It could be my first car

hey. i got some questions for you guys. i watch this board for a while and it sounds like you all know what youre talking about.


im a 21 year old female who has never own her own car. after working for a good company for a while, i project ill have enough money saved as a down payment on a new car... and ive decided to go with my dream car, which is the 05. i would have went for a 03 or 04, but when i saw the concept and production of the new mustangs, i knew i had to get it.


so heres the deal. i have a fairly large down payment, but no credit (i saved up a large down payment so that i wouldnt have large monthly payments... i *AM* working on the college budget right now. B) ), i've had my licence for a while (about 5 years), but i really dont know what to expect when i buy my insurance (which is required in the state of california).


so can anyone give me an ideal as to what i can expect from a dealer? anyone have any suggestions as to what dealer can give me a good deal (im in the Los Angeles Area). any tricks of the trade that i should know about before i go talk to a dealer? i mean, i am bringing my significant other with me, but he's never bought a car before either, so we BOTH dont have a clue.


and also, would you suggest the mustang as a first car? its my dream car... the one ive been thinking about since i was young. but it is a first car. i am a highly responsible young adult, i believe i can handle the responsiblity. but is there anything i should know before this car? any extra expenses that might pop up with this car versus any other car?


help me!


HELP ME PLEASE!!!



thanks a lot.

help me get my car?

Galaxie

Hmm... lots of questions...

first off, make sure you have a steady job to make the payments consistently. You probably have some kind of credit rating because of a credit card or you need a co-signor.

For insurance, get an online quote for your area for a similar 2004 Mustang (v6/GT). That should be a good indicator of how much you pay.

As for your first car being a mustang, just don't drive it like you stole it and you will be fine. Look at how far you drive on a daily basis, if you drive in traffic a lot and long distances I would not reccomend a GT or a stick shift.

Other than that, you are only young once, get the car, enjoy it... it will be my first new car as well

SVT200020

More than likely you will need a co-signor like Galaxieboy said. Make sure you have one lined up that will be willing to help you out. Big down payment is good. $1000= about $15 to $20 off your payment if I remember correctly. As for insurance. Call The Ford Insurance Program 1-877-367-3847 or 1-877-367-3932 toll free on a quote. John Tony Williams ex. 3053 I will be more than happy to help you on Insurance!

jarradasay

You are off to a good start, because you are learning about the product before you go. Research the heck out of it. Know all the information about the mustang before you set foot in the showroom. Dealers love people who dont know anything because they can convince you of everything. I would also recommend waiting a few months after the release. This is so you can see what others are paying for the same car you want. New cars should not matter what state you buy them in no matter what the dealer tells you (Alaska and Hawaii excluded b/c delivery varies). If you wait and see what other more experienced buyers (probably members of this site) are paying you will have a better idea if the dealer is trying to sell you land in arizona or not. Know the answers to the questions before you ask!

Credit. May be a problem. Have you been renting an appartment, house payment? anything? Do you have a credit card? Do you pay your monthly bills? You can request a credit check for free online from many places. This is one the came up free. Free Credit check That should give you an Idea of whether your credit is good, bad, or nonexistant. If it is bad or doesnt exist you will need a cosigner with good credit who is willing to take a slight hit on their credit, Parent, sibling, grandparent,etc.

as far as insurance goes, you have one thing going for you that many on this site do not. You are female. That should help a bit with insurance. If you want a V8 with 300 horses expect to pay for it. the V6 should be fairly tame and similar to many cars on the market.

The V6 makes a great first car. The V8 will take a little getting used to. they have redone the traction, etc, but a V8 will get squirly in the rain and on gravel. The V6 will be much more dosile, economic, etc. If you want the look, but want to be confortable and relaxed get the V6, but if you love adrenaline and the roar of a V8 performance machine, and dont mind the agressive nature then get the GT. Hope this helps.

