Buying my first car, help needed

[joshnauburn]

Hi ,
I'm considering buying a new car or maybe leasing it and really kinda freaked out about this process, if anyone out there is in car sales and could give me a inside scoop I'd be grateful.
Thanks!

[T.G]

What color is the car?

[AdamJoshua]

Don't get talked into paying for the Rustproofing or Undercoating :tu

[icehog3]

Have someone experienced with negotiating with car salesmen go with you, Josh. ;)

[Weelok]

I try not to get emotional on a car and easiest tactic is to check out all the dealer websites in a 60 mile radius and look at the Internet sales. The advertised price on a car is as good a deal as you can get. Call around and ask if the advertised car is available and if so, say your coming in to buy that car.

If your looking for just any car in a price range, check Edmunds or Consumer Reports on the ratings for the car in particular maintenance. After that, refuse all options except alarm if you want an alarm as the factory alarms are tied to the car and enabled by factory modules so after market alarms can be a pain.

Get pre-arranged financing through USAA or a credit union BEFORE you buy unless the advertised deal comes with a great rate then finance away.

The car salesman is just your first negotiator and the finance guy is second. Refuse the first offer on the extended warranty and say your not interested. The second offer is equal to the same one that would be mailed to you by the factory in a year anyway. The extended warranty depends on model, brand, and make but expect $1500 for the second offer. If you don't plan on owning the car more then 5 years, tell the finance guy no to EVERYTHING.

Bring a lunch, some phone games, and every time they leave, eat, game, relax and be prepared to say no when they come back. Part of the strategy they use is nerves and they will literally say, "I have to see my manager" and go smoke a cigarette killing 15 minutes while you fret.

So, pre-approved financing, advertised Internet sale price, and just No, No, No, No.

That is my approach. Bring in advertised prices on the same model from other dealerships and call them to make sure the car is available on their lot.

Do NOT impulse buy if you want the lowest price.

[Weelok]

Oh, that above was for new cars, used cars you can generally negotiate 10% off the advertised price. When then ask for your offer, give them 5% below the low dealer Blue Book value but expect to pay low dealer Blue Book unless another deal has equivalent used car somewhere else advertised cheaper.

Play the dealerships off against each other in that case. Be prepared to walk off and say the other deal called or something. You can call around several dealers and say what cars your interested in and negotiate by phone which can be less stressful but expect a hard negotiation with the finance person as they will try and recoup costs there.

[tsolomon]

Buying a car is really a game situation where you need to win. The car salesman/dealership is really good at the game and knows how to play to win. To me, there are some things that I have learned from people who sell and finance cars. There are usually two deals, negotiating the price of the car followed by financing the car. You don't have to feel sorry for your sales person or the dealership, this is a one time event and you probably won't see this person again. The owner of the dealership is usually well off and any grief they give you about much it costs to run a dealership is their problem. Check prices before you go in, the dealer doesn't usually own the cars on the lot but finances them through a bank. If you shop at the end of the month, you can get a better deal as they have to pay the bank a lot charge for every car still on the lot on the 1st of the month. I like to deal with the older sales people as you don't get as much BS about checking with their manager, they know what they can do.

Be prepared to walk out if they point at the sticker and say that's the price. Know what the dealer's cost on the car is, inculding any rebates they get from the factory, this information can be found online. Buying a car on the lot is where you can get the best deal, if you have to order it, you won't have much leverage. Don't buy all the extras like rust proofing and pin striping. Don't pay extra for these if they are already on the car. Extended warranties are tricky, if you get a car that has problems they could save you money. They sometimes offer non-factory extended warranties and the factory warranties are usually better and cheaper. The finance folks will try to sell you the one they make the most money on.

I use to always put down money to buy a new car, but with really low interest rates like 0%, I no longer do that. This can depend on your credit rating, but free money is a good thing.

I'm not a fan of leasing cars, but that is an area where you need to know how many miles you drive per year so you can negotiate that mileage into your lease. If you are going to lease, I would keep the lease in the 2-3 year timeframe. I think leasing benefits people who like to get a new car every couple of years.

[sikk50]

Get the gap insurgence.

[icehog3]

Get the gap insurgence.

For buying cars in Afghanistan? :D

[AdamJoshua]

Get the gap insurgence.

Hot chicks + ISIS?

[bonjing]

Check trucar, and look into possible employee or affiliate incentives. I joined tread lightly $100 for the year but I get invoice less 1% plus paper work fees and all available discounts, for Chrysler family vehicles. I know not much of a savings once you calculate the membership fees but it gives me another card to play if I don't like the offers being given.

