So, I'm planning on buying a car (like for real; I have a car and it's a piece of junk that I bought from a private seller 21 months ago and have sunken more money than I paid for it in huge repairs) and was looking for advice.

After looking on the most reputable of places, Craigslist (ha), and not having that much time to really keep looking at a bunch of turds before finding a gem, and against my own stubbornness, I decided to see if I can use some of my savings and trade in my car to help finance a used one.

The car in question is a 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer DE (please don't turn this thread into car opinions; as I just told my husband, it's impossible to buy a car or have a baby without people giving you their opinions on it, haha. I mainly wanna keep this on topic as I'm stressed enough as it is). It's got somewhat high mileage for its age (about 100,000 miles), but the Carfax checks out showing good maintenance and one owner, and no accidents. From reading reviews, Mitsubishis require infrequent and smaller repairs as long as standard maintenance and care are exercised, barring lemons and such. It's also just part of the certified used inventory at an actual Mitsubishi/Nissan dealer, not at a smaller one. This dealership had very good reviews spread across many, many websites, and a huge Facebook following when I checked.

My sister is sending her mechanic to the dealership to check it out after I test drive it so that's a good amount of help. Either way, I know what to look for in the car itself, but the whole financing/debt thing is something that eludes me.

I've been trying to research this the more I came to the conclusion that it might be best for me to look for a newer car and not stick with my 2000 Neon. After repairing the catalytic converter for $300 so it could pass emissions, my mechanic kindly let me know that I need to replace my timing belt and water pump, which is seen in how the car suddenly overheats when the AC is on and the car is stopped a lot. I have to drive the car to school daily, so it's either repair it for $550 and buy myself 3-6 months before the next huge repair, or go for something newer.

BUT YEAH! So the TL;DR version of what I'm saying is: Does anyone have tips for being at the dealer and for the general buying-a-car-at-a-dealer process? I already know I'm supposed to haggle, and since I plan to trade in my old car (I've appraised the trade-in price as is at several other competing dealers [information I'll use if necessary] as well as with Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book), I'm not supposed to mention I plan to trade in until I have the lowered price and interest rate set in stone, and that I should act like I'm going back and forth between financing the car and paying for most of it in cash, despite already deciding I will only be financing less than 1/3 of the price.

What kind of terms should I keep an eye out for in the contract? I'm looking up law glossaries to find out what they mean so I won't be blindsided, but still, haha.

I've never made such a big, important purchase before, so I feel like throwing up. Is that normal? I think it's because I've had hammered in my head growing up to never finance a car, though I feel that the fact that I can pay for most of it and that it's a car that will last longer and in the long run be cheaper than my current that I'm going about it wisely at least. With the interest rate, taxes, fees, trade-in, and downpayment factored in, I should be paying about $70 or less a month for this car, and I think that's worth it since I've paid much more per month for repairs.

I've had a debt-free lifestyle hammered in my head growing up so while I don't carry any credit card debt (not permanent, at least; I leave a very low balance or 0 from month to month), I have a student loan I'm still paying off and am almost done paying part of, