the lowest one. Second, the membership is the real cost of entry. Executive members should not count on the 2% Reward here either: Costco’s reward terms exclude “purchases not recorded through Costco’s front-end registers” and “all business, consumer, and insurance services.” You pay the dealer, not Costco, so by those terms the car earns no reward. That is our reading; no Costco page addresses car purchases directly.

## How the program works, step by step

The program’s How It Works page sits behind a ZIP-code box (“Enter your zip code to view How It Works”), as do its FAQ, new-car and pre-owned pages: without a ZIP code they send you back to the home page. We did not enter one. The steps below come from the pages that are open, the registration screens built into the specials pages, and the program FAQ that Costco publishes on its own site.

1. **Choose a make, model and ZIP code.** “To save you time, our system searches for participating dealerships both within your ZIP code as well as the surrounding area.”
2. **Register.** The registration screen says that “By filling out this form, you give us permission to provide your contact information to an Approved Dealer to review your exclusive, prearranged Costco Member Price.” The privacy policy says the program uses your Costco membership number “to verify your membership with Costco.”
3. **Get your dealer contact.** “A Costco Auto Program trained and certified Authorized Dealer Contact will receive your information and connect with you to discuss your needs and schedule an appointment, or you may contact them at your convenience.”
4. **Deal only with the named contact.** Your certificate lists the Authorized Dealer Contacts, “the only people at the dealership who have been trained and certified to provide you with Costco member pricing.”
5. **See the price.** “Every member is presented with a Member-Only Price Sheet that outlines the prearranged purchase price.”
6. **Buy or lease, then take the survey.** “We will send you an online survey to ensure your satisfaction and to identify anything else we can do to assist you.”

Costco’s page calls the whole thing “a referral service.” The dealer site says “a comprehensive training program” is something “all dealerships complete before working with Costco Auto Program.” Two practical points come out of the FAQ. You are referred to “one dealership per make and model,” so comparing two brands means two referrals. And prices move: “you should locate an Approved Dealer each time you’re in the market for a vehicle” so as to be referred to one “with the most up-to-date pricing.” A price sheet from last year is not this year’s price.

## What “prearranged pricing” means, and whether you can negotiate

In the program’s words, “Costco members receive a no-haggle price on new and pre-owned vehicles from Approved Dealers, eliminating the need for traditional back-and-forth.” Asked whether you can negotiate, the FAQ answers that the program “is designed to eliminate price negotiation by offering members prearranged, no-haggle pricing.” Costco’s page shows the alternative as a loop: “Meet with sales. Try other dealerships. Compare pricing. Meet with sales again.”

What the consumer pages leave out, the dealer pages explain. “We work closely with your dealership to establish pricing,” the dealer site says, and “Our proprietary pricing modules monitor local markets and notify our dealers when pricing needs attention. Plus, our Intranet site allows dealers to submit pricing updates for review to maximize sales.” So the prearranged price is set dealer by dealer, against the local market, and changes over time. It is a dealer’s price rather than a national Costco price, and no document describes it as a fixed percentage off anything. The disclaimer points the same way: “Actual savings may vary based on vehicle purchased, dealer and location,” and “Certain vehicles may be excluded from the program.”

The referral rules narrow the comparison further. The FAQ refers you to one dealership per make and model, and the dealer site offers partners “brand exclusivity for your selected markets.” So the program is not built to give you a second Costco price for the same make nearby to set against the first. One registration screen on the program’s specials pages does read “We have located two Approved Dealers in your area,” so some members are offered a choice; we did not register and cannot say how often.

**“No-haggle” covers one line of the deal.** The Member-Only Price Sheet “outlines the prearranged purchase price.” The trade-in, fees, add-ons, tax and financing are separate lines, and nothing we read fixes them. You cannot haggle the prearranged price, but you can compare the whole deal: ask the Costco dealer and at least one other dealer for a written [out-the-door price](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/out-the-door-price/#how-to-ask) on the same car, and buy whichever total is lower.

