An Unaffordable Car
 

A friend of mine bought a car yesterday on impulse and after the contract was signed she really saw what the car was going to cost her (way too much).

Are there any laws regarding returns or refinancing or dealing with anything car related? Not sure where to start looking to help her out. She's in Chicago, IL, by the way.

Wow, that's a really dumb thing to do.

Sorry, I've got nothing constructive to say -- especially since dealerships run into the "regrets" line all the time -- I imagine there's not much she can do.

I know that at GM, and some state laws, allow you to return the vehicle within 48 hours of purchase for no charge. I would tell her to don't delay, go there NOW!

She can resell the car and take a significant loss. She'll have to make the downpayment, then try to find someone to take over the payments. This is not an easy thing to do. It's too bad.

If she needs a car, there are plenty of "find me a car" threads in automotive that could help her. Name a budget, prefrences of style and capabilities, and people help give her options.

I think in most states that you have three (business) days to back out of any contract.

there a 'sober second thought' law in Ontario, for just this kind situation. I imagine it is applicable in most states as well.

Maybe it's called the 'cooling off period'

But I am constantly amazed at the cost of a new car. The last new car i bought cost me $21000 cash (jetta GT), and before that a dodge caravan which I financed for $359/mo for 48 months.

I am currently looking to replace the Caravan with a CRV. the cost of this is astounding. It is a small suv, that i see EVERYWHERE. which means that everybody can 'afford' it. yet, even with 10K down, it is still going to cost me $653/month.

What is going on? that CRV costs $40,000 after tax and freight etc. And this is with 1.9%financing.

So, unless you buy used (note even a 2005 CRV is going for 28K before taxes) or (god forbid) lease, a car is never affordable.

Yeah, once you drive a car off a lot, the value decreases immensely immediately. Probably one of the worst things you can impulse buy.

This varies from state to state.

In Illinois, dealers are not required by law to give car buyers a three-day right to cancel. The right to return the car in a few days for a refund exists only if financing is not approved. However, some dealers may, by contract, offer a right to cancel.

She should examine her contract for a right to cancel, if she doesn't have one, she's stuck with it. This may be an expensive lesson, but I bet she does her homework on major purchases from now on!

been a few days since this was posted but im curious what did she do? did she go back and try to call it off? is she just flat screwed? How do you buy a car and not realize what its going to cost?

Unfortunately, so many people only look at sticker price when buying a car. So often ignoring insurance rates, fuel mileage/costs, maintenance, losses on trade-in, etc.

Some people just don't do their homework before buying big ticket items. Especially when it comes to cars, for whatever reasons. They see a flashy trinket dangling in front of them, and logic and reason shut down.

She's basically flat out screwed. She wasn't for a while - She had a place to stay again, but then her bitch sister threw her out because, well, she's a bitch.

I'm not sure what's going to happen with the car situation.

When she bought it, yeah, only looked at the sticker price and I think she got worked around when signing the contract, but since she signed it, that's the end of that.

What is the problem with the car that makes it unaffordable? Is it the interest rate, payment, insurance, etc???

Is it a new car, or used?

What did she buy?

I work in the business, I'm just curious about the details.

Worse than that. A lot of people are really only concerned with how much the PAYMENT is.
This situation is what my financial advisor calls "stupid tax."
Lindy

It sounds like Dave Ramsey is your financial advisor. :)

I think it's a 2002 Sebring Convertible - Something like that.

It's used.

I'm pretty sure the interest rate is what got her. Or the payments - The total cost of the car after it's payed off instead of the sticker cost.

well the only way to pay the same as the sticker cost is to pay in cash...

I think that it was the "Impulse" part there that was the problem...

Honestly, who the fuck buys a car "on impulse" unless you're Bill Fucking Gates?

I've bought a PlayStation 2 game on impulse once or twice, and regretted the $50 loss shortly afterwards, for a long time. I'm very frugal, and impulse buying a car would probably cause my entire being to implode.

If she is concerned about the long term cost of the car, and payments, perhaps she could take out a bank loan, pay the entire car off, and then pay the bank back at a more reasonable rate.

Thanks - I'll run that by her later.

How do you buy a car on impulse? Was it near the cash register on the way out?

She had just been kicked out of her house, she was stressed and she needed a car. She'd been planning on buying one, but then when she got kicked out and needed a way to get back to Indiana she went and bought a car without researching it as well as she should have.

Wow, even worse, she bought a crappy car.

Don't mean to dogpile on her, but I had to say it!

Oh My! How on earth can you get kicked out of your own house? (images of Snidely Whiplash come to mind)

I think the easiest way to describe it is to say that her sister's a bitch and her sister's husband is a fucktard. Pardon the language..