Crazy/Unusual Things You've Done To Buy a Vehicle

[Gasbuggy]

I was recently telling someone how I bought my first Mustang Cobra. It dawned on me how unusual my method was, curious if anyone else has a good story?

Here's mine; it's 2006, I'm 19 or 20, a sophomore in college driving a beat 95 Accord. I had a good enough job that I got my tuition paid without student loans. In state, commuter, not expensive. I asked my parents if they would co-sign on a used car. They are very blue collar, no money but good credit. My dad is driving a Cavalier at the time and my mom had just retired her 85 Caprice for a 98 Chevy Blazer. They agreed to co-sign. After all, a son should drive a better car than both his parents.

I find a screaming deal on a 2004 GTO. They refuse, too expensive. Now they're realizing what is happening. I looked at WS6 Trans Ams next, then they declared "No loans for anything fast! Not buying a coffin."

I saw no point in buying something not fast so I went to Citibank and got a student loan with 10% interest + every dollar I had, and bought Rio Red 99 Cobra with 20,000 miles on it for $12,800 cash. It was beautiful.
The man who sold it to me bought it as a present for himself when he retired from Ford. I figured my parents would freak out when I brought it home but they just said, "oh you bought a Mustang? it's nice." Then a month later, "why are there little snakes on it?"

I didn't understand interest compounding so I realized pretty quick that my loan stinks and I'm going to owe way more than 10%. I opened a credit card with 0% on balance transfers, moved the loan over and paid it off gradually at cost.

No regrets, buying that car was one of the best moves I ever made. 3 years later I sold it for 11k.

 

[demarpaint]

I took a ride one state over to NJ years ago to buy a Chevy wagon from an acquaintance. I knew the vehicle and its history so it was worth the trip. For me that was the only unusual thing. Oh and I traded a beater van with a bad engine for asbestos removal in a house I owned. It was win, win for the both of us, and air sampling proved the guy that did the removal did a perfect job.

 

[Railrust]

Went up to Maine to buy a mini van for my family 20 years ago or so, brought two grand with me and a credit card. The guy starts talking to me about his used car loan rates, I ask him how much of the vehicle I can throw on my credit card, he says...I think all of it. I put two thousand down cash and charged the rest on a zero percent interest card. Worked out great, no loan and therefore I didn't have to put full coverage on the van. When the zero interest promotion ran out I transferred it to another zero interest card. I did that for a couple years until it was paid off.

On another car - a Honda CRV - we were set to sit down with the finance manager and the guy was such a jerk that I was really getting turned off. He was making us wait, he'd disappear, we'd wait again...he'd argue with us over the rate. I went home and thought...you know what, I'm just paying cash. The next day his smug face was sitting there waiting for us with all the loan paper work for us to sign and I just whipped out $14,000 grand cash and laid it on his desk. That felt pretty good, probably not a great idea to tie up $14,000 cash in a vehicle when the finance rates were so low, but I still have the vehicle and not one single thing on that SUV has broken. Nothing. Had it for eight years now, it doesn't owe me a thing and then some. I can probably sell it today for $7,000. Eight years of car ownership and if I only end up spending $7,000 equates to $72 bucks a month. My cable bill was twice that (until I switched to Roku). Now I have to find a way to beat these [censored] cell phone companies, lol.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Back in 2007 the price of oil was through the roof and the Canadian dollar was worth more than the American dollar

. I used a spec sheet to order a 2008 Chev Suburban 3/4 ton with a 6.0 LS engine from a dealer in Montana. Had to wait for it to get built than picked it up in the spring of 2008 and imported it back into Canada. The pricing in Canada did not reflect the strength of the dollar so just bought it in the USA instead. I still have it and it has 180,000 miles.

 

[NYEngineer]

Does calling the dealership manager an A hole and then paying cash for the entire car so I never have to see or hear him again count?

My wife REALLY wanted this Kia Sorento. Otherwise I would have just walked.

 

[AZjeff]

In January 2002 I won an Ebay auction for a 1986 Suzuki Samurai. It was 300 miles away in Ohio, we made that trip with a tow dolly in scattered snow showers. Still have the Samurai.

