How to buy a car

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not so sure that the advice to buy a used car a few years old really applies anymore, at least not for Japanese cars and if you are buying from a dealer. That was definitely good advice prior to 2008 or so, but the used car market has changed a lot in the last few years. As an example, if you price Corollas on Carmax, you'll see that a three-year-old model is only about $3K cheaper than a new one(~14K vs ~17K for an LE), and you then miss out on the first three years of the car's life, which are usually the cheapest and most hassle-free to operate.

I haven't tried Costco, but did try a different buying program I have access to from work. I was not particularly impressed with it, and did a lot better just calling and/or e-mailing the dealerships around the area to get the best price on the model I wanted. The down-side was continuing to get voicemail and e-mail messages from sales people at every dealership for a few weeks after I had bought the car.

I've found this to be the case when looking for used Honda Accords as well. They don't seem to depreciate much within the first few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not so sure that the advice to buy a used car a few years old really applies anymore, at least not for Japanese cars and if you are buying from a dealer. That was definitely good advice prior to 2008 or so, but the used car market has changed a lot in the last few years. As an example, if you price Corollas on Carmax, you'll see that a three-year-old model is only about $3K cheaper than a new one(~14K vs ~17K for an LE), and you then miss out on the first three years of the car's life, which are usually the cheapest and most hassle-free to operate.

I haven't tried Costco, but did try a different buying program I have access to from work. I was not particularly impressed with it, and did a lot better just calling and/or e-mailing the dealerships around the area to get the best price on the model I wanted. The down-side was continuing to get voicemail and e-mail messages from sales people at every dealership for a few weeks after I had bought the car.

I've found this to be the case when looking for used Honda Accords as well. They don't seem to depreciate much within the first few years.

it's true, but even buying a low miles last year's model will save you about 4K give or take - not a small amount.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not so sure that the advice to buy a used car a few years old really applies anymore, at least not for Japanese cars and if you are buying from a dealer. That was definitely good advice prior to 2008 or so, but the used car market has changed a lot in the last few years. As an example, if you price Corollas on Carmax, you'll see that a three-year-old model is only about $3K cheaper than a new one(~14K vs ~17K for an LE), and you then miss out on the first three years of the car's life, which are usually the cheapest and most hassle-free to operate.

I haven't tried Costco, but did try a different buying program I have access to from work. I was not particularly impressed with it, and did a lot better just calling and/or e-mailing the dealerships around the area to get the best price on the model I wanted. The down-side was continuing to get voicemail and e-mail messages from sales people at every dealership for a few weeks after I had bought the car.

I've found this to be the case when looking for used Honda Accords as well. They don't seem to depreciate much within the first few years.

it's true, but even buying a low miles last year's model will save you about 4K give or take - not a small amount.

At least IME, I haven't found any 2014 accords with low miles for less than $19K (I can get a new one for $21K). 10% discount for 10% less life of the car isn't that great of a deal.

[Anonymous]

We're looking to get a new car too and feel woefully inexperienced- I've actually never shopped for one and for DH it's been a long time. Did one test drive but after reading this got several other quotes via email. Does anyone have recommendations for auto loans? Any particular banks have good rates? We're looking into a Subaru, which has a financing deal right now, but who knows if we'd qualify for the best rate. Want to be prepared with an independent quote.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're looking to get a new car too and feel woefully inexperienced- I've actually never shopped for one and for DH it's been a long time. Did one test drive but after reading this got several other quotes via email. Does anyone have recommendations for auto loans? Any particular banks have good rates? We're looking into a Subaru, which has a financing deal right now, but who knows if we'd qualify for the best rate. Want to be prepared with an independent quote.

Why would you not pay with cash outright, rather than having to get a loan?

[Anonymous]

For car prices, check truecar.com. I've bought 8 new cars in the past 10 years, and probably 20+ new cars in my whole life. I've bought everything from Toyota Tercels to Porsches and Masereatis. Truecar.com makes modern car shopping much much easier. Just aim for the bottom end of the price scale they give you.

For car loans, go to your local credit union and ask.

[Anonymous]

We just bought a used CRV because we could not afford the new one fully loaded, but the 2012 model fully loaded was about $7000 less. Got a great used car loan rate or 1.9% with the Maryland State Employees Credit Union.


