Once again I never said they offered me a lease. Someone else said that. I told them already NO LEASE.
And nothing is in writing so this is all talk but this is what it looks like

Current car loan- Certified pre-owned 2004 TL Mileage-61,028 miles
60 month car loan. Started Feb. 1st
Payments- $512.76/month (Not too great credit history)
Financed through Honda Finance company where they give you a set rate of 12% if you're credit is around where mines was and still is. They actually gave me a better rate than all other banks.

Discussed upgrade deal - 2006 TL Mileage-Unknown
60 month car loan (i won't qualify for a 72 month loan because of credit history)
$1000 down + whatever fees
Payments- Same $512.76/month
I will probably finance through Honda Finance company again or my wife may co-sign. She has good but young credit.

 

The "whatever fees" is what's important. 12%, yikes!

I'm trying to comprehend the dealrship stand in this, they are already making good money from your mo. payments, they will add to that $1000 new taxes, plate transfer, delivery and other VIP (lol) charges. They will make money without doing anything. The 2004 will find it's buyer....

now in regards to 2006 car, have you actually seen it???

You have too many blind spots here. Your best best is to go there in person. Bring your dad or someone else of the mature age, and see it on paper. Now they will not release all the $$$ until you sign on the dotted line, so be careful.

PS I'm not saying you are not mature enough, it helps to bring an elder fellow...They will throw less BS between the lines. Or unless you like me, who likes to talk and interrupt, when I see BS, I'll call you out on it. You have nothing to lose, it's them, who want your $$$.

 

Beware my friends....only profession thats more under-handed than a car salesman is a criminal lawyer.

 

I hate to deviate from the point of this thread but wow...a payment of $512.76 a month on a 2004 TL? 12% interest? Over the course of the loan, you would be paying almost 31K for a 4 year old car...a price I pretty much got my 05 TL...Back in 05.

I know, a TL is a fine car..but look at the big picture. Your credit is none too desirable, you have a wife, possibly a family soon (if not already). Wouldnt you want to save up for a down payment on a home first? Or at least build back up your credit so you dont have to pay 12% in interest on a car that costs up to $70 bucks to fill up depending on where you live.

It might be just me but I would not stand for paying that much interest on a car. I would try to find as many 0 percent APR credit cards (free transfer) as I could to pay off the loan and just keep on rotating cards when the promotional APR runs out...

or

bite the bullet and drive a used civic for another year until my credit improves.

I'm sorry, this is all assuming you do not already own a home. If you do own a home, look into getting a line of credit. You'll be saving lots more paying the interest there.

my 2 cents

 

You should focus on repairing your credit instead of lowering your score even further with another inquiry and a new loan. Getting a co-signor is not going to get you prime rates; that's a huge misconception. If you were able to secure your current loan without one, you're better off that way, rather than using a co-signor to save a point or two. Why not pull all three credit reports and clean them up? It takes time and patience, but a year from now you could be a prime borrower. It's amazing how much $ it costs for EVERYTHING when your credit is poor.

 

I was hoping the thread didn't go this route and we could just talk about the offer but here we are. Its cool though. I know a lot of you guys are just trying to provide some wisdom for a younger guy, but now I feel compelled to justify myself.

I'm 23. I have a Bachelors degree in accounting and I'm currently working as an Accountant. i'm not going to give figures but I'm doing pretty damn good. Right now I'm make more than both my mother and my father.
I have a wife and a 1 1/2 year old son. Right now we're planning, saving and setting ourselves up to buy our 1st house around the summer of 2009 and at that point I'll be 24.
The only reason my credit is where its at is because I ended up letting a few medical bills go to collection. Once I pay those off (hopefully by Jan 2009) my credit I'm sure will shoot back up because everything else is in good shape and I'll probably refinance to bring my payment down.

I know its a lot to spend on a car but after having 3 cars that cost me more to fix then the car was worth I decided I'm not dealing with it anymore I want a good car that I'll enjoy that I can keep for years to come.
I appreciate the advice and I know the payments are high but trust me its not hurting me, nor my family, nor our ability to buy our own home.

 

I would tell the sales person "Sounds great! Fax me over the paperwork so I can go over it so it will only take me 2 minutes when I go in to sign it". They are going to try to get you to agree to the deal and then start adding extra charges after you have agreed to the deal. I baught a car about 6 months ago and I nearly dirtied my shorts twhen I learned that I was paying nearly $700- for document processing. If they can do the deal, why not show it show it to you? Insetad they want to make you sweat.

 

WTF? 12% on a CAR loan??!?!?! I think I know where the dealership is going to make money in this transaction. They will simply get a lower (i.e. more reasonable rate) by using ONLY your wife's credit and then having you listed as a "co-signer"...rate drops to 6%. IMHO you SHOULD NOT be owning ANY car for that kind of interest. You SHOULD be driving around in a beater or something you can pay off in a year to get your credit back into decent shape.

