suggestions: 2LT vs 1LT

[haleyd]

okay, i'm ready to order my camaro. but i'm not sure what to do. i REALLY want the 2LT. i want the leather and i want the connectivity package. those are important to me. so here is my dilemma. the dealer i went to, will only give me 1000 over what i owe on my grand prix, so i will only have 1000 for a down payment from that. i will be putting 500 down to place the order and i plan to save every penny i can until the car comes so that i can put that down as well. HOWEVER, doing this, my dealer says i can only afford the 1LT, because i CAN'T go over 400 for my payment. my question is, should i just order the 1LT now or should i a.) try to sell my car on my own and get more for it and then order the 2LT or should i just save save save for a few more months and then have more to put down and then trade my car? or are there other options i'm not even thinking of that you guys could suggest? does anyone know how long gm is going to keep taking orders? i would hate to think that i put off ordering the 1LT now and was saving saving saving and then when i was ready it was too late.... any help or suggestions would be GREAT!!!!! THANKS!

[67 Convertible]

Originally Posted by haleyd

okay, i'm ready to order my camaro. but i'm not sure what to do. i REALLY want the 2LT. i want the leather and i want the connectivity package. those are important to me. so here is my dilemma. the dealer i went to, will only give me 1000 over what i owe on my grand prix, so i will only have 1000 for a down payment from that. i will be putting 500 down to place the order and i plan to save every penny i can until the car comes so that i can put that down as well. HOWEVER, doing this, my dealer says i can only afford the 1LT, because i CAN'T go over 400 for my payment. my question is, should i just order the 1LT now or should i a.) try to sell my car on my own and get more for it and then order the 2LT or should i just save save save for a few more months and then have more to put down and then trade my car? or are there other options i'm not even thinking of that you guys could suggest? does anyone know how long gm is going to keep taking orders? i would hate to think that i put off ordering the 1LT now and was saving saving saving and then when i was ready it was too late.... any help or suggestions would be GREAT!!!!! THANKS!

Well, you asked for suggestions. You may not want to hear this, but from the info you posted, I sence you'd be over extended buying either model. Why not just wait a year or two to save as much as you can, then order the model you really want? I think you'll always be able to order these cars and within a year or two there will be plenty available on dealer lots, probably less than msrp. JMO

[haleyd]

if i got the 1LT i wouldn't be over extending. that falls in my budget even with only getting 1000 equity for my trade. i guess the problem is that i just don't know if i would be happy with a 1LT when i REALLY want the leather and other stuff i mentioned. i'm horrible with saving money unless i know i have a deadline... so if i set a time for me to order the car (and i know how much i would need to have saved) i would be able to save the money i'm sure. i just don't know how much i should have saved for a down payment... not to mention my trade-in will go down even more the longer i wait. i'm almost at 90,000 miles so once i hit that i'm sure it's going to go way down :( UGH, why is this so stressful? LOL!!!!!

[mwoodengr]

Sounds like you have time. Try and sell you car yourself, although it will not easy if you owe money on it (cause buyers do not want to have to wait to get the title).

Dealers have no real incentive to give you a good deal on the trade-in.

Without putting more money down, there is no way you are going to get into a 2LT anywhere near $400. I just picked up my 2LT and with $2k down, my payments are $500/month for 72months. I would doubt you could get into a 1LT for $400/month with only $1.5k down. You are likely looking at an LS for that monthly payment (unless you go out past 72months).

[TheClassicCarKid]

If you really want leather, wait a while.
You do spend most of your time inside the car anyway

[Countach]

you can upgrade the 1lt to be like the 2lt except for the leather so you can get the connectivity package

[haleyd]

Originally Posted by mwoodengr

Sounds like you have time. Try and sell you car yourself, although it will not easy if you owe money on it (cause buyers do not want to have to wait to get the title).

Dealers have no real incentive to give you a good deal on the trade-in.

Without putting more money down, there is no way you are going to get into a 2LT anywhere near $400. I just picked up my 2LT and with $2k down, my payments are $500/month for 72months. I would doubt you could get into a 1LT for $400/month with only $1.5k down. You are likely looking at an LS for that monthly payment (unless you go out past 72months).

the dealer i was at last night got me in to a 1LT for 385.51 a month with a 1000 down payment (the equity from my trade)... i'm not sure if that included the 500 down payment to place the order or not (if it did then 1500 down payment, and if not then that's good for me cuz it should lower me a few bucks anyway). that's on a 72 month loan at 5.49%. but again, i REALLY want leather! and i think if i'm going to be paying that much a month i should have no regrets right??? oh yeah and i forgot i also get gms!