4 years ago I drove 6 hours one way into California to buy a Mitsubishi Montero for an offroad toy project. It was grossly misrepresented and I drove home without it.

 

[Kira]

Drove from NE New Jersey (Hackensack) through to Portsmouth, NH THEN diagonally (NNW) through New Hampshire to Middleton THEN southwesterly to the Champlain Valley to bunk.
I did this all in one day to see 3 Volvo V70's.

All 3 were deficient in some way.

 

[Alfred_B]

Bought an expensive car on a dealers auction from New Jersey.

Will never buy a car from New Jersey car dealers again.

 

[eljefino]

Took Thursday and Friday off from work (plus the weekend) to go 850 miles south and buy a $1100, 23-year old Cavalier, then again to do the same thing with an $800, 32-year old diesel Mercedes.

One broke down on the way home but I fixed it in a Lowes parking lot.

 

[carviewsonic]

Drove nearly 6 hours to look at our 2005 Buick, with a bank draft for a lot less than the owner was asking. A gamble on my part. I wanted the car, it only had 24000 km on it and was mint, but the asking price was out to lunch. He took the cheque and grumbled about it, but I paid what I thought it was worth. We use it for summer highway trips, has 32000 km on it now.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by Alfred_B
Bought an expensive car on a dealers auction from New Jersey.

Will never buy a car from New Jersey car dealers again.


Interesting, I always see super cheap cars in NJ that are cheaper than the surrounding states.

Last car I bought was in New York. Private seller though. Called him up, got the vin got a bunch of info. Went down to the bank the next day and got a cashier's check and then drove about 4 hours to see the car and another 4 hours back. It was fine and we did the paperwork there. Went home and got the plates and paperwork done and went back a few days later. Took a bus, subway, commuter rail and cab to pick it up and drive back home, that took all day.

 

[Nick1994]

I haven't done anything too wild.

Drove 100 miles to Tucson to get my Sonata.

Bought a 2001 Buick Lesabre 2 years ago with 250k miles from an auction sight unseen. I drove it home! $480 after taxes and fees.

A few years ago went to look at a 95 Camry I saw in a newspaper ad. Didn't care for it and left. As I was leaving I called another newspaper ad for a 2000 Camry (different phone number) and the same guy answered the phone. That was weird. Was a wayyyy nicer car for $200 or so more.

I drove 300 miles round trip once to look at a Corolla that looked brand new (was 15 years old at the time) in the pictures. Showed up and it was in terrible shape. What a waste of time.

 

[qjohn]

Many years ago I was a poor, naive 18 year-old looking to buy my first motorcycle. In the classified was a Kawasaki 250, not running and at a good price, so I went to see it. The seller said a friend of his had given it to him as payment for a debt and he did not have the title but promised to pursue the title for me if I bought it. He didn't know what was wrong with it but said it didn't run. Of course, I bought it and paid cash.

With a new battery for the lights and fresh gas, it started right up and the title, indeed, arrived about a month later.

 

[ecotourist]

When I was a university student one of my friends really wanted a Triumph GT6 but the seller wanted far too much for his limited means. So he had 2 friends go and kick the tires and make really low offers. So when my friend came along and offered a low but not too unreasonable offer the seller accepted.

But he didn't get to keep it very long. He did have limited means and the car was a Triumph. Enough said.

 

[wings&wheels]

Bought an MGB flip project w/ ~19 years of pocket change that I tossed in a series of baskets, jugs, etc. Every day I'd put whatever change I had into a container then, when filled, put it away and fill another. These aren't the most desireable B's, and rough ones are priced accordingly, but they do make nice drivers when well sorted.

Pic of the car when done and before sale to new owner.

