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First Time Car Buyer

datalink7

datalink7

Lifer
Hi all,

I know something like this has been posted before, but I am teh suck at the search feature and couldn't find it. Are there some guides somewhere online for first time car buyers? I'm looking into buying a new car. My old one is on its last leg, and it was bought from family anyway so I've never dealt with a dealership. Is it possible to buy a car below MSRP?

Thanks
 
Originally posted by: datalink7
Hi all,

I know something like this has been posted before, but I am teh suck at the search feature and couldn't find it. Are there some guides somewhere online for first time car buyers? I'm looking into buying a new car. My old one is on its last leg, and it was bought from family anyway so I've never dealt with a dealership. Is it possible to buy a car below MSRP?

Thanks
Click to expand...

If you're going to a dealership and get to the negotiating stage, Negotiate in car price, not payment price. Once you've agreed on the car price, then go into interest and payments.
 
Avoid financing with the dealer unless you can get the ridiculously low interest rates. Go with an outside lender like a credit union.

My favorite car buying site is Edmunds
 
Originally posted by: 1YellowPeril
Avoid financing with the dealer unless you can get the ridiculously low interest rates. Go with an outside lender like a credit union.

My favorite car buying site is Edmunds
Click to expand...

I intend to finance through USAA. I think they have pretty low rates (and actually they said they'll match a rate if I find a lower one).

Thanks for the link. I forgot about Edmunds.
 
Originally posted by: datalink7
BTW... is a 707 credit score a good one?
Click to expand...

I have USAA as well. What kind of rates are they quoting you out of curiosity because I haven't checked into it yet.
 
Originally posted by: jtusa4
Originally posted by: datalink7
BTW... is a 707 credit score a good one?
Click to expand...

I have USAA as well. What kind of rates are they quoting you out of curiosity because I haven't checked into it yet.
Click to expand...

I haven't checked either, but a friend went through them and he said they had good rates. I'm calling tommorow. I'll try to remember to PM you.
 
Originally posted by: datalink7
Originally posted by: jtusa4
Originally posted by: datalink7
BTW... is a 707 credit score a good one?
Click to expand...

I have USAA as well. What kind of rates are they quoting you out of curiosity because I haven't checked into it yet.
Click to expand...

I haven't checked either, but a friend went through them and he said they had good rates. I'm calling tommorow. I'll try to remember to PM you.
Click to expand...

Just checked my account at USAA.com and they have 4.59% for new and 5.2% for older than current model cars. Not sure if that varies though.
 
Last question... what kind of car would peole reccomend at around $20,000? Fun being the most important factor 🙂 I kind of want to buy a new car, not old.... was thinking the new 05 Mustang, but wasn't sure.

I'm going to test drive for sure... but what should I test drive?

Thanks 🙂
 
Originally posted by: d0ofy
When I was shopping, I used www.carbuyingtips.com

05 Mustang for $20K? I didn't know they were that cheap.
Click to expand...

I used that site as well. He has some excellent advice. A couple of recommendations:

  • Online price quotes are quick and easy, and they can help a lot in the negotiating process. I actually used a dealer's own online price quote to help negotiate down the "in-person" quote!
  • Knowing the invoice price and other dealer costs can give you an edge in negotiating.
  • Take care of the financing side before you go to the dealer. I was preapproved for my loan prior to buying the car. The dealer couldn't match the credit union's rate, so I stuck with the credit union. The whole process was pretty painless.
 
Originally posted by: 1YellowPeril
Avoid financing with the dealer unless you can get the ridiculously low interest rates. Go with an outside lender like a credit union.

My favorite car buying site is Edmunds
Click to expand...
I read the Edmunds forums for a few months before buying my first car from a dealership this year. They have forums specific to car models where people discuss the price they paid and buying experience.

From those forums I decided to negotiate the price of my car completely by email. I emailed my local dealerships asking them for their best price on a specific model with specific options in the color I wanted. Most offered to match my lowest price, and I went with the dealership closest to me with the best rep. The "out the door" price was set before I showed up to drive the car. Ninety minutes after showing up at the dealership, I left with my car. I dealt with the guy who I had been in email contact with, and there was none of that "checking with his manager" crap. I paid about $200 over MSRP (the price that I had agreed to over email).

I had no trade-in.

Edmunds helped a lot in knowing what to expect and giving me a clue about what I was doing.


Also, I showed up with my own financing and Honda beat my rate by about 0.5%.

 
Sorry to keep bumbing with more questions, but I have another one.

Is there some way to estimate how much insurance will cost without a VIN number? All the sites want the vehical VIN to get a price quote. As it may be a factor (I might have to go with a less expensive car if insurance is too much), is there any way to estimate for different cars without a VIN? Any site?

Thanks again.🙂
 
Originally posted by: datalink7
Sorry to keep bumbing with more questions, but I have another one.

Is there some way to estimate how much insurance will cost without a VIN number? All the sites want the vehical VIN to get a price quote. As it may be a factor (I might have to go with a less expensive car if insurance is too much), is there any way to estimate for different cars without a VIN? Any site?

Thanks again.🙂
Click to expand...

Yeh, pick up the phone and call your local Allstate agent. Just tell them you are looking to pick up insurance with them and tell them your age, marital status, maybe SSN # for a credit check, and the year and make of the car with any additional saftey features you are looking at. They can give you a ballpark quote with that.

Also, if you go to a dealers web page, they will often times list a VIN number of the vehicles. Just find a car similar to what you are looking to buy and use that as the VIN.
 
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