Buying a car in the US?

[Dary]

Hey guys. I have been here in the US since January, to study, and I was hoping to buy a car after a month or two but I was really busy with this crazy semester! Now I'm done and my vacation started. Couple days ago I got my US driving license (the temporary one) so now I'm free to look for cars.

Back to the topic. Basically, I know nothing about buying a car in the US. So how is the procedure here? How the tax works with buying a car? I heard that I have to buy insurance before buying the car, is that true? Any hidden fees? Any tips?

And yeah, I'm looking for a used car, not new, and likely it will be from out of my state, Kansas.

By the way, I'm searching in these sites: cars.com, autotrader.com, craigslist.org. Any others that you recommend?

Thanks!

[Sledgehammer]

Depending on the state and depending on how and where your buying the car, everything changes.

If you buying a car with cash, you dont need insurance prior to taking the car home. However, if your leasing a car, you do need proof of insurance.

Taxes usually are built into the price that the dealership gives you, which in turn is based on your zip code that you give (where you live).

Fee's include Pack, which is usually around $1100, this is the money that goes to the staff and to the owner of the dealership. You cannot get this lowered. The dealer-handling fee, usually around $500 is also built into the price of the car, this is not something that you can get removed in most cases. Whatever the car sells for on top of that is whats called gross. The best way to get the best deal is to pick up a dealer NADA book, which is what 95% of dealers get their car quotes on. Go to the used car trade in in this book (it changes per year) and find the approx milage. Add the dealer handling and pack to the price of the used car trade in, and start your offer at $500 less than what the previous total was. After the salesman is like "wtf, we cannot possibly go that low"... say that you will do 500 more than that and tell him that it is your final offer, if he comes back within 300/400$ of your offer, its a good deal. If not, thank him for his time and walk toward the door, if he catches you before you drive off with a better offer, I would take it.

With the sites your listing, private party, it can be more difficult to get a great deal on a newish/semi new car. At least that has been my experience. But you get the advantage of not risk getting hassled.

[csl177]

Since you're buying used, what you're interested in should direct your search. There are many marque-specific groups with classifieds you could look through. But for a blanket search engine, nothing beats site mash : : combined classified and auction listings

Set the parameters for your region, pick a make and search away. Good luck!

[Dary]

Originally Posted by Sledgehammer

Depending on the state and depending on how and where your buying the car, everything changes.

If you buying a car with cash, you dont need insurance prior to taking the car home. However, if your leasing a car, you do need proof of insurance.

Taxes usually are built into the price that the dealership gives you, which in turn is based on your zip code that you give (where you live).

Fee's include Pack, which is usually around $1100, this is the money that goes to the staff and to the owner of the dealership. You cannot get this lowered. The dealer-handling fee, usually around $500 is also built into the price of the car, this is not something that you can get removed in most cases. Whatever the car sells for on top of that is whats called gross. The best way to get the best deal is to pick up a dealer NADA book, which is what 95% of dealers get their car quotes on. Go to the used car trade in in this book (it changes per year) and find the approx milage. Add the dealer handling and pack to the price of the used car trade in, and start your offer at $500 less than what the previous total was. After the salesman is like "wtf, we cannot possibly go that low"... say that you will do 500 more than that and tell him that it is your final offer, if he comes back within 300/400$ of your offer, its a good deal. If not, thank him for his time and walk toward the door, if he catches you before you drive off with a better offer, I would take it.

With the sites your listing, private party, it can be more difficult to get a great deal on a newish/semi new car. At least that has been my experience. But you get the advantage of not risk getting hassled.

Thanks for the clarify. but wow! 1100 + 500 + tax + car price! Now I have to see how can I stretch my budget.

So do you think i can get rid of these fees by dealing with a privet seller? and maybe it will be easier to negotiate the price?

Originally Posted by csl177

Since you're buying used, what you're interested in should direct your search. There are many marque-specific groups with classifieds you could look through. But for a blanket search engine, nothing beats site mash : : combined classified and auction listings

Set the parameters for your region, pick a make and search away. Good luck!

And I was complaining why craigslist.org doesn't has a universal search engine. Thanks!

[Sledgehammer]

Originally Posted by Dary

Thanks for the clarify. but wow! 1100 + 500 + tax + car price! Now I have to see how can I stretch my budget.

So do you think i can get rid of these fees by dealing with a privet seller? and maybe it will be easier to negotiate the price?

Yeah, but that is just a general guide. Say that a dealership bought a car at the car auction, Manheim is a big one used across the US and no, you cant simply go there and buy a car. So the car dealership buys the car for $13,000. Think of the 13 as being close to the trade in value of a car because dealerships would rather have private party vehicles than rentals (looks better when selling). A good deal on the car would be under $16k OTD (Out The Door).

Never go off of the retail, or private party values, if you pay full blue book your getting ripped off ALWAYS.

Private party buying has its disadvantages also. Trouble with finding a bank to fund you, trouble trusting the car (likely hasnt been certified or might have reliability issues (Dealerships usually have some sort of free warranty). Private party usually has the "...my car has been perfectly taken care off, im not lowering my price" and will thus tell you to F' off if you go asking near trade in value. And lastly, private party has no track record. Good luck, I hope this helps.

[Bullitt5435]

Any private seller with any integrity will let you have a mechanic inspect the car, so you'll know about any issues before you buy. You will always get a better price from a private seller than you will from a dealer because the dealer has so many more expenses to deal with.

[Dary]

Originally Posted by Sledgehammer

Yeah, but that is just a general guide. Say that a dealership bought a car at the car auction, Manheim is a big one used across the US and no, you cant simply go there and buy a car. So the car dealership buys the car for $13,000. Think of the 13 as being close to the trade in value of a car because dealerships would rather have private party vehicles than rentals (looks better when selling). A good deal on the car would be under $16k OTD (Out The Door).

Never go off of the retail, or private party values, if you pay full blue book your getting ripped off ALWAYS.

Private party buying has its disadvantages also. Trouble with finding a bank to fund you, trouble trusting the car (likely hasnt been certified or might have reliability issues (Dealerships usually have some sort of free warranty). Private party usually has the "...my car has been perfectly taken care off, im not lowering my price" and will thus tell you to F' off if you go asking near trade in value. And lastly, private party has no track record. Good luck, I hope this helps.

That's good to know. Thanks again. Just to let you know, now I started to negotiate with the dealers (online), and I think I'll go for the best deal.

Originally Posted by Bullitt5435

Any private seller with any integrity will let you have a mechanic inspect the car, so you'll know about any issues before you buy. You will always get a better price from a private seller than you will from a dealer because the dealer has so many more expenses to deal with.

I run out of luck finding a private seller with the particular model that I want. I'm kinda.. picky

[hardworker17]

Yeah it's a good thing you can negotiate to your dealers online now and with that you can compare prices for you to get the best deal.