New car buying tips..

[Slave One]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

I'll be in about the same boat. I'll be 25 in spring of 2011 (well fall 2010 but I'm not buying then, my camaro isn't going to see a winter while I own it). It will be my first ever brand new car, first one in my family since the mid 60's. We've always bought used but I want to take care of my Camaro, I want to know everything that has been done to it, and know exactly how much abuse it goes through. A simple people mover can be used, but not a 5th Gen Camaro. not for me at least

I totally agree.. I want to know everything about my baby, even to the point of watchin the dealership mechanic while he works on it and following him when he does a road test

The only thing is, this is going to be my everyday daily driver and she will get driven no matter the condition outside. She aint gonna be no trailer or garage queen, she was built for a reason...

[MattG]

I've heard the advice about how you minimize the depreciation you pay when you buy a car that's ~2 years old, and sell it when it's ~4 years old. Granted, you're getting a car that's "new to you" every 2 years, and it might be the best way to minimize the depreciation hit. But, you do have the concern of 'how did the first owner treat it?'

And, if you're looking at the HiPo v8, you have to figure it probably won't be available until Fall of '09 at the earliest. If you try to wait until it's 2 years old to buy a pre-owned, that means waiting until late 2011 or early 2012 to get a Camaro. And I just can't see myself being able to hold out that long! So, I find myself with a 4-year old car that is paid for, and my more realistic timeframe for a Camaro to be about 2 years from now (when the HiPo is initially available). If you believe the pundits, my best course of action would be to replace my current car with a 2-yr old car and drive it for 2 years. But it's so nice not having a car payment right now!

[Chevyrocker]

I am the GM Certified Internet Manager for a Chevy store. A lot of this advice is good, some is garbage. I personally would never buy a used car. I like having a warranty. Plus, a used Camaro was probably driven like a Camaro should be and you would be adopting someone elses problems.

This car is scheduled to be built in Feb 2009 as a 2010 model, and it will hit dealers shortly after. There will be a premium on it for at least the first few months of it's existence. The only good advice I can offer is find a dealer you like that has a good service dept and body shop. Ours is one of the top rated in South Florida. I would stay away from autonation stores for many reasons. They have a reputation for being racist, sexist, and just plain scummy. Disagree? go to www.stopautonation.com or www.destroyautonation.com and you can view literally thousands of complaints from employess and customers about tactics they use. I work for a privately owned SFE dealer that has been here since 1963. I would have it no other way.

As far as shopping the internet, it's not a bad idea. Just write the person back! I write 50 e-mails a day and probably get replies 1% of the time. It's just common courtesy. If someone gives you numbers that are far fetched, forward him/her a quote you got from another dealer on a car THAT IS EQUIPPED THE SAME and they will get more aggressive with their pricing. Honestly, this car will not go for under MSRP for a long time, but if you want it, you will pay. What's $1000 in a monthly payment anyways?

[Chevyrocker]

Oh yea, and as far as depreciation goes, the more expensive the car, the more money you will lose driving off the lot. ie, a $120,000 BMW M6 that is one year old and only has 7,500 miles on it is only worth $85,000. That means you lost $35,000 in one year. I know this because I had a customer do exactly this (he bought a Z06). On the other hand, if you buy a vehicle that is only $30,000, a year later with the same miles it should be worth around $22,000 ($8,000 loss).

See, each and every vehicle produced has something called a residual value (used to determine lease payments). The residual value is a financial institutions prediction for what the car will be worth after a certain amount of time with a specific amount of miles on it. For example, the 2008 Silverado Extended Cab LT1 has a residual value of 61% after 36 months of use with 12,000 miles per year. If you only use 10,000 miles per year, your residual jumps to 66%. Use 15,000 per year and it drops to 56%. There's some "inside" information for you.

[Slave One]

Hello, Thanks soo much for chipping in with that great info. I agree with you, I dont want to buy one of these babies second hand if I can avoid it, and also want the full benefeits of a warranty. Have a couple of questions for you...

If this car goes on sale say.. March, April or whatnot.. when would you suggest would be the "Best" time to purchase one and get a good deal. End of the year, maybe??

