New Car Purchase Advice

[cruelpupet]

So I'm pulling the trigger very soon on a

VW Golf TDI

Style: 4 Door Hatchback
Color: Blue Graphite Metallic
Engine: Turbo Diesel, 140hp, 236lb/ft @ 1.750-2.500
Transmission: DSG 6 Speed Automatic

Extras: Sunroof, Heated Seats, Xenon Lights (that turn), DYNAudio, and Rear Side Airbags


So now on to advice...

Should I upgrade the car to the navigation system?

This is my first time trading in a car (99 Passat GLX in okay condition), what should I expect?

I just got preapproved for a car loan from CapitalOne @ 4.54%, and it looks like Chase will give me one at 3.77% -.25 if i open a checking account, -.25 if I do autopay. Anyone hear of lower?
How willing are dealers to beat a loan quote?

I think I might email a sales rep from each VW dealership in my neighborhood (there are at least 10 Id drive to) with what Im looking for, and what I want to pay. What are your thoughts on that tactic?

[attgig]

if you have a warehouse club membership (like costco), they have autobuying programs that'll give you a price straight up. you can use that as a baseline price to see if anyone else can beat it.

navigation - depends. each manufacturer will have different nav systems - some are worth it, and others aren't. I think you have to actually get your hands on it (or find very thorough reviews) to see if it's worth it. most people will say just get a garmin, or now... a droid, and use that as your gps, but there definitely is a convenience factor (as well as other tech that may only be avail with gps headunit - such as harddrive space to rip media into). one thing to think about though is if you want traffic on it, it'll most likely be a satellite subscription.

as for the rates, if vw doesn't have a promotional rate advertised on their website, they'll almost definitely NOT be able to beat ~3.5 that you'd get with chase.

i got 3.9 using penfed, and thought that was a pretty good rate.

[guiseppewv]

I would try to sell your used car rather than trade it in. You are definitely going to get more money that way.

[cruelpupet]

if you have a warehouse club membership (like costco), they have autobuying programs that'll give you a price straight up. you can use that as a baseline price to see if anyone else can beat it.

Yea, the one from CapitalOne didnt let me put in options from what I could see. Thanks for the headsup with Costco, it let me customize, but I'll have my parents fill it out since they have the membership info.


navigation - depends. each manufacturer will have different nav systems - some are worth it, and others aren't. I think you have to actually get your hands on it (or find very thorough reviews) to see if it's worth it. most people will say just get a garmin, or now... a droid, and use that as your gps, but there definitely is a convenience factor (as well as other tech that may only be avail with gps headunit - such as harddrive space to rip media into). one thing to think about though is if you want traffic on it, it'll most likely be a satellite subscription.

Bah! Dont even mention Garmin, anytime Ive used a garmin the POI or destination entered ended up being way off. I dont particuarly care about traffic, but would love if the radio was open enough that i could have TomTom installed.



as for the rates, if vw doesn't have a promotional rate advertised on their website, they'll almost definitely NOT be able to beat ~3.5 that you'd get with chase.

i got 3.9 using penfed, and thought that was a pretty good rate.

They advertise 1.9% but the Diesel version is excluded. I hope they are willing to offer something to beat the 3.27 Im expecting from Chase.



I would try to sell your used car rather than trade it in. You are definitely going to get more money that way.

Id feel bad as there are some hidden issues. Im hoping that the windows and door locks work more reliably once the weather warms up. And fixing the problems would almost end up costing what the kbb of the car is for private sale.

[guiseppewv]

Understood. I avoid privately selling some vehicles I have owned b/c of the same reason. I would take your car to CarMax, as long as it has less than 100k, and see what they will give you for it. At least then you will have some room to negotiate with the dealership on the trade-in.

[cruelpupet]

Understood. I avoid privately selling some vehicles I have owned b/c of the same reason. I would take your car to CarMax, as long as it has less than 100k, and see what they will give you for it. At least then you will have some room to negotiate with the dealership on the trade-in.


Sadly its over 100k and it seems there is no carmax's here. But thanks for the suggestion. I think I'll contact my mechanic and see if he knows anyone interested...at least he knows whats wrong with the car.

[attgig]

yeah, i took my jeep to carmax when buying my car, and they gave me at least a couple hundred more than anyone else was offering. there may be other dealers that buy without tradein. read up on some local places.

[attgig]

Yea, the one from CapitalOne didnt let me put in options from what I could see. Thanks for the headsup with Costco, it let me customize, but I'll have my parents fill it out since they have the membership info.

Bah! Dont even mention Garmin, anytime Ive used a garmin the POI or destination entered ended up being way off. I dont particuarly care about traffic, but would love if the radio was open enough that i could have TomTom installed.

They advertise 1.9% but the Diesel version is excluded. I hope they are willing to offer something to beat the 3.27 Im expecting from Chase.



costco gave me the best price when buying my wife's accord a couple years back, so it's definitely a good price. just watch out for the dealer if they try to add on hidden fees.

And what do you mean by the radio being open enough?

as for the rate, I doubt they'll beat the 3.27... that's a pretty good rate, and I wouldn't be too upset over financing at 3.27.

[cruelpupet]

costco gave me the best price when buying my wife's accord a couple years back, so it's definitely a good price. just watch out for the dealer if they try to add on hidden fees.

And what do you mean by the radio being open enough?

as for the rate, I doubt they'll beat the 3.27... that's a pretty good rate, and I wouldn't be too upset over financing at 3.27.

Oh im not upset at 3.27, but Im gonna try to get it as low as possible.

