Car purchase

Paul Gallian

In Memoriam
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Have you ever purchased a NEW car and drove away knowing that you got the very best price possible?

I always think that if I could have bargain better or gone to another dealer I could have beat the price..


Direct TV Internet ads prompted this thread.. Very misleading advertisement.
 
You know, maybe not knowing I had the best possible price, but certainly prices I could live with.

Did a bunch of research on the internet on the vehicles in question. My truck I just happened to by from a guy with the same name as my father, Talk about wacky coincidences. Ended up being distant cousins... When he handed me his business card my jaw dropped to the ground. He gave me a fair deal, in fact, he beat the price I had in mind when I went to buy it.

When we bought our last pathfinder in 2005, we pretty much did all of the pricing and negotiation over the internet. Basically just went to the dealer and met with the fleet manager to fill out the paperwork and drive it off the lot. We had submitted requests for quotes to several dealers and got back a couple. The guy we went with again had beat the price we were willing to pay.

I'm not a big fan of haggling in the dealers lot if you can tell. In this day and age, there are a lot of tools online that I think can help you get the deal you can live with.
 
I did the same with my Honda in 2004. Buying via the Internet allows time to research. You don't have the salesperson in front of you at the dealership playing 'gotta talk to the manager' game.

I did my research, decided on a price I could live with. There are a lot of helps online, and Edmund's is good. Then there are buying services that charge the dealer, not you. They spread my request to all the dealers within the mileage range I selected. Over a half dozen responded with a quote. I pitched them back with some wiggle room for me. Three came back with a counter. One said they would take my offer. I saved my wiggle room money! Went down two days later with money in hand and drove off the lot. Couldn't have been easier.

That was a new car. Don't know how it would work with a used car.
 
Can't say I've ever actually bought a "new" car. I've bought dealer-owned used cars many times for $10k - $15k less than the sticker prices with less than 5,000 miles on them. Only had one that was a lemon, but all work was covered under warranty and got rid of it shortly after, was just a hassle. I've got a good friend that works for Ford that said he'll get me an "A" plan number when I'm ready to buy again which will give me the employee price, so shouldn't be much haggling if I go that route, just over upgrades and such they want to sell.

The last couple I've signed the papers, then went back to my bank for financing (pre-approved first)...took a little longer to finish the sell, but that really steams them, they make a good part of their money off of getting you to go with their financing.

My current one is my "Dave" car (Dave Ramsey), which I paid cash for, only had a few issues, less than $500 worth. I've saved about $8k this past year not making car payments, probably more not having the higher insurance and taxes of a newer car.
 
Have you ever purchased a NEW car and drove away knowing that you got the very best price possible?

I always think that if I could have bargain better or gone to another dealer I could have beat the price..


Direct TV Internet ads prompted this thread.. Very misleading advertisement.


Paul,
do they have the programming that you want at a price you're willing to pay?
Yes/No If yes, pay up.

If not, call up the local cable company and get ready to pay even more than you do now. Our bill is around $70 a month, but that's for 4 access points, including three Tivo units and a movie package (which personally I could do without... the movies, not the tivo). To my mind, that's a fair price given what the alternatives are on the market, I refuse to deal with Time Warner other than for broadband (which I must have for my job currently) and I only do that because they're the only broadband available where I live. Dish doesn't carry the programming I want, so Directv it is. Been a happy customer for a dozen years or more. Nuff said.
 
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Ned,

I can tell you are not a country boy..

What is cable? :D

I have never lived where cable was/is available..

Sounds like you have had a good experence with Direct tv -- good for you but like many i have not... If you really care google " direct tv lies"

Time will tell what my bill will be--
 
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