Vehicle help please

**Mr. Bloom** · 03-09-2007, 02:22 PM

Originally Posted by chickwhorips

i also found out my friend use to work as a new/used sales girl, and she also worked in the financial department. i'm taking her along for ammo.

this next vehicle i get, i'm going to be well armed! watch out sales man! you have a wild one who is well armed coming your way!!!!!

A BIG THUMBS UP from Mister S!!!!

One more thing, keep in mind that the salesman has an incentive to get the best price...then the finance manager has a totally separate incentive to get the highest rate and to sell high margin products like warranties. The finance manager will be the slickest one...better educated and much more highly paid.

**Shiraz** · 03-09-2007, 08:17 PM

Chick,
We just went through the "what to buy that will fit our bikes inside" . I had a Toyota 4 runner and loved it. I could fit two bikes in without any problem. We have the bike rack that sits flat and you take off the wheel and attach the fork. We sold the 4 runner to my daughter and bought a Honda Pilot. I love it even more. There is more room in the cargo than the 4 runner. Both hold their value very well.

**Wahine** · 03-09-2007, 11:00 PM

CWR, I have a 2000 XTerra and I love it. It's a V6 basic Frontier engine that has the rep that it goes forever and because it's only 170 HP it gets better mileage than some of the more recent models. I can get my bike in the back without taking anything off if I lay it down. If I stand it up, I have to take the front wheel off. The other fun thing is that it has little rings and places to hook bungee cords so you can tie things in place to keep them from falling on the dog(s). Plenty o' room for the mutts.

**makbike** · 03-10-2007, 06:04 AM

I have a Ford Focus stationwagon ZTW and it does great. With the seats folded down I can easily slide either of my bikes (DF or recumbent) in the back and still have a little room in reserve (I've been known to stop at Sam's after a ride and pick up a few things and they all fit in the back with the bike).

I also have two big dogs, a Great Dane (130 lbs) and a blue tick hound (70 lbs) both of which fit comfortably in the back with the seats up or down. The bottom line is the back is very roomy and I continue to be amazed at what will fit back there!

Mechanically, I've not had any problems with my Focus (2003 model). It has just under 68,000 miles on it. It handles well on snow or wet roads. It is a tad bit noisy - the only drawback as I see it.

**Mr. Bloom** · 03-10-2007, 07:33 AM

THis month's Consumer Reports magazine is the annual auto guide...might be a few $ well spent.

**chickwhorips** · 03-10-2007, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by Mr. Silver

THis month's Consumer Reports magazine is the annual auto guide...might be a few $ well spent.

is it the new or used?

how long are they usually out for? i won't be able to buy one till i get into town at the end of the month.

**makbike** · 03-10-2007, 01:32 PM

If you can't find a copy at a store check out your local public library for chances are good that they will have it available for you to read and copy.

**Tuckervill** · 03-10-2007, 01:59 PM

i did call my credit union. they said they could do it, but it would take 2 weeks for everything to go through.

I have had to buy a couple of cars recently that I didn't intend to buy, but because they were unplanned, I had to use credit. I used Capital One's instant check program....The check is FedExed to you after you've picked out your car. You can go to the dealer or wherever you get your car and it's just like buying with cash. Sellers love that.

Karen

**Tuckervill** · 03-10-2007, 02:05 PM

Beware: If you know your credit score and the dealer asks for your name/address/ssn BEFORE you've picked out a car, give them your credit score instead...otherwise, they may be running a credit bureau report on you and every time someone (not you) pulls one, it's about 18 points off the score. SO, save them the trouble in 'prequalifying' you by giving them the score and making them wait to pull the credit bureau once you've settled on the car and the price.

Yes. Absolutely do NOT give them your identifying information that they could use to pull a credit report. That would just be giving them the advantage. Any dealer that would even ASK before negotiating on the car is the dealer I would walk right out of.

Just go in with your own financing and then you don't have to negotiate on anything but price and features.

Karen

**chickwhorips** · 03-12-2007, 04:42 PM

i went to freecreditreport.com and checked my score.

its 774. i've had one auto loan (and only loan besides credit cards) i had it for 3 years. does this mean i have a good chance of getting the loan by myself with no one to co-sign and at a low rate?

**Mr. Bloom** · 03-12-2007, 07:42 PM

Originally Posted by chickwhorips

i went to freecreditreport.com and checked my score.

its 774. i've had one auto loan (and only loan besides credit cards) i had it for 3 years. does this mean i have a good chance of getting the loan by myself with no one to co-sign and at a low rate?

There are other factors, but this score is outstanding. Depending on your debt/income ratio, they may even reduce the downpayment requirement, unless your car payment is a huge % of you income (say 40% or 50%). I'm a commercial banker, so I'm not totally up on consumer underwriting...and every institution is different.

Once, I was told by a dealer that 750 would qualify for no downpayment, but that was several years ago.

**chickwhorips** · 03-12-2007, 09:23 PM

i paid off my debt, only the foot surgeries are on my card at the moment. but the ratio between what i have as credit and what i owe is probably about 5-10%.

i don't plan on having a loan that makes me over 20% of my monthly income.

thank you mr for all your help! i feel much more confident about getting this vehicle on my own.

thank you everyone else for your vehicle knowledge. i have so much to think of when i start test driving cars!

**Tuckervill** · 03-13-2007, 04:43 AM

I haven't had anyone ask for a down payment on a car in quite some time. Credit score is similarly outstanding. I can imagine the only folks who do ask for a down payment would be more conservative local banks. Capital One will probably qualify you. My two 20-something sons have recently bought cars and neither had to make a down payment, either.

It could be different in Alaska.

Karen

**Tuckervill** · 03-13-2007, 04:44 AM

Oh, of course, it's better if you DO make a down payment, because it saves you money on interest. It's better still if you pay cash for the whole thing, but that's not always possible, as I have suffered recently.

Karen

**SheFly** · 03-13-2007, 06:38 AM

I just now have read all of the posts in this thread, since I, too, am in the market for a new "car". The most important thing for us in this purchase is being able to fit the bikes INSIDE the car - this includes our tandems, which are 8 feet long.

Sadly for me, this means nothing less than a mini-van. On the one hand, I totally understand the purchase as it is completely practical given the amount of car travel we do with bikes. On the other hand, we HAVE NO CHILDREN, and NEVER WILL. I am having a really tough time getting my brain around the "soccer mom" label associated with a mini-van.

Oh, and FWIW, DH is goiung to the dealer this afternoon with the tandem to be sure it fits - we already told the salesman that this was one of our primary purchasing criteria! And, we are Toyota folks - this will be our 6th car from the same dealer (Sienna).

SheFly

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