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Smart Shopper Smart Shopper-Archives Any Questions for a Car Dealer? 
16377 messages, Last post on Feb 11, 2006 at 4:59 AM
You are in the Smart Shopper-Archives Forum. Your Hosts are kirstie_h & tidester
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I am in the process of buying a new vehicle. The thing that is so the same in different dealers is this (or a variant thereof), "how much of a monthly payment can you afford?" Granted, I can understand why many buyers NEED to know upfront what the monthly payment is. It just isn't my style, because a purely payment-driven purchase leaves me wondering about too many things (actual price & trade-in, interest/lease rate, residual, etc.) What do you estimate the percentage of buyers who are monthly-payment based, vs someone like me who just let the payment comes out whatever it will come out, depending on the price, financing,trade-in, etc.? Just curious. /BOSI |
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good question. The answer really depends on the product line and location. I worked for 17 years in the car biz in a very wealthy part of connecticut. We never worked deals on payments. But now that I am in the Nashville area, very few consumers seem to have any interest in the selling price, they want to know "how much per month"....so I mold the process to fit that particular consumer buying patterns. Also, nobody walks into a MB dealer and says "I have $500 down, what are my monthly's"...but at a Hyundai store I would say that 95% of the buyers are payment buyers. Rich |
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| Whether it was GMAC, FOMOCO or a third party dealer "preferred" Bank. I always have my financing approved prior to visiting a dealer. Are people like me in the minority for all new car buyers? | |
Lease customers are by definition monthly payment buyers. Along with people who have never bought a new car before. If someone has never bought a new car before they might not realize that every $10000 you borrow is going to cost them approx $200-$250 a month depending on their credit (assuming 60 mo. financing). If a salesmen properly qualifies a customer they can find out how much someone knows about buying a car. If the guy you are talking with thinks he can buy a $40,000 vehicle for $500 a month with nothing down you better switch him to a different vehicle rathger than have him pass out when you tell him his payment is $900 a month. As a general rule the more expensive the vehicle the less likely someone is to finance.
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are 70% of all customers. The rest are either cash buyers or difference buyers. Hopefully you will know the difference between them all. When it is all said and done, its really payment. For example, we are running 2.9% for 4 cyl Accords this month, thats for 36 months...equalling about a $600 per month car payment. So, even though 2.9% sounds WONDERFUL the reality is that most cannot afford it. It is true, finding what a customers budget is can be a good way to budget a vehicle. However, the majority of people will give you the "about 250 per month" and that opens up to a premature discussion of interest rates. I try as much as I can to show the car, THEN sit down and discuss HOW they want to buy their car. |
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I think a lot of that depends on the area in which a dealership operates. I see very few paymetn buyers. The vast majority of the folks I deal with are pretty savvy. I did sell a 2001 Accord with the 2.9% financing last week to a guy who was planning to pay cash. He wisely decided that he would leave his money invested and take advantage of the giveaway interest rate. |
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Hey gang, How good does your credit score have to be to get those real low interest rates? I bought my Intrepid in November 1999, and had no trouble getting the financing. I had been on a CCCS plan from April 1996 to November 1998, and still had a few late payments on credit cards showing up on my report. I had been told that when you're with CCCS or similar payback plans, most people treat you like a bankruptcy until you're finished with the plan. It just surprised me that I was able to get the 0.9% financing. Also, I've never seen my Beacon score...is there any way to find out what it is? Thanks! -Andre |
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Id depends on the Finance company. A lot of it is based upon your Beacon score, which perhaps 2 or 3 people on the planet can accurately describe. Seriously, it's a numerical score based on your creditworthiness. Have perfect payment history but 20 maxed credit cards? Low score. Etc.. Also, Chrysler Financial will be a lot more forgiving than most. Bill |
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| There are legislative moves afoot -- some federal, a few in some states -- that will give consumers direct access to FICO data (Fair, Isaacs) which is the basis of Beacon and other scores. Right now, the only way to find out is if you have a friend -- banker, mortgage broker, etc. -- in the financial services industry. An auto salesperson would work, too. He/she can pull your scores for you. That's what I did, just to check for fun. I won't get into the issue of the information which affects the interest rates you pay for everything, from mortgages to other loans to credit cards, being inaccessible to you. | |
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Going into Consumers Credit Counseling is a decision that should not be taken lightly. It is a hell of a lot better (and more responsible) than declaring bankruptcy however. Normally, until the debts are paid while "in" CC, you cannot take on any more debt. I'm surprised that Chrysler would have approved that loan. Still, desperate companies will do desperate things. I've seen Ford Credit approve people who should be in jail! |
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