Re: Auto loan q's//lkng for advice Hey, I'm there. I was looking at 18% interest rates, said "Scr*w this!", and shelled out $1500 for an older Dodge Ramcharger in real good condition. I put $300 into it and I'm gonna drive it 'till the wheels fall off. It's a hell of a lot of fun to drive and I'm not looking to pick up dates in it. In the interim, I'm banking $300/month that would go into payments. In two years, I'll have 7-8K to put down on something new. My advice is get something cheap and somewhat reliable and learn to bend a few wrenches. Good Luck Dancer
Re: Auto loan q's//lkng for advice Another point about being smart with your car purchase... read all of the info at Edmunds and Kelly blue Book online (www.edmunds.com www.kbb.com) about buying a new car. Understand what 'invoice' and 'MSRP' really means... and dealer holdback! Then you can calculate exactly what you are paying for the car and what the dealer is making. I almost got bit bad when I bought a new car several years ago. I got the loan insurance because the finance guy told me it only added about $15 per month. I went home and added everything up, but it wasn't jiving... so I finally figured out it was more like $50 per month!!! I went back to the dealer in less than 3 days and made them take it off. good luck! dartol
Re: Auto loan q's//lkng for advice Originally posted by monij2000 First of all, it's not the salespeople...it's their policies, and YES especially WOMEN such as myself who walked in unprepared (which I would tend to say is more than 70%) Do get SCREWED So are you saying that, BECAUSE they/you are women is the reason you are getting screwed by car salesmen? That's a sorry excuse if that's what you're saying. It's not because they/you are female, it's because you are uninformed. It has to do with what's between one's ears, not what's between one's legs. The 'woa-is-me' female excuse doesn't work anymore. I know many, many women who are VERY informed and do NOT get hosed when buying a new car. Furthermore, this is highly likely the situation you will encounter if your credit scores are low, sir, such as Matt has suggested... If you screw things up (like I did years ago), then of course you can expect higher rates and higher down payments when you attempt to buy a car -- it's called "you made your bed, you lay in it". Again, I screwed up my credit (post-divorce, child support, etc.), then dealt with it. So please, look out for the best interest of the person asking the question..... Get and be informed, regardless of your sex!
Re: Auto loan q's//lkng for advice Matt, I'm sorry that your post has been tarnished with juvenile sarcasm by someone desperately seeking and needing attention. The poor dear. I hope my advice has helped you in any way possible, as to that is the reason I offered it. To help, not to demean others when an OPINION is given! Monij
Re: Auto loan q's//lkng for advice Not to veer this thread off course, but I just wanted to point something out: I dislike car salespersons not because I'm ignorant; I dislike them because I'm not ignorant and realize that (at least in my memory) they've added little or no value to the overall transaction. At the time, I'm sure that if I didn't know what a tachometer was for, or how to operate the heating controls, or the importance of differentiating between Toreader Red Metallic and Bright Red Clearcoat, then my time spent with various car salespeople over the years would have been more personally enriching and not at all like the agonizingly protracted endeavors many of us have experienced at some time or another. Sure, I don't expect my salesperson to possess an encyclopedic knowledge of the cars he/she is selling, or even to have a desire to look out for my best interests as far as the purchase is concerned...but, gee whiz, can they maybe not be such insufferable pricks all the time? Can they perform more of a service for the money we're giving them other than being an obstacle to the final purchase? Perhaps this is just the dopey uninformed consumer in me talking, but I'd be willing to shell out a couple hundred dollars extra to get my own financing and maybe buy straight from the dealer's fleet manager or something...no salespeople, no being double-teamed by their general manager, none of that. So anyway, to recap: jshimmer, you're right in that everyone--man, woman, good credit, bad credit--should avail themselves to the tons of good info out there on the car-buying process (or ignore it to their peril). monij2000, your apparent contempt for car salespeople is felt by many, myself included. Sorry for the long-ish post. [/end rant] wajaba
Re: Auto loan q's//lkng for advice I have to agree. I got SCREWED big time on my last car. I would never go through that again. It was a learning experience. It has been mentioned. Avail yourself to the TONS of free info. that is available on the internet and other places. Matt- Get your own financing so that you know what type of rates you are facing. Know what you are willing to pay. Don't get sucked into "how's your new car feeling?" after the test drive. Be prepared to walk. Like "who wants to be a millionaire". Name a price and make it "your final answer" and then walk if they won't take it. Don't buy any of the add-ons it's just extra revenue for the dealership. I plan to buy a car next year. It will be used. I would not buy a new car again. I plan to do research. Name a price. And walk if it's not accepted. No playing games!
Re: Auto loan q's//lkng for advice Thanks for everyone's advice. I truly appreciate it. I'm a bit nervous about the financing, but I'm giving myself a few months to see what I can do with my reports before I deal with that aspect of it. I started this process with a positive outlook, but my disputes with cras are rendering absolutely no results, and these debts are ancient. I'll keep plugging awaya nd maybe i'll see results. Anyway, back to the orig topic, I think I'll try cap one auto when I'm ready to take the plunge, and take that preapproval (assuming they'll take me) into the dealership and tell them to beat the rate if they want my bsuiness. I'll use it as leverage if nothing else. One thing I have learned about car loans so far is that these are 100% secured debts so even if my credit is a bit bumpy I shouldn't hang my head low and think that I "deserve" a 22% interest rate. I swear I'll RUN, not walk, before someone jabs me with a rate like that. The other thing I have learned is that auto financing is very competitive and even if my credit is ugly, they still want my money either way so I do have a bit of leverage. Thanks everyone.
