Used Car Purchasing

[Route 66]

Ok, so I make a deal on a Cadillac XTS...I get into the financing department and something strange happened. I told them that I wanted to go with my credit union and I knew beforehand that they dealt with this credit union a lot. So as the papers are drawn up, I casually mention my credit union. The finance guy looks over at me and said that this loan would be with another bank.

I asked what the APR would be and he told me it would be .8% higher than what I expected. Not a huge deal but I still asked if I could go with my credit union. After going back and forth for awhile, he then said well, what if I got you down another 1.3% which turned out to be 2.5% with this bank. I said ok. I've been buying new and used cars for decades. I just don't understand why this guy offered this lower rate after I insisted on going with my credit union.

I understand kickbacks and certain deals financing may have with certain banks but what bothers me is why didn't he offer this right off the bat? It irks me that I even had to wheel and deal an APR? I have Tier 1 credit so from now on, I might as well just get the financing on my own. I never thought they could do that.

 

[Ranching]

You can finance at the dealer, haggle for a lower rate, and then a month or two later refi at your credit union. They will usually beat your rate. You get the kickback discount and a lower rate as well.

 

[CyberB0b]

I did the same thing. It's like any negotiation, they shoot high and haggle from there.

 

[Route 66]

But I've never seen someone in finance quote two different rates from the same lender and offer the lowest towards the end of the deal. Guess it's more common than I thought.

 

[Longboysfan]

They were not getting the higher percentage kickback from the other lender.

 

[viman96]

They can get a commission from the bank so sales people will offer what is best for them. If it happens to be close to what you want then great. When you tell them no way is when they bring up the other offers.

 

[Bigdog]

You can finance at the dealer, haggle for a lower rate, and then a month or two later refi at your credit union. They will usually beat your rate. You get the kickback discount and a lower rate as well.

Exactly. Just bought a used car last Sunday. Got a good rate but I am looking to see if I can get a better rate. My credit score is in the top 1% so who knows. I have bought cars from dealers who have said if you can beat this rate that we give you than they will honor it.

 

[LocimusPrime]

I used to sell cars in college. This is the game.

 

[Dallas_Cowboys50]

This is why I will probably always stick with saving 3-6k and buying a 10 yr old used vehicle outright with cash.....no monthly payments, no full coverage requirements, no worries about repo if you cant make payments for whatever reason etc.....

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

This is why I will probably always stick with saving 3-6k and buying a 10 yr old used vehicle outright with cash.....no monthly payments, no full coverage requirements, no worries about repo if you cant make payments for whatever reason etc.....

That is what I did last time.

Although there is a funny story to it.

I had between 5-10k to spend in cash on a car a few years ago.

I knew it would be an older car as i did not want a loan over my head.

I went looking for a specific car a third generation Mitsubishi Eclipse. I think the third gen body style ended in 2005. I wanted to find one in decent shape with decent mileage on it.
Was having a hard time finding any. Most had kept their cars or the few that were for sale were in rough shape.

However while going to different dealerships I saw one that looked to be in good shape. Pulled in and asked for the mileage on it and it was decent. Had my pops look at the car (not a mechanic but he knows more about that stuff than I do). He says it is in decent shape. The price was decent as well so I told the guy I would like to buy the vehicle.

He said we could go in and set up the paper work for the payments and so on. I said...No I want to buy the car with the price quoted and in cash. It was a reasonable price and I knew they were hard to find in decent condition.

Guy would not take case. It was a JD Byrider (sp?) and they only dealt with credit and he basically told me that they deal with mostly people who have no credit or bad credit. So just out of curiosity I asked what the best offer he could make it was more than I wanted to pay. Even if I got the loan and the next day took all the cash I had and paid it towards the loan it would still have me paying a good bit longer to pay it off. It was basically one of those rent to own scams where you pay way too much in interest and wind up paying 2-3 times what a product is worth.

So...After going into the lot with high hopes, I walked out down trodden. Two things happened that I was thankful for. Not that long after that the Lot closed and I heard bad stories that many were sold bad cars...who knows if true but they did close down the lot I went to.

Later that day I found a nice Monte Carlo SS that I have to this day and still enjoy. Bought in cash....no loan over my head.

 

[Seven]

That is what I did last time.

Although there is a funny story to it.

I had between 5-10k to spend in cash on a car a few years ago.

I knew it would be an older car as i did not want a loan over my head.

I went looking for a specific car a third generation Mitsubishi Eclipse. I think the third gen body style ended in 2005. I wanted to find one in decent shape with decent mileage on it.
Was having a hard time finding any. Most had kept their cars or the few that were for sale were in rough shape.

However while going to different dealerships I saw one that looked to be in good shape. Pulled in and asked for the mileage on it and it was decent. Had my pops look at the car (not a mechanic but he knows more about that stuff than I do). He says it is in decent shape. The price was decent as well so I told the guy I would like to buy the vehicle.

He said we could go in and set up the paper work for the payments and so on. I said...No I want to buy the car with the price quoted and in cash. It was a reasonable price and I knew they were hard to find in decent condition.

Guy would not take case. It was a JD Byrider (sp?) and they only dealt with credit and he basically told me that they deal with mostly people who have no credit or bad credit. So just out of curiosity I asked what the best offer he could make it was more than I wanted to pay. Even if I got the loan and the next day took all the cash I had and paid it towards the loan it would still have me paying a good bit longer to pay it off. It was basically one of those rent to own scams where you pay way too much in interest and wind up paying 2-3 times what a product is worth.

So...After going into the lot with high hopes, I walked out down trodden. Two things happened that I was thankful for. Not that long after that the Lot closed and I heard bad stories that many were sold bad cars...who knows if true but they did close down the lot I went to.

Later that day I found a nice Monte Carlo SS that I have to this day and still enjoy. Bought in cash....no loan over my head.

.................and God bless us, everyone.

 

[CyberB0b]

This is why I will probably always stick with saving 3-6k and buying a 10 yr old used vehicle outright with cash.....no monthly payments, no full coverage requirements, no worries about repo if you cant make payments for whatever reason etc.....

The issue is that you don't know what kind of shape a 10 year old vehicle is in and it isn't worth their time to deal with a car with potential problems. My wife, for example, drives a new car. I travel a lot for work and don't have time to deal with breakdowns and upkeep. Me, on the other hand, I am shopping for a real beater, for exactly the same reasons you mentioned. If it breaks down on the side of the road, I'd have AAA tow it home and get an Uber to the airport and deal with it when I get back.

 

[Route 66]

...and to think of all the car-purchasing deals done over the years that I didn't know they don't necessarily offer you the best rate. I figured to get the deal done, they would give you the best rate. I was wrong.