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Has anyone bought a new car cash?

Has anyone bought a new car cash?

Old Jun 3rd 2011, 9:20 pm
  #31  
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Default Re: Has anyone bought a new car cash?

Originally Posted by mayhemuk
From CA DMV
"If you become a California resident, you must get a California driver license within 10 days."

It is an often discussed topic. The general advise I've seen is don't hang around. The process can take a bit of time so may as well get on it!

Check the CA DMV site for further info.
Good Luck!
Thanks! I've seen that on their website, and I plan to visit them/speak to them as soon as possible after I get my SS card in my hands (which is likely to take longer than 10 days to arrive - or I may have to visit the local office to request it if it takes too long ). I've heard by some people who went in with foreign licenses that they issued them a learner's permit until they passed the actual written and driving tests, while others have said that they were issued a 3-month temporary license.
But given the time the SS card takes to arrive and that they seem to require one before they even begin the procedure with you, 10 days is possibly unrealistic in immigration cases. It seems to me like they wrote this instruction for US citizens moving to CA from another state, but that they didn't put much thought into new US residents' circumstances.
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Old Jun 3rd 2011, 9:57 pm
  #32  
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Default Re: Has anyone bought a new car cash?

Originally Posted by Steerpike
Now, if 'new cars' are such a bad idea, with their rapid depreciation, how come the money is being made in the used car arena?
greater margins and mark up with used.... either via trade-ins or picking up at auction; trade-in, the car is pretty much free for them as its a credit towards the new purchase... they'll make moreso when they sell it eg, a car I was looking at was on the lot asking 8.5k and the previous owner's contact info happened to be in the glove box and I called them to ask about the car and what they got for trade... they were given 1,600 for the car!! (My initial offer was the trade-in amount they gave ). Same sorta thing for auctions. Not everyone buys new because they can't afford/qualify etc; more likely to go for a cheaper newer used car instead; prob easier to sell 2 cars at 15k than 1 at 30k... 2 sales better than none!

A new car sale nets something like an average of 3%-5% above their cost... that is in part why the try to charge for and upsale a/c... mats... clear coat.... sound systems... dealer handling - the extra margin and potential profit and increase %age.

As soon as you sign on the dotted line of a new car; it becomes used... subject to trade-in value etc! If there wasn't good money to be made on those used cars, they wouldn't be sitting on the dealership lots!
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Old Jun 4th 2011, 8:10 pm
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Default Re: Has anyone bought a new car cash?

Just saw this article which might be useful.

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/confessi...-salesman.html
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Old Jun 5th 2011, 3:31 am
  #34  
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Default Re: Has anyone bought a new car cash?

Originally Posted by Boiler

There is no such thing as invoice or net. The customer will never know.
Best piece of advice. People who are like "I only paid $100 over invoice". REALLY? You think so? Think again. Lots of deals going on behind the scenes, kick backs from manufactures etc.
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Old Jun 5th 2011, 3:39 am
  #35  
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Default Re: Has anyone bought a new car cash?

Originally Posted by emailrob
Best piece of advice. People who are like "I only paid $100 over invoice". REALLY? You think so? Think again. Lots of deals going on behind the scenes, kick backs from manufactures etc.
But that doesn't change the fact that paying $100 over invoice is significantly better than paying $100 over MSRP.

As for dealer financing, take it if they offer a better deal than the financing you walked in with. They often will. But make sure they put the loan all the way through before you leave with the car. If you leave in some kind of pre-approved status, it's a common trick to screw the loan up (or fail to qualify), then be reported for stealing a car. (Of course, the dealer will be happy to help you get out of that situation for a higher APR.)
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Old Jun 5th 2011, 5:49 am
  #36  
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Default Re: Has anyone bought a new car cash?

Originally Posted by AdobePinon
But that doesn't change the fact that paying $100 over invoice is significantly better than paying $100 over MSRP.

...
Or even, better than paying $200 over invoice!
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Old Jun 10th 2011, 5:45 pm
  #37  
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Default Re: Has anyone bought a new car cash?

Hello everyone! Well, we're now in the US and I'm pleased to report that we bought our car last night - a new VW Jetta Sedan
I don't know if the deal was the best or not, and we might have been able to find it elsewhere for cheaper but we ended up buying one with a few upgrades and extras (which we hadn't anticipated, so were happy about that) from our local dealership that was well within budget, so we're happy.

