Buying A New Car...

(Just to jump on the band wagon) Why not get a used car and use the money you save to get your credit in order. Then in a few years you will be in a position to buy that new car you want and not put yourself in a tough position.
 
You can get a pretty nice low mileage car that is still under warrenty. I bought my truck with 15K miles and got a lot of nice options that wouldn't have been possible had I gone new. Plus I still paid significantly less.
 
The big car dealers use the same banks. If you are really approved with Maxwell then you will
be approved at most of the other dealers as well. They are going to tell you not to have your credit ran again because the approval they have is based on your credit score and your score will go down if it is checked again. They will tell you that they are the only company in town that can get you approved because, they do so much business with the banks they get special deals, they will bunch your deal with others to get it bought, their manager knows someone at the bank. The finance department makes a good living lying to you about what rate you really qualify for. You must shop dealers against each other.
 
If he did the smart thing and did not buy the car yesterday, he would be WELL advised to go to Fighting Chance and order the book that dude sells. I worked in an industry for several years where I had access to the financials of a lot of car dealerships and the transactions that ran between them and the banks that funded their floor plan. This book does a GREAT job of explaining, in plain English, the background of how a car dealership works and where they make their money.

I used the book, used their fax plan to send offers to dealers. On a $32k list priced vehicle, the offers came back with a $2,500 difference between the top and bottom price. I paid $100 over his true invoice.

I 2nd the vote for finding something at Carmax. I just bought my daughter a car there. I have since had an issue with the car and they went out of their way to correct the problem even though it was out of their 30 day window.
 
Since I know everybody is interested I will let you all in on the events of yesterday.

Okay, so I was suppsoed to meet Jose (the car guy) at 11. I show up with my best friend in tow. So we go in and this guy comes up to us and I'm just like "im here to talk to Jose" so he sits me with Jose. Jose leaves for like 10 minutes to go "pull my file" which I guess entails him trying to hustle other people sitting in the show room. So anyways he comes back over and starts giving me the run around. He asks what I want, I told him I wasn't too sure yet, he pushed, I caved, and was like, "well im looking at a mustang" and he was like "oh, well I dont know if we can do that." and I try to push him to see what I am approved for, but he says "well see, in order to get what you want you would need a co-sign" well I don't have one of those, and I don't have alot to put on a down payment. He then suggests used cars, more specifically, he suggests I purchase a Taurus.

I'm not really feelin that, so I go out and walk around the used car lot, there's not many cars that I would even want to drive around in. I call my mom in hopes to guilt her into co-signing. No dice. So I find a Mazda 6, and a Maxima that I kinda like. I go back to talk to Jose and he tells me they're both like 19k, which is a lil bit outta my price range (he told me to look for something around 10, but they dont put prices on the cars so I'm just wandering around.) When he tells me the 6 costs 19, my friend pipes up saying that it barely costs more then that new, which makes Jose pretty pissed. He gets real defensive and tells me I should "just listen to him, he knows where to get mazda 6's for 19k" so we thank him for his lack-of-help and leave.

As I am walking out I stop to talk to this Indian guy about the used cars. He lets me know that he's fresh fish and cannot touch the used cars, so he hooks me up with this little dude with a long pinky nail. So pinky nail walks me over and we start talkin. He tells me that one of the 6's is only 17, so I'm like, ehh I'll see whats up. So he has me fill out this Market survey thingie to see what I can get financed for. He tells me that the bank will only finance me for enough money to cover a 400 payment, but that I will need a co-sign to even get that. He also lets me know that in order to sell me a "higher end car" which apparently a Mazda and Nissan are, it will cost me another 2-3k dollars. So I'm kinda pissed, but the guy was atleast honest with me.

This is basically where my Maxwell Ford trip ends. Pinky Nail refers me to Drive Time right up the road. So my friend and I go up there. There "car lot" is like 10 cars, none of which I would really want, the best buying a 2000 626. So we get out to look anyways, and of course this fat guy comes up to his. So I kinda walk away to avoid the fat guy, my friend is right behind me so Fat Guy talks to him first. He introduces himself and asks us what we're looking for. My friend looks at him and says "Sorry Fat Guy, we're looking for more cars than this." He walks back to the car, I walk past the Fat Guy and pretty much nod and say "yep." He asks again what I am looking for and I explain to him that there is nothing in particlar I am looking for, just if I see something I might like, I'll pursue it. The guy tries to pitch me a 2002 Saturn, letting me know that it has "all the bells and whistles." I politely decline and leave.

All in all I was kinda sad, I had realistic expectations, and didn't think I had a good chance to actually get the car I wanted, but when I got to my moms I was able to convince her to co-sign on a car that isn't quite as expensive, and I also realized that I have money for a down payment that I need to get from my uncle, so my general mood is rising.

Thanks again tho, for all the advice!
 
Nope. Carmax sells for what is on the sticker. No haggling. One thing I learned though, if you see a car you want, buy it. I picked one out for my daughter, she drove it and liked it, so I went back the next day and it was sold. I watched for about a week until another one suitable for her came through. I already had financing arranged through my CU but it was going to take 2 days to get the funds. So, I financed it at CarMax, then when my check came in I paid off the loan at CarMax with the proceeds from the CU loan. Sweet deal, easy transactions, no ******** "I've got to talk to my manager".

Again, I HIGHLY suggest checking out the fightingchance web site and reading his book. It probably saved me $1,800 on the last new car I bought. I know 4 other people who did their fax method and none of them paid more than $200 over true invoice. Plus, you also avoid that "talk to my manager", you need this undercoating, we already installed it, etc, ********.
 
If only someone had been able to tell you to buy a used car before your heartbreaking trip to Maxwell.
wink.gif


Good luck with the new ride.
 
lol i love how everybody thinks they know me. anyways, i'm putting 4 grand down on a scion tC, probably on monday, and im buying that. but thanks for the advice errybody ;D.
 
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