Buying a new vehicle, advice needed

[pinelakeperch]

Originally Posted by 350 mag

Theres a few videos on YouTube..

Guys disclosing what fees are reasonable ...and what's a ripoff...

If $250 in doc fees is a deal breaker most will drop.

But never pay more than that.

Never get anything at dealership besides maybe extended warranty.

It's cheaper to goto aftermarket for ANY accessories...from mudflaps, to tires and rims.

The biggest $$$$$ dealerships are making right now is selling "in house" lift or levelling kits with aftermarket rims/tires.

They hose the young kids big time on those...

Seen some 85-90k trucks in Alberta with the full kit lift tires and rims as package deals ...and it's10- 15 K above MSRP for deal....and 0%>>>>lol

The same lift kit and tires at a shop is usually 4-5 grand cheaper....

One dealer I looked at wanted $1,200 to install a spacer on a factory strut....

There's absolutely no obligation to pay a documentation fee, YouTube video or not. It is pure profit that most often goes to the finance manager. I'm not pulling this out of the air, I've bought and helped others buy plenty of vehicles, and my dad was in the business for 40 years.

Nonetheless, the dealer may tell you to go pound sand if you don't want to pay it. If you don't want to, there's always going to be another sucker who will. There's also the ability for them to "waive" the documentation fee and then hide that into the profit of the car, which is no different than the dealer offering you an unusually high trade in value for your vehicle and then not moving much on the price of the vehicle. There are a myriad of ways to make the buyer feel as though he stuck it to the man.

Regarding extended warranty, they wouldn't be selling them if they weren't making money on them. And how often do you own a vehicle for a significant amount of time after the warranty expires?

Suffice it to say, the best strategy is to negotiate the price of the vehicle [I]all in[I], not MSRP + doc fees + whatever other additions.

[CptnBlues63]

Originally Posted by Walleye Willy

I, for one, would not buy my wife a new vehicle without her input. If there is something she does not like, I`ll never hear the end of it.

This is great advice! Since you've done the preliminary research now is the time to let wifey in on it. May I suggest taking a picture of a car and putting it in a small box and wrapping it up....then give it to her. When she's looking at you with that confused look on her face trying to figure out what the picture means, tell her you're buying her a new car. She'll be amazed and your getting her input means she'll be happy with the color and features etc. Bringing her in on it is something you won't regret......trust me!

My wife surprised me with an 18' "hunting" trailer some years back and it was an x'mas present. I remember opening the present and looking at a picture frame with multiple pics of an RV and wondering "wtf is she giving me a pic of our trailer for??" then it hit me, that's not our trailer. Completely blown away! (previously had been using a camper which meant I couldn't use my own truck) However, it would have been nice if I'd had some say in which trailer she bought as the layout of the inside wasn't what I would have picked if I'd been involved. I'd never tell her that.........best present I've ever got and I appreciate it like you wouldn't believe regardless of layout............but would have been even better if she'd done as I am suggesting you do.

Also, if I may suggest, you can save some money buy purchasing a used, low mileage vehicle that still has a pile of warranty on it. It's worth considering and looking into. Every dealership has used cars a year or so old that you can save money on over buying the same model brand new.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by Walleye Willy

I, for one, would not buy my wife a new vehicle without her input. If there is something she does not like, I`ll never hear the end of it.

Same here.

I know if I pulled something like that with IncrediGirl, I'd soon find myself floating towards a bright light while the attending physician notes my cause of death as being due to COVID.

[Dean2]

After reading the last response I realised I missed the part about you buying your wife a car she has not seen. You know her far better than we do but personally I would add one more vote for letting her pick the exact vehicle. I like the idea of the picture in the box. From the link to the other thread I posted above, it was actually great fun watching my wife shop for her new vehicle. If I had gone shopping and bought what I thought she would have wanted I am positive I would not have ended up with what she settled on. She has had the new Jeep Grande Cherokee for 7 months now and still loves it. Every time she drives it, it brings a big smile to her face and I think a large part of that is because she bought exactly what she wanted with no input or attempts to influence her choice from me.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Agree with Dean2 - IncrediGirl has been integral to any vehicle purchase that we have made. Things that I love about her shopping style are that she is not afraid to be direct, uses "blonde" questions to draw out the BS (you have to witness it to truly appreciate it) and she comes from a culture that is known for its creation of copper wire, so she fights for the deal.

I tend to avoid conflict on the other hand, so I'll just walk away if I don't like the smell of the deal ("I said, GOOD DAY!") I also will do the number-crunching, comparisons, specs etc. and translate the technical info for her. Caught the last dealership in a blatant lie - the look of horror on the salesman's face was priceless when I showed him the evidence.

Anyhow, just my take on it - your situation may be different. For sure she will appreciate that you are doing such a generous thing for her.