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Another car buying question

Another car buying question

Old Jan 24th 2004, 1:46 pm
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Default Another car buying question

There's a link somewhere from the expats website to the International Auto Source site - I've looked at their site, and the prices seem reasonable.

However, I'm hoping not to need to finance our car, so the unique selling point of using our UK credit history won't be required.

Has anyone used them when paying cash for a car?

Would we get a better rate if we wait until arriving in US and shopping around? They claim to sell at invoice price, and have a few manufacturers discounts for cash - but I wondered if it would be better to shop around and haggle a bit over prices at the dealerships when we arrive?

Are there any good sites for discount/car supermarket type suppliers in US - specifically in Texas?
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Old Jan 24th 2004, 3:11 pm
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I suspect that the whole point of Autosource is to finance. I nearly signed a deal with them myself, and found them reliable and helpful. It just wasn't for me at the time. In the end I got a better deal over here in the US, so despite what people say about being a new immigrant and that everything is more difficult, while that is true in many respects, you can always find a good deal in the land of opportunity. If you intend to buy cash then don't even bother with Autosource. just turn up and drive a car off the lot. It was very easy to buy a new car here.
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Old Jan 24th 2004, 3:17 pm
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We were going to buy a car from them (for cash - my husband was repaid all of his compulsory CPF - a pension and medicare scheme fund - when we left Singapore). We thought it would be good to be a new expat with a US made car, but all our neighbours have European or Japanese cars!

I thought they were a bit devious and were 'economical' with the truth. They were trying to fob us off with a model style which was being discontinued because of its unpopularity; a minivan (Dodge Caravan aka Chrysler Voyager in the UK) which didn't have the additional sliding door on the driver's side and also said that the only colour available was in dark green (which we didn't really favour).

At this time all the negotiations were by e-mail and a couple of phone calls as I was still in Singapore until the end of the school year and to pack up our stuff, but my husband had moved to a temporary serviced apartment in Manhatten so had no need for a car. Anyway, as I didn't know what a Dodge Caravan was (or any other GMC or most Ford models which weren't available in Singapore) I had to do a lot of research online to see the model ranges; it's crazy really to order a car you have never even been in to check for size/suitability or test drive! We wanted a minivan (7 seater) for the space when buying new stuff for the house and for when we had visitors from the UK as car rental prices are very high in the New York Met area.

I came across a brilliant website which takes hours to read called

http://www.carbuyingtips.com

It tells you about all the scams and how to negotiate when buying or leasing a new car. We went to one of their recommended links and (I'm sure it was www.stoneage.com) you can put out a request for the make/model of the car you want and dealers in a radius of your choice (& in your State) of say, 10, 25, 50,100 miles will come back to you with your choice of car if they have it in stock and their price. This is for serious requests only.

We had at least two offers for a brand new Dodge Caravan which was *less* than the price quoted by International Autosource - and with the extra sliding door, the colour we wanted and the car we bought also had factory fitted child seats unlike the IA car.

At no point did we discuss payment terms with IA. My feeling is that if you need credit but obviously no credit rating at all it might be worthwhile buying from IA. However, 'Rockgurl' who posts here was going to buy a car from them a few weeks ago (read through her posts on this subject) and they treated her badly too - I think they suddenly raised the deposit charge at the last moment, which is quite underhand of them. As you can see, she's just bought a new car by alternative means!

Good Luck!
(By the way, the Caravan was fine and economical but useless on the snow and my husband and son like to go to the ski resorts here in the NE. We changed it for a new Volvo XC90 which is a great car - but a heck of a lot more expensive!)
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Old Jan 24th 2004, 3:21 pm
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Yes, you're right Englishmum. I had forgotten all about the way they raised the deposit. Thanks for reminding me. I wasn't best pleased at the time and that was the deal killer for me. I don't trust people who change things in the last minute, but then I've noticed that all car dealers do that, even the ones I bought the car off yesterday. They really tried it on with the extra warranty, pretending it was "all-inclusive" and just sign here. Luckily I had my wits about me and delved a little deeper. They were not happy having to sit and wait while I read the small print! Just remember...this is America...there's always a better deal!
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Old Feb 2nd 2004, 11:05 am
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Today International Autosurce are also not my top people.

I had ordered a $40K car with them on a 1.9% finance deal that they guaranteed they had locked me into and now we discover they want 5.5%.

If they do not honour the initial deal then as far as I am concerned they have misled me and I want out of the deal.

If I have to pay cash then I will walk up to the dealer and negotiate.

Have been more or less impressed with them until this happened.

Yet another day with something to sort out....
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Old Feb 2nd 2004, 9:20 pm
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It definitely seems that International Autosource are very underhand in their dealings with newcomers to the USA.

I'm wondering how you (and Rockgurl) heard about them in the first place?

We were given a leaflet about IA from our removal company (K C Dat) in Singapore and we had certainly never heard of this company beforehand. I'm convinced that the removal companies get commission from IA or get paid for giving out the leaflets - otherwise why would the removal companies issue them?

Did you ever get anything in writing about the original interest rate being financed at 1.1%? If it was verbal you don't have a leg to stand on, but if you've got it in writing you could threaten to sue and/or report them to the Better Business Bureau.

It seems that they 'prey' on newbies as they've got enough on their plates with their move into the States and are seen as 'gullible'.

