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Posted
Dec 03 2007, 08:27 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Beware the car salesman who acts as if he's on your side. In fact, beware all car salespeople. Million Dollar Journey alerts us to an article called "Confessions of a car salesman" at Edmunds.com, a Web site that's an excellent resource if you're thinking about buying a car. Million Dollar hits a few of the highlights, some of which made our skin crawl. Particularly creepy was the part about how the salesman can get you to come way down on the value of your trade-in.
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Posted
Dec 19 2007, 12:21 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Single Ma at Single Ma's Fabulous Financials likes to instruct by example, which we think is a great way to teach. (She also urges readers on a daily basis to "as always, be fabulous," which we consider great advice.) Sometimes she uses a not-so-financially-savvy relative in her examples. Thus, Single Ma tells how she was struck speechless when a cousin explained why she bought a new car.
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Posted
Feb 22 2008, 09:19 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Blunt Money's first job after graduate school paid $42,000, so what was one of the first things she did? She went shopping for a new car. "Why was I doing this?" she writes. "When it came right down to it, I didn't know. It just seemed like what people did. Get a better job? Get a better car!" It was 1999, and the car she test drove was a BMW Z3, which, she recalls, cost about $40,000 at the time. Sounds crazy, but not totally out of line with current car-buying practices. A 2007 MSN Money article said that, according to Edmunds.com, car buyers on average put a measly $2,400 down, finance $24,864, and pay $479 a month. To make matters worse, the most popular loan is for more than five years, dragging those interest payments out longer than people reasonably should. So what did Blunt Money do?
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Posted
Mar 18 2008, 04:31 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
As a smart shopper, you normally pass on those extended warranties offered by the store cashier, don't you? Well, apply the same sound judgment when you're buying a new car. So says Consumer Reports, that respected consumer-advocate publication. Why? A recent survey of more than 8,000 readers shows you'll likely spend more for the extended warranty than you'll save on repair costs. On average, those who bought warranties spent $1,000 (for 2000 and 2001 model years) and got only $700 of benefit. Rik Paul, automotive editor for Consumer Reports, said buying an extended warranty is like betting against the house. "Extended warranties sell costly 'peace of mind' for repair nightmares that probably won't occur," Paul said. Who wins here? On average, dealers collected $795 for each extended warranty they sold last year, CR says.
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Posted
May 07 2008, 10:07 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Buying a large SUV or pickup for twice-a-year trips to Home Depot or ski weekends makes little financial sense. Poster Doc Ricketts offers his take on what drivers really need when they buy their next vehicle:
First, adequate seating. This is the number of seats needed for regular use.
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Posted
May 26 2008, 11:59 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
As the price of gas goes up, many people's desire to own a big honking SUV heads south. And so may be the value of that SUV sitting in your driveway. A growing number of SUV owners are finding that they owe more on their vehicles than they're now worth. And those folks are going to have a heck of a time getting rid of them at a satisfactory price.
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Posted
May 27 2008, 06:27 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not your enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. -- Sun Tzu's "Art of War" In this post, I'm going to try to identify a salesperson's tools, why they work, and what you can do to defend against them whenever you're going to make a purchase.
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Posted
Jun 04 2008, 03:52 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
"Frugal Dad" has some great advice for buying your teen's first vehicle, and it starts with this: Don't buy your kid a new car. "Some out there hock their own financial futures to put their prince or princess in a brand new car, and pay for it long into their college years," Frugal Dad writes. "Not only is this harmful to the parents' financial plan, it sends a bad message to teenagers." Need we say more about encouraging a sense of entitlement?
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Posted
Jul 29 2008, 04:42 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Call it a desperation move or marketing genius. A Florida car dealer is offering a free energy-efficient car when customers buy a big truck or SUV.
BOGO in the showroom seems to be working. Dealer Jack Holcomb at New Smyrna Chevrolet in New Smyrna Beach said he's generating interest in his previously shunned gas-guzzling inventory. (And, as you'll note by reading the comments section below, it's not a unique idea. Readers are reporting similar promotions across the country.)
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Posted
Jul 31 2008, 07:06 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
"Brainy Smurf" at Pants in a Can isn't unhappy to see car leasing apparently going the way of the dinosaur. In fact, he's practically gloating. After seeing an NBC News report on the Big Three automakers' moves to discourage or totally eliminate leasing, he wrote: "Only being able to drive something that you can actually afford? "How dare they!" he added, snarkily.
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