Purchasing Strategies - Questions & Success Stories

esteeze

Save the dealer that gave you the lowest quote for last. Go to one of the dealers and offer $400 less than your best offer. Put your checkbook in your shirt pocket. Tell them you want to buy a car that day. Assess what happens or buy. Go to the next dealer and offer him/her $300 less than the best offer. Assess what happens or buy. Go to the guy who gave you the best price and offer him $200 less than his low offer. Assess what happens or buy. Don't touch your checkbook or gesture to it. Don't volunteer your lowest quote. That's what I would do. Hope this helps.

I think this is an excellent strategy... this is how I plan to proceed with my purchase.

blufz1

Thanks for saying so. Good luck.!

jipster

May I have your thoughts on my strategy of slap fanning a stack of $100 bills against the bald head of the salesman... or saleswoman?

I'm assuming this was a close second to blufz's strategy? Which was okay I guess.

snakeweasel

May I have your thoughts on my strategy of slap fanning a stack of $100 bills against the bald head of the salesman... or saleswoman?

Legally its called battery and could have negative consequences.

jipster

Legally its called battery...

Legally... I didn't ask you. :surprise:

Get real snake. It was a joke.

oldfarmer50

"Get real Snake..."

Careful, this guy can kill you with a tire pressure gauge...or was that a ball point pen?

snakeweasel

You did ask "May I have your thoughts on my strategy of slap fanning a stack of $100 bills against the bald head of the salesman... or saleswoman?".

Don't ask questions if you don't want an answer.

snakeweasel

I didn't say kill, I said you can cause major damage with one.

jipster

Don't ask questions if you don't want an answer.

Hate to burst your bubble, but I didn't ask just anyone. I was replying to esteeze's post...asking her. The second paragraph in my post should have made that clear.

But, if I want an endless debate on the legality of slapping a salespersons melon with a stack of $100 bills... I'll know where to go.

tidester

But, if I want an endless debate ...

I, for one, do not.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

thenebean

i second that!!

Kirstie_H

If one does want and endless debate, please let me know and I'll provide links to some Hybrid and Auto News discussions.

jipster

I think the consensus was, that neither myself, tidester, nor the bean, wanted an endless debate.

Though snake may be interested in that link you suggested... I don't know.

thenebean

...nor the bean...

ha! that's great! "It's a BIRD! It's a PLANE! No! its....

THE BEAN!!!



-thene

tallman1

lol... I've got to admit, your name always trips me up too. The Ne Bean, Then E Bean, Thene Bean. Too funny.

snakeweasel

I don't know whats worse an endless debate (which this really wasn't) or an endless string of people saying they don't want an endless debate. Fact is there were more posts of people stating they don't want an endless debate (5) than there was in that "debate" (4).

snakeweasel

THE BEAN!!!

Since you mentioned it here it is a huge waste of tax money called "The Bean"

tidester

more posts of people stating they don't want an endless debate (5) than there was in that "debate" (4).

That's called "ending an endless debate in the bud!"

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

smittynyc

According to Wikipedia, the entire $23 million cost of "Cloud Gate" aka "The Bean" was borne by private donors.

snakeweasel

Wikipedia is oft times wrong. The whole project (Millennium park) was $50 million over budget (3 times its original budget) and IIRC very little on the way of private funds were put into it.

tidester

Wikipedia is oft times wrong.

A lot of people say that but the Beeb reported that it's just as accurate as Britannica. However, Britannica disagrees. I'm inclined to believe Britannica based on my own experience with both.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

jipster

With apologies to the bean .. it looks like a giant cervical cap to me.

jmonroe

THE BEAN!!!

I’m afraid you’re going to have to take this. He has seniority on ya and from what I know of this guy, he’s not going to allow anyone to ‘jip’ him out of it.

‘jip’: Save it , I know I’m a relative newbie around here compared to most posters nor do I have a ‘tidester’ fan club T-shirt but what hurts me the most is that I’m almost ignored on these boards anyhoo. :sick:

jmonroe

smittynyc

Wikipedia may often be wrong, Millennium Park may have been well over budget, and very little on the way of private funds may have been put into Millennium Park, but as for this specific issue, Cloud Gate was completely financed by private donors.

http://www.abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=investigative&id=4167918

There's also an archived S-T article stating the same thing.

tidester

nor do I have a ‘tidester’ fan club T-shirt

Gosh, JM, I mailed that out months ago! Unfortunately, it was my last one though I'm expecting new ones ... any day now!

