Allyson
St Charles,#2Author of original report
Fri, December 08, 2006
Considering I had been offered 0% financing earlier in the day and got 5.5% from my credit union a month later, I don't think this was a good offer. The interest rate is not what is in question here; the salesperson's behavior is. Besides, I didn't happen to be carrying around a calculator or an amortization schedule to car dealerships. He knew what Mazda typically financed at and led me down a rosey path that we could come in under my current payment. As much as I appreciate your rudimentary lesson on inflation and depreciation I can assure you I have the education to understand both.
Thomas
Anderson,#3Consumer Comment
Thu, December 07, 2006
1. A "6% interest rate " sounds pretty good for a car loan... 2. Unless the interest rate on you old car is very high and you had bought it new, it is probable that the new car will require a higher payment because the new car will usually cost more money than did your old car when your old car was new. Then there is always the "down payment question" and the "negative trade-in equity or low trade-in equity question". Car prices will increase because of inflation, but the biggest causes of recent car price increases is the addition of more and more standard equipment. One example: my '91 Camry has no airbags while the '07 Camry has front, side and curtain airbags. So this is one reason (of many) the '07 Camry costs me a lot more money than did that '91 Camry. You could figure this all out before you ever walk into a car dealership looking for a miricle. That salesman really should have realized at the start that you were probably pursuing the impossible dream and suggested that you return next year. At least it sounds like the salesman might not have tried to pull any financial wool over your eyes even if he was a pain. Maybe that salesman 'gets upset and holds your keys' as a control tactic. There are enough posters here who make themselves sound like rugs when they deal with car salesmen to encourage such behavior.