Our just finished our FY15 tour where we gave 10 presentations at six bases and we’re gearing up for FY16. In fact, you can us about whether we are coming to YOUR base next year.
McConnell AFB Heroes at Home Financial Eventnext! Our non-profit tour is brought to military families by and one of the main topics that is of the most interest to our military families is: HOW DO I BUY A CAR and save money?
Let me start by asking you the question we ask our audiences: How do you lose around $8000 in 8 seconds?
Did you get the answer yet?
The answer is: you drive your brand new car off the lot.
Yes, the average new vehicle will depreciate $8000 in the first year. So WHY oh WHY do you continue to buy NEW? Some folks answer, “for the warranty.” But if you bought the vehicle a year old, you could do two things to make up for that 12 months of warranty you lose over buying new:
A few months ago, I was on my way to Disneyland to meet another author friend and a careless driver made an unprotected left hand turn right into my vehicle (about 5 feet off the bumper). I had NO TIME to react or even take my foot off the brake. The fact that Mercedes are so well built and the fact God sent his angels to protect me are the only reasons I walked away from this terrible crash with only a few cuts and bruises.
This accident put me back in the market for a vehicle. So this time I decided to try car buying service. Since I’m driving my Marine’s car (who is overseas) for a few months, I could take my time to find the best deal. The car buying service told me the price, the discount, gave me free access to a report, showed me a chart of similar cars purchased in my area to indicate an average, good, or great deal, and more. I compared the prices I saw on the site to and did all my research. Then I followed the same three steps we teach in our .
Step One: Negotiate Price First
Negotiate the price of the car at a dealership apart from the value of the trade-in. Tell the salesperson you want to determine the price of the car without the trade-in. The reason you want to do this is because salespeople will often give you far more for your trade than you expected—thus hooking you on the deal. However, this higher-value-for-the-trade-in shtick can be part of the technique they use to get you to purchase the car. If a higher value is given to the trade, then they will give a lower discount on the price of the vehicle, because all the discounting went into the value of the trade.
Step Two: Negotiate the Value of the Trade-In
Now that you’ve determined the price of the car, ask what the dealer will give you for your trade-in. Most likely, you will get more for your car if you sell it yourself. A little elbow grease and some top-notch detailing can net you hundreds of dollars more than a dealer can give you, if you can find a buyer. Some people (like military families) don’t always have the time to sell their car because of mobbing schedules and so forth. So if you are going to try to trade in your car, look up the value of your existing car at or , then print the page (or screen shot it), and bring it with you to the car lot to negotiate the price. Bottom line: try your best to gather enough facts so that you make a wise decision.
Step Three: Secure Your Own Financing
The F&I (finance and insurance office) is where the lion’s share of a dealerships profit is made. In this office, you will have to navigate interest rates, payments, terms, additional services, and warranties. Unless you put miles on your car for business or you are purchasing a car that will cost a lot to repair (and you intend to keep it longer than the warranty lasts), extended warranties are usually not a good value. When it comes to vehicle financing, you can generally do better on interest by selecting your own creditor unless the manufacturer is offering a lower APR. Keep in mind that the .99% APR offers only go to the top 10% of those who are the FICO score elite, chances are good that you will not qualify. The credit life insurance that dealers offer is more expensive than raising your regular insurance premium by twenty thousand dollars to cover this expense. And don’t forget to go to to see if you qualify for great insurance at a great price.
By following my own advice, I talked to , my sales representative and I was able to:
When are you in the market to get a vehicle, which of these tips will you follow to get the best deal?
Ellie Kay
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