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

pat

Hmm, I'm thinking that jmonroe must not have sent you the shipping fee...

jipster

Ever since thenebean has become a member at Edmunds, her username has always YELLED out "The Bean" when I read it. Her username was starting to burn a hole in my brain, so I had to "Jipersize" it.

Don't worry jmonroe, Tidester sent me about 100 of those t-shirts to pass out. Despite my best efforts only a few have been accepted(during that extremely cold period this winter) so I'll send you one.

jmonroe

...so I'll send you one.

Finally...RESPECT.

Thanks,

jmonroe

thenebean

wow - this is the most attention i have received on this board ever!! (even if i had to share it with the OTHER bean...)

just to clarify where my nickname came from...

My name is Athina - and friends call me Thene, and one friend decided to add bean, (since it rhymes so nicely) to the end of Thene, to make Thenebean. not very exciting, is it?

and i have seen the "other" bean in person...its...uh...interesting...(but i do like the city of chicago very much! and my favorite sports team is there too! DA BEARS!!)

happy monday!

-thene

tallman1

y name is Athina - and friends call me Thene, and one friend decided to add bean, (since it rhymes so nicely) to the end of Thene, to make Thenebean. not very exciting, is it?

Oo-oo, that was my best guess (although I figured that you spelled your name "Athena").

Another Edmunds mystery solved! I wonder if anyone can figure out why I chose my name.

tidester

I wonder if anyone can figure out why I chose my name.

Hmm. Perhaps because you're a man from Tallahassee but didn't feel like writing the whole thing out?

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

Kirstie_H

And here I thought he was Thomas Allman, Sr (aka, the 1st).

thenebean

nope - in greece, when the city of Athens is translated to english (in greek its actually pronounced Athina) they spell it with an I. The English translation of the goddess Athena was spelled with an E (probably makes more sense than an I, as some have pronounced my name a-THIN-a (thin like in not fat) which is annoying.

most people get it though, and while the name Athena is not that common, Athina with an I is even less common! hooray for me!

besides, i like it better, even though if i were athina with an E, im sure i would think that was better too

If my nickname were thine instead of thene, it would be horribly mispronounced - so its thene!

what a novel!

-thene :P

p.s. - and i agree with Tidester - i thought that your nickname came from the fact that you are a man from tallahassee! are we right??

kyfdx

I thought he was the lost Allman brother..

kyfdx

How did that Who song about Athena go..

Athena... she's a bean.. ...

thenebean

Athena...she's the mean bean machine!

snakeweasel

I wonder if anyone can figure out why I chose my name.

Because you are a man who likes a tall cold one?

You live in Tallman NY?

You are this person?

tallman1

I think perhaps some of you are hooked on Lost, since an episode a few weeks ago was called "The Man from Tallahassee". (I LOVE that show.)

At least I can only hope that is the case because Tall Man seemed so obvious. I'm 6'4".

Of course, knowing the warped sense of humor some have around here... I have no doubt my name was no mystery. :shades:

thenebean

i love Lost too! it's getting a little out there though, for an island in the middle of nowhere, it sure gets a lot of new visitors :P

my hubby is 6'5" (almost 6'6" - depending on the last time he had his hair cut!)

happy tuesday all!

-thene

sondra3

I have an unfortunate situation. I leased my '04 JGC Columbia Edition and ended up going way over mileage because of a job situation. The mileage penalty will be around $4500 (I'm at 70K miles). I could purchase the car for $15,500 but that is more than what it's worth with 70,000 miles. If I were to purchase it, I'm sure I couldn't recover the same amount if I then went to sell it privately...

So I'm trying to figure out what to do: lease or buy a new one. Frankly I'd like a car with better mileage like a Lexus or Honda but I'm screwed on the $$$ numbers no matter what I do so I figure I'll just get another JGC.

The dealer in Norwalk, CT offered me an '07 JGC Laredo "X" edition, MSRP of $34,730, with $1000 lease loyalty reduction, $3500 regular lease cash, and $500 bonus cash, for $455/month with $1200 down and 18K miles per year (totaling 58,000 for 3 years). Buyout is $12,750.

I *do* have the ability to buy instead of leasing again. As for my mileage usage for the next few years, hard to predict - it could go up or down If I buy the '07, I'm not sure what kind of payments I should expect or be going for. In any case, I'm not really sure if I should buy or lease. Whether I lease a new car or buy a new one I have the mileage penalty. If I buy mine, I'm stuck paying $15,500 for an '04 Jeep with 70,000 miles! (I do love the car). I'm so confused.

Any help on any of this is really appreciated!

snakeweasel

Any help on any of this is really appreciated!

Well you will have to bite the bullet on getting rid of the current ride. You can do one of three things 1.) turn it in and pay for the overage in miles, 2.) buy it and try to recoup any costs by selling it or 3.) but it and keep it.

