My Car is Boned

[touchofwinter]

Hey folks. It turns out my car is most likely headed for the auto graveyard. The timing belt went and it might have caused all sorts of problems in the vehicle. I am waiting to hear back from the auto place in regards to the numbers, but it ain't looking good. My father always said that I should drive that thing until it's dead, and that day may

Comments

[solarmus]

First step is decide on what you want

[ltldethgrl]

Seconded to what Tim said about the down payment and monthly cost. Based on that, figure out how much the car should cost. From there, know what make & model your options are. It sounds like it's working backward but it's not.

Make sure you *never* tell the dealer what amount you want to pay per month. They really mess with the numbers that way, and you really get screwed.
Just know the final $ amount you want to pay for the car you want, and make the salesguy match that.
Shopping online is huge because you go in armed and informed. It saves you a lot of time and sales pitch. Have print-outs of what you want, what it should cost, and where you can get it at a better price. They hate this.

Getting something certified might mean paying more, but it also means you won't have to worry about surprise repair bills on a used car.

Good luck!