[haleyd]

Originally Posted by Countach

you can upgrade the 1lt to be like the 2lt except for the leather so you can get the connectivity package

i've thought about that... but i think the leather might be more important to me. well wait, would my steering wheel and shift knob at least have leather if i did that? that might be able persuade me! lol!

[wullger]

If you -know- you can afford the 1LT, (and be HONEST with yourself!) you could always put in an initial order for a 1LT. Depending on how long of a wait for allocation you're looking at, you could save up for a bigger down payment. Once your dealer gets an open allocation spot, you could then change the order to a 2LT.

Just my .02. Don't over extend yourself though.

[mwoodengr]

Originally Posted by haleyd

the dealer i was at last night got me in to a 1LT for 385.51 a month with a 1000 down payment (the equity from my trade)... i'm not sure if that included the 500 down payment to place the order or not (if it did then 1500 down payment, and if not then that's good for me cuz it should lower me a few bucks anyway). that's on a 72 month loan at 5.49%. but again, i REALLY want leather! and i think if i'm going to be paying that much a month i should have no regrets right??? oh yeah and i forgot i also get gms!

Dude your dealer is an idoit.
Go to bankrate.com and use the auto loan calculator. To get to $385/month for 72 months @ 5.49%, you can only finance ~$23,500. Just look at MSRP and add tax (5-9%), tag & Licence (~$300) minus your $1500 down.

No way. Assuming 6% tax, a 1LT is going to base @ 26455 (msrp = 24675 + 6% tax + $300 TTL). Minus your down payment, you are at $24955 or payments of $407/month for a striped down 1LT (no RS, not stripes, manual tranny, no options, etc).

[pck823]

One thing a lot of people tend to forget about is the impact to sales tax when considering trading versus selling outright. Although I don't see it being an issue in your case, consider this:
1. Assume you own your car free and clear and the dealer offers 5K on trade.
2. New car is 30K and you trade in. You pay tax on the difference (25K).
At 7%, your tax liability is $1750.00
3. If you sell you car outright for same amount, you pay tax on the full amount of the vehicle (30K). At 7%, you're up to $2100.00

Also consider that when selling outright, unless you're selling an inexpensive car (under $5K), most people would have to look for financing. In those case, most people would take the path of least resistance - 1 stop shopping at the dealer.

[haleyd]

Originally Posted by mwoodengr

Dude your dealer is an idoit.
Go to bankrate.com and use the auto loan calculator. To get to $385/month for 72 months @ 5.49%, you can only finance ~$23,500. Just look at MSRP and add tax (5-9%), tag & Licence (~$300) minus your $1500 down.

No way. Assuming 6% tax, a 1LT is going to base @ 26455 (msrp = 24675 + 6% tax + $300 TTL). Minus your down payment, you are at $24955 or payments of $407/month for a striped down 1LT (no RS, not stripes, manual tranny, no options, etc).

if i got the 1LT, the only thing i would add is the sun roof, spare tire, and automatic transmition (which is all i would add to the 2LT as well). it comes out to $24,772 (with gms). so with 1500 down that's actually LESS than 23500. my dealer's not an idiot LOL!

[haleyd]

Originally Posted by pck823

One thing a lot of people tend to forget about is the impact to sales tax when considering trading versus selling outright. Although I don't see it being an issue in your case, consider this:
1. Assume you own your car free and clear and the dealer offers 5K on trade.
2. New car is 30K and you trade in. You pay tax on the difference (25K).
At 7%, your tax liability is $1750.00
3. If you sell you car outright for same amount, you pay tax on the full amount of the vehicle (30K). At 7%, you're up to $2100.00

Also consider that when selling outright, unless you're selling an inexpensive car (under $5K), most people would have to look for financing. In those case, most people would take the path of least resistance - 1 stop shopping at the dealer.

of course, if i sell it outright and i actually get what i'm asking (not likely, but maybe), i would be getting 3000 more in equity than i would for my trade. they will only give me 5000 and i still owe 4. :( i would like to get at least 8k for it. MAN, this is all sooo stressful!

[Vash]

Hum buy an LS then as you pay it down dump some cash into mods.

Otherwise it's all a matter of how much you can afford. Don't push your budget with todays economy.