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Financing
• After you've negotiated a price for a new car, you can decide which dealer to buy from by seeing how much they'll give you for the trade-in.
• Find out what your trade-in is worth by checking the Edmunds.com, kbb.com and autotrader.com. By selling the vehicle yourself, you'll get a price about halfway between average trade-in and average retail. A dealer will give you the trade-in price.
• Finance a car for 48 months or less. With a 60-month loan, the value of the car declines much faster than the loan balance. So for much of the five-year period, you owe more than the vehicle is worth.
• Keep the financing separate from the car-price negotiation, too. When you allow the dealer to arrange financing, terrible things can happen.
• Buy a manufacturer's extended warranty or one from your own auto insurer. Don't buy a third-party contract.
• Don't buy an extended service contract from an automobile dealer or anyone else until you've had time to think about it and shop prices. You do not have to make this decision at the moment you're buying your vehicle.
Limit cars loans to 42 months
Auto loan financing is suddenly available to people with damaged credit who may have been turned down for car loans as recently as a few months ago. But is that "yes" to your credit app really a "yes" in your monthly budget? If your payments per month are too high ...
Sweet lease deals on electric cars
Automakers are rolling out great leasing offers on electric vehicles while they sit unloved on dealer lots. Range anxiety has been a big reason why people haven't bought electric cars. That's the fear that you'll run out of charge and have to call a tow truck from the side of ...
Cheap options for new and used cars
With the average cost of cars right around $32,000, is it possible to buy one for less? You betcha! Car buyers keep pushing the price of cars up and up and they keep taking out longer and longer car loans. I read a recent report about some loans stretching out ...
Are you buying more car than you can afford?
Lately, 72-month car loans have been hot. But they're not smart for your wallet. Clark explains why, and suggests what to do instead.
Avoid getting over your head in a car loan
One of the surprises about the Great Recession was that Americans were more likely to default on their home mortgage than on their car loan. But now, delinquencies on car loans are just about the lowest they've ever been -- down to a fraction of 1%. This is virtually unprecedented, ...
Honda rolls out home solar installation initiative
In a surprise move, Honda is now offering customers and would be customers in 14 states a real deal on installing solar at their home. The New York Times reports Honda is making preferential financing available, often at no cost upfront to you, to put solar on your roof. We're ...
Don't get caught in this car financing scam
You finance a new car from a dealership and drive it away. Then days or weeks later, the dealer calls and says the financing didn't go through. Clark warns about a pervasive scam.
Chevrolet deals on mid-size vehicles
Chevy has made a new move that's going to create some real deals in the car market. Get ready to stretch a dollar if you can flex on what you buy!
Why the car market is about to serve up deals
You'd think prices would be rising on the second biggest purchase in most people's lives because the industry is going great guns. But Clark explains why you'll be paying less in 2013.
The Clark Smart steps for buying a new car
The new year looks set to be a great one for car sales both new and used. On the new car front, estimates from market research firm Polk suggest we'll see 15 million cars sold this year. Interest rates are low on auto loans and this is really a win ...
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