Tips on buying a new(er) car

[tzsgti]

Since this thread was brought back to life i would like to add a couple more tips and a couple of misconceptions people have.

First of all you should start of buy ordering a consumer reports packet on that perticular car which usually cost 30-40 dollars but trust me its worth it. You will be able to see everything from invoice to holdback to dealer fees. Next step would be to do what everyone else mentioned and fax or email (which would be the best way since its usually the internet dept that deals with emails) exactly what you want and when you want it. Usually you will get a pretty competitive price with in a respective amount of time.

Misconception:
"price drops the second you buy it by like 20% at least"

Not always true at all. I totaly agree that buying a car two years old or even one year old with a reminder of the warranty would be the best bet since its lost alot of value but to say to be a car with in that year model with a couple of thousand miles will not always be that much less. It happens to be specially now where cars are marked down like crazy with factory rebates as much as 7-8k dollars or even no intrest loans that they offer that you are not saving much to go with that demo.

Take for instance a Pontiac G8 where this past month they are offering 4k dollars in rebates or 0 precent for 72 months. The prices of used ones on dealers lots are not much less if 500-100 dollars less then you can pick a new one for. A honda for example definetly does not lose 20 precent. Try buying almost any 2009 Honda with demo miles or even 5-8k miles and you may save 500-1000 at best. Next time you look at a lightly used car and it says Original sticker price 30k dollars now marked down to 21k ingnore that and look at what they were going for new.

So 20 precent is far stretched. 20 precent of MSRP? Possible. But not the purchase price.

[tzsgti]

Originally Posted by melinuxfool

Other things that don't hurt to check up on: Does the car use regular gas, premium, or diesel?

How much do simple parts cost? Air filter, fuel filter, transmission filter (if it's automatic), oil filter, PCV valve, windshield wipers, lights, TIRES etc. All things that have to be replaced periodically so it doesn't hurt to have an idea what they cost.

How easy are parts to access? In other words, can simple maintenance be performed by the cars owner, or is everything so jammed in there you can't do anything without removing a dozen other components that are in the way (I stay away from cars like that).

Great tip on the maintance and sites like consumer reports and edmunds have the true cost to own numbers for most cars.

Premium fuel is another thing people make way to much of a deal. The cost of preimum fuel is not as much people think it is. Here in NY/NJ the diffrence between premium fuel and regular can range from anywhere from 25-35 cents. Take some one who drives 12k miles a year and thier car gets an avg of 22mpg overall. now thats 545 gallons used over the years time. at 35 cents and you have a yearly cost of $190 dollars. Now cars that usually require this generally are cars that enthusisat buy and generally benefit from better performance. So for the cost $190 a year people are making a huge stink


Unless your buying a much older car other the subaru most cars that require premium generally cost more. In example luxury cars or performance cars. So if 190 bucks is an issue you shouldnt be buying the car.

[msmorrisonspeaks]

Buy a used car. The most expensive miles on a car are the first 10,000. Let someone else drive those for you. Buying used can save a lot of money considering how little value the car has actually lost.

[maryannsms]

NEVER negotiate based on monthly payments. One of the most common questions a car salesmen will ask you is: "How much do you want to spend per month?" If you answer incorrectly... that salesman is going to know he has a sucker in his hands! The proper response to that question should be: "The monthly payments are not important - the sale price of the car is what is most important to me." Never enter a dealership and ask: "Can you get me this car for $XXX per month?"

[msmorrisonspeaks]

Another tip: Buy a used car. The most expensive miles on a car are the first 10,000. Let someone else drive those for you. Buying used can save a lot of money considering how little value the car has actually lost.

[tzsgti]

Originally Posted by maryannsms

NEVER negotiate based on monthly payments. One of the most common questions a car salesmen will ask you is: "How much do you want to spend per month?" If you answer incorrectly... that salesman is going to know he has a sucker in his hands! The proper response to that question should be: "The monthly payments are not important - the sale price of the car is what is most important to me." Never enter a dealership and ask: "Can you get me this car for $XXX per month?"

Exactly. This is the number one thing i tell people when going to buy a car. If you can afford the payments means you are looking at a car thats too expensive for you. Also its really important that you negotiate three things seprately. In this order:

1) Purchase price- If thier are rebates make sure they are not tied to a Financing deal.
2)Trade in- Always mention this the last thing when you finally got the purchase price on paper.
3) Financing- You can always shop for this. If you are coming in with a pre approved loan do not mention this until you negotiated on the car. They will play around with the price if they know you are not financing with them.

If you have all three of these things separate then they will have less room to screw you and mess up the numbers. Then it becomes easy:
Purchase Price+tax and dealer fees - Trade in price and or down payment = amount financed. Use a finance calculator online to see what your payments are.