Car dealerships/bad credit (Denver, Colorado Springs: sales, insurance, how much)

[chelleshark]

Hello,

My husband and I need a new car. Ours is on its last legs and is terrible in snow anyway, and we have a baby on the way.

Problem...we both have bad credit (we're working on improving it little by little though!). He is military, I am a student.

We will have about $4000 to put down.

Anyone have suggestions for a decently trustworthy car dealership in the Springs that could work with us?

[Bob from down south]

Originally Posted by chelleshark

Hello,

My husband and I need a new car. Ours is on its last legs and is terrible in snow anyway, and we have a baby on the way.

Problem...we both have bad credit (we're working on improving it little by little though!). He is military, I am a student.

We will have about $4000 to put down.

Anyone have suggestions for a decently trustworthy car dealership in the Springs that could work with us?

Your problem is finding financing, not a dealership. If the traditional sources won't touch you (GMAC, FMCC, etc), then you're looking for a dealership that will set you up with one of the high-risk finance companies (at usurious high rates), and a dealer that'll do that isn't one I'd want to do business with or recommend to others.

I'd strongly consider paying cash for a functional used car rather than setting yourself up to be taken advantage of.

[Josseppie]

$4,000 down should help you but right now the credit market is tight. If you credit score is over 550 you should be ok but it just depends on how much the car is you want to buy.

[WildSkyYonder]

Verrry hard to find a decent used car for $4k

I think the rates at dealer finance are going to be close to what GMAC would charge.

Have you seen what $4k will buy used?? Not much

Can it be put towards making your current car sound?
Since we don't get much snow that would be the least of my concerns,but a baby is gonna require room.
Payments at this time don't seem like a good idea to me with only one income.

But, it seems tome that Phil Longs used cars in the $12K should be doable with your 30% down, no?
Payment around $300/mo

It would help a bit towards improving your credit by financing may be tough but stick with it.
http://www.phillong.com/ou/phil-spla...ayment=200-300

[WildSkyYonder]

Phil Long has a credit rebuilding program Phil Long Used Cars | Pre-owned Dealer | Colorado Springs, Colorado (http://www.phillongusedcars.com/web/financing - broken link)

[sunsprit]

A $4,000 budget should be more than adequate to buy a decent car with a lot of remaining good service miles.

While you don't necessarily need a Subaru AWD to deal with CSprings driving, I'd look around for a low 100,000 mile range one. The last one I bought in Denver ... from a used car lot ... was a 1995 Legacy Wagon, with 125,000 miles on it and a history of some minor damage on the left front which had been properly repaired at a dealership with new parts. Can't say that it was a "showroom" beauty, with it's door dings and fading paint ... but that car gave me and my wife over 100,000 miles of good service before I had to put any money in it except routine maintenance. The car has held up well enough that I was able to justify putting in a replacement motor (from a 100,000 mile car) last year. The car now has 250,000 miles on it and is reliable, dependable transportation for my wifes weekly driving of 500 miles per week. Oh, and it turns in 31-32 mpg with her cruising at 65 mph and her around town driving. The 2.2 liter motor in these cars is pretty bulletproof, and they go 80,000 miles on the timing belt/water pump replacement ... which was done on the car just before I bought it and also on the replacement motor. The Subie sedans are less popular, and less expensive ... but still durable and sturdy cars.

I'll not make this a big thread for Subie's ... because there are so many other FWD cars in the marketplace that are also able to give you excellent remaining service life for low cost. For example, my in-laws recently sold their 10 year old Buick Park Avenue with only 65,000 miles on it ... for $2,000.00. It ran perfectly, it was a decent snow car, and it looked great. They sold it only because they'd had it a long time and it "was time to get a new car". Personally, I don't care for the big plush ride and the seating doesn't support me well ... but the car was reliable, dependable, gave 28 mpg on the highway, and needed nothing ... not even tires or brakes ... when they sold it. It gave them excellent service. That's a lot of transportation to be had for little money. And the price point is pretty typical of this type of car. You could set aside $4,000 and have money left over after buying it even if it needed some minor repairs.

There's so many good cars with a lot of excellent service life remaining well within your $4,000 budget to buy outright that it's worth your while to investigate that end of the marketplace ... as long as vanity and showroom new isn't your first priority in a car. Get a copy of Consumer Reports Car annual edition ... I think they come out early in the year ... and see what cars they recommend at your price point. You can check the reported service history/problem areas on given cars and know what to expect for them.

Other benefits of buying used at your $4,000 budget for your situation:

Lower sales taxes.

Much lower annual registration costs.

Much lower insurance costs.

No monthly payments to stress your cash flow.

You don't have the immediate value loss when you drive a new car off the lot, if you are using your $4,000 only for a "down payment" on a new car.

Obviously, if you're not a "car person", then you'll need to narrow your choices to certain makes/models, and then seek out what's available. You'll need to pay a knowledgeable tech to check out your finds, even if you're buying from a car lot that will "guaranty" the car you're buying ... but a pre-buy inspection shouldn't cost very much. One possible place to consider buying ... from an independent car repair shop that specializes in a brand and sells a few cars of that brand that they buy inexpensively and recondition. I did it all the time at my repair shop (on MB's and BMW's). Check out your CSprings specialty repair shops, call around ... see what they have on offer. You may be able to get a car that's been gone through, fixed up, and is ready to give you a lot of good miles at low cost ... for a fairly low price.

I have the advantage of having been in the repair biz for over 40 years, so I can do my own pre-buys. With that in mind, I normally buy cars at the low end of the price ranges ... and I haven't bought a car or truck with less than 100,000 miles already on it since 1972. All of my current fleet of cars/trucks have well over 200,000 miles on them ... and I'd drive them anywhere. Of course, I do my own maintenance, but the point is that the essential function of a vehicle ... transportation ... is met by all. The door dings and the fading paint and the peeling black trim paint on the chrome strips don't keep the car from getting down the road reliably, safely, with good fuel economy ....

When I see posts like the ones above that assert you can't find good cars in your marketplace at a $4,000 price point ... I say they are wrong. And I know the Front Range used car market ... after being in it in Denver from 1964 through 1999. My most recent purchase, last year, was a 2001 Subie Outback Limited with a less than great repaint (due to door dings and being key'ed) for $3,800.00. The interior only needed to be detailed, new brakes and tires were needed, and the A/C had a leak which kept it come staying charged (which turned out to be the "O" ring on the intake hose connection at the compressor, easy to locate and cheap to fix), with 100,000 miles on it. I did the new timing belt/tensioner/water pump install on it, put new filters and sparkplugs in it ... and it's a driver for me now. If you had paid somebody to do the work, it still would have been less than a $5,000 car on the street. But that's a top of the line "limited", with all the bells and whistles ... cruise, sun-roof, heated mirrors and seats, built in 6 CD player with weather radio, leather interior, etc. While all the luxury stuff is nice to have, it's not what makes the car go down the road ....

[chelleshark]

Thank you, everyone.
I appreciate the advice.

[ColoSpgsJamie]

Faricy boys will usually finance with 20% down. If you can find a used car there for $10k you won't have terrible payments even though the interest rate will be high. I have also seen, what appear to be, nice cars on craigslist with CoolRidesOfColoradoSprings.