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Old Feb 2nd 2004, 10:12 pm
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Originally posted by Dufus
Today International Autosurce are also not my top people.

I had ordered a $40K car with them on a 1.9% finance deal that they guaranteed they had locked me into and now we discover they want 5.5%.

If they do not honour the initial deal then as far as I am concerned they have misled me and I want out of the deal.

If I have to pay cash then I will walk up to the dealer and negotiate.

Have been more or less impressed with them until this happened.

Yet another day with something to sort out....
Could there be a "cash back" involved in there? Say for instance, you get $4000 cash back and 5.5% apr, so the purchase price is now lower. The higher interest could mean the total amount to repay is roughly the same as if you had the original purchase price at the lower 1.9% apr. Just a thought.
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Old Feb 2nd 2004, 11:03 pm
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Actually LoL, you have reminded me of something which killed the deal with International Autosource for us.

When we were going to buy the Dodge from them, you have to purchase the car *before* arriving in the US. My husband moved to the States a few weeks ahead of me and didn't need a car straightaway as the company arranged accommodation for him in Manhatten for one month. He then moved into our house, but as we are two blocks from the railway station with direct trains into NYC he still didn't need a car for a while, until I arrived with the children.

What they didn't tell us was that at that time, Dodge was offering a $2,000 cash back deal/discount when you bought a new car from them. My husband had seen the car advert in the States and of course anyone living outside the US wouldn't have known about it. I looked at the breakdown of the cost of the car on the e-mail we received from our order from International Autosource, there was no mention at all about this $2,000 discount from Dodge.

I queried this with the guy when he phoned me in Singapore and said "oh yeah, I forgot". My arse!

I told them to stuff their car and we got a better deal from a car dealer about 10 miles from our home....and a free oil change every time we took it there for servicing.



Yes, International Autosource are a bunch of sharks in my opinion.
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Old Feb 3rd 2004, 7:05 am
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Hello well it is still not sorted out.

But I have sent them an e-mail showing me where they promised I was locked in to the 1.9% rate.

There is no cash back alas.

Basically the issue is that the offer of 1.9% ran out 31 Dec and although I applied on 1 Dec to guarantee I got it, it looks like someone submitted the paperwork too late to get this rate.

5.5 % I am not paying.

Will keep you informed.

I had been impressed up to this point ......
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Old Feb 3rd 2004, 2:23 pm
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Well, it seems like this will be OK.

They are reducing the price of the car so that the total price is the same and the deal is much better than I can get from Audi Finance direct which is not so bad.

Was a bit of a battle though

Cheers
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Old Feb 3rd 2004, 3:03 pm
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Originally posted by Dufus
Well, it seems like this will be OK.

They are reducing the price of the car so that the total price is the same and the deal is much better than I can get from Audi Finance direct which is not so bad.

Was a bit of a battle though

Cheers

Having read all the comments about IA I'm really surprised. We had a great experience buying through them with no hassles. We brought a Jeep Liberty 2004 model with 0% interest over 3 years. The price was cheaper than the Jeep dealers in the area. They even offered to give us $350 if we could beat their deal

They really have been easy to deal with (especially when you compare it to some of red tape of being over here!!). I love my Jeep - certainly a bit different from my Mazda MX5 in the UK! Although with the snow here in Chicago I'm grateful for 4 wheel drive!!
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Old Feb 3rd 2004, 3:12 pm
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I think IA have a closer relationship to JEEP than they do to Audi. As I was looking at buying a JEEP with them before and it did seem easier.

I guess that the car companies mess them about a bit with the finance too.

They have been helpful, but I had to be very firm yesterday and I would rather not have had to.
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Old Feb 3rd 2004, 4:33 pm
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I've been doing a bit of research on cars/trucks/suv's etc. - and the Jeep Liberty seems like a nice medium sized suv for a very good price.

KiteChick - how have you found the Liberty? would you recommend it?
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Old Feb 3rd 2004, 5:18 pm
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Originally posted by John Murray
I've been doing a bit of research on cars/trucks/suv's etc. - and the Jeep Liberty seems like a nice medium sized suv for a very good price.

KiteChick - how have you found the Liberty? would you recommend it?
I love it! I've had mine for 2 months and it's been great. The 4 wheel drive has come in very handy in the snow and ice - it can be set to full or part time which is useful in changeable conditions. I like the fact that the liberty feels robust and I feel safe in it. My only regret is not ordering the butt warmers as an extra - I'm now thinking of having them retro-fitted. All in all I would recommend the Liberty - I'm very happy in mine
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Old Feb 3rd 2004, 11:30 pm
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I have to stick up for International Autosource having had an excellent service from them and lower payments than I was quoted!

We moved to LA in September and I bought a Ford Focus outright from them and a Ford Escape on credit. They originally said my credit rate would be 3.9%, but if rates changed for the better, then I would benefit. Sure enough, when my paperwork arrived it had come down to 2.9%, then when the final Ford credit bill came through it had come down to 0%. Result!

The cars were delivered early and I received a very good deal (especially for buying two cars).

One of the great benefits, however, was how easy it all was. A few phone calls in the UK, some wire transfers and it was all done. I had absolutely zero desire to visit dealers in the US and go through the whole process.

Their service was excellent and communication great. You can also check how regular expats poster Pulaski rates them.

I understand that they may not be for everyone, but it worked a treat for me.

I believe that they deal with US manufacturers only.
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