Nothing in the program’s documents stops you from getting outside quotes, and the FAQ’s own advice on trade-ins (“You can then decide to accept their offer or sell the vehicle on your own”) assumes you will compare. Our guides to [negotiating on the out-the-door total](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/how-to-negotiate-used-car-price/#otd) and the [negotiation step for first-time buyers](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/first-time-car-buyer/#negotiate) apply to every line the price sheet does not cover.

## What the price sheet covers, and what it leaves to the dealer

The program’s documents describe the vehicle price and the incentives in detail and say almost nothing about the rest of the deal. The table sets out each part of a car purchase against what we could find.

**Each line of a car deal against the Costco Auto Program’s own documents (read 6 October 2026)**

| Line of the deal | What the program says | What that leaves to you |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vehicle price | Prearranged, no-haggle, on a Member-Only Price Sheet | Checking it against other dealers’ totals |
| Public manufacturer incentives | “Publicly available manufacturer incentives can be combined” with the member price | Confirming which ones you qualify for |
| Member-only incentive | Registered certificate; stacks with public incentives | Registering before the deadline |
| Trade-in | “The Authorized Dealer Contact will disclose how much the dealership can offer” | Getting outside offers; the value is not prearranged |
| Documentation and dealer fees | Not addressed on any car page we could read | Asking for every fee in writing |
| Add-on products | Not addressed | Declining optional products |
| Sales tax | Not addressed for vehicles | Budgeting for it |
| Financing | No program financing offer; the home page has a finance calculator | Arranging a loan or paying cash |

The silence on fees stands out because the program has the vocabulary. A footnote in the page code of its site, attached to the Camping World RV disclaimers, defines “Dealer Processing Fee” as “Conveyance, Handling, Closing, Administration, and Documentation fees.” No car page we read uses the term or says whether those charges sit inside or on top of the prearranged price. Treat them as on top until the dealer puts them in writing. Our page on [documentation fees](https://baronauto1.com/financing/what-are-dealer-fees/#doc-fee) covers what is a real charge and what is [pure margin](https://baronauto1.com/financing/what-are-dealer-fees/#junk).

On the trade-in, the FAQ is plain: the dealer tells you what it can offer, and “If you choose to accept the dealership’s offer, the agreed upon trade-in value will be applied to the prearranged price.” That is the moment a fixed price can be quietly offset by a low allowance, which is why the allowance and the price should be [kept as separate numbers](https://baronauto1.com/trade-your-car/how-does-a-car-trade-in-work/#one-number). On financing, the program’s privacy policy mentions lenders only where you direct it to share data with “financial institutions who offer financing or prequalification services.” A [pre-approval](https://baronauto1.com/financing/car-loan-preapproval/#at-the-desk) or a [cash purchase](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/buying-a-car-with-cash/) keeps the rate out of the dealer’s hands, and the program also covers leases, so our comparison of [leasing against buying](https://baronauto1.com/financing/lease-vs-buy-car/) applies too.

**Figure: Annotated photograph**

Three numbered callouts over the photograph mark the car, the key fob and the front of the car, with what the Costco Auto Program's documents say about the no-haggle price, the dealers' participation fee and the trade-in.

The Costco Auto Program’s FAQ and dealer pages, read on 6 October 2026, describe a Member-Only Price Sheet with a prearranged, no-haggle price set with the dealer (callout 1); say dealers pay the program a participation fee, without printing the amount (callout 2); and leave the trade-in to whatever the dealer offers (callout 3). The photograph is illustrative.

## Member-only incentives and their conditions

The incentives are where the program adds money that is not in the dealer’s price. “Costco Auto Program works directly with manufacturers to provide Costco members with unique savings opportunities,” the specials page says, and “Costco member-only incentives are combinable with public incentives for which you qualify and Costco Auto Program’s low, prearranged pricing.” Costco’s Executive benefits page says “Select manufacturer promotions include additional value for Executive Members of $250 or more.”

On 6 October 2026 the program’s specials menu listed three: a Volkswagen new-model special, tiered by membership level; an INEOS Grenadier incentive for Executive members only, with an accessories credit; and a special on Certified by Volvo pre-owned cars. To carmakers, the program describes national “60- to 90-day Tier 1 promotions on select new models” and regional Tier 2 promotions where the carmaker sets “the parameters, regions, and offer details.” We print no amounts or dates: they change with each special, and the specials page itself says “If you see a promotion you like, make sure to take advantage before it’s gone.” The conditions repeat from one special to the next.

