need help..buying car..insuring it,etc

[Box and one]

Can use some words of wisdom from some of you that sell cars or know a lot about buying cars...and insuring cars.

My daughter wants to buy a car...she is a 1st yr teacher in Philly...has a 2000 dodge stratus with 100,000 miles on it..
she wants a honda civic LX 2008...she and I have been to about 6 or 7 honda dealers..3 in the philly area and 4 in my area..they all have the same Manufactors retail price of $16,895...all have the 2.9% intrest rate until may30th on this car..
one salesman gave us a price and showed us his sale he sold his own daughter...I know the taxes in NY where I live are 8% and in Philly 7%...
how much do I have to negoiate when these guys say $16,895...they say thats what it cost the dealers....to get them at there place.... thats not true is it.
add tax,motor vehicle fee's etc... the cost varies from different dealers...all within a few hundred..
How do i get them down????

2nd question.....the trade in...her car is worth anywhere from $1,000 to $1,5000...probaly $1200....does it make sense for me to say..we want $1500 for it..its in fair shape,body excellent,etc..
I know I can play off the different dealers and the best price wins....need some schooling on what to say and how to go about it.

3rd question....insurance and financing
My daughter is putting down $3,000...gets a loan at 2.9 for 60 months,etc...but in 2006 she was involved in a car accident on the George washington bridge when 7 cars were involved in a collision..it wasn't her fault and she made a life saving evasive move...was not ticketed but the transit cop said the insurance report would look like it was everybody's fault...she was under my insurance and it never effected anything...until she called All state the other day...we want her to get her own insurance since we have been carrying her....All state saw her accident and said they would insure her for $450 a month...she will be 24 in sept....
I don't think she can buy the car and I still insure her under my name..right?
Or do I have to buy the car...put it under my name and insure her until she turns 25...
The other problem is if she buys the car in Philly she has to change her NY license,etc and get a Pa. one...not sure if I can insure her...
Hope I didn't confuse any of you..because I am.
We are trying to cut the emblical cord with her...she has a teaching job ,her 1st appartment,etc..loves Philly,etc
So if any of you can understand anything I said please give me some advice or clues..

Hope everyone has a wonderful mothers day.mine is 89 going on 75...and she just leased a toyoto corrola for 3 yrs...gave me her 1991 Corrola the other day..it has 85,000 miles on it and has been garge kept...mint condition...I offered it to my daughter but she said" it doesn't have a CD player and the seat belts have a waist belt and a shoulder one..."C'mon dad...this isn't the 80's"

happy mothers day to all...

 

[THE KOD]

she wants a honda civic LX 2008...she and I have been to about 6 or 7 honda dealers..3 in the philly area and 4 in my area..they all have the same Manufactors retail price of $16,895...all have the 2.9% intrest rate until may30th on this car..

...........................................................

Do not visit anymore dealerships. Get one to fax you their best offer.

When he/she does, send it to the other dealers and ask them to beat it. Sit back and wait.

 

[THE KOD]

2nd question.....the trade in...her car is worth anywhere from $1,000 to $1,5000...probaly $1200....does it make sense for me to say..we want $1500 for it..its in fair shape,body excellent,etc..
I know I can play off the different dealers and the best price wins....need some schooling on what to say and how to go about it.

...............................................................

Forget trading it in. The dealers are going to screw you over by just adding this car into their final price anyway.

Sell that car online and get the cash to help her pay insurance costs.

 

[THE KOD]

Hope everyone has a wonderful mothers day.mine is 89 going on 75...and she just leased a toyoto corrola for 3 yrs...gave me her 1991 Corrola the other day..it has 85,000 miles on it and has been garge kept...mint condition...I offered it to my daughter but she said" it doesn't have a CD player and the seat belts have a waist belt and a shoulder one..."C'mon dad...this isn't the 80's"

................................................................


Not sure if you ever heard the term pimp my ride.

For about 5 grand you could turn this car into something she would be proud of . The best sound system. Paintjjob, new recaro seats with professional seatbelts, new tires. Well you get the picture. Get her a loan to do it which would run about 150 bucks a month. Use the old car sale money and pay her insurance for a year on the older pimped car.

