First Time Car Buying

Safe and Secure wrote:

I bought a new car a few years ago when we had our first child. I wanted the security of a three-year TOTAL warranty, free servicing, etc.

Granted, I bought the car with cash, but my reasoning was the security that came with buying something new from a dealer.

I understand that not many 25 year old men can buy a new car with cash, but the security is one plus to buying new.

If you get that feeling again, go get a Certified Used Car which will give you 12 months of worry-free ownership, and then if you really want to (I wouldn't), you can always buy an extended warranty.

Also, considering the fact that most cars will give you some warning signs these days before just not working, and the fact that everyone and their brother has a cell phone, it's not going to be the end of the world if you car breaks down. Don't drive in bad areas of town especially at night. Big deal. If you research the right car, you won't spend an arm and a leg on repairs. I had a 1995 Saturn SL1 for 13+ years and only spent $1,000 on it on repairs ever, and one of those was for brakes which just need replacing after a certain number of miles. We had a 1986 Buick Skyhawk for 7 years (we bought it used) and only had ONE repair ever on that, and that was $900 to fix alignment after my wife slid on some ice into a curb. There are great used cars out there.

Flag, those are cheap, reliable used cars you mention, not "great" used cars.

No, not even close. I looked into those. There is a huge difference between being able to take your car into any Chrysler (it was a Jeep Grand Cherokee) dealership in the world and have them give you a loaner on the spot, for free (they will literally come pick you up), and having to haggle with some used car dealership owner over whether your issue is covered under the warranty, and then renting a car while you wait for them to "fix" it.

I am not saying everyone needs to buy new, but when I bought my wife the car, I wanted to know that if she and the baby were driving to Nashville to visit the folks and the car broke down along I-40, she would be just fine.

Also, the free servicing is amazing.

Plus, if you walk into a dealership with cash in your hand, you can do some pretty amazing haggling. Just be prepared to walk. I had to walk out three times before they called me back and let me pay what I wanted to pay.

I believe you will still get a better price on the car by walking into the dealership prepared to pay cash. I haven't tested out that strategy and don't have any plans to, but it is what I believe.

Mr. Obvious wrote:

I believe you will still get a better price on the car by walking into the dealership prepared to pay cash. I haven't tested out that strategy and don't have any plans to, but it is what I believe.

Try it sometime and see what happens. I was amazed.

Walk in with your checkbook and pen in your hand.

Squid wrote:

Flag, those are cheap, reliable used cars you mention, not "great" used cars.

In the spirit of friendliness, what is a great used car if not cheap (inexpensive) and reliable?

This guy can't afford to spend a lot on a car, so he needs to look for a "great" used car. That to me in this context is cheap and reliable.

You make a good point though...the cars I mentioned won't let this guy pick up women who normally wouldn't have gotten into his cheap and reliable used car, but I say within the context they are still great. And, to take it a bit further, any woman who dates a guy because of the car he drives is NOT a woman any guy SHOULD date...but that's a topic for another thread.

Now you're trying to reduce his pool of dating options by giving your opinion on his type of woman.

Mr. Obvious wrote:

I believe you will still get a better price on the car by walking into the dealership prepared to pay cash. I haven't tested out that strategy and don't have any plans to, but it is what I believe.

If you pay cash, the dealership does not make any "back end" profit on the financing. That means they have a motive to maximize the "front end" profit on the sale of the vehicle to make up for what they usually would have earned on the financing. They also think cash buyers are either rich people with money to burn or people who have illicit funds.

I have worked with dealerships and have seen piles of deal files. The only good strategy with a dealership is to go to as many as you can and negoitate your but off for EVERYTHING. Get the lowest possible price on the car. Get the lowest possible price on any extended warranty, GAP insurance or any other aftermarket product you need (if you cannot afford repairs, etc., you need these products, if you can afford repairs, these products are like throwing money away). EVERYTHING is negotiable at a dealership.

There are a zillion factors that go into whether you will get a good deal or not. Length of time the car has been on the lot, demand for the car, manufacture rebates or other incentive programs (sometimes dealerships will sell vehicles at a loss just to meet sales goals to stay in favor with the manufacturer and get sales incentives). Bottom line is to do the research, go to every dealership in your area and negotiate hard.

If you're buying a new car this year or last, you may be able to deduct the sales/excise tax on the car on your federal return. Keep that in mind.

Thanks for the thoughts. I make just shy of 50K, put 16K in my 401(k) at an old job in one year when making 42.5. Still live at home, have a student loan payment that helps me build credit. I could put down 3-5K as a down payment and I guess I didn't take my share of economics classes in college to understand the problem with financing. I think if you are a responsible person, you find something within your means that financing helps you have.

Any more opinions on cars? I have a g/f of 3+ years who isn't going anywhere so I don't care about looking stylish.

Digit-Al wrote:

If you're buying a new car this year or last, you may be able to deduct the sales/excise tax on the car on your federal return. Keep that in mind.

That was only for 2009, but with Obama they may bring it back or have other stimulus auto programs.

Go find the car you like and buy it.

It's more important to like the car you are going to drive for years than have the temporary excitement of a good deal on a car that you really didn't want.

But...absolutely don't tell them you have 3-5K for a down payment until after you have agreed on a sales price.

You can negotiate payment but just say you will pay for taxes up front and zero down on the car.

And get a pre-approved loan with a competetive interest rate ahead of time. If they can beat your rate, great. From there the only way to lower your payment is to lower the sales price.

Once you have the sales price and the interest interest rate you can go into the finance office and tell them you are putting down an additional $4K and that will bring your payment down.

It's your call on what you like, your price range and term of loan. 36 months is great if you can swing but most go 60 months. I'm not going to tell you the "right" call for you.

