In many cases, taking the manufacturer's rebate and FMFCU financing beats the low-interest financing from the dealership. Try our handy calculator to see what the best deal is for you.
You should prepare a realistic budget and determine how much you think you can actually afford given your income and debts. Many experts say that you can afford a car payment of about 15% of your gross monthly income. See for yourself with our calculator.
There are several ways to approach this. You may want to start this part of the process by selecting a type of vehicle, say a van or sports utility vehicle. Then you can start to research models, trim lines, features and functions within this group. If you are beyond that and already know that you want to buy a Dodge Caravan, Grand SE, for instance, you can obtain price information and go from there. Use our Vehicle Research tool.
Do your homework and separate the buying, trade-in, and financing processes at the dealership. Do not attempt to purchase a vehicle when you first visit a dealership. When you visit a dealership make it clear to the salesperson that you are there to test drive a vehicle and obtain their best price for the vehicle you decide on. Also point out that you will be visiting a number of dealerships (at least three) and that the one that provides the best price and product will get your business. Repeat these steps with at least two dealerships.
Once you have selected a vehicle start the negotiating price from the invoice price of the vehicle not the suggested retail price. Decide on the purchase price of the new vehicle before the trade-in discussion occurs. If you have a trade-in know the value before you visit the dealer, or better still, sell it privately to obtain the most value. Finally, have the financing from the credit union in place too. Here is where our Auto Express Loan can work to your advantage.
Our Pre-Owned Research Tool has great data on this. It features base trade-in and base retail price information. If you are going to trade in your car, the base trade-in value is probably the amount that you should expect to receive. If you plan to sell your car privately, look at the retail value.
We have an excellent resource for that! It's called Carfax. Carfax provides a one-stop source of vehicle history information. Carfax compiles information from over 100 separate sources to complete comprehensive background checks on cars and trucks. It may reveal if a previously owned vehicle was totaled in an accident, had flood damage, had an odometer rollback or other “hidden problems”.
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