The price we ended up paying was $1,100 below MSRP. In a nutshell, here's how it went:

So my husand called the Internet salesperson in the morning to get a quote and the guy gave him the standard "$100 below invoice" offer (of course, how can you ever know for sure how much the invoice price is? - and I'm sure they inflate it anyway!!) but the salesperson told him over the phone that invoice prices for the model we were looking at varied depending on the features of each vehicle, so he just gave a ball park figure for one of the lower invoice prices, which we'd be happy to pay.

So we went down there a few hours later (luckily it was only a 10-minute drive away from home) and the guy showed us around. It turned out (not surprisingly) that he had less cars of that model in the lot than he had hinted over the phone, and guess what - none of them was in the lower invoice price range he had quoted over the phone! Not surprising either!
To be fair though, like I said above, some upgrades and extras that we weren't anticipating (but were more than happy to have) were already included.
So after looking around, picking the colour we liked, doing the test drive etc. we found ouselves in his office to talk money He wasn't really surprised that we wanted to pay cash, and was totally cool about it - none of the hassle I was afraid he'd give us. So he quoted us $800 below MSPR (supposedly invoice was $700 below MSRP less another $100 that he supposedly deducted) which was ok but a little towards the high end of what we were looking to spend, so after a little bit of haggling and the usual "let me ask my manager" BS we got him to drop the price another $300 which was around what we had anticipated and were prepared to pay. He said he only did it because we were locals and they hoped that we'd be bringing the car in for service, so they were looking at repeat business from us. I'm sure that was partly true, but I also think we made a fair offer.
We had found the same car for the exact same price at another dealership much farther away (they were having a sale), but that one didn't include the upgrades or the extras, so all things considered, we felt we got ourselves a pretty good deal. Unfortunately we hadn't been able to find it anywhere else for any cheaper, so we didn't really have that negotiating card of "threatening" to go elsewhere, that could have helped to drop the price more.
But like I said, we felt we got a fair deal.

Thanks everyone for your advice and inupt!!
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Old Jun 11th 2011, 5:29 am
  #38  
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Default Re: Has anyone bought a new car cash?

Originally Posted by C_C
Hello everyone! Well, we're now in the US and I'm pleased to report that we bought our car last night - a new VW Jetta Sedan
I don't know if the deal was the best or not, and we might have been able to find it elsewhere for cheaper but we ended up buying one with a few upgrades and extras (which we hadn't anticipated, so were happy about that) from our local dealership that was well within budget, so we're happy.

The price we ended up paying was $1,100 below MSRP. In a nutshell, here's how it went:

So my husand called the Internet salesperson in the morning to get a quote and the guy gave him the standard "$100 below invoice" offer (of course, how can you ever know for sure how much the invoice price is? - and I'm sure they inflate it anyway!!) but the salesperson told him over the phone that invoice prices for the model we were looking at varied depending on the features of each vehicle, so he just gave a ball park figure for one of the lower invoice prices, which we'd be happy to pay.

So we went down there a few hours later (luckily it was only a 10-minute drive away from home) and the guy showed us around. It turned out (not surprisingly) that he had less cars of that model in the lot than he had hinted over the phone, and guess what - none of them was in the lower invoice price range he had quoted over the phone! Not surprising either!
To be fair though, like I said above, some upgrades and extras that we weren't anticipating (but were more than happy to have) were already included.
So after looking around, picking the colour we liked, doing the test drive etc. we found ouselves in his office to talk money He wasn't really surprised that we wanted to pay cash, and was totally cool about it - none of the hassle I was afraid he'd give us. So he quoted us $800 below MSPR (supposedly invoice was $700 below MSRP less another $100 that he supposedly deducted) which was ok but a little towards the high end of what we were looking to spend, so after a little bit of haggling and the usual "let me ask my manager" BS we got him to drop the price another $300 which was around what we had anticipated and were prepared to pay. He said he only did it because we were locals and they hoped that we'd be bringing the car in for service, so they were looking at repeat business from us. I'm sure that was partly true, but I also think we made a fair offer.
We had found the same car for the exact same price at another dealership much farther away (they were having a sale), but that one didn't include the upgrades or the extras, so all things considered, we felt we got ourselves a pretty good deal. Unfortunately we hadn't been able to find it anywhere else for any cheaper, so we didn't really have that negotiating card of "threatening" to go elsewhere, that could have helped to drop the price more.
But like I said, we felt we got a fair deal.

