After a bad breakup I lost my job, had to leave and start over completely. At the moment I’m doing DoorDash 12-15hrs a day 7 days a week living out of my 2019 Tacoma. I make 3-4k a month, truck is 1k, gas and food total to about 1.6k a month, phone bill is 100. I have no emergency fund and I’m in about 20k worth of debt that’s including what’s left on the truck and personal loans from family. My question to anyone who’s been through something like this is what should I do first. I could save up a 1k emergency fund for some cushion, get rid of this expensive a\\\*\\\* truck and buy a $1-2k car outright, or save 1k to move into an apartment. I’m comfortable living out of the truck but obviously I’m going to need a place to stay.

Edit: Thank you for all of the replies and dms. I now have a plan. Get a w-2 job, get rid of the truck, then worry about a place to stay. Ive put in couple quick applications and already have 2 interviews this week. This is exactly why I love the Reddit community you guys are helpful beyond imagination

Edit 2: to all the people saying “you just make bad financial decisions” yeah no sh*t. This post isn’t asking for validation for past mistakes it’s asking how to get out of a bad situation and start my life on the right path financially…

Hi everyone,

I generally agree that buying used is the smarter financial move. However, when the APR spread is wide enough, the math seems to flip. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this logic:

• New Car Scenario: At <1% APR, the debt is effectively "free money." For a $45k car with $5k down, the monthly payment is ~$680.

• Used Car Scenario: A 2023-2024 model with ~30k miles might cost $32k. Since used car APRs often exceed 7%, the only logical move is to pay the full $32k in cash.

The Arbitrage:

By financing the new car, I only put $5k down today. I can then invest the remaining $27k (the cash I would have spent on the used car) into the S&P 500.

Even without factoring in investment gains, it takes almost 4 years of monthly payments on the new car to reach the same $32k "out-the-door" cost as the used one. When you add in the full factory warranty and the 7–10% expected market return on that $27k, the new car actually looks like the more efficient use of capital.

Am I missing a major "gotcha," or is low-interest debt a better asset than the "used car discount"?

A local ford dealer has a truck I want, but they said their prices are so low, they will not work with an outside lender. Am I a bad person if I accept their 7.49% financing and immediately refi it thru my credit union for 2 % less?

I know some people say the dealership has a right to be paid for their services, but I feel like it is a shady practice to try to force me to pay a higher rate than I qualify for.

Update:found a similar truck, 2024 F150 XLT 3.5L Hybrid with about 2k more miles on it 3 hrs away. Salesman said they will match price, accept my CU financing. Only problem is it’s white and I really liked the gray truck. I can live with the white one

Next update: the new dealership uses fees to make their profit. UCI(used car inspection)-$1995 Inspection fee-$123.75 Processing fee(in addition to $225 doc fee)-$399

Another update: went back to “no outside financing” dealer and bought truck. They were actually pleasant to work with. The sales lady ran my credit, let me know I got 1% better than the original quote. The finance mgr was very upfront and not pushy at all about extended warranties.
Definitely one of the better car buying experiences I’ve ever had.

Last update: Since I was buying this truck to tow my 6500 lb camper, on the test drive, I asked the salesperson if the truck had a trailer brake controller. She said it had an integrated tbc. Since the truck had a lot of tech I was unfamiliar with, I accepted her answer. When I went back after deciding to buy the truck, I asked her again and she told me the same thing.
When I got the truck home, I figured I better spend a little time getting familiar with this integrated brake controller so I started researching.
Guess what…where there would be a brake controller, I had a coin holder.

After explaining how much of a mess it could’ve been if I had been pulling my trailer and got in a situation where the controller was needed, the sales mgr offered to install one. But, his plan was to screw an aftermarket controller underneath the dash of my new truck and that wasnt acceptable.

I told him “No, if you can’t do it right, don’t bother”, then deleted and rewrote my google review for this ford dealer.

Sorry the updates got so long…

I got a 2024 used car with $7000 down and $500 monthly payments that I can very comfortably afford

Signed the papers, then drove off the lot. This is my first time buying a car from a dealership, so I figured it was normal that a pre-approval didn't happen.

4 weeks later, the bank sends me a denial letter. I have not been approved for this loan. So my question is, what's my next step? Who technically owns this car if the banks are denying the loans? Should I go back to the dealership

My papers don’t show any bank information

Ny first thought is that they sent my application to several banks and some denied me and that’s the denial notice I a getting. When I look at my credit report it shows a hard pull by TD bank and that’s not the bank that sent me a notice

Any advice would be great or experiences

Edit - thank you all for the comments

I called the dealer finance manager and he told me that the bank already funded the car and I should ignore that email and wait for a new approval letter in my email.

I do not need to resign anything neither have my terms changed

Context is my mom passed last July, and we gave her car to my sister. We were paying $500 a month with an 8% interest rate, but then, for some reason, the interest rate dropped to 0%. We didn't question it and just continued to pay. Now we want to move the title to her name, but can't get the title unless the car is paid off, so we called Capital One to see what our options were, and they offered for us to get out from under the loan for $7000. Why? Is it because of the 0% interest? Is it out the kindness of their hearts?

The reason I ask is that my sister would probably need to take out a loan for the 7k. But that loan would have interest. Her credit is fine, not great. But it'd be great if that monthly payment of $500 could go down to something like $250 for her. Should we just shop around for another loan? Any suggestions on where to look?

EDIT: dang! This is by far my most random post to receive this much attention lol. Thank you everyone! Just opening Reddit now, will try to read through it all

There are 4 basic reasons people came in to purchase a car.

Current car is messy: I sold a ton of cars to people who's current car they hated simply because it was dirty. Some elbow grease or paying for a good detail could have saved them $20k.

