Buying a new car

[yg17]

Originally Posted by bizzle

Here we go. I check it weekly.

No offense but if you're getting offered 7.4% on a new car, then you don't have excellent credit.

Excellent credit should get you nothing higher than 2.0% assuming 5 year loan or less - a 6 or more, somewhere in the 2-3% range is acceptable.

[bizzle]

Originally Posted by yg17

No offense but if you're getting offered 7.4% on a new car, then you don't have excellent credit.

Excellent credit should get you nothing higher than 2.0% assuming 5 year loan or less - a 6 or more, somewhere in the 2-3% range is acceptable.

Except I do. I am not trying to convince anyone of that. I am young and the dealer thought they'd be able to play me. This isn't the first time a person walked into a show room and walked out with a horrible deal. Is it really that hard to believe that dealers sometimes add a huge mark up on the financing end? It isn't. It's not like a have some vendetta because I am in denial and I really just have miserable credit. It's fact.

[zioxide]

Originally Posted by yg17

No offense but if you're getting offered 7.4% on a new car, then you don't have excellent credit.

Excellent credit should get you nothing higher than 2.0% assuming 5 year loan or less - a 6 or more, somewhere in the 2-3% range is acceptable.

You can have excellent but limited credit history and a rate around 7% for a first quote isn't out the realm of possibilities.

Originally Posted by bizzle

Except I do. I am not trying to convince anyone of that. I am young and the dealer thought they'd be able to play me. This isn't the first time a person walked into a show room and walked out with a horrible deal. Is it really that hard to believe that dealers sometimes add a huge mark up on the financing end? It isn't. It's not like a have some vendetta because I am in denial and I really just have miserable credit. It's fact.

I had a similar experience when I bought my first car earlier this year. They weren't trying to play me, but basically had to prove that they weren't going to have any problems with me paying back the loan in order to get quoted a very good rate. I'm young and just out of college and while I have a very limited credit history (just student loan payments and credit card), everything has been paid early so my credit is as good as it could be for someone my age. (My credit score was in the 740s)

I bought a 2.5 year old used car and the dealership worked with me and both their finance agency and a couple local credit unions to find me a good deal. They originally quoted me around 6% before they ran my credit, then dropped it to 4% after running my credit. I brought in a pay stub and they were able to knock it down to 3.5% and then I ended up getting them to get me 3.1% with the extended warranty. The lowest rates for used cars at that time was 2.89% so I was pretty happy with 3.1%.

If you're buying new and have a long and good credit history, you should be able to get around 2%. Used rates are about a percentage point higher, and you can add a percentage point for limited history or not as good of a credit rating.

But yeah, there's lots of different factors that go in to these financing rates, so definitely shop around and get some competitive quotes.

[notjustjay]

Originally Posted by bizzle

Except I do. I am not trying to convince anyone of that. I am young and the dealer thought they'd be able to play me. This isn't the first time a person walked into a show room and walked out with a horrible deal. Is it really that hard to believe that dealers sometimes add a huge mark up on the financing end? It isn't. It's not like a have some vendetta because I am in denial and I really just have miserable credit. It's fact.

Oh, car dealerships...

Seems like every salesperson I talk to operates out of a different chapter of the "How to be a car salesman" book. In fact, I could probably write that book now based on what I've seen.

Like the guy who did all the cliche shtick -- "What do I have to do to get you into this car today? Name it! We're crazy here at Capital City Dodge!" And then when I said I was leaving, he said "Well, before you go, let me just introduce you to my manager!"

Or the liar ("NO other dealership within 500 miles has any of these except us.") Not including the one I just checked out down the street, I guess?

Or the Subaru dealership that completely ignored me when I walked in one day to check out their cars. Salespeople walked right past me like I was invisible.

Or the dealership that, upon seeing that I was Asian, immediately sent over their token (only) Asian salesman, who greeted me in Chinese. There was an awkward moment when I said "Um, I speak English..."

