What is the smart way to buy a new car?

[eomrat]

This process sucks

[Wayne Evans]

This process sucks

Brother Doug....

Ha....I hear you.

We bought our Toyota Tacoma new in 2005.
I didn't enjoy the process but it only took about an hour....I do have great credit. (although, noting else about me is 'great'. )
I hated the process but knew exactly what I wanted.
It was about 24K new....6 speed on the floor, including alarm, seat covers, dash cover AND bed liner.
It only has abut 94K on it so it will out live this old bird.
So far, it's been bullet proof reliable.

What are you looking at procuring weed hopper?

Have a great day....

[eomrat]

A Camry SLE or XLE Hybrid for the wife.

[induced_drag]

I can afford to buy any car but there are almost no situations I can see where I would buy a new car. Unless:

1-It was an ultra-rare car that I could spec myself or a forever car where specing it myself would be part of the pleasure and money was not a part of the decision process.
2-Business write-off. Which when I have bought new business cars, I went in and told them what I was going to pay 'out the door' and said they have 30 min to complete the deal or I leave.
On a follow up to this. Over the years I have walked out and later got a call that they can 'do the deal'.


That is about it. I cant imagine who would buy a new car which is a HUGE depreciating asset. It does not matter if I can afford it or not. I just cant bring myself to throw money away like that....

[LWW]

Use Toms friend, just put it in his hands and your all good, just sign, is all the work you need to do...............

You’ll sleep like baby!

[LWW]

I can afford to buy any car but there are almost no situations I can see where I would buy a new car. Unless:

1-It was an ultra-rare car that I could spec myself or a forever car where specing it myself would be part of the pleasure and money was not a part of the decision process.
2-Business write-off. Which when I have bought new business cars, I went in and told them what I was going to pay 'out the door' and said they have 30 min to complete the deal or I leave.
On a follow up to this. Over the years I have walked out and later got a call that they can 'do the deal'.


That is about it. I cant imagine who would buy a new car which is a HUGE depreciating asset. It does not matter if I can afford it or not. I just cant bring myself to throw money away like that....

I bought a brand new pickup when I was 19, I paid it off in 5 years and had it for about 18 years, I only put over 1000 in repairs like twice, fuker never broke down on me eithier, I’d say I made out very well.

[Plateauplower]

A Camry SLE or XLE Hybrid for the wife.

I’d wait most of the market is inflated, few new cars due to chip shortages, then again it might inflate more with steel prices being high.

Otherwise get quotes online for what you want and do most of the deal over text or email. Then you just go in to pick up and sign and it takes much less time.

[Plateauplower]

I can afford to buy any car but there are almost no situations I can see where I would buy a new car. Unless:

1-It was an ultra-rare car that I could spec myself or a forever car where specing it myself would be part of the pleasure and money was not a part of the decision process.
2-Business write-off. Which when I have bought new business cars, I went in and told them what I was going to pay 'out the door' and said they have 30 min to complete the deal or I leave.
On a follow up to this. Over the years I have walked out and later got a call that they can 'do the deal'.


That is about it. I cant imagine who would buy a new car which is a HUGE depreciating asset. It does not matter if I can afford it or not. I just cant bring myself to throw money away like that....

My truck is worth about $10k more than I paid two years ago, right now. Some cars, used prices don’t justify a used product because the residual is so high. When I was looking I’d only save a few thousand for late model used over new, and not have a used car with more miles and less warranty.

[bodyhard]

This process sucks

What process are you referring to? I am typically in and out when I am buying a new car, the only thing that ever slows me down is Patty because she can never make up her mind what she wants..but when it is my car, I am in and out.

[TrustTheScience]

Find all the manufacturer incentives BEFORE you go in, find the dealer that gives you the biggest MSRP discount and THEN tell them to add the incentives to that.

They will be expecting to use the incentives to get the discount and will be pissed but such is life.

