I think I'm ready to buy my first car...I've always had some great handmedown vehicles, but the well seemingly has ran dry...To remain practical, I'll probably have to get some new wheels...
For those that are wanting to know, as much as I have salivated over the new Charger, so has everyone else...And to make it so bad they get the low end base model, which blows...They've saturated the streets and that takes away some of the appeal for me...Luckily, I still have that project '69 to appease me...
I've settled in on a Magnum instead...It's got the power, plus more room...And not everyone has one, which makes it an even bigger plus...So again, I get my muscle car family mobile which makes me happy...
I like the 2008, but we are probably looking at a new car with used or no car credit...
Any tips for me..? Things to look out for..? Got a friend working in auto sales that'll cut me a sweet ass deal..? CDR!
I would actually have to warn you against getting a Dodge. They have great engines, but that's just about it. They require so much maintenance and fall apart pretty easily. After a cross-country trip, you would have to replace the shocks, maybe the brake pads, and the radiator may be shot. So they may have a great engine and be able to kick ass off a line, but they aren't built that great.
I'm not that big of a car guy, but this is what my friend tells me who is a mechanic
"If there were no eternal consciousness in a man, if at the bottom of everything there were only a wild ferment, a power that twisting in dark passions produced everything great or inconsequential; if an unfathomable insatiable emptiness lay hid beneath everything, what would life be but despair?"
When I buy anything, the first thing I pay attention to is the warranty...Shit happens, that's one of the facts of life...Right now, Dodge has one of the best warranties in the business, so if it breaks down every other 3,000 miles, I won't care if I don't have to pay for it... :D
If credit is a factor, get your own financing - dealers work on some interesting scales and most get a commission for the financing or insurance they get you. This happened to me :(
I am going to have to try my bank, or just return THEIR vehicle.
They offered me "at most" 8.9% financing, told me take the car, and I did. Then 2 days later, they told me to come back, and told me the financing they wanted for me didn't approve me, but they could get me a 17.9% rate, which stretches out the payment cycle of my vehicle and raises my payments. I told them I will take it to my bank, and let them finance it. What they will do is look at the vehicle's negotiated sell value (18599 with features and bling) compared to the total cost and the intrinsic and depreciated value of the car. If my bank will not finance me, I am returning their vehicle to them. I will then apply for a vehicle loan from my bank, and use that to pay for a car, new or not. I could keep it and dispute it, but it's just not worth it in most cases.
I am NOT paying 9,000 more in interest so the dealer can split it with the finance company!
BTW: This is called a "spot delivery" or "yo yo finance" scam.
Unfortunately, everyone loves the new car, specially the girl :(...
But paying 27k overall for a vehicle with a 18599 sales tag is just not happening, and if I can't finance it from my bank, I will not hesitate to return it and thank them for trusting me with the vehicle and express regret it didn't work out... and never step in there again. Alot of people go back in, negotiate higher rates for financing and larger loans, and sometimes get tricked into paying a fee to get ripped off!.
IF you are trading your vehicle in for credit toward your new vehicle and they tell you "bank is closed, take the car and come back later to finalize the deal", you can take the vehicle, and you DO NOT have to leave your trade-in with the dealer until the deal is officially FINALIZED. If they ask you to leave it there, go get in your old car and don't look back. Often, they may sell your car so you get stuck in the new deal and have to get in a finance deal they stack with a 3-10% "finder's fee".
By the way, I keep running into brick walls with buying a car...Not so much even the financing aspect of it, I just keep having other issues with the process...I really like that Magnum, but have heard from more than one person the minute I told them I was thinking about it was that the transmission is 'Dodgy'...Must be something, they're discontinuing that car after this year...
Wifey has a VW, and I know several people I trust to know about cars also own VW's...But to get one like I would like it would be almost as pricey, and the nearest dealership is about 45 minutes away...
I may just take to seriously trying to refurb an older car....
I got a Vivid Red 2008 Suzuki SX4 - I get far better gas mileage in it than advertised, can dart WAY faster in it than traffic, and solidly am convinced Dealers are evil... This was the Fiat Sedici, the best selling SUV in Italy, and car of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Normally, I would shy fom a suzuki, but these (in Italy) have a phenomenal reputation.
But the dealer thought he screwed me, and as you know, I am not one to be screwed:
He stacked a 9% finders fee onto my auto finance... but it was too much. So, my lender refused, and now he is trying to lock me in 17.9 finance, with a "fairly decent" credit score.
Then he cited me payments far too low for the interest and make the car and APR an 8 year investment, and depreciate the value of the car at end of finance period severely, so I gotta talk to my bank and see if they will even take the vehicle purchase seriously at all now. If not, I speak to a lawyer and make sure it is ok to return the car like the dealer said I could if my own financing won't get on board. I get the feeling he just wants people who catch on to move out of the way before they make a commotion and lose him some other suckers.
I thought and prepared myself to hear 12.9 financing at worst, after lots of research... and dealer ran credit and cleared it. I brought two years proof of income, and a professional manner.
Here was what I came up with as worst case scenario:
Which looks fairly reasonable, for a bit of credit and a few dings on my credit report that have mostly ironed out. Refinance after a bit, and double up some payments and you can get it in less than 5 years.
7.5 years of payments... with payments so low and interest so high I get gouged almost 17,000 dollars on a vehicle that (even with all my options and special color) comes in 19,900 after tax and title!!!
For me to make my pay-off schedule at his "only one I could find" finance terms, my monthly payment becomes 442 instead of 385 he is quoting me... when I was shaking on 350 last Saturday! So, they even lied to me to stretch it out further!
That means the Standard Depreciation value (standard at 15% first year, 10% every year after) will render the car worth less than 7,000 dollars once I have already put more than 29,000 into paying it off.
sigh - if this don't work, that dealer will never see me again without a brick in my hand.
Most people don't realize it, but the bank is probably one of if not the best place to borrow money...It's priceless being able to go in, talk to a loan exec. and have him make it happen for you...As you can see from raum's post, at most dealerships the rape is on...
Also, if you think you may still have some credit issues, me and my Mom will be glad to take a look and give you a detailed analysis FOC, of course...Just let me know..!
ok, taken care - I never bought the car. They never even processed the purchase order. They were that certain i would get financed. They didn't give me a copy of the contract, but without specific financing information pages with my name on it, the contract is not issueable.
That is part of the legal (but odd) practices the dealership chose to extend to me. Loan me the vehicle for up to 10 days while I get the financing underway, or cut the loss and ask me for the car back. What they are hoping is I become fond enough of the vehicle to open my pockets up a bit. When I showed them my financial analysis, they said the associate made some serious financial error, and that kind of thing is why they don't issue the proposed payment terms with the "conditioned use" of the prospective vehicle. Or else I would have gotten that car for 80% agreed total price.
They specifically said "there is no sales contract" and I gave the car back while they look for financing. They said I could hang on to it, but I told them I need to know the vehicle is mine, and have a contract, before I can do that. Keep working on it.
I got 6 days before I can look for another car, or take my insurance off.
