Car hunting - the good, the bad and the ugly
It's been an eye-opening experience for husband and me to shop for a new car. We went to several car dealers for Kia, Suzuki and CarMax (mega used car dealer). Here is a summary of our experience.
The UGLY - The Kia dealer at Irving did not told us about the expiration of the zero interest car loan for qualified buyers. After wasting our time for 3 hours, the finance manager tried to get me to settle for a car loan for interest. Thankfully husband was very firm and we did not take the deal. Also a Suzuki salesman at Irving told husband on the phone about putting down a deposit for a wagon that I want to order one day after we met him and he didn't say a word about it, and thankfully husband told him that we'll let him know if we are interested to get it later.
The BAD - Most car loans are financed with interest. The sales lady at CarMax gave me a quotation for a 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart wagon that includes 8.75 percent interest. Since we do not want to deal with interest, our selection of car is narrowed down to new Suzuki cars which offers zero interest financing for qualified buyers for all models.
The GOOD - most dealers that we meet are knowledgeable about cars. They are able to answer husband's auto mechanical questions. All praise to Allah SWT my credit score is perfect, so I can quality for zero down payment, zero interest car loan. We finally found my dream car - Suzuki SX4 crossover, a 4 door with hatchback vehicle in Grapevine. The most attractive feature of this car is the front, side and overhead curtain side air bags for driver and passengers. Total cost comes to about $18K but husband is confident that it'll be paid off within a year, Allah SWT willing.
Through this experience, we learn to be firm with our car features, not to deal with interest as much as possible, and be wary of dishonest sales tactics.
The UGLY - The Kia dealer at Irving did not told us about the expiration of the zero interest car loan for qualified buyers. After wasting our time for 3 hours, the finance manager tried to get me to settle for a car loan for interest. Thankfully husband was very firm and we did not take the deal. Also a Suzuki salesman at Irving told husband on the phone about putting down a deposit for a wagon that I want to order one day after we met him and he didn't say a word about it, and thankfully husband told him that we'll let him know if we are interested to get it later.
The BAD - Most car loans are financed with interest. The sales lady at CarMax gave me a quotation for a 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart wagon that includes 8.75 percent interest. Since we do not want to deal with interest, our selection of car is narrowed down to new Suzuki cars which offers zero interest financing for qualified buyers for all models.
The GOOD - most dealers that we meet are knowledgeable about cars. They are able to answer husband's auto mechanical questions. All praise to Allah SWT my credit score is perfect, so I can quality for zero down payment, zero interest car loan. We finally found my dream car - Suzuki SX4 crossover, a 4 door with hatchback vehicle in Grapevine. The most attractive feature of this car is the front, side and overhead curtain side air bags for driver and passengers. Total cost comes to about $18K but husband is confident that it'll be paid off within a year, Allah SWT willing.
Through this experience, we learn to be firm with our car features, not to deal with interest as much as possible, and be wary of dishonest sales tactics.
posted by Jiru at
4:43 PM
