The best way to buy a car?

bugandbibs · September 2012

So, we have been saving for a new (to us) minivan since the spring, and searching around for what we want. I have narrowed it down to a Chrysler Town and Country 2007 or newer. The only options I really care about are leather and power/remote doors.

We will be paying cash for this car. So far we have $10,000 and are saving another $500 each month. In the past, I have been able to negotiate lower prices by paying cash but I have never been looking for a specific car before. I kind of wish there was like a personal shopper for cars like they have at the mall. My credit union does this, but only is you are getting a loan. Any suggestions?

gogadgetgo · September 2012

Do you have a Car Max near you? My brother bought his "new to him" car there a few years ago and he had a great experience.

Or I've had friends had good luck getting deals by buying online but that's been for new cars.

Stackeye210 · September 2012

We bought our last car by paying cash. We just researched the heck out of any and every site we could to get an idea of the inventory in our area. That way when we found the car we wanted we knew it was already fairly priced compared to others in the area and knew if/when we were getting a good deal after negotiations.

We had lots of luck surprisingly on craigslist b/c dealerships put a lot of their inventory up and you can search by model key word and have a ton right in one place. I'm pretty sure we actually ended up finding the one we bought right off of CL and it wasn't a dealership we even knew was in our area but that had great reviews.

MrsRustyGriswold · September 2012

bugandbibs:

So, we have been saving for a new (to us) minivan since the spring, and searching around for what we want. I have narrowed it down to a Chrysler Town and Country 2007 or newer. The only options I really care about are leather and power/remote doors.

We will be paying cash for this car. So far we have $10,000 and are saving another $500 each month. In the past, I have been able to negotiate lower prices by paying cash but I have never been looking for a specific car before. I kind of wish there was like a personal shopper for cars like they have at the mall. My credit union does this, but only is you are getting a loan. Any suggestions?

What about using the CU to shop for the car and pay the loan off the next month?

bugandbibs · September 2012

MrsRustyGriswold:
bugandbibs:

So, we have been saving for a new (to us) minivan since the spring, and searching around for what we want. I have narrowed it down to a Chrysler Town and Country 2007 or newer. The only options I really care about are leather and power/remote doors.

We will be paying cash for this car. So far we have $10,000 and are saving another $500 each month. In the past, I have been able to negotiate lower prices by paying cash but I have never been looking for a specific car before. I kind of wish there was like a personal shopper for cars like they have at the mall. My credit union does this, but only is you are getting a loan. Any suggestions?

What about using the CU to shop for the car and pay the loan off the next month?

I've thought about that, my lazy ass just hasn't wanted to fill out the paperwork. I should look into it more, and that Car Max thing. I've never head of them before.

Excitedtostart · September 2012

You may also get a better deal on a Chrysler by looking at competitors dealers. People trade in their car and get a BMW/Audi/Ford/Whatever. Now they're stuck with a car that's not their brand, and they have a limited audience for this car. People going to the Audi lot aren't the same people who are looking for a Chrysler T&C. Therefore, they're more wiling to make a deal to get the car off their lot.

Also, end of the month and end of the year are best times to buy because it helps them meet their month/year quotas.

MsCraftsy · September 2012

This is super long. Please bare with me.

I have bought 3 cars in the past 4 years and have saved over 12,000.00 on my purchases by doing the following. (I also had trades but they didn't know about that until we agreed on pricing and had it in writing) Here is what I do. You can do this with your pre - determined financing or with cash.

I would use a service (free) like truecar.com and see what the vehicles go for and what they are worth in your area.

Make sure you also use blackbook (nada) when pricing out cars. That way you can see what the dealership might try to charge you. They go by black book wholesale but it is at least helpful to get an idea. Don't let them try and use bluebook unless it is cheaper for you.

I would test drive the specific vehicle you are looking for to make sure you want that type of car. Next, I would go to the websites of any dealership that may have the car you want. Once you have all the specifics pinned down plus what they sell for in your area, I would use their "make an offer" tab and low ball them. If the car is selling for 9,300 in your area and the dealership has it listed for 10,500.00 I would offer them 8,600. They can counter but make sure everything is in writing and it included everything you want. Also if someone is being shady, go to someone else.

NEVER EVER let them fill up their 4 square. Just let them know you have your own funding, you don't need their financing, you don't care about monthly payments and you want to make sure the money is coming off the total of the car. You don't want any of their add on crap either. Dadjm - "Dealer adjusted markup " is straight profit and they like to tack it on to the price of the car. Make them remove it. They get their money from the dealer fees and the mark up from the person who traded it in.

Also, go on the last day or two of the month. They are more willing to work with you to make the sale because they need to make sure they get their numbers. The last day has always worked for me.

Don't hesitate to ask for things like oil changes and car washes. Those things are trivial and will add to you feeling better about the sale.

Final piece of advice. Never be scared to walk away. They will usually call you within a few days to magically tell you that they can offer it for the price you wanted to begin with. Play hard ball, and never let them think you need that car as much as they need that sell. They need to sell the car more than you need to buy it.

If you need any further help, please let me know. I love screwing over car dealerships because they don't care about screwing their customers over.

The last dealership I dealt with in June was literally scared of me. They had to send in two managers to try and hassle me and shake me down. I didn't budge. In the end I got MORE than my trade was worth, 4,000 off the car I was purchasing, free oil changes, and 50% off any additional warranty packages I was buying. I was very happy with my purchase all because they didn't think a pretty little thing like myself knew how dealerships worked. I took them to the cleaners. In the end with all of the stuff I got, I saved 4,600.00 + 6 free oil changes.

eta: when I say I love to screw car dealerships over, it's not that I am technically screwing anyone over. It's just that car dealerships don't like well informed buyers. They don't want you to know the NADA value (black book) of a car, or that blue book is practically worthless when buying cars. They don't want you to know about their 4 square selling tactics or all the fees they hide in the price of the car. They also don't want you to know that second sticker is garbage. Their add-ons seriously cost them like 50.00 and you can have them remove it. That the majority of the time you can buy all of their warranty stuff / anti theft stuff through your credit union for significantly less. Stuff like that. I love showing them that women can buy cars and not be screwed over or helpless as they might think I am. I tell them all, I am nicest, most patient and sweet person they will ever meet until we start talking about money. good luck!