Start negotiating now, but be prepared to wait until the end of the month for dealerships to come down on their price.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just bought a used CRV because we could not afford the new one fully loaded, but the 2012 model fully loaded was about $7000 less. Got a great used car loan rate or 1.9% with the Maryland State Employees Credit Union.


Start negotiating now, but be prepared to wait until the end of the month for dealerships to come down on their price.

oops i mean $7000 less than the mid-range 2015 model we could afford. It was $11-12K less than the new leather fully loaded model.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For car prices, check truecar.com. I've bought 8 new cars in the past 10 years, and probably 20+ new cars in my whole life. I've bought everything from Toyota Tercels to Porsches and Masereatis. Truecar.com makes modern car shopping much much easier. Just aim for the bottom end of the price scale they give you.

For car loans, go to your local credit union and ask.

Trucar sucks now. Apparently it used to be useful and then car dealers threw a tantrum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For car prices, check truecar.com. I've bought 8 new cars in the past 10 years, and probably 20+ new cars in my whole life. I've bought everything from Toyota Tercels to Porsches and Masereatis. Truecar.com makes modern car shopping much much easier. Just aim for the bottom end of the price scale they give you.

For car loans, go to your local credit union and ask.

Trucar sucks now. Apparently it used to be useful and then car dealers threw a tantrum.

Before truecar, I used to go through the internet forums to see what people paid for their cars. Edmunds "Prices Paid" forums were especially useful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're looking to get a new car too and feel woefully inexperienced- I've actually never shopped for one and for DH it's been a long time. Did one test drive but after reading this got several other quotes via email. Does anyone have recommendations for auto loans? Any particular banks have good rates? We're looking into a Subaru, which has a financing deal right now, but who knows if we'd qualify for the best rate. Want to be prepared with an independent quote.

Why would you not pay with cash outright, rather than having to get a loan?

With 0% financing, why not finance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For car prices, check truecar.com. I've bought 8 new cars in the past 10 years, and probably 20+ new cars in my whole life. I've bought everything from Toyota Tercels to Porsches and Masereatis. Truecar.com makes modern car shopping much much easier. Just aim for the bottom end of the price scale they give you.

For car loans, go to your local credit union and ask.

Trucar sucks now. Apparently it used to be useful and then car dealers threw a tantrum.

Before truecar, I used to go through the internet forums to see what people paid for their cars. Edmunds "Prices Paid" forums were especially useful.

Agreed, although you have to back out the taxes since people from a number of states post there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're looking to get a new car too and feel woefully inexperienced- I've actually never shopped for one and for DH it's been a long time. Did one test drive but after reading this got several other quotes via email. Does anyone have recommendations for auto loans? Any particular banks have good rates? We're looking into a Subaru, which has a financing deal right now, but who knows if we'd qualify for the best rate. Want to be prepared with an independent quote.

Why would you not pay with cash outright, rather than having to get a loan?

Cause not everyone has that much cash sitting around.....

[Anonymous]

My brother was going to buy used but found, like you, that he could get a new car for a better price (once you factored in financing and cashback deals).

We bought our previous two cars new and basically ran them into the ground. I had my car for 13 years before it started to have way too many problems to maintain and my husband's lasted 12.

We decided on a GMC Acadia for our next car but base model, brand new, was way out of our price range. Used models ran in the low 30's and sold quickly. We knew we'd never be able to afford a NEW SUV b/c of how expensive they are even with our down payment.

Then we discovered the Hertz Rent2buy program. Got a 2012 model (we bought in 2013) with 25k miles for about $27k which was about 5 grand less than the cheapest comparable Acadia we'd found through a standard used car dealer. Plus, they gave an additional AAA discount AND a discount for some minor cosmetic damage on the tailgate. Independent inspection revealed the car was in great shape.

I would HIGHLY recommend their program if you're looking to buy used at all.

[Anonymous]

Car buying question here- followed a PP's advice and got several quotes. One dealer came in at appreciably cheaper than the others, with a price that was below the mean TrueCar price. However, what they had was in a color I didn't like, so I asked a different dealer with a color I did like to match the price. They agreed, provided the specs match up. Well, now the cheaper car is gone and I neglected to print a copy of the specs earlier. Afraid dealer #2 will renig now- any tips for still getting the lower price? Kicking myself for dragging my feet.