A Question About Cars

I'm trying to get a car. I've never owned an actual legal car, and I'm a bit lost. Options that are out are new cars for both monetary reasons and the fact that I have horrible credit, even cheap used cars from lots aren't available unless they're super cheap and I have cash.

My love and I are hoping for the last option to pull through with our tax returns. That's the plan, anyway, but if that fails then we're going to scrimp and save because we -need- a car. Without one I feel we will both be hindered even more concerning post-graduation jobs. Even sharing one is better than not having one at all, so we're hoping to pool our resources sometime in the near future.

Anyway...the point of the thread is that I'm asking for advice on buying my first car. Suggestions on things to do, things to avoid, etc. Especially if they involve taking the price tag down. lol

 

If I can recommend one thing, DH, be sure to get a carfax report. It will cost a few dollars (I think it is around $40) but it is SO worth it. I bought a 1998 Honda Prelude last year from a young girl who seemed very credible. It was only $4,500 or something, so we did not worry about checking it out in great detail. But a few months into owning it, we had had a multitude of problems. Like HEAPS of drama. So we decided to pay the money and check out the carfax. We found out that while the odometer read 115,000 miles, the car actually had about 300,000 miles. No wonder the car was such a heap of shit. We would have saved so much money had we paid for the report first. So, please, get a carfax!!! Or, you can buy my Honda - i'll give you a good deal!!! Hehe.

 

Let's discuss this first. Both of you will filie as single persons, so the opportunities for deductions will be less than married-filing-jointly (MFJ). If you can pull off the right amount of deductions with what you'll already be getting back from your withheld amount, it'll result in a stronger tax return.

Itemize the following for the year:

Medical costs (include dental work)
Gambling losses (even lottery tickets are an itemizable deduction, no bullshit.)
Unpaid personal loans to others.*
If you provided financial assistance to a child for the majority (6+ months) of the year, report that.


* Most people don't know this but if you loan money to someone and they don't pay you back, it can itemized as a deduction. The IRS will go after them because it is a form of unreported income. A problem can crop up if they deny the loan, however, so always have anyone you loan money to sign a promissory note and get it notarized.

 

I'll be keeping tabs on this thread... My first car will more than likely be a Hyundai.

SMH @ me being 23 never even attempting to get my license.

 

off the top of my head, some may be obvious....

- as large a down payment as possible
- keep old credit cards open
- pay down debt to improve dept to credit ratio
- If youre buying a very old car, go for one with a VERY CURRENT Safety inspection.
- Come into negotiation well educated. Write down the vin number and get the specific model information so that youre well aware of the proper asking price.

 

get a book called repairing your credit score for idiots. It is a small book but very good. to improve your score takes a little time but one way is to get a secure credit card with little prebalance and pay it religously.

next go to the consumer report or guide. they have an annual magazine that comes out about this time giving a report on the maintenance reliability of a car and the price ranges and makes. you can go online for that report year round. small fee but worth it.

next buy at the year end ( oct to december time period) because the prices drop due to the year of the car gets older and the dealerships dont want to pay the taxes on them.

also but a car toward the end of the month because the sales man is trying to meet his sales mark so he will hussle and make deals.

get a blue book value to negoitate... lastly get the car checked out by firestone or good year. they want to find something wrong so you can come back to them and get it fixed.

make sure you have a budget first and then see if the payments fit. advisors say stay with a three year payment not 5 years like most dealers advise.

 

as for our taxes I'm not sure if there's anything more to do that I dont already. I never actually have money to loan anyone or anything and I dont own anything. but i will definitely be going over everything like 20 times to make sure i get it all right. i only went to the doctor once this year. concerning my credit....yeah theres nothing i can do until i can pay the bills. ive never had a credut card, i just had to have surgery and got screwed by medicaid. i wont be able to get a car that needs payments. im limited to whatever i can pay cash for because i wont be approved for any type of loan and couldnt afford monthly payments anyhow. i appreciate all the advice though! keep it coming

 

More people need to speak up. We finally have a useful thread and people are still gravitating towards the bullshit.

To anyone who has ever purchased a car in the United States from a dealer, chime in.

 

Dh I always read reviews on edmunds.com. They review used cars by model year for reliability of that year. I don't know what your budget is going to be but I would gravitate towards a Honda Accord or Toyota if you can. They seem to last.

