Tips for buying a new car!

[prunch]

Buy a 2 year old car.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/13737/ne...ion-calculator

sucky link but you get the idea.

[80smith]

Originally Posted by mr007

the best advice came from the poster who said buy used.

Cars these days are being built much better than they were in the past. The fact is, any car you buy will lose at least 30% of it's value within the first 4 years. If you buy a certified pre-owned and get an 06 you will be getting the most bang for your buck. You can most likely find a vehicle like this with less than 35k miles and save a fortune and still get a 7-year 100k mile warranty along with it.

To me, it's a no brainer. I've gone through about 10 cars and will never buy new again.

Also, use Edmunds.com as a car buying resource. Take whichever car you are looking at buying, see what it costs the dealer to get it and negotiate from there.

Again, I'd really suggest not buying a new vehicle, but for whatever reason if you absolutely must, use a resource like Edmunds to see exactly what the car is worth.

Good post but do not forget that some are offering 3 yrs no matinance and 0% finance which I can get......... Can a uesd car get that? Plus with in 3 yrs the car can be paid off and our 2nd car a 6 yr old will then be a 9 yr old. what will the matinace be for both?

[80smith]

Originally Posted by Dr. Broncenstein

Remember it's just a mode of transportation, and the worst investment you can possibly make... outside of spending money on crack and midget strippers.

Even with 2 kids. Young kids I add?

[Popps]

Originally Posted by gcver2ver3

i used to sell cars...here's a few tips...

1. if you intend to trade in, lie and tell them you aren't...negotiating the price of the new car and the trade in should be done SEPARATELY and not at all related to eachother...after you've settled on a good price for the car, suddenly change your mind and tell them you want to trade in your old car...

2. demand to see the invoice...many dealerships will pretend they can't accomodate this but trust me, they can...when you see it, if you're buying brand new...do not budge passed the invoice price minus all rebates...thats the highest you allow yourself to pay...if they refuse to show you the invoice, LEAVE and go to another dealership...

3. don't let them trap you with the ole "we make no money off this deal if we sell it to you at this price!"...bottom line is...they make bonuses at the end of the month for certain escalating units sold metrics...so even if they don't make an instant commission off your sale, they still move higher up their units sold bonus so don't let them get you with that...truth is, they sometimes actually "lose" money on some car sales just to cash in the bigger end of month dealership bonuses...

4. my biggest tip is never be afraid to walk out...whenever they say they can't do the deal...ask them "is this the best you can give me?"...if they say yes, thank them for their time and then leave...usually they will ask you to stay...but either way, don't buy on your 1st visit...it'll be tempting...they'll tell u that if u leave u can't get the deal offered if u come back...those are lies...u can and if you leave they WILL call you asking you come back in...

Great advice.

I've bought new a few times, and I'm ruthless. Your advice is excellent, and almost exactly what I would have told him. The walking out part is key. I've even found that they'll let you walk out... and then call you later.

I got my best deal after walking out of two dealerships, and BOTH called back... and I wound up pitting them against each other until I got a price so low, I couldn't believe it. It was under my target price.

[Popps]

Originally Posted by 80smith

Even with 2 kids. Young kids I add?

What he means is, a car is a deteriorating liability. It's not an asset and it's not an investment. They depreciate rapidly and bleed you of money.

They're necessary, but they're in no way a financial asset.

I think he's saying not to pay a dime more than you have to, unless you have those dimes to spend... and a nice car is where you choose to reward yourself a bit.

[80smith]

Originally Posted by Popps

Great advice.

I've bought new a few times, and I'm ruthless. Your advice is excellent, and almost exactly what I would have told him. The walking out part is key. I've even found that they'll let you walk out... and then call you later.

I got my best deal after walking out of two dealerships, and BOTH called back... and I wound up pitting them against each other until I got a price so low, I couldn't believe it. It was under my target price.

The car we want is a VW CC. After reading this post I did more reasearch and found the Volvo s40 to be better priced and better warrentied. I am going to test drive it before we go back to the VW for the CC and push for the S40. The Volvo has been in my family in the past.... the "Boxy" Volvo, broncosteve will remember it more than I will, but the safty of the volvo can not be matched...

[Popps]

Originally Posted by 80smith

The car we want is a VW CC. After reading this post I did more reasearch and found the Volvo s40 to be better priced and better warrentied. I am going to test drive it before we go back to the VW for the CC and push for the S40. The Volvo has been in my family in the past.... the "Boxy" Volvo, broncosteve will remember it more than I will, but the safty of the volvo can not be matched...

We love both of ours. I feel very comfortable having my wife drive our kids around in one.


The S40 is small, but it's a nice car. Depends on what your family needs are.

Let me throw out one other option here...