Not sure how much harder it is post covid but jt was fun as hell before getting big discounts. I got 20% off my wifes bmw suv

[iamanalphamale]

Worked in a dealership for a few months, here is what I would do:

- Research before hand what make and model you'd like and have at least 3 colors in mind (in case one is not available)
- Check what your credit score is and find a website that will tell you roughly what your monthly plan will be with a specific down payment before hand
- Call in ahead and tell them you are coming in and be clear with the research you have done - if they don't give you what you already know, you will walk
- Take a picture of every paper they show you about the price of the car - managers like to give you what you want, but will take it from somewhere else
- Walk if you do not like what you see and go somewhere else
- Tell managers to beat it if they want to talk to you - I swear my managers made it worse sometimes when they came to "help"

[xTeTe]

Tough time to buy a new or used car now with the chip shortage. A lot of dealers aren't willing to play ball.

[Jtbny]

If you are armed with info you'll be way better off -

Know what the price is for the car you're looking at;

Know what the approximate trade in value of a vehicle you're trading in is;

Be realistic about the monthly payments knowing your approximate credit score, down payment if any, ect;

Be cool.

That said this a sellers market but I'd much rather buy a new car right now than a used car. Good luck!

[OldFartTom]

Tough time to buy a new or used car now with the chip shortage. A lot of dealers aren't willing to play ball.

That's the kind of BS that a car dealer would say. Sure there are shortages but there are also cars to be sold.

The smart way to buy a car is the same as it always has been.

Have the cash to buy it there and then, know exactly what you want, don't play their games (walk out on them if they don't play it your way). It's a combination of cash and alpha male.

Sadly I'm not in that position myself at this moment, but I have been in the past and it works!

[Corbi]

Used car prices here are insane.

I could sell my Z06 for 10-20k more than I paid for it in 2018.

I just saw a low mileage Carbon 65 edition for $150k!!!!

Yep, used prices are through the roof.
My last 2 I bought used with low miles and single owners and not sure I will ever buy new again as I saved a ton of $$$ and was able to get a far better vehicle vs if I had bought it new.

[Plateauplower]

That's the kind of BS that a car dealer would say. Sure there are shortages but there are also cars to be sold.

The smart way to buy a car is the same as it always has been.

Have the cash to buy it there and then, know exactly what you want, don't play their games (walk out on them if they don't play it your way). It's a combination of cash and alpha male.

Sadly I'm not in that position myself at this moment, but I have been in the past and it works!

Actually paying cash is a disadvantage if looking for the best deal. Dealers make money in a LOT of different ways, financing incentives is one of the many. Best to keep how you will pay to yourself until it’s time to pay. Next, with finance rates as cheap as they are for someone with good credit it’s silly not to borrow money for a rate of 0-2%. If inflation is the current fear, debt is a good hedge against it, especially if that debt is for physical assets that are increasing in price in the future.

[induced_drag]

Actually paying cash is a disadvantage if looking for the best deal. Dealers make money in a LOT of different ways, financing incentives is one of the many. Best to keep how you will pay to yourself until it’s time to pay. Next, with finance rates as cheap as they are for someone with good credit it’s silly not to borrow money for a rate of 0-2%. If inflation is the current fear, debt is a good hedge against it, especially if that debt is for physical assets that are increasing in price in the future.

NEVER say you are paying cash for a car until the deal is done. Plenty of vids on youtube will explain why, but it is NOT an advantage. And in many cases it is better to finance and then just pay off loan (if you so desire)

[Plateauplower]

NEVER say you are paying cash for a car until the deal is done. Plenty of vids on youtube will explain why, but it is NOT an advantage. And in many cases it is better to finance and then just pay off loan (if you so desire)

Dealers make a lot on finance spreads. When buying my truck at the end of 19, I was working the deal with the GM after waiting nearly a month to come back to me with what I was willing to pay. To show my “sincerity” I let them run my credit to get my finances ready. They gave me a rate around 4% and I have and 825 combined credit score. I hadn’t committed to their financing but it was implied. I got my affairs in order to finance through my credit union at 1.9% and had a check cut for the agreed upon price before going to sign and drive off. I get there and they were not happy as they were planning to make that spread between the rate I should have got and the rate they told me I qualified for (would have been a couple thousand I think). Anyway after all that, they went back and happened to “find” a rate that beat my credit union rate coming in at 1.5%, so I went with that. They thought they were getting me on the trade-in of my 4Runner but the head gasket was getting ready to blow, but it wasn’t to the point of throwing codes yet lol. It sounded like a waterfall running inside the dash on cold starts and according to forums the next thing is codes for misfires for several cylinders, I just happened to know that and want to get off of it before a $4k repair. Few things I dislike more than car dealerships when it comes to purchases.