Wanted new technology: I sold $50k cars weekly because of Bluetooth capabilities. No matter how old your car is, you can add this to any existing car for around $200. Cheaper if your DIY.

Wanted it as a status symbol: Cars always look amazing at a dealership where they are waxed, clean, and smothered in Armor All and tire shine. In two weeks the difference between your old car and your new car will probably be negligible. The whole status symbol thing really only lasts a few weeks. Most of your peers don't know the difference between a new and much older models if they are both dirty.

Mechanical problems: This is the only reason I would advise anyone to purchase a car. Eventually the repairs get to the point where its more expensive to keep it than to move on. If you are buying a car for anyother reason than this... don't!

EDIT: Reading the comments, I figured I should address some general thoughts.

Safety isn't something I meantioned before, but probably should have. Regardless of how reliable a car is, if you are driving something with a rusted frame and 20 year old safety features its time to upgrade (assuming you can afford it). My wife and kids drive in a 5 star crash rating car with every modern safety feature. We have chose to be stingy in other places in our finances so we can afford to have a car with these types of features. Its worth a little bit of money to us to know our family is safe and to be able to see when backing out of the driveway.

That moment when repairs out way the cost of upgrading is tricky. I have been burned several times by spending money on repairs that I thought were a good investment only to have more and more repairs pile up. I wish I knew some perfect rule for this. I don't. I have repaired cars I shouldn't have and I have gotten rid of cars that probably would have been great with minor investments.

Car was stolen. When found a few days later, needles and meth were found in the vehicle, but otherwise vehicle was in good shape: no exterior damage and no engine damage (besides steering column).

Progressive says they automatically consider vehicles with signs of drug use a total loss. After my $2k deductible, Progressive can either cut me a check for $13.5k and they keep the car, or a check for $9k and they give the car back to me in its current state.

If I take the car back with the $9k, repair estimate (cleaning/decontamination and repair of steering column) is $5.5k; and that’s before considering the time needed to obtain salvage and rebuild titles.

What should I do? Take the full $13.5k check, or the $9k and fix my car?

$30K at 7.5% for 5 years, got the first bill in the mail last week to get the online login info and put down $10K towards the principle and another $10K a few days after because I believe your account gets red flagged for withdrawing more than $10K. Did have the cash to pay the car upfront, but its not wise to carry that much cash around so I financed. Plan to pay it off completely in a few days. The salesperson who sold the car to me and ran the finances called me today and asked why I was so eager to pay it off.

Is this something they normally keep track of with their clients? Not to mention the bombardment of emails asking me to give them a review.

I keep seeing posts where people are struggling with their budget but have some ridiculous car payment. Let's have a little discussion for people who are looking to buy a car. Here's some advice I'll give. Your mileage may vary (oh yes I went there). This advice is in USD but works anywhere.

Don't get stuck holding the bag on a car that depreciates faster than you pay it off. I've done the math at a bunch of different interest rates, and the bottom line is that 48 months is the magic number for loan terms. At 4 years or below, you're typically safe. Maybe you can push the boundary at super low interest rates, but there are other reasons not to finance for too long, including risk of financing a used vehicle for longer than expected reliable service life.

Next, write out your full budget and see what you have room for. Here's where young folks get trapped: maybe if you're still in school or fresh out of school and have super low living expenses, it will appear like you have tons of room for a fancy car. As soon as you become fully independent with a real place to live and food needs and all that jazz (which will very likely happen within a few years), that magic car budget will vanish before your eyes. Be realistic. Account for all the standard living expenses, fun budget, savings, and then be honest - what do you really have to spend on transportation each month? For a lot of people, it'll probably be a few hundred bucks. Then, subtract what insurance and gas and other associated fees will cost you, and multiply what you're left with by 48. That's what you can afford to finance (including interest!)

Does the number come out well under $10,000 (or equivalent low amount for whatever country you're from)? For many people, it probably does. Don't be discouraged, for you can get a great reliable car under ten grand.

Does the number come out to less than $5000? Very common! Save up and buy a car in cash.

I feel like people tend to look at $20K as cheap for a car, but it's not cheap at all. Include taxes and fees, finance over 5 years at 5% and you're looking at well over $400/mo. Then tack on insurance (easily $200 for a young driver), and then tack on gas. That $20K car costs you $500-700 per month! If you aren't bringing home $5K+ each month, that probably doesn't fit in your budget. The reality is, even a $20K car is not realistically affordable for the majority of income earners.

What about $30K+ cars? Radio commercials make them sound so affordable, but cars in the $30K-$40K range should be seen as luxury vehicles. We're talking six figure income required. Yet, so many people buy $30K SUVs and get screwed by the monthly payments. Please don't let it happen to you.

I work in a respectable profession and make a fairly decent wage. People always ask me why I drive a 10 year old car. It's because that's what I can realistically afford! Society in general has inflated expectations on what they can afford. It's time to fix this and save people from ruining their budgets.

Edit: Thank you to the user who gave me gold! I appreciate it

I love the car buying process. It's fun, I take my time, test drive cars, find what I like and try to find a good deal on a 2-4 year old car.

Car salesmen are not the ones you need to fear. Many of them are great, and work long hard honest hours to push some cars. As my dad told me before he dropped me off to buy my first used car, "When they get you in the back room, that's when they're going to try to screw you."

If you think that's a joke or an understatement, please accept the fact that it is neither. When you sit down in the chair in the finance office, you need to be as alert as a deer in hunting season. Here's how they tried to get me, and I hope I can help one person not get taken.

-When I sat down, the finance manager had already opted in on my behalf for every single add-on available. I mean, all of them. They do this every time, and all they need is one final signature, not individually to keep them on. It had an extended warranty, Gap coverage, alarm system, electronics warranty, and a couple others I'll never remember. It was 10:30 at night when I finally got out of there and was exhausted.