Volvo WAS doing a major cash incentive for leasing. Now, leasing isn't always smart, but it's also not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. (No, I don't want to argue with anyone about it.) Generally, I'd recommend buying, or buying used, but there ARE times when leasing makes some sense.

One time is when they're offering a major cash incentive which comes off of the front end of your lease agreement. So, if you negotiate down... and use that cash, your principle will be low. Meaning, you can use the buyout at the end of the lease if you choose and a get a nice price on the car.

Normally, lease buyouts aren't good deals. But, in this case, it's almost like an option to buy, or just walk away after a few years.

Check into it if you go to a Volvo dealer. Tell them you heard about an offer of a large lease incentive for leasing through a 3rd party. (U.S. Bank.) See if it's still running. It's a pretty good deal, and can usually be combined with other offers.

Other than that, just try to pound them down. Call every Volvo (or whatever) dealer in a 50 mile radius and get dialogue going, and then see who's bull****ting you the least.

[80smith]

Originally Posted by Popps

What he means is, a car is a deteriorating liability. It's not an asset and it's not an investment. They depreciate rapidly and bleed you of money.

They're necessary, but they're in no way a financial asset.

I think he's saying not to pay a dime more than you have to, unless you have those dimes to spend... and a nice car is where you choose to reward yourself a bit.

Thanks for the clarification(spelling? Drinking too much now). Do not have the dime to spend. but did save. And able to take advantage of what the new car dealer is offering. I think what sold us is the 3 yrs matinace (once againg the spelling cause of drinking) is too good to pass up. Think about it. My Jeep is 6 yrs old. My wifes car is 10 yrs old. We took it the 10 yr old (jetta) on Monday in for service and the Jeep is going in on Wednesday for service. That is 2 months of car payments right there plus, this is the second time this month the Jetta has been in.

[Dudeskey]

Originally Posted by prunch

Buy a 2 year old car.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/13737/ne...ion-calculator

sucky link but you get the idea.

Thats sort of what i was planning to post. Check into lease returns. Usually with those there's still a balance of the factory warranty left & someone else has taken the depreciation...™

[80smith]

Originally Posted by Popps

We love both of ours. I feel very comfortable having my wife drive our kids around in one.


The S40 is small, but it's a nice car. Depends on what your family needs are.

Let me throw out one other option here...

Volvo WAS doing a major cash incentive for leasing. Now, leasing isn't always smart, but it's also not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. (No, I don't want to argue with anyone about it.) Generally, I'd recommend buying, or buying used, but there ARE times when leasing makes some sense.

One time is when they're offering a major cash incentive which comes off of the front end of your lease agreement. So, if you negotiate down... and use that cash, your principle will be low. Meaning, you can use the buyout at the end of the lease if you choose and a get a nice price on the car.

Normally, lease buyouts aren't good deals. But, in this case, it's almost like an option to buy, or just walk away after a few years.

Check into it if you go to a Volvo dealer. Tell them you heard about an offer of a large lease incentive for leasing through a 3rd party. (U.S. Bank.) See if it's still running. It's a pretty good deal, and can usually be combined with other offers.

Other than that, just try to pound them down. Call every Volvo (or whatever) dealer in a 50 mile radius and get dialogue going, and then see who's bull****ting you the least.

Thanks! Post like this helps. I will inform my wife of this. But we "HOPE" to have this car for another 10 yrs and "SELL" to my son for his "FIRST" car (another story for another time).

[Popps]

Originally Posted by 80smith

Thanks! Post like this helps. I will inform my wife of this. But we "HOPE" to have this car for another 10 yrs and "SELL" to my son for his "FIRST" car (another story for another time).

Yea, if that's your plan... a purchase is probably smarter, though don't rule out asking about that lease incentive, just because it may bring your principle down so low, it makes it smarter. (And having the option to just hand it back in 3 years if finances take a bad turn isn't a bad thing.)

Let us know when you're dead-set on which car. Maybe we can help you dig into this further.

Good luck...

[CSU Husker]

Just bought an 08 4Runner tonight. Got a decent deal in my eyes. Got them to take in my POS trade (oil and check engine light on) and pay it off, when other dealers wouldnt touch it.

I did fall for what looks to be a financing trick. Didnt really cost me any extra money the way it worked, but the dealer scored some extra cash on it. Im sure they made a pretty penny on the deal as a whole, but Im happy with my payments and got a nice car.

[80smith]

Originally Posted by Popps

Yea, if that's your plan... a purchase is probably smarter, though don't rule out asking about that lease incentive, just because it may bring your principle down so low, it makes it smarter. (And having the option to just hand it back in 3 years if finances take a bad turn isn't a bad thing.)

Let us know when you're dead-set on which car. Maybe we can help you dig into this further.

Good luck...

I'll let you know.... Thanks for all the help. This thread is a good reason why I visit this site often.....

