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I suppose my question is, is there such a thing as gap insurance on a balloon payment finance option? Or is it pretty much mandatory to put 20% down as I'd do on a standard purchase?
My goal is to never be upside down on a car, if that's not obvious by now.
-Dan-
If not, GAP insurance is always available at an extra cost.. either through the finance company or sometimes your own car insurance company..
If you are substituting a balloon payment for a lease program, I'd be sure to obtain it...
regards,
kyfdx
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That's the kind of smart information I was looking for, folks. Many thanks for everyones help.
-Dan-
However, I should have been clearer. Reading many posts here, I see plenty of people who are in a lease and want to get out of it before then end of the lease term. If that's the case, they will always be upside down.
You can get GAP insurance on a regular loan, too. I don't see why you can't do the same for a balloon loan.
I find it a little disturbing that I have to tell the salemans about the car I am looking at and any rebates or current offers that are available.
Is it the long hours with not much in return? (pay check wise I mean).
What type of employment is the best in your opinion...strictly commission? Part salary, part commission, etc???
By the way...if I was to try and sell cars...it would only be Hondas!!!
The reason would be because I believe in the product and I know allot about them...
And since I am due to retire from the Navy in about a year I was thinkin' maybe....
Your advice would be much appreciated!!!!
My dealer has told me they need to replace the whole dashboard unit at a cost of over $800!!! I'm pretty ticked off cause the car is under the warranty in Time but only over few thousand in miles and I am a loyal Nissan owner (over 7 cars). They tried to get me under the Goodwill Program, but I was denied. I have my car "maintained" at the dealership every 5,000 miles and get replaced whatever they tell me needs replacing at the time. I DON'T sign on for the "Scheduled MaintenceProgram" casue I see no need to spend over $300 for them to fill my washer fluid, check my cruise control, check my tire pressure, check the parking brake etc.
Can anyone help me with the diagnoisis and any chance of raising the issue further at Infiniti to get results?
thanks
I recently sold my 96 Ford Windstar (101,000 mi) to a man via private sale. To my knowledge (and yes, I checked with my mechanic first), there was nothing major wrong with the car. Inspection was good till Feb 06. The few minor things were disclosed prior to sale. The seller brought his "car-savvy" nephew to see the car prior to purchase. This kid crawled in, under and over every inch of the car even sniffing at tail pipes and oil dip-sticks. The "check engine" light was on in the van and has been since about 70,000 miles. My mechanic would just check the car and reset the light. It would stay off for a while, but inevitably come back on. The light was ON when seller test drove the vehicle. I offered him the personal and business name of my mechanic if he wanted more details than I was able to offer, as well as to obtain maintenance records. Seller never contacted my mechanic. He had four days from the time he gave me a deposit till the time he picked up the vehicle and completed the sale that he could have had the car examined by his own mechanic. Unfortunately no "bill of sale" was signed by anyone. I only have the papers from the notary that states the amount paid.
To wrap up an already long story. He took it home and changed the oil. A few days later, he was planning trip and took it to the Ford dealership to have them "check it out". He called me and told me the engine was "trashed". :sick: There was antifreeze in the oil and the "barings" were shot and the mechanics at the dealership told him that this has been going on for months and he wants his money back. Only problem is, I spent the money on a down payment on my new Vibe.
He's been threatening a lawsuit, and to be honest, I really feel badly about the whole thing but I don't feel that I've done anything wrong.
Any suggestions?
Erin
In my state (MI), this would be a no-brainer, and you'd have nothing to worry about. The presumption is that a car is sold "as is" in a private sale.
Dunno about your state, but I have faith in lawyers. IOW, I don't think your new friend is going to find anyone to take the case over a "$2,000" van... that's about all you old van is worth, assuming everything is in good shape.
Post your state and let's hope someone can chime in. But aside from that, tell him to take a hike and next time inspect before he pays.
Seriously, what's he gonna do... worst case, it's small claims.
And write up a bill of sale ('car is sold AS IS') next time you sell a car.
-Mathias
If that's way it is where you live, tell him nicely in writing that when you sold the car you knew of no problems, and that the sale was "as-is", and therefore you owe him nothing. Tell him no more than that - anything you say can be brought into court. After that, let him sue if he chooses, and say nothing unless required by the court.
If all is as you say, you should have no problem with him. Good luck - keep us posted.
Sorry you're in such a bad situation.