[joshnauburn]

Ok thanks for all the help, looks like I've got lots of homework!

[Wharf Rat]

It's all good advice above. But remember, when you drive it out of the showroom, it's some of the most expensive minutes of your life. If you can avoid the allure of a new car, you're much better off financially with a certified used car. And, you'll be able to afford a nicer car.

I leased some cars when I was younger and consider it a mistake because you don't build ant equity. I think leasing really is only warranted if you can write it off as a business expense.

[bobarian]

It's all good advice above. But remember, when you drive it out of the showroom, it's some of the most expensive minutes of your life. If you can avoid the allure of a new car, you're much better off financially with a certified used car. And, you'll be able to afford a nicer car.

I leased some cars when I was younger and consider it a mistake because you don't build ant equity. I think leasing really is only warranted if you can write it off as a business expense.

:tpd: Excess mileage penalties are brutal. Lease payments can be attractive, but the loss of equity offsets that, IMHO.

Do your research. Check insurance rates as they are very high for the pretty and speedy cars. Lots of info out there on invoice prices and dealer incentives.

Dont fall in love with one make/model. There are lots of alternatives for almost any car or truck on the market.

Good luck. :tu

[CigarNut]

:tpd: Excess mileage penalties are brutal. Lease payments can be attractive, but the loss of equity offsets that, IMHO.

Do your research. Check insurance rates as they are very high for the pretty and speedy cars. Lots of info out there on invoice prices and dealer incentives.

Dont fall in love with one make/model. There are lots of alternatives for almost any car or truck on the market.

Good luck. :tu

Bob is wise!

I would add: "know thyself": If you are prone to falling in love with a car before you buy, or you are interested in one of the pretty or speedy models then: 1) do your research beforehand and most importantly, 2) don't shop until you have the money to afford what you want...

Just my :2

[shilala]

Bob is right on. Leases suck.

I have a very pragmatic approach to buying cars. Always have.
I need to love it. Am I willing to drive this car until the wheels fall off or until it makes financial sense to replace it?
If I fall out of love with a car, odds are it's gonna cost me to get rid of it. I've only ever gotten beaten up on an upside-down deal once, and that was when I was a kid and I bought a new Camaro. I loved it, but it wasn't practical for 1,000 reasons.

I used to always buy trucks. I came to hate trucks because I drove one every day for so many years. One day I decided I wouldn't buy another one. I went and bought a trailer for those times when I need a truck.
Problem solved.
It also solved needing a car with a 3rd row, I could now drive an SUV or whatever.

I drove my 04 Envoy until I gave it to my daughter, and it still runs perfectly because I took care of her. My wife made me buy a new car. I got a '10 Traverse. It's still like brand new because I keep her that way.

I do it that way because an old boy once told me "Your car will treat you like you treat it."
I'm happy I was there that day to hear that. It was as good a life lesson as any, I suppose.

I don't know what you can take away from that jumble, but it's all time-tested. :tu

[cmitch]

Rules I follow:
1. I never buy new. It's the most foolish thing to do. You'll lose 10% of the value before the first oil change. Example: I bought a 2010 F150 that was traded in 6 weeks after it was bought. I got it for $7800 less than sticker and it had 1800 miles on it. Granted, I could've gotten a 'NEW' truck for $4500 off sticker but is 1800 miles worth $3300?
2. I never lease. Dave Ramsey doesn't call them 'fleeces' for nothing. Usually, you'll owe an up front down payment of at least $1500 and first and last month's payment. If it's an open end lease, that means you'll owe the difference between residual value and the estimated value at the beginning of the lease. Plus, even though you're leasing, many states still require you to tag it as if you were the owner meaning you're paying the ad valorem taxes on a car that isn't yours. Not really fair.
3. I always buy used. You can score a certified pre-owned at many dealers for thousands less than new with a better warranty. Or, you can get a vehicle that's about 4 years old that has low miles and years of service left in it. I've found these are the best bargains. I bought a car that sold new in 2005 for $85000 for less than a 2 year old used Camry's price 6 years later. I've had it 3 years and still consider it my best buy, by far.
4. Always negotiate out the door price. What that means is, when you make an offer to the salesman, tell him that it's an out the door offer. Taxes, title, doc fees, etc. Don't let them shill you when you get in to sign paprs. If they try to stick you for that doc fee after you've closed the OTD price, walk. I promise, they'll be calling you back.
5. As you know, do your homework. Find out what comparable models are selling for. Sales people try to take advantage of inexperience and youth. Don't be embarrassed to take your dad or uncle with you. That usually puts an end to that BS.