One of the biggest mistakes young people make in life is to go into debt because they want to be seen in a new ride. Insurance and monthly payments will keep her in debt for the next 6 years.

Man , put that 500 buck car payment and 450 buck insurance payment into stocks, bonds, and CD's, In about five years she can buy a new mercedes with cash.

Dont blame you for trying to help her out. But sometimes Dads do more damage just trying to make their children happy.

May be one of the hardest conversations you ever had with her, but if you can make her realize the future benifits, it could be a life changing experience for her.

Good luck. Happy Mothers Day !

I am sure Agent will be in here with some kind of a smart ass remark about insurance.

 

[DR STRANGELOVE]

Box and One

Here is a book I highly recommend to everyone I know>>> GETTING TO YES by Fisher and Ury
This book will help you get what you want in terms of negotiating skills. A very good read and it will help you out in everything you do!


1. How do I get them down? There are many ways to go about this. Myself, I'll work on a price with a dealer, then tell them I'll be shopping around or I am not happy with their price and walk out on them. Often, the sales rep will call you back with a lower price (especially when they are close to your price). Is it the most effective? NO. But it works for me. Also, as you did shop around. You'd be surprised how some dealers run a weekend sale/special which will end up saving you hundreds or even a thousands at times.

2. What to say and how to go about it on your daughters car....

First, please realize you will most likely get more $ from a private sale than trading it in to the dealer. On the other hand, if you have a target asking price, and the dealer matches your asking offer, then take it. A good idea is to go look at a black book's value of the vehicle and see what it goes for. Secondly, I would look around on ebay and other used car sale books/magazines and see what other similar cars are going for. Again, if her car is in tip top shape, you should ask for a little more.

I hope this helps in some way. If you have further questions, please ask and I'll get back to you later tonight.

In regards to #3, I don't have enough experience to touch on this topic since I am from the north
I am sure others on here will have better knowledge than I on this matter.


Happy mother's day to your mom sir!

 

[THE KOD]

 

[THE KOD]

 

[THE KOD]

 

[THE KOD]

 

[Box and one]

Scott,thanks for the advice

...I know some of the offers but there all pretty close..I think we could probaly sell her car for more on our own but with the gas crisis there seems to be a lot of used cars on the market..the Kelly Blue book and Edmonds list her car at $1500 in good shape..her's is in fair condtion...so 1200 is OK......I like the pimp idea but I would think boys would like that more then girls....we bought her car at a GSA auto auction...my daughter worked at the auction place as a waitress..in fact this week in Newburgh there is another auction..it's goverment cars about 300 of them...there are 50 dodge stratus's going for auction..the 2004's....the stratus is the car the army-navy and air force recruiters use..after about 40,000-50,000 miles they auction them off...but my daughter doesn't want one of these cars again.. we paid $5,600 for her 2000...a teacher at my school bought the same car at a dealers for $11,000..listed at 12,500....the car was purchased the same day at the auction I got my daughters car...and her car had 10,000 less miles on it....about 3 weeks after we both bought the cars we discovered how they were sold the same day..the teachers friend who worked for the car dealer gave him a break selling it for 11,000...so he thinks he's making a great deal...the dealer paid $5800 for the car...transported 20 miles and doubled the price...the car was already prepped at the auction...nice profit..
the teacher and his dealer friend haven't spoken since.. anyway thanks for your advice...any other ideas out there would be apprecaited...

 

[Agent 0659]

The reason the insurance is so high probably doesn't have much to do with the accident, but a combination of things.

-Her age, some carriers consider 24 and 6 months to be 25 but rates decrease significantly at age 25.

-If she were married, or had a child, that would help also.

-Credit score, carriers use these "insurance scores" now to put you in a tier. I guarantee she scored a no hit or a low score which is costing her about 50%. PLEASE do not get me started on what a rip-off this shit is. I have seen people with 800 beacon scores finish in a 3rd tier insurance score:shrug:

-All that AND the accident is where they get the ridiculous rate, plus no multi-line discount for homeowners and no multi-car.

Shop around. Allstate suck ass anyway and they are always sky high. If you have Citizens/Hanover in your state start there, next up would be Allied, and maybe Selective. Email me if you need any help.

