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RyanAmysMom
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So weird, car buying. I went to CarMax for my last purchase a few years back. I'd seen the vehicle online and they shipped it to a closer dealer. I had an existing loan via a credit union on one of the broken vehicles in my driveway. When I applied for a loan for the CarMax car, having the credit union loan wasn't a problem. I got a ride to their place from a neighbor who drove for Lyft; when I got there, the salespeople were disappointed -- they told me a lot of them were hoping I wouldn't come to get the car because so many wanted it. It was clean and low-mileage. I did all the paperwork and drove my (new to me) vehicle home. A few days later, I get a call from the loan people, saying they were not going to approve my loan because of the other one, which wasn't behind or anything. No one could answer me about why it was a problem. I argued that if it had been a problem, they should have never approved me and told CarMax everything was fine. CarMax contacted them as well and somehow, in the background, it got resolved. However, it took about three or four months. Dreadful stress, that was.

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On 7/3/2019 at 6:54 AM, laurie27 said:

Melissa, I have to buy a new car by August and I am really scared, Mark always took care of those decisions. The only thing I know for sure is it will be a lot smaller, which is what I prefer. So congratulations on buying that car! Good for you.

Laurie, if you can arrange your financing in advance from your bank or credit union that helps. One less item for you at the dealer. Some car insurance companies offer GAP at a much lower cost than the dealer. They try to sell you all sorts of products and "protections" in the dealer's finance/business office. Most you can do without. It's a large profit center for the dealership. 

 

Car buying is stressful. There are so many ways to profit from our lack of negotiating skills. The sales person is a skilled negotiator. I'm am not. No way I will beat the house. Once I strike a deal and take delivery I don't discuss details with anyone. If I think it was a fair deal it was. No need to listen to the neighbor grind on that his cousin could have sold it to you for half price. lol

 

There are a few car buying tips at this site. https://ficoforums.myfico.com  Check the auto loan subforum.

 

Good luck!

 

 

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soloact -- that is so true! I had my financing in place before going to CarMax. It was pretty seamless on that end of things. 

 

At this point in our lives, it is important that we know how to do all sorts of things. It is not sufficient to leave it and not learn; I count myself very fortunate because as an only child, my dad refused to raise a daughter who couldn't do for herself. Part of that was due to marrying my mom LOL! She was the only girl out of four children and fell roughly in the middle (two older brothers and one younger); she was helpless when they got married. Didn't know how to drive or do any sort of mechanical anything. I bought her the first tool set she ever owned and that was several years after my dad died. She still, nearly 25 years after his death, doesn't really know how to use anything in it. She buys her cars from the same dealership she's dealt with for all this time; her companion doesn't buy from them and neither do my uncles, but she feels comfortable there. So much so that when her primary salesman died, she went to the funeral. 

 

After being widowed twice, I can do pretty much anything around the house. I make all the purchase decisions. Having my partner here means I've had to pull back on some of that so he feels a part. I ask him for advice on the things I know he knows more about than I do and ask him to fix things, even if I could do it myself or pay to have it done. I try to be less independent in some of those areas but have no problem doing what needs doing ...

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Thank you soloact and arneal, I never thought about getting the financing in place before going to the dealer. I was just thinking I had to take care of the car insurance (both the car and the insurance are in his name). Thanks for that, I plan to actually start going to look by next week. I have to turn the car in by September 5, not August. August is the last payment, so after that I can turn it in at any time. This car is a lease, I'm not sure if I should lease again, or just buy a used car. I have a friend who going to go shopping with me, and her husband offered to look at any used car to check it out. Thank goodness for friends. 

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Yes, laurie, you never know. The first husband bought a car once but I made all the payments. I called them to get the loan turned over to me and Ford Credit said no. I had every check for every payment made. All were from my own bank account. It didn't matter. I let the damned thing get repo'ed -- it was in a dead man's name at that point. I drove it to a place where I'd bought a car for myself, used and asked them to send the repo truck to get it. The repo guy said it was the cleanest car he'd ever had to pick up. I told him what happened and he apologized and was angry with me LOL. It was like the weekend before my birthday that year. Mind you, the little used car dealership was glad to help me get in something else; I'd sold the car I'd purchased from them to help pay for the first husband's funeral (no insurance). It was about 10 at night when all the paperwork was done. I put my son's carseat in the new-to-me car and drove to my mom's for the weekend to celebrate my birthday. Helluva thing.

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Good luck on car buying, Laurie.   I bought one soon after DH died and semi-cried through the whole process.  Car salesman must have thought I was nuts - I didn't get a good deal and looking back I should have brought somebody with me.  Since then, I helped both kids get their cars and it was okay.  

 

My daughter helped me downsize a storage unit today to another one half the size and half the price.  I'm pretty amazed at what I've been paying good money to store for the past five years. :(   Sort, purge donate .... baby steps

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Arneal, your story is exactly why I have never told Ford Credit what happened. I have heard stories where they want the car back, and the lease payments. So...thanks for the story. Trying2breathe, yes I am glad I am not going to do it alone, and good job on the downsizing, that takes a lot of work and sometimes can trigger memories. So Hugs to you.

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I was so annoyed as you can imagine, Laurie! I mean, I was paying for that car. Sod it that it was in his name -- we were legally married. One would thing that would count for a little grace, especially under the circumstances. And I was never late on a payment. So disappointed in them. Funny -- I have a Ford now again (Flex this time) and am irritated at the way the dealership charges for simple things! I had them detail it once; it was well over $100 and they didn't do the entire interior! I told them my check engine light was on -- like $165 or so just for the diagnostic, no repair at all included in that! At least their oil changes for full synthetic are on par. However, I likely won't be going back to them for anything. Horrible.

