Need help buying a car

[leoskee]

Ive leased the last 3 vehicles that I have used. Been able to get great deals on payments with very little out of pocket. When it comes down to financing a car I have no experience. Any tips on what I should be looking for when I start negotiating for a new car? Ive done a bit searching online but would like some more insight. Thanks.

 

[inkblue]

be carefuL with the "finance officeR" ...he/she'LL offer you extraS you may not need and it'LL add to your montHly pretty quick

 

[NYreefNoob]

What Type Of Car Are You Looking For ? Make And Model. I Work At Curry Honda As A Auto Appraiser, But Curry Owns A Honda, Subaru, Ford , Kia, Hyandia, Nissan Toyota, Chevy, Acura And I Think One Or Two Other Makes, Lmk And Ill Set You Up To Talk To One Of The Finance Officer's, Suggestions Depending On How Long You Keep Car's Buy Foreign, And Honda's Hold Value Better Then Pretty Much Any Other Make, Lmk Rick

 

[ming]

I find a lot of the online auto dealers will give a quote through email which is usually already the lowest price they can go. This is much easier then going to multiple locations and haggling your way down.
Shoot off a bunch of emails to various dealers in your area for a quote and then select the lowest priced one. Make sure you ask if the delivery, tax, title, license fees are included.
You can always use the email printout as a bargaining chip if you choose another dealer.

Also, you can either shop around for your own loan, or they can do it for you. Although some dealers have an incentive to give you higher APR so they get a bonus from the bank. So shopping around for yourself has its benefits

 

[leoskee]

I am currently looking at the Lexus ES 350. I also like the GS 350 but I dont think its worth the extra 10K. I could use that money to customize the ES to my liking instead.

I havent done the online quote thing because I never thought that it was a reliable way of getting quotes. When I get some time I will give it a shot.

 

[NYreefNoob]

Lexus = Nissan But Over Priced, Look At What The Same Car A Year Old Is Selling For, Or Worth And See What You Are Losing Within A Year

 

[Chris5]

Lexus = Nissan But Over Priced, Look At What The Same Car A Year Old Is Selling For, Or Worth And See What You Are Losing Within A Year

I thought lexus was an overpriced toyota? .... :splitspin Love the IS though :tongue1:
I agree with the above on haggling with email quotes ... the way the economy is right now and gas prices they should be trying to do everything in there power to give you the best price possible ...

 

[leoskee]

Im not too worried about the depreciation rate of the car. Im not buying it with the intensions of selling. I would like to buy one because I like the car. Its a really great car to drive. It is very smooth on the road and the features are top notch.

Of course Lexus is going to be an over priced Toyota. Thats the whole reason it is in the luxury category. The big difference is in the details and materials used in the car.

 

[mray]

I love IS's also. I was going to buy a IS300 and have it turbo'd but with gas prices on the rise, I held back.

BTW, lexus =/= nissan.

Lexus is Toyota's luxury brand and Infinity is Nissan's luxury brand.

 

[Savager]

Lexus ES share same platform with Toyota Camry V6. And ES is about 10k+ more than Camry. But the quality that they put on ES worth that much. Better leather, much better materials used inside and out. And better warranty. And the badge that comes with the car, even though it's same company, Lexus name much more appearing than Toyota.

 

[mray]

Comparing the ES and the GS is unfair. The GS in my opinion is the better car. It is more of a driver's car while the ES is more of a car for you to be driven in. The GS looks more sharp while the ES just looks like some car. Test drive both and see which one you feel most comfortable driving. If you don't plan on selling the car, buy the better one because you will have to live with it for a while.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I think Rick just had a momentary lapse.

