Stupid questions from a first-time car dealership consumer.

Looking up your choice of vehicles on www.cars.com or www.kbb.com or www.edmunds.com. Used cars have different price for condition and mileage.

The web sites will give you invoice price of vehicles and ratings of cars.

The new car will come with a new car warranty. 3 years or 36,000 miles is standard.

If you don’t fill out a loan form, the inquiry will not show up your spouse’s credit rating.

Taxes, registration and document fees must be paid. $300 to $400 is my guess.

Credit union is by far the best interest rate you can get.

You don’t want top lease the car; you want to purchase it.

New cars are not worth it. They drop S1,000 in value the minute you drive them off the lot.

@marinelife I’m through with cheap cars. I can’t exactly afford $15K out of pocket for a car that’ll last me awhile and my current car is on its last leg, so I don’t have time to save up. I have to do what I have to do.

@livelaughlove21 Private sale doesn’t necessarily mean the expense is immediately out of pocket. Credit unions and banks will still give you the loan, it’s just a bit different. Check it out.

If you are running tight on funds the used car is a much better deal . A new car has costs that people do not always consider. Such as:
1) The new car will have much higher insurance costs – assuming you carry collision and theft.
2) The maintenance on the new car will be higher since the dealer will expect you to come in every 5000 miles to have everything checked out. They will undoubtedly find something else you need.
3) Some states charge sales tax on the purchase price. The new car will obviously have a higher price.

Do not get sucked into buying a car you can’t afford because it comes with a 0 down 0 interest for 60 month ‘deal’. At exactly 5 years and 1 day after purchase, you will be slammed with the interest at a higher rate. They make money on people who think ’ 5 years from now’ will never come. It always does.

A few thoughts, in no particular order:

Another vote for used.

Credit unions give the best loan rates.

Remember, you’re in the driver’s seat (pun intended) if negotiating. You can always say, “No” and shop somewhere else.

Check the Consumer Reports lists of Best and Worst Used Cars. . Every year they survey their readers about specific repairs needed on their cars, so its based on real-world experience with over a million cars. Link

Carsdirect.com allows you to get pricing on new models. If you actually buy through the site, there is no haggling – they give you a price up front.

Even if you don’t buy through the site you can check out all the different available options.

@LuckyGuy Well, if my math is correct, the Mazda would be paid off by the end of the 5 years. $270/month for 60 months is $16,200 and then the $2,000 downpayment adds up to $18,200. If taxes and all of that is $350, I’d have one additional payment of $150 plus one month’s worth of interest.

I also already checked with my insurance company – my insurance will go up approximately $50 because I’ll need full coverage and right now I have liability.

I’m leaning toward a used 2011 or 2012 model if I can do it, but the Nissan Versa seems like a pretty decent deal and it’s technically used even though it’s a 2013. I’m going to go see if a credit union can get us a low interest rate.

@jaytkay Thank you for that link. Very helpful!

You may be comforted by my ignorant questions on nearly the same topic last year—and helped by the many useful replies.

Some advice on car buying:
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
Question 4

1) My bro-in-law did finance at dealerships for decades, they shop you to lenders and there are some tricky deals, fees, etc…always use your bank or credit union if possible.

2) Always buy used – the Toyota parts will be cheap and as long as you keep oil in them they’ll run forever.

3) If you do a lease, you have to be able to pay close attn to detail so you don’t get financially strapped. Lots of people are unable to do leases well.

4) To get the best deal, tell them what you can pay and be prepared to walk away. Don’t ‘fall in love’ with the car.

5) Always get a CARFAX report and look at it closely on any used car. Also any service records available to see if it was maintained. The older the owner, usually the better the care of the vehicle, obviously.

Good luck!

Afterthought: I bought a new car (2013 Toyota Corolla) last September. I wasn’t interested in an investment, so I didn’t care about what it cost me to drive off the lot. I’d never had a new car, and it was kind of a thrill to sign the papers with 8 miles on the odometer (4 of which were my test drive). For once I didn’t want to inherit someone else’s problems.

