Finally buying a car, need tips. - Page 2

Originally Posted by Severity

My advice is to get a hooptie.
Reasons:
Cheap insurance
Chances are you'll get into an accident, nobody wants to mess up a nice car.
Very decent resale value.
Already past the major depreciation period.

Insurance on newer cars after 6 months can suck as a new driver.
6 months at $500 is 3k. 3k can net you a car.

Originally Posted by Severity

Well liability is basically driving without insurance lol, 250 is not bad.
It's up to you. Personally I probably won't buy a car over 9k unless I'm doing very well.

From past posts I remember you mentioning saving for school. Don't lose sight of what's really important. Yes a nice car can make you feel good, but it can set you back as well.

Originally Posted by VeryNicePerson1

I am not looking for the cheapest, but I am looking for good 10k-13k below 100k mile cars that are fairly modern (not older than 2010). Now I am not sure if that is asking too much as I don't know much about cars or car price comparisons, or standards in the used car market.

Also, how the heck do you find a reputable dealership, everytime I google something like "dealership reviews" etc., it takes me to many random review or ad sites sometimes with a relevant review here and there, and sometimes just random car sites.

Also, is autotrader.com a good go to site? I have been using it to just browse car sales in my area in general just to get a feel for things, and it seems to work OK. I can find certified pre owned cars of a specific make, and it shows what the dealer name is. It even has CARFAX reports that I can pull up



Nice, good to know. Do you know how long we get to drive around for?



Alright, thanks for the info.



Lol, ok this is also good to know...I will just be content if I know most actual dealerships will be an OK pick at worse...I am not looking to hit up some corner dealership behind a dark alley. I am just hoping I can generally look up cars and be pointed to good dealerships, without having to do extensive research on every dealership that pops up (Although I would do this if it is recommended)



OK, thanks for the info. Also do you know how much I will be allowed to down pay? Am I allowed to pay as much as I want to down pay and finance the rest? Or will they stick me with like a low down payment or they kick me off the lot?



OK, so in general if a dealership is reluctant to sit down with me and give me the CARFAX or inspection reports then I should just avoid them



Oh definitely, I actually want the transaction to be near instant, I just hope I don't get totally owned from inexperience and get stuck with a lemon of a car

Also, do you know the chances of me getting stuck with a car that was flooded? Are they easy to sneak through inspection reports?

Also, is it OK to look at the CARFAX and inspection reports and then ask them that I want to match the VIN# to the actual VIN printed on the car, just to make sure?

Originally Posted by Severity

My advice is to get a hooptie.
Reasons:
Cheap insurance
Chances are you'll get into an accident, nobody wants to mess up a nice car.
Very decent resale value.
Already past the major depreciation period.

Insurance on newer cars after 6 months can suck as a new driver.
6 months at $500 is 3k. 3k can net you a car.

Originally Posted by Manimhappy

That's not true at all...

Hoopties are often money pits

Liability Insurance is usually more for older cars because they're not as safe as newer ones

You can't call who's going to get into an accident and who's not..

A car that's depreciated 60% already isn't going to be depreciating at a crazy rate so it's not that big of a deal, also don't forget newer cars get better gas milage.

Originally Posted by Manimhappy

I understand you're not looking for the cheapest, for example say the car you're in the market for retails from 10-13K don't go looking to get the 10K one, find a solid car and pay for it, even if you have to pay a premium for it. A car will cost you a lot down the line if you get the "cheaper one"

Originally Posted by Manimhappy

depends on your location, where are you from?

Originally Posted by Manimhappy

my test drives depend on how traffic isn't they're usually around 10 minutes and sometimes I do a double lap. 99% of the dealerships you visit will have a test drive route which will be the same for everyone, if you want just ask for another lap, a salesperson won't usually deny you, I know where I work, managment wants us to give the longest test drives as possible to make sure the car is a good fit for the customer, if it's not then price doesn't mean anything cause you won't buy it regardless.

Originally Posted by Manimhappy

you can put down whatever your heart desires, it makes no difference to the dealership, once you buy a car, the bank sends money to us and you deal with them in terms of payments so you can do a sign and drive and no one will bat an eye, shit you can even roll in your taxes and fees lol

Originally Posted by Manimhappy

dealerships prefer same day transactions, so if you tell them you want to take the car home the same day they'll gladly allow you to

Originally Posted by Manimhappy

like I said before, dealerships are a place of business, they're really not looking to screw anyone over, there is a modest and fair markup, 95% of dealerships aren't looking to stick anyone with a piece of shit, the cars you're in the market for are going to be cars that the dealership bought from the bank when someone's lease expired, if the car is certified pre-owned it's going to litterally be like a new car I watch my GM buy these all the time and I'm in them every single day, dealerships will not buy cars that aren't top notch simply because they have so much to pick and choose from, if one slips through and its a piece of shit, they put it on auction and bite the bullet

Originally Posted by VeryNicePerson1

OK, got it, Thanks.



NY, btw...do you recommend anyone in NY? particulary around the boroughs



Got it, Thanks.



Sorry I don't know too much about this. I pay a bank the monthly payments when I buy a car? So the dealership doesn't send me a bill that I pay to them? Also what kind of financing programs are there, can I set up like a 12 month sequence and be done, or is something like 24 months a standard minimum?



Got it, Thanks...btw...how does insurance work when you get a new car? I heard that when you buy a car, you need to have insurance already activated before you can drive the car off the lot. How does this work? Do I set up insurance based off of the car type I want in general and hope that I am able to find that car I want? How would the insurance know the specific car without the VIN #?



Nice, thanks for the info. I really thought dealerships in general liked to scam people who they think they could scam, so that always had me nervous when I think about buying a car



Thanks for all your info so far, it is a big help.