Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - I'm looking to buy a car in the somewhat near future. Need advice.

eaglek96 · 08-16-2003, 08:26 PM

Buying a car is tough. In my opinion (and everyone has their own) it is best to buy a one year old car if you can find them. Most of the time they can still be found under warranty, and you save a good chunk of change. I bought a 2001 taurus in the fall of 02 and was able to extend the warranty through 5 years and 100k which covered basically all repairs. Many people will argue that you are taking a chance because there is probably something wrong with it, but often times the one year old cars are program cars or something like that with relatively low mileage. They also are often loaded with options.

The reason I say one year old is because the depreciation of a car is pretty significant within the first year. You can buy a car brand new for say 20k, and if you tried selling it back the next day its only worth 18k. I bought my car 1 year old with 19k miles on it for 15k where brand new it was almost 23k. In this economy, used cars are going cheaper because everyone is buying new cars.

As far as financing goes, I got my financing through ford credit. They use local banks in the area and offer pretty good rates. I put $3000 down which covered the tax (in MA it was 5%) and registration fees. Leasing wasn't an option for me because I can't see paying for a car and not owning it in the end. Most leases have a buy-out clause in them, but for many people, the buyout is often too high. The other drag about leases is that you have to watch out how much mileage you drive. If you like getting a new car every 2-3 years, then maybe leasing is for you.

In my experiences, most car salesmen are willing to work with you. If you act unprofessional with them, expect the same back. The best way to approach it is to treat them like human beings, but make sure they know that you come with some knowledge. Make sure you know enough about what you want to buy that the salesmen don't throw in any curves. For used cars, know the value of the car, and bargain back and forth. You're likely to get a good price if you work at it. For new cars, know the invoice and see how close they can get to it. With a new car, you have a little more leverage because most of the dealerships carry similar cars. Used cars vary from place to place.

Good luck in your adventures. It does suck, but once you do it once or twice, you'll get a feel for it.

08-16-2003, 08:26 PM	#6 (permalink)
eaglek96 Upright Location: North Shore, Massachusetts	Buying a car is tough. In my opinion (and everyone has their own) it is best to buy a one year old car if you can find them. Most of the time they can still be found under warranty, and you save a good chunk of change. I bought a 2001 taurus in the fall of 02 and was able to extend the warranty through 5 years and 100k which covered basically all repairs. Many people will argue that you are taking a chance because there is probably something wrong with it, but often times the one year old cars are program cars or something like that with relatively low mileage. They also are often loaded with options. The reason I say one year old is because the depreciation of a car is pretty significant within the first year. You can buy a car brand new for say 20k, and if you tried selling it back the next day its only worth 18k. I bought my car 1 year old with 19k miles on it for 15k where brand new it was almost 23k. In this economy, used cars are going cheaper because everyone is buying new cars. As far as financing goes, I got my financing through ford credit. They use local banks in the area and offer pretty good rates. I put $3000 down which covered the tax (in MA it was 5%) and registration fees. Leasing wasn't an option for me because I can't see paying for a car and not owning it in the end. Most leases have a buy-out clause in them, but for many people, the buyout is often too high. The other drag about leases is that you have to watch out how much mileage you drive. If you like getting a new car every 2-3 years, then maybe leasing is for you. In my experiences, most car salesmen are willing to work with you. If you act unprofessional with them, expect the same back. The best way to approach it is to treat them like human beings, but make sure they know that you come with some knowledge. Make sure you know enough about what you want to buy that the salesmen don't throw in any curves. For used cars, know the value of the car, and bargain back and forth. You're likely to get a good price if you work at it. For new cars, know the invoice and see how close they can get to it. With a new car, you have a little more leverage because most of the dealerships carry similar cars. Used cars vary from place to place. Good luck in your adventures. It does suck, but once you do it once or twice, you'll get a feel for it.