Buying a car

Started by Triangulation
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Triangulation

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Long story made shorter: my car is not coming back to me. i'm moving to LA, where you need to have a car, need to get one now, so I can drive to sc and different pharmacies. I'm hoping this car will last me a very long time, so i want it to be good enough that i can use it for travelling for clerkships and stuff.

Any advice on how to attack this. I've already blasted a bunch of different web sites. Does someone have advice about how much below msrp and invoice price to ask for if you're paying cash?
 
Originally posted by Triangulation
Any advice on how to attack this. I've already blasted a bunch of different web sites. Does someone have advice about how much below msrp and invoice price to ask for if you're paying cash?
Click to expand...

Car dealers generally make money off of the financing. So, you won't get any special deals by paying cash. Most dealers will sell the car close to that "dealer invoice" figure you see posted on web sites.

I made my car move last year, because I needed something economical and inexpensive that would last through pharmacy school. I was driving a VW GTI that used premium fuel and only got 19 mpg. That had to go.
 
Do a thorough check of all the "special plans" that manufacturers offer. For instance Ford offers the A and Z plans for ford employees and their relatives. I qualified because my mother's father retired from ford 10 years ago. I picked up a 2002 focus for about 12,000 last year brand new with everything. Gets 30mpg, 3 year warranty, etc. Car and Driver's top 10 for like the last three years. A and Z plan are something like 4% BELOW dealer invoice and there is NO way to beat those plans if you're eligible. My parents live in CA and went through a car "broker" for their last buy/lease. He does most of the wheeling and dealing for you and somehow gets a kickback. You might want to look into that and see what they could do for you. GM is currently offering 0% APR on almost every vehicle right now if you have good credit or a co-signer, but I'm not sure of the terms. If you do look at the Focus, there is a new 2003.5 model out that has a bigger engine (~150 hp, 2.3L 4 cyl) for about the same price and is only available in CA, NY, and some other state. Get that one! It's a little rocket for about the same price as the others.. or try to talk the dealership down on the older zetec model, there is nothing wrong with either. If you had money (most of us don't) I would at least look at the neon SRT-4 (~205hp), or the VW GTI 1.8T (~180hp) (both about 20k). I don't know if you care that much about performance, but those two are screamers. The VW salesman took me to about 110mph in the GTI on the test drive and it was like we were going 50mph. Later, he got it on 3 wheels in the parking lot. The neon tops out at something like 156 mph... not likely for L.A. I suppose... but very fun.

Good luck,
Jd
 
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go on Edmunds.com and see what everyone is paying for the car they have an average of people in your area paying for a certain model. Focus on a few models you want, go through edmunds, msn, yahoo and let dealers know thourgh online you want the car than take all the prices go to dealers and say I will buy from you if you can beat these prices. That's probably will get you pretty close to invoice or below invoice especially if you buy Hyundai, American cars not suvs, some Mitsubishi, good luck don't pay more than inovice for Hyundai cars because several of my friends boughts cars under invoice from Hyundai,

last advice get everything they say they will give you extra on paper, e.g. extra rug, shine because you're not getting it once they get your money unless it's on paper
 
Nah, the only car i want is a used 2003 toyota corolla I'm trying to find deals on 'em. Everywhere i look is around $13K, which i don't want to pay.
 
Seems like it might be hard to find a used 2003 model, since they've only been out for 6 months. Who would sell a car that quickly? I've had good luck with yahoo auto classifieds, and keep in mind that used car prices are inflated in CA. I don't know if it's because of the weather or socio-economic climate or what, but you could consider going out of state to buy a car if it saved you a grand or so. Can you humor us and at least look at the corolla sport model? 😀 Also, you could pick up a 2002+ focus for much less if you were interested. They are similar cars, the focus just lacks those crafty japaneese engineers. Don't go earlier than 2001 though, they were plagued by recalls. I've had a 2002 zx3 for a year with 0 problems, and it was about 12-13k brand new and loaded with 6 miles on the clock. You might also consider a 2000'ish honda accord 4 cyl if you're into the forign car vibe. My father had one and it was a great ride for a great price.
Good luck!