V10

If you are looking to get a '05 Mustang as soon as you can, you can expect to have to pay sticker price (MSRP). After the intial salews surge, discounts should start to appear. But you may want to shop around at a couple dealers and see how friendly they are.

The primary item you should be careful on is if you plan to finance the car through the dealer. For novice car buyer's this is where the dealers will take advantage of you. Many of them will try to just talk about the montly payment. Don't let them play this game. You need to settle on the price of the car first, then talk about financing. Make sure that they clearly disclose what all the finance charges are and what the APR is. Don't let them talk in terms like "money factor" make them tell the APR before you sign the papers.

You should also seek financing from other sources. Your bank, or especially if there is a credit union where you work. It sound's like you have not yet financed any major purchases, so you will most likely have to rely on your credit cards for your credit score. You can start preparing now by making sure that you are paying all your bills on time, credit card, utility bills etc. You may also want to purchase a credit report from one of the services so you know what your score is and if there are any potential problems that you need to get corrected ahead of time.

I have found that Ford Credit is a very open and honest firm to do business with. Some dealers will just suggest Ford Credit, but others will try to steer you to some other form of financing that they will make more money on, so be careful. Also make sure that the dealer doesn't try to slip in any other charges at the last minute and don't let them sucker you into high profit BS items like paint sealent and fabric or leather protectant.

A lot of dealers will also try to give you the hard sell on an extended warranty. Only consider this if you will be keeping the car for a long time. If you do get an extended warranty ONLY get the Ford extended warranty, don't let them sucker you into a 3rd party warranty. DO NOT pay list price for an extended warranty either again this is a profit center for the dealer, so make sure they discount it for you. Also, you don't have to get an extended warranty up front, you can get it at any time until just before the standard warranty expires. The ONLY advantage of getting an extended warranty up front is that you can finance it in your montly payments. But I would NEVER buy an extended warranty up front. Why pay for something today that you will not be using until 3 years from now, so I say wait until just before your standard warranty exprires before getting an extended warranty. This gives you the opportunity to change your mind or shop around for a better deal. The extended warranty is just an insurance policy, so chances are you will never get your money back with it too.

Bottom line is if you don't fee comfortable with the dealer your negotiating with, go somewhere else.

One final note, if you know you want a 2005 Mustang and you know what model, color, options that you want, buy it through the fleet sales person or over the internet. It could save you a lot of hassle and money.

V10

One more thing, don't let them sucker you into paying for other stupid things like VIN # etchigg on the windows. Many of the dealers around here try to get you to pay $250 for that. You can get it done (if you really want it done) for $30. Again this is a way to jack up their profit.

When I bought my wife a car a couple years ago the dealer tried to sell her on it real hard. They had it pre-printed on their paper work. I said NO, cross it off of I will not sign. Well we went to pick up the car and guess what, they had the VIN #'s etched on the windows, because it's dealer policy to do it on all cars they sell And wanted to charge us the $250 and of course they couldn't remove the etching. I said forget it, give me my deposit back we're walking. After a big brew ha ha, they deleted the etching charge.

Finally if the dealer is one of those dirt bags that sticks on "dealer installed options", like a trunk mat for $150, wood gearshift for $200, etc. just leave and go someplace else.

It could be my first car

yeah. the boyfriend will prolly co-sign with me. thats a good point.

thanks alot for the info. i appreciate it.

It could be my first car

*jots down number*


i wont be getting close to the insurance part for a while, but its good to have someone who can get me a decent quote.

thanks a lot.

Decipher

Being another young person looking at the 2005 Mustang as a possibility for my first car (or at least first new car - only time will tell), I'd just like to say thank you for all the people posting advice in here. If there's one thing I love about forums over email, it's that not only the person asking the question gets to benifit from the answers given.

BlackRiderX

Always give it an extra night to think the entire deal over. Bring all the paperwork and financing info that the dealer has provided you with home and go over everything. Impulse buys usually get me into trouble.

