Purchasing New Car

[JoeWras]

I had friend who at about age 70 bought a new truck. He told everyone "This'll be my last truck, so I wanted it nice. I got all the bells and whistles." 5 years later, he decided the "new" truck wasn't quite what he wanted, so he bought another new truck. "This'll be my last truck, etc., etc." Friend just died at 87. He was on his THIRD new truck.

Good luck with your new vehicle. Just don't be surprised if it's NOT your last new car! ENJOY!

Ha ha.

DW is talking this way. We're only 60. Yes, we keep cars a long time, usually 15+ years. I have to remind her that I hope she's still going well at age 75.

 

[braumeister]

I'm seeing a lot of Tellurides around here, so they are obviously very popular. And I just got a new Consumer Reports magazine yesterday that recommended it as well. Should be a good choice for you.

 

[Car-Guy]

I had friend who at about age 70 bought a new truck. He told everyone "This'll be my last truck, so I wanted it nice. I got all the bells and whistles." 5 years later, he decided the "new" truck wasn't quite what he wanted, so he bought another new truck. "This'll be my last truck, etc., etc." Friend just died at 87. He was on his THIRD new truck.

Good luck with your new vehicle. Just don't be surprised if it's NOT your last new car! ENJOY!

In my case, as long as I can still drive, I'm pretty sure I'll buy my last new vehicle 12 to 18mos before I kick the bucket.


BTW, FWIW, I got a huge discount (off the MSRP) on my last new vehicle I bought in May. Something like over 12k off the sticker, so the good old days are coming back. Also, the lot was full of new cars/trucks/suv's. OR, maybe they are jacking up the MSRP so they can discount them.

 

[aja8888]

In my case, as long as I can still drive, I'm pretty sure I'll buy my last new vehicle 12 to 18mos before I kick the bucket.


BTW, FWIW, I got a huge discount (off the MSRP) on my last new vehicle I bought in May. Something like over 12k off the sticker, so the good old days are coming back. Also, the lot was full of new cars/trucks/suv's. OR, maybe they are jacking up the MSRP so they can discount them.

Nice job! I may buy myself a Corvette or nice sporty vehicle before I "move on" too!

 

[Car-Guy]

Nice job! I may buy myself a Corvette or nice sporty vehicle before I "move on" too!

Get a convertible. At our age(s) it helps a lot so we can get in and out of the vehicle. But I'm sure you already know that!

 

[aja8888]

Get a convertible. At our age(s) it helps a lot so we can get in and out of the vehicle. But I'm sure you already know that!

Yes, I just sold my Mustang convertible!

 

[JoeWras]

In my case, as long as I can still drive, I'm pretty sure I'll buy my last new vehicle 12 to 18mos before I kick the bucket.


BTW, FWIW, I got a huge discount (off the MSRP) on my last new vehicle I bought in May. Something like over 12k off the sticker, so the good old days are coming back. Also, the lot was full of new cars/trucks/suv's. OR, maybe they are jacking up the MSRP so they can discount them.

Or maybe nobody wants a Mitsubishi, Stellantis, Ford or GM vehicle.

(Running and ducking for cover. )

 

[Koolau]

Nice job! I may buy myself a Corvette or nice sporty vehicle before I "move on" too!

Heh, heh, I'll just tell DW that I'm pre-planning my funeral - and the Vette is my casket. Think she'll buy it? No, I don't think so either. Nice dream, though.

 

[Car-Guy]

Or maybe nobody wants a Mitsubishi, [-]Stellantis[/-], Ford [-]or GM[/-] vehicle.

(Running and ducking for cover. )

There, fixed it for you.

 

[ncbill]

Not a fan of car loans for a few reasons.

One of the bigger PIA part is if you have a loan and you go to sell the car say 10 years from now after it's paid off you need to have the loan release or its not going to happen, at least in our state. So the best approach is if you had a loan that has been satisfied is to goto the DMV and get a new title with no lien (clear title). Either that or never lose the loan release.

Well, if they're offering a 0.9% rate it ain't gonna be for 10 years.

More like 3, maybe 4 years at the most.

I'd happily take that offer & handle any title paperwork myself once paid off.

If I ever buy another new vehicle again.

My older relatives either stop driving or just...stop & I then get their vehicles essentially for free.

 

[Koolau]

Well, if they're offering a 0.9% rate it ain't gonna be for 10 years.

More like 3, maybe 4 years at the most.

I'd happily take that offer & handle any title paperwork myself once paid off.

If I ever buy another new vehicle again.

My older relatives either stop driving or just...stop & I then get their vehicles essentially for free.

Yeah, if you can make the loan w*rk for you, the other stuff is just the stuff you have to do. It's been so long since I've had a car loan, I forgot about the clear title stuff. IIRC, my last loan, my FCU sent the info to the DMV and they sent me the clear title - but maybe my memory is wrong after 40 years.

 

[gwill1010]

Bought a new Mazda cx-50 2 months ago. No discount for cash. BUT if you financed at 0.9%, for 3 years, you got a $500 rebate. The rebate is more than the 3 year finance cost (so basically 0% financing), so I will just keep the loan and put it on autopay.

In my mom's case there was not penalty for early payoff.

 

[stephenson]

Re Telluride - we looked at it and sister Hyundai Palisade, but markups over MSRP are criminal in my mind. Criminal.

Bought a very nice Subaru Ascent. Nice car. Zero issues thus far at 36,000 miles.