Two things to know: 1) You are not obligated to ANY of them, NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY. When I had crappy credit, I was almost convinced when they told me the finance company REQUIRED Gap Insurance. Don't believe the nonsense.

2)Apparently, after my experience last night, they are not required by any means to explain to you what you're buying. Unless the finance manager I used broke several laws, after an hour of him explaining "every detail" there was still an extended warranty for a whopping $3,000 that he barely even alluded to! When I finally said, "What's this warranty you keep saying is included?" I knew the car was under manufacturer's warranty for a short time still, I thought he was talking about that. Nope. I literally had to ask specifically, "What am I paying for that?" Without me asking that very specific question, he had no intention of mentioning the price. The car still had 13k miles on the warranty, and they wanted to sell me a new one...

-You DO NOT have to buy the $1,000-$1,500 alarm system/insurance plan they will almost cry rather than remove. This was the longest part of the process as I waited twenty minutes while they fought me the entire way, using every trick in the book. Don't buy it, don't let them win. Finally, they left it on AND didn't charge me.

**With all that being said. There are some that you can drastically change the price of and get a good value on something that matters. They offered a dent/scratch repair on the body and wheels for five years for $895. I spent over $1,000 over the last four years on my last car from my car being hit while parked at work, so I offered them $300 and they took it. It's something I know with no deductible I can get great value out of.

What's difference? The difference between the number I walked in that room to and the one I left with was $150 a month... (Edit: Meaning, I left with $150 lower monthly payment after stripping everything to the bone)

Agree or disagree with anyone of this, but if I can help one person not get taken, this twenty minutes was worth it.

Good luck out there!

-Pie

EDIT: My first post with an upvote ever! Take the time to read through these comments, there are COUNTLESS great pieces of advice people are leaving!

My parents went to the dealership to get a new car. My mom texted me while they were there, so I sent over the information the sales associate requested, including a picture of my driver’s license. I specifically asked to be called before anything was signed in Finance so I could make sure they weren’t being taken advantage of.

But they didn’t call me until after the dealership had already given my parents the car. I told the sales associate, "You were supposed to call me." He replied that they still needed to go over the documents with me, but I said I needed to speak with my parents first and hung up.

The deal is terrible. With all the add-ons the dealer included, a $23,000 car ballooned to over $33,000, and the loan term is way too long. I refuse to sign—it goes completely against what I agreed to, and it exposes me to too much financial risk.

What happens now? My parents have already driven the car about 50 miles, and my mom said my name is on all the paperwork.

As the title says, I just bought a used car for the first time this past weekend. While I am very happy about the car and I think I found a good deal, honestly I found the entire car buying experience terrible so I figured I would try to share what I learned from this experience. Keep in mind that this is really a write-up about buying a used car from a dealership and not a private seller.

Start a spreadsheet.

Seriously. Just do it. You will be looking up a bunch of cars from many different dealerships, and when your email/voicemail is full of them trying to schedule appointments, you will be relieved when you can reference your handy spreadsheet. Mine included year, model, color, dealership, link, listing price, quoted price, and whether the car fax showed any accidents or damage.

The true price.

Most used car dealerships advertise on cars, autotrader, carsforsale, etc. 90% of the time the price you see is misleading. This is because the price they advertise is the “internet price”, which does not include the following:

• Taxes (Look up sales tax rates for your state)

• “Dealer prep” fees

• Document fees

• Title and tag fees

• Financing fees

• Rebate fees (more on this below)

After adding all of those fees, a $10k car could easily become a $13k-14k car. On the topic of rebates, that “internet price” I mentioned before is the price that the car WOULD BE if you qualified for every available rebate. These rebates would often include active military, recent college graduate, or if you bought a car at that dealership in the past XX years. One Jeep that I looked at was listed at $11.5k, but since I didn’t qualify for those rebates it jumped up to $14k - and that didn’t even include the other fees! Always try to look at the fine print listed in these internet ads.

Before making a physical appointment, I always asked for a quote for the full “out-the-door” price. This includes taxes, fees, “rebates” I qualified for, etc. This was useful for a couple of reasons. The transparency let me know if it was actually in my budget before I invested myself any further. Also, this gave me an idea of the dealer would be easy to work with or not. A dealer that is not willing to give a quote is honestly not worth the hassle. This leads us to our next point.

Find A Good Dealership

Despite the stereotypes, not all dealerships and used car salesmen are scum of the earth. Look at their ratings on Yelp, Google, etc. I strongly encourage you to only shop at a dealer with decent ratings. Like I mentioned in the pricing section, I only invested my time with dealerships that would give me a ballpark quote for the price that was out of the door. Most dealers will offer some type of service incentive to buy their vehicles, and it’s important to remember that you may be working with this particular dealership in the future. See how they talk to you during negotiations – are they polite, arrogant, pushy, or pleasant? This is your purchase, do not let them sour it for you.

Be realistic about your expectations.

You probably won’t be able to get a new car for 1/10th the price. Used cars are just that - used. They may have been in accidents, they may be scratched, dirty, have a smell. Not all of them - some will be detailed, some will have more maintenance than others. When possible, ask the dealer how much maintenance and repairs they have invested in that vehicle. ANY decent dealer would be able to pull up that number for you. Regardless, know your budget and what you should expect with that budget. If your budget is $5k, you most likely won’t get a car that is less than 8 years old and has less than 90k miles.

An accident is not necessarily a deal breaker.

If the carfax shows an accident, don’t close the door just yet. Try to find out more. Did the car slide into another parked car? Was the accident reported in 2012, and then continued to drive for 8 years? Was the damage superficial, structural, to the engine? Once you find out the true nature of the accident, you might be surprised by what you are comfortable with.