 

I bought a car. What I did was use ebay to find the car in my area.
http://motors.shop.ebay.com/items/Cars-Trucks__W0QQ_sacatZ6001

I also googled toyota cars. My family loves toyotas.
Make sure to get the car fax(I didn't do that). I also recommend bringing someone who has some experience in cars preferably a mechaninic(I didn't do that because I didn't know any so I brought my best friend who knows a little more than me about cars).

be careful! all of those stereotypes about car salesmen are true a lot of times. The first guy who I went to tried to lie to me by saying he had someone who wanted to buy the car and I should hurry up. Luckily for me, I wasn't in a hurry and had other places to check so his scheme fell apart.

 

Saty, when did you get your license to practice tax?

I just want to correct a few things that are misleading about what you stated.

Medical expenses are only deductible if they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. For example, if your adjusted gross income is $10,000, you would have to have more than $750 in medical expenses in order to itemize it. In this case, if you had $1,000 in medical expenses, you could claim $250 towards your itemized deductions.

Gambling losses are only deductible to the extent that you have gambling winnings. If you win $3,000, you can deduct $3,000 but not a dollar more.

Worthless nonbusiness loans are deducted as a short term capital loss and not an itemized deduction. That means that it is limited to $3,000 per year unless you have other capital gains to offset the loss. Treating it as a capital loss is better than an itemized deduction because not all people itemize on their tax returns because taking the standard deduction is better for their situation.

Also as far as claiming a child, there are a lot of questions as to your relationship with the child and how much support you actually provided in comparison to the financial support that someone else provided. There is a worksheet that the IRS provides that determines whether or not you are entitled to the deduction.

I would say that the biggest things that you wouldn't want to overlook in DH's case would be education credits and possibly the earned income credit. I think that those credits would be the best tools to use in order to get the largest refund possible. Of course, she must be eligible to claim those credits, but those would be the first things that I would look into if I was preparing her return.

 

I did an internship with Arthur Anderson.

For those who are less "creative" with their schedules, listen to girlie.

 

We all know what "creative" accounting did for Arthur Anderson and Enron. My career is the only place in my life that I'm considered conservative, and I'm fine with that. I'm too pretty to go to the big house, and I enjoy the male anatomy way too much to go with out it. :smt047:smt003

Actually, I'm impressed with your internship with Arthur Anderson, Saty. You are just a jack of all trades.

 

Lots of practical information in this thread.

It’s true that you never really know what you’ve got until you’ve got it but you can minimize surprises by doing your research. Get the carfax on any car you are serious about (some sellers will provide one but make sure it’s recent), check out kbb.com and Edmunds.com for information and reviews on specific cars, and have a mechanic or someone who knows about cars check out and test-drive any car before you buy it. Learn as much as you can.

While you are at it, you might want to research insurance and DMV (tags, inspections, parking, etc.) costs and requirements. Some of the these costs will vary depending on the car you purchase but having some idea of what to expect will help you budget well. Wouldn’t want you to buy a car you can’t afford to drive legally.

Lastly, trust your instincts. There are lots of shady deals out there when it comes to buying used cars. If it doesn’t feel right, just walk away. Another car will come along.

 

u beat me to the punch

 

!!!!!!!

When I made this thread I half believed it wouldn't work out. But it all seems to be falling into place, and in about a month I think I will finally own my first car!

...well, co-own. But it still counts!!!!!

I hope we pick a good one!!! lol We're limited in selection, but I'm hoping to get one that doesn't fall apart a week later >.< That'd be about my luck lol

I also told him that buying a car together is a massive step and he better not leave and try to take it, otherwise I'll slash the tires :smt077 hehehe.

...and now I go back to craigslist to browse and daydream about cruisin'.

[YOUTUBE]WlzY6cWpoMQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

Thats good news! First step is done

 

Holy shitcakes, Batman!




Wow. It took many revisions of the "Get That Bitch a Car" mission outline, but isn't she cute? I decided against a 2010 Dodge Viper and opted for this little saucy number who shares a birth date with my baby brother. Lesser of two evils and all that.

I can't help it, I totally went outside at 1am to just...sit in my car. And to give her a wipe down, cause she was cheap and used, which makes me wary. Plus she smelled way too similar to my ex husband's car so she also got a spray down of girly shit that'll compliment the pink shit I'll put in it later.

Tomorrow morning I go find out if I made a good choice in the end, cause I don't think anyone in my immediate vicinity knows anything about cars except me, and I'm nowhere near a mechanic, so I had to just give it a test drive and hope. She has some quirks...but it's really difficult to find a car with my price range that isn't a pos. I just want the -right- pos lol

Sooo...ta-da

 

YAY, P!!! I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!

Congrats on the car, lady! I know how tough the road has been, but now you're going to be cruisin' right along!

 

Congats DH on your new car. Hope you get a good report on how it runs.