Erin
I had a buyer do this to me - wanted me to understate the sales amount on the title transfer. I wouldn't do it - it doesn't pay to play games with Mr. Taxman.
Then, tell him that you'll have no further communication with him.. If he calls you again, you'll call the police..
You can't be subtle with bozos like this..
regards,
kyfdx
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The Audi A3 sounds like an interesting car, especially the AWD arriving later this year.
But alas, some of my trips take me through mountain passes in winter, and the road authorities demand chains be used if the passes are hit by snow. So if I am to drive in winter (and may need to due to family situation) I have to be able to use chains. My current vehicle cannot.
I went to Audi's web site and asked if chains could be used on the A3. Audi said to contact their dealers. So I checked dealers in my area, of which there are few. One was nothing more than a tiny kiosque with a "DO NOT TOUCH!!" sign on whatever it had inside. Another refused to respond to an email request.
What goes on here? What is so hard about finding out what should be a simple answer?
FYI, one poster on another forum here suggested Audi was trying to duck liability. Very scary if that is true.
If this guy takes you to court, be sure to state that your buyer brought along his "expert" to inspect the car. Remind them that you know nothing about cars and that you gave them every opportunity to get it inspected by their own shop.
Windstars of that vinatge are known for a lot of problems, especially head gasket problems and this is probably what has happened.
If the buyer had consulted any number of sources available to him he would have quickly learned of this and other problems common to early Windstars.
Don't cave in to him...you should be fine here.
And, this is an excellent example of why it isn't always "best" as some always suggest to sell, rather than trade in your car.
I am sceduled to pick it up tomorrow morning, so any opinions would be welcome tonight. Thanks!
Ok...but it's mostly best!
Not to go into all of the other stuff, but this is where he cut his own throat .... what judge is going to give this guy 2 ounces of credibility when he just cheated the state out of it's tax money ....
The next time he calls, mention that to him, that will stop the drama .. besides, he thinks he can intimidate a woman ... based on everything you said -- he's got nada.!
Terry.
Then tell me you carfaxed it. Good.
Now tell me you 've had it inspected by a competent, experienced mechanic.
This sounds almost too good to be true... I've got a 2004 Vibe with similar miles, and I think I can get $11-12 on the street, easy. Those are not entirely dissimilar cars. $8 + TTL seems incredible.
Make sure it isn't a buy-back lemon car, and that it hasn't been wrecked. Then buy it quickly before they come out of their coma. Are you trading anything?
-Mathias
In my state (MI), this would be a no-brainer, and you'd have nothing to worry about. The presumption is that a car is sold "as is" in a private sale.
***********************************************************************************
Agreed. The guy that you sold it to you doesn't have a prayer in the world. The van is HIS now. If it fell apart 20 feet after he drove it out of your driveway, it wouldn't have made any difference. Virtually ALL used car transactions via private party sales like yours are as-is, where-is, with all faults. Period. His only hope now is to scare you into giving his money back. Tell him to bug off :P
The minute that you handed him the title and he handed you the cash, the van and all of its attendant problems became his. Makes no difference whatsoever if you knew about them or not. No lawyer in his right mind would even take a case like this.
As other posts have already said - he ~could~ file in small claims court, but the magistrate will decide in your favor, so he's wasting his time. Relax and don't worry.
Two months later, the automatic transmission gave out. The buyer called the seller to complain and the seller reminded him that the car was sold strictly AS IS.
He gave the buyer all of the service records and was completely honest about it's condition.
So, the guy takes him to small claims court, and the idiot judge (probably appointed by Jerry Brown) decides the seller should split the 2000.00 repair bill!
Of course, this was in California so I wasn't all that surprised.
"Did you sign with the notary agreeing to the $500 price? That could be considered tax fraud. If you have a check from him for $2,200, he is not likely to pursue it too far."
I did sign the document at the notary (my bad, I know that now. He told me "everyone does it" (sounds like my first boyfriend)
ANYWAY, alfox got me to thinking.... there is NO paper anywhere that says he paid $2,200 for the car. He gave me CASH. So the only document that states a purchase price is the one from the notary with the big $500 bucks on it. The notary also rated it "poor" condition probably assuming that for that price it had to be. So, even though I'll NEVER sell another car without a written AS-IS agreement ever again, the LACK of having signed such a document might save me in court if I do lose. I'll be out $500 not $2,200. Ya think?