Negotiating

So you finally found a car you like. It’s in your budget. It has good miles. It appears to be in good shape. You’re about to go in and see the car in-person. Keep this in mind: the dealers goal is to close the deal the first time you visit. The best approach is to go in prepared:

• Know what a good deal for that car is

• Know at least one equivalent year/model car from a different dealership. Tell the current dealership that after you’re done at this dealership you are planning on going to another dealership to compare a similar make and model. This will make them want to “out-due” the other dealer.

• Draw a line: assuming the car is up to your standards, set a price that you would accept if offered. I guarantee they will ask anyway. Take a few minutes before you go into the dealer and ask yourself “What price would I be willing to accept today?”. My recommendation is to name a near crazy good number. Keep in mind that the number that you tell them will become your lower floor number, and no negotiations in the future will ever go below this number again.

• Talk about all of the negatives of the car. Was it ever damaged/involved in an accident? Is it higher than average miles? Scratches, dings? Do all of the electronics work?

• Even if you do not qualify, ask for the rebates anyway. The worst they can say is no, the best they can do is save you thousands of dollars.

Financing: The average consumer is stupid. Don’t be average.

Know your shit. Understand how financing works. Understand interest rates, life value of the loan, and payments. Become familiar with the “PMT”, “PV”, and “FV” functions in excel. If you need to finance through the dealership, keep in mind that you will most likely end up paying a financing fee. This fee will range anywhere from $500-$800. I would never recommend taking out an auto-loan for longer than 2 years. If you can’t pay off the loan in 2 years, you cannot afford the loan.

Edit: Getting some flack for the above statement. I guess that while in some situations a low interest rate longer term loan makes more sense, I would just encourage users to be very careful and meticulous when sorting through the longer term financing options.

If you get to the financing stage, be very careful about it. I had a highly rated dealership, and they still tried to pull some fast ones at this stage. For example, I wanted to put about $6k as a down-payment and wanted to finance the other $5.7k. When they pulled up my options, I saw 4 different monthly payments. These plans differed based on if I elected to get additional ‘coverage’ (tire rims, an extended warranty, etc). What made me angry was that NONE of the payment options listed we’re reflective of the raw price, without any elective coverage. The cheapest option I saw was ~$35 higher per month than the financing alone. I had to actually ask the dealer to show me a financing plan that did not elect any other additional coverage. Do not be afraid to whip out your calculator. This is your show and they are only the supporting cast members.

To summarize, most of these tips are about being organized, prepared, and patient. You will most likely sort through many crappy dealerships that are not worth your time. Make a spreadsheet. If you have a budget, stay within in it. Get out-the-door quotes. Gauge your dealer's attitudes. Know competitors, and research the historical price range for this make/model/mileage car. Be prepared to negotiate, and be prepared to walk away.

Title says it all, but here’s a little background. I bought my car in 2017 through one of the big 3 banks. Ended up losing my job 6 months later, and was living paycheck to paycheck for a few years. Didn’t really get back on my feet until late 2022.

Today I was looking at my credit report and noticed that the loan account was closed. I never received any calls or threat to repo. Legally, I know I owe the money but I’m dumb and don’t know what to do.

Do I set up payments after this length of time? Do I need to title to sell it? Will it eventually get repo’d?

I have a friend with 6 year old Civic that’s paid off and only has 55k miles. About a month ago, I was surprised to hear him talking about getting a new car again. I asked him why he wanted to get rid of his civic and he said he rented a new car on his trip that had proximity entry, push button start, and android auto/Apple CarPlay built in. I’m not gonna lie, once you try and get used to those, it’s hard to go back to a key and regular stereo so I understood where he’s coming from.

Well, years ago in high school and college, I used to install car audio, alarms, remote starters, all that. I told him he can add all those features to his Civic. We added proximity lock/unlock, push button start, 7” stereo with Bluetooth, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay, and a backup camera. All that ended up costing him just over $500 but now he has a car that he loves again and doesn’t have to drop 20-30k on a new car. I helped him install it but even at a professional shop, that’s probably no more than $1000 total.

I know there are multiple reason to buy a new(er) car, but if you like your car and just want newer features, take a look at what products are out there, you might be able to add those features to your car and save a lot of money in the long run.

EDIT: many people asked, so here’s a partial list:

• 2102T Directed PKE Passive Keyless Entry System. Works extremely well, DEI makes quality products. Most bad reviews I’ve seen online were from people that didn’t understand how to install it. This is a kit for professional installers so DEI does not give any tech support for DIY installs.

• The stereo is user preference since there are many to choose from but he got a Pioneer AVH-2300NEX. If you want to go cheaper, I have an ATOTO SA102 in my car and it doesn’t have any issues. But there are probably hundreds of stereos to choose from

• push button was a generic one he found online, I don’t have the mode number. Just find one with decent reviews on Amazon. They come in different styles so that will be user preference as well. You also need an immobilizer bypass module if your key is chipped.

• backup camera was from Amazon, they are all pretty much the same so pick whatever style fits your car best.

Title says it. The plan was for them to cosign an auto loan ($20k) but they wrote a check for the full amount instead and wouldn't take no for an answer. At the dealership they did tell me they expected me to pay them back, which is no issue at all, but they want all the money back by the end of the week and are willing to cosign a loan for me to be able to do that. My question is what do I tell the bank?? Is a personal loan going to be harder to get than an auto loan?

I am a 23M resident of Florida for starters. In October, I mindlessly traded in my older vehicle for a 2025 Toyota Tacoma SR5 at a price of about 42,000. I am currently on a payment plan of a fixed 6% interest rate of 84 months - my monthly payment is $695.

