How
to Buy a Used Car and Not Get Taken
Where
do you get this information?
Call a dealership, tell them that you're thinking about
leasing, and that you want to do some figuring before you
come to shop. They'll usually give you the money factor
they're using and the residual value of the car. Most salespeople
will assume that this is just a ploy and that you really
have no idea of what you're talking about. The invoice cost
you can find in a recent copy of an auto price magazine
like Edmund's, or you can call a service like the Car Price
Network's 800 number. For a fee they will send you the prices
you need.
A
Hypothetical Case
Let's assume that a dealer is selling a $24,000 car. To entice
buyers to come in, he uses factory-to-dealer incentive money
to enable him to offer a $2,000 cap-cost reduction. Let's
also assume that the dealer is working with a money factor
of .0023. This would permit him to advertise a 36-month lease
for $387, not including taxes, license, and any other fees
they might tack on.
Your research tells you
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