**Conditions printed in the three member-only specials open on 6 October 2026**

| Condition | Volkswagen special | INEOS Grenadier special | Certified by Volvo special |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Costco member by a cut-off date | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Register for a certificate with a unique promotion code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Take delivery inside a fixed window | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Amount set by membership level | Executive more than Gold Star and Business | Executive only | Executive more than Gold Star and Business |
| Stacks with public manufacturer incentives | Yes | Yes | Yes, with named exceptions |
| Named exclusions | “the Dealership Sales Program” | None printed | “A-plan, Affinity Offers and lease returns” |
| Codes per member or membership | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Codes per vehicle | 1 per VIN | Not stated | 1 per vehicle |
| Cash or transfer | “Not redeemable for cash”; codes “not transferable” | Not stated | Not stated |

Where you can use the certificate is less tidy than the prearranged price. The certified pre-owned special says to “Visit any Volvo retailer.” The registration screen offers to “Activate certificate without locating an Approved Dealer,” while promising that at an Approved Dealer “you’ll receive your member-only incentive in addition to Costco Auto Program’s low, prearranged pricing.” The Volkswagen special’s page says to present the certificate “at any Volkswagen dealer,” while its terms say “participating Volkswagen dealer.” Before you visit a dealer that is not your referral, ask whether it will honour the code.

Keep the incentives in proportion. The dealer site tells carmakers that “Approximately half of the Costco members who purchased through our manufacturer promotions stated that the exclusive Member-only incentive was the deciding factor in their decision to purchase a specific vehicle versus a competing brand.” That is the incentive doing its job for the carmaker. An incentive on a car you were not planning to buy is a reason to look at that car, not a reason to buy it.

## Pre-owned and certified pre-owned cars

The program also refers members for used cars. Costco’s page says you can “Find a vehicle that’s new to you without having to negotiate on pricing” and that “Costco Auto Program Approved Dealers offer pre-owned vehicles that meet specific criteria for quality and pricing.” The criteria themselves sit on the program’s Pre-Owned page, behind the ZIP-code box, and we did not read them. Nothing we read promises an inspection, a warranty or a history report on a used car bought through a referral beyond whatever the dealer or carmaker provides.

The certified offer on the specials menu on 6 October 2026 was for Certified by Volvo cars, and its page quotes Volvo’s standard: each car “has to pass a rigorous test with more than 170 points, have less than 80,000 miles, and receive a detailed CARFAX Vehicle History Report.” That is Volvo’s certification, not the program’s, and our page on [Certified by Volvo](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/volvo-certified-pre-owned/) reads it against Volvo’s warranty terms. For certification in general, see [what certified pre-owned does and does not promise](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/certified-pre-owned/).

For any other used car, check it as you would anywhere: a [history check](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/how-to-check-a-used-cars-history/) and an independent [pre-purchase inspection](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/used-car-pre-purchase-inspection/). We found no Carfax offer on the program’s open pages; our [Carfax discount](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/carfax-discount/) page lists where reports cost less.

## Service discounts and the post-purchase survey

The program runs two parts-and-service discounts that are easy to confuse. One is open to any member at participating service centers. The other is earned by buying through a referral and then answering the satisfaction survey.

**The program’s two parts-and-service discounts, from their printed terms (read 6 October 2026)**

| Term | Standing discount | After a purchase through a referral |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Discount | 15% off parts, service and accessories | 50% off parts, service and accessories |
| Cap | Up to $500 per visit | $200 for Executive members, $100 for others |
| Where | Participating service centers, “not Costco Tire Centers” | “the dealer where the vehicle was purchased or leased” |
| How to get it | Find a participating service center | Complete the member satisfaction survey “within 30 days of the purchase or lease date” |
| Excluded | Air bags, oil changes, tires, state-mandated inspections, warranty or insurance work, prior work, other promotions | Tires; any other promotion or incentive |
| Limits | “Not all Costco Auto Program dealerships currently participate”; tax is charged on the pre-discount amount where required | “can only be used once,” no cash value; “expires six months after its issue date” |

The standing discount cannot be used “at the time of vehicle purchase or lease,” so it is no help on the deal itself. The 50% discount is a one-off, capped, and tied to the selling dealer’s service department; the dealer site tells partners the program is “developing program enhancements that can grow your fixed operations.” Neither is a reason to choose a dealer, but the survey is worth the minutes if you will service there. Tires are excluded from both, and the 15% discount does not apply at Costco Tire Centers; for tires, see our page on [Costco’s tire centers](https://baronauto1.com/car-care/costco-tires/).