Check the car out at time of delivery. Make sure nothing is wrong with the paint. As soon as you drive it of the lot the dealer will blame you for any damage. Check to see that the miles are not too high as well. If it was delivered with 8 miles it should not have 50 when you pick it up, unlike what happened with my GT.

BTW when I went to buy a Corvette I had a downpayment of 5K. I had no credit at all! and my co-signer was up to her rear in debt at the time! When the dealer called GMAC they said no go. We then asked them how much more of a downpayment was needed to get the loan approved. They only wanted another 3K more on a 56K vehicle! So they approved me for 48K without any credit history. The deal eventually fell through but I have been building my credit over the last few months so this doesn't happen again.

Now I have used Ford Credit for two cars now and have no major complaints. Loans approved no problem. I just wish they would send a payment book instead of waiting around for the paper bill.

It could be my first car

man. ive been researching this car for about a year now. i was making plans to buy this car for a while. i know for sure i want a V-6 engine on a base model (im driving the car to look cute, not to drive fast). the gas mileage on a mustang kinda sucks (19 mpg... im kinda sad), but it doesnt matter much... it will be mainly just transportation to and from work for me with the occasional weekend showoff.

i do know that when they first drop, ill have to wait a while. i was thinking of buying in september at the earliest (when i cash in the 401K B) ) i dont know how high the prices will be at that time, but its prolly the only time ill be able to buy.

as for credit, i have been renting and paying off bills. so hopefully, that will give me a little help. i do have several people who would co-sign with me if that becomes the case tho.

im hoping the insurance is low... i have had my licence for a while with no accidents. and it is a V6... and i dont intend on driving like its NASCAR or anything. hopefully, luck will be on my side.



yeah. im pretty sure that the v6 is the car for me. v8 is too strong, too loud and... just too much.


thanks you guys. for all your help. ill be lingering here for a while. i can see.

crazyhorse

*In my best fatherly voice*

Cash in the 401K???

You will regret that later. It is never too late to saving for retirement. Even a few thousand now can be several thousand when you retire. Find another way. pay less downpayment.

CA Stang

If you are looking for a good dealer in L.A., try Santa Monica Ford, or Buerge Ford. Both are in Santa Monica, and are small dealerships. I've leased a Mustang from the former. I find it best to deal with the fleet manager. They tend to play fewer games.

It could be my first car

No problem sweetie. were all out there with a lot of questions about cars... im one of them. im gonna keep asking and asking until i get it right.

It could be my first car

thats a great piece of advice. I was actually going to go in there and settle on the monthly payments FIRST before the actual price of the car. i figured that if i could get a low monthly on it, i wouldnt have to worry, seeing as how i would probably trade it in later.



this was a great piece of advice. thank you.

It could be my first car

well, not the WHOLE thing. just a little bit that i have invested into it just for the car. i know im gonna get taxed, but ill take care of that later.






thanks dad.

jsaylor

If credit is going to be an issue I have some advice. I don't know how easy these are to find in California given the emissions laws. But, if you can, find and buy any two bit beater that you can manage to get onto the dealer lot. Anmd, when I say beater I mean BEATER. Think completely worthless (and very, very cheap) piece of junk and it will be just like you were reading my mind. Don't pay more than a couple hundred dollars at max. (less would be nice)

Here is why I suggest you MIGHT want to do this. A dealer can "mark up" the selling price over what you are actually paying, and then place that same amount of money as extra "value" and credit given towards basically worthless your-trade in. Of course, this can have a nice effect on your interest rate and in general your ability to get financed. This may sound a bit under-handed to you at first, but the vast majority of the financing groups are brain dead or @#$heads so don't let it keep you up at night.

