When is the best time of the year to bargin for a car? - Page 2

when buying a car, you are at the mercy of the dealership, once you set foot in it. find cars you like, test drive them, and narrow it down.

once you have "it" picked out, cruise the dealers' online inventory. call each one, and ask for the new car sales manager. tell him you are ready to buy that day ( "if your price is right, i can be there in one hour, to pick it up"), and tell him which car from his/her inventory you want. he gets one shot to bid on your business. if he asks you about financing or trade-ins, simply repeat that you are simply asking what price he will sell you the car for.

call several local dealers, and do the same thing. try to do it near the end of the month, when they may need your sale to make quota (they don't make money on any specific car-sale, but on incentives, quotas, etc..., and by "stealing" your trade-in)

buy the one which offers you the best deal.

my wife and i did this last time, and it works wonderfully-

+1 to Erik. I bought a house a half year ago and have been renting it out. My tenants basically cover the mortage and utilities, and I have a tiny bit left over for spending (in theory for audio stuff, although so far it's mostly been for renovations). I don't know what property costs in your area, but 40k here gets you started on a very nice sized house or even a couple small condos.


On the car thing, I've always wanted to try going up to a dealership and finding the shadiest guy there, go through all the hooplah and get a quote, then tell him "I'm going to come back tomorrow and you're going to give me a lower price on that car, and whatever the difference is I'll give you half in cash." Think it would work?

I have been in sales 20 years. The cool way I have seen it done is

1} Get a price from an insider.
2} Call around to get the price quote matched with the color/options you need.
3} Do not trade in a car



This is really how simple it is. Things will get complicated if you finance. The dealer gets money from the car loan. You know how much they play with the rate. That is a long bit of writing so I will not get into it here.

The other things you have to worry about is B.S. options. The stain protection and warranty is the big profit center at dealerships. Do not buy anything. Your best way is just to get a price from a friend. Call around and get a fax faxed to you with a quote. The first time they deviate from the written quote threaten to walk away. You will get your car.


The dealers have hold back, under trade allowance, loan points, wax, loan insurance for skip a payment. They will have key chain remotes, wheel lug locks and window etching. This is all BS. This will be offered to you in a menu format. No matter what they offer you and how good it looks, do not buy the extras. The dealer even makes money with things like car insurance. There are many many scams. One of the best is the rule of 78s. Look that up for a day of fun. That song can still be played!

The earliest official use of the Rule of 78s to calculate the unearned portion of a loan’s finance charge was in Indiana in 1935. Most loans in 1935 were for small amounts at low interest rates for short periods of time. It reduced the cost of loan calculations in a pre-computer era and was well suited for the small, short, and low interest rate loans of the era.

In the United States, the use of the Rule of 78s is prohibited in connection with mortgage refinancing and other consumer loans having a term exceeding 61 months.

On March 15, 2001, in the U.S. 107th Congress, U.S. Rep. John LaFalce (D-NY 29), introduced H.R. 1054, a bill to eliminate the use of the Rule of 78s in credit transactions. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services on the same day. On April 10, 2001, the bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, where it died with no further action taken.






Just remember, no finance, no extras, get a faxed price quote. That is it.

The paperwork should reflect just the cash price plus state tax. Bottom line.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_78s
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/auto/20010827a.asp

If you need a loan, just go to a credit union and get a simple loan.