AJ80 wrote:gregthehand wrote:I went from a car note to a cash car and I'm happy with the decision. After being debt free when it comes to cars I'll never have a car note again. I got a VW Jetta with the TDI diesel motor. It gets great mileage but to be honest I wish I had just gotten a Toyota or something like that. The VWs are really strange to work on and nothing seems to be set up like what we are used to. I got a good price on it but right after I bought it I had to spend $2000 on replacing all the coolant lines, fuel lines, water pump, timing belt, and some gaskets. So my $3500 car went to a $5500 car. Ok I could deal with that. Next my dang fuel pump went out. To get a rebuilt one the best price I found for just the pump was $1400! So then after about $350 worth of labor my car now cost me over $7k! After all that I'm still happy with no note. My car is now making some vibration sound when I brake lightly. Not when the car is heated up and going at highway speeds just low speeds. Anyhow I think my next one will be a Toyota or a Honda. But not until I put as many miles as I can on this one.
Whatever I decide to get, I'll make sure there is no car note.
Maybe that's why the car salesman I talked to yesterday when I looked at a Ford Focus never called me like he said he would. With no trade in, no monthly payments and no interest rate, he'd only have one number to play around with.
Alternately, you could negotiate a lower price with a loan, then pay it all off with your first payment. Just be sure there aren't any early repayment penalties.