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| Car questions!; Mine's totaled. :( | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 6 2010, 03:20 PM (424 Views) | |
| sheepwithagun | May 6 2010, 03:20 PM Post #1 |
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We're on a bridge, Chaaaaaaaaarlie!
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So, I got rear ended at a stoplight Saturday and now my beautiful baby car is totaled. I have a rental car for now, but will need to be purchasing a new vehicle. The insurance company (Allstate) said they would give me $5200 for my car. I had a 1997 Honda CRV with 126,518 miles. Seven months ago I put brand new tires on her that cost over $400. The blue book "suggested retail" for my car is $5700. What's the chance that I can convince Allstate to give me more money and what's the best way to go about that? Should I talk to my adjuster or the guy who actually came out to look at my car? Does it help my case at all that it wasn't my fault their client slammed into the back of my car?I've never bought a car before. I've never even spent over 1,000 dollars on any one item in my life. I'm afraid dealers are going to smell fresh meat as soon as I walk onto the lot! Seeing as how I'm pretty much living off student loans now, I'd prefer to buy whatever I can get with the insurance payout. My parents have offered to help with payments until I graduate (December) if I go that route, but they've already done so much for me I'd feel bad asking them to do that. I'd love to buy another CR-V, but I'm not sure that's going to be an option, so I've been look at Civics and Accords too. So, once I get to the lot, how do I go about haggling on the price? Are you supposed to do a low offer first and then work your way up or can I say, "I won't pay over x for this car." I read in another thread that you shouldn't bring up financing while discussing price, but will it help me that I (may) be paying cash? If this were a horse I'd have it vetted before I bought it, but you don't really get that option with cars (do you?). Is a carfax and the deal's word the best you're going to get as far as "health" is concerned? I'd love to bring somebody car savvy with me, but none of my friends in the area really have a lot of car knowledge. Anyone up for a trip to beautiful Charleston, SC?
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| snaffle | May 6 2010, 03:25 PM Post #2 |
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Is the meadow on fire?
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sheep, there are plenty of car-buying tips on Cars.com. Check it out! The site can help you decide what car to get, where to buy it, how much to pay, and how to negotiate through the buying process. Generally offering cash will not help you get a better deal...actually the opposite. The dealer makes money off your financing Full disclosure...I work at Cars.com! |
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| sheepwithagun | May 6 2010, 03:30 PM Post #3 |
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We're on a bridge, Chaaaaaaaaarlie!
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Haha, I'll be sure to check it out tonight. So should I dress like a poor college kid then to make them think I'll need financing?
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| jn4jenny | May 6 2010, 05:47 PM Post #4 |
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Is the meadow on fire?
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For what it's worth, most insurance companies will only offer you the trade-in value on your totaled car, not the suggested retail value. So if they offered you $500 less than "suggested retail", they may be giving you a good deal. |
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| sheepwithagun | May 6 2010, 06:46 PM Post #5 |
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We're on a bridge, Chaaaaaaaaarlie!
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Huh, didn't know that about the trade in value. I guess I'm lucky they didn't..I couldn't buy crap with $2300. This just makes me want to run over that inattentive Jag driving SOB.
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| jn4jenny | May 6 2010, 06:54 PM Post #6 |
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Is the meadow on fire?