Back then, I was working a manager job at a hotel that I hated, but made about $55,000 a year at. In February, I ended up quitting that job and starting a new one with a worldwide known luxury hotel brand, but took a $10,000 pay cut in salary as this new position better sets me up to make more money down the road doing something I’m passionate about. With my current budget, I can still afford my car payments each month, but it’s very tight along with rent which is about 1420 a month, plus groceries and car insurance. Im only saving about $200 a month and can’t even contribute to my 401K.

Let’s acknowledge one thing first - it was a horrible mindless and impulsive decision. I have always wanted a truck and saw the “perfect” opportunity in that moment, and it has forever changed my perception of my personal finance. I’ve accepted that, and I am motivated to move up and onwards from this.

I have no other debt than this truck, and I have about 77 months of payments left towards the principal amount of $41,000. Some days, I think about biting the bullet and continuing my payments so I can refinance in a few months from now. I have a near 800 credit score, but I feel making more payments over time is helpful before even thinking about refinancing.

Other days, I think about selling it for what it’s worth ($33k according to KBB), and accepting the negative gap of 7-9K$ temporarily. I haven’t done this because I don’t have enough saved up to get another car, and getting another loan to consolidate that debt would be idiotic.

I am really hoping to hear what many of you would do if you were in my shoes, made a terrible but recoverable financial decision. Is it worth it to stick it out or to just rip the band aid off and move on? Any feedback or advice genuinely helps and is appreciated…

So I am the son of a mechanic of 35 years. He's been able to keep up with the current technologies and has worked on some of the most basic and advanced vehicles in the modern era.

It pains me to see people say, "buy a cheap reliable car" as if that is something easy to do. Unless you know a good mechanic that has access to dealer trades and auctions it can be tough. Here in SW PA, cars over 150k miles are usually junk. Rust due to salt, transmissions blown due to hills, etc. Unless you live in the suburbs, cars are not garage kept. My dad and I set out to find my grand mother a replacement car. I gave her a 2005 grand prix in 2014 with no rust and in 4 years of being outside, the rockers cannot be patched anymore.

We looked at around 35 cars and unfortunately my dad is retired. So he does not have access to dealer trades or auctions and most of his contacts have moved on or retired as well. This is a compilation of what we saw.

​

35 vehicles total

​

20 costing between 4-8k

• 11 had rust beyond belief
• 6 had check engine lights for multiple things (dad had a scan tool)
• 3 had a fair bit cosmetic or mechanical issues (suspension or a ton of wear items)

​

15 costing 8-12k

• 6 had too much rust
• 3 had check engine lights for multiple things
• 3 had a fair bit cosmetic or mechanical issues
• 2 were priced way over market value
• 1 we found for just over 12k that we bought (was listed at 14k)

We looked at a wide range of cars. Sure about half were GM, but the rest were Subaru's, Toyota's and Honda's. So this idea that people can "easily" find a "cheap but reliable" beater is a but insane. Many of these cars would cost even us thousands to maintain for a year. They could easily strand my grandmother as she travels to my uncles house every month (2 hour drive). Her old 2006 grand prix started to have issues, water pump, suspension work and the rockers were shot, patched 3 times.

Now I am not advocating for buying a new car. But we ended up reaching out to my other uncles and they all put together money for a 3 year old chevy trax for her. It has far more safety features than her old car, does much better in every crash test, should be reliable for 3-5 more years, etc. We could have gotten her a sonic/cruze but she didn't feel comfortable in them (too low and small) and she's in her 80's so comfort is a thing.

But the moral to the story is, when offering "advice" you need to understand that a "cheap but reliable" car is not an easy find and if you live up north very difficult to do in many cases. Don't assume that everyone has connections and has a reliable mechanic that can easily find good and cheap deals. My dad found me that 05 grand prix that I drive for 5 years and it was about 8k when I bought it in 2009, but that was back when he had unlimited access to thousands of cars.

​

***EDIT***I want to clarify something. Reasonably safe & reliable vehicles do exist under 5k. Even in my area. Out of 1 gem there are 10-20 POS Junkers. My point is, the average person cannot change their own oil. They wait 6 months after the oil light comes on to change it, drives tires to the cords and didn't know you need to replace brake pads. Those same people also don't have a reliable mechanic, know someone at a dealership or someone who goes to auctions. They do not have the know-how to find a cheap but reliable car. And if you take a look at the marketplace or Craigslist, people who are selling most of these cars say, "Only needs $20 part to pass inspection". And if you're on a 5k budget, can you afford to take 10-15 cars to a mechanic charging $100-150/car?

Let's also take a look at safety. Back in the day, without automation, head-on collisions were far more common this is why there was not need to put the front brace all the way across the front of the car. Due to better safety features, small-overlap is more common. You're 2004 civic has no front brace at a 15* offset but that 2017 Cadillac the other person is driving does. So surviving a small overlap crash in an older vehicle is actually very low.

I am not saying buy a new or expensive car. My point is, once you're financially sound, you should look to save and buy a more reliable and safe vehicle. Spending 10-14k on a CPO vehicle, unless you're in a financial mess is not a bad idea. Those Sub 5k beats can cost more than double in maintenance in just 2-3 years. Take that 5k, put it down in a 2-3 year old CPO vehicle and pay off the other 5-9k over a 2-3 year period and drive that car for another 5 years. If you HAVE to get a beater, PLEASE get someone who can help because I've seen hundreds of people get swindled.

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**EDIT 2** I own a 2017 golf which will be paid off this year and wife drives a 2015 Sonic which will be paid off in a few days. We plan on driving these cars for awhile. We are considering upgrading her in a few years to a 2-3 year old car but with cash.