Also, in your experience with Chevrolet, what do you think the warranty on these vehicles will be like?

Also, what do you mean by "What's $1000 in a monthly payment anyways?" Do you mean an additional $1000 over the length of the financing?

[Mr. Wyndham]

Welcome to the site!

But, if a dealer doesn't want to charge a premium...then there won't be a premium. That' all there is to it. There's no rule that says there has to be.

[CaptianSam]

im pretty sure im going to buy it a couple years later after the come out... im waiting for the genesis, mustang, mitsu evo, sti, challenger to get popular.... so then when i buy my camaro itll be WAY more competitivly priced...

We should all wait to buy... camaro sluggish sales = price drop in camaros

[EllwynX]

Originally Posted by Slave One

Also, what do you mean by "What's $1000 in a monthly payment anyways?" Do you mean an additional $1000 over the length of the financing?

I'm pretty sure that comment was a joke.

[EllwynX]

Originally Posted by Slave One

Also, in your experience with Chevrolet, what do you think the warranty on these vehicles will be like?

I meant to answer this in my last response...

The warranty is likely to be the same warranty offered on all other Chevy vehicles.

3yr/36,000mile Bumper to Bumper
5yr/100,000 Powertrain/Roadside Assistance

[Sterling]

Originally Posted by jsenn

I am the GM Certified Internet Manager for a Chevy store. A lot of this advice is good, some is garbage. I personally would never buy a used car. I like having a warranty. Plus, a used Camaro was probably driven like a Camaro should be and you would be adopting someone elses problems.

If you are talking about a 2 year old car you are still getting the factory warranty. It's 3yr/36,000 mile bumper to bumper and the warranty starts when to car was originally sold, not necessarily the model year so it could still last a couple of more years and the powertrain warranty will definately still be in effect. I would also advise you to make sure that if you are buying a used one to make sure that it is GM Certified.

Most people in car sales would never buy a NEW car, and most would also rather sell a used car as there is more money in selling a used car for a dealership than selling a new car. Well, I guess it depends how much of a "premium" they expect to put on the car the first few months it's out.

[usmc320]

Originally Posted by sterlingnotes

Well, I guess it depends how much of a "premium" they expect to put on the car the first few months it's out.

I hope the premium they expect is nothing. I'm ready to buy one when it comes out, but I refuse to pay over MSRP. As soon as they sell for that or less, I'm in.

[yobrigidey]

Originally Posted by sterlingnotes

I would also advise you to make sure that if you are buying a used one to make sure that it is GM Certified.

I bought my G6 coupe as a GM certified used. The ONLY added benefit is they extend the factory warranty to 39 month/39k miles, and the 2.9% APR (okay thats pretty sweet).

My clutch and flywheel had to be replaced after having the car for 3 months. $1600 done through GM. I figured this would be something they'd find in their 8,000 point inspection. Oh, and I have driven a manual for 5 years, so it certainly wasn't my doing.

Although, even though I didn't get the work done at the dealership I purchased the car from, they still gave me an $800 credit towards GM parts/service AFTER already paying for the work. I thought that was an extremely nice gesture. Needless to say, I'll be going back to this dealership first to talk to them about my 5th gen.

If anyone is wondering, it is Superior Chevrolet in Shawnee Mission, KS

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by jsenn

I would stay away from autonation stores for many reasons. They have a reputation for being racist, sexist, and just plain scummy. Disagree? go to www.stopautonation.com or www.destroyautonation.com and you can view literally thousands of complaints from employess and customers about tactics they use. I work for a privately owned SFE dealer that has been here since 1963. I would have it no other way.

Not the nicest subject to make a first post on, yet the accusations I read on stopautonation.com were frankly sickening to read. I'm not naive and I know that Humans aren't always pulled to their better angels but firing a pregnant lady or telling a Black salesman that his complexion may be a hindrance to selling cars is astounding (astounding in the sense of its utter douchebaggery, of course). Either than that...Caveat Emptor, let the buyer beware.

[GTAHVIT]

Welcome to the site Mpower!