I am thinking of trading in my 05 WRX to 05 or 06 STi. I have saved money and for no apparent reason, I just ended up saving. Since 2005 is closing near to an end, dealers may be willing to drop invoice price a little further. I'm thinking of making the move in August or by fall.

Any recommendation on good dealers in the bay area? I bought mine from Ron Price, but I'm not that happy with their service and I wouldn't want to go back.

 

I too would like some recommendations, as I am planning to get an 05 WRX VERY soon.

Been to Ron Price, was kind of rushed by the salesperson when I was looking at the
car.

Would like to try Carlsen or something.

 

Carlsen and Santa Cruz are both solid dealers. I bought my 04 at Carlsen (Greg Gulbranson was the sales guy, dunno if he's still there) and was pleased with the experience. Give em a shot.

-Bis

 

Santa Cruz was by far the best buying experience I have ever had along with top notch customer service.

 

I am sure you already know this but you are going to take a MASSIVE hit on trading the 05.

First year is the biggest depreciation hit.

I sold my 04 WRX after owning it for 1.5yrs. Bought it for 25k OTD, sold it for 18k private party. Dealer offered 15k on trade.

So I lost 7k. Not to mention my downpayment.

 

i learned not to put ANY downpayment after my first car...

 

Makes sense if you plan on getting rid of the car short term. (like a lease or buying then selling in a year or 2) But if you are planning on keeping the car for awhile, no downpayment is a dumb thing to do. The less you owe from the start, the less you pay finance fees on in the long term, plus the less you finance, the better the APR usually.

see finance 101.

 

Why wouldn't you make a downpayment?
sorry, I am still a credit/money newb.

btw, I didn't put anything down on my car either, the entire amount was financed.
How would making a down payment be a loss vs financing the entire thing? either way you still have to pay the money.

 

If u plan on keeping the car for more than 1.5yrs I would for sure do a downpayment.

Let's say you finance at a 4.5%apr. You put 5k down. That's 5k you aren't paying 4.5%apr interest on that you would be if u didn't put 5k down. Also the less you have to finance, the better your APR will be, most of the time.

Make sense?

 

even with long term...

$30,000 car
4% interest rate
60 months
$552.50 monthly
$33,150 total payment
$3,150 in interest

$30,000 car
4% interest rate
60 months
$368.33 monthly
$32,099.8 total payment
$2,099.8 in interest

$10,000 down saves $1,050.2
$10,000 in small investment with say 3% return
1 yr $10,300
2 yr $10,609
3 yr $10,927.27
4 yr $11,255.09
5 yr $11,592.74

$1,592.74 potential gain from your $10,000

How many people actually put $10k down? If you have $10k down and not buying down your mortgage or get a home would be a worst move than putting $10k down on a car that DEPRECIATE, FAST!

see investment 101

 

see my reply above... you save from the amount of interest you pay at the end of your finance term.

 

Nowadays with car loans it doesn't really matter how big of a loan you are taking out. It doesn't change your rate unless you are talking about a $30,000 car vs. a $250,000 car. Then again, if you can afford to buy a $250,000 car, you won't care much about the rate.

Your rate usually changes with the duration of the term. Shorter term, lower rate. Now, that's just within you. But when you compare from people to people, your credit score plays a big role as well. But same idea applies, amount doesn't matter, duration of the term does.

 

oh just so I won't be too off topic...

Stevens Creek is the WROST dealership, but (people going to hate me for this) they do give the best deal. However, you need to be VERY careful when you negotiate and they most likely will try to pull a fast one on you when it comes time to sign the paperwork.

I've been to Ron Price once and they were bunch of jacka55es (5 years ago).

Santa Cruz is definitly nice and best buying experience I've ever had. But did not have the best price when I was shopping. But if you want to walk in and out in 15 minutes, this is the place to go.

Good luck!

 

I bought my '03 wrx wagon online. Went to one of the websites that sends an email to local dealers... 5 dealers responded and they basically had a bidding war for my sale. Broadway Oakland Subaru gave me the best deal by far ($1k below invoice) and since the price was already set through emails, I walked in, signed some papers and was out of there in about 30 mins. Didn't have to deal w/any sales person's b.s. or anything. They just started their online dept back then, so were really friendly. Of course, all this was done before finding out about i-club.

For all my future car purchases, I plan to do the same. Test drive at a dealership, then buy online. Sooo much more enjoyable!

 

even thought I didnt buy my car from them, albany subaru folks are quite nice