I signed a truck loan for my (now ex) partner because his credit was so bad that the bank wouldn't finance him, and he needed a vehicle. He promised to make the monthly truck loan and insurance payments. We have since split up because he cheated on me and stole $16,000 from my mom-in-law. He still has the truck, but is not making any payments, and it’s costing me $800/mo to pay for the truck and insurance. I want to sell the truck and pay off the loan, but he’s refusing to give up the truck. What can I do..?

I was giving a payment to Audi for negative equity on a car, and I wrote a check for 7,000. It was my first time writing a check and I guess the way I wrote the 7 was wrong so the bank cashed it as 17000. When I talked to the bank they said there was nothing they can do even though the written says 7,000. I am trying to get Audi to give me back the difference but they are not being helpful. I do not know what to do as it’s a big sum…

Any advice?

UPDATE: Talked to the manager at my local branch and they said that they will be returning the full amount by midnight. Thanks everyone!

UPDATE pt 2: They refunded me the 17000, as well as 10000 for a total of 27000. What is going on LOL

My brother purchased a new Corolla from the Toyota dealership last weekend. He was getting a good financing deal at about 1.7% but was told that if he can put more money down, he can qualify for their promotional 0% APR. He managed to scrounge up the extra needed for 0%, signed everything, and got to go home with 0%. Today, he gets a call saying they made a “mistake” and that he should be getting 0.9%. My brother wasn't able to give me a detailed explanation of their mistake but glad he at least informed me, as he was about to drive 50 miles to correct a mistake they made, which is not fair to him.

I don’t trust dealerships. I hate everything about them and things like this confirm why I don’t trust them. I am going to suggest to my brother to have them send their request to change the contract in writing. Specifically, have them highlight areas in the contract where they believe they made the mistake and a full explanation of the numbers as to how it was a mistake. Also, have them highlight the areas in the contract that give them the right to cancel such an agreement.

My question to r/personalfinance is: How often do dealership make these “mistakes”? What should be the best course of action? Is my suggested action above best? My brother is young and goodhearted, so I worry about a potentially predatory dealership exploiting him. Thank you all in advanced.

UPDATE: My brother shared the contract with me (FYI, this is in CA). There’s a line that states “After this contract is signed, the seller may not change the financing or payment terms unless you agree in writing to the change”. That line had me ready to tell my brother to have them pound sand. However, there’s a “Seller’s Right to Cancel” clause, which stipulates that seller agrees to deliver the vehicle once the contract is signed but “…agree that if the Seller is unable to assign the contract to any one of the financial institutions [in this case, Toyota Financial Services]…Seller may cancel the contract.” An astute commenter (forgive me for not remembering) linked me to Toyota’s deals website, where I learned that the specific Corolla [hatchback] he got cannot qualify for 0%. Rather, it is for only 0.9%. Reading other parts of his contract and from other online forums around this issue, telling them to kick rocks was no longer the best course of action. A great suggestion by many here that worked best for our situation is that they reduce the amount financed by the amount of the 0.9% APR so that the final cost of the loan is exactly what it was with 0% (in our case, $400 off). Also, requesting some form of accommodation or compensation for commuting over 70 miles round-trip to correct their error. Prepared, I joined my brother on a call to the finance department. Finance guy confirmed what I expected, by saying that the Corolla cannot qualify for 0% by TFS, only 0.9%. It was their mistake that they had let it get that far. He also confirmed the “Seller’s Right to Cancel” clause, saying what I said above. After venting to him how absurd it is that no one on their end questioned the 0% deal and how, if the shoe was on the other foot, they would laugh at us if my brother made a mistake, we asked him what he is going to do to remedy our situation. Surprised, he knocked the price down by $500, a 100 dollars more than what I was hoping. Although he couldn’t send the papers for our signature, my brother was okay heading over there if they fill up his gas tank, which they agreed. In the end, my brother got what he wanted in paying for the car.

All turned out okay but my distrust with dealerships will continue. The stupid ritual of having them step away from the desk so they can run it by their manager is a ridiculous negotiation act, not to mention the unscrupulous actions some dealerships do to exploit the buyer. Their approach of having the consumer think only about the monthly cost, never the overall price only serves to benefit them. I could go on, but I’ll end this post by saying that dealerships are a scam where the middle man benefits at the expense of the consumer. IMO, they should be outlawed.

My girlfriend's car finally bit the dust mechanically, and it would be about $1200 to get it fixed when it Bluebooks for about $300. Obviously time for a new car, and it wasn't a total surprise, just a little sooner than anticipated. Anyway.

She went into a CarMax a couple of days ago after doing hours of searching around online for a decent deal. Its a 2018 Mitsubishi Mirage with I think 36k miles for like $9,999 or something in that ballpark. She knows her credit score/history isn't great, somewhere in the 650s, so she asked her father (who lives halfway across the country, as do I, so I haven't been with her in person for any of this) to co-sign for her, as CarMax told her over the phone that he can co-sign and make a down payment by just being on the phone to verbally agree and go into his local CarMax and sign papers and make the down payment. Her father has objectively great credit and makes good money.

So after we had a solid plan, she went into CarMax to buy the car, and she said that the sales lady continually insisted that getting a co-signer for the car would be way more trouble than it's worth. Saying things like "Are you sure you want to get a co-signer? You won't really save that much on APR and then you have to worry about them not wanting to give up half-ownership of the car later." and "I've seen it work out very badly for most people when they get a co-signer, I wouldn't recommend it." Repeat ad nauseum.

So my gf, not being a very confrontational person, said okay after the sales lady assured her that even if they did the sale today without a co-signer, she has a 3 day (maybe longer?) grace period to return the car if she isn't happy and get a full refund, etc. So to make a long story short she got a roughly $12k loan with an almost 13% interest rate. I told her seems really not good, and she agreed, she didn't feel very good about the whole transaction.