 

[JoeWras]

Re Telluride - we looked at it and sister Hyundai Palisade, but markups over MSRP are criminal in my mind. Criminal.

Bought a very nice Subaru Ascent. Nice car. Zero issues thus far at 36,000 miles.

Having owned Toyotas and now a Honda, I still think my Subaru is the best of the "most wanted" bunch.

At 14 years and 152k miles, I am so darn impressed. Repairs so far total less than $1000. Maintenance has been reasonable, with the timing belt being the largest price item.

Just don't let the secret out.

Subbies do have their issues too. They are not perfect. But overall...

 

[CardsFan]

In my mom's case there was not penalty for early payoff.

No penalty in my case either, but the money I would use is paying 4%. Why pay it off?

 

[brett]

Given the choice of taking free money or leaving it on the table I would always go with the former rather than the latter.

 

[Idnar7]

Thank you all for the most helpful feedback.

 

[lauradrops]

We had negotiated a price over the phone for a car purchase and trade in and went in to the dealership to sign all the paperwork. They had never asked how we would be paying for it. When they found out it would be a cash purchase, they said there would be a $2000 fee added for a cash purchase. We walked out and bought elsewhere.

 

[Koolau]

We had negotiated a price over the phone for a car purchase and trade in and went in to the dealership to sign all the paperwork. They had never asked how we would be paying for it. When they found out it would be a cash purchase, they said there would be a $2000 fee added for a cash purchase. We walked out and bought elsewhere.

I love it. Some sales guy had been licking his chops and when he heard "cash" I'm sure his heart sunk, 'cause his commission was contingent on getting you to finance the deal.

We did a cash deal years ago and they sat us down in a room and tried to show how we'd be better off financing at 9%. I had to restrain myself from laughing.

 

[Badger]

Generally the dealers don't want your dirty ol' cash or check. They want you to finance it so if you're going to pay cash don't let them know until the end. As others said get the out the door price first, then discuss financing (if any) and trade-in (if any). Those are three separate transactions and should be treated as such.

Our last car we intended to pay cash but the dealer wouldn't do the deal if we didn't finance, then his next sentence was "There's no penalty for prepayment" so that's what we did. I suspect he had some contract with Honda Finance that required it, so okay, we still saved several grand (this was well pre-covid) after paying the $40 or so for one month's interest on it.

+1
We did the same thing for our Hyundai Santa Fe a few years ago. We also made a down payment for a few thousand on a CC for a bit of rebate on the card. This is the only time I have linked my payment to a debit.
I really dislike making monthly loan payments for anything yet don't like linking our bank account to a debit. We only make a few payments like electricity, water, and CC payoff that we control through our CU.

Cheers!

 

[pjigar]

It depends. Ask dealer what's the all cash price vs best financed "price" (not the payment). Apparently some dealers have hard time talking price and are trained hard to talk payment.

The last new car we bought 10 years ago: I had cash for the car but apparently dealer had better incentives if I financed so we financed. Be sure to read fine print on pre-payment. Dealer incentives were dependent on a term that I keep the loan for at least 3 months so I gave a gentleman promise to dealer to not pay off before 3-months. We paid off loan on 4th month. Everyone was happy.

PS: I just read post#16 which is inline with my experience. I like to be candid and firm when I deal with dealers (keeps my dance time on a lower end). I lead with all the cards on table and I generally get best deal (but do your math and research about invoice price, dealer incentives, etc. before you talk). If I don't get a deal, then I walk. There are several dealers around our metroplex. But if you don't have many dealers then negotiate without talking about cash payment and reveal cash option last minute!

 

[aja8888]

I love it. Some sales guy had been licking his chops and when he heard "cash" I'm sure his heart sunk, 'cause his commission was contingent on getting you to finance the deal.

We did a cash deal years ago and they sat us down in a room and tried to show how we'd be better off financing at 9%. I had to restrain myself from laughing.

9% financing? When did you buy your last new car....in the 90's . Today's deals are not even close to being the same as back then. (and there are no "deals" it seems anymore.

 

[Koolau]

9% financing? When did you buy your last new car....in the 90's . Today's deals are not even close to being the same as back then. (and there are no "deals" it seems anymore.

Yes. Last new car was a '91. I don't actually recall the offered % financing. I was just thinking it was about 9%.

 

[aaronc879]

Typically you can negotiate a lower price by financing a portion, then pay it off when the first payment is due. If you choose to pay cash, don’t tell them. Work to negotiate an out the door price. Ignore the fees they try to push on you. If it’s taxable it’s negotiable.

Are dealers back to negotiating? When I bought my new car early last year every dealer was asking MSRP, nothing higher or lower, no negotiating. At least they weren't asking above MSRP like in a lot of places around the country.

 

[TrvlBug]

We purchased DH's 2017 car in late 2017 and received a $750 incentive for financing. We only had to wait until it hit the system before we could pay it off. Both dealer and we were happy .

My car, a 2023 EV purchased in fall of 2022 offered no incentives so we paid cash. At least we didn't have to pay over MSRP (we would have walked and waited until pricing came back down to earth). The car did not qualify for the $7,500 tax credit under the new rules. A few months later, the mfg/dealer offered the $7,500 credit if one leased. Quite annoyed that we just missed this opportunity .

DH's car is going in next week for yearly service and we'll be looking at their 'offerings' for a new one! They wanted a $15,000 markup on the EV we were also considering. We walked.