Jd
 
I have a Ford Focus ZTS Mach Audio edition. I've had it for one year, it has been totally problem free. (Unlike my VW GTI). It has power everything, HID headlamps, fog lights, a 6 CD changer, 2 230W amplifiers mounted in the trunk along with a subwoofer. It's a really cool copper color. I got a good price, then applied Ford's $1,500 rebate and got 3.5% financing on top of that.

It only has 130HP, but it accelerates just fine. I also get 31mpg city/highway combined. Gas is down to $1.39 per gallon, too!
 
ohhhh, I'm jealous. I looked at the sedans but I wanted a 5-speed and the sedans didn't have a tach! I walked in thinking I was buying a ZTS and I drove out in a ZX3. I'm 6'4 and I fit like a glove. I don't have the Mach, but I did yank everything and replace the speakers, head unit (I wanted MP3 capability& Remote), and amp. I'm dreaming about what I will be able to afford after school! I still don't have the $600 HID headlights though.. rats! And yes, the 130hp could keep a person bouncing off of the speed limiter (~109) all day long. 😀 It goes pretty well...

Jd:
 
My car has a manual transmission and a tach. It has really nice, upgraded 16" wheels, a chrome exhaust and a spoiler. They probably included the sport package in the mach edition.
 
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Not that we're getting off topic or anything.. 😛 I have the same setup, except no spoiler. It's the 'power premium packge' or whatever they call it: zetec, moonroof, keyless entry/pwr windows, 5-speed, tach, 6-disc in-dash cd, 16 inch wheels, abs, etc. The only options that I wanted that I couldn't get were HID and 4-wheel disc, which aren't available on the zx3 without the $1,100 (almost 10% of the car's price!) traction control option. I actually wanted the SVT, of course (170hp) but listing at $5,000 over what I paid, they can forget it!

Jd
 
Originally posted by jason UCSD2000
I have a green 2001 Honda civic LX. It's shiny.😀
Click to expand...

Mine's not so shiny 🙁 It keeps raining everytime I decide to attempt to wash it!
 
come on guys and gals set your goals higher has anyone seen the new Mazda RX8 it's in X2 oh man what a car, or the Infiniti G35 coupe ...... imports all the way
 
Originally posted by rutpharm
come on guys and gals set your goals higher has anyone seen the new Mazda RX8 it's in X2 oh man what a car, or the Infiniti G35 coupe ...... imports all the way
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Those are neat, but they're in the $30k+ range. Maybe we'll be able to afford those AFTER pharmacy school, but I certainly can't during it. They were recently reviewed in car and driver and got pretty good rankings, but they were not nearly as fast as they lead everyone to believe. The rx8 is SUPER low on torque and it's HP peak is at a very high rpm. The 2003 Mustang cobra (cough, american, cough), on the other hand, puts out 390 horsepower and tops out around 170mph. Muscle mustangs recently had one up to 467hp at the wheels, which is almost 550hp at the crank (the way cars are rated in magazines, etc) for about $1,200 in upgrades. That keeps you in the 30k range and lets you show your taillights to just about any car on the street. Even the doge (neon) SRT-4 will smoke all the cars that you mentioned (albeit with a little less refinement) at a cost of $19K. If you're into imports, I'd check out the 2004 subaru WRX STi (300hp, awd) or the Mitsubishi lancer evo (270+ hp, awd). I mean if you're going to do it, do it right! 🙂

Jd
 
I buy all my cars at auctions here in NYC. NYC and SF are similar. Try to find an auction that gives you a warranty.
 
Originally posted by Triangulation
Nah, the only car i want is a used 2003 toyota corolla I'm trying to find deals on 'em. Everywhere i look is around $13K, which i don't want to pay.
Click to expand...

