Buying a new car

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider this: Why buy a brand new car? As soon as you drive off the lot, you take a giant hit in depreciation. You're in such a great buying position here. I bought my car in cash by combing through Craigslist ads, found an old person who bought their car at a dealer, had it maintained at the dealer (records available), and was ready to sell it. Mine was 3 years old with 20K miles on it. The dealer always gives a shit price on a trade-in, so they attempt to sell it on Craigslist, Auto-trader, etc.. first. They love cash. All you have to do is take it to your local mechanic for a once-over (costs $100) - everyone does this, and sellers know to expect it. If your mechanic gives it the green light, you pay cash (preferably meet them at the bank and do a money order or cashier's check, because banks don't want you to show up and ask for 25K in cash), have the seller bring the title to the bank and sign it over to you, have a letter of sale notarized (at the bank while you're there), take it right to DMV and register it. Done.

If you buy a pre-certified car at the dealer you'll pay an additional doc fee and over pay for the car anyway. When you take it to your own mechanic for $100, it's a better once-over than a pre-certification anyway. Buy a good brand name car with a history of reliability. You'll save thousands of dollars.

Sometimes you want a brand new car.

Stop wanting a brand new car.

Why? I don't like travel or eating out or better house.

Okay.

Actually, even if I do like all of the above, why not a brand new car? What's the objection? It's not the same as a used car, otherwise they would be priced the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider this: Why buy a brand new car? As soon as you drive off the lot, you take a giant hit in depreciation. You're in such a great buying position here. I bought my car in cash by combing through Craigslist ads, found an old person who bought their car at a dealer, had it maintained at the dealer (records available), and was ready to sell it. Mine was 3 years old with 20K miles on it. The dealer always gives a shit price on a trade-in, so they attempt to sell it on Craigslist, Auto-trader, etc.. first. They love cash. All you have to do is take it to your local mechanic for a once-over (costs $100) - everyone does this, and sellers know to expect it. If your mechanic gives it the green light, you pay cash (preferably meet them at the bank and do a money order or cashier's check, because banks don't want you to show up and ask for 25K in cash), have the seller bring the title to the bank and sign it over to you, have a letter of sale notarized (at the bank while you're there), take it right to DMV and register it. Done.

If you buy a pre-certified car at the dealer you'll pay an additional doc fee and over pay for the car anyway. When you take it to your own mechanic for $100, it's a better once-over than a pre-certification anyway. Buy a good brand name car with a history of reliability. You'll save thousands of dollars.

Sometimes you want a brand new car.

Stop wanting a brand new car.

Why? I don't like travel or eating out or better house.

Okay.

Actually, even if I do like all of the above, why not a brand new car? What's the objection? It's not the same as a used car, otherwise they would be priced the same.

Any car I've bought used looked and drove the same as a new car, absent the new car smell. If you need that, dealers will spray some toxic chemicals in your CPO to make it smell new. You wouldn't know the difference between the new and old inside unless you looked at the odometer. I'm talking cars with 20K miles on them already.

But you are right, it's not the same as a new car, because with a new car you pay more and suffer the depreciation as soon as you drive off the lot, but you're getting a bumper to bumper warranty (not that you'll ever use it, so you just paid for something you likely won't use), plus you'll pay higher taxes on it.

In reality, that new car isn't worth the price tag. But, you are SOMETIMES right. Sometimes it's better economically to buy the new car over the CPO if you've got a car that holds its value, the incentives are right, and you negotiate a great deal. You just need to know how to shop right if you really want that new car.

But, I'm just saying, if it were me, I'd buy that Acura with the 25K miles on it over the new one, end up paying less for more options on it than the exact same car brand new with the same options, skip the dealer and saves thousands more on that exact same car, and lower taxes. All the history is transparent on the used car, so no worries about quality if you're buying a reputable brand. But if you really need that new one for whatever reason, go ahead. It's your money and you need to drive off happy.

[Anonymous]

I looked at slightly used rav4s and crvs....dirty disgusting awful. I keep my car 12-14 years. I kerp my cars much cleaner than other people even if mileage is low....so, no...I don't want your used car. There may be some goid ones out there, but I tried enough to know that I wanted what was up to date, fresh and not abused...I got New and I'm glad I did. For my teen, yeah...I'd get used...but will do Carvana or the like where they clean them.

[Anonymous]

I buy a new car about every 6 years; we have two, so it runs about every 6 in terms of having 12 year old cars.

I pit the dealers against each other. You can research what they have in stock (never special order.)

End of month/quarter/year also drive pries lower.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I looked at slightly used rav4s and crvs....dirty disgusting awful. I keep my car 12-14 years. I kerp my cars much cleaner than other people even if mileage is low....so, no...I don't want your used car. There may be some goid ones out there, but I tried enough to know that I wanted what was up to date, fresh and not abused...I got New and I'm glad I did. For my teen, yeah...I'd get used...but will do Carvana or the like where they clean them.

