Buying a car for the first time (HELP)

[brthrt97]

Ait, I've been looking for a car for a while now. I decided to get a Mazda 3. I saw a really nice one at a dealership y my house.

2007 Mazda 3
Red exterior
black interior
30,xxx miles
VERY CLEAN looking car.
$15,500

Now I was wondering, how would I go about this? I've never done this before. I want to finance the car. Can I do No Money Down? Is that smart to do? And I wanted to see if I can get the car for $13,000. You think that's decent? I just dont want the dude to see I have no idea what I'm doing and fuck with me.

Any suggestions will help. Thanx Dawgs!

[Alak]

^ good choice, I have an '07 Mazda3 Sport Touring Sedan and I love it.

First of all, how much money do you have in the bank right now? I'm pretty sure you're going to have to put a down payment of some sort since this is your first time. Before that, though, you might want to try to negotiate a monthly payment plan...have you talked to the dealership about that yet? If they're asking you to pay more than you can make that means you're in big trouble (regardless if they know that or not). That's a given.

You posted that it has 30,XXX miles already so I'm assuming it's a used car. Buying used vehicles are usually less complicated than new ones (like mine) because you don't have to worry about mark-ups and whatnot.

[brthrt97]

No I have not talked to them yet about anything. I was just doing my research on cars before I do anything else. Okay now how much money is a decent amount to put down then? Are we talking about a few hundred? Or thousand? (BTW) Thanks for your reply Alak!

[Lil Infamous]

Yea i would definately try to negotiate that price down because of the mileage and the fact that its used. I mean that could just be me but i dont think a used car should be that much. Maybe 13-12.5K or so. Get a carfax report on the car just to make sure it hasnt been through a disaster or some shit.
Depending on how much you have in the bank and how much the dealer is willing to negotiate with you for a down payment, i would want to try to find a DP that somehow coordinates with the payment plan (like Alak said, you should discuss that first. and again, that is just me) or if you can pay a higher DP if your payment plan allows it.

[Alak]

Can you tell us what the trim level is? Try checking Kelley Blue Book price to see how low you can get the price (which depends on the trim).

[Archive]

and get a standard, automatics are for women

[Alak]

Originally Posted by Archive

and get a standard, automatics are for women

although if the specific car you're looking at is an automatic, you should be informed that it does have a Tiptronic option (a.k.a.- manual wannabe with faster shifts).

[oliverginodb]

Originally Posted by Alak

although if the specific car you're looking at is an automatic, you should be informed that it does have a Tiptronic option (a.k.a.- manual wannabe with faster shifts).

automatic is so much easier and safer , I have no idea why people keep defending their manuals, YES for racing then manual is the way to go but it makes no sense for daily driving other than showing off and trying to look cool.

anyway good choice on the Mazda 3 , I got one and its great

[Alak]

Originally Posted by oliverginodb

automatic is so much easier and safer , I have no idea why people keep defending their manuals, YES for racing then manual is the way to go but it makes no sense for daily driving other than showing off and trying to look cool.

anyway good choice on the Mazda 3 , I got one and its great

Sweet, what trim/color do you have? Btw, in my honest opinion I'd actually choose the automatic/tiptronic Mazda3 for track purposes since the shifting is so much faster and the car still weighs under 3k. Manual just adds to the driving experience, not the performance.

[king713]

Everything you need 2 know
http://www.autoscoop.com