Ok, I have this one for ya from AZ, maybe you can make a deal. (I don't know the person, but it was sent to my MWU account)

2000 Toyota Corolla LE Sedan 4D (Silver)
- 4-cyl 1.8L
- Automatic
- Front Wheel Drive
- 29,000 Miles
- AC/Power Steering/Power Windows & Locks/ Tilt wheel
- Cruise Control/ AM-FM Stereo, Cassette/ Dual air Bags
ASKING $10,000 OBO

EMAIL: [email protected] or [email protected]
 
I just decided to wait until i get down to LA. It'll actually be cheaper that way, then i won't have to worry about paying for a mover, just rent a truck to get down there.

It's also easier to get to more inexpensive areas in LA than SF, so it might be easier to hunt around. Dunno. So much to worry about😡
 
hey...triangulation..you should buy your car in oregon or washington and drive it down to l.a. they have cheaper taxes.

hey so you want to get a 2003 corolla..don't fret. this summer is predicted to be a good time to buy cars. cnn wrote an article..all sales are dismal so far. plus the new 2004 's are coming out.. don't worry..wait..its a buyers' market. right now..you can get a new 2003 for 15K. i think you will near your 13K price before the summer ends. btw..you want automatic right? and the Le model.

btw, i heard it sucks to buy used cars in l.a. just because of the mileage avg on used cars, the sketchyness of the dealer. go to washington, your undergrad place.


hey jdpharmd..glad to hear you got into midwestern arizona..congrats man. what about ferris state?? are you going there for the 3 year program??

drop me a line on my email.
 
Bought a 2001 Nissan Sentra GXE. It's da$% hard to find a car w/a stick these days. It's really fun, color sucks though (tan, my mom told me to find a more "j.crew catalog color" way to describe it (eg. 'camel' or 'mineral')
 
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I need a car while attending pharmacy school, but I'm probably not going to work when I'm in school so the usual auto loans are difficult to maintain.
I was hoping to get a new or certified used car as reliability is a strong factor.
Chase used to offer private loans for students that required repayment after graduation. But now, possibly due to the economic conditions, it not being offered.
Any of you guys know of similar student loans I could use to buy a car?
Thanks for your help.
 
Wow, this thread hasn't been posted in since I was in high school. I guess the time to resurrect old threads would be around Easter huh?
 
Leasing is a good option. If you don't care about power or performance that much, you cannot go wrong with a Honda Civic.

I drive a Volkswagen CC, requires 93-octane fuel and usually gets 16 mpg because of my driving habits. Hell, I got 15 mpg in my old Honda Accord.

I'm trying to find gas stations that sell 100 octane though, which would unlock the maximum power potential with what the car has in it so far.

I imagine by the time I graduate, I will have a new exhaust, a racing clutch, racing brakes, Falken tires, lowered a little bit, and perhaps some NOS. 😍

Oh, and I'll probably end up starting a drag racing club at Touro NY.
 
AdamSanders said:
Wow, this thread hasn't been posted in since I was in high school. I guess the time to resurrect old threads would be around Easter huh?
Click to expand...

lol. I was actually going to post a new thread, but this one came up. So, decided to resurrect it, what with this being the Easter season and all.😀
 
Sparda29 said:
Leasing is a good option. If you don't care about power or performance that much, you cannot go wrong with a Honda Civic.

I drive a Volkswagen CC, requires 93-octane fuel and usually gets 16 mpg because of my driving habits. Hell, I got 15 mpg in my old Honda Accord.

I'm trying to find gas stations that sell 100 octane though, which would unlock the maximum power potential with what the car has in it so far.

I imagine by the time I graduate, I will have a new exhaust, a racing clutch, racing brakes, Falken tires, lowered a little bit, and perhaps some NOS. 😍

Oh, and I'll probably end up starting a drag racing club at Touro NY.
Click to expand...