Where are you looking for these used cars?

Before you even commit to looking, you get a record of the car's maintenance history and the carafe. From there, if it's not been abused, you look at photos to decide if it's worth it. Why would you even go look at cars without taking these steps? Of course you looked at shitty used cars. You don't know how to shop for the "gold" ones. In which case, you're better off buying new.

[Anonymous]

1.) Figure out exactly what car you want down to color and finishes.

2.) Email half a dozen major dealers in the mid-Atlantic requests for pricing for that specific model and finish.

3.) Take the lowest and ask the others to beat it

4.) You now have the cheapest option.


Protip: Important to hit the big boys. They make money by being the "#1 Nissan/Lexuse/whatever dealer in the mid-atlantic" because people are more likely to buy from them. Salespeople on the floor make money by normal commission and won't give you the best deals. Internet sales make money by volume commission to get that #1 rating for the dealership so they will give you bottom barrel pricing.

[Anonymous]

I loved car guru for comparison shopping. I was not really able to negotiate the price down though. The best I could do was get a little bit of discount on the dealer fees. I posted in another thread about buying my car from a rental car company - ultimately I got a terrific deal from them and was very pleased.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I looked at slightly used rav4s and crvs....dirty disgusting awful. I keep my car 12-14 years. I kerp my cars much cleaner than other people even if mileage is low....so, no...I don't want your used car. There may be some goid ones out there, but I tried enough to know that I wanted what was up to date, fresh and not abused...I got New and I'm glad I did. For my teen, yeah...I'd get used...but will do Carvana or the like where they clean them.

Where are you looking for these used cars?

Before you even commit to looking, you get a record of the car's maintenance history and the carafe. From there, if it's not been abused, you look at photos to decide if it's worth it. Why would you even go look at cars without taking these steps? Of course you looked at shitty used cars. You don't know how to shop for the "gold" ones. In which case, you're better off buying new.

At dealers. Toyota and Honda dealers.

[Anonymous]

Every time we have started looking for a car we have been unable to find a good deal for a used car. Usually they are only a few k less than a new one for a prior year model and +30k miles. We'll just get a good deal on a new car, enjoy the warranty for a couple extra years, and keep the car for 10+ years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I loved car guru for comparison shopping. I was not really able to negotiate the price down though. The best I could do was get a little bit of discount on the dealer fees. I posted in another thread about buying my car from a rental car company - ultimately I got a terrific deal from them and was very pleased.

Negotiate through email- it's usually easiest and you can deal with several dealers at a time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every time we have started looking for a car we have been unable to find a good deal for a used car. Usually they are only a few k less than a new one for a prior year model and +30k miles. We'll just get a good deal on a new car, enjoy the warranty for a couple extra years, and keep the car for 10+ years.

That has been my experience, too.

For low-end, reliable Japanese vehicles, there's just not that much depreciation right off the bat. For corollas, you might be looking at a new one for $17K, or a three-year old one with 36,000 miles for $14K.

I'm no longer in the DC area, but last time I went looking for a used car, it took me a couple of months trolling Craigslist pretty seriously to find a used car that actually looked like a better deal than a new one. I found one, but it wasn't trivial.

[Anonymous]

I have a 13 year old car and a 15 year old car. One Toyota and one Honda. They have 120-140k miles.

I would only trust a Toyota or a Honda at this age. Yes I had a $1200 car repair/maintenance bill recently. But I don’t expect any other major repairs and that’s still cheaper than a new car.

I would never trust a Volvo at this same age.

[Anonymous]

Consider this: Why buy a brand new car? As soon as you drive off the lot, you take a giant hit in depreciation. You're in such a great buying position here. I bought my car in cash by combing through Craigslist ads, found an old person who bought their car at a dealer, had it maintained at the dealer (records available), and was ready to sell it. Mine was 3 years old with 20K miles on it. The dealer always gives a shit price on a trade-in, so they attempt to sell it on Craigslist, Auto-trader, etc.. first. They love cash. All you have to do is take it to your local mechanic for a once-over (costs $100) - everyone does this, and sellers know to expect it. If your mechanic gives it the green light, you pay cash (preferably meet them at the bank and do a money order or cashier's check, because banks don't want you to show up and ask for 25K in cash), have the seller bring the title to the bank and sign it over to you, have a letter of sale notarized (at the bank while you're there), take it right to DMV and register it. Done.

Because all of that takes a LOT of time. There are problems in life that I choose to throw money at in order to save time, and this is one of them. Your priorities are different, and that's fine.

[Anonymous]

Yes, you can negotiate. Go Near thelast day of the month, they’ll want to reach their quota.

You might not have much wiggle room on the car price, but there are definitely other things where the salesperson has more latitude, like the value of the trade in, If you have one.

All told, when we bought our car in 2013, the ‘all in’ amount we paid, including taxes and fees, was about the advertised price of the car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Why? I don't like travel or eating out or better house.

Do you like setting fire to cash?

Do you like wiping your rear with cash?