1st time buyer-Tips, what to do etc.?

C

Carbon Blue

New member
Hey all, well it looks like ill be purchasing my first car in the next few coming months. Ive read the purchase tips on this forum and would definitely like to know more. Most likely the car will be a used s2000 in the 17-20k range(never cared much for the newer s2000's). Im assuming itll be an 01 with super low miles with less than 30k on the odo. If I get a loan from the bank are there any ins and outs I should know? Ive read and read but I guess what i would like to hear the experiences that you guys have to go through when purchasing a car. Thanks for any help, hopefully that wasn't too confusing.
 
Are you buying at a dealer, or private party?



If you buy from a dealer (and are financing), get pre approved at your bank. At least this way, you already know what interest rate you can get from them, and you can put it in your back pocket so to speak. When you go to the dealer, only negotiate in terms of vehicle price. Tell them you have been pre approved at your bank, so you aren't interested in negotiating monthly payments or that sort of thing, only out the door price. Once you have agreed upon a price, you can then tell the dealer that you have been pre approved at your financial institution, but they may try to beat the rate if they would like. Give them a chance to see what they offer you. If they can beat your rate, it saves you money, if not, stick with your bank.



One last thing I do is to take a financial calculator with me. I typically keep it in my pocket until the end where they offer me financing. If we have agreed upon a price of $20,000 for example, and they tell me they can offer me X.9% interest for 48 months, and the payment is $XXX, I will then pull out the calculator and check for myself just to make sure the numbers they are telling me are correct. If their monthly payment is higher, then either more money has been added to the purchase price, or you aren't getting the interest rate they told you.
 
thank you weekendwarrior. I plan on buying from a private party. Unless I find a stealership around here that has the exact s2k im looking for then I will go that route. Thanks for the tips and info, it is very greatly appreciated.
 
I would take any private car to a dealer(mechanic) I trust and let them look it over. This may uncover small or large repair items that may help in negotiating price, or steer you away. I always look a car over around the trim or under the rocker panels for paint work, under the hood for worn bolts on fenders etc. Try a S2K forum classified section in your area.
 
pgp said:
I would take any private car to a dealer(mechanic) I trust and let them look it over. This may uncover small or large repair items that may help in negotiating price, or steer you away. I always look a car over around the trim or under the rocker panels for paint work, under the hood for worn bolts on fenders etc. Try a S2K forum classified section in your area.
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Ive done almost 4 years of research :) and have registered on s2ki.com. Ive finally found one that I LOVE and has been babied. I know what price it should be and what to look for in a well maintained s2k. But thanks for your advice, I will definitely have it taken to a mechanic or dealership that I can trust.
 
Just shot you a PM, I think my S matches what you're looking for. Just hope location and color are right for you.
 
Make sure to get a low deductible for your Comprehensive insurance coverage. I've inspected a few dozen S-2000's that get brokend into by cutting a hole in the conv't top so they can reach in and unlock the door. Once in there they steal the shifter, steering wheel, dash cluster and seats. All that stuff is about $10,000+++ to replace. Also look into an alarm with a motion detector. It could save some money on your policy.
 
thanks for the tips david. Ive heard way too many horror stories of seats and clusters being stolen. Im thinking one of the first mods will be a hard top and a set of seat locks.
 
Not really S-2000 specific, but, like pgp I'd be *very* meticulous inspecting it for body/paint work. I wouldn't want to get stuck with an "experienced" sportscar.



Along those lines, my *first* step when considering a vehicle is to run a CARFAX on it. Sure not foolproof, but it weeds out a lot of repaired wrecks right away and you can see if it's been through a suspiciously high number of previous owners too.



I'd rather pay too much for the right car than get a bargain on the wrong one ;)
 
Yep, be on the lookout for a different paint texture, color, overspray, misaligned panel gaps that may indicate prior damage. Give the car a good once over for signs of leaks. Sometimes a look under the oil cap can give an indication of what kind of maintenance the car has had.



As far as looking, I would predetermine the value of the car based upon Edmunds, vmrintl, kelly blue book and nada. I compare them all. Sometimes even gone so far as to get a cashier's check beforehand to wave in front of their face. I find that it can help. Plus, if you go with cash in your pocket, you're more likely to just keep handing out cash if you find a seller unwilliing to negotiate and end up spending more than you'd planned.



And if they refuse, call back every 3-5 days to see if the car is still available and that your offer still stands. If they get nervous that the car won't sell, they may get desperate and take your offer.
 
On the subject of price, I sometimes march to my own drummer. It's *so* hard for me to find used vehicles in good-enough condition that I'll sometimes gladly overpay to get a sufficiently nice example.



If a vehicle's not nice enough, I don't want it at *any* price, and whatever premium I pay for one that *is* nice enough is worth it to me. The problem is alway finding that nice-enough example.



What's [anything] worth? Whatever somebody's willing to pay.
 
I hear you and understand completely. And that last line is the absolute truth. I just have to go in with a drop dead price at which I'm willing to walk on the deal because I could too easily end up overpaying on the car.



Made out like a bandit on our BMW. Right color combo for me and optioned the way I wanted (hard to find a silver on black 5 speed sedan). Granted it didn't have the sport option, but I could live without it...and probably would have screwed up the front bumper had I gotten it). The gal was actually asking a pretty fair price for it at the time. It had been for sale for a month, she'd dropped the price twice already and had at least one sure thing buyer back out on her, not to mention the fact that manual tranny cars are generally unloved in a market like Dallas.



So I contained the fact that it was almost exactly what I was looking for and pressed the advantage of the time she'd had it for sale and scored it for less than wholesale on 3 out of the 4 appraisal guides.
 
simracer- Yeah, when you've already determined your buy/no-buy price you have a bit of a psych. advantage IMO...you're mentally prepared to walk and I'd say sellers usually need to sell cars more desperately than buyers need to buy 'em.



And yeah#2, regarding your BMW, now and then you find the right car (for *you*) at a good price because it's not quite the right car for somebody else.
 
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