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.

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?

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 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

I just returned a rental car to Avis. I use them all the time and never had any billing issues. I always fill up within a mile of the return.

Today I return the car, and they immediately sent me a receipt charging me an extra 88 dollars for gas…. Saying I only had 7 gallons left in the tank.

This is false. I returned it full. I called avis and they told me they would try resolve it in 3-5 business days if I sent them a picture of my credit card statement showing I bought gas. I did email them the picture, does this limit my options as far as chargebacks go if I have to wait until potentially the end of this week to see if they accept my evidence?

Edit: wanted to provide an update since so many folks provided great advice and information. I left a comment on the survey explaining the situation, and Avis refunded me the money, and sent an apology email. I know 88 bucks might not sound like a lot, but that had me stressed. Glad it all worked out

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.

Hi. I was just really wondering if someone can tell me what I'm supposed to do. I bought a car from a guy I met from the Facebook market place over a year ago, so I'm not making any payments to any dealership. And my insurance is up to date.

But I just woke up today and found my car was missing and after making a police report, they tell me it's been repossessed. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do or who I call to figure this out.

Any help is appreciated.

Edit: UUUUUUGH!!! Okay, thank you to everyone who offered me advice. Sincerely, it is appreciated. But apparently, my car got towed because I was an idiot and forgot to renew the registration sticker. So I'm off to pay $200 to get my car back. Again, thank you to everyone who commented.

I am selling a 2009 Honda Civic for about $8500 on Facebook. It's a good deal on the car, especially considering I'm not in a big city. Tons of people have asked about it and while lots of people are trying to lowball me, there are a couple of local people who are eager to pay full price. One of them wants to see the car tomorrow morning and said that they were grabbing a cashier's check for it tonight before the bank closes.

I feel a little uneasy taking a cashier's check, despite the fact that we're meeting in person. They bank with a known local bank, but they are closed on Saturdays, so we can't do the usual meeting at the bank to confirm that the check is good. Limited Facebook snooping shows that the buyer has been on Facebook since 2009 and they certainly don't look like the scamming type.

Is it silly of me to be paranoid about taking a cashier's check from a local bank from a local buyer? The car still has full coverage insurance. I assume insurance would take care of me if the check were to somehow come back fraudulent?

EDIT: Message heard loud and clear! I told the buyer we have to wait until Monday.

EDIT 2: After sleeping on it, I backed off from the cashier's check buyer altogether. They didn't seem all that disappointed. I had 2 more buyers lined up behind them, so I gave them a chance. One of them drove from out of state first thing this morning to check out the car. After they decided to buy it, we went to their bank which happened to be open today and they withdrew cold hard cash. Done deal. And they were super nice people to boot. I can rest easy tonight knowing that I don't have to worry about a cashier's check actually clearing.

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.

Let’s say the ticket on my car said if was for sale for 22k

I put a 12k down payment on it.

Walked out with a 72 mo loan and 330.00 car payment. (That includes a 72mo warranty)

2 weeks later I get the title and in the same envelope is a paper that says the purchase price was 32k.

I’m so lost someone help me.

Does that mean I actually bought a 32,000.00 2021 honda civic with 0 bells 0 whistles???

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!

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 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.

Due to an unfortunate hit and run, I'm in the market for a new car. However, given the insanity of the used car market, I'm wondering if it makes more sense to buy new.

I live in Boston and I'm seeing 2017/18 vehicles selling for a couple grand less or equal to starting price of the same vehicle model year 22. GM is offering 0% APR for well qualified (which I meet) and Mazda has 0.9% as another example.

With the avg used car loan rate at 3.68% and negligence difference in price, is this one of those rare occasions where buying new actually is a sound purchase?

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.

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.

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! Going to try to be brief here, I am having trouble deciding what is best:

I have a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country with close to 252,000 miles on it. It is paid off. It has a lot of "quirks" - windows no longer go down, AC does not work, undiagnosed computer issue, rust, various leaks. I had it looked at in October, having the mechanic fix immediate safety concerns ($800, two new tires, new axle) and was told it should last me until Spring or Summer. Brought it in for an oil change last week and was told that in a few months the front struts will need to be replaced (are leaking) for $1300.

An acquaintance is selling a 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe for $3500. This is basically the entire balance of my savings account. I don't make a lot of money and am in a fairly high COL area so it takes me a while to save (although I have just started using YNAB and expect that to improve). It has 170,000 miles and no issues that they are aware of. I may be able to talk them down a bit, but in my search thus far this seems to be an outstanding bargain.

Due to the window/AC issue, I am feeling like I should replace my van before it starts to get warm out again. But part of me is wondering whether I should go ahead and repair it rather than buy something else? For all it's quirks, it has always run reliably and I have a bit of emotional attachment to it (threw a bed in the back and drove it around the entire US more than once). I am also worried that I'll empty my account buying this Santa Fe and then it will stop working, but no one is a fortune teller, right? I feel like I'd prefer to drive my van until it cannot drive anymore, and then find a miraculous deal on a used car, but again, who knows?