Then there was the time I told the salesman I was shopping for a compact SUV and he thought I was asking for a car with a compact disc player. Seriously, I saw his eyes light up like he thought I was some yokel coming in off the street -- "Derrr, as long as it's got one-a-dem CD players, I'll take it!"

[yg17]

Originally Posted by notjustjay

Oh, car dealerships...

Seems like every salesperson I talk to operates out of a different chapter of the "How to be a car salesman" book. In fact, I could probably write that book now based on what I've seen.

Like the guy who did all the cliche shtick -- "What do I have to do to get you into this car today? Name it! We're crazy here at Capital City Dodge!" And then when I said I was leaving, he said "Well, before you go, let me just introduce you to my manager!"

Or the liar ("NO other dealership within 500 miles has any of these except us.") Not including the one I just checked out down the street, I guess?

Or the Subaru dealership that completely ignored me when I walked in one day to check out their cars. Salespeople walked right past me like I was invisible.

Or the dealership that, upon seeing that I was Asian, immediately sent over their token (only) Asian salesman, who greeted me in Chinese. There was an awkward moment when I said "Um, I speak English..."

Then there was the time I told the salesman I was shopping for a compact SUV and he thought I was asking for a car with a compact disc player. Seriously, I saw his eyes light up like he thought I was some yokel coming in off the street -- "Derrr, as long as it's got one-a-dem CD players, I'll take it!"

My favorite is when they talk trash about other dealerships selling the same brand car, like I'm supposed to believe them. When I was shopping for my TSX, I checked out two Acura dealers. One of them is 2 miles down the street from me, let's call them Dealer A. The other is about 20 minutes away, they're Dealer B.

I check out Dealer A first, get their best price from them, then head over to Dealer B since a 20 minute drive to save a boatload of money is worth it. I tell Dealer B the offer I got from A, and that they're not only going to have to match it, but beat it by a good number, because practically me living on the same street as Dealer A makes dropping off my car for service before work extremely convenient, not to mention that Dealer A gives me free car washes and vacuums for as long as I own the car if I buy from them. A nice little perk, especially when they're a block away from the nearest gas station car wash to me that I'd have to pay for.

The salesman at Dealer B can only match A's offer feeds me some BS about how he bought a car from Dealer A a really long time ago and the sales department was fine, but the service department is terrible. Like he honestly expects me to believe him? They guy has everything to gain by me believing that story and buying from him - does he not realize people see right through that nonsense?

Naturally, I purchased the car from Dealer A (and have taken advantage of those free car washes too because damn birds like to use my car as their personal toilet!). I've yet to take my car in for service, and who knows, maybe the guy will be right and their service department is terrible, and I'll regret it. But I doubt it.

[eric/]

Originally Posted by dukebound85

Ah, then 4% is an excellent used interest rate, which tend to be higher than new car rates

Yeah, just on the old used one.

I eventually purchased an Acura TSX that I liked quite a bit, but then I sold it when I finished my tour in the military and now I'm cruising around in a 2003 Honda Element with no car payment.

[DakotaGuy]

Originally Posted by quagmire

Funny how you degrade GM for their past and yet Ford had the same bad past.

My family has owned four GM vehicles. A 1996 Suburban, 2002 Suburban, 2006 Equinox, and my car a 2007 Saturn Aura. The Suburbans are bulletproof. The 2002 Suburban has 90,000 miles and is 11 years old with just regular maintenance done. The 2006 Equinox is 7 years old now with over 110,000 miles. It came with one factory defect( which took 3 dealers trips to correctly diagnose, but that is the dealers fault not GM's) and the fan control unit broke at around 60,000 miles. Other than those minor things, solid as a rock. My Aura is 6 years old with 30,000 miles. So far everything solid.

Ok maybe I should have left the past out of it, but if we are talking right now... today... GM is still selling mediocre vehicles compared to their competition. Look at the Cruze for example... It's not a "bad" car, but there is nothing that makes it stand out and it is easily outclassed by just about every other compact on the market. If you are trying to rebuild your brand you can't just shoot for middle of the road. How about the all new Malibu? Review after review have hammered it and said it is actually a step backwards from the Malibu it replaced. So as far as your Aura is concerned (since it is related to the last Malibu) you would be better keeping it because it is a better car with better materials and room.

