I hate negotiating, I find it frustrating and time consuming, I will tell you what I will pay each month on the loan, I don’t care how long the loan is. Find me a car that Iike and fits into my price, I don’t negotiate anything else, if they can’t find a car at what I am willing to pay each month I just don’t buy a car.
Spend 2 minutes to figure out how much car you can buy for the amount you can afford per month. Don’t forget to factor in insurance because that can change from car to car.
After you do that then go to the dealer and tell them how much you’re willing to spend on a car. You’re in a much better shape to negotiate a better deal.
Telling them how much you’re willing to spend each month just falls right into their hands. It gives them the negotiation edge. Suckers fall for that tactic all the time. Dealers LOVE it.
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Again I don’t care how much the car costs totally, I am only concerned with what the monthly payments are. I don’t negotiate anything, if they find a car I like, and meets my 3 requirements, what the total cost is meaningless to me, especially now at my age and health.
I’ll be blunt. You’re not in a position to move to another car right now, especially if you can’t even afford to have it inspected. Keep driving your current car.
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Again…Dealers love suckers like you.
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Everything else being equal, I’d prefer a newer car than an older car with less mileage.
How am I not in position, if the newer car is the same outlay in payments as I am making now and my insurance is only $10 or so more a month how is the purchase a negative?
You’re getting lots of solid and consistent advice here, especially from oldtimer_11. Unfortunately, it’s clear that you’re not open-minded enough to accept it, which is likely to keep you in this financial hole that you’re apparently in. I wish you luck anyway, but I’m done here.
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“financial hole”? I have lived my entire life 52 years now in a “financial hole” living from paycheck to paycheck, it’s how a good majority of people live in America today. If I don’t but the car there will be no “savings” as there is nothing to "save’. Again all I would be doing is trading car X for car Y and still making the same payments I have since 2014 and would just continue to do for the forseable future. This idea of “savings” is a myth for many people, we make just enough to pay our bills and get by. IF by buying this newer car I can reduce the amount of monies I spend in gas and possible repairs those few dollars will go to paying for going to another basketball game this fall/winter or an extra baseball in the summer. I have never nor will ever have a “savings” account. Also, lets say I had the monies for this pre purchase inspection, still wouldn’t hassle with it. Also what do those here believe is the % of people who buy used car spend this extra money for having an “independent” inspecting done? What maybe like 5-10% of those who purchase a used car do it?
That’s right. And that tells you a lot about the average intelligence of the US. At 52 you’re never going to learn. Stay stupid and hope for the best.
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Stay stupid? How am I stupid, I work a job(s) that don’t pay that well, however I do and have learned to live within my budget. Exactly how is trading in car X for car Y and paying the exact same but getting a newer car with less milage stupid?
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Apparently you have a vehicle that goes and stops. It may also still have some time on the extended warranty.You want to trade vehicles the worst way possible as far as cost is concerned. You have no cushion as far as income for anything. So yes, the word stupid does apply so you might as well give up because you will not find agreement here.
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The people who can least afford to waste money seem to be the majority that do. Your financial decisions have contributed to the fact you have nothing left. Yes, you make very little money so even saving a dollar here and there would seem to have a huge impact. Yet, you continue to be lazy about how you manage your expenses, especially one that would appear to be one of the larger outlays you have on a regular basis. And we always seem to outlive our own expectations so the final years are only going to get tougher…
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It does go and stop but it has issues, one being the security system that can shut the car down at any time without warning. I will have to put 4 new tires on it within the year and the struts need to be replaced within the year. The gas gauge no longer is working right and level 1/2 on the ACE/Heater switch isn’t working and needs to be replaced. So while running this car will need work done on it in the coming year. Add to that the warrenty I got when I purcharsed the car will expire at the end of this year, so any major issues (like the Rac/Pinon I had to replace) will come out of my pocket. Now would a newer car not have any issue, of course not, but I would be able to have a new warrenty on the car that I would buy that would for at least 2 years cover any major issues. So cost wise I am looking with the newer car to avoid any major repair costs for the next two years. However with all of this, looking at the dealers website, and seeing what used cars he has available, I doubt he will be able to find a car/financing that will meet my required monthly payment restrictions…
“Final years”? There is a better then average chance I will die before this car would be paid off, given health issues and age, I don’t worry about the future…
Bertrand,
"When looking at a used car what should be key things to look for/at and what matters more, the year of the car or mileage on the car?"
Key thing to look for would be the past reliability of the vehicle make. Especially since you say that the vehicle will not be having an independent evaluation of its condition.
Otherwise buying extended coverage for makes that are less reliable probably makes sense.
I’ll refer you back to my closing line in the prior post.
We’re dead a long time. Life is short, try to eek out as much enjoyment as possible while you can.
Maximizing what disposable income you do have will help. Trying to be net zero at the end is tough to time…
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It’s not how much you make but how you spend it. I know people who make over $100k a year and don’t save a dime. And other people who make under $50k and manage to save $1000a year. How many people use their tax refund as fun money instead of oaying down their debt?? I
My disposable income usually goes to bobbleheads, action figures and such to add to my ever growing collection of “stuff” or to pay for my one vacation a year to the east coast…
Thus wasting it
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