Lazy Man and Money

Spring Cleaning of My Financial Mind

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I’ve had a lot of small quick thoughts on my head lately. Time to clear them out…

  • How Much Does it Cost to Drive a Car – Watching the Today this morning… Christie Hyde from AAA says it costs 42 to 68 cents a mile to drive your car. Going from a small to medium sedan will raise your price from 42 cents to 54 cents. That seems like a big jump to me. She mentioned that one of the things people forget to factor with cars is depreciation. One of the suggestions to save money was to save money on gas, but they didn’t suggest buying a used car to cut on that depreciation.
  • California 9% Sales Tax – I don’t think it’s a 9% sales tax for every county, but it’s been raised up to 9% for me in Silicon Valley. A 10.25% sales tax has been proposed for nearby Oakland. I realize the money comes from different pots (Federal, State, County, City, etc…), but it’s strange to me that last year the government was creating a stimulus package to encourage spending. Now they are raising sales tax which encourages me not spend. Maybe I should advocate that everyone play the lottery a lot more so my taxes will go down… It’s almost crazy enough to work.
  • Hawaiian Airlines Rocks – This is no surprise to me or my wife but Hawaiian airlines were top rated. We flew them from Hawaii to Australia last year and it was an amazing flight. They had free beer and wine open bar, multiple meals (that were very, very good), and I’m not joking, but snack break with Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. We always take the lowest-cost flight, so we weren’t expecting much, but it was incredible.
  • The Boston Globe May Be Closing? – Not long ago, this was completely unfathomable to me. The Boston Globe is central to the city – far more wide-read than the Boston Herald. It’s no secret that Boston and New York have a little rivalry going on (heard of the Red Sox and Yankees?), so can I start the conspiracy theory that the New York Times bought the Boston Globe, just so it could shut it down 15+ years later? I’m joking of course.
  • Hannah Montana Movie – I chuckle about the statement of “tired of living a double life” in the upcoming previews. Lazy Man hears what she’s saying.

Buying a car? 10 Ways to Get the Best Deal

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This is a guest post from Master Your Card. If you’ve never been there, it’s worth a visit. Not only is the content top notch, but the design is one of the best I’ve seen. I can’t help myself from clicking through to the articles. If you aren’t too impressed by a snazzy layout, I suggest you sign up for his RSS Feed.

Whether you’re buying a car from a dealership or an individual buyer there are things you can do in order to make sure you get the best deal possible. After all, if you’re making a major purchase you should try to save money where you can, right?

Buying a car from a Dealership

Don’t ever accept the sticker price for a vehicle, and don’t ever, ever feel like the dealership isn’t trying to get as much money from you as possible. Car salespeople are taught to get money from you in many different ways, so be on the defensive.

  1. Walk into the dealership with financing in place. You should always go into the dealership with a check from your bank or credit union already in your hand. It’s a great bargaining tool to get your Toyota Prius on the best finance plan possible. If the dealership can indeed offer you lower interest on financing with better terms then take it, but it’s a good idea to have financing in place in case the dealership can’t beat it.
  2. Have a plan and stick to it. Tell your salesperson, “I’m going to give you this amount of money for this car, and I will absolutely not spend any more than that.” Don’t pay docking fees or other stuff they add on to make more money. The amount you say you’re going to spend is the amount you’ll spend, period.
  3. Know the real value of the car. If you’re buying a used car you should find out the real value of the car before you agree to buy it. Bring along a Kelley Blue Book or have access to the Internet to search for the value. Don’t spend more on a car than it’s worth.
  4. Know the real value of your trade-in. If you are trading in a car you should research its value beforehand. You’ll probably get a better deal if you take the time to sell the car yourself, but trading in can be quite convenient as long as you get a fair price.
  5. Don’t accept add-ons. Even if you don’t get financing through the dealership they’ll try to talk you into buying credit protection, GAP protection, extended warranties, and all the other add-ons that make them money. Don’t buy these things through the dealership. If you really want them you can usually get them through your lender or another source for a lot less money.
  6. Go on a day when nobody else does. Is it a torrential rain storm outside? It’s a perfect day to go shop for a car! If you go on a day when nobody else would ever think of browsing at cars you may be able to get a better deal because you might be the only person your salesperson talks to all day. They have quotas to meet, after all.
  7. Walk away. If you aren’t getting the deal you want then walk out of the dealership. Nine times out of ten you’ll get to the door when
    suddenly the salesperson will stop you and accept your terms.

    8. Buying a Car from an individual

    It’s not all that different, but there are a couple of other things to keep in mind:

  8. Have the money in your hand. If the car you’re buying is advertised as $5000, approach the seller with $4000 in cash. The sight of actual cash
    is powerful, and may get you the car for much less.
  9. Haggle. It may feel weird to haggle with someone who isn’t a salesperson by trade, and it may even feel a little impolite. Don’t let
    this stop you from negotiating a good deal.
  10. Show up informed. Have a print out of the car’s value in your hand to show that you know exactly how much the car is worth. Some sellers may
    not even be sure what their cars are worth! Don’t pay any more than the smallest value listed.

Negotiating the selling price on a car is a lot like a game. There is a lot of psychology involved and as long as you don’t get intimidated easily you can save quite a bit of money on your car purchase.

Let the games begin.