Since we are all part owners in GM we should demand they use our money wisely to engineer the best vehicles on the road and not to market 4 brands with too much overlap. I have said it again and again if GM would just focus on being Chevy and Cadillac in North America they could do so much more with their engineering resources. The Chevy Volt is a neat car and does show a lot of engineering genius, but as a business plan it doesn't make sense.

With all that said I don't doubt that you had good service from GM trucks. That is pretty much what kept the company going until gas prices went too high and killed big SUV sales. The Epsilon cars like your Aura are good cars and were pretty class leading when they launched. The problem is GM went backwards with the new model. You can't get ahead taking one step forward and two steps back.

As far as recommending Ford today I just find a lot more positives with their product line. They are focused on basically one brand. Sure Lincoln is still around, but even I question for how long if things don't turn around. If you are putting all your engineering resources into one or two brands you are going to get better products. Plus they are using their worldwide resources and coming up with some pretty neat products like the Focus, new Fusion and the new Escape.

[notjustjay]

Originally Posted by yg17

My favorite is when they talk trash about other dealerships selling the same brand car, like I'm supposed to believe them.

Wow, that's pretty low. I've not had that particular experience yet, though I have had people talk trash about the other maker of "twinned" cars. For example, the salesman from the Pontiac dealership was telling me how much better his Vibe was than the Toyota Matrix. Apparently Vibes had power steering, which was not available on the Matrix.

In the end the most valuable thing I learned from all this was to always do my own research before stepping into a dealership!

[quagmire]

Originally Posted by DakotaGuy

Ok maybe I should have left the past out of it, but if we are talking right now... today... GM is still selling mediocre vehicles compared to their competition. Look at the Cruze for example... It's not a "bad" car, but there is nothing that makes it stand out and it is easily outclassed by just about every other compact on the market. If you are trying to rebuild your brand you can't just shoot for middle of the road. How about the all new Malibu? Review after review have hammered it and said it is actually a step backwards from the Malibu it replaced. So as far as your Aura is concerned (since it is related to the last Malibu) you would be better keeping it because it is a better car with better materials and room.

I like the Cruze. The 1.4T is a peppy motor, handles nicely for what it is( Corolla being the worst driving compact I have driven), interior is pretty good, and gets pretty good fuel economy. The Eco model is ironically the fun one to drive out of the bunch( lower to the ground and 200 lb. lighter). For 2014, it will also be getting a diesel engine.

As for the Malibu, I haven't sat in it or drove the new one yet so I can't judge it on that. But, I do like the design overall of it. The wood trim is tacky, but besides that I really don't mind it. The 2013 Fusion blows it out of the water design wise, but it is still better styled than the Accord and Camry.

Since we are all part owners in GM we should demand they use our money wisely to engineer the best vehicles on the road and not to market 4 brands with too much overlap. I have said it again and again if GM would just focus on being Chevy and Cadillac in North America they could do so much more with their engineering resources. The Chevy Volt is a neat car and does show a lot of engineering genius, but as a business plan it doesn't make sense.

And once you saw the books, you would quickly change your mind on GMC as did the government. GMC is a profit machine for GM. Talk about business sense, it would be a bad decision to kill GMC. Buick is protected by China. Plus, if managed correctly, Buick and Cadillac can coexist as there are different segments in the luxury market. There are people that prefer a real driving car( BMW, Infiniti, Audi, etc) and there are people that like luxury highway cruisers( Mercedes somewhat, Lexus, Lincoln, etc). Cadillac is going after the BMW market with Buick going after the Lexus,Lincoln, etc crowd.