As for the radio, I know that there are issues getting an aux video input. From the forums Ive read, VW has some sort of custom interface/encrption/ or just weird way to pass a video signal as you cant hookup your own backup camera.

But my comment at that moment was more aimed at wishing ti was more like a computer, so i can opt to use any gps software i want.

yea, i have to see what costco's price is and compare it to Truecar.com I figure at worst i can use costco as a price ceiling when negotiating.

[cruelpupet]

CapitalOne's buyers program puts the price at $28,303

TrueCar reports the
Sticker: 29,310
Good Price: <28,877
Average: 28,715
Great Price: <28,181
Invoice: 28,103
Actual Cost: 27,387

I think Im going to make my goal $28,000 and settle for $28,200 if need be.

What do you guys think? is this realistic?

[renovation]

i think if the car has any kind of demand your be lucky to find it for $28,500. also don't expect to get the car in the color you really want in at that price. the lower price you seem to have found I'm guessing were on colors of that make that didn't sell well in the selling deals area ! seen this before in are area .
now here a trick to get a model of a car you want at a lower price. pick out a car that is off color for your area -then every day go to that dealership and bug the sales people offer under the invoice and after while the dealership will cave .because you have taken up so much of there time and the car is still in there lot. every day a car sits in a dealers lot he has to pay interest on it. a friend of mine who use to sell new cars seen this happen more then once at different dealerships mostly by woman buying a new car.guess us guys don't have the will power.

example of car ( blue exterior with a red interior dealer got factory drop ship but was not ordered .just was shipped to dealer to meet there factory preset monthly quota of units.) a real dud of a color combo in there area. these are cars they se in news paper ads to bring buyers in a lot. its a ugly duck car so they sell it at cost just to meet factory sales demands.
but sometimes there just to off color for buyers looking for a good deal.

[cruelpupet]

i think if the car has any kind of demand your be lucky to find it for $28,500. also don't expect to get the car in the color you really want in at that price. the lower price you seem to have found I'm guessing were on colors of that make that didn't sell well in the selling deals area ! seen this before in are area .
now here a trick to get a model of a car you want at a lower price. pick out a car that is off color for your area -then every day go to that dealership and bug the sales people offer under the invoice and after while the dealership will cave .because you have taken up so much of there time and the car is still in there lot. every day a car sits in a dealers lot he has to pay interest on it. a friend of mine who use to sell new cars seen this happen more then once at different dealerships mostly by woman buying a new car.guess us guys don't have the will power.

example of car ( blue exterior with a red interior dealer got factory drop ship but was not ordered .just was shipped to dealer to meet there factory preset monthly quota of units.) a real dud of a color combo in there area. these are cars they se in news paper ads to bring buyers in a lot. its a ugly duck car so they sell it at cost just to meet factory sales demands.
but sometimes there just to off color for buyers looking for a good deal.



Actually the capital one price is apparently guarenteed, they have a deal with a dealership to sell all cars of that model X under invoice no matter what options.

There is only 1 interior for the car, so finding an off color would be hard to do.

[clutchy]

looks pretty slick. I really like their TDI engines. Torque is sooo much more usable than HP... take it from a guy who drives a peaky no torque SI...

have you looked at the 2012 focus? it's bitchin...

[Napoleon54]

VW diesel is high demand so I wouldn't count on having much ability to negotiate, especially if a custom config of options, colors, etc, is involved. I think you need to consider whether +/- $1000 or so is really going to be worth your time and effort in the long term, versus getting what you want and being happy with it. Lots of people take it as a matter of pride to get a couple hundred off, etc, but I personally don't think it's worth it. I'd rather cough up the minimal extra cash in order to get something I know I'm going to be happy with when I'm still driving it many years later. But that's also just me, and I have a severe aversion to haggling. :/

[Prngr44]

You get a better deal on a car off the lot than you do if you have to order it from the manufacturer.

I've found Edmunds' TMV thing as well as a lot of "buying programs" prices to be unreliable. Maybe that's just because of the type of vehicle I'm looking to buy (full size truck) but in my case, I've found prices to be all over the board. You may have less wiggle room with that type of vehicle.

I think your loan rate is great btw.

You might get a financing deal (like an extra k off) by going through the dealer at a higher rate. Just turn right around and refinance it once the deal's done with your lower rate bank.

[cruelpupet]

Going out to the dealer tomorrow night, it seems that the car will be ordered, so I dont know how long it'll take, but Im guaranteed a price of $200 over invoice no matter what options i choose.

So 28300 if its fully loaded, but I might decide against GPS based on reviews I read online.

The 2012 Focus? Uhhh...if it were 2012 this year maybe. Looks good from the front, but im not liking it from the back.

I was pretty skeptical about "buying programs" but so far it seems pretty good. The last dealer I saw a month or two ago was talking about paying over sticker.

[cruelpupet]

Got the car for $100 over invoice. But I screwed up...he quoted it $650 less than invoice because he forgot to add the destination charge.

I wasnt thinking, and assuming it was an option we left out wanted to go over his math.

Stupid stupid Ray.

Anyway, thanks for the advice everyone, I'll have to post pics in 3 months.

Attgig, I am still curious about the Costco price, if that comes through.

In the meantime, it should look like this:

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs470.snc3/25794_549819361118_68703732_31915912_7192837_n.jpg

[attgig]

yeah, I put in the request yesterday, and they still haven't gotten back to me. It's odd... Of course the nearest participating dealership was down in northern va, so, maybe they saw my zip code and decided it wasn't worth the trouble... :shrug: