About to purchase my first vehicle (1 Viewer)

[poonami]

I am about to purchase my first vehicle on my own, my dad has bought all my others. My credit score is a 630. I made 110 last year and owe about 12k total to credit cards and student loans. I have student loans and CCs but this will be my first real loan.

I am planning on buying an Ford F250 super duty diesel King Ranch, I need a truck like this for work.

My company has the x plan from ford. I plan on switching jobs and companies in the next week or two but probably buying the truck first, I will make more with the new job.

I will be trading in my current ride.

I am just looking for advice and what interest rate I should expect to pay. I plan to put 5k down plus my trade in which I expect to get 2k from(blue book is 4500).

Thanks to all that help!

 

[TheMike62987]

Fr sure, they'll low ball you on the trade in value of your current vehicle. If the blue book is 4500 then ask for 3000. Also, look up info on how much dealerships pay out of pocket on that make and model. It can be very useful info when purchasing. If they pay $25,000 and are asking $32,000 you can pretty much haggle them down to about $28,000. If they offer you any deal that is awesome, make sure you get in writing before leaving the dealership that day, especially if the deal isn't going down that day.

Car dealers have a way of losing the "crunched numbers" and trying to make a new deal. Stand firm with them, and take control. Don't let them dictate where and what you look at. They need you, you don't need them. Take a deep breath and dive into the deep end my friend.

 

[jayd265]

dont tell them what you want to spend a month. they screw you over that way. tell them to take out any kind of gap insurance and extra warranties. that'll save prolly $10-15 or so a month.

 

[stunpals]

I need a truck like this for work.

Don't say you NEED anything. And remember, they are not losing money on your deal.

 

[MPar98]

Dude...If I made 110k last year, I for sure wouldnt have 12k in credit card debt.

But hey...you sure you want a oil burner?

 

[Rickboy]

Your car note is going to be subprime. You will probably end up with an interest rate above 10% (maybe even over 15%) Lending rules have gotten tighter over the last week alone. Just last week, any credit score below 680 was subprime. Now 720 or lower is subprime. Your car note WILL be high.

I highly recommend you get a pre approved loan so you don't get jacked by the dealership for more than you already are going to be....

Incentives and rebates will change after today. Right now the 2008 F250 only has a $2500 rebate but if you can find a 2007 F250 you'll get a $4500 rebate. There are no dealer incentives at this time.

Right now trucks are in low demand due to the drop in new home construction. However Houston (and Texas in general) have not been hurt nearly as bad as the rest of the country. Demand for new trucks has not waned to the degree it has in other parts of the country. You may be hard pressed to get a dealer to drop his profit....

Oh, and don't let that xplan motivate your decision. You can probably get a better deal than the xplan at Dodge or Chevy dealers. A 2008 Dodge Ram 2500 has a $4500 rebate on it. The Chevy's have 0% financing but you won't qualify for that. However rebates could be as high as $4250. Again there are no dealer incentives..

BTW a dealer incentive is money given to a dealer if they make a specified sales quota. It is there money and its up to them whether or not to kick some back to you.

 

[efil4stnias]

Please be sure you are in an industry that will not be affected by the current market slowdown. That could put you in a pinch. With that said, I dont know your current situation ( ie married, kids, home owner etc ) but I will assume you are single. Here is what I would do ( and I say now, because I am much wiser than I was 10 years ago regarding personal finance ). Wait, if you can. Take that $500 ( prolly close to what your note would be ) for the next 6-8 months and get that debt load down. Granted, based on your current income, your debt low is relatively low, but could be much lower. Freeing you up with more "discretionary" income to spend/save. Trust me when I say there is nothing quite like having a nice little cushion in a money market/savings account to give you peace of mind.
Try some of the online auto finance companies. The last two autos I bought were thru PeopleFirst ( which is now Capital One Auto Finance ) and I got a 5.5% rate, well below any dealer could offer up ( now that was 2 years ago and the markets have since tightened thier credit requirements ) . Plus, you can borrow based on what you want your payment to be and know EXACTLY what you can afford, instead of guessing and leaving it up to the dealership to decide and having to shell out additional cash as a downpayment to keep your payments affordable.

Good luck and enjoy the new apartment, i mean King Ranch. ( several of my clients have these and the interior is HUGE! )

 

[V Chip]

Your car note is going to be subprime. You will probably end up with an interest rate above 10% (maybe even over 15%) Lending rules have gotten tighter over the last week alone. Just last week, any credit score below 680 was subprime. Now 720 or lower is subprime. Your car note WILL be high.

Wow I'm lucky, I just got a car a couple weeks ago for the daughter and got 6.75% fixed.

 

[jayd265]

Wow I'm lucky, I just got a car a couple weeks ago for the daughter and got 6.75% fixed.

i got 5.99% in december 07

 

[Jackavelli]

Your car note is going to be subprime. You will probably end up with an interest rate above 10% (maybe even over 15%) Lending rules have gotten tighter over the last week alone. Just last week, any credit score below 680 was subprime. Now 720 or lower is subprime. Your car note WILL be high.
.

thread jack. wow, 720; did not know it was so high; is this a temporary thing or a long run type of thing? so if our score is not 720 or higher we should stay away from loans right now?

 

[gaminerie]

thread jack. wow, 720; did not know it was so high; is this a temporary thing or a long run type of thing? so if our score is not 720 or higher we should stay away from loans right now?

and maybe for the foreseeable future

Average American No Longer Meets Minimum Mortgage Requirements

For immovables, this may mean you don't qualify for certain home loan instruments.

It's worse for the kind of people who walk into car dealerships determined to buy a chattel mortgage through the dealership.... they're gonna take out a loan, and they are gonna get taken.

 

[antipop]

go to fun town auto and get out your ******* checkbook

 

[Jackavelli]

thanks for the info gaminerie. doesn't effect me right now; but good to know when I need it. I just paid 3 bills in full; so my score should be slowly going up for when I need it.

 

[covingtondog]

Hehe...the first car I ever purchased for myself was a 1992 Geo Metro. It was the 2-door model with a 3-cylinder engine. It got wiped out in those May 8 floods from the mid 90's. Watching that car float away brought tears of joy to my eyes.

 

[gaminerie]

Hehe...the first car I ever purchased for myself was a 1992 Geo Metro. It was the 2-door model with a 3-cylinder engine. It got wiped out in those May 8 floods from the mid 90's. Watching that car float away brought tears of joy to my eyes.

i felt the same way in 1998 when Georges relieved me of my 1991 Nissan Sentra. i had a deep hatred for that car.

As much as i'd love to have one of these

it would take something really special for me to finance a movable in the foreseeable future. the opportunity cost is too great for me.

That being said, the OP is GOING to buy a truck and he is GOING to finance it. So if he's looking for any advice there, i'd say go to a credit union, get a pre-approved loan, and negotiate price to within an inch of that salesman's life.

If OP is a USAA member, today they are advertising car loan rates as low as 5.39%. Navy Federal Credit Union, others along those lines may give you a similar deal. Helps to be military, but really any credit union is likely to be more friendly than a bank.

The last (and hopefully ONLY) time i financed a vehicle, it was through Chevron's credit union, and that was a good experience.

If you finance through a dealership you are most likely to get a bank, or worse.