Re: New To Buying Cars...Have Some Questions From Experienced Buyers
Very informative 
Some thoughts:
1) Try and get pre-qualified from your bank (even better if its a credit union as they usually have lower rates). Even if you finance through the dealership, you sometimes can use this as leverage to get a lower rate through them. We were originally offered like 7% through the dealership, but were qualified at 4.9% from our c.u....all of a sudden the dealership was able to give us 4.79%...Amazing!
2) Never negotiate the payment. Only negotiate the price. If you tell them you don't want to pay more than x a month. They will find the worst ways to make it work (high interest loans with longer than normal terms).
3) When you get pre-qualified from your bank, compare those terms vs. cash back options from the dealer. If you have great credit and can get qualified at a low rate from your bank, then the cash back option is probably best. The low interest offers tend to be best for those that typically qualify for 9-10% loans.
4) If you have to use the dealerships lender to take advantage of cash back rebates, ask if there is a pre-payment penalty. If not, often you can wait a month and then refinance (usually at no or very little cost) the loan with your bank and have the best of both worlds.
5) When you buy a new car, they will offer you all sorts of other crap (wind shield, dent, rust, interior protections...say no to all that crap...it's way over priced).
6) Also I wouldn't recommend signing up for their maintenance plans. They often are non-transferable if you sell the car and typically are only valid with that dealership, so if you move, you are s.o.l.
7) If you are trading in your car:
a) negotiate the new car and the trade in separately....and both are negotiable.
b) you'll almost always get more selling your car on your own to another private party, but it will likely take more time. Plus you don't have to pay sales tax on the difference between the price of the car and the price of the car less trade in (If you buy a new car for $20K and trade in a car for $5K, you only pay sales tax on the $15K (could be several hundred dollars).
8) MOST IMPORTANT (IMO) - if you know what car you want, go through the dealerships internet department. You will almost always get a better deal, with absolutely no hassle. Unless you love the game of buying a car, which I loathe, you will save both time and money going this route. Typically, in my experience, you should be able to get it from $100-$500 above invoice.
To do this, just go to the website, click on the car you want and then there should be something that says click to get a quote. They'll contact you with an offer.
9) If you get something slightly used, you're going to save money. You let some one else take the initial depreciation hit. Obviously you may lose some warranty life and you may have a scratch or a stain, but it may save you several thousand.
Anyway, I've bought two cars (one brand new, one slightly used) in the last three years, so I'm somewhat familiar with the game.
1) Try and get pre-qualified from your bank (even better if its a credit union as they usually have lower rates). Even if you finance through the dealership, you sometimes can use this as leverage to get a lower rate through them. We were originally offered like 7% through the dealership, but were qualified at 4.9% from our c.u....all of a sudden the dealership was able to give us 4.79%...Amazing!
2) Never negotiate the payment. Only negotiate the price. If you tell them you don't want to pay more than x a month. They will find the worst ways to make it work (high interest loans with longer than normal terms).
3) When you get pre-qualified from your bank, compare those terms vs. cash back options from the dealer. If you have great credit and can get qualified at a low rate from your bank, then the cash back option is probably best. The low interest offers tend to be best for those that typically qualify for 9-10% loans.
4) If you have to use the dealerships lender to take advantage of cash back rebates, ask if there is a pre-payment penalty. If not, often you can wait a month and then refinance (usually at no or very little cost) the loan with your bank and have the best of both worlds.
5) When you buy a new car, they will offer you all sorts of other crap (wind shield, dent, rust, interior protections...say no to all that crap...it's way over priced).
6) Also I wouldn't recommend signing up for their maintenance plans. They often are non-transferable if you sell the car and typically are only valid with that dealership, so if you move, you are s.o.l.
7) If you are trading in your car:
a) negotiate the new car and the trade in separately....and both are negotiable.
b) you'll almost always get more selling your car on your own to another private party, but it will likely take more time. Plus you don't have to pay sales tax on the difference between the price of the car and the price of the car less trade in (If you buy a new car for $20K and trade in a car for $5K, you only pay sales tax on the $15K (could be several hundred dollars).
8) MOST IMPORTANT (IMO) - if you know what car you want, go through the dealerships internet department. You will almost always get a better deal, with absolutely no hassle. Unless you love the game of buying a car, which I loathe, you will save both time and money going this route. Typically, in my experience, you should be able to get it from $100-$500 above invoice.
To do this, just go to the website, click on the car you want and then there should be something that says click to get a quote. They'll contact you with an offer.
9) If you get something slightly used, you're going to save money. You let some one else take the initial depreciation hit. Obviously you may lose some warranty life and you may have a scratch or a stain, but it may save you several thousand.
Anyway, I've bought two cars (one brand new, one slightly used) in the last three years, so I'm somewhat familiar with the game.
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