Buy a New Car.. Need Help Please.

[shugknight]

So this is a sad confession. In my 31 years of life, I have never bought a new car. I've had many cars that I've owned, but I have never bought a new one for myself. In HS, my mother bought me a new car, but that's about the extent of my car buying knowledge. Another sad confession? I know nothing about cars. I have a 97 Wrangler, which I like to play with and fix up, but most of that is researched on Google or Youtube where I can have pics of what part is what, and what I'm suppose to do.

Now my wife and I have made a decision to buy a new car and I already admitted to her that I know nothing about cars and especially know nothing about what to ask or what to look for when buying a new car.

So now I need your help OS. What do I need to do, ask, say to get the best deal when buying a new car?

If it helps, we're looking into buying a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. We have an 11 month old daughter, which is the sole reason we're buying a new car.

Any help, suggestions, tips, words of advice would be greatly appreciated.

[p_rushing]

Re: Buy a New Car.. Need Help Please.

Go read the car research sites, but really those are for helping you decide and compare cars. They should have some info on what to do when buying a car. For the best deals, it really all depends. If you know what you want and know what the max you want to pay, then ask what the best deal they will give you is. Then if it is lower, you can take it or leave. You can always haggle for free oil changes, upgrades, etc. but it is really a hassle. Usually towards the end of the month they want to deal more to make their sales targets, but again it all is a big mess.

For financing, it is a lot easier if you get your own money from your Credit Union (best interest rates usually) or bank. If the car dealer offers rebates for financing with them, you usually only have to pay 3 months and then can finance through your bank.

If you have any deals with your company, it is a lot easier. My company gets either invoice or near invoice prices with most companies and I just walk in with a paper and say I want that car and here is my price.

edmunds.com, cars.com, etc

[dales]

Re: Buy a New Car.. Need Help Please.

Check out edmunds.com. They have car buying guides, reviews and you can look at inventory from different dealers there, too. Definitely shop around for financing and pay special attention to credit unions as they usually offer the best rate. And you can always Google dealerships and see reviews about them and find one you think you'd be most comfortable with.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Buy a New Car.. Need Help Please.

So this is a sad confession. In my 31 years of life, I have never bought a new car. I've had many cars that I've owned, but I have never bought a new one for myself. In HS, my mother bought me a new car, but that's about the extent of my car buying knowledge. Another sad confession? I know nothing about cars. I have a 97 Wrangler, which I like to play with and fix up, but most of that is researched on Google or Youtube where I can have pics of what part is what, and what I'm suppose to do.

Now my wife and I have made a decision to buy a new car and I already admitted to her that I know nothing about cars and especially know nothing about what to ask or what to look for when buying a new car.

So now I need your help OS. What do I need to do, ask, say to get the best deal when buying a new car?

If it helps, we're looking into buying a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. We have an 11 month old daughter, which is the sole reason we're buying a new car.

Any help, suggestions, tips, words of advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have the 2012 hybrid model, bought it for my wife about 6 weeks ago. That car kicks ***......pretty damn awesome car. Honestly I wouldn't even get the 2013 model, just get a new 2012 model, which amazingly up here anyway they have a lot of those, I was surprised, guess they ordered too many of them. I saw the 2013 model, no different then then 2012 model except the price. 2013 model cost $700 more but yet nothing was added to it.

Very roomy car in the front and back. Car was built for 5 tall adults to fit comfortably in the car at the same time. And the back up camera greatly improved my wife's parking ability and her getting out of store parking spaces.

I myself enjoy the room and enjoy the power. That thing can take off on the highway.

[mgoblue]

Re: Buy a New Car.. Need Help Please.

I haven't gotten a new car ever (but our next one will probably be new).

I do think it's a lot easier now than it was in the past. Now you pick between a couple versions of trim/features, but once you know the model and color it's fairly simple.

In the past you used to be able to "order" a car with whatever features you wanted, but they've limited that a bit to save money over time...

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but just seems how the industry's going nowadays.

[seasprite]

Re: Buy a New Car.. Need Help Please.

My first bit of advice would be to not purchase a NEW car........the depreciation the moment you drive down the road is sickening. I would look into a year old "program car" from whatever dealership you like. Cars.com is an excellent site to see what kind of vehicle you want and also a good tool to search local dealership inventory. You would be amazed at how much cheaper you can get a 2012 with under 12,000 miles. Just my .02

[cardsfan2222]

Re: Buy a New Car.. Need Help Please.