[eomrat]

What process are you referring to? I am typically in and out when I am buying a new car, the only thing that ever slows me down is Patty because she can never make up her mind what she wants..but when it is my car, I am in and out.

There are a total of six models from three brands that I would buy tomorrow if I could find them within 500 miles. All very popular models. The second largest Toyota dealer in Atlanta Metro had 11 cars on the lot. Every one a black Avalon XLE. Oddly, they are not trying to mark them up.

Ordering from the Toyota factory is pretty easy but the three cars I checked on all had 9-12 month lead times.



Edit _ I know all about the buying process. Its the internet age, everybody knows all about the buying process.

[Plateauplower]

There are a total of six models from three brands that I would buy tomorrow if I could find them within 500 miles. All very popular models. The second largest Toyota dealer in Atlanta Metro had 11 cars on the lot. Every one a black Avalon XLE. Oddly, they are not trying to mark them up.

Ordering from the Toyota factory is pretty easy but the three cars I checked on all had 9-12 month lead times.

Edit _ I know all about the buying process. Its the internet age, everybody knows all about the buying process.

Surprised, they are charging a markup on many Toyota’s. Any dealer telling you that you can place a factory order for a Toyota is lying. They build what they build and allocations are based on regions. When you “order” one from the factory it is nothing more than horse trading between dealers to get the model you want to the dealer you want. If you have already test drove the cars you like, don’t be afraid to do deal and have the vehicle shipped. I’ve seen people (specifically in So Cal) do that paying for shipping the car still saves them thousands over paying the extra markup in Cali for Tacoma trucks.

[litljay]

Buying right now is a bit of a hard pill to swallow. Just bought a new truck a couple of months ago.

Used prices were only a couple thousand lower than new and on some occasions on par with new. Ran across a 1 year old truck with 10k miles that they were actually asking about $3k over what msrp would have been (been shopping for a few months).

Ordering one from the dealer was a pretty long wait. It's normally ~12 weeks and I was quoted 6 months.

Finally bought a new one from a dealer. MSRP - Chevy rebate ($4400 at the time) + TTL = what I paid. I did sell my old truck for $1-3k over KBB's range for trade in.

[Corbi]

Surprised, they are charging a markup on many Toyota’s. Any dealer telling you that you can place a factory order for a Toyota is lying. They build what they build and allocations are based on regions. When you “order” one from the factory it is nothing more than horse trading between dealers to get the model you want to the dealer you want. If you have already test drove the cars you like, don’t be afraid to do deal and have the vehicle shipped. I’ve seen people (specifically in So Cal) do that paying for shipping the car still saves them thousands over paying the extra markup in Cali for Tacoma trucks.

Back around 86-87 a friend of mine wanted a Monte Carlo SS, he test drove one but it didn't have the options he wanted but the dealer found him one that was setup exactly the way he wanted and they said it would be delivered in a day or 2. He goes to get the car & finds out they drove it from some other dealership close to 800 miles away and it was a team of 2 guys who drove it....ok thats bad enough but they were smoking in it as well as stopping at drive throughs on the way there and dropping food bits all over. He told them to pretty much shove the car up their ass.

[Plateauplower]

Back around 86-87 a friend of mine wanted a Monte Carlo SS, he test drove one but it didn't have the options he wanted but the dealer found him one that was setup exactly the way he wanted and they said it would be delivered in a day or 2. He goes to get the car & finds out they drove it from some other dealership close to 800 miles away and it was a team of 2 guys who drove it....ok thats bad enough but they were smoking in it as well as stopping at drive throughs on the way there and dropping food bits all over. He told them to pretty much shove the car up their ass.

Lol that’s insane. I’d have done the same, just refuse delivery. I’m on a Tacoma forum and have seen several people order them and have delivered on a flatbed usually arriving washed following most of the ride and ready to unload. It’s not even a grand in most cases and they save 6X that much at least.