## Member Advocates, complaints and what the terms promise

The program’s support promise is people, not a guarantee. “Our highly trained Member Advocates are available to assist you before, during, and after your dealership visit,” the specials page says; Costco’s page describes “a unique member advocacy program to support you at every stage of the buying process”; the dealer site says a team is “on hand seven days a week to answer questions and ease any buyer concerns.” We found no price guarantee, satisfaction guarantee or refund promise for a car bought through the program. The sale is a contract between you and the dealer.

The privacy policy shows the program’s own lever over dealers. “With your consent,” it may collect your purchase or lease agreement “to conduct price verification and program compliance audits with our service centers, dealerships and vehicle manufacturers.” If the contract does not match the price sheet, that is the check to invoke: keep both documents and call the Member Advocates before you sign, not after.

The same policy says the program shares “your name, physical address, email address, phone number and requested vehicle information” with a participating dealership, which “may use information about you for their own purposes,” and discloses identifiers and inferences to Costco. Under state privacy-law definitions it says “We sell, and share for cross-context behavioral advertising and targeted advertising” certain categories, with a “Your Privacy Choices” opt-out on the site. And “you cannot opt-out of non-promotional emails and phone calls.”

The Terms of Use govern the website, not the car. The site and its data are provided on an “AS IS, WHERE IS” basis, without warranties; the program makes “no representations to you about the accuracy of the information” including “the availability of any CAP Service to you on a local or national basis”; and disputes go to the Delaware courts under Delaware law. The Terms also say that data you submit “becomes part of a database, which CAP owns,” which CAP may share “with Costco Wholesale, Participating Dealers and OEM’s.”

The public record is thin. BBB lists Affinity Auto Programs Inc as not accredited, with a D- rating for “Failure to respond to 2 complaint(s) filed against business.” Those are the only 2 complaints in BBB’s 3-year window, both filed in 2026 and both marked unanswered. By our reading, one concerns survey and marketing emails that continued after the consumer asked to be removed; the other asks the program for member advocacy over a dealer sale, alleging a different trim and added optional products. They are unverified allegations, and BBB asks readers to “consider the company’s size and volume of transactions.” Trustpilot’s profile for costcoauto.com, listed under Affinity Development Group, Inc., was unclaimed with 0 reviews. A web search found no FTC, CFPB or state attorney-general action naming the program or its operator; that is a search result, not a clearance.

## The program’s own numbers, side by side

The program prints volume and satisfaction figures in several places. They are company claims, unchecked, and they do not all agree.

**Figures the Costco Auto Program prints about itself, by page (read 6 October 2026)**

| Measure | Figure | Where |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Years of prearranged pricing | “more than 35 years” | Consumer site |
| Satisfied members | “Over 5 Million Satisfied Members in The Past 5 Years” | costco.com |
| Vehicles sold by participating dealers | “more than three million vehicles in the past five years” | Dealer site, about page |
| Buyers reached | More than 50 million; more than 60 million; over 70 million | Dealer site: about, services and home pages |
| Closing ratio | 49% nationwide; “in excess of 45%” | Dealer site: home and services pages |
| Closing ratio on manufacturer promotions | 60%; “approximately 60%” | Dealer site: home and services pages |
| Would recommend the program | 94%; “more than 96%” | Dealer site: home and services pages |

The three “buyers reached” figures are for the same measure on the same site, and the recommend rates and closing ratios each come in two versions. The member and vehicle counts measure different things, so they need not conflict, but no page says how a member is counted as “satisfied.” The closing ratios are the more useful numbers for a buyer: by the program’s own count, close to half of referrals end in a sale, and more on manufacturer promotions. That is what the participation fee buys.