[SouthStndJunkie]

Originally Posted by gcver2ver3

i used to sell cars...here's a few tips...

1. if you intend to trade in, lie and tell them you aren't...negotiating the price of the new car and the trade in should be done SEPARATELY and not at all related to eachother...after you've settled on a good price for the car, suddenly change your mind and tell them you want to trade in your old car...

That is my favorite tactic when buying a car.

I tell them no trade in....hammer out the best deal I can get....then at the last second tell them I have decided to trade in my old car.....and then hammer out a deal for that. I treat them as two separate transactions.

If not, they will either give you less on your trade in and make it seem like you are getting a great deal on the car you are buying.....or they don't come down as much on the car you are buying and they make you think you are getting great trade in value.

The last time I did that, the salesman was livid, but it worked, as I controlled the leverage at that point. Give me what I want on the trade in, or I walk....the car I am buying has already been negotiated.

I am always willing to walk out of a deal and wait for the call back phone call, where they talked with the 'finance manager', and all of a sudden can meet your price or they want you to come back in and talk some more.

Never go in with the mind set that you need to buy a car or have your heart set on one, those guys can smell that out like a wolf smells an injured elk.

Then once you get to that point, try for a little bit more.

[Beantown Bronco]

Originally Posted by Hogan11

There's nothing more important than maximum gas mileage IMHO....everything else is irrelevant and a waste of hard earned $$$$ in the current economic climate...but to each their own.

You put no value on safety/crash test ratings/etc?

Unless you are comparing a compact car to an SUV or pickup truck or drive over 20,000 miles per year, gas mileage is highly overrated. Cars in the same class or within one class all get basically the same mileage these days.

[Beantown Bronco]

Originally Posted by 80smith

wife and i are probably going to buy a new car tomorrow. Anyone have any tips for getting the best price? we do not qualify for the cash for clunkers. in our situation buying new is the best for us. Any tips would be a great help.

Originally Posted by ohiobronco2

look into the cash for clunkers program.

lol

[colonelbeef]

Seeing as how you have a jeep in your avatar, and I own and love jeeps as well-

wait for the new grand cherokee coming out next year.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/jeep-grand-cherokee.html

Platform co-developed with Mercedes. Completely redone interior, better powerplant, married to the classic jeep 4wd.

[colonelbeef]

better link

http://www.automobilemag.com/auto_sh...kee/index.html

[Falconer]

Just bought a real fuel efficent vehicle; a 2003 Chevy Express AWD conversion van. It is a monster of a van. I think it gets maybe 19mpg on the highway. However it has one thing that no little fuel efficent car has, a wheelchair lift. I might not get good fuel mileage, but I will have a functional back!

[ohiobronco2]

Originally Posted by Beantown Bronco

lol

Like many on this site, reading comprehension isn't a strength of mine.

[TonyR]

Pretty good web site. Their offer spreadsheet is a good tool.

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/

[80smith]

Originally Posted by colonelbeef

Seeing as how you have a jeep in your avatar, and I own and love jeeps as well-

wait for the new grand cherokee coming out next year.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/jeep-grand-cherokee.html

Platform co-developed with Mercedes. Completely redone interior, better powerplant, married to the classic jeep 4wd.

Love jeeps! I have a liberty now. Next jeep will be either the unlimited 4 door like in my avatar or a cj7. Love the cj8 also. So many jeeps so little time....

[ghwk]

Know the reliability of what you are buying because they will try to sell you an extended warranty. If you are buying a Honda or Toyota don't get it. We have a 2003 pilot and it has been maintenance free with 55K miles on it. If you are looking for a Volvo and can wait a day or two my neighbor is a Volvo mechanic. I can ask him what he thinks of the model you are looking at.

My other suggestion is never buy the 1st year of a new model car. Everything that is wrong with the design the first model year owners will experience. Buy a model that has been out for 3 years and any major bugs/recall items will most likely have been worked out. We also saved money buying a car through the internet purchase program offered by the dealer.

[Cmac821]

Don't pay sticker price!!

[Gcver2ver3]

Originally Posted by Popps

Great advice.

I've bought new a few times, and I'm ruthless. Your advice is excellent, and almost exactly what I would have told him. The walking out part is key. I've even found that they'll let you walk out... and then call you later.

I got my best deal after walking out of two dealerships, and BOTH called back... and I wound up pitting them against each other until I got a price so low, I couldn't believe it. It was under my target price.

EXACTLY...

heck i once was asked to leave a dealership during negotiations...

i demanded the invoice...the salesperson then gets his manager and the manager tells me that if he's gonna show me the invoice that i would have to buy the car at that price...i agreed, then re****ed....lol...he told me to leave right on the spot...

the funny thing is even they called me back the next day saying they could do the deal...

never fails...