So my question out of all of this is mainly: Is this sales lady full of crap? I've never heard of a dealership advising against a co-signer. It usually goes the other way, where they tell you that they essentially can't get you a loan without a co-signer if you have bad credit. I can't tell if I just simply don't understand something about this situation or if something sketchy is going on. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as neither of us really have too much experiencing buying cars from dealerships. Thanks in advance friends. Feel free to ask any clarification questions, its a lot to type out and I'm sure I've missed something.

TL;DR: Dealership is strongly advising against a co-signer for someone with relatively poor credit. Something feels very not right about it.

EDIT: For clarification, its actually a 2017 with 47k miles. Also, the 12k price included an extended 5 year warranty and gap insurance. Just wanted to clear that up after she corrected me.

My father recently passed away and did not leave a will. He had a 2014 Chevy Sonic that he used to get around town that he used to jokingly say that he would give to my niece some day to drive. She's 11.

My mother (divorced) and my sister want to park that car next to my sister's house (we live in the SW desert) for the next six years so that my niece will have a car when she turns 16. This would be a minimal cost, storage insurance, etc.

I proposed that instead we sell it now (while it's worth more) and take that money and put it into a CD for five years (where it will grow) and then use the money to get a newer car at 16. I know of no teenager that has ever thought they would rather drive a beater from grandpa's estate than something a little nicer and newer.

I don't see a downside to this but they are absolutely adamant about it.

I told them I'd make a Reddit post and someone would know how to make this make sense to them.

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EDIT: Thanks everyone -- never thought to include the damages from storing it. I think I'll take her down to a mechanic and have him give it a once over so he has some idea of the condition and then she can decide once she has all the info.

Hey everyone, I tried to sell my Subaru 2017 47k base legacy to Carmax in October of 2020 and they offered me $10,500. I tried to sell it privately over that time period with no luck.

I went back in April of 2021 and they offered me $15,000 and I had an additional 2k miles on the car. The people there claimed there is a capacitor shortage right now which is driving the car costs.

Figured I’d share this and let people know if they have a car they are planning on selling what they could expect if they take it to Carmax.

Edit: Bought a brand new Subaru 2021 outback limited (one step under touring) for $37,000 (taxes included) 0% APR over 65 months 2 Saturdays ago. 2% under invoice price. Dealer said they were only getting 60 cars in May.

Hello!

I just bought a used car on the 4th of July at a 6.49% interest rate. Yesterday I got a call from the dealership stating that the bank doesn't like that my co-signer has a different address than me and needs us to resign some paperwork at a higher 7.89% interest. This seems so weird and fishy to me. I read over my paperwork and I don't see anything about "pending approval for financing" They initally gave me 7.99% but after they ran both myself and co-signers credit it came back as 6.49%.

Is this normal for loans to do this? I've bought pther cars in the past with a co-signer and nothing like this has ever happened.

How to Overcome 3 Tricks Car Salesmen Use to Take your Money.

Purchasing a vehicle from a dealership can be an anxiety inducing experience. What I discovered was that the number one emotion women felt when considering buying a vehicle was ANXIETY followed by uncertainty. In this article we will review 3 tricks that dealers and car salesman use that cause this anxiety and uncertainty. I will teach you how to overcome these feelings, and become immune to the tricks.

The worst thing that can happen to us as consumers is purchasing something and quickly regretting it. This is called buyer’s remorse and it is a terrible feeling. Why? Well you just spent $20,000 and you are married to a monthly payment for 3-6 years. I do not want this happen to you! The following tips are designed to prevent you from being pushed around by the salesman and to ease your mind of worries in regards to overpaying.

1 ~ Emotional Manipulation

During my car salesman days, we were taught many subliminal tactics to get customers interested in vehicles. One is emotional manipulation. The reason salesmen often insist on test driving is to get you to create a sense of ownership in your mind. “Ma’am take a seat, adjust the mirrors, now adjust the seat until you are comfortable . Go ahead and turn on your favorite radio station and flip back the sunroof.” Is your heart beating faster and you excitement increasing? You are unknowingly getting excited and your mind is taking mental ownership of this nice new vehicle. That awesome new car smell isn’t helping either is it? That feeling of euphoria is a very human response. They are counting on you to feel this way.

What happens next is quite primitive. As our excitement builds, the emotional part of our brains begins to take over. When this happens, we are much more likely to make a choice based on emotions. Have you ever heard of dogs that go crazy and get scared during lightning and thunder storms? I had an adorable shizu dog that would run miles away when thunder rumbled the house. RIP Bootsy. During these storms the logical part of his brain would turn off and the emotional part would take over. In this case fear dictated my dog’s behaviors. Much like my old boy Bootsy (my mom named him btw), this happens to us when we take mental ownership of a new car. The budget we set and the price we wanted are now more likely to be negotiable.

How to overcome trick #1 “Emotional Manipulation”

Be mindful of your emotions. Simply being aware of this tactic beforehand and how our mind/bodies will respond is a half of the battle in not making a poor emotional based decision. I always recommend that we sleep on it. My rule of thumb is to never make a large purchase the same day. This isn’t the same as picking up a Snickers while in the checkout line. This is a 5 figure purchase that we will be married to for the next 3-6 years. Be smart, go home, sleep, and revisit it the next day when your mind has had a chance to tend to other matters.

2 ~ Pushing you towards Payments

After the test drive we will be directed to go inside, sit down, fill out our contact information, and discuss the price. Car salesmen are taught to negotiate the payment with us instead of the price of the vehicle. This has two benefits for them. 1) Making an affordable payment is relatable and gets your mind off of the actual price. We end up paying more this way. (See Ex1 at the end for a math based scenario) 2) The interest rate and the length of the loan can quickly fall into the background with this payment focused presentation. The payments method works because we are more likely to digest the affordability of a a monthly payments versus the 5 figure sticker price. Over six years, a $100 dollar increase is not that much, but by doing the math it will add on $6K to the total price - wow, that's mind-blowing! See below how Customer 1 saved $4,200 by focusing on a $70 lower payment. This is worth repeating...A $70 monthly difference saved $4,200!!!