Make sure you know what the total price you're paying is, and not just the payments per month. A lot of dealerships will focus on the monthly payment, and can easily lower that by tacking on another year or 2. Make sure you know exactly what you're paying, and for how long.

[23]

If you have Credit union, get the financing from them then ask the dealer for the sticker price instead

Will save you tons of interest

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[cjonesfan921]

Re: Buy a New Car.. Need Help Please.

If you have Credit union, get the financing from them then ask the dealer for the sticker price instead

Will save you tons of interest

Sent from my LG-LS840 using Tapatalk 2

You can definitely get below sticker price though. However, yes, get your financing set before-hand. That way all you have to worry about going into the dealer, is the price.

Dealerships, as mentioned here, may try and pull a fast one. Most shoppers go in there and want the dealer to handle everything, you may not always get the best rate, etc.

[jhogan3132]

I sold cars for Toyota for 2 years. If you have any specific questions shoot me a pm and I can set you up for success.

Edit: There are a few important things to remember. Always negotiate the price of the car prior to talking any financing options. Alwas talk with your lending institution prior to going to the delearship so you have a firm grasp on current rates. Dealers use many lenders so you may be able to actually get a better rate from the dealer. That being said, the dealerships are paid on "the back end" based on the interest rate you agree to, so you need to know current rates.

Never discuss a trade until you have agreed on a price. More often then not dealerships can move money out of the profit of the new car and put it into the trade in value of your exsisting car making it seem as you are getting more for your current vehicle. Negotiating the price of the new car first will allow you to get the true amount they are offering you on your trade in.

Dealers also have "hold back money" assigned to every invoice of every car on the lot. This money is used to offset interest that the dealer pays the manufacturer for every day the vehicle is on the lot. This hold back only offsets the cost for 45 days, so finding a car that has sat longer than that time is beneficial for you as it now cost the dealership money for every day the car sits.

Many people start car shopping 6 months before they make a buying decision, so letting the dealer know your time table will help motivate them to be aggressive.

Lastly I would strongly encourage leasing a vehicle. As someone earlier said, vehicles depreciate quickly. The majority of car purchases are financed over 60 months but these same owners look to change vehicles at the 40 month mark. Leasing allows the owner options because they are only paying the amount of depreciation over the life of the lease. At the end of the lease you then have an option to purchase the vehicle, have it appraised, (for the rare occasion that it's worth is more than the buyout), or just turn it in. I know the argument is always, "you don't own the car" but that is still the case if you finance it over 60 months. Just consider that we buy things that appreciate and lease things that don't. The lowering cost of technology and the abundance of new options are some of the reasons why corporations lease computer equipment and the same can be said about cars.

Samsung Galaxy Note II

[FlyingFinn]

Re: Buy a New Car.. Need Help Please.

If you have Credit union, get the financing from them then ask the dealer for the sticker price instead

Will save you tons of interest

Sent from my LG-LS840 using Tapatalk 2

Paying Sticker is for suckers... I have only bought 3 new cars in my life but I have never played sticker. The most I have ever payed is invoice cost and I am sure the dealer still made money.

[bigfnjoe96]

Re: Buy a New Car.. Need Help Please.

Just brought my wife a FIAT 500 L Trekking. Really nice car. We've been driving a 2006 Vibe for 8 years now.

Got great deal and the dealer was really nice to work with.

Picking up on Friday




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[Matt10]

Re: Buy a New Car.. Need Help Please.

Nothing to contribute - but don't feel low, Shug - I'm 29 and have never bought a new car for myself either. Never even had a new car, all "hand me downs" - that aren't really at all - most recently a Rav4, which was my mom's - and I just pay her monthly (no interest...other than the odd computer support service lol).

[bigfnjoe96]

Re: Buy a New Car.. Need Help Please.

BTW Shug this is my 1st auto purchase also and I'm in my mid 40's

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[bigfnjoe96]

Re: Buy a New Car.. Need Help Please.

Well we picked up the Fiat 500 L Trekking. Drives beautifully with that Italian Interior design.

Will post some more pics tomorrow



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