Susan asks…
Car website where you choose your payment and it gives you a list of cars that you can afford?
Hi, I am looking for a website that I stumbled upon about five months ago that I (regrettably) never bookmarked. I believe it had a black background, and basically the jist of the site was that you could input your preferred car payment (say, $150 a month) and it calculated a list of cars that you could afford based on down payment/trade-in value and APR going by the MSRP of the cars. I understand that individual car makers have payment calculators on all of their sites but this was not a car dealer site, it was simply an informative site that gathered all of the information in one place. I would GREATLY appreciate being directed back to the site as it would help me tremendously right now as I weigh what kind of cars I can afford. Thank you!
CSC101 Customer Service answers:
Generally every $5,000 is $100 per month so $200 a month would only be a $10,000 car. You can try to search cragilsit and narrow it down by price. Also, you can go to your local credit union and talk with them and have them pre-approve you for a set amount for a car that they ok. You would need atleast $300 per month in order to get something brand new. The cheapest car in America new is the Chevy Aveo and it comes with a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty, so that car would be a good start.
Richard asks…
Trade in upside down vehicle?
I asked this the other day, but will ask again and provide some more detail.
My hubby made a really bad decision & bought new a 06 Subaru Baja Turbo that has about 40k on it (he bought it 12/06). On top of his full time job, he delivers pizzas about 25 hrs a week (he works this much to pay for the Baja). He owes about 18k- we can’t afford to pay extra principal. He will still deliver pizzas after it’s paid off because he likes to have extra $. He gets about 20 mpg which sucks for his p/t job and our budget, also considering that he uses 93 octane gas for the turbo.
Our 2nd child is due in December, and after that I’m not going to be working full time outside the home anymore. (This was all in the ‘plan’ when he bought the stupid car). I’ve been telling him that it was unpractical all along, and now with the unstable economy and gas prices all over the place, he’s starting to see that and is talking about trading his car in on something smaller, more fuel effiecient and with cheaper payments- like a Kia Rio or Hyundai Accent.
The base price is around 10k, and he’ll have about 5k neg. equity in the Baja, so he’ll be financing almost as much as he owes now. I’ve done some research and according to all the online calculators on financial & car websites, he’ll break even in about 3 yrs.
I talked to my most financially intelligent person I know, and he said he wouldn’t do it, but that IF we did, the only way it COULD make financial-sense would be to continue to pay the amount we’ve been paying on the Baja to pay it off quicker and pay less interest over time.
But all the financially advise in the news is saying ‘keep ur gas guzzler because they have no re-sale value‘ and ‘don’t take out any new loans that you don’t HAVE to’, etc.
Now all that being said- What would you do????? I don’t want him to make another bad decision, because there is so much more at immediate stake than there was almost 2 yrs ago.
CSC101 Customer Service answers:
I was once in your situation, and got some good advice from a salesman with a conscience. If you fold your negative equity into a new car loan, you’ll be paying interest on the interest of your old loan. If it’s the last few payments, and you’re itching for a new ride, it won’t matter that much. But $5000? It would be like shooting yourself in the foot before running a marathon.
If I were you, I’d tough it out, and continue to pay down the Baja. In the long run, it makes more sense. Or, you can always try selling it yourself. There aren’t many turbo Bajas out there. You might get lucky, and find an enthusiastic buyer.
Sharon asks…
2008 335i with 0.9% finance… help?
I am looking into the 2008 335i with 0.9% APR. One dealer was giving me the 2008 335i Sedan for 40K with Sports + paddle + Steptronic. Below are the calculation I made with respect to the amount I would save on the finance.
Term in months: 60
Total purchase price (before tax): $40,000.00
Taxable fees: $0.00
Sales tax*: $3,100.00
*Sales tax was calculated as 7.75% times your vehicle price of $40,000.00 minus your trade-in allowance of $0.00. Currently California, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland and Michigan allow no deductions for trade-ins when calculating sales tax. If you live in one of these states make sure to check the box ‘No sales tax deduction for trade-in‘ on the main calculator page.
Non-taxable fees: $600.00
Total sales price (after tax): $43,700.00
Total down payment**: $10,000.00
**Your total down payment is calculated as your cash down payment of $10,000.00 plus your trade-in allowance of $0.00 minus the $0.00 balance outstanding on your trade-in vehicle.
Amount financed: $33,700.00
for 0.9% i would be paying $776.60 interest (monthly payment: $574.61)
for 5% will be paying $4,457.60 interest (monthly payment: $635.96)
for 6.99% will be paying $6,328.40 interest (monthly payment: $667.14)
Would the savings with 0.9% justify buying a 08 vs 09 since I have heard that cars depreciate depending on the model? I need to know if the 0.9% APR would help with the resale value 5 to 7 years down the line. This thing is killing me.
Also since these are 2008 models how much should I be looking for below invoice?
*I am able to get the price for $600 less than invoice.
*Also the 08 335i comes with logic 7 premium sound standard which I am really looking for. But the 09 has that for a $875 option. That is another saving.
The other car I am considering is the 2009 328i with the below options:
Jet Black
Black Leatherette
Aluminium Trim
Sport Package
iPod and USB adapter
Logic7 sound system with Surround Sound and Digital Sound Processing
Xenon headlights
This comes to 40.6k out the door vs the 44.6k out the door for the 08 335i.
But the 08 335i has the premium sound + xenon + 2 ways seats standard. I know options depreciate a lot by around 80%. But which would be a wiser choice to go with? The extra HP would not hurt (i know mileage would be a little lesser) but I do not mind the 230HP too.
CSC101 Customer Service answers:
You failed to mention the price and APR’s applicable to the 09 model,
so how can you compare the 08 except with regard to generalities?
Assuming that the prices are the same, but the .9% APR will only be given to the 08 and the higher APR’s to the 09, you will be saving $3,660. Vs. The 5% on the 09.
So if the depreciated price after 5-7 years is lower by 10% with the
08, you are just about even with the 09 since you saved almost the same amount with your payments.
But 5 to 7 years from now, the used car prices of both would not really be far from each other, and in fact, mileage and general condition would dictate the selling price of each (so theoretically, the older one can sell for a higher price than the newer one).
Remember also that the 08 and the 09 are one and the same, except for some very minor trims, which if you did not know about, you would hardly miss.
Now for the clincher. With the 08, you save money that you can put to other use (again theoretically, it can even earn you money). With the 09, you spend money which you “might” be able to recoup after so many years of usage, but with no interest.
Lastly, I have not known BMW to sell anything new for less than invoice plus a certain amount.
But it still is your decision, and this is only my opinion.
Courtesy of Y!Answers