|
Proposed Budget: $10-25k? Maybe more? I'm not certain. New or Used: Either depending on what's best value these days Body Style: 2 or 4 door. Car of some kind. Coupe, Sedan, or Hatchback How will you be using the car?: Commuting for work, mostly highway, light to moderate traffic. Day to day errands. What aspects are most important to you? Comfort, noise level, fuel economy. Hopefully something not totally boring either. I would like it to be a manual transmission. I've been driving a 2001 Ford Escort ZX2 for 10 years now. It's about due for some engine work at 134k miles (variable valve timing solenoid is malfunctioning). I made it a point to drive the wheels off this car and I feel like I'm just about there. The A/C works, but there's no cruise control, and the wind noise from the windows is getting really bad. It takes on drips of water in the rain through the poorly sealing windows. I need to buy a car, I've put it off long enough. I'm not a car person, and I don't plan to do this again for another decade or so. What should I buy? The Ferret King fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Nov 7, 2014 |
#
¿
Nov 7, 2014 03:29
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 00:42 |
|
|
Well for what it's worth, I don't love my Escort. So an approximation isn't required. I'll definitely look into that one though. Big savings on lightly used still? I thought for a while new cars were offering incentives near what you could get on the used market. Thanks a bunch for your help.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 7, 2014 03:48
|
|
|
Sent out my emails requesting pre/post out the door prices for the car I want to all local dealerships. I decided on a new 2014 Ford Focus ST with the mid option package. I'm going to have some trouble getting the courage to pull the trigger because I haven't purchased a car in over 10 years. So far, none of the dealerships have emailed me back, but it's only been 2 days. Assuming they do eventually return offers, my plan is to consider the lowest unless it's trivially different from a dealer closer to me. Sound like a decent plan? I'm using Truecar.com to ballpark what I'm expecting to see as reasonable prices, what else should I be doing to ensure I'm in the right price point? I don't have any delusions of scoring a sweet deal below dealer cost or anything, I just want to make sure I've done the proper research before I fork over the money.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 21, 2014 18:55
|
|
|
skipdogg posted:Do you have your financing already arranged? The purchase price of the car is the easy part. Finance and your trade in valuation is where they get you. I have pre-approval with my bank ready. Financing through Ford seems to offer some cash back or credit incentives. If possible, I'd like to take advantage of those incentives (after determining the purchase price of course) and just pay off the loan shortly after. Ford's website lists several incentive packages for financing. I'd need to read through all the details before knowing if that's actually a good way to go or not. Financing isn't necessary for me, but if it results in additional credits I'd be willing to do it. Also, regarding invoice price, is the invoice price on a website like edmunds.com good enough? Or do you find that salesmen will actually show you the dealer invoice if you ask? Sorry if that's a stupid question. The Ferret King fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Nov 21, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Nov 21, 2014 20:19
|
|
|
Regarding car shopping via email. What do you do when you send out emails to multiple dealers looking for prices on a specific car and absolutely none of them email back? I'd been counseled to communicate with dealers in this fashion to get an idea of who would work with me but it doesn't appear to be effective at all.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 22, 2014 17:15
|
|
|
Makes sense. Looks like I'll need to cover some ground on my next days off. My current offer from the local dealer is $2400 above edmunds.com dealer invoice and $600 above MSRP, before rebates. Ford.com itself shows this vehicle cheaper than he's trying to sell it at.
The Ferret King fucked around with this message at 13:45 on Nov 23, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Nov 23, 2014 13:34
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 00:42 |
|
|
I bought my last car through the Costco program. The deal was dealer invoice, plus $100, minus manufacturer incentives. The only thing left to discuss was my trade in, which I took a bath on, but it was falling apart and I just wanted to be rid of it. It ended up being pretty close to the best truecar estimates. More importantly, it was really low hassle.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 5, 2016 13:22
|
|