He called again today and kept saying, "The fair thing to do would be.... and he lists a number of things.... give him half the purchase price, replace the engine, take the van back (in pieces no less)", etc. And I just keep repeating that I feel bad about the situation but I didn't do ANYTHING wrong. I'm working on getting that notarized statement from my mechanic about no knowledge of a problem. Oh, and whoever said he was filing at Small Claims Court was correct. He confirmed that on the phone today.
I'll keep you all updated, but at least I'll sleep tonight knowing that it will probably be ok. How long does something like this take to actually go before a judge? Will I need a lawyer do you think? Grrr... and I was having such a good summer till now.... :mad:
IF he's right about the condition -- and it may all be invention -- then you should not have gotten more than $800 for the car, or maybe nothing. He's being an idiot about it, and he deserves the lesson, so you should keep the money.
But if it were a nice sunday school teacher coming back to you the next day saying the transmission just blew up, wouldn't you be tempted to refund 1/2 ? I know I would at least think about it. There's what's legal, and there is what's right. They often do not coincide.
In this case, stiff-arm the moron. And when it's all over, tell him you might have helped him out if he had not been such a yahoo.
Don't forget to let us know how it turns out. Keep a stiff upper lip,
-Mathias
I'd sure do some asking.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
.
Good luck.
An attorney sending certified return receipt first probably would prove you're serious.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Does the Notary know the price wasn't $500?? That would be an even better situation. Please tell me his wife was the notary? In either case, I would calmly explain that he lied in front of a notary and the notary could lose his stamp.
As for small claims court, that'll be months before you guys get there. The worst you are out is $500 according to the documents.
As for the tax reason, he didn't want to pay more sales tax than he had to. Now if he were in MA, he'd pay tax on the value placed on the vehicle by the RMV or the sale price - whichever is higher. You can say all you want about MA, but it's done the right thing in regards to the $100 sale price of S600's.
To me, this changes everything and puts the seller in a very risky situation.
" Everyone does it"...this doesn't cut it!
I think I would wait awhile to see if the buyer go's away. If not, I think I would offer some kind of monetary compensation to him if I possibly could.
I don't see how she could be proven wrong in court.
Unless someone reads Edmunds, of course :-)
-Mathias
So, if he go's after her in court for that amount she will either have to lie under oath to the judge or admit she committed perjury by falsifying a notarized document.
I think I would tell the buyer if he persists..." The paperwork says you paid 500.00. I will give you 500.00 as a gesture of goodwill. Otherwise, you can just take me to court".
If he's smart, he'll take the 500.00.
I suspect he's bluffing at this point and this will go nowhere.
He isn't going to file a claim in court..
Terry has it pegged.. The guy thinks he can bully you into giving some of his money back.. Tell him to take a flying leap and you'll see him in court..
regards,
kyfdx
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... and in most states... maybe all states...
once you drive it over the curb, it's yours.
Be glad you bought a quality car at least. I'll take my buyer's remorse in a Corolla before I'll have it in a Kia Rio.
(Not trying to upset Kia owners. Just talking trade-in #'s)
-Mathias
I plan to make a down payment of $2500-$3000. I also will be trading in my car if Toyota offers me a decent deal.
Can anyone give me pointers on approaching the car dealer about knocking down the price? Is $18,000 for a 2005 LE, fully loaded with moonroof overpriced?
Look up invoice (on Edmunds), check for any incentives (should also be noted here), and offer them that number. With a Toyota, expect them to show a TDA (I think) amount on th einvoice, which is a legit Toyota advertising charge, that will be in addition to the Edmunds invoice. I think it usually runs +/- $300.
I think a fair market is porobably closrer to 16K than 18K, if that is MSRP.
And on your trade, post the details on the real world trade in values thread for a number. Kinda defeats the purpose of getting a good deal on the new car if you bite on a low ball on the trade.
In any case, have the figures straight before you walk in, and if they give you a run around (or you feel at all uncomfortable), WALK OUT THE DOOR, and don't sign anything if you don't 100% understand what it is.
Remember, there are lots of Toyota dealers to visit, and you can always go back even if the first visit isn't successful.
Actually, for people that aren't too comfortable or experienced with the buying process, I would recommend always walking away th efirst day without signing papers. If they gave you a legit, fair deal, it will still be there the next day, and you will be more comfortable if you slept on it (and of course came back here for more free advice!)
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.