Comments | spacekadette: Beat boxing

spacekadette

Beat boxing

May 11, 2009 15:15

I got a letter from ABC Nissan (where I bought by '05 Toyota Matrix 2 1/2 years ago) stating that they're looking to acquire previously-owned cars and thus they might be interested in allowing me trade in my car for a newer model new or used Nissan, with payments about equal to what I'm paying now ( Read more... )

Comments 4

theklute May 11 2009, 23:05:49 UTC

What about the Hyundai Soul?

spacekadette May 12 2009, 00:19:39 UTC

Do you mean the Kia Soul?

If so, eh. They're neat-looking from the direct rear but that's all I've seen that I liked. And Kia didn't send me a letter soliciting me to trade in. :)

marezcharz May 11 2009, 23:54:56 UTC

What an interesting technique to move new cars.

I used to mystery shop for cars. I learned a bit.

They want to sell you a car, so I'd get them to give you safety information and ask if it can be found through an independent company. They can do some of the research. If they can't provide an independent report, I'd think twice about it. Consumer Reports does a good job of comparing products. You might need to pay a fee and join the site to get the info you want. It is worth it. After joining, you can use it for other stuff.

- $5.95 ConsumerReports.org for one month; Auto-Renewing monthly
- $26.00 ConsumerReports.org for one year; Auto-Renewing yearly
- Cube BlogYou can also save a lot of money by going in and not buying the first time you go in. Not sure if it will apply in this new type of deal, but it wouldn't hurt to try. In my mystery shopping experience, I tried to leave and the price magically came down more. Work it, GRRRL ( ... )

arizonaguy May 12 2009, 04:44:57 UTC

Eh. Most manufacturers and/or dealers do this. "Your XXXX Model XXXX is in high demand. Come trade it in and we'll give you a deal on a new one."

Lame. There's much freedom in owning a car that's paid for. Even if it's 5 year loan, the car will invariably last significantly longer than 5 years. When the car is paid off, you keep making the payment to a savings or investment account.

Drive a car into the ground. Or until annual repairs (not maintenance which you have to do whether 1 year old or 10) cost more than 12 months of payments. Plus, if you kept making payments to yourself, you'd have a fund for such repairs and maintenance anyway.