how do I buy a car?

know what you want. learn what the lowest price is and find a dealer who will give it to you.

If you spend the time, you will learn what fees you can tell the dealer "no". If you don't you will get taken to the cleaners.

dealers can tell if you are desperate and you will pay.

you can also check out carmax for a used and they haggle.

buy it online then just go to the dealer and pick it up.

Get a beater of a car. Cash is king. Invest in good growth-stock mutual funds. Later you can live and give like no one else.

That's how I have lived in my single live jamin but I got a family to think of and don't want a beater if I can get a new car that has modern safety features and I know the history of it (none)

Besides I don't drink booze and the savings alone have already been huge.

bikerbut wrote:

know what you want. learn what the lowest price is and find a dealer who will give it to you.

If you spend the time, you will learn what fees you can tell the dealer "no". If you don't you will get taken to the cleaners.

dealers can tell if you are desperate and you will pay.

you can also check out carmax for a used and they haggle.

Thanks you this is helpful.

Who needs a car when you have a German military air plane.

Never buy from a dealer. You're just throwing away an extra $1k to $5k for their profit margins.

Go on craigslist and do a regional-wide search for private-party offerrings. When you find one you like, contact them and let them know you are interested. Then find yourself a decent car-hauling service to haul the car right up to your doorstep.

Go to truecar or a similar site. You'll see basically what it's going to cost you. Head to a dealer and buy it. Tell them you want their best price inclusive of everything but tax and plates and don't let them pad that number later. If their price is in the ballpark, buy it, if not haggle or go to the next dealer.

My local Honda dealer was/is the stereotype for a bad experience. I left when they began the price talk with a spiel about every car they sell leaving the lot with a $1000 plus protection and security package. Then their initial offer was well over MSrp it was a joke.

Went to the Toyota dealer and their first offer was surprisingly low. They tried the usual stuff during paperwork but it's easy to say no there and we left with a car.

Every dealer different though I'm not indicting all Honda stores or suggesting all Toyota dealers are good but that was my experience.

Also check their websites (some have several with different prices for the same car) for eprices, special prices, no haggles, etc but don't tell them unless you can bargain with it.

Cut out the middleman wrote:

Never buy from a dealer. You're just throwing away an extra $1k to $5k for their profit margins.

Go on craigslist and do a regional-wide search for private-party offerrings. When you find one you like, contact them and let them know you are interested. Then find yourself a decent car-hauling service to haul the car right up to your doorstep.

Yes, it's always best to buy expensive products from people who have no reputation to protect. If you want to be assured that the car is in good working order, it's a good idea to buy it from someone who will vanish into thin air the second title is transferred.

Thank you...what are some of these notorious fees they try to tack on?

only have junkers wrote:

That's how I have lived in my single live jamin but I got a family to think of and don't want a beater if I can get a new car that has modern safety features and I know the history of it (none)

Besides I don't drink booze and the savings alone have already been huge.

Not to try to change your mind but I've always driven beaters and did that while raising my kids who are now 18 and 23. It was never a problem. I kept the beaters maintained and they never stranded us even on long trips. And getting stranded now is not the problem it was when I started driving what with cell phones.

But assuming you really want a new or recent model car, you can buy them on a site like Auto Trader without ever going to a dealership.

Not fees so much as extras you may not need.... credit life insurance, paint protection, extended service plans, etc

Half the cars I've bought they have tried to add on the destination fee during the paperwork as if it's not already part of the deal... watch out for that and that's why you be clear and say everything but tax and tags when haggling or evaluating an offer.

Great info - thanks.

Also, I am going to buy new because I have enough money to do it and don't want to worry about issues prior to my we and baby riding around in it in so cal.

I also don't want to get ripped off. I went into a dealership once and the guy tried to get me to buy a Ford Escape which was actually well priced but he didn't mention it was a rental car...I walked away on the spot.

Great news I got a new 2015 CR-V EX-L!!! Price was about $1500 below invoice for a 3 year lease and I didn't really need to get all sinister with them.

They offered me a maitenance package for $5.XX a month that covered oil changes and tire rotations for the lease but I took the advice of others and said no. Hopefully it wasn't a mistake.

I knew when they let us walk out of the dealership to think about it that they probably had nothing more to give, so I feel like we got a great deal and I think my wife and baby on the way are going to be very safe.

So I am no longer "only have junkers" . . . now "I have a junker but my wife doesn't" . . . thanks LR

Awesome. Enjoy!