As for the Volt, anything like the Volt doesn't make business sense. The Leaf doesn't make business sense. Most electric vehicles don't make business sense because the technology is not there yet, isn't cheap enough, and the infrastructure isn't built up enough for them. But, the Prius didn't make business sense either. Back when it came out, it lost money big time. I believe Toyota didn't start making money on it until the 3rd gen. It also wasn't selling worth a crap before Katrina sling shotted gas to $3-$4/gallon. The Volt is the best vehicle on the market today when it comes to helping to ease the market/industry into the future of automobiles( now whether electric vehicles are the future, that is another discussion). It is wonderfully designed and engineered. The vehicle works as advertised and despite the political machine that is out to destroy it just to make Obama look bad, is finally picking up steam almost hitting 3,000 sales last month. If I was buying a car any time soon, the Volt would be in my Top 3 as it is perfect for my uses( the car guy in me still wants a more fun to drive vehicle like a Regal GS or the new Cadillac ATS).

I agree in that GM just can't seem to hit the mark on every one of their products. The Sonic, Cruze( IMHO), Volt, Equinox/Terrain, new Impala, XTS, ATS( boy do I love the ATS), HD trucks( light duties are being redesigned for next year), don't even have to mention the 'Vette( also due for a redesign next year). They finally started to show their potential where pre-bankruptcy it was more in pockets. The CTS and Corvette showed you what GM is capable of. But, they just couldn't do it for every product. They have gotten better at it, but the Malibu does look to be a bit of a step back.

As far as recommending Ford today I just find a lot more positives with their product line. They are focused on basically one brand. Sure Lincoln is still around, but even I question for how long if things don't turn around. If you are putting all your engineering resources into one or two brands you are going to get better products. Plus they are using their worldwide resources and coming up with some pretty neat products like the Focus, new Fusion and the new Escape.

GM is also using their worldwide resources as well. The bankruptcy may have slowed down the unification process, but they are unifying their operations like Ford has. Epsilon II is a global platform in which vehicles like the Insignia, Saab 9-5, Malibu, Impala, Regal, LaCrosse, and XTS ride on. Zeta has the Camaro, Holden Commodore/ Chevy SS, Holden/Chevy Caprice( policy only), etc. Alpha will underpin the ATS, CTS, the 6th gen Camaro, etc. The Cruze, new Malibu, Sonic are all being sold globally.

[quagmire]

Originally Posted by notjustjay

Wow, that's pretty low. I've not had that particular experience yet, though I have had people talk trash about the other maker of "twinned" cars. For example, the salesman from the Pontiac dealership was telling me how much better his Vibe was than the Toyota Matrix. Apparently Vibes had power steering, which was not available on the Matrix.

In the end the most valuable thing I learned from all this was to always do my own research before stepping into a dealership!

It isn't surprising that one Acura dealer would trash another Acura dealer. Dealerships are after all independent of the manufacture( I am calling for a change in the BS dealership laws that make it illegal for manufactures to open a corporate dealer. If Apple, AT&T, etc can have corporate stores, GM, Toyota, etc can have corporate dealers). Now if those two dealers were owned by the same guy, that would be bad. But when two independent dealers are involved, they don't care that you are buying an Acura no matter what. They just want you to buy it from them.

Also nothing forcing you to buy from Dealership B if you got a better deal and taking it to Dealership A for service.

[basesloaded190]

Originally Posted by notjustjay

Wow, that's pretty low. I've not had that particular experience yet, though I have had people talk trash about the other maker of "twinned" cars. For example, the salesman from the Pontiac dealership was telling me how much better his Vibe was than the Toyota Matrix. Apparently Vibes had power steering, which was not available on the Matrix.

In the end the most valuable thing I learned from all this was to always do my own research before stepping into a dealership!

I understand the "salesmanship" that comes with selling cars, but flat out lying and coming across as ignorant isn't doing anyone any good, and just makes the salesman look like an ass.

