Talk to AutoScoop! The radio show for car buying

Sylvia

Is there a topic you would like to see covered on AutoScoop?

The radio show for everything you need to know about car buying. Tune in every Saturday!

jipster

How about the pros and cons of buying rebuilt wrecks?

stever

It's fun for an ex-Southerner like me to listen to AutoScoop just to hear Joyce say "y'all" all the time. :shades:

Steve, SUVs and Speed Shop Host

hangaralf1

i would like to hear more about Diesels and whether or not Toyota, Honda, and Volkswagen are bringing more to the states. in particular, Diesel Minivans.

autoscoop

Tell us what you'd like to hear. We want your suggestions. Any particular controversy or topic - that you think the country should discuss?? We want to know.

tidester

How about a tutorial for sons and daughters who are about to make their first car purchase but won't listen to mom and pop about researching and negotiating? Also, address how parents can best get these points across to the kids before they get fleeced.

autoscoop

Great suggestion. Do you think it should be more focused on financing options, budgets, or how to find the right vehicle?

autoscoop

If you have a car buying "horror story" - would you share - for an upcoming show. Thanks.

Kirstie_H

Whew, I second that one from tidester, and as a mother of a soon-to-be-driver, I would want to see the focus on choosing the right vehicle - most teens don't know enough to make an informed decision based on practical driving needs (handling, what cars are good to learn on), long-term implications of the vehicle choice (i.e., do you really want to work long hours to pay the insurance on that mega-SUV?) and maybe durability (really cool car w/high mileage vs plain-jane that's likely to last 5+ years).

So, the shopping/selection process would be my vote.

madmanmoo

As an Atlanta listener, I have heard this show a lot when I'm on my way into work.

I joke with some of the guys about the people calling into the show. About 90% are roaches and ask questions about their negative equity or inability to purchase a vehicle.

One will state, "I don't like my bank. They keep bothering me about paying the bill." Or, "I have a 350 beacon with 0 money down and I the salesperson is rude to me!! He won't sell me that Benz I want."

All to say, screen those calls a little bit better. Goldfein does a good job of switching those calls into something positive, but there is only so much you can take of that.

-Moo-

tidester

Why not two shows - one of each?

tidester, host

norma74

Hi,
I'm very interested in the services of a car broker. I'm the ideal client - I'm relocating cross-country and need to buy a car in the new location (SoCal) quickly. I plan to buy a used car and have pre-approved financing. Can anyone suggest a good way to track down a reliable and trustworthy broker? I've already read the edmunds.com article on brokers but I'm still looking for more info. Any insights you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

wendyhuk

I have just purchased a new car. Should I expect to pay a bank acquistion fee or bank charges? What other charges at the time of signing should I expect on top of the car price.
Regards
Wendy :confuse:

etberkovitz

I looked at a vehicle Sunday it was a recent trade in, the car salesman said that it was bound for repair the next day and that the repair shop had the key. They would not be in till the next day so all we could do was look at the outside of the vehicle and the inside seats if we didn't mind the alarm going off. The alarm would not allow us to open the trunk or hood so we were told to come on Thursday and by then the car would be serviced and if I wanted to hold the car I should leave a deposit. I did and they said that was all come in on thursday and the car would be mine for the purchase once I looked under the hood. I appear on Monday to see if I can look at the car early and the dealer said it was in repair we can't see it yet. I come in today Thursday and was told the car had been sold soon after I left the dealership. Is this legal? I was told because they didn't have the key my deposit would be enough. If everything was alright I would have bought the car then and there. I don't know what to do I thought that car was the one. Is the dealership breaking any rules? Thank you

bzribee

I'm not sure where to post this question but I understand there imay be choice as to whether the rebate is calculated before or after taxes. One dealer I spoke with (California) said it had to be before taxes, which woud cost me an extra $100 +. Is there a way to negotiate this? I don't think all the (CA) dealers I've emailed have calcualted it the same.

tidester

I would give Rebates, Incentives, APRs - Questions & Comments or Vehicle Sales Tax Questions a try.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

ctvw

I just noticed that my local VW dealer still has new 2006 Jetta's and Passat's on the lot. I was hoping to get opinions from forum members regarding pricing/negotiation tactics for a car that has been sitting on the lot for 2 years. This dealer now has 06 07 and 08 Passat's on lot so I would think they would be willing to cut a good deal on these vehicles to get them off the lot. Any advice would be appreciated.

