OT: Paying cash for a new car, tips?

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by fourflys

Now if you mean I can have my cash in an interest-bearing account for an extra 90 days, then maybe.. but how much is $30 or $40k going to earn in 90 days unless you have an insanely good return product?

You'd earn $500 @ 5% interest on $40k. Of course, thats about what the interest on 3 months of the car note would cost you, too. So that would be a good strategy to offset any costs.

Some of the financing contracts require 90 days before refinancing or payoff but a lot of them dont - read the fine print and all. If there's no penalty for paying it off as soon as you get your loan documents then there's really no downside here.

Still, the dealer holds a lot more information about the financials than we can know sitting at the sales desk - there's holdbacks, incentives, year/quarter/month end bonuses, promotions, financing spiffs or kickbacks. So they have a profit number to hit on that vehicle, on that day, and there's no way to know what that is or how much the financing plays into it. And as ****ty as most dealers are, they're in business to make money and there's nothing wrong with that.

So maybe you are getting the best price, or maybe not. Its awful short sighted to walk from a deal because they dont want to take a check at that price if the out the door price now costs you more than whatever the financing costs are.

[fourflys]

To each their own, but I’ve HAD to finance way too many cars in my life and now am in a position to not finance, as long as I’m not buying a stupid expensive car.. so, for me, I don’t have any interest in financing a car.. I do the research, know what I want to pay OTD, and what, if any, room I’m willing to move.. can’t meet my parameters? No deal.. there are way too many other cars on offer to not pay what I want to pay..

[Ralph]

Originally Posted by fourflys

To each their own, but I’ve HAD to finance way too many cars in my life and now am in a position to not finance, as long as I’m not buying a stupid expensive car.. so, for me, I don’t have any interest in financing a car.. I do the research, know what I want to pay OTD, and what, if any, room I’m willing to move.. can’t meet my parameters? No deal.. there are way too many other cars on offer to not pay what I want to pay..

I kinda feel the same way. One rarely really "needs" a car anyway. I hate debt and payments. And sometimes finding a great dealer and a fair price is the goal. I really like my wife's Lincoln dealership. (it's not part of an auto group) Sure we've paid for that, but it's just a nice place to do business. Sometimes they talk me out of doing stuff. Says it doesn't need it etc. And they wash it anytime I drive it over there...free. And their coffee is great. Considering they have a business to run, pay people fair wages, be a good citizen in the community....I wouldn't drive across town for a slightly better "deal". Sure....I drink the Cool Ade.

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by Ralph

I kinda feel the same way. One rarely really "needs" a car anyway. I hate debt and payments. And sometimes finding a great dealer and a fair price is the goal. I really like my wife's Lincoln dealership. (it's not part of an auto group) Sure we've paid for that, but it's just a nice place to do business. Sometimes they talk me out of doing stuff. Says it doesn't need it etc. And they wash it anytime I drive it over there...free. And their coffee is great. Considering they have a business to run, pay people fair wages, be a good citizen in the community....I wouldn't drive across town for a slightly better "deal". Sure....I drink the Cool Ade.

Awesome! Love the intangibles!

[buddybikes]

once had a Saab mechanic, he would find me a car at auction (in person) usually states away, bring it back and check over/fix then charge fixed 1,000 for his services. Got 2 cars that way, miss him...

[saab2000]

I just paid off my Tesla Model Y. I financed it but paid it off in about a year. Still, the interest even over that shortish time was not trivial. Car debt sucks. Glad to be done with it, for now.

[45K10]

My wife and I hate being in debt and that is why we paid cash instead of financing a new car. We are willing to pay a little extra just to alleviate some stress. Although, in the deal we did last week I do not think the fact of paying cash cost us anything extra in the deal.

Dealers are desperate right now and I think they are just happy to move cars off the lot.