Truck purchase....I survived!!!

One of the sales targets is to get you to say "Yes I can afford $800 a month" and then they might say 'this truck is $850 a month, but let me see what I can do!'

Eventually they find you a 'deal' at a lower monthly payment than the first number they pulled out of thin air, and say "I am saving you well over $75 a month" all the while they could have raised the prices, and interest rates, and increased the number of months that you would be making payments, so that they can make more money on you, or get that price of the truck up higher and higher.

I am going through the same situation right now. They are not promising a good interest rate, so I have to look for something on my own. They are saying 'it is a work van so 8% interest' (the dealerships can set the loan rates higher and get a incentive from the finance company for talking the customers into a higher rate loan).

Lucky for me, I have a great credit score, and have checked out Bank Rate and other web sites for the cost calculators. I know that the $45,000 van I am looking at should not cost $825 a month for 60 months, unless the interest rate is really jacked up there, and I will not pay that! No way!

So I will probably come to the table with a 5% loan of my own, and see what they have to say about that when it is time to close the deal.

One time I went to the car dealership saying "I need a purchase order, and am pre-approved for $20,500 at my credit union at 6% interest." The counter offered with a car closer to the MSRP, I said "I will not waste your time, if you do not have a blue one, I will buy someplace else" They brought in a blue one from another storage lot (or another dealership). Sold it to me at 5.9% interest, financed the tax, license, and all with only $1,000 down.

My credit union would only do 6% IF I paid all the sales tax, DMV fees, and put down 20% or $4,000 in the case of this car, that I did not have. . . So I really wanted the dealership to fiance the car, not my credit union. But they knew that I was pre-approved at 6% so they beat that price.

I wish I had gone with my friend when she traded in her car. "I think it is worth only $7500, but I see that you owe $13,500 so we can fiance that onto the next car's loan if you pay full MSRP and a little extra" - Sold! And she is afraid to look at the interest rate that she got for the car. Said 'it is the only way I could trade it in, and the Ford dealer was only going to offer me $7,000 for the 3 year old car with 32,000 miles on it!' So she felt pretty good about getting financing on her own. Frustrating to me though. .. 'It might have been worth $1,500 more if not for the scratches on the fender'. Well how about having the insurance company repair that damage, that is what you pay them to do when we sign up for 1 year's coverage. It might have been worth $1,500 more if you held out for more, or came in with a higher credit score rating. .

If you go in with your ducks in a row, are willing to walk away from the 'deal' and they know that you are a willing buyer at the correct price, they will work to get you in the vehicle. They are not 'starving' for new customers like 3 years ago, but still you can get a deal. . . . Still they are looking for those who are willing to pay full MSRP, or think they got a 'deal of a lifetime' by getting $1,000 knocked off the MSRP.

Many times the car dealership will collect a fee from a finance company for selling a 8% loan to someone qualified for a 6% loan! Even more money for a credit challenged person who might be qualified at 8% and selling them a 13% loan!

Have fun camping!

Fred.

Sport45 wrote:

Mike E. wrote:
... Took it for a drive and was suitably impressed. As it sat, it was about the same cost as a new '15 Hemi from the factory.
Tried to work a deal, but was bombarded with the "what sort of payment are you looking for?" Wasn't going to play that one, so promptly excused myself.

Found a '13 with only about 5K on it, and when I asked the salesman what the price was (no sticker anywhere on it) we had to go inside :R In my mind I knew it was about a $54K truck as it sat, but was floored when the sales manager came over with his sheet that had $85K on it as the original new price, slashed down to the$69K used price, then the 'discount' applied for me so it sat at $57K. Before he could start his schtick I held up my hand and said, "that truck was NEVER worth $85K, and I can bet you I could build a brand new 2015 for less than your used price, so considering your truck is 2 years old, if you want to apply your discount to the lowest price on your sheet for me, then we might have something to talk about." Pretty much stunned him and stopped him in his tracks. Took the opportunity to excuse myself again...

Why do you keep leaving after you get the opportunity to have the upper hand? Are you sure you really want to buy something now?

Go ahead and do the dickering (that part is free). If you can't make a deal you like you can walk away then. They don't get your money until you give it to them.

Those are the short versions of the experiences. There was some dickering going on, but they didn't want to hear much of it as all they wanted to do was to pin me down to a payment. Wasn't about to spend 3 hours of song and dance. Next time :)

Mike E. wrote:
... Took it for a drive and was suitably impressed. As it sat, it was about the same cost as a new '15 Hemi from the factory.
Tried to work a deal, but was bombarded with the "what sort of payment are you looking for?" Wasn't going to play that one, so promptly excused myself.

Found a '13 with only about 5K on it, and when I asked the salesman what the price was (no sticker anywhere on it) we had to go inside :R In my mind I knew it was about a $54K truck as it sat, but was floored when the sales manager came over with his sheet that had $85K on it as the original new price, slashed down to the$69K used price, then the 'discount' applied for me so it sat at $57K. Before he could start his schtick I held up my hand and said, "that truck was NEVER worth $85K, and I can bet you I could build a brand new 2015 for less than your used price, so considering your truck is 2 years old, if you want to apply your discount to the lowest price on your sheet for me, then we might have something to talk about." Pretty much stunned him and stopped him in his tracks. Took the opportunity to excuse myself again...

Why do you keep leaving after you get the opportunity to have the upper hand? Are you sure you really want to buy something now?

Go ahead and do the dickering (that part is free). If you can't make a deal you like you can walk away then. They don't get your money until you give it to them.

The diesel will pull better, and get better mpg empty and loaded.

The performance exhibited by the 6.4L Hemi during Ike Gauntlet run is not something I've experienced on my truck (Rpm limiting) during my towing in the Canadian rockies. I've been happy with how the 6.4L Hemi performs.

It's your money.

Go big or go home. You will never regret going diesel, especially if you wrench it yourself. Don't fall for the " more expensive maintenance" argument. In my experience there is little or no difference overall. If you elect to go bigger with your trailer in the future, or go fifth wheel, you'll be set. I went from diesel back to gasser; couldn't get back to diesel fast enough. My $.02.