As for leasing again I would be against it simply for the reason that you have a large over mileage charge. If you are not sure how many miles you put on you shouldn't get a lease.

If you are buying first thing you need to do is budget what your down payment and monthly payments would be and work backwards from there, such as what loan will result in your budgeted monthly payment. then you have your price range for what you should be looking for.

One thing you may want to do, since you are shelling out $4,500 in over mileage penalties you may want to lower your sights a bit and get something a little less expensive.

sondra3

Snakeweasel, thanks. Maybe I should just return the leased vehicle and pay the $4500 and walk away? (Is this an option?)

I have to make a decision by May 4 (my due date).

I'm not sure what I want to do and I do have a car I can borrow while I figure out what to do next. My buying budget is pretty reasonable - enough to put down a big downpayment on a $35,000 car.

Thanks again for your help.

dino001

Either way you'll pay. The question is how much and how.

I would say that your exact course depends on the condition. If you anticipate additional wear and tear charges (often high miles come with additional wear) then I would definitely buy the vehicle for whatever the price, keep it/fix it and then go and buy a new one - this way you at least know how much behind you really are w/o fooling yourself. The downpayment you mentioned is really partially gone due to your negative equity.

You may try to bluff first - a friend of mine filled the form with "intent to return" and had the bank call him with a new price offer and low interest loan. Some people try negotiate price with the bank uprfont. It depends on a particular institution - some would not budge a cent, some may be accommodating. Perhaps some Chrysler/Jeep boards or dealers posting here may be of help

Another option is to leverage that vehicle into a new purchase. You'll of course have a negative equity (given), but you may try to reduce it by playing the loyalty card, if you plan to buy another Chrysler product.

But whatever you do - DO NOT LEASE AGAIN! I think one lesson is enough. I don't like blanket statements, but as a general policy one should not lease for longer than 36 months and should NEVER lease just to make their monthly payment lower. Lower payment does not mean lower cost (not always, anyway). There are ways of hiding real costs, such as backend mileage charges, initial fees, etc. that people get trapped into just to make their target $350/month on that Dreammobile. Happens too often...

sondra3

I'm starting to think your first sugg. may be the way to go - to purchase my vehicle for the $15,500 in my lease contract. Even though I'd be buying for a bit more than it's worth, I at least won't have the mileage penalty in dealing with the other options - nor will I have to haggle and contend with the dealer on the value they place on my car (they of course want to give me the lowest value imaginable! and my car happens to be in pretty good shape. grrr).

Then, I will own the car. The plan then might be to see if I can sell it privately for a similar turnaround price (a little lower than what I paid, for sure, but that's ok as long as it's not $5000 lower (which is what my mileage penalty is close to).

I'm just getting way too stressed with the whole process and that's one reason I'm thinking I might just buy the car.

asafonov

Sondra,

before you decide to turn around and sell the Jeep - privately or as a trade-in, after you purchase it, you may want to pop in the Real World Trade-in values thread in this forum, to get an idea how much you are likely to get for your vehicle.

sondra3

Ok, I will check there for sure. Are you suggesting that because you think I may be deluded? (which I may be, lol)?

jmonroe

I'm starting to think your first sugg. may be the way to go - to purchase my vehicle for the $15,500 in my lease contract.

You’ve owned this car since it was new so you should know how well you maintained it. If you are not aware of any problems I would keep it. You might want to consider taking it to a respected car repair shop, just as if you were buying it used. Tell them your story and see what they say about your thoughts of keeping it. This will cost you a little money and there are never any guarantees but this might help you with your decision.

I agree with the others that say DON’T LEASE AGAIN. You don’t have to learn this lesson again.

You have a little time left so don’t waste it !!

jmonroe

bobst

"I'm screwed on the $$$ numbers"

You are not getting screwed, Sondra. You are simply paying for the product that you were provided.

If you dance, you gotta pay the piper. If the piper costs too much, then request a cheaper dance, like the Honda Hully-Gully or the Toyota Twist.

kyfdx

Does the bank know you are over on your miles? Hopefully not..

If not, and if you are considering purchasing the car, ask them to make you an offer.. Tell them you want to buy it, but not for anywhere near the residual amount... They might knock $2K-$3K off the price, and give you a good rate on a loan.

If they know you have a large amount to pay, if turning it in, they won't budge, though...

blufz1

O.K. Here's what to do. Go w/ the best economics. This seems to be your #3190 observation to keep the vehicle. Does the car have any problems at 70k? Relax a little, you are thinking correctly. Hope this helps.