Example: (just for reference)

2004 Volvo S60: MSRP(sticker price):---------------------->$35,000
Final Selling price:------------------------>$33,000
Cash Down payment:--------------------> $ 5,000
Price you actually paid for the car------->$28,000

The financing company sees that you just payed $33,000 for a car, and put a $3,000 down payment on it. Now, factor your "over-valued by the dealer" trade-in beater into the above equation and you get this

2004 Volvo S60: MSRP(sticker price):----------------------->$35,000
Selling priceinflated as per above)----->$35,000
Cash down payment:---------------------->$ 5,000
+ your beater trade:---------------------->$ 2,000
DOWN PAYMENT FINANCING CO. SEES->$ 7,000
Price you actually paid for the car------->$28,000


Look at the two above equations. Notice that while you aren't actually paying any more for your car it looks like you are, AND it looks like you are putting down a larger down payment. All that really happens is the dealer put the $2000 discount you would have gotten off of sticker back on (on paper) and inflated the value of your essentially worthless trade in by that same amount. The price you pay stays the same, the price the dealer gets stays the same(kinda, but I doubt you want a finance lesson here), BUT it looks like you put down a larger down payment.

Conversely, as I said earlier it also looks like you paid more for the car as well. But, it generally still works to your benefit in the end. Or, I should say it CAN work to your benefit in the end. Every situations differs, and you will want to make sure that the above scenario will work for you before attempting it. It is simply an approach to ponder IF you need it. Check it out FIRST.

If you have credit cards, charge things that you normally pay cash for and KNOW that you can pay on time. (This is assuming you don't carry a lot of credit card debt now) Don't go nuts in this respect though as that looks bad too. Make certain everything that could show up on your credit report is paid up ASAP if you are late, and keep them current. Also, it is a good idea to pull your credit report yourself once or twice a year and see what is on there anyway so if you don;t I reccomend doing that now. Take a look and see where you stand. Good credit is easy to come by when you know what you are doing.....go after it now as you will have to in order to be ready by the time the 05's show.

Also, when you plan out buying your car remember to figure in all of the appropriate fees (tax, title, and tag). Also, make certain you can afford the insurance on the car. Find a good salesman, and discuss all of these things before hand. Ask if a trade in scenario like I mentioned above will help you get financed. Also, KNOW what you want to and should be paying for the car before you go in to buy it. As mentioned earlier expect dealers to want sticker price on most Mustangs when they first hit...don't give it to them.

However, I strongly advise you let the salesman make a fair amount of money while still getting a good deal for yourself. Remeber, most mainline car salesman (Ford, GM, etc.) work on a 25 to 30 percent commision compared to what the dealer "made" on the car. You will here about something called holdback as well....often times this is not used to figure the salesman's commision. If you let the salesman make a decent built of money you both win as your future srvice could "benefit" from it. My customers service always did as they often got a luittle extra service, a loaner when they were no longer eligible, or bumped up on the service sheet. All of this assumes that your salesman isn;t just a hack and can actually get things like that done. (BTW, I sold Volvo's once upon a time in case you were wondering. )


Good luck.

burningman

Welp I have nothing to add but i just wanted to welcome you to the board! Looks like the guys covered all the points.

kevinb120

yeah. the boyfriend will prolly co-sign with me. thats a good point.

thanks alot for the info. i appreciate it. [/b][/quote]

OK THIS STUFF GIVES ME A HEADACHE TO BRING UP BUT LISTEN UP!
Try to have someone in your family co-sign. Not to say anything bad but avoid having someone outside your family or a legal spouse co-sign on an automobile.


There will be quite a bit more info in just a few more weeks here on the car and its pricing. Banks also know who you are using for a co-signer, a dealer will not lie to a bank about the relationship of the co-signee. They also DO distinguish between acutall cash put down by a customer, a cash rebate, and trade dollars when they consider the loan.

Never get into a payment close to make a deal. Always focus on the actuall amount you are paying on the vehicle, and the loan rate they are offering. You can then make sure the numbers "jive". Way too much can be hidden in payment, the payment should be a simple mathmatic equasion based on the interest rate and term and the total amount being financed. You should have a monthly BUDGET in mind to guide you to the price range of the vehicle you are buying, but it should end there-use it as a guideline. It sounds like the same thing, but don't get distracted from making sure you are paying what you SHOULD be paying for the car.