 

[loneryder]

I'm guessing it was late 80's. I factory ordered a black Pontiac Bonneville SSE from a dealer in Palmyra, Pa.. I was in N. Va. The dealer offered invoice plus pricing. When it came in I had to find a way up there. A customer/friend had his own plane and offered to fly me up. He picked me up in Leesburg Va. and we started North. We got almost there and saw a huge black cloud front(weather) headed toward us. He turned around and went back to his home base at Montgomery airfield in Md. He then drove me to a bus station in Frederick Md. After some time waiting I caught a local bus that went to Palmyra. It stopped at every little town in southern Pa. I was about to jump out of my skin. We finally got there after dark. I picked up the car in the dark and started the drive home....in the pouring rain thru all kinds of construction. My brand new car which I hadn't even gotten a good look at. It did feel good to be in that new car. It was one of the nicest cars I've ever had. Had the 3800 engine and sport suspension. So smooth and quiet. Every woman who ever got in it said ouuu nice car. It was the stressful day from [censored]. From riding in that small plane to that bus ride and then the weather.

 

[ekpolk]

Got my little sister involved.

Unusual, yes; crazy, definitely not. She's my "little sister" but has been extremely successful in business. Anyway, I was stuck with my near-dead car at a dealer hundreds of miles from my home and my destination, bleeding money on a hotel and cab rides to and from the service department. They had me by the {you pick the body part} and they knew it -- or so they thought. When the last attempt to fix failed, and the actual cost became clear (4-5x the $ value of the car), replacement seemed inevitable, their poor sale offer to me for a new car reflected the circumstances. Glad I decided to take an evening to think and consult "my people."

Overshortening the story, when sister heard what was up, she got really, really mad. This is not a good thing, if you are the object of said anger. She signed up to play "bad cop" and boy, did she. She ID-ed a car similar to the one I was looking at, near her home, (north of NYC, I'm down in Florida!). She got on the phone with the sales guy and told him she was buying that car, that afternoon, with cash, and that she was flying me up to NYC with excess FF miles, I'd buy that car directly from her, and be back in a couple days to take care of disposing of the old car. Suddenly, the deal in Florida got a waaaaaaaay better. I don't know if the folks down here looked, but the "alternate" car was on the ground at a dealer in southern Connecticut, ready for sale.

The key, though, is not the particular facts of my situation, but rather, that we were able to make clear that we had other options, and were ready to walk out the door without another thought, if they wouldn't get reasonable. Whatever it takes to credibly convey that -- do it.

And yes, I hereby permanently, totally and humbly withdraw and declare void any complaint I ever made to anyone about my "annoying little sister." Seriously, it's really nice to have people who are willing to step up and help when you badly need it.

 

[Wolf359]

I was helping a friend buy a car once. I forget the exact model, but it was some kind of American iron with a decent sized engine. Anyway, at the time they were in negotiations and the sales guy was stuck on $4500 which I thought was way too high. I told them $2500 and they wouldn't budge. So I told my friend that we were leaving, so they instantly agreed to the $2500.

Anyway, afterwards I talked to my friend and it turns out the check they made out to buy the car bounced. All that great negotiating for nothing. They were recounting the story to me and said that the sales guy told them that the check bounced higher than the building. Never heard that term used before but will keep it in mind. All I got was a good laugh out of the bouncing check story.

 

[KE7JFF]

My grandmother on her last few cars bought them at sticker price but would always negotiate by getting them to add on a bunch of dealer upgrades. She figured if they want that price, they should make it worth it. Which is how her Olds 98 had a trailer hitch..

 

[Gasbuggy]

My brother and I drove his almost new F150 from Eastern PA to Missouri to pick up my Cadillac. We went through a serious snowstorm and by the time it was over the car trailer was covered in about 2" of ice. We had to get shovels and hammers to smash it all off the next day because it was not going to melt. After I paid for the car we found out that the caddy couldn't get onto the trailer because the ramp angle was too aggressive. So my brother drove over the landscaped island of a nearby apartment complex to get the back wheels of the truck up higher and tilt the ramp. A seemingly brilliant plan. However, this CTS-V weighs 4200lbs. So as I'm slowly climbing the ramp while my brother is watching closely, the entire back end of his truck lifted off the ground and sent it rolling forward. He yelled go! I whomped the throttle, up onto the trailer and disaster was averted.