Not really worried about performance or power and I do like Honda. But the cheapest new car i think is Hyundai or Ford. I just need it to run for 4yrs.
The only issue is that I'm trying to avoid working while in pharmacy school. Leasing or financing would mean monthly payments, so I would have to work atleast on the weekends. I don't want to commit to a work schedule until I know how demanding school is.
Are you guys familiar with private student loans that have deferred payments while in school?
 
Buying a new car is a waste of cash. If a warranty is a must, go certified used. My wife wanted a car with a warranty a few months ago...we wound up with a 2007 Ford Taurus with 40k miles...certified pre-owned...6 year/100,000 mile warranty...$7900 after some haggling. It's really a decent daily driver.

Hyundai, Kia, and Ford offer good value and reliability for the cost. Ford is a US manufacturer, though...buy American...get us the hell out of this recession.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
Buying a new car is a waste of cash. If a warranty is a must, go certified used. My wife wanted a car with a warranty a few months ago...we wound up with a 2007 Ford Taurus with 40k miles...certified pre-owned...6 year/100,000 mile warranty...$7900 after some haggling. It's really a decent daily driver.

Hyundai, Kia, and Ford offer good value and reliability for the cost. Ford is a US manufacturer, though...buy American...get us the hell out of this recession.
Click to expand...


New car smell.

Makes it all worth it, if you ask me!
 
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pro tip: dont let them know you are paying cash until the VERY end...right when you are about to sign the paper work. ALWAYS discuss the price of the car before anything else (payment amount, term etc.). If you are trading in old car, ALWAYS discuss how much they will give you for trade in before anything else. NEVER make any decision if you feel even an ounce of pressure from the sales person.

If they don't want to work with you as I described above. Leave. Its a buyers market, always has been. There are hundreds of other dealerships for you to visit.


edit: wow, old thread. hope he didnt get screwed, lol.
 
Big tip:

DON'T TELL THEM YOU ARE PAYING CASH! Go with the flow and pretend you are going to finance. That was how my dad saved a whole chunk of $$$$ when he gave me a new car last year. At the very last minute pretend you still don't like the price, and try to deal with them some more. When they go down to the lowest price then bust out the cash.
Good luck.
 
I am also contemplating if I should take out a private loan in order to buy a car or just bare through P1 year without one. I didn't know if this was the norm or not for students to take out private loans to purchase a car. I don't want a new car, just one that is in great condition and recent maybe a 2006 or higher model. I've been looking into either the Chevy Cobalt coupe or Mazda 3 sport sedan. Although I will be living on campus at USC, I've read that there's basically no stores close by to do food shopping, etc. I really do not want to depend on someone else's schedule to do errands and stuff, but seeing my tuition bill makes me want to just suck it up and just fore go the idea of getting a car for the 1st year. Any advice? Thanks in advance.
 
FaBpHaRm2Be said:
I am also contemplating if I should take out a private loan in order to buy a car or just bare through P1 year without one. I didn't know if this was the norm or not for students to take out private loans to purchase a car. I don't want a new car, just one that is in great condition and recent maybe a 2006 or higher model. I've been looking into either the Chevy Cobalt coupe or Mazda 3 sport sedan. Although I will be living on campus at USC, I've read that there's basically no stores close by to do food shopping, etc. I really do not want to depend on someone else's schedule to do errands and stuff, but seeing my tuition bill makes me want to just suck it up and just fore go the idea of getting a car for the 1st year. Any advice? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

If you don't get a car for your p1 year, you'll wish you did. As you may have already heard, it's really difficult to get around Cali at your convenience without a car.

Do you really need a 2006 model car?

I say settle for a car that's a little older yet is still reliable enough to get around. Yes, your tuition will be crazy high for USC and you're tempted to suck it up. But if you think about it: you're already taking this much loans, what's another $5k to buy a car you will use to buy food/water and travel to your IPPE sites. I think it's worth it.
 
WVU is gonna tell you differently but here is my biggest piece of advise for cars.

DO NOT BUY AMERICAN CARS (UNRELIABLE PIECES OF CRAP BUILT BY UNION WORKERS)

The American carmakers got themselves into this mess, until they change the way they make cars and the kind of cars they make, don't buy their cars. Apparently they think that we are gonna drive their cars no faster than 55 mph and actually slow down for curves.