Upgrade your Skyhawk to a LeSabre or Park Ave and you are talkin'.

Flagpole wrote:

Squid wrote:

Flag, those are cheap, reliable used cars you mention, not "great" used cars.

In the spirit of friendliness, what is a great used car if not cheap (inexpensive) and reliable?

This guy can't afford to spend a lot on a car, so he needs to look for a "great" used car. That to me in this context is cheap and reliable.

You make a good point though...the cars I mentioned won't let this guy pick up women who normally wouldn't have gotten into his cheap and reliable used car, but I say within the context they are still great. And, to take it a bit further, any woman who dates a guy because of the car he drives is NOT a woman any guy SHOULD date...but that's a topic for another thread.

One thing about car buying that people need to get straight is that you should NEVER haggle. Haggling is for people who don't know what to pay for a car, and when you haggle, you ALWAYS lose. Do your research on what a car should cost you (you can see invoice price at

www.edmunds.com

and other places), find out if there's a hold back (and educate yourself about what that is), make sure you are getting any dealer discounts on top of that, and then go in and tell them what you will pay for the car. You should never even pay invoice price let alone sticker price for a car. Unless the car in question is a super hot seller, you should get it below INVOICE price every time. You'll be met with less resistance at the end of the month when they want to move those cars so that the hold back is still in effect for them, but you can do it at any time.

You buy a car by walking in there and telling them what you will pay for the car. Period.

That is a good strategy, and I agree with doing all of your research and understanding what others have paid for that car and what you are willing to pay. I use USAA and they have a tool that shows you what others have paid in your area, etc.

Another way to do it is the way I bought my first new car. I walked into the dealership and told the salesperson to tell me what is the lowest price that they will sell me the car, I also told them that I would be checking about 5 other dealerships, and that the one that gives me the lowest price will get my business. No haggling, no going back and forth, I ended up getting a great new CR-V for about $1,000 below invoice, it was great.

that is good, but you can also wrote:

That is a good strategy, and I agree with doing all of your research and understanding what others have paid for that car and what you are willing to pay. I use USAA and they have a tool that shows you what others have paid in your area, etc.

Another way to do it is the way I bought my first new car. I walked into the dealership and told the salesperson to tell me what is the lowest price that they will sell me the car, I also told them that I would be checking about 5 other dealerships, and that the one that gives me the lowest price will get my business. No haggling, no going back and forth, I ended up getting a great new CR-V for about $1,000 below invoice, it was great.

That can work as a strategy IF you know ahead of time what a reasonable answer from them is. You also have to decide what a winning strategy would be...if you decide that a good deal is $800 below invoice and you offer that and it's accepted, would it have been worth your while to go to 5 different dealers to pit them against each other for possibly another $200? For me it wouldn't be. I just want a good deal and to dictate the price I will pay based on my research, not any any haggling with some salesperson.

has anyone ever used Craigslist to buy a used car? I'm still in college but I may need to buy a cheapass used car to get a job this summer.

See, I would consider those practices haggling, even your flagpole. That is what I did. The key is being prepared to walk out. EXPECT to walk out.

I started by emailing 7 different dealerships, ccing everyone on the email. I asked for the lowest price for a Limited G. Cherokee, didn't care about the color. They all tried some BS response like, call me and we can talk.

I emailed back to ALL of them that I wasn't calling anyone, and the lowest quote would get a visit from me the next weekend. I got prices from everyone. I studied those prices, compared them to various industry websites, etc. They were all too high.

I visited the two lowest quotes that weekend and offered my price. I offered to cut a check right there. Neither took me up on the deal, so I thanked them and left. Both called me back the next day (Sunday) and asked me to come back. One tried to upsell me on a Commander and the other offered the price I was asking (or so I thought).

When it was time to talk money, all of a sudden there were all kinds of fees. I simply said, "No, you don't understand. I will cut you a check for $XXXXX and that is all. No fees." He told me that was impossible and I thanked him and left.

I had a voicemail from the upsell guy to come by b/c he "found" another G. Cherokee that he thought I was going to love. I went over there and offered the same price but met the same damn issue. I walked out.

I figured I would give it a week and then go see them again. They both called me the next evening.

After speaking with both, one could give me the deal while the other said he I would have to pay T,T & I on top of my offer. I went with the first guy. I told him, "I am cutting the check at home and bringing it in. If you add one penny to the price, I will not be able to buy the car." He "checked" with his manager and then agreed.

I went in there, he hated me , and I left with the exact car I wanted at the price I wanted to pay - WELL below invoice. It took about a week, but it worked. I kind of had to be an asshole, but hey, they open it up for negotiations, so that is their game.

I just want to point out that this was during Chrysler's ridiculous warranty deal where ALL of their cars were three year total warranty, lifetime powertrain and free servicing until 50,000 miles.

They honored it too. My wife ended up having an issue with her electrical system about a year after she got the car. They took it, gave her a brand new Commander off the lot, completely replaced the computer in the car (took about 3 weeks) and it cost me nothing. Plus, while we waited those 3 weeks, I was logging miles on their car, not mine.

Nah, what you did is not really haggling...you are telling them what you will pay, not going back and forth on a price, and the way I buy cars is also not haggling...I simply give a price that I will pay, tell them why I know it is a fair price, and then they can take it or leave it. One dealer one time tried to tell me I was asking for too much and I told him that another dealer offered me the same deal...I didn't buy from the first only because they didn't have a wide enough variety in color on the lot. Like I said, if you want to go to 5 different dealers and take a week to get a car where you might get it for $200 less than my way, then more power to you. My time is worth way more than that.