[ChazWood]

Back around 86-87 a friend of mine wanted a Monte Carlo SS, he test drove one but it didn't have the options he wanted but the dealer found him one that was setup exactly the way he wanted and they said it would be delivered in a day or 2. He goes to get the car & finds out they drove it from some other dealership close to 800 miles away and it was a team of 2 guys who drove it....ok thats bad enough but they were smoking in it as well as stopping at drive throughs on the way there and dropping food bits all over. He told them to pretty much shove the car up their ass.

Dude, that's how you properly "season" a Monte Carlo SS. I thought that pre-delivery roadtrip was a dealer option. I's a Monte Carlo SS. Don't be bringing me that with no plastic covers on the seats.

That's all I got to contribute.

[Bando]

there are almost no situations I can see where I would buy a new car. .....

I cant imagine who would buy a new car which is a HUGE depreciating asset. It does not matter if I can afford it or not. I just cant bring myself to throw money away like that....

This.

Let me throw in, I worked at the output end of a car manufacturing plant and you might be proud that you bought a car with 3 miles on it but honestly those 3 miles will be worst the car ever sees. Once they come off the line and get topped for gas & oil they go around a little test track to check for noise, it's game on. Can be 2 miles to a railcar, storage or to get customized but the guys and gals that do this all day get paid to move cars, it's hard to describe the orchestrated chaos with all these brand new cars.

I suspect all that brings buyers of brand new cars back to the dealer to clear codes and wait 2 hours.

The average millionaire in the United States drives a 4 year old car.

[Corbi]

This.

Let me throw in, I worked at the output end of a car manufacturing plant and you might be proud that you bought a car with 3 miles on it but honestly those 3 miles will be worst the car ever sees. Once they come off the line and get topped for gas & oil they go around a little test track to check for noise, it's game on. Can be 2 miles to a railcar, storage or to get customized but the guys and gals that do this all day get paid to move cars, it's hard to describe the orchestrated chaos with all these brand new cars.

I suspect all that brings buyers of brand new cars back to the dealer to clear codes and wait 2 hours.

The average millionaire in the United States drives a 4 year old car.

Not really related but I have always found this interesting, the old Fiat factory in Turin Italy had a test track that doubled as a race track on it's roof.

[illriginalized]

First car I bought… almost 3 freaking hours before keys in my hands.

[Bando]

Not really related but I have always found this interesting, the old Fiat factory in Turin Italy had a test track that doubled as a race track on it's roof.

I walked across our test track a few times when I had an emergency like installing a new battery in a car that was 6 inches in mud that someone 600 miles away wanted to buy.

Man that test track had every assortment of nuts, bolts, clips, screws, fasteners and sockets. You couldn't stick around on it, the guys/gals driving the cars had waited like 20 years for those jobs and they would happily pop you off the track.

[Cantplankwell]

Bought our last two cars used on lines of credit, interest rates were so low. Almost 3 years ago I got my 435i and paid it down within 18 months. The other one, an Outback was bought just before the pandemic, since money has been tight for my wife and I since then (and interest rates were low) we were able to reduce the payments, with bonuses possible next year now for the first time in awhile I will probably pay it down again in a year or so. The line of credit gave us some flexibility.

The depreciation on some cars is insane, my 435i Grand Coupe was approx C$68000 in 2015 when it was new, I got it in the summer of 2018 for $35K. The Outback though held its Value, there was little haggle room for it because of it, had to rush to the dealer and make a deal on the spot. Every time one came up on the internet it was gone before we could make up our minds.

Didn't like the BMW dealer I felt like a small person there, it was too posh and polish.

What really burns me is the "admin" charge they try to get you for on the new cars. I have leased a few trucks at work and the last time I told the salesman I would not pay it before the deal process started. There it was on the paperwork, I grabbed the sheet ripped it up in front of hime and walked out, both he and his manager came running out after me LOL, they ended up taking it off.

[NorwichGrad]

I don't wanna sound racist.

But the only way I would buy a NEW car is if it's Japanese - Toyota, Nissan, Honda.

I'm a cheap bastard. I only buy them USED. Even so, I only buy Japanese. Cuz they are more hooah than American sailors who keep contracting venereal disease at Subic bay.