Tips on buying a new car with cash
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Anonymous
| For the first time my husband and I are in the position to pay cash for a new car. If you have done this, what are your tips for negotiating the best price possible from the dealer? Thanks! |
Anonymous
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Just did this and it was a disaster. We purchased a Honda from the dealership. They would not take a money transfer, only a personal check. We had to transfer the money to our checking account and then give them a check 3 days later.
The hiccup was that they made us sign papers stating they would force financing on us if we didn't give them a check in 3 days. And then they opened financing on us a week later even though we paid in full 4 days before that. I'm furious. This was probably a Honda problem. And then Honda keeps sending us surveys. I'm done with them. So.. if you know you are buying a car, have the money in a checking account. I assumed I could just transfer money easily. |
Anonymous
| We have bought 2 cars in cash and the dealer doesn’t really care if you pay with cash. Sometimes they seem to prefer that you finance. Negotiate the same way you always would and just say you will pay with cash. We prefer to negotiate over email with the dealer. |
Anonymous
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We tried to buy our car with cash in 2011, but we wound up getting a better price if we financed it at 0.5 percent for five years, because Honda gave the dealership an incentive for signing the loan. Even accounting for the interest we paid, it was still cheaper that way.
That rate was part of an attempt by the dealers to clear out 2010 models in early 2011, but since it's now late December, might be worth looking at whether you can do something similar next month. |
Anonymous
Yes they actually do prefer if you finance, because they make more money off those deals. So you will not get a better deal just because you have cash. I'd negotiate it all before telling anyone how you will be paying. |
Anonymous
| I second the pp^^. You don't mention cash until your deal is made. |
Anonymous
| Negotiate the way you normally would, then show up and write them a check. We were offered 0% financing over 5 years and took it. |
Anonymous
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They make more money off financing and get a bonus if you finance.
Don't mention cash until the deal is made. |
Anonymous
| I financed because they gave me a discount for doing so, then paid it all off as soon as I got the first bill. |
Anonymous
| Agree with pp’s - they don’t care how you pay. We bought 2 cars this summer - paid cash for 1 and financed the other. Had no bearing whatsoever on the negotiations. |
Anonymous
| We always buy with cash. Buying and financing have been two separate steps for us. Nobody ever asked us how we plan to pay during negotiation phase. |
Anonymous
| Don't tell them, they don't like this. They make money off financing. Just write the check once you get to financing and say no no no no no no to all the stuff they offer you. |
Anonymous
| I bought all cash at Carmax. Super easy. Logged on to my account and showed them the balance then wrote a check, all on the spot. Such a change from Honda. They pulled my credit score and required a cashier's check. |
Anonymous
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Dealer doesn't really care anymore. Parents just bought a Jeep Summit cash. Just got the dealer incentives and that was it.
Parents paid with Cashiers Check |
Anonymous
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Don't tell them that you are paying cash. They make more money selling through financing.
They will be more open to give you discounts because they know they will get the money back on financing. Negotiate and trying to bring the price down as much as possible even if it is at the expense of a higher rate. Be open to even finance the car if needed. Just make sure the loan has no pre-payment penalties. Walk out with your car and repay the loan before the first payment is even due. |