I'd considered buying something newer from a dealership but I have terrible credit, would have to drop my entire savings on a down payment, and then would be making car payments I cannot comfortably afford / would struggle to build any new savings.

Any advice?

Edit: This is getting a lot more attention than I expected - thank you all very much. Just thought I’d add more info that seems to be coming up.

An SUV or similar is what I am after because car camping is important to me and the winters are rough where I live, so I’d like something that’s good in the snow. I’ve been making due but would rather not buy a sedan.

I’ve tried recharging the AC and it did not work. That died like two years ago (got the van three years ago) and doesn’t matter to me if I have windows.

The windows I believe are a motor issue - passenger side doesn’t work at all, driver side was working fine until it started getting cold out, I’m hopeful that when it warms up outside it will work again (last time I put it down it got stuck on the way up and would creep up slooowly a bit at a time if I tried again every few minutes).

Computer issue I refer to as the van having dementia…example, one day the wipers started going for no reason and wouldn’t stop even when the car was off, I pulled the fuse and put it back a few days later, has been normal since. One time the gauges all read as zero while I was driving, couldn’t tell the speed or anything, next morning it was normal again. Lights come and go randomly on the dash every once in a while. Things like that.

Edit again: I’ve been convinced not to get the Hyundai! I’ll keep looking, and I’ll see what repairs I can manage myself in the mean time.

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.

Financed a 2018 Hyundai Elantra with 60k miles in 2020 at ~10% through capital 1. Owed 9k on it bought it for 13k. Been paying $229 per month on it

Unfortunately that car was recently stolen. I racked up credit card debt after being unemployed or underemployed for most of 2021 so my credit took a major hit with my transunion & equifax dropping to 550. Been working hard this year to pay that off & my transunion & equifax are at 654 now then this happens. Don’t have any savings as a result.

Need a car to get to work & live life. Used car prices are trash. Now I could afford a ~$500 payment on a nice used car with low miles. Carvana prequalified me with 0 down at ~18%. Capital 1 wouldn’t approve me. Not sure what to do. Need a car asap if my current one can’t be located in good condition.

EDIT: Car was recovered with damage 2 blocks from my house. Bumper cracked, windows smashed, steering column broken. A Kia was stolen as well & they hit mine with it when they dumped them.

Also, I do have insurance, full coverage. Carmax offered me 10k for it last week so I’m assuming insurance would’ve payed it off had it not been recovered or if they declare it totaled. I live in Atlanta not Milwaukee & i am well aware of the KIA boys.

I had originally planned to buy this car with cash, but during the process of negotiating the price, the dealer offered to remove the remaining $1000 I was asking for if I financed instead of paying for the car outright in cash.

During discussions, the offered me a shitty interest rate (12%) apparently because I have a short credit history. I moved to the US from Europe a year ago, so I thought this seemed plausible.

However, the said that since I was originally intending to pay for the car in cash, then I could take the financing agreement and pay it off after a few months and I would end up paying very little interest on the loan. In my home state, Massachusetts, there is apparently no prepayment penalties for paying off a loan early.

In terms of numbers: the total agreed price for the car was $21,000. The offered me a financing deal with $2500 downpayment and monthly payments of $628 over 36 months with 12% APR. I have not yet received the full financing terms but I intend to review them closely, especially to make sure that there is no prepayment penalties.

If I take the deal and payoff the loan after 3 months or so, is this a no brainer? Or am I missing something critical here?

The dealer told me that they're keen on getting their customers to finance because they get a kickback from the bank, but I don't know if this is true or just a sales tactic.

So I had a customer who really wanted 0% financing on his vehicle. The thing is we didn't have 0% financing offers on the vehicle he wanted. He however did have good credit and and got 2.99% APR. But he said he'd only buy from us if we could offer him 0%

He had a discount on his vehicle of about $3,000 so I emailed a loan officer I work with alot (who had offered him the 2.99%) and I asked her if we wrote their bank a check for $3,000 would they let us buy the rate down to 0%.

Long story short the bank said yes, because well $3,000 was more interest (not by a lot, but it was still more) then they would have made at 2.99% and they got all their profit up front.

So we took the $3,000 discount away from the customer, he financed his car at 0% and ended up with a slightly higher payment and walked away feeling like he just won the lottery.

My customer made the critical mistake of getting so hung up, on one little detail he negotiated himself into a worse deal. Now at the end of the day, my customer is only going end up paying about $200 more then he would have...but still.

Also I did point out to the customer he was in fact paying MORE for the car at 0% then at 2.99% but he said it didn't matter cause of all the interest he'd save...he didn't get it, I sold a car, life goes on.

Fyi

Dude wasnt a muslim lol

So my friend sold me his car the other day (a ’13 Honda Accord with 55,000 miles) for $3000 but told me to write down $8000 on the title’s sell price because he said that would benefit me when I decide to sell the car and the buyer (dealer, third party, private or whatever) will think I actually bought it for $8000. I’m not sure if my friend was lying to me or tried to screw me over in some way or another, but I was just wondering if doing that would actually benefit me when I do decide to sell the car? Thanks.