ExcitedAunt2b · September 2012

MsCraftsy:
This is super long. Please bare with me.
I have bought 3 cars in the past 4 years and have saved over 12,000.00 on my purchases by doing the following. (I also had trades but they didn't know about that until we agreed on pricing and had it in writing) Here is what I do. You can do this with your pre - determined financing or with cash.
I would use a service (free) like truecar.com and see what the vehicles go for and what they are worth in your area.
Make sure you also use blackbook (nada) when pricing out cars. That way you can see what the dealership might try to charge you. They go by black book wholesale but it is at least helpful to get an idea. Don't let them try and use bluebook unless it is cheaper for you.
I would test drive the specific vehicle you are looking for to make sure you want that type of car. Next, I would go to the websites of any dealership that may have the car you want. Once you have all the specifics pinned down plus what they sell for in your area, I would use their "make an offer" tab and low ball them. If the car is selling for 9,300 in your area and the dealership has it listed for 10,500.00 I would offer them 8,600. They can counter but make sure everything is in writing and it included everything you want. Also if someone is being shady, go to someone else.
NEVER EVER let them fill up their 4 square. Just let them know you have your own funding, you don't need their financing, you don't care about monthly payments and you want to make sure the money is coming off the total of the car. You don't want any of their add on crap either. Dadjm - "Dealer adjusted markup " is straight profit and they like to tack it on to the price of the car. Make them remove it. They get their money from the dealer fees and the mark up from the person who traded it in.
Also, go on the last day or two of the month. They are more willing to work with you to make the sale because they need to make sure they get their numbers. The last day has always worked for me.
Don't hesitate to ask for things like oil changes and car washes. Those things are trivial and will add to you feeling better about the sale.
Final piece of advice. Never be scared to walk away. They will usually call you within a few days to magically tell you that they can offer it for the price you wanted to begin with. Play hard ball, and never let them think you need that car as much as they need that sell. They need to sell the car more than you need to buy it.
If you need any further help, please let me know. I love screwing over car dealerships because they don't care about screwing their customers over.
The last dealership I dealt with in June was literally scared of me. They had to send in two managers to try and hassle me and shake me down. I didn't budge. In the end I got MORE than my trade was worth, 4,000 off the car I was purchasing, free oil changes, and 50% off any additional warranty packages I was buying. I was very happy with my purchase all because they didn't think a pretty little thing like myself knew how dealerships worked. I took them to the cleaners. In the end with all of the stuff I got, I saved 4,600.00 + 6 free oil changes.
eta: when I say I love to screw car dealerships over, it's not that I am technically screwing anyone over. It's just that car dealerships don't like well informed buyers. They don't want you to know the NADA value (black book) of a car, or that blue book is practically worthless when buying cars. They don't want you to know about their 4 square selling tactics or all the fees they hide in the price of the car. They also don't want you to know that second sticker is garbage. Their add-ons seriously cost them like 50.00 and you can have them remove it. That the majority of the time you can buy all of their warranty stuff / anti theft stuff through your credit union for significantly less. Stuff like that. I love showing them that women can buy cars and not be screwed over or helpless as they might think I am. I tell them all, I am nicest, most patient and sweet person they will ever meet until we start talking about money. good luck!

DAMN!!! You are going car shopping with me next time!!

MsCraftsy · September 2012

ExcitedAunt2b:
MsCraftsy:
This is super long. Please bare with me. *Snip*

DAMN!!! You are going car shopping with me next time!!

Haha! I have been asked to buy my parents car the next time they purchase as well as a few other people. Funny thing is I bought my husbands car and my previous car before my current one with my husband present. He felt as if I was going to be taken by these people. Once I started the process and he saw how much I knew(bad cop); he realized to sit down, be quiet and let me do the talking. They preferred to deal with him (good cop) and finally my husband got ticked when they were trying to push me out of the sale negotiations and said " I don't even know why you are trying to talk to me. She is the one that is buying the car. Keep ignoring her and you are going to make her walk out. Only thing I can tell ya, bud."

weelass24 · September 2012

Black book and NADA are not the same thing. Just saying. Two completely different companies. And depending on where she lives, blue book may be the BEST value source for her car.

MsCraftsy · September 2012

weelass24:
Black book and NADA are not the same thing. Just saying. Two completely different companies. And depending on where she lives, blue book may be the BEST value source for her car.

1. Yes, blackbook and Nada are two different things. Blackbook is a privately controlled source for dealers and finance companies. NADA is what a lot of credit unions use to price out what they will give for a loan and what people will be paying for a vehicle. Nada should be utilized over KBB because blue book is not reliable when it comes to vehicles and loans. Most banks ignore bluebook value.

EDIT TO ADD: *NADA has been closer to black book than KBB on every single vehicle I have owned. Which is way more than I care to admit. I do live in the south so regions my differ. That was another reason why I told her about truecar. To make sure she can see which pricing source is more accurate to what is selling in her region.

2. I said she should use which ever is cheaper for her. She is buying. It's a buyers market.

weelass24 · September 2012

Thanks for the lecture on vehicle valuation. I know this. I do this for a living. I work with all 3 sources every day.

bugandbibs · September 2012

Thanks for all the help everyone! We've got a few more months of savings to do, but I feel like I have a game plan.

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