 

[THE KOD]

damn

good job Agent.

I think the baby is having a positive influence
on yu.

 

[Agent 0659]

damn

good job Agent.

I think the baby is having a positive influence
on yu.

I just speak the truth Scooter. Sometimes you can handle it, other times you cannot.

 

[bulldog]

box,

looks like you have been to blue book and edmonds for the used car price. go to blue book , edmonds or any other site and list the car, the opions with codes from the sticker on car, the transportation charges are also sticker. add these up and this will be their invoice price (they still have some holdback left which is hidden) or sometimes specials from manufacturer. price you should pay is invoice price - wholeasale for your trade in. watch out for added things the dealer installs after he receives car (ie stripes, exterior protection, interior protection, etc) these cost about 10% of what is added to price.

another good way to deal is see what you can buy car for without trade in (should be no more than 500.00 above invoice price, preferred around 300.00). get best price on straight buy from several dealers and then say you have decided to trade in used car. this will really piss them off as they have to tell you exactly what they are giving you for used car. after you get this price you may want to sell car yourself as price will be low.

good luck

 

[AR182]

box...

do this in this particular order..it has always worked for me....

the 1st thing that you do is negotiate the price of the car that your daughter wants....

once that is settled take out your check book & put it on the salesman's desk....

then tell him that he will have to take $2000 off the price for the trade-in for your daughter's car....

if they are delaying on your deal....take the check book off the desk & put it away.....& then ask if you could use their yellow pages.....

i would be surprised if they didn't make your deal...

good luck.

 

[1%er]

Box, assuming it is Manual Trans

2008 Honda Civic Coupe LX 5-Spd MT
Starting MSRP: $16,760
Starting Invoice: $15,432
Doors: 2
Engine Size: 1.8-Liter i-VTEC(R)
Cylinders: 4
Transmission: Manual



Standard Features:
Bucket Seats
AM/FM Stereo
CD Player
Cruise Control
Power Steering
Anti-Lock Brakes
Custom Wheels
Keyless Entry

This is for PA, dealer invoice pricing. You should go to dealer to dealer with this price and see who comes closest. Honda's are priced pretty competively so difference should be close. You may get dealers saying they need to add in comission for sales rep, so add in between 300 to 500 dollars, But usually the dealer will pay this as they just want to move stock.

If you do a google search for Dealer invoice Pricing, you will get plenty of sites that will get you this info for a small fee and have dealers that work with them get you this car for the price.

If you want to deal directly with the dealer, call up and ask to speak to the fleet manager. Tell them you are looking for a car for your daughter and you were told by an associate he is the guy to deal with for invoice pricing. He will love to make an extra sale on his end and take some cash from the floor as the fleet and retail guys are really competitive and it will help their numbers.

My uncle is a fleet manager with Ford and has always told us and friends, to always try to deal with fleet manager for best price no matter what dealer it is.

Good luck with it!!

 

[THE KOD]

My uncle is a fleet manager with Ford and has always told us and friends, to always try to deal with fleet manager for best price no matter what dealer it is.

Good luck with it!!

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yeh but what else would a fleet manager tell people. It doesnt mean he could offer a lower price. I doubt it. :shrug:

 

[AR182]

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yeh but what else would a fleet manager tell people. It doesnt mean he could offer a lower price. I doubt it. :shrug:

no i heard the same thing scott...

 

[MadJack]

read this

read this

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/deal-discussion/444610

 

[1%er]

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yeh but what else would a fleet manager tell people. It doesnt mean he could offer a lower price. I doubt it. :shrug:

Very true, he does want the business. But he is usally above the regular bs of having to get approval etc for lower price. If you go to Fleet Manager with Invoice price, he's not going to mess around with you over a few grand. He makes his bonus on volume so every extra one he sells goes into the year end bonus and profit sharing. They do this once a week for someone and that is an extra 50 cars a year (Given two weeks for holidays). That is a small fleet worth of sales for them.

So ya he won't give you the best price but if you walk in with the price already he will give you as close as he can get it to it without the bs.

I've bought many many cars this way over my life, from different dealers so can tell you it does work!!

But yes a car saleman is a car salesman, that is for should!!