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Buying Tips - How Do I Get the Best Deal?

5288 messages,  Last post on Jan 22, 2013 at 9:12 PM

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What is this discussion about? Car Buying

Messages Page 527 of 529

#5259 of 5288 Re: Signing credit app AFTER car purchase [gijane36] by 55396

Mar 20, 2011 (12:29 pm)

Replying to: gijane36 (Mar 19, 2011 10:17 am)
But don't you have copies of all paperwork including everything that you signed?

#5260 of 5288 Re: OUTCOME- Signing credit app AFTER car purchase [gijane36] by verdugo

Mar 22, 2011 (9:10 pm)

Replying to: gijane36 (Mar 19, 2011 7:33 pm)
Glad things turned out well.
 
And thank you for coming back and letting us know the resolution to your question. As all the regular posters would agree, it's frustrating that we don't get to find out what happened.

#5261 of 5288 Order of Operations? by zyaaaaa

May 06, 2011 (12:15 pm)

There's a lot to cover in most car transactions. Assume a customer walks into a dealership with a trade-in and looking to buy a car - in which order do you negotiate to be the most effective use of time and money?
 
Trade-In Value
Purchase Price
Finance (Lease or Loan, if not pre-approved)
 
It would seem logical but it gets confusing since they all hinge on one another. For example you could get the trade and price worked out and get to finance and find out they can't meet your needs. Or you could find the perfect deal but can't get traction on the trade-in. How do you handle it?

#5262 of 5288 Re: Order of Operations? [zyaaaaa] by qbrozen

May 09, 2011 (8:52 am)

Replying to: zyaaaaa (May 06, 2011 12:15 pm)
I work the trade and purchase together since, yes, they do hinge on each other.
 
As for financing, get pre-approved first and know your rate walking in and it can wait till last since it doesn't matter much. They may be able to match or beat it.
 
My negotiations are pretty fluid. I start with the car I'm buying, but it quickly evolves into a "well, if you give me $x for my car, then I have no problem paying $x for your car." The only time financing comes into play earlier rather than later is if we are REAL close on price. If, for example, we are still $300 apart, I'll throw out "well, I'm getting 4.5% from my CU, so if you can do better, it might get us where I want to be."

#5263 of 5288 Re: Order of Operations? [qbrozen] by plekto

May 09, 2011 (11:17 am)

Replying to: qbrozen (May 09, 2011 8:52 am)
Remember, though, that if your car that you are trading in is fairly new (under 10 years and in good condition), you'll always get an extra thousand or more from an individual, since dealers won't ever give you more than absolute rock-bottom "fair condition" blue book these days. Even if the car is perfect. If it's not, they'll deduct from that amount.
 
It's very vicious. But when they are negotiating the price of a car, it's easy to fiddle with the numbers to hide that 1-2K difference. Just something to be aware of, since most dealers deserve the bad reputation they get.

#5264 of 5288 Re: Order of Operations? [plekto] by qbrozen

May 09, 2011 (11:50 am)

Replying to: plekto (May 09, 2011 11:17 am)
Well, as I think you and I have discussed before, selling on your own isn't always such a great benefit. I feel it is even less so as you get higher in price. For me, anything UNDER $10k is better as a private sale, while the newer, more expensive stuff is not, thanks to the tax laws in some states (including mine).
 
Basically, used cars are a flat rate. You'll typically get $1500-$2k over trade value as a private seller (I always assume $1500 to be safe). That involves me getting the car up to snuff with maintenance, detailing, ad costs, etc. Figure another $500-$600 on average. Not to mention my time dealing with the tire kickers. So now I'm down to $1k over trade value. BUT... on a $10k car, I'm losing the $700 tax benefit. So am I going through all this trouble for $300? Nope. I'd have to guarantee myself at least $750 to bother, personally.

#5265 of 5288 Re: Order of Operations? [plekto] by stickguy

May 09, 2011 (11:53 am)

Replying to: plekto (May 09, 2011 11:17 am)
a wise man once said "the only difference is the difference".
 
To me, trading in makes more sense the newer (and more valuable) your car is. Especially in a trade credit state (like NJ, with 7% sales tax).
 
there are a couple of key reasons:
 
1) on a 15K trade, I have to get 16,050 on a private sale just to break even. Selling cheaper cars though (a couple grand), not such a big deal.
 
2) it can be a large pain in the rump to sell a more expensive car private sale. Very few people can come up with even 10K, forget about 15-20K, without financining. So you get dragged into that mess. Plus, they often have other cars to get out of.
 
again, if you are getting out of a cheaper car, especially something like a Honda, you can easily net a couple quick $Ks by selling it yourself (2K trade offer, sell for 4K in days, cash money, is not uncommon).

#5266 of 5288 Re: Order of Operations? [stickguy] by plekto

May 09, 2011 (4:14 pm)

Replying to: stickguy (May 09, 2011 11:53 am)
Yeah, I live in California, where they tax you on the full sale price before any actual incentives, rebates, trade-ins, or down payments, so YMMV in some cases, apparently.
 
BUT... in a lot of sales lately, the dealer isn't offering 1-2K less. They are offering auction prices, or 4-6K less on a 4-5 year old car. And, low mileage private party vehicles tend to sell within days, especially if they have options that you won't find on rentals. Trying to find a 3-5 year old vehicle that's not a base model or an ex-rental is crazy hard. Buyers in those cases usually come with their financing all in order.

Messages Page 527 of 529

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