Modern cars have more technologically advanced features and better safety features than cars from a decade ago.
Additionally, it’s alluring to swap in soiled chairs and worn-out stuff.
However, a lot of Americans purchase cars in error.
Purchase a new vehicle and exchange your old one.
One-third of buyers include a $5,000 average amount of debt from their previous vehicle in their new loan.
They are still making payments on a car they don’t drive.
Ouch!
That is not a sound personal finance strategy.
1. Before entering a dealer’s lot, get your loan approved.
Get approved for a car loan through your bank, credit union, or an internet lender, advises Philip Reed. This is the best piece of advice he can give anyone.
At the personal financial website NerdWallet, he is the automobiles editor.
When he worked for the car-buying website Edmund.com, he also performed covert labor at an auto dealership to discover the inner workings of the company.
Reed is prepared to spill the beans regarding the car-buying scam.
2. Be straightforward with the dealership.
When purchasing a car from a dealership, give each task your full attention.
Be careful not to divulge too much information to the salesperson.
Remember that this is just a game.
Furthermore, when playing cards, one does not hold them up and announce, “Hey, look, I have a pair of queens,” do they?
Therefore, the first step at the dealership, according to Reed and Van Al st, is to start with the price of the vehicle you’re buying.
If you want to apply for a loan there as well as trade in another vehicle, the salesperson at the dealership will commonly ask you.
Don’t respond to their inquiries, advises Reed!
You’re playing against professionals, and that makes the game excessively complicated.
If you haggle a particularly excellent purchase price for the car, they might boost the interest rate to profit more from you, or they might undervalue your trade-in.
They are able to monitor all of those details at once.
You won’t do that.
Ensure simplicity.
At a time, just one item.
3. Avoid adding any extras at the dealership.
This process is familiar to everyone who has purchased a car.
You’ve been at the dealership for hours, you’re exhausted, you’ve agreed on a price and wrangled over the trade-in, and now the finance manager is in charge of you.
“We lead you to this back office.
They frequently call it “the box,” “Van Alst explains.
The dealership will try to offer you gap insurance, tire protection plans, extended warranties, and paint protection plans at this point.
Dealerships make a lot of money from this material.
Van Alst adds that the majority of people are unable to determine a reasonable price and that it is frequently significantly overvalued.
“Are you aware that this add-on has been increased by 300%?
You are oblivious to all of that, “says Van Alst.
He and Reed advise saying “no” to everything as a wise tactic, especially when getting a new car.
He claims that there is greater room for dealers to try to sell you the extras, particularly with longer-term loans.
The financial expert can attempt to convince you that it only amounts to a small monthly increase.
But the money accumulates.
4. Be wary of auto loans with six or seven-year terms.
More than six years are now included in one-third of new car loans.
And Reed calls that “an extremely worrisome trend.”
We have a detailed explanation for why that is the case.
In contrast to a five-year loan, a seven-year loan will have lower monthly payments.
But it will also result in much higher interest costs.
According to Reed, interest rates on loans with terms longer than five years are frequently higher.
Like with most loans, the interest is front-loaded, meaning that in the initial years, you pay a higher percentage of interest than principal.
The majority of people are unaware of this, and they are unaware of its dangers, according to Reed.
According to Reed, if you want to sell your car because you can’t afford it or because you have another child and need a minivan instead, you’re much more likely to be trapped still paying more than the car is worth if you have a seven-year loan.
It puts you in a very precarious financial position, he continues.
A five-year loan is preferable, according to Reed, and “you should definitely finance a used automobile for only three years, which is 36 months,” he adds.
He cites the fact that you’re more likely to have paid off the loan by the time your used car breaks down and isn’t worth fixing, such the transmission completely failing, as one reason why this makes sense.
For new authors, Reed argues that a five-year loan makes sense since “it’s kind of a sweet spot” and “that’s been the usual manner.”
The monthly installments are reasonable.
You can be sure the car will still be in terrific shape.
After five years, the car will still be worth something.
