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Hope it doesn't become reality but being a practical guy I'm like 95% positive their'll be further repairs needed. During the last repair session the BMW mechanic (not dealer shop) showed me underneath the engine block, shared his finds on the worn hoses, leaky gaskets, e.t.c.
You're anything but a practical guy. If you want to be, pay off the current loan before taking out another one. And make your next car a model that has lower maintenance and repair costs.
Never depend upon a salesman to tell you information you should know yourself. Do your research on loan rates before you step onto the lot.
Never negotiate a car in terms of payments. Nothing yells "sucker" louder than that, which is why salesmen usually try to quickly steer the discussion into terms of "payments" rather than "total price".
Outstanding loan on a car with 150,000 miles? 84 month loan?
BMW?
repair bill concerns?
685 credit score?
Uhhh that was almost exactly my situation a couple of years ago, except that my score was even lower! And while it might sound fishy, there were (for me and possibly the OP too) very logical explanations. I bought my sister's 2002 BMW off her in 2014, after my old Honda went kaput, because I simply couldn't afford to buy anything new OR used from a dealer at the time. She sold it to me for $7500, and I had to get a personal loan from my credit union to pay her cash - minus what I got for the Honda.
So I borrowed that $$ from the credit union at a reasonable rate (for someone with my credit score), made very small payments of $160/mo since that was what I could afford, and continued doing so for about 2 years. Then the car started to have major transmission problems, which would've cost a good $2500-3000 to fix, and didn't make sense given its value and age by that point. So there I was, shopping for a newer car, with ~$2500 left on my loan for a now 14 year-old BMW with 150,000 miles. I was in a better financial situation by then, and was therefore able to get a nice 2014 Jetta + pay off the BMW loan.
Anyway, just saying that you shouldn't be so quick to judge... and not everyone has a perfect financial history like you (and it seems most folks on City-Data), I guess. Funny thing is, I was just thinking a 685 credit score sounds darned good to me.
Oh, and to the OP: They were straight-up lying if they said a credit check knocks 30 points off your score! I've been in the market twice in the last few years, and my score only dropped maybe 3-5 points during the process... also, if you were to have multiple checks (within 30ish days) by different dealers/creditors ALL related to automobiles, the credit bureaus only count them as one. But I agree with the suggestion to be pre-approved by a credit union, as that is ultimately what I did both times. They can offer better rates, generally don't try to scam or deceive you, and will work with people who have less-than-perfect credit scores too.
This last time I got pre-approved for $15,000, and it was nice walking into dealerships with that in hand - basically saying "no need to sell me on your finance department/plans, as I've already got that covered!" I also ended up taking advantage of a special promotion/partnership between my credit union & Enterprise Sales, where I got WAY more than expected in trade on my BMW. Like double what I would have gotten otherwise, even if I'd sold it privately instead. So ask about those opportunities as well.
Oh, and to the OP: They were straight-up lying if they said a credit check knocks 30 points off your score! I've been in the market twice in the last few years, and my score only dropped maybe 3-5 points during the process... also, if you were to have multiple checks (within 30ish days) by different dealers/creditors ALL related to automobiles, the credit bureaus only count them as one. But I agree with the suggestion to be pre-approved by a credit union, as that is ultimately what I did both times. They can offer better rates, generally don't try to scam or deceive you, and will work with people who have less-than-perfect credit scores too.
This last time I got pre-approved for $15,000, and it was nice walking into dealerships with that in hand - basically saying "no need to sell me on your finance department/plans, as I've already got that covered!" I also ended up taking advantage of a special promotion/partnership between my credit union & Enterprise Sales, where I got WAY more than expected in trade on my BMW. Like double what I would have gotten otherwise, even if I'd sold it privately instead. So ask about those opportunities as well.
nice!!!
Ok, when all is said and done I think that BMW recall coincidentally bought me more time to safely shop for a car without worrying about the currently owned bimmer going kaput mid-flight. You guys have no idea how the engine sounds when it's idle, plus the 60K Service light is now red. I won't bore you as to why I'm not ready to shell out $2000+ in repair bills. I'm fine not being seen as a BMW owner (or any luxury car for that matter)
How about living on peanut butter sandwiches and tuna until you can save up 3000 or 4000, then sell out of that BMW you still owe money on, and buy something from Honda or Toyota that you can pay cash for?
Oh, and to the OP: They were straight-up lying if they said a credit check knocks 30 points off your score! I've been in the market twice in the last few years, and my score only dropped maybe 3-5 points during the process... also, if you were to have multiple checks (within 30ish days) by different dealers/creditors ALL related to automobiles, the credit bureaus only count them as one. But I agree with the suggestion to be pre-approved by a credit union, as that is ultimately what I did both times. They can offer better rates, generally don't try to scam or deceive you, and will work with people who have less-than-perfect credit scores too.