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Well...I'm not saying that I would recommend this route as debt is never "recommendable", but keep in mind that IF you took a car loan, you could turn around and apply your $5200 to that loan. So for example, let's say you found a car that was perfect but it was going to be $8500 out the door after all taxes, fees, plates, etc. You could get an $8500 car loan that covered all of that crap, then turn around and make your first payment on the loan of $5200. As that would put you WAY ahead of the loan schedule, you wouldn't be required to make another payment on the loan for a very, very long time. Like, probably two years or more. By which time I would hope you'd have graduated and found a job. But again, it would be far better to just buy something outright. As for vetting a car, yes you can. Take it to a mechanic and get a pre-purchase exam. As with a horse, it is not totally failsafe--for example, most mechanics can't see a transmission that's going to fail in 10K or 20K miles. But they can tell you what's wrong with the car on that particular day. Whatever you do, don't tell the dealer why you're shopping for a car. If they know that you just lost your car and are therefore absolutely NEED to get another car, they will smell blood in the water. One final idea. If you find a car and it is exactly what you need but you're just a few thousand bucks shy, consider setting up a formal loan with your parents using the Social Loan program at Virgin Money. They get regular payments, they get to charge you interest (although they can charge you a pretty pathetically low rate, like as little as 2%), your payments get reported to your credit report, etc. I actually did this to buy my house--my dad is making a killing compared to keeping the money in a Money Market account, and I got a killer interest rate.
Edited by jn4jenny, May 6 2010, 06:55 PM.
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| doubledare | May 7 2010, 04:36 AM Post #7 |
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Shunnnnn the unbeliever. Shunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.
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If you decide to make a large payment on a loan as jn4jenny suggests, please check your loan documents. Large payments can be considered payment of additional principal and will only reduce the term of your loan. Monthly payments are still due as scheduled. |
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| Buryinghill1 | May 7 2010, 06:20 AM Post #8 |
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You're BANNED!
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Maybe your bank will give you a loan with a good rate. It's worth a call. Maybe snaffle can get you a good deal on a car Most important - how is your back and neck???? |
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| hijumpin1 | May 7 2010, 09:10 AM Post #9 |
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Off visiting Candy Cave, be right back.
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Haggle down the interest rate if you can, it will make a HUGE difference. |
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| sheepwithagun | May 7 2010, 12:25 PM Post #10 |
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We're on a bridge, Chaaaaaaaaarlie!
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Thanks for the advice, guys. ![]() My neck was sore for a few days after, but thankfully no real injury.
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| macmtn | May 8 2010, 09:16 AM Post #11 |
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Owned by an Arabian ghost
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Sorry to hear you got rear ended. I would not sign any releases until at least 2 weeks after the accident-soft tissue injuries can show up long after the actual accident. Where ever you shop for a car-GET A CARFAX!!!!!!!!!!!!! I learned the hard way never to trust a car dealer's word-they know nothing about the cars that drift through their lots. If they won''t provide one FOR FREE get up and walk out. |
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![]](http://z1.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)
I have a rental car for now, but will need to be purchasing a new vehicle. The insurance company (Allstate) said they would give me $5200 for my car. I had a 1997 Honda CRV with 126,518 miles. Seven months ago I put brand new tires on her that cost over $400. The blue book "suggested retail" for my car is $5700. What's the chance that I can convince Allstate to give me more money and what's the best way to go about that? Should I talk to my adjuster or the guy who actually came out to look at my car? Does it help my case at all that it wasn't my fault their client slammed into the back of my car?
Seeing as how I'm pretty much living off student loans now, I'd prefer to buy whatever I can get with the insurance payout. My parents have offered to help with payments until I graduate (December) if I go that route, but they've already done so much for me I'd feel bad asking them to do that. I'd love to buy another CR-V, but I'm not sure that's going to be an option, so I've been look at Civics and Accords too. So, once I get to the lot, how do I go about haggling on the price? Are you supposed to do a low offer first and then work your way up or can I say, "I won't pay over x for this car." I read in another thread that you shouldn't bring up financing while discussing price, but will it help me that I (may) be paying cash? If this were a horse I'd have it vetted before I bought it, but you don't really get that option with cars (do you?). Is a carfax and the deal's word the best you're going to get as far as "health" is concerned? I'd love to bring somebody car savvy with me, but none of my friends in the area really have a lot of car knowledge. Anyone up for a trip to beautiful Charleston, SC?



This just makes me want to run over that inattentive Jag driving SOB.


1:52 AM Jul 11