My wife bought a car yesterday. We agreed on X amount for downpayment (half by CC and half by check) and Y amount of payment per month for 60 months. Shook hands with the salesperson and manager on the deal. We were assured that there would be no additional charge. When my wife was about to sign the contract/leasing paper, she noticed that the monthly payment had been slightly bumped up. They corrected the mistake by lowering the interest rate. They drew up a new contract and she signed the paperwork. However one thing is bugging me. When they re-did the contract, she did not re-check the downpayment amount. We authorized half of it on CC and we are supposed to write a check for the remaining amount when we go pick the car up tomorrow. If in fact they have raised the downpayment amount, and renegaded on their verbal agreement, what options does she have? Can she simply refuse to write the check for remaining balance and walk away and not even touch the car? Is the contract void because she has not paid the balance of the downpayment and has not taken delivery of the car? Just found out something interesting tonight. Apparently it is not a good idea to drive the car away UNTIL you can verify that the finance has been 100% approved and all final. There are plenty of cases where the dealer will lower the numbers on paper to get the sale, and then a few days later call you up and say "Didnt get those numbers from the bak bla bla...need to come back and re-do the paperwork" and then of course they try to stick higher number at you. So then, who EXACTLY do you talk to to make sure that the finance is 100% all set? Why is it so hard to trust dealership folks??
You have 3 days to back out of a contract. Dealerships are notorious for pulling shenanigans like this. This is why you should never negotiate on monthly payments and NEVER accept a verbal deal. I had one dealership do something similar to this. I told them I would take the car if they could drop me a single point on the interest. He called back and said it was done. When I went to sign the paperwork, I noticed the monthly payments stayed the same. They had raised the price of the car and tried to claim I was "buying down the interest rate". I would have walked out if I wasn't already getting a good deal as it was. I kindly told them that I asked for the interest rate to be dropped, not to buy it down. I told them I would have agreed to let them buy it down if they told me up front and let the dealership take the additional money, but instead I will let the finance company have the extra percentage point and go with the original deal. If they pull any crap, let them know up front and just walk away.
Car selling has ALWAYS been based on a philosophy of 'rip the customer off no matter how you have to do it'. Find the book called 'Don't Get Taken Every Time' http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Taken-Ev...59&sr=8-1&keywords=don't+get+taken+every+time Read it, read it a couple of times. And then just understand the only important FACT when buying a car from a dealership: They ARE trying to rip you off. And by 'rip you off', I mean, they are trying to squeeze every single penny out of you that they possibly can. They are working for themselves, not for you. You are the prey, you are not their buddy, they are not your friend, PERIOD. They will make you *believe* you are getting a 'great deal' when in fact you are way overpaying. As long as you always remember that, and then have a very clear understanding of when you can still walk away, you will be able to get through the process without too much remorse. Oh, and NEVER shop at HUB Hyundai/Mitsubishi on 290. They are the kings of ripping you off.
Whenever I buy a car from a dealership, I don't worry about what they do to me in finance. Because I just drive the car off the lot and go refinance with someone else the very next day. In this day and age, I would never have a loan from a sleazy car dealership. Too many other options out there.
so after negotiating price do you just sign the paperwork, drive off, go to the bank for a loan, and pay off the dealer's loan with your bank loan? sounds like a good plan. i never go into the dealership without a preapproved interest and loan. yet it never fails that the finance guy totally ignores it and tries to nonchalantly give me a higher interest rate.
Figuratively speaking, yes. I don't literally drive to a bank. You can do it all online these days. Your plan is a good one too. I've heard credit unions are the best place to get car loans.
LOL @ interest rates. :grin: I don't buy a car if the interest rate isn't 0%. They're not getting "loan charges" from me. ima_, don't you lose points if you check your credit often? Don't tell me she drove away before the sale was final! Did she?!?
I always get my financing lined up before stepping on a dealer's lot to possibly purchase a car. I never use "their" financing.
I'm buying a new car this week and i've got a stupid question about fianncing. If i want to finance at a credit union before going to the dealer how does that work exactly. Since the price of the car hasn't been negotiated does the Credit Union just give you a ballpark figure and once the details are ironed out adjust it?
No, I meant for other things. After just checking it ONCE at the dealership for financing and at the bank for financing again... that's TWICE, and then you have to do something else with your credit... and they'll see that you've been checking it too often, is all.
Call them, or go see them (probably better if there is an office near), and tell them you're going to buy a car. Simply ask them how much can you borrow, and at what interest rate, and how much you intend to put down (which may not matter). They'll tell you. Good luck!
you tell the credit union the type of car you want to buy and yes they'll give you a predetermined amount. if your car price is more than the loan, you make up the difference with your down payment. if it's less you pay the bank back the difference.
My experience is that you get "pre-approved" for up to a certain amount, and when you purchase the car, the dealer calls the credit union and they arrange the purchase, based on how much you put down, of course. You don't "pay back" the credit union. They loan you what you need, based on the purchase price and down payment.
Verbal contracts are binding. Now proving it is a completely different matter. Basically you can't say, "Yes, we agreed to x terms, but since it wasn't written down, it doesn't matter".
I go through the fleet manager at any dealership I contact. Prior to going to any location, I already have a price agreement via email from that fleet manager. I simply get each dealer's "best" offers and use that offer against themselves at other dealers - all online via emails. Makes the process for me less aggravating. Also, knowing the price before I go to the dealer allows me to check sites like KBB and other online sites to confirm "fare" deal pricings.
If you have good credit and you have established a good relationship with your credit union, this is the way to go! You can easily get 1%-1.5% interest on a used vehicle (my preference) and .5%-1% on a new vehicle with zero money down! It has also helped me in negotiating the price since they know I have (in essence) cash on hand, they will do the funky chicken dance before they let you go! ....... ....... .......