[sigsauer]

do not buy new...pre-owned are fine

[themoneycollector]

There's tons of variables, it can help to say what car you are trying to buy.

Don't talk payments. Always talk in this order and don't talk the next without settling the one before clearly and in writing.
1. purchase price
2. trade-in, if needed
3. financing
If you are trying to budget yourself and need to stay within a payment, use an online calculator to know what your max is before you go in there.

My advice is to play the fax/email game. Get an online price through various dealerships and always try to get with the online or fleet managers. Get quote from X dealer, send it to Y & Z dealer and say can you beat this? Keep going back & forth.

Another small tidbit of advice is to test drive the car on one day and pick out the options you want then immediately go home. Come back at the last day of the month (quotas) and now you can just say I want that blue one right there and I'll offer you $100 under invoice. They'll counter and hopefully you can settle for something very fair. Anytime you can get a car for $100-200 over invoice would be considered a great deal. It will still likely be $1,000's under MSRP. Don't let them tire you by making you wait out or get you emotionally involved (that's why you test drive it one day and come back at the end of the month). If the salesman takes longer than 15 minutes to present the offer to the finance manager (they purposely take their time to drain you down), just leave your name and number on a piece of paper and walk away. If you did the fax/email game, once you settle on a price, tell them to have the paperwork ready to sign before you get there and you should be in & out of a dealership in less than 30 minutes.

And last piece of advice, call your insurance and ask them for a quote beforehand so you know what your insurance rates are going to be without getting blind-sided. Some cars will surprise you.

[themoneycollector]

do not buy new...pre-owned are fine

Used or pre-owned is not always the best answer. Even though I'm a used car buyer myself.

I can think of several cars where it just doesn't make any sense (IMHO) why one would buy used over new.

For instance, used toyotas have very high resale value. I've seen 2-year old models with 10-20k miles on the lot for equal money than what a brand new one costs right next to it.

Some people wouldn't mind saving $2-3k off a 2-year old car with 20k miles, but not me. I'd rather pay the price, get the two years of warranty and piece of mind on a brand new one.

[montecristo#2]

Some great advice already in this thread. I will add a couple of things from my experience, I actually like negotiating when I buy a car. These are for buying a new car, I have never bought a used car (I just prefer new).

In no particular order:

I agree with the comment above. Negotiate on a price not a monthly payment. They try to get you to settle on a monthly payment you are comfortable with that may not be the best price for the car. I usually just say the monthly payment does not matter to me, it is the price of the car.

I also always negotiate the price of the car out the door. I want to know the final price including tax and license. I negotiate that price. If we can get a car for below MSRP out the door, I usually feel pretty good about that.

If you buy an extended warranty (which I typically do), you can often get them for a lot less than they are being offered for. For some types of cars, these are pretty much all profit, so they have room to move. I have negotiated these a couple of ways:

1. By saying I really wanted to get the car for a specific price with the extended warranty. I usually say $500 to 1000 over the price I agreed upon with the sales guy. For some cars, the extended warranties can be $2-3K.

2. I have used the monthly payment as a negotiation here since you are now with the finance guy and not the sales person. So I say with my down payment, the most I want to go on the monthly payment is XYZ. As others have mentioned, I usually know what we plan to put down, the price range I want to buy the car for, and the interest rate before hand, so I have the estimated monthly payment already in mind.

I tried something new last time I bought a car. All of the dealerships around me have the monthly sales figures posted on a white board in the office. You can usually see it if you walk around and look for it. So the last time I bought I car, I just happened to notice the sales guy who talked to us first happened to be at the top of the list. He has sold the most cars that month. I used that in the negotiation. Basically made a comment about how well he is doing this month that he could definitely give me a good deal. He kind of smiled and it was the shortest negotiation I have ever had for buying a call. I think we went back and forth 2-3 times and that was it. I also told them I didn't have that much time to buy a car when I walked in, so when we did get to negotiating, I told them I wanted to get it down quickly or we would be leaving. It still took three hours after we had settled on a price, but there is a lot of paperwork to fill out once you get to the finance guy.

[mosesbotbol]

I just bought a new car last weekend... Leased a new 2015.5 Volvo S60 T5 AWD for 3 years.

What is your budget?
Where are you keeping the car?
What is its intended purpose?
Which cars do you like?
How many miles a year do you drive?
Where do you think you'll be in 3 years?