## What the program does not publish, and how to check the price yourself

On 6 October 2026, none of the following was public: any member price or discount formula; the dealers’ participation fee; whether the prearranged price includes documentation or dealer fees, add-ons or tax; trade-in values; any financing terms; the list of Approved Dealers; and the pre-owned criteria. How It Works, the FAQ and the Pre-Owned pages could not be read without a ZIP code. The program’s value to you therefore cannot be judged from outside. It can only be judged on the day, against a competing quote.

- **Get an outside quote first.** Ask a non-program dealer for a written out-the-door price on the same trim.
- **Register, and note your Authorized Dealer Contact.** Deal only with the people named on the certificate.
- **Keep the Member-Only Price Sheet.** It is your record of the prearranged price.
- **Ask for the full out-the-door total in writing,** with every fee, add-on and tax line shown.
- **Register any member-only incentive before the deadline,** and confirm the dealer will apply it on top of public incentives.
- **Price the trade-in separately** with outside offers before you discuss it.
- **Bring your own financing** or decide to pay cash before you sit down.
- **If the contract does not match the price sheet, call the Member Advocates before signing.**
- **Take the survey within 30 days** if you will service the car at that dealer.

Our guides to the [out-the-door total](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/out-the-door-price/#reading) and [reading a buyer’s order line by line](https://baronauto1.com/financing/what-are-dealer-fees/#reading) cover what to look for when the paperwork arrives.

## Common questions

### Is it worth buying a car through the Costco Auto Program?

It can be, if you dislike negotiating and compare the result. The program gives you a no-haggle vehicle price from one referred dealer, member-only incentives that stack with public ones, and a one-time 50% service discount after the survey. It does not publish its prices or promise they are the lowest, and fees, add-ons, the trade-in and financing are outside the prearranged price. Get one outside out-the-door quote and keep whichever total is lower.

### How much of a discount do you get with the Costco Auto Program?

The program prints no discount figure. Its disclaimer says “Actual savings may vary based on vehicle purchased, dealer and location,” and its dealer site says prices are set with each dealer against the local market. The only fixed amounts are the member-only incentives on specific models, which change with each special, and costco.com says some promotions add $250 or more for Executive members.

### Can you negotiate the Costco Auto Program price?

Not the vehicle price: the program says it “is designed to eliminate price negotiation” with a no-haggle price on a Member-Only Price Sheet. The trade-in, fees, add-ons and financing are separate, and nothing in the program’s documents fixes them, so compare those lines and the total against another dealer’s written quote.

### How do you use the Costco Auto Program?

Enter a make, model and ZIP code on the program’s site, register with your Costco membership details, and the program passes your contact information to an Approved Dealer. A trained Authorized Dealer Contact contacts you, or you contact them, and shows you the Member-Only Price Sheet. If a member-only special covers your model, register for its certificate too, then complete the satisfaction survey within 30 days of buying.

### Does the Costco Auto Program cost anything to use?

No program fee appears in any document we read; dealers pay the program a participation fee. You do need a Costco membership, which Costco prices at $65 a year in the U.S., or $130 for Executive. By Costco’s reward terms, a car paid for at the dealer does not earn the Executive 2% Reward.

### Is the Costco Auto Program run by Costco?

No. It is operated by Affinity Auto Programs, Inc., which its Terms describe as “an independent company, not an affiliate of Costco Wholesale Corporation.” Affinity Development Group took the program over from Costco’s services division in 1993. Costco’s fiscal 2010 10-K described such member services as “generally provided by third-parties,” and its 10-Ks stopped mentioning the program after fiscal 2023.

## Sources and further reading

- [FTC warns 97 auto dealership groups about deceptive pricing](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/03/ftc-warns-97-auto-dealership-groups-about-deceptive-pricing)
- [FTC Used Car Rule](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/dealers-guide-used-car-rule)
- [SEC EDGAR company facts API](https://data.sec.gov/)

Recall, complaint and safety-rating figures on this page were retrieved from the federal databases above on August 19, 2026. Federal data changes — re-check any VIN before you rely on it.

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*This site is under new ownership and is not affiliated with Baron Auto Emporium dealership.*

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