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I've never leased a vehicle so I can't speak to that. There is something called money factor (I think) that is similar to interest rate on a purchase. So many things when we get a car. No wonder it's stressful. Laurie, I'm blessed with an honest, very competent mechanic. He did a PPI on a used car I almost bought. 

 

Good luck, Laurie when you go car shopping. Please post back and let us know how that is going. Wishing you a smooth transaction. 

 

arneal, you know how to do everything. Next time I'm taking you with me. I'm impressed!

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Blessed indeed, arneal.  My Dad insisted on teaching me how to change a tire and check the oil.  It's come in handy over the years.  As for buying a car, I had to figure that one out on my own.  Usually I'm pretty good at negotiating, but it took awhile after DH died to get some of that back.  

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Gearing up to buy a 2nd car as my teen will be driving soon.  Thankfully, LH and I researched together, so I have that part easily.  The negotiation.  Not so much.  But I am preparing and that is what he did. And I understand you have to be ready to just walk out.  And there is another vehicle as they are sold everywhere, so I will get a vehicle.  CASH?  Someone said they don't deal well? I guess I thought it would be better. This is what I got, take it or I am leaving. I have a few more months.

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This is a big subject for us, maybe we should start a Car Purchasing thread.  :) 

 

Not sure if paying cash gives a better deal, but it does take away figuring out the financing details.  My process:  each kid had a certain car in mind and an inventory of those vehicles was on-line, so we researched what was available in our area and we pretty much knew going in to the dealership specific cars on the lot we were interested in.  Then checked CarFax for history on those particular vehicles.   Going in, we already knew the cars we wanted to see, the asking price and car history of those vehicles.  Didn't tell the sales person this though.   We did some test drives, and went from there.  I told my kids to go along with whatever I said 😉 "you can't possibly afford that one!"  - in trying to negotiate a better price.   Anyway - just my process the last two times.  

 

Anybody else have some good car buying tips?  

Edited by trying2breathe
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T2B, the only thing I can add is that CarFax usually only has info reported by auto insurers regarding accidents. Reporting is voluntary so some info my not be on the CarFax. AutoCheck is supposed to be another good one. I have no direct experience as I did the dumb thing and bought new. Lost money while I was signing the title documents.

 

I agree that a separate section for the trauma of buying a car could be helpful. 

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Cash sales can work well. When you negotiate it's not necessary to let them know you are a cash buyer. Negotiate you best price first. They can learn the method of payment once the price is determined.

 

I had one instance when a dealer pulled the sale after finally realizing it was a cash deal. No opportuity to make money on me at the back end. I left and bought a car somewhere else. 

 

They're all nuts! The place I bought tried to hard sell me a color I didn't want. Another dealer had two exactly like mine on the lot and one in transit priced to sell. 

 

Compare inventory on the I'net. TrueCar has a bar graph showing what same or similar cars are selling for in your area or nationally. They did  the last time I looked anyway. You can beat the price TC indicates easily. It's a ceiling, not a floor. 

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My last car came from Carmax. I highly recommend the one in my area at least; the car I researched and wanted was about 90 miles away and they shipped it to one closer to me for free. Their costs for bringing cars from farther away seemed reasonable when I looked. I would go to them again.

 

CarFax also provides info on maintenance in basic, like recalls. I just took my car to Valvoline for an oil change (recommend the one near me as well -- 15 minutes, topped off fluids, checked and added air to tires, no upsells but information on what maintenance should be done at the current mileage) and they pulled a CarFax report that showed no recalls and the type of oil, etc. to be used in my car. Next is transmission fluid for me, so I'll be back at Valvoline for that too. No more dealer for me, if I can help it, for things like that :)

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arneal, I agree with you on dealer service.  I've kept cars forever by avoiding the dealer once the car is out of warranty. Locating a good honest mechanic is key. 

 

Thanks for correcting my CafFax omission. Service records are included if performed at a provider that reports to CarFax.  My point was that some issues may be omitted as reporting is voluntary. I worded that badly. 

 

 

You made made things clear. Thanks for that!

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Appreciate the information on CarFax, I wasn't sure how thorough the information is there, so thanks.   

 

Agree that it's nuts out there, buyer beware.   When my son bought his car - certified pre-owned, he was given just one car key.  When we asked about a second key, the salesman said that they didn't have one.  So it would have been on my son to get a second key made and programmed, over $200.   Checked around and found that yes, a second key should be included with the purchase of a certified pre-owned vehicle.  I'll add that it was a Subaru dealership - we've had good experience with Subarus but this particular dealership was an exception.   Made a fuss about it, and finally we got that second key.   Frustrating!

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T2B, some dealers will certify a car that has been wrecked. It is nuts out there. A PPI performed by a competent honest mechanic can save save a lot of headaches. 

 

Glad your son got the second key. They are pricy to have programmed at the dealer. With some models only the dealer or auto locksmith can cut the physical key. 

 

Too much gismology IMHO.

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I'm grateful that NG is a mechanic, he helps with so many things like this.  And he's teaching both of my kids how to maintain their cars :) 

 

Yeah, agree that pre-owned certified is only as good as the deanship - we've been lucky so far with the ones that we've bought over the years.  One of the biggest benefits IMHO getting POC is that there is usually an extended warranty on these cars.  So at least there's a few years covered for any big repairs.  

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