I just wanted a generic car, without a bunch of extra junk: no spoiler, no moon roof, no GPS, no airplane cockpit display on the dashboard. But I didn’t want a gray, silver, white, or black car either—not that generic. I got a nice blue one. My husband calls it an old-lady car, but I don’t care.

So far I’ve been very happy with it—very easy to drive, and no problems. I pretty much expect this car to outlast me. If I’m still driving in 15 or 20 years, this is probably the car I’ll be driving.

I did test-drive a Focus but much preferred the Corolla. If I’d had a more generous budget, I’d have loved to go for the Camry.

I was attached to my old nutmeg-brown Nissan Altima, which I bought used and which ran great for me for 12 years and never gave me any trouble. I still miss it, but it was time for a change.

I’ve found that Edmunds.com does a great job of breaking down the going rates on new and used cars based on features, and will tell you what you pay in your local area for Destination fees, tax, tile, and registration if you give them your zip-code.

Another option is a “Certified Pre-Owned” vehicle from a dealer that usually have very clean histories, and come with a warranty that is nearly as good as a new car.

If you buy from a dealer, be prepared to get up and walk out, and perhaps have to come back several times over a period of weeks in order to make the salesman value you. My friend’s husband seems to do very well with new car sales (although this tactic probably works with used as well) and he goes in, walks away, and he said the most recent purchase, he walked out three times (over a period of a few weeks) and the third time the salesman ran after him to his car, which was parked on the street, to get him back in and give him a good deal.

The best time to buy a car from the dealer is the last few days of the month, and also the last few days of the sales quarter (end of March, end of June, end of September, end of December) when the salesmen are desperate to make their sales quotas.

The end of the year you can get good deals on new cars that have not sold, and the dealer is looking to get them off the lot.

When you go to the dealer, it helps to know what you are looking for (features, model, etc.). It also helps to compare prices at different dealers, get the prices in writing and shop around. Don’t be pressured to “sign today” but instead, tell the salesman you’re shopping and may or may not be back. You can take the written price he gives you to another dealer and see if they can beat it. Tell them you’re not paying destination fees, and see if you can get them to throw in free stuff (special mats, for example). Definitely act nonchalant, you’re not in a rush to buy, you are prepared to walk away, you’re shopping around.

One thing about those great car-related websites, though: I can’t get rid of the spam that keeps on coming and coming, even though I’m no longer interested in hot auto deals and amazing vehicle closeouts (and would never have followed those links anyway).

Update: I was pre-approved for the 2011 Mazda 3 with 50K miles on it and the 2013 Nissan Versa with 1400 miles on it. Both were about $15K (no haggle).

I ended up buying the Nissan. I got a 4% interest rate, bringing my payments to $250/month. That price included a 6-year bumper-to-bumper warranty with free oil changes, 5 years of tire and rim insurance with no deductible, and gap insurance that ensures I’ll get the total loan paid off in the event I total the car at a loss.

I’m happy with my purchase and I love my cute little car. I can’t wait to drive it to the Smokies in three weeks, as opposed to my husband’s gas guzzling F-150.

Thanks for the help everyone!

Sounds like you did good and are happy with purchase.

Nice car. Sweet warranty. Good job!

I wouid rather have the newer Versa rather than the older Mazda. Good job and thanks for the update!

@jca Yeah, I figured I couldn’t beat the price for a 2013 model with barely any miles with a killer warranty. I think the Mazda 3 is a bit cuter, and it was black which I liked, but it only had a 3 year bumper-to-bumper warranty and a 6 year Powertrain warranty. I’ll take a silver Versa if I don’t have to worry about paying for repairs for 6 years, no question. Plus, there’s so much more room in the Versa vs. the Mazda. I think I made the right choice.