Nissan = infinity
toyota = lexus (the lotus elise isn't a yota but has an all yota drivetrain)
honda = acura
vw = porsche + buggati + audi

think that just about covers most of the common imports

 

[Savager]

BMW owns:
-BMW
-Mini
-Rolls Royce

Chrysler owns:
-AMC (brand discontinued -- Chrysler bought AMC primarily for the Jeep brand which was owned by AMC)
-Chrysler
-Dodge
-Eagle (brand discontinued)
-Jeep
-Plymouth (brand discontinued)

Daimler/Chrysler owns:
-Chrysler (small percentage)
-Maybach
-Mercedes-Benz
-Smart

Fiat owns:
-Alfa Romeo
-Ferrari
-Fiat
-Lancia
-Maserati

Ford owns:
-Aston Martin (SALE PENDING)
-Ford
-Jaguar
-Land Rover (bought from BMW)
-Lincoln
-Mazda (Ford owns 33% of Mazda)
-Mercury
-Volvo cars

Fuji Heavy Industries owns:
-Subaru

General Motors owns:
-Buick
-Cadillac
-Chevrolet
-Daewoo (GM owns 44%)
-Fiat (GM has decided to divorce itself from Fiat as of Feb '05, but will retain 10% ownership.)
-GMC
-Holden
-Hummer
-Oldsmobile (brand discontinued)
-Opel
-Pontiac
-Saab
-Saturn
-Suzuki (2.5%, from 20%)
-Vauxhall

Honda owns:
-Acura
-Honda

Hyundai owns:
-Hyundai
-Kia

Isuzu owns:
-Isuzu
(Mitsubishi Corp., Itochu Corp. and Mizuho Corporate Bank owns part of Isuzu.)

Mitsubishi Corp. owns:
-Isuzu (13.6%)
-Mitsubishi Motors Corp (13%)

Nissan owns:
-Infiniti
-Nissan
-Renault (Nissan owns 15%)

PSA Peugeot Citroen owns:
-Citroen
-Peugeot

Porsche owns:
-Porsche
-VW (~31%)

Renault owns:
-Nissan (Renault owns 44%)

Toyota owns:
-Daihatsu (~51%)
-Fuji Heavy Industries -- Subaru (Toyota owns ~20%. Toyota bought this from GM in late 2005. )
-Isuzu (5.9%, announced 7 Nov. 2006)
-Lexus
-Scion
-Toyota

Volkswagen owns:
-Audi
-Bentley
-Bugatti
-Lamborghini
-SEAT
-Skoda
-Volkswagen

 

[leoskee]

I think Rick just had a momentary lapse.

Nissan = infinity
toyota = lexus (the lotus elise isn't a yota but has an all yota drivetrain)
honda = acura
vw = porsche + buggati + audi

think that just about covers most of the common imports

I didnt want to say anything about that being that he works at a car dealership. lol:shhh:


I will have to test drive a GS to see the difference. I still cant see paying 10K extra for a few upgrades.

 

[leoskee]

Back to topic:


Does anyone have advice on how to get the best price for a financed vehicle? I'll probably put down 20%.

 

[Savager]

Go to edmunds.com and fill out the quote request. I usually get 2 to 3 quotes by email within a day. Depend on the car but you will get very close to invoice price. And the real hassle starts, you get a schedule to test drive and sit down with the internet manager and go over the price. In edmunds, there's forum for each car model. Usually they have a topic for how much they paid for the car. Research on how much they paid and if the email offer is higher than the most people paid, you have to negotiate with the salesman.

 

[mray]

Well, if you want the best price do not buy a car in manhattan. Go to a small dealer that sells multiple brands and see if they can import one for you. In my experience, they will give you the best price.

 

[Savager]

BTW, that's exactly what I did to buy my 2007 Prius on late 2006. I got it little under the invoice price, took me several days to do it but it's all worth it. And my mother in law got the Camry LE at the invoice price, I could've get couple of hundred dollars lower but she needed the car soon so it only took me couple of hours to get that price.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I was talking about the more commonly imported cars as it applied to this threads conversation. Anyone could google each company.

The best deals are usually in november and apply to the previous years inventory. Unless there is a major redesign and you are waiting for that particular build, it's worth it to go in November. The previous models are discounted and they are looking to dump them to make room for the current model year.

 

[ming]

Back to topic:

Does anyone have advice on how to get the best price for a financed vehicle? I'll probably put down 20%.

bribe the sales man by giving him more $ then the commission hes making to lower the price. :lol:

Although the email method I mentioned above worked for my friend buying an acura. He was able to buy it only slightly over invoice.