There are SO many factors, when we get closer to actually being able to BUY one, Ill get much more into it. You should only put down what you can afford to sacrifice on the car, dont strain your account. Use only disposable income. You are paying the same amount no matter what you do essentially. Putting an additional 5,000 to save 100 a month sounds like a big deal, add up how many 100's saved it takes to get your 5,000 back(its the term of the loan).

There are also a lot of things the dealer can(but usually won't) do to get you better rates.

Basically there are a few MAJOR factors:

Credit report and scoring(beacon)- is only your static credit report.

The trick is the "Tier" score.

The TIER score is a secondary beacon-like score based on the DEAL itself, a regular BEACON score is only your static credit rank#. In a nutshell, it tells banks and dealers how "attractive" the loan is. Once the deal is submitted, the entire set of circumstances determine the TIER score, Including:
BEACON SCORE-of course
PERSONAL HISTORY-time at job/age/debt to income ratio-ect
MONEY DOWN-also trade/rebates/cash, etc
LOAN VALUE RATIO-how much you want from the bank versus how much the car is worth(invoice for new cars)

You can have perfect credit with no auto ownership history(not enough proven debt-management), Perfect credit and WAY upside down in trade-and asking for too much money versus the value of the car, and end up with a high(bad) TIER score(big intrest brackets)

You can also have mediocre, or even bad credit but with PERFECT car-payment history and a great loan value to car value ratio(tons of money down and/or a big trade) and have a super LOW TIER score and get great rates.

NOW THE WORK PART for a dealer. There are "magic" numbers sometimes that have strange effects on the loan rate or even acceptance, there are customers that can get a 33k Explorer for LESS per month then a 24K Escape. When it comes time to buy, a dealer submits(creditwebs) a deal to FoMoCo credit(even if they elect to go to another bank, FMCC gives the "TIER" rating). You submit the deal with all the #'s and personal info(trade, deposit, term of loan, target payment range, blah blah blah) and the TIER ranking will come back. If it comes back with some horrid number, WE can call Ford and ask them what do we need for a 2 or better tier. And they will tell you! Could be Cosigner/more money down/shorter loan term/put a monthly cap on the payment....whatever.

They may come back with something like "find a car with a 94% or better loan/value ratio, co-signer with 630 or better beacon, and keep payments under 475 for 60 months and she'll have a tier 1" and you can walk out with a 5.25 loan Its very complicated. I have worked some pretty amazing things with a few days on the phone with FMCC.

Buying a car can suck if you dont have perfect long-term credit, but it can also be done with some patience to save you a few thousand in intrest in the long run.

When the time comes I'm sure we can help you out a bit Its just not as cut and dry as it seems, sometimes one small change to the deal makes for an entire different amount of money. No one ever offers advice on having the dealers look into WHY you score a bad or higher interest ratio. You just need to find an honest dealer that wont just shove you into the first payment you say yes to

OH, and WELCOME TO THE SITE!!!

And Jsaylor is right-on on building credit!

It takes time though, most likely a co-signer will be a factor.

DMS

Hi, thought I would chime in here. When you (the original poster) said that you were putting down a "large" deposit, I thought you meant a "real" large deposit due to your credit or lack thereof. Perhaps my understanding of a large deposit is different than others.

Lets put it this way, if you have crappy or no credit, you can put half down on the car and get financing on the rest.

You could have horrible, terrible credit, etc. but if you put down half the total cost of the car, then you will definitely be financed for the rest. With tt&l, an 05 GT with nice options should run at least $30K. Put down at least $15K and you will be financed for the rest.

That way you paid for half the car. So if you tried to renig on the rest, they would repo it, get the car back, and keep your $15K. Its a win win situation for them. When you put that much down on the car, they know there is very little chance you will no finish it, but if you dont, they still will make out.