Car buying tips?

[gooddog]

If you pay cash when buying a new car should you expect to pay more or less?

You will probably pay more if it is a cash deal - as odd as that sounds. The manufactures have their own 'banks', and are looking to finance your car so they can make the interest. Many will give you an incentive of a $500 discount on the car if you finance with them. Typically you have to borrow at least 5k, and make payments for 6 months for it to count. If you pay the loan off before 6 months they 'may' come after you for the $500 discount. The key here is 'pay off'. So, you can take the 5k loan, pay $4,000 of it off with your first payment, and then pay for the next 5 months. This reduces interest on your loan. When I did it, I paid about $20 bucks in interest, netting $480 of the $500. Did it with both my cars.


There are many discounts that you can get when buying a car. A lot of the dealers don't disclose the discounts as they don't want to be bothered. You can get discounts for anything ranging from being a realtor to being a veteran - plus lots of other discounts.


The key to a good deal is not to need the car RIGHT NOW. Give them a call, let them know you want to buy a car, then wait them out. Works like a charm. Eventually they come to you with better and better deals - then pounce.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

We bought our brand new 2018 Pacifica (non-hybrid) for $29k in August that year. Sticker was $39k. The negotiation all depends on what the dealers are trying to move, rebates, and how much competition there is.

 

[snoopy1963]

Our family used to be Honda fans. I've owned 3 Honda dirt bikes, 2 street bikes (87 VT700c and an 05 ST1300), 2 Accords (87 and 92), 2 Civics (12 and 13), an 05 Pilot, mower and Honda engine pressure washer. Then the 2013 Civic (my daughters) started to have the paint fade and peel, and the leather interior looks 50 years old. Then the 'leather' on the console of my 2013 Civic basically...melted for a better word. That's when I found on Facebook all the complaints about Honda paint issues, check it out yourself. My 12 Civic is on the list of cars with a potential paint issue also. I will not own another Honda because mine was a month or so out of the paint issue warranty and they wouldn't do anything for me, so I'd have to eat the $3k+ paint bill. Of course I'm not doing that. My next car will be anything but a Honda.

 

[FIREarly]

DW and I decided to buy an extra car for son to drive himself to school. We are thinking of a Honda Civic.

The question is whether to buy new or used? I'm looking at somewhat used vehicles (2019) and they are only priced about 10% less than new MSRP (at Carmax and AutoNation).

The past few vehicles we have bought new I have bought below dealer invoice which was around 10% less than MSRP.

Everyone says to buy used and let someone else take the depreciation but I'm not seeing much depreciation on used Hondas. If I can get new for the same or just slightly more than used, why buy a car with 20k miles of wear and tear?

What am I missing?

Bought a few used cars in "my days"
The next car, whenever it is because current one is paid off, will most likely be a new Tesla with government incentives (+/-$7000 back) that do not think have passed yet but are in the works to be brought back to Tesla who has already sold out of the federal discounts. $7000 back sounds like more than the savings of buying 1 year used and it is brand new... and it's an EV!!

 

[anothercog]

You will probably pay more if it is a cash deal - as odd as that sounds. The manufactures have their own 'banks', and are looking to finance your car so they can make the interest. Many will give you an incentive of a $500 discount on the car if you finance with them. Typically you have to borrow at least 5k, and make payments for 6 months for it to count. If you pay the loan off before 6 months they 'may' come after you for the $500 discount. The key here is 'pay off'. So, you can take the 5k loan, pay $4,000 of it off with your first payment, and then pay for the next 5 months. This reduces interest on your loan. When I did it, I paid about $20 bucks in interest, netting $480 of the $500. Did it with both my cars.


There are many discounts that you can get when buying a car. A lot of the dealers don't disclose the discounts as they don't want to be bothered. You can get discounts for anything ranging from being a realtor to being a veteran - plus lots of other discounts.


The key to a good deal is not to need the car RIGHT NOW. Give them a call, let them know you want to buy a car, then wait them out. Works like a charm. Eventually they come to you with better and better deals - then pounce.

Agreed. I was able to get an additional $750 rebate plus was probably able to get a better discount to just take the regular financing (3.9%). They won't come back for the rebate but there is a minimum finance charge of $75 that I may have to pay if I pay it off too quickly.

With all the rebates, dealer discounts plus tax break, I got my Pacifica plug in Hybrid for more than 40% off MSRP. Though I had to pay tax on the pre-rebate price.

 

[gooddog]

Agreed. I was able to get an additional $750 rebate plus was probably able to get a better discount to just take the regular financing (3.9%). They won't come back for the rebate but there is a minimum finance charge of $75 that I may have to pay if I pay it off too quickly.

With all the rebates, dealer discounts plus tax break, I got my Pacifica plug in Hybrid for more than 40% off MSRP. Though I had to pay tax on the pre-rebate price.

Amazing deals out there if you know how to work it. Be sure to pay six months to avoid the fee, but worth remembering that you can pay a lot of it on the first payment which will reduce your overall interest. Just don't pay too much with the first payment or you won't have enough left to make the other 5 payments.



In California I got charged tax on the pre-rebate price for my first car. On the second one, I asked them up front 'are you going to charge me tax on the MSRP or the price I pay'. By saying that up front, got charged tax on only what I paid, not MSRP. It is like a mine field with these dealerships, got to know all the right steps to take to keep from getting your wallet blown up.

 

[anothercog]

Amazing deals out there if you know how to work it. Be sure to pay six months to avoid the fee, but worth remembering that you can pay a lot of it on the first payment which will reduce your overall interest. Just don't pay too much with the first payment or you won't have enough left to make the other 5 payments.



In California I got charged tax on the pre-rebate price for my first car. On the second one, I asked them up front 'are you going to charge me tax on the MSRP or the price I pay'. By saying that up front, got charged tax on only what I paid, not MSRP. It is like a mine field with these dealerships, got to know all the right steps to take to keep from getting your wallet blown up.

Looks like I'll hit the minimum finance charge by the first month so there should be no issue paying it off afterwards.

The dealer discounts came off the pre-tax price but the manufacturer and CA state rebates were taken afterwards.

 

[gooddog]

Looks like I'll hit the minimum finance charge by the first month so there should be no issue paying it off afterwards.

The dealer discounts came off the pre-tax price but the manufacturer and CA state rebates were taken afterwards.

With a deal like you are getting, can't complain too much.