I can take this dead man's curve on the highway near my house at 70 mph in my Volkswagen CC, but when I drove my friend's Ford Focus, I had to slow down to 30 mph to take the curve.
 
Transformer said:
If you don't get a car for your p1 year, you'll wish you did. As you may have already heard, it's really difficult to get around Cali at your convenience without a car.

Do you really need a 2006 model car?

I say settle for a car that's a little older yet is still reliable enough to get around. Yes, your tuition will be crazy high for USC and you're tempted to suck it up. But if you think about it: you're already taking this much loans, what's another $5k to buy a car you will use to buy food/water and travel to your IPPE sites. I think it's worth it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. I have been told by a lot of people that a car is a must when I move down to USC, so I am going to do it. And you are right, I really don't need a 2006-present car, but just a good running one. Ugh, just one more loan to add to the bunch :laugh:!
 
Sparda29 said:
WVU is gonna tell you differently but here is my biggest piece of advise for cars.

DO NOT BUY AMERICAN CARS (UNRELIABLE PIECES OF CRAP BUILT BY UNION WORKERS)

The American carmakers got themselves into this mess, until they change the way they make cars and the kind of cars they make, don't buy their cars. Apparently they think that we are gonna drive their cars no faster than 55 mph and actually slow down for curves.

I can take this dead man's curve on the highway near my house at 70 mph in my Volkswagen CC, but when I drove my friend's Ford Focus, I had to slow down to 30 mph to take the curve.
Click to expand...

What the hell do you expect? You're comparing a $26,000 car to a $15,000 car. How about I compare the Taurus SHO that's coming out this summer to that little piece of **** Nazi car you're driving and we'll see how great it is.

GMs are ****. Except the new Camaro. Chryslers suck, too. Fords are solid though...take care of them and they last forever. They are on all of the most-reliable lists. So says my old workhose Taurus that had 170k miles on it before it got totaled on the interstate. They didn't take any bailout money and are making some sweet cars in the upcoming years.
 
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I don't need a new one but I need a reliable one. Any advice on how to choose and buy a good used car?
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
What the hell do you expect? You're comparing a $26,000 car to a $15,000 car. How about I compare the Taurus SHO that's coming out this summer to that little piece of **** Nazi car you're driving and we'll see how great it is.

GMs are ****. Except the new Camaro. Chryslers suck, too. Fords are solid though...take care of them and they last forever. They are on all of the most-reliable lists. So says my old workhose Taurus that had 170k miles on it before it got totaled on the interstate. They didn't take any bailout money and are making some sweet cars in the upcoming years.
Click to expand...

Ever hear of the term,

Fix
Or
Repair
Daily

The Ford Taurus SHO looks like its going to be the first decent American car made in the last 2 decades. If it can handle as well as the amount of power it can produce, then it looks pretty damn good.

By the way, Nazi cars are ****ing awesome.
 
Sparda29 said:
Ever hear of the term,

Fix
Or
Repair
Daily

The Ford Taurus SHO looks like its going to be the first decent American car made in the last 2 decades. If it can handle as well as the amount of power it can produce, then it looks pretty damn good.

By the way, Nazi cars are ****ing awesome.
Click to expand...

clever acronyms are always the most reliable sources of information.

My father has always bought ford...usually used fords.
Every car he's bought has lasted him at least 10 years. One of which he took to 175k, and traded it in still running.

Ford does not deserve to be dumped in with the rest of the American autos. On average, they make good products.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
What the hell do you expect? You're comparing a $26,000 car to a $15,000 car. How about I compare the Taurus SHO that's coming out this summer to that little piece of **** Nazi car you're driving and we'll see how great it is.