Thanks everyone for your advice and inupt!!
Well done! You got something for less than you expected, with a few extras. You'll never know if you could have got it for less ... best to be happy and move on!
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Old Jun 12th 2011, 5:44 am
  #39  
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Default Re: Has anyone bought a new car cash?

Well done, I am a bit late to the party here, but in case anyone reads this thread in the future, this may be helpful , or a touch wrong.

I was told by people who claim to be experts that given the importance of building credit, to try to get a car loan and make payments for at least a year,

Aided by this, and with no credit score, I paid about $23k cash and borrowed a nominal $8k ( over 3 years) on a AMG Mercedes.

I got a very reasonable APR of 6% given the low risk of the loan, and my payments of $250 are very easy to deal with.

Result has been that my credit is now 760 after 5 months, which is likely to save me a lot of money over the next year, far far more than the unnecessary interest I incurred.

I'll likely pay the loan off with cash in about a year if my credit score seems to be stabilizing.
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Old Jun 12th 2011, 5:30 pm
  #40  
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Default Re: Has anyone bought a new car cash?

Originally Posted by NEW2LA
Well done, I am a bit late to the party here, but in case anyone reads this thread in the future, this may be helpful , or a touch wrong.

I was told by people who claim to be experts that given the importance of building credit, to try to get a car loan and make payments for at least a year,

Aided by this, and with no credit score, I paid about $23k cash and borrowed a nominal $8k ( over 3 years) on a AMG Mercedes.

I got a very reasonable APR of 6% given the low risk of the loan, and my payments of $250 are very easy to deal with.

Result has been that my credit is now 760 after 5 months, which is likely to save me a lot of money over the next year, far far more than the unnecessary interest I incurred.

I'll likely pay the loan off with cash in about a year if my credit score seems to be stabilizing.
That's good advice. When I first arrived (way back!), I couldn't get a credit card, but I gathered up a bunch of goods in Macys and then asked for the store card at the checkout. The sales assistant bent over backwards to get me a card so she could make the sale. It took hours to get it (I shopped elsewhere in the mall while waiting) but eventually they gave it to me, and I suspect that got me well on the way to a credit history. Car salespeople and department store salespeople will certainly go the extra mile to get credit because they are heavily incented to do so.
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Old Jun 12th 2011, 6:11 pm
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Default Re: Has anyone bought a new car cash?

Originally Posted by NEW2LA

Result has been that my credit is now 760 after 5 months, which is likely to save me a lot of money over the next year, far far more than the unnecessary interest I incurred.

I'll likely pay the loan off with cash in about a year if my credit score seems to be stabilizing.
It isn't just the score it is the length of credit history. In fact history is more important. Just had the house insurance renewal and we are still not getting the lowest basic premium as we only have 4.5 years credit history. That's with a score in the 800s.

Last edited by lansbury; Jun 12th 2011 at 6:13 pm.
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Old Jun 12th 2011, 6:31 pm
  #42  
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Default Re: Has anyone bought a new car cash?

From what I have read elsewhere, most fleet sales will sell to the general public, and I guess that they do not deal with financing in that department.
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Old Jun 12th 2011, 9:25 pm
  #43  
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Default Re: Has anyone bought a new car cash?

Originally Posted by lansbury
It isn't just the score it is the length of credit history. In fact history is more important. Just had the house insurance renewal and we are still not getting the lowest basic premium as we only have 4.5 years credit history. That's with a score in the 800s.
True, but a loan is a good kick start to building up a score and more importantly that history, with more than one line of credit of a card alone.
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Old Jun 13th 2011, 5:10 am
  #44  
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Default Re: Has anyone bought a new car cash?

Originally Posted by lansbury
It isn't just the score it is the length of credit history. In fact history is more important. Just had the house insurance renewal and we are still not getting the lowest basic premium as we only have 4.5 years credit history. That's with a score in the 800s.
Which raises another interesting question - why should 'credit rating' have anything to do with house insurance rates! I know it does, I just don't know why ...
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Old Jun 13th 2011, 11:55 am
  #45  
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Default Re: Has anyone bought a new car cash?

Originally Posted by Steerpike
Which raises another interesting question - why should 'credit rating' have anything to do with house insurance rates! I know it does, I just don't know why ...
Because less creditworthy people are more likely to find themselves in a financial pinch and be tempted to burn their own house down in order to collect the insurance?

Just speculating/trying to think like an insurer might (I may be way off the mark...)
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