4 ms·

Also, or alternatively, make sure you have your loan approval in hand as well. I recently bought a car and thought I got an okay rate at the dealer through Capi

by hbosch 8y ago

Also, or alternatively, make sure you have your loan approval in hand as well. I recently bought a car and thought I got an okay rate at the dealer through CapitalOne, but they “figured out” a way to get my interest rate a whole point lower (much better than anticipated) if I went with the dealer warranty. So the price of my purchase went up, but my monthly payments went down. That’s okay with me in the end, but I really would have preferred my “real” rate and no extra warranty of course. Having a hard price and a solid loan letter in hand before you even step on to the lot is really the only sane way to deal with auto purchasing.

lowercased 8y ago
i went in with a 3.64% approval rate. car guy says "oh, we can beat that!". Come back with "how does 3.5 sound?". "well... fine, I guess... not a huge difference, but if it makes it any easier... whatever". Mind you this was... $9k loan. I get their paperwork... reviewing it - 3.59%. .05% difference. I mean, yes, it's lower, but ... "damn, we can beat that!". He was so excited! It's about 40 cents per month cheaper.
- stevehawk 8y ago
  40 cents per month cheaper for you, but he made money on the deal. If a car dealership sells you an extended warranty or financing then they get a cut of it. Se he went from making $0 on your third party financing to making some level of money on you. It's a plus for both of you when it works out.
  - lowercased 8y ago
    that's what I figured - they had to be making some sort of kickback or referral fee or piece of that action.
  - shostack 8y ago
    Not only that, but for many people, you should probably try to negotiate for the lower net cost vs. lower monthly payments with a higher total cost. If you can float the money, why pay more?
- bradknowles 8y ago
  The last time I bought a new car for myself, I had a pre-approved loan from my bank in hand. The dealership swore up and down they could beat that deal. Three hours later and they finally gave up and went ahead with our pre-approved loan. Pissed me off to no end that they made us wait that long before they gave up trying.
  - lowercased 8y ago
    my deal only took about 10 minutes. for a late model used car, I wasn't seeing anything much out of the 3.6% range anywhere, so I didn't think they'd be able to do much better. had they surprised me with, say, 2.2%... great, but it's still not a huge savings anyway.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
vvanders 8y ago
I hope the term was the same. The whole 4 square shenanigans is really annoying. Agreed on having your own financing lined up, I've never seen a case where a dealer could beat my credit union. Also wait to mention your trade-in if you have one until after you have the rest of the terms nailed down(and ideally have a carmax quote before).

by hbosch 8y ago

lowercased 8y ago

i went in with a 3.64% approval rate. car guy says "oh, we can beat that!". Come back with "how does 3.5 sound?". "well... fine, I guess... not a huge difference, but if it makes it any easier... whatever". Mind you this was... $9k loan. I get their paperwork... reviewing it - 3.59%. .05% difference. I mean, yes, it's lower, but ... "damn, we can beat that!". He was so excited! It's about 40 cents per month cheaper.

stevehawk 8y ago
40 cents per month cheaper for you, but he made money on the deal. If a car dealership sells you an extended warranty or financing then they get a cut of it. Se he went from making $0 on your third party financing to making some level of money on you. It's a plus for both of you when it works out.
- lowercased 8y ago
  that's what I figured - they had to be making some sort of kickback or referral fee or piece of that action.
- shostack 8y ago
  Not only that, but for many people, you should probably try to negotiate for the lower net cost vs. lower monthly payments with a higher total cost. If you can float the money, why pay more?
bradknowles 8y ago
The last time I bought a new car for myself, I had a pre-approved loan from my bank in hand. The dealership swore up and down they could beat that deal. Three hours later and they finally gave up and went ahead with our pre-approved loan. Pissed me off to no end that they made us wait that long before they gave up trying.
- lowercased 8y ago
  my deal only took about 10 minutes. for a late model used car, I wasn't seeing anything much out of the 3.6% range anywhere, so I didn't think they'd be able to do much better. had they surprised me with, say, 2.2%... great, but it's still not a huge savings anyway.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

vvanders 8y ago

I hope the term was the same. The whole 4 square shenanigans is really annoying. Agreed on having your own financing lined up, I've never seen a case where a dealer could beat my credit union. Also wait to mention your trade-in if you have one until after you have the rest of the terms nailed down(and ideally have a carmax quote before).