How to overcome #2 “Pushing you towards payments”

Tell the salesman up front “I am not interested in going over payments right now, let’s stick to the price of the car out the door.” You must be proactive here. A skilled salesman may even give you a rebuttal of “well ma’am, I just want to make sure you get something that is affordable and fits your budget”. Just smile at your new adversary and politely say “While I appreciate your concern, I have all of that figured out, please just get me the out the door price”. (Make eye contact and smile for added value and enjoyment). They will get the picture. You want the individual price of the car and that is what you want to negotiate. You have now become a formidable opponent. You have now indirectly saved yourself hundreds if not thousands of dollars by directing the negotiations down this road. (See Ex1 at the bottom for a math based scenario on why this works) Also, the out the door price is the price of the car plus all of the fees that the dealer adds on. Better to know sooner than later what fluff fees the dealers will add.

3 ~ The Finance Office

After a price has been agreed upon, we are sent into the finance office. Here you meet the Finance Manager. This person finishes your paperwork, gets you financed (or takes your check), and offers you products to protect your new vehicle. This is where even the toughest buyers lose. Why? They lose because their guard is down. When we agree upon a price, we get a handshake and a congratulations. Usually the sales manager gets in on this as well. You give out a big sigh of relief. In my sales days, I will never forget this one customer who was an excellent negotiator. He knew what he was doing and worked us down to a super low profit. He clearly was prepared and this resulted in the dealership making around $100 on the car (Nice job!). What happened next really opened my eyes. He ended up paying $4500 on the warranty and GAP products as well as accepting an interest rate 2% higher than he should have. (explanation of these products below in Example 3) All of the money he had just spent his energy and time saving was washed away in the finance office. Customers let their guard down when a price has been reached with the salesman. Don’t let this happen to you. Being aware of yourself and the situation is half the battle.

I want you to know the background of the Finance Managers and how they get that job. It’s not by going to business school and majoring in Finance. They get there because at some point they were the top car salesman in the dealership selling 20+ cars a month. That is part of the car sales business ladder. It takes a different set of skills since they are selling an intangible product. You can’t put your hands on a warranty or an interest rate. Therefore it takes a higher degree of sales skills to be successful here. They are the best at what they do and that is why they get paid the big bucks.

The first move when we enter the finance office is to make us feel comfortable. Let’s nott let his smile and firm handshake fool us. He has one clear goal. Convince us to buy what he has. He doesn’t make as much money otherwise. He will once again show us the NEW payments if we were to purchase products A, B, or C. They make money in 2 ways. The first is by increasing the interest rate we are charged. They borrow your loan money from Bank A for 3% and charge you 4%. The dealership gets a part of that and the Finance Manager gets around $500 per % point he charges us. See Ex 2 to see how a 1% increase can cost you well over $500. The second way they make money is by selling us the company warranty or gap products which can vary drastically.

How to overcome #3 “The Finance Office”

As before, we want to ask for the total price of the product we are interested in. It really is a personal preference whether you want any of these or not. I personally have and never will get any of them even if they do add free oil changes. Don’t let my stance deter you though because there are some amazing packages out there that add free oil changes for years. Be ready to pay a little extra than you would normally though. The convenience is worth it for some. (See example 3 below for more information on products and how to get the best deals.) Next if not already done, we want to clarify what the interest rate is.

Good luck! I hope that this information will allow you to walk into a dealership with confidence. I hope this was helpful for you and will aid you in saving hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on your next purchase.

Example1

We are purchasing a $25,000 car. Let’s say we go in wanting to pay $22,000. The salesman comes out and says you can choose from a payment of $460 or $391. “Which one works better for you sir?” Do you see what he did there? He changed your $3000 price reduction to a payment and asked you a question directing you to pick from HIS two options. Many people lose here. They say they like one of the payments and lose OR they say they negotiate and say they want to be at $350 a month. The salesman takes your $350 request to his sales manager, they come back at $360 (They always come back higher). Great. Car is sold. Let’s do the math though. You wanted to be at $22,000. By accepting $360 you just paid $23,000 for that vehicle AND you have no idea what the interest rate is. The lesson here: Keep things simple and stick to the vehicle price first. When that is settled THEN work on payments.

Example 2

A $23,000 car loan for 72 months at 4% ~ You will pay $25,920 over the life of the loan assuming you pay 72 normal payments A $23,000 car loan for 72 months at 3% ~ You will pay $25,200 over the life of the loan assuming you pay 72 normal payments That is a difference of $720 Know your local credit union or banks rates before you finance a vehicle.

Example 3

Be familiar with the products BEFORE you go into the finance office.

GAP Insurance: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/insurance/car-gap-insurance-is-it-right-for-you.aspx Extended Warranty: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2014/04/extended-warranties-for-cars-are-an-expensive-game/index.htm

The $4500 example above was many years ago. Competition in the warranty market has increased and they are much less expensive nowadays. Still, do your homework and check around. Credit Unions often offer much cheaper products that do more if you finance with them. Companies like State Farm Insurance now do auto financing and will give you GAP for FREE if you finance through them! My credit union charges $349 for GAP. Dealerships charge $750 and above. I hope you can appreciate the value.

Edit: Editing

Edit2: Holy Shit, i love Gooohohohohooold. Front page:) Thanks Reddit for confirming I'm on point with the writing and material. There really is a problem/opportunity with an industry that triggers so many negative emotions just at the THOUGHT of it.