GMs are ****. Except the new Camaro. Chryslers suck, too. Fords are solid though...take care of them and they last forever. They are on all of the most-reliable lists. So says my old workhose Taurus that had 170k miles on it before it got totaled on the interstate. They didn't take any bailout money and are making some sweet cars in the upcoming years.
Click to expand...
I think fords have done a good job differentiating themselves from the other failing manufacturers.

Frankly though, if you want something cheap/reliable get a camry. I don't own one, but the cost to repair one is small plus they're reliable. And there are so many of them now, finding parts isn't hard.
 
I work full-time in auto collections (don't hate me!) and I can say that over the past 6 months we've been seeing the price of used vehicles increase considerably. Since more people are purchasing used vs new vehicles, the price of used vehicles is going up, sometimes several thousand depending on the year/make/model which is making new vehicles a more competitive buy-especially when you have the option to finance at 0%. If you're thinking about buying a relatively new used vehicle, go ahead and check out the price of a new model just to compare- some used vehicles may cost you more over the life of the loan than a new vehicle b/c of the financing offers on new vehicles.
If you are buying used, check with your bank or local credit union about getting pre-approved for a loan before hitting the dealership to make sure you are getting the best interest rate available to you.

If you currently have a job and you're thinking about waiting to purchase a vehicle until you're in pharmacy school- don't. The reason I say this is because you need verifiable income in order to qualify for the loan and you may end up with a higher interest rate or unable to be financed if you are telling the finance company you are going to be making the payments based on a student loan and not a job. Your income will be verified via paystubs so the 10 hrs/wk you will be doing at CVS will probably not be enough and they may require you to obtain a cosigner.

When purchasing your vehicle regardless of whether it is new/used, NEVER tell the dealership that you want your monthly payment to be X amt- you'll get screwed on the overall price of the vehicle because they may charge you an extra few thousand and spread the payments over a long time frame and not tell you. Negotiate everything seperately- the price you are willing to pay for the vehicle and then the value of your trade-in. Research the vehicles first- edmunds or consumer reports are both reputable sites. Make sure to look at the actual cost-of-ownership of each vehicle you're interested in- the cheaper car at the dealership may cost you a lot more in the next 5 years in maint/repair costs than another vehicle whose sticker price is more.

If you're buying new, remember that the dealer never actually pays MSRP or invoice. To get an idea of where you should start negotiating, for a small fee you can purchase a detailed report from Consumer Reports about the specific vehicle you're interested in and what the dealer actually paid for it based on current incentives and rebates.

Please please please read the entire contact before you sign it and make sure that everything is correct- amount being financed, value of trade in, additional warranties, GAP insurance, and interest rate. Even if you and the dealer agreed to 18k for the vehicle, sometimes they will put a higher amount, say 21k, on the contract and hope that you won't catch it. If they tell you that it was 'oops, a typo' and they will correct it, don't sign. Demand that they write up a new contract with all the correct amounts. Trust me, if you sign a contract agreeing to a higher amount you are willing to pay for the vehicle, that is the one they will send to the finance company. I see this several times every day and unfortunately the customer has no recourse since they signed the contract agreeing to the higher price. Read the entire contact, yes I know it is crazy long but the bottom line is that it's your money and your credit on the line.
 
rjk said:
clever acronyms are always the most reliable sources of information.

My father has always bought ford...usually used fords.
Every car he's bought has lasted him at least 10 years. One of which he took to 175k, and traded it in still running.

Ford does not deserve to be dumped in with the rest of the American autos. On average, they make good products.
Click to expand...

On the topic of acronyms.. How about them Mustangs?

Messed
Up
Sh*t
That
Ain't
No
Good
 
my.php

my.php

On the topic of acronyms.. How about them Mustangs?
Click to expand...

Don't go hurting my baby's feelings!

img0303utb.jpg
 
If you really want to gamble by a salvage. If you know anything about cars it could be okay, but if you don't know how to tell poor workmanship from good workmanship, I'd stay away. Bought an 06 mazda5 for 8250 that was a salvage, had no complaints. A few body issues, but mechanically sound, and that's what was important.
 
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