[eric/]

Originally Posted by quagmire

It isn't surprising that one Acura dealer would trash another Acura dealer. Dealerships are after all independent of the manufacture( I am calling for a change in the BS dealership laws that make it illegal for manufactures to open a corporate dealer. If Apple, AT&T, etc can have corporate stores, GM, Toyota, etc can have corporate dealers). Now if those two dealers were owned by the same guy, that would be bad. But when two independent dealers are involved, they don't care that you are buying an Acura no matter what. They just want you to buy it from them.

Also nothing forcing you to buy from Dealership B if you got a better deal and taking it to Dealership A for service.

COMPLETELY agree about corporate dealerships. It doesn't make sense that Ford can't open up, and standardize dealerships and customer service.

[yg17]

Originally Posted by quagmire

It isn't surprising that one Acura dealer would trash another Acura dealer. Dealerships are after all independent of the manufacture( I am calling for a change in the BS dealership laws that make it illegal for manufactures to open a corporate dealer. If Apple, AT&T, etc can have corporate stores, GM, Toyota, etc can have corporate dealers). Now if those two dealers were owned by the same guy, that would be bad. But when two independent dealers are involved, they don't care that you are buying an Acura no matter what. They just want you to buy it from them.

Also nothing forcing you to buy from Dealership B if you got a better deal and taking it to Dealership A for service.

Oh I know that they're competing dealers. I just can't believe that they think talking **** about other dealers actually works.

[basesloaded190]

Going to bump this thread because I have a question that I can't find the answer to. I plan on purchasing the car in Wisconsin for logistical reasons, but I currently live in Minnesota. I was planning on getting temporary plates for Wisconsin and then get Minnesota plates when I drive the car back. The question I have is that WI sales tax is 1.5% lower than MN sales tax. When I bring the car to get MN plates, am I going to have to pay the tax difference between the two states?

[r.j.s]

Originally Posted by basesloaded190

Going to bump this thread because I have a question that I can't find the answer to. I plan on purchasing the car in Wisconsin for logistical reasons, but I currently live in Minnesota. I was planning on getting temporary plates for Wisconsin and then get Minnesota plates when I drive the car back. The question I have is that WI sales tax is 1.5% lower than MN sales tax. When I bring the car to get MN plates, am I going to have to pay the tax difference between the two states?

You may - it depends on MN law.

I know in KY, if you buy a car out of state, you do have to pay the difference in sales tax.

[Huntn]

Originally Posted by McGiord

Did you try the Chevy Cruze or the Dodge Dart?

I drove a rental Jetta and it was not a very comfortable seat, same for the Mazda 3.
What do you say is great gas mileage?

My son has a Cruze. I was surprised at its fit and finish, and that it has a turbocharger tuned for gas economy. He gets 37mpg city driving. This is just as good as my itty bitty Fiat 500.

[Gregg2]

Originally Posted by basesloaded190

Going to bump this thread because I have a question that I can't find the answer to. I plan on purchasing the car in Wisconsin for logistical reasons, but I currently live in Minnesota. I was planning on getting temporary plates for Wisconsin and then get Minnesota plates when I drive the car back. The question I have is that WI sales tax is 1.5% lower than MN sales tax. When I bring the car to get MN plates, am I going to have to pay the tax difference between the two states?

I live in WI, once bought a car in IL. Did not pay any sales tax at purchase. Paid full WI sales tax when I registered the vehicle.

[takao]

Originally Posted by DakotaGuy

As far as recommending Ford today I just find a lot more positives with their product line. They are focused on basically one brand. Sure Lincoln is still around, but even I question for how long if things don't turn around. If you are putting all your engineering resources into one or two brands you are going to get better products. Plus they are using their worldwide resources and coming up with some pretty neat products like the Focus, new Fusion and the new Escape.

Ford's 1 brand/world car attitude (which i like) though is currently costing them dearly in europe
The Ka, Fiesta and Focus sales are tanking in continental europe (about 1.4 billion dollar lost) despite being all three new models and great new little engines

i suspect their very peugeot-random-japanese-brand-crossover-from-7 years-ago design might be at fault

[Tsuchiya]

Save making a new thread, was wondering if I could throw in my question here.

