Need Tips On Negotiating A Car

[debmidge]

if anyone can, please advise me as to what questions I should be asking about interest rates, cost new of vehicle, warranty, mileage, length of lease, etc.

What are the pitfalls I should watch out for?

I am going to dealership on Friday morning.

[clbevilacqua]

I'm not sure what questions you should ask. I do know that my sister did this and it was one of the worst financial decisions that she ever made. Something happened that when she turned it in she still owed a boat load of money. Also, I know from a friend of mine, that one of the most important things to get is gap insurance. I believe what it covers is the "gap" in between the cost of the car and the amount left on the lease in the event of an accident. I think this is because lease insurance only covers the balance on the lease, not replacement cost of the car.

Unless you are leasing thru a company you own or work for I don't think that I would recommend it as I believe that leasing was created so corporations could offer vehicles as incentives and get a tax break for the lease amount. They weren't created with the individual in mind.

Good luck!

-Cathy

[debmidge]

YOu are one of the first persons who I agree with that says leasing autos was meant for corps. not individuals. That being said, I have to confess that I am going against my own advice but for sound reason. I only need a car for 8 mos or so; maybe as much as 15 mos but no more than that. I am willing to pay for the convenience.

I know about GAP insurance but what I need is advise on the negotiations part....how does the dealer try to "sucker" you.

[Guest cassidy]

It has been a while since I have leased, but I think I remember a few things. I believe that you can negiotate the price of the car just like you can when you are buying it. I know they always advertise lease for $250 a month, but I'm still pretty sure you can negiotate the price and then your payments would be based on how much the total cost of the car is.

I was leasing a car and I got a sales job where I was putting on tons of miles. I was going to go over the number of miles that I had agreed to in the lease and then I would be charged a certain amount per mile. So, I sold the car myself to a private party and paid off the car. I actually made money on the deal. I think you have the choice to purchase at the end of any lease, so that might be an option.

If you only need the car for 8 months then the warranty doesn't matter because it would last for at least a few years. I'm not sure if you can do a lease for less than 2 years and I don't think interest rates are anything you can control since you are renting the car from them. It isn't like you can shop the banks for interest rates because you aren't buying.

I would watch out for miles, they usually do 12 or 15 thousand a year. Good luck!

[GFBetsy]

If I were you, especially because you only need a car for 8 to 15 months, I'd look through the small dealerships (even the newspaper) and get a used car. You can get an older car that's in good mechanical shape for $3000 or so. It will get you where you need to go (unless you need it to climb Mt. Everest or something), and you will be able to pay the thing off completely in just over 1 year (at $250 per month). Then you can sell it at the end, and you won't be out any appreciable amount of money. Leasing cars is just throwing money into a pit.

Also, check out the GSAauctions website . .. they auction off the government cars, and you can get some really good deals. I'm pretty sure there's an auction house there in NJ, too, so you wouldn't have to go way out of your way to pick the car up. (I KNOW there's an aution site in Baltimore - don't know how far that is from you). Just decide how much you'd be willing to pay, and don't go above that.

Good luck!

[Rusla]

First of all I leased my vehicle to begin with because as a business owner I use my car mostly for my business.With a lease (in canada) you can take the full lease amount each month the portion used for business. This also includes gas, insurance and maintenance.

On a lease vehicle when you turn it back in if you don't go for the buy out they will charge you for every mile/km over what you said you would travel. You will also be charged for every scratch and dent some jerk puts in your car. I only have two years left to pay on my car so I have now rolled it over for the buy out meaning it belongs to me.

If I didn't decide on the buy out all the rude jerks and their brats who slam shopping carts and their car doors or run keys along my paint job, I would have been charged for all of those. Some people will do that deliberately because of the signage on your car or they are jealous because you drive a newer vehicle than they do.I had a man follow me in the shopping centre lot calling me names etc. because of the reason my vehicle was new and his was not.

I have a Toyota, they have a exceptional warrenty and they are a very good vehicle.

You need to know that if you lease and something goes on the vehicle that is not included in the warranty then you have to pay just like you owned the vehicle. If you want a security device in your car that disables the system that whether you lease or not, you pay for it.

Would I lease a vehicle again, yes as long as I still have a business. I would for the first few years then roll it over again. When you buy it if you are a business you can only deduct the yearly interest.

You want a warranty that lasts as long as possible, covers everything for as long as possible and I do mean everything.

[VegasCeliacBuckeye]

I can offer some advice.

I lease my car right now (part of my promotion was the boss gave me a car allowance).

One of the first qustions the dealer will ask you is "how much can you afford" -- Now what they are thinking is the number you give them is the "minimum" you will spend (even though you think its the maximum). Car salesman are great negotiators and they rely on people's emotions in order to get them to pay above and beyond their supposed "maximum" number they can afford.

If you want to read something before you do it, read "How to out negotiate anyone, even car salesman" -- its a short read and not exactly a "how to" book, but it provides excellent examples and references and takes you into the mind of a car salesman.

For a lease, you will pay less per month for 12,000/year and more for 15,000 or 18,000 -- nature of the business. However, if you know that you will not drive the car that much (i.e. less than 30 miles a day, then get the 12,000).

Don't be concerned about extravagant options, navigation systems, DVD players, etc. Just get a car with a good safety record, electronic windows/locks, A/C and front/side airbags. -- I always recommend a Honday Civic or Accord or a Toyota Corolla or Camry -- these cars are simply the best cars made under $30,000 -- Look at any customer service record, repair record or customer satisfaction survey -- these cars are the best!

Depending on your credit score, here is a loose breakdown of the maximum you should pay for a car's value

if you lease...(this is based on a credit score of 690 or so)

10,000 -- $250

20,000 -- $350

30,000 -- $450

40,000 -- $550

If you have excellent credit, these numbers will go down. If you have crappy credit credit, they will go up. This is not "set in stone", but rather a guideline to think about. If you put money down on the lease, the dollar amount will go down as well.

Also, some dealerships may have specials, deals for first time leasers, college kids, etc -- look into those.

If you have a car you want to sell, take it to CarMax and sell it -- CarMax will give you a better price than any dealer will on a trade in (most of the time).

Hope this helps...

[BRUMI1968]

It sounds nuts, but if you can wait until the last day of the month, you will always get a better deal on a car. they are desperate to meet the numbers, so they'll go lower than they normally would. I'm not sure this applies to a lease, but I don't see why it wouldn't.

My partner is currently the manager of a car dealership; when he gets home, I can ask him for some more advice. We did lease a car for his daughter, instead of buying. (It was a mistake, probably, based on her psychology -- she doesn't take as good care of it as she might if she felt she OWNED it.)

[tarnalberry]

I didn't know you could really negotiate on a lease. Cool. I'm not a big fan of leases (though I see the appeal in your situation and have friends who prefer leasing over buying), so I don't have specific advice on lease negotiations, but have two pieces of advice (well, two and a half) for any negotiations:

1. expect to pay more than your first offer, and adjust your first offer accordingly (part of the reason for this is just to make the other party feel better - negotiations are half financial transactions, and half psychology trips)

2. be prepared to walk away at any moment until it's binding (this is to keep yourself from starting to become too emotionally involved in the negotiations - something the person on the other side of the table may well try to do)

2.5. do, temporarily, walk away on the first day (this is my personal "sleep on it" rule, for any major decision and anything that's causing much indecision, just walk away, and ponder it away from the pressure where you can more objectively way the pros and cons - this also gives more time to gather additional information, including competing quotes)