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Dumb With Cars

They Are Always Money Pits!

Buying a car new or old is a real trying experience. I have purchased 9 cars since I started driving. Each time I think it gets a little easier for me to insure I get a good deal. I also think the more pissed off I am when making a deal, the better the deal I come away with.

There are a ton of tricks to getting a good deal at a dealership. The best way I find is to point out when the sales person is throwing you a line and making them eat it. Also physically walking away, especially at the last minute will always put money back in your pocket.

Buying A New Car:

1. Only go to the dealership the last 3 days of the month. Better yet, the last three days of a quarter.

2. Give the dealer a one hour time limit before you even talk.

3. Don't trust anyone ever. It's not the sales person versus the manager. Never fall for that. They are both just trying to get your money. Take no prisoners.

4. Never talk month payments, always talk total cost.

5. Never buy a warranty. If a new car does not have a decent warrant, don't by it.

6. Create your own deals, never let them ever tell you what about this.

Buying Used Cars:

Used cars can be hit or miss. In my experience, you never know what you're going get. Even a well trained mechanic will have trouble spotting a lemon with all of the patch work that is done today.

Here are some quick tips:

1. Demand at least a 6 month warranty.

2. Always demand a Car Fax report. They'll let you know if the car has a negative history. But only reported accidents show up on here.

3. Take a test drive and beat the crap out off it. Push it to the limit, so you can really assess handling.

4. Find out who the last owner was. In my experience, rentals are almost always lemons.

5. Never inspect in darkness or poor weather.

6. Look at the wear of the tires. Is it even? If not, you're looking at either braking, suspension, or steering problems. Looking at the transmission, does it shift well?

7. Check the AC. This is an important point. Turn it on high for at least 5 minutes.

8. It is also a good time to see if your car insurance is where it should be. Shop around.

Let me share all of my experiences all the way back to High School:

Car #1: 1984 Nissan 300ZX

Cost: $4,250

Relative Value To Me: Best Car Deal Ever

Reason for the car: Typical High School Reasons

Where I Bought it: Private sale. I purchased the car from a father in my town. His daughter moved out of state and gave me a real deal on it.

What Ever Happened To The Car: I used the car for 4 years. I never had any problems except the windows wouldn't roll down in the rain. At that time power windows were pretty new. I hated to get rid of that car, but I was living in Buffalo at the time when I sold it. Sports + Weather don't mix. I sold it for $4,500. I started to think cars were investments as a kid.

How Long I Drove: 3 Years

How Much Money I Gained: $250 (Sold at a profit)

Car #2: 1990 Jeep Wrangler

Cost: $7,800

Relative Value To Me: O.K., but I could have gotten screwed

Reason for the car: Weather and I was still young.

Where I Bought it: Private sale. I never saw the car prior to my purchase. I was extremely busy preparing for profession school and I only came up for air once a week. I relied solely on my father's advice. He found the car and made the purchase for me.

What Ever Happened To The Car: This car could have been the all-time lemon, but I was saved by my neighbors and a warranty on this one. After driving the car for 6 months I noticed an oil leak, so I took it in. It turns out the engine block had a crack in it. The mechanic said that the previous owner was aware, since there was remnants of engine patch on the crack. The oil leaked into the Tranny, so I need a new engine, transmission, and a whole mess of other stuff. This is the one time in my life I actually used a warranty. At the time, my next door neighbor worked for GM. He looked up the car and found that it did have a prepurchased extended warranty and that the warranty was transferable. For $75 (warranty transfer fee) everything was replaced with brand new parts.

I drove the car for another 3 years with minimal costs. I traded the car in for $4,900.

How Long I Drove: 2 Years

How Much Money I Lost: $2,900

Car #3: 1994 Chevy Cavalier

Cost:

Relative Value To Me:

Where I Bought it:

What Ever Happened To The Car:

How Long I Drove: 2 Years

How Much Money I Lost: $2,900

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