bigpimping

As a ex-car sale my answer is going to come from the why this happen. The salesman job is to get you to commit to buy, This means what ever car he can get you to put money on. The salesman does not know who owns the car or who has the title so he did what he was suppose to do he got you to commit. He didn't know if his manager was saving that car for himself or going to sell it for cash to a whole seller. The only illegal act is if they keep your deposit. They are suppose to return it.

kiltman

I recently leased an '07 Patriot. I would like to add a few items to it such as cruise control, and cross bars for the roof rack. Is it possible to add this to the car now through the dealership for a percentage of the cost of the parts, and have that figured into the residual at the end. Basically would like to add options without wasting my money on a car that I will be turning in in a few years.
Any thoughts.
:confuse:

leek4747

Do dealership have a different Kelly Blue Book?
The dealerships always give me a very different trade in price from the internet (kbb.com) or the actual book in sold in stores.
I mean a thousands of dollars different....
Even if the dealership regards my trade in as poor condition... it value shouldn't differ as much as this.

british_rover

That is because KBB is a joke and rarely if at all reflects reality.

Go here if you want a more realistic value for your trade. One of us will be able to give you an accurate number.

gerrysb

We're looking to purchase a '98 528I from the original owner. It has approx 58K miles. No accidents, all service done at the dealer and a clean carfax report. We're also considering a '98 volvo S90 with only 52K miles..immaculate and also from the original owner..clean carfax report. This will be an extra family car and will most likely be turned over to our daughter when she goes to college in a year. We just got rid of a '95 BMW 530I that had major oil repairs issues with 160K miles on it. We loved it though. Any opinions on which car would be the better choice? We're leaning on the 530I but welcome suggestions/opinions.

qbrozen

That's pretty tough.

Volvo seats are the best in the biz. So if you are taking long drives in the car, you might take that into consideration. The 528, to the best of my knowledge, is supposed to be reliable.

I assume the bimmer is the more expensive option, no? At least it should be. So if price is a concern, the volvo is going to win. If you want a sportier ride, then the bimmer is the winner hands down. This would come down to touchy feely for me. I loved my volvo, but I've recently come to appreciate bimmers (now have an '87 325i in the garage). More fun = bimmer. More comfy = brick.

british_rover

I can't remember if the S90 was as troublesome as the later S80s. You need to track down Volvomax in one of the other discussions here about that.

qbrozen

I didn't look it up, but I'm pretty sure the S90 is completely different. IIRC, it is RWD vs the S80 FWD. I believe the S80 was all new, and hence the issues with the first couple of years.

gerrysb

Yes, the 528 is a little more...$2,000. Price really isn't a concern. We've driven them both and we've had volvo's although it was years ago. No doubt, the 528I handled like you'd expect and the volvo felt rock solid. One other thing I forgot to mention..the 528 has front and side airbags for the front seats. The S90 only has front driver and passenger airbags. Of course, since we've just recently (3 days ago) got rid our our 530I, we're comparing everything to that! I think if we wait too long, one or both of these cars will be gone. If one's gone, that makes the decision a little easier right?

gerrysb

What/who is Volvomax?

british_rover

Guy that runs a Volvo dealership in Arizona and is one of the resident Volvo experts.

You can usually find find him in Real World Trade In Values.

Last post of his in that thread

gerrysb

Thank you...I've sent him my question.

vmontera

I am trying to purchase my leased 2007 Jeep Commander. I have a check with the amount made out to Chrysler. The dealership I leased the truck through, and who told me that Chrysler Financial was one of the best to work with will not accept the check because it is made out to Chrysler. Chrysler Finanial keeps sending me back to the dealer saying they should handle it and I should receive all of my paperwork from the dealer making me the happy owner.

Can someone please tell me what I should do. I have a check that no one wants.

thecarcnsltn

First of all let me say that that is a lot of vehicle in this gas strapped time to be buying. I assume that you have you have a work related reason or children for buying such a large vehicle. I Use to live in the hi-desert where 4-wheel action was a necessity come winter. Any how this is what you should do;
take a breath and relax
tear up that check
make a new one to the dealership in their name
For the purposes of tax , accounting, and records the corporate office does not want to go out of procedure and you are right they could if they wanted to but I worked for the corporate dealerships once and I can tell you that no one wants to take the responsibility and the risk. You,the customer, should come first but they are concerned about job security first.
Thank you, TheCarConsultant.org