If you guys had £40,000/$60,000 to spend on a four-door sedan, what would you pick? The limitations being: European manufacturers only, has to be new, get decent mileage.

I won't actually be buying, the company I work for is swapping over my beloved VW Tiguan early next year and they'll cover a good portion of the lease on a new car.

I was thinking a Mercedes C Class or something. I've been in a C350 and that thing can really shift. With a few other options it'll be just under budget.

Very smooth for driving the family about, spacious but not as unwieldy as an E-Class (also won't stand out as much...).

Open to offers though. I'm reluctant about BMW or another VW. I can also pick through most other European manufacturers.

[Synchromesh]

For $60K I'd buy something Japanese. European cars we have here are thoroughly disappointing.

[CylonGlitch]

Just share a story that happened to my friend. She was about 23, just graduated college and was going to buy a top end Honda Accord for her commute to work. There were two Honda dealers about 2 miles apart where she lived. She called me from the first dealer and said that they wouldn't give her a test drive unless she put down a deposit. I told her to thank them, and walk out and go to the next dealer. . . she did.

Later that night she had her brand new Accord.

What the first dealer didn't know was is that her daddy is loaded, I mean REALLY loaded. She was sitting there with almost $40,000 in CASH in her purse. She wanted everything in the car, didn't really care about the price, but she wanted to be treated nicely.

I told her to go back to Dealer #1 the next day and show them her beautiful new car and tell them how much over sticker she paid. She laughed, but I don't think she did it.

[basesloaded190]

Originally Posted by CylonGlitch

Just share a story that happened to my friend. She was about 23, just graduated college and was going to buy a top end Honda Accord for her commute to work. There were two Honda dealers about 2 miles apart where she lived. She called me from the first dealer and said that they wouldn't give her a test drive unless she put down a deposit. I told her to thank them, and walk out and go to the next dealer. . . she did.

Later that night she had her brand new Accord.

What the first dealer didn't know was is that her daddy is loaded, I mean REALLY loaded. She was sitting there with almost $40,000 in CASH in her purse. She wanted everything in the car, didn't really care about the price, but she wanted to be treated nicely.

I told her to go back to Dealer #1 the next day and show them her beautiful new car and tell them how much over sticker she paid. She laughed, but I don't think she did it.

I can understand a deposit for say a Porsche or something in the 50k+ range, but for a Honda Accord?

[Eli727]

Originally Posted by basesloaded190

I can understand a deposit for say a Porsche or something in the 50k+ range, but for a Honda Accord?

I had a Subaru dealership tell me I had to sign the papers before I could test drive a WRX - I was young but what they didnt know is that I had the cash for the car. Their loss. I walked out.

----------

Forgot to even respond to the OP question.

I have a 2011 Mazda 3 Hatchback I bought brand new about a year and half ago. Its a wonderful car. I shopped all the cars in the segment (The current Jetta has just come out- very dissapointed in the interior quality feel so I knocked it off right away and I am a big German car fan).

Im close to 30k miles now- still love it- no problems. Handles more like a german car than a japanese car and is a lot of fun to drive, most fun to drive for the price IMO. I have the 6spd with the 2.5 (not Skyactive) and I average about 27-28mpg mixed. Not bad considering its rated at 27mpg hwy...

Dont think you can go wrong with the Mazda 3! I look forward to mine for years to come and I usually dont keep my cars more than a few years.

[notjustjay]

Originally Posted by Eli727

I had a Subaru dealership tell me I had to sign the papers before I could test drive a WRX - I was young but what they didnt know is that I had the cash for the car. Their loss. I walked out.

As I posted a few pages back, it was the local Subaru dealer that completely ignored me too the first time I went in there. Granted I wasn't dressed to kill but I wasn't dressed like a slob either, just a button-up shirt and cargo pants. But the Subaru dealerships here also deal in Mercedes and BMW so I think they're trying to be upscale.

Like you, I walked out. While I didn't have a purse full of cash, I might have been prepared to buy a car that day. Their loss.