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Smart Shopper Buying Tips - How Do I Get the Best Deal?
5169 messages, Last post on Oct 29, 2009 at 11:33 AM
You are in the Smart Shopper Forum. Your Hosts are kirstie_h & tidester
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Replying to: movinout77 (Aug 05, 2009 3:53 am) Don't let that put you off what is otherwise a fine car. I think the major problem with the Corolla's steering is that it is different. It does take a little while to adapt to it if you are used to a car which does not have Electric Power Steering. Once you are used to it there is no problem, I speak from personal experience. Five years from now, maybe less, most cars will have Electric Power Steering, it is an energy saving feature. |
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Replying to: movinout77 (Aug 05, 2009 3:53 am) So buy at Carmax.Also Fitzmall is close in Wasington DC metro area -don`t know how far u are from them but they also are very good for new cars.Their online fixed price is pretty good. Hope this helps.
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Replying to: deltheking (Aug 05, 2009 7:49 am) Since you don't own a car now, cash for clunkers does not affect you in any way. You will not get that rebate. There is no reason for a dealer to run a credit check on you, but if you really want to make sure, then run your own credit report (which costs $15-$30, but does not lower your score). If you are buying a house and looking for a mortgage, you should do this anyway (be an informed consumer). This way, you bring your credit report with you to the dealer. If your credit is great and there is a zero percent financing deal, take it and use your cash for the house instead. All the cars you discussed are great cars - go drive them and pick the one you like. Buying a car isn't that hard - just know what you want and what is an acceptable deal for you, and you'll do fine. Good luck! |
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Replying to: percussionist (Aug 06, 2009 5:34 am) Fitzmall, while 4 hours away, seems appealing. I can get a ride from my fiancee. Not that I necessarily want/need it, but I can get the car I want with a moonroof for what I was expecting to pay w/o one. And with lower sales tax and less chance of BS fees being tacked on, I'd do pretty well. I'd hate to go all the way there, test drive, and not like it. The one that I'm interested is in Pennsylvania. One of my back-ups is the Mazda3 and they have decent prices on those as well, in their store 1 hour away from PA in Maryland. As for the rebates, I wasn't refering to cash-for-clunkers. Those only go to folks who have cars that get 18mpg's or less. I don't get $4,500 for being green and choosing to take the bus the past 7 years.  But at the end of June, when it occurred to me to look into buying a car, it seems they were giving back $1,500 on the '09 Corollas and $500 on the '10's. No such rebates now. I have no idea whether the rebates were conditional on financing the car through Toyota or whether they applied to cash purchases too. If it's the latter, I'm miffed at myself for not thinking to act sooner. After the rebates went away in July, I thought to wait until August when I figured they'd have better deals again. The cash-for-clunkers thing really threw a monkey wrench into my plans. Rebates or not, my negotiating power is not what it would've been in June. As I said earlier, I may wait for this surge to pass, but I can't wait forever. As for the other stuff, I did have my credit checked out just a few weeks ago for the mortgage stuff. If anyone asks to see it, I can show them my unofficial printout, I guess. I just can't tap into any credit right now, even with the great financing deals. Real estate prices are still ridiculous in NY/NJ, and I can't get a decent house if there's evidence that I'm taking on any debt other than the mortgage. Thanks. |
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Replying to: movinout77 (Aug 06, 2009 8:11 am) |
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Replying to: movinout77 (Aug 06, 2009 8:11 am) |
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Replying to: movinout77 (Aug 06, 2009 8:11 am) And if I remember what I read correctly, the usual strategy is to mention at the last possible minute that you're paying cash. Should I be more upfront about it? Mentioning it before agreeing on a price means they could pad the price a bit by trying to make up for what they couldn't profit from me with finance charges. Then again, by not mentioning it, they can reneg on the agreed price and try to bump me anyway, which would waste everyone's time. The dealers in my area are sleezy - especially the ones closest to me. I'd prefer not to play with those guys if I didn't have to -- esp. now since buyers like me are in what I think is a weak negotiating position. I guess it couldn't hurt to try them, but I'm thinking of waiting for this wave to pass.
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