Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is how I did it last year...
Mind you, I had been to 2 dealerships (both demanded over book value for the car I wanted, so I said "Have a nice day"), and was at a third dealer looking at a car I was seriously considering. Long story short, after careful inspection, and knowing what I wanted to pay, I haggled and haggled 'til I got my price. The salesman was getting the finance papers ready after the price was locked in - and then I said, "You know what? Forget financing. I'm paying lump sum!" and whipped out a cashier's check for the price.
Oh, and incidentally, if such is your intent, it should go without saying that the dealer will take your information (driver's license, social security) and probably run your credit information. For the time being, before even discussing payment terms, you may want to write on their paper, NOT TO BE USED FOR CREDIT CHECK! They should only run your credit AFTER financing is mutually agreed!
For the time being, before even discussing payment terms, you may want to write on their paper, NOT TO BE USED FOR CREDIT CHECK! They should only run your credit AFTER financing is mutually agreed!
How do you figure? They can't really make you an offer on financing til they check your credit...
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
4,640 posts, read 11,934,552 times
Reputation: 9885
Quote:
Originally Posted by ItsRick24
This is how I did it last year...
Mind you, I had been to 2 dealerships (both demanded over book value for the car I wanted, so I said "Have a nice day"), and was at a third dealer looking at a car I was seriously considering. Long story short, after careful inspection, and knowing what I wanted to pay, I haggled and haggled 'til I got my price. The salesman was getting the finance papers ready after the price was locked in - and then I said, "You know what? Forget financing. I'm paying lump sum!" and whipped out a cashier's check for the price.
Oh, and incidentally, if such is your intent, it should go without saying that the dealer will take your information (driver's license, social security) and probably run your credit information. For the time being, before even discussing payment terms, you may want to write on their paper, NOT TO BE USED FOR CREDIT CHECK! They should only run your credit AFTER financing is mutually agreed!
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
4,640 posts, read 11,934,552 times
Reputation: 9885
Quote:
Originally Posted by JONOV
How do you figure? They can't really make you an offer on financing til they check your credit...
In my experience, they always ask me what my credit is (good, excellent, etc). My credit doesn't matter anyway. I KNOW I have excellent credit and they still gave me the interest rate for "fair" so they could pocket the spread.
How do you figure? They can't really make you an offer on financing til they check your credit...
Well, I don't know about you, but my experience is I go in, tell the salesperson that I'm interested in "Model X", Stock #, etc. He of course gets a copy of my license (obviously), and on said copy I emphasize that my information is not to be used to run credit. I haven't bought the car yet right? So why check my credit?
Well, I don't know about you, but my experience is I go in, tell the salesperson that I'm interested in "Model X", Stock #, etc. He of course gets a copy of my license (obviously), and on said copy I emphasize that my information is not to be used to run credit. I haven't bought the car yet right? So why check my credit?
When I worked in a dealership, we needed the SSN to check credit, and the bank wanted to know their income before they would approve a loan. That customer wouldn't divulge that information (the sales/finance staff) til after the customer had committed to filling out a credit check. We were coached not to hand them a credit application til we were certain they would buy a car (assuming the financing went through, the interest rate was acceptable, etc...) Credit is still only one piece of the equation. I had a customer with an 815 credit score get denied a loan; she simply wanted to buy too much car, and a $60K truck payment (even at 84 months) wasn't going to fly on $36K/year.
If the dealer thinks you are going to finance the car through them, you can frequently get an even better deal. Tell them you are going to finance but at the very end after you have the best possible deal, pay cash. On Auto trader it is not uncommon to see some dealers offering cars for $500 less if you finance through them. Even if you financed, you could immediately pay the car off before accruing any interest.
Isn't this being dishonest with the dealer? The very thing that so many people complain about the dealer doing to them?
So it isn't okay for a dealer to do this but it is okay for a buyer to do this?
Quite hypcritical.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