Lots of other questions are banging around as I wrote this. First off, why do you only have 4 months of payments on a 2004? That means you JUST bought it (basically yesterday in car payment terms). Did you buy it from THIS dealership? What were you driving before, etc...

I am older but have bought a company car over the phone for wholesale + $800.00. it was a HIGH demand (at that time) Lexus GX470 and was stickered at $54K. I paid $46K. When it came in, I drove about 4 hours away, picked it up in 30 minutes and was out the door after signing paperwork. I NEVER pay more than 4.99% for 60 months for ANY car note.

 

Bought the car and took it home somewhere around December 16th. They gave me 45 days no payment so my 1st payment was on Feb. 1st.

Yes bought it from the same dealership

I was driving a 97 Ford Contour... saving....car broke down as its done over and over... I went to the dealership and bought the TL

 

Loan for a car that depreciates + paying 12% int....is a lose lose situation. I am very surprise as an "accountant"....you agree to this & is looking to do it once again.

 

^^^ like he said he is well off

(I'm well off too, but I'm a frugal sob....thus I passed on the 535i, and currently enjoying my 08 TL-S)

 

No experience, I just read a bunch of articles on the subject, or anything to do with cars.

 

I was in my acura dealership today for service and was talking with the finance manager. He knew I was looking to buy a car for my son. He just got in a pristine 03 TL-S. Asking $15k. I asked about the bank rates he had to offer on a 4 year loan for a used car. 5% was offered through my bank whom they do business with.

Now I'm no accountant, but I'm no dummy either. Anyone who pays more than 6% on a used car loan might as well borrow the money from the mob. And expect to lose a few digits if you miss a payment. HAHA!

 

That's all well and good, but if your credit's bad, you really don't have much choice. I've seen car notes written for a hell of a lot higher than 12%.

 

Are you the guy in the freecreditreport.com commercial? LOL Sucka born every minute.

 

Look any vehicle whether you finance it or buy it cash will be a depreciating asset. You could get a 0% int rate and its still a lose lose situation. Financially its not smart to make a large purchase on any vehicle. The smartest thing to do is to go from beater to beater to beater. Its also not smart financially to spend thousands of dollars on mods for you car which realistically only aid in your vehicle depreciating even faster.

Yes I am an "Accountant" and I am fully aware that 12% is a high interest rate. However what I base my decision to take on that interest rate and those payments are affordability vs. my desire for the vehicle vs. MY market cost. When I say my market cost I'm talking about what the market says me (Sean) specifically would have to pay considering my situation/credit. Everybody's situation is different. Some pay 4%, some pay 8% and some pay 18% to get the same vehicle. Unfortunately because of my credit history 12% is what I would have to pay. I dont look at as if i have to pay over 6% I'm not going to take it. Its just my personal view.
I look at that and I look at how much do I want it and can I afford it. For me I wanted it enough and I was able to afford so I did it. To each their own.

Worry about those who are taking on car payments taking up 20% or more of their monthly income and leaving themselves broke. Thats not smart.

 

I don't know how this thread got evolved into a financial debacle of tragic22.

Tragic22, get a free credit report for your future reference (directly from equifax or trance union), they are free as mandated by law, one free annual report. Or just sign up for quarterly service, it's only $10/mo. You might have some BS info in the report that is hurting you. I've had that, where someone else with similar name was listed on my report...I've removed the sucker, and my fico is back to 830.

Back to the car, when you are going to the dealership? You must tell them you need the the accurate -out of the door- numbers as you are trying to develop a budget, mention that you are an accountant as an excuse for being frugal.

Once you have the info, you will be able to make the decision on your own. Good luck!

 

lol, I dont know how it got to this either. You're one of the few who've actually been providing helpful advice through the whole thread.
Thanks

 

Ahh....becoming informed before you need to! A+....it will pay off when you DO go to work out your first deal!

 

OP, I got a similar call this weekend from Paragon Acura saying that they want to buy back my 05TL which is in high demand. I know they are full of crap because I got the same call months before from Acura of Brooklyn. Drove by their lot and saw 10 or more used TL's. All they want is for you to come down to the dealership and sell you a new car. They have no intrest in selling you a used car. I could be wrong. In my opinion, why not just keep your current car until you taken care of all your other finances. Good Luck.

ps. both these dealership suck!!!

 

My comments was not meant to slice & dice you. Sorry you took it the wrong way. Good luck!!

 

I would save the money for a house and keep the current TL. nothing is free.

 

No offense taken. Everyone was sharing their thoughts so I shared mines.

 

Enlighten me?

 

I was recieving the same letter by mail for the past month. Called them and asked them to give me the numbers that I would be happy with in order to make the deal on paper, through e-mail or fax, what do you know they have not done neither. It has been 3 weeks since my phone call. I am in Los Angeles, CA.