This last time I got pre-approved for $15,000, and it was nice walking into dealerships with that in hand - basically saying "no need to sell me on your finance department/plans, as I've already got that covered!" I also ended up taking advantage of a special promotion/partnership between my credit union & Enterprise Sales, where I got WAY more than expected in trade on my BMW. Like double what I would have gotten otherwise, even if I'd sold it privately instead. So ask about those opportunities as well.
I just bought a new truck. Financed $28k for 72 months.. Plan to have it paid off in 48, but, I always finance longer planning for emergencies, though I don't get QUITE as good a rate doing that.
2.89% and it(pull and purchase) dropped my credit score by 5 and 8 points (Transunion and Exquifax respectively).. Of course, that took my scores all the way down to 823 and 818(VantageScore). I also paid off my house.. So, went from $17k owed to 28k basically. Had a bad rate on my house, so this was the smarter play.
But 30 points for a credit pull is BS. At my level, it hit me for 5 and 8 points. Probably affects less if you have more pulls (This was the only one within 2 years for me) and if you're down in the 600-700 range.
I think the dealership mentioned the scoring method they use, though I don't remember the name and... When I told them to pull my credit.. First, I love doing this.. I mean, I went in there dressed down and just overly looking like an even bigger schlub than I am.. When I told them to pull my credit and let's see what we could do.. In comes the owner of the dealership.. While I know the game is now to not have the salesman talk financing at all.. Not sure if I just wound up with the owner because he was available or what.. But using the dealership's scoring method, I think he said I had an 840 score.. I just looked at him and said "Don't look it, do I?".. He said he gave up long ago judging people by looking at them..
As others said, get your own financing first. Multiple credit checks within short period (I also believe it's 30 days but might be wrong) count as one. But if you have your own financing then you won't even need the dealer to check. And never shop by monthly payment. Have a budget for the whole purchase and operate with it. If the dealer gives you lower APR than your financing then it's just a bonus.
Also +1 to what was said above in general. It seems you might be young and still have a lot to learn about finances. Google "reddit finances", very much recommended, lots of reliable information and help there.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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People are expected to shop around for cars, so credit checks for cars are treated as only one and have minimal effect on your score, until you get the loan. Then it can lower or raise it, depending on the loan percentage of your income. You cannot expect them to give you a payment amount without checking, because your credit worthiness affects the interest rate, and the length of loan. Decide what payment you are comfortable with and shop around until you get what you need at the right price and loan.
So apparently then the car salesman was trying to scare me off, or whatever reason that was....whatever? My current car is being financed by Capital One (4.9% APR). Would it be advisable to ask them for another loan even though there's still like $2500 left in the current car payment?
I must absolutely get into another car as the current one has 150,000 miles on it and the mechanic warned me that their are quite a few worn engine parts that could be breaking pretty soon. We're talking a BMW here so those repair bills would be $3000 easily hence my decision to start shopping for a replacement.
Not necessarily. The car salesman's job is not financing. Not saying he has no clue. But just because he works at a business that also makes loans doesn't make him knowledgable in that subject. Even a teller at a bank can have zero clue about loans, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HighSpeed
nice!!!
Ok, when all is said and done I think that BMW recall coincidentally bought me more time to safely shop for a car without worrying about the currently owned bimmer going kaput mid-flight. You guys have no idea how the engine sounds when it's idle, plus the 60K Service light is now red. I won't bore you as to why I'm not ready to shell out $2000+ in repair bills. I'm fine not being seen as a BMW owner (or any luxury car for that matter)
Service lights are typically based only on mileage. And the light will come on as you get closer to that mark. If your dash all of a sudden lit up like a christmas tree, it may mean a fault was detected. And even then, it can be a false positive, something easy to repair, or an actual issue. You can spend $15 on a OBD reader and some google searches to see what the fault is. In the end, if you don't know how to deal with this - talk to your mechanic.
If you trust your mechanic, talk to him about the cost of repairs and what it would likely get you. If it's just hoses/etc, you may be better off just fixing it than to get a new car. These are wear items that will need to be replaced eventually. And you can likely get non OEM/Factory parts for much cheaper.
2K to repair an old car may be hard to swallow. But tens of thousand on a new car makes even less sense if the money is tight. As for financing - look at credit unions. They often have better rates. Just looking around, even the longest term rates are sub 4. You may not get the rate based on your score, but you should be able to get below that by shortening the term.
Just came from a car dealership as I was poking around for a new car. I had asked the sales guy what kind of payments I should expect with the credit that I have, and the $1000 down payment.
He says he would need to run my credit for that. However, that after he runs my credit to see what I qualify for it will easily drop the score from 687 to 657. Ok, that got my thoughts all up in arms. Isn't this almost a double-whammy when shopping for cars?
No. The salesman is a dumbass. A hard pull dings your score 5 points max which should have little to no effect on a credit decision. And it wouldn't be reflected on your score until after the loan has been approved, so unless you plan to borrow again in the very near future your score will likely recover before it could have an impact anyway.
It's also possible that the salesman perceives you as a tire-kicker who doesn't think you're really going to buy anything anyway and is trying to dissuade you so that you don't waste his time.
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