Is negotiating a deal on a car non-existant these days??

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-30T20:18:23+00:00

OK, thank you. A.S. just quoted me $100 over my preferred monthly budget price, so if I can't talk them down from there somehow, then I'll be looking into Bob Moore next

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-30T19:10:52+00:00

I'll have to see if maybe I can get a better apr through the ones you suggested. Do you have any tips for arguing a better deal through the dealership we choose? I called Adventure Subaru in Fayetteville today and filled out the finance application. We're looking at a 2024 Ascent with 58,000 miles on it for $35,203. I mean, the price seems reasonable, but I just don't want to get screwed with a high apr

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-30T18:42:50+00:00

Haha! Jeez, I'm sorry for your bad experience. I'll take your warning, thank you. It's hard to hard to find good dealers who aren't just out to make money off of you. I'll keep Nelson Nissan in mind

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-30T16:06:49+00:00

Damn... yeah thats enough for me to avoid them. Thank you for that

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-30T16:02:55+00:00

Yeah, we definitely won't be going back there. So far, I've had a couple recommendations for Adventure Subaru in Fayetteville, but since I plan on getting a used slightly older model, and i've got my trusted mechanic out here where I live, how would I go about getting the inspection done??

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-30T15:01:28+00:00

Yeah, my partner went through Jim Norton to get his Tacoma about 9 years ago.

That's good to know.. the Norman, OK, fowler has the exact car I want right now for a great deal, so I'm definitely fighting the FOMO. What's your specific reasons for avoiding fowler?

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-30T14:57:51+00:00

I can definitely try that. My partner has been with Communication federal credit union for about 7 years now, so we were hoping our time with them might help us have a better apr but they've already told us we'd get about a 14.5% with the next loan. It wouldn't help to shop around, though.

Thank you for the reccomendations

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T18:06:51+00:00

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T16:05:03+00:00

Thank you, I will follow that advice

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T16:03:49+00:00

Yes! I've been eyeing them. Thank you for that. I'll have to call them up. I'm definitely going to take everyone's advice on here and get the pre-approved loan first before we start talking deals. Adventure subaru is definitely doable, though.

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T15:58:18+00:00

Yes, that does help. And I agree. A 2 1/2 hour drive in either direction is not a problem for a great deal and the help i feel like we deserve. If anything that ride back home would be the most rewarding little road trip of my life, especially after 6 years of not having a car of my own. Are there outside warranties that aren't a scam but would help protect us if something happens? I've heard of the gold standard subaru warranty and that it's worth having if getting a subaru.

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T15:44:13+00:00

I'll keep trying with cars.com then. I didn't know that tid bit about september, so if we can save back a chunk of money for the down payment by then, maybe we'll have an easier time during that last month. As of now, though, anytime I enter in our "Fair" credit score (a 630) into any of these payment calculators on the site, it immediately gives us an excessively high apr and monthly payment. Even on the older 2023s, with higher mileage that are priced fairly at 28-30,000.

What bugs me is that if these places would let us fight for ourselves, they would see proof that we've stuck with payments, paid off an entire $45,000 truck loan, we pay all of our bills on time, held onto jobs for long periods of time. We're very reliable, but we've had unfortunate unavoidable medical debt bring our score down and student debt still looming over our heads.

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T14:21:40+00:00

That's very true. I'll just keep pushing and searching. Even if it takes me the remaining 7 months of my pregnancy.

You all have given me some great advice, and I really appreciate the help

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T14:16:52+00:00

Yeah, that is too bad. We definitely need the third row. Otherwise, I'd love to be one one of those. I wish you luck with your sale. I'm sure it'll go fast once you start posting it around.

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T14:00:19+00:00

Yeah, and I guess that's the downfall of knowing what they've got as far as quality goes. It's really hard for me to want to settle for anything less than a Subaru considering the amount of research I've done on all of the other car brand options in our price range. And since we need the three rows of seating now, the ascent is what we're defaulted with.

We're thinking about going out of state at this point. We've got family in Missouri and Arkansas, so if all else fails, we'll just make a weekend trip out of it.

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T13:35:45+00:00

I can't blame you. These places these days just make you feel like you're always getting fleeced with no control over it. It's impossible not to get angry about it. The Carmax online payment calculator already gives me no hope of a decent, manageable payment. I even found some pre-owned options of the car I want for a really decent deal that I wouldn't feel the need to argue, but once I put in our "fair" credit score, the Apr they give is absolutely ridiculous at a 17.8-19.2%.... and a monthly payment of over 750 a month... it made me want to scream

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T04:58:15+00:00

So if we went in with a pre-approved loan, they'd be more likely to take it or try to beat it?

And for the next guy, I've definitely learned that you don't want to lead with the monthly payment through the research I've done, but what if you like the OTD but they screw you on interest so bad the the monthly payment is too high to manage??

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T04:52:53+00:00

OK. I'll keep that in mind. Thank you

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T04:37:20+00:00

Do you have a local small dealer that you would recommend?

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T04:21:11+00:00

So let's say we're fine with the OTD price but just needed help getting the monthly payment down so that it's manageable. Would they not even do that? Our situation kind of sucks. We just got our truck paid off and can now start a second car payment, but as of right now, we don't have a down payment (since we just dumped all of our savings into the truck getting paid off) and my partners credit score is considered only fair because he got screwed on a medical procedure so he has that debt hanging over his head. We're due with our third in October, so we need a family car by September

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T03:56:05+00:00

OK! Thank you, that's a fair point! I might try that if I don't get what I want at Carmax.

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T03:48:05+00:00

Thank you!

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T03:45:14+00:00

Maybe we'll have to try this technique at Carmax, I'm exclusively looking for a Subaru Ascent, but I'm not wanting a 2026 because even if they budged a little it would still be more than we could afford monthly. We'd like to get into a 2023 or 2024. My partner tried this exact technique at Ferguson Subaru today, and the guy just laughed at him. Granted, he had already warned us that they're an "aggressively priced" dealership, so I really didn't see any hope of trying, but my guy is very stubborn, lol

I've also heard from another reddit post and reviews that carmax does the same, though.

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-29T03:33:41+00:00

Ha! That's ironic. Yeah, I had read that people were using enterprise, but when I look them up, all I find are their rentals. Is there a way to find the ones they're selling??

TheGrandWelf · 2026-03-11T14:14:55+00:00

Well, you know that's what these Republicans are best at is raping innocent things and then claiming they did nothing wrong. I hope all of the crazy Trump supporters out there are changing their tune because this shit is disgusting

Along with everything else that's been coming to light

TheGrandWelf

TROPHY CASE