Reversed Car Payments
javawizard
savings account until you need to buy a new car. Then pay cash.
You'll save thousands of dollars over the cost of interest on
payments. - from the 500 Ways section of www.odd-info.com
sfge...@paccbell.net
missussex
Good point. My dad's version of this rule was to pay cash for the best
cheap used car you could afford right now. Then bank the money you
would have spent on car payments until you have enough cash to buy a
new car.
Zilbandy
wrote:
>My dad's version of this rule was to pay cash for the best
>cheap used car you could afford right now.
That assumes that a cheap used car will not require repairs. All the
cheap used cars I ever bought needed work. The only thing that helped
save some money was that insurance and license fees were cheap. :)
--
Zilbandy
George Grapman
$350. the owner told me the clutch was slipping. I knew I could get a
better car in six months so drove very carefully. The car eventually
needed a clutch for about $300 but lasted over two tears when I was
ready to buy a better,newer car. By the way, sold that Honda for $350.
Patient Guy
The real problem with car buying from a dealer (new or used) is the
wrestling match you undertake in finding the right price. If you manage
to be allowed to walk away from the showroom the first time, saying you
are still doing your homework, and then show up a 2nd time and are
recognized---even if you don't let it out that you have done your
homework and have decided on a vehicle----then they know they don't have
to give on the price.
I don't even know what a good price is any more. There will be people
trying to sell you a book that tells you that you should get a hold of
some piece of paper representing the dealer's "cost" to the maker
(manufacturer), but those numbers are all a lot of horse poo. The only
person making money is the bookseller claiming to tell you how to beat
the new car sales industry.
Bargaining for the price of a new car has to be one of the universe's
great mysteries. If the buyer counters too low, the salesman may laugh
rudely and just walk away, not even bothering to bring in the "sales
manager" in the tag team hand-off since he thinks the customer is a
bozo.
I kind of like Saturn's priced-as-marked no-haggle/hassle approach,
assuming they still have it. Although still it is no indicator of the
maker's belief in the true value of the product.
I will have to buy a new car soon, and I dread the nonsense of trying to
figure out how much I will pay in the end.
Of course I always take the financing out of the dickering process: I
always pay at least one-third down and the balance must be pre-approved
credit from a credit union (possibly an automaker's financing subsidiary
too if they are dealing on the interest). Once the sales staff start
talking about my "monthly payment," I inform them that if they don't
want me to walk off the lot, they will stick to the price of the car.
Zuke
> If at all possible, reverse your car payments. Put $300 per month in a
> savings account until you need to buy a new car. Then pay cash.
If you are in the 5% of Americans that can do that.
Don't buy a car at all. That would really be frugal.
George Grapman
Not that easy is public transit is no convenient or if you need a car
for work.