Introduction to CAR FU: The Way to Car-Buying Serenity

Posted by P.W.R. in January 4th, 2010

INTRODUCTION: For many of us, the act of buying a car is the most
unpleasant, traumatic experience of our lives.

It’s easy to understand why– it’s the single biggest expense
of our lives (at least our homes generally gain value), it must be
repeated over and over, and it takes place in a (seemingly)
hostile environment through an opaque process.

Many of us will commit ourselves and our families to
$300,000 or more in car loans over the course of our lifetimes.
Do you know that dealer auctions are closed to the public,
and that the record of transactions is available only to licensed
dealers?

What about the car buying websites? Why are the listed
values of the same vehicle often thousands of dollars different
from site to site?

Do you know that there is software that dealers, banks, and
credit institutions use to determine the ACTUAL trade-in value of
a vehicle, and that these are not available to the public?
No wonder it all seems opaque; it is opaque. We’re used to dealing in absolutes, especially when it comes to money.

Nearly all of the complaints of car buyers are process-related.
Folks don’t know what to expect when they go in, things
happen very fast, so many decisions are necessary, and many of
these decisions involve thousands of dollars (though it may not
seem that way at the time!).

Anyone who has spent time working in the car business has
watched buyers spend hours and hours negotiating a thousand
dollars off the purchase price of a vehicle, only to give it back and
more immediately upon entering the finance office. Many folks just plow through it, hoping it will end soon and not be too painful.

The thing is…the money. It’s just too much money.

Folks are often in shock when they leave the dealership, either that they bought that day or by how much they are now obligated to repay.

In this country, we are often extended to our maximum debt
load, but the car buying process is much more invasive than, say,
running over our MasterCard limit while on a department store
spree. In fact, sprees can be kind of fun while they last, while
most car purchases are grueling and painful throughout.

It’s easy to surf the internet and find an endless litany of
bitter, invective-filled anecdotes of terrible experiences that folks
have had while buying a car. Is it always the fault of the dealer?

The more you read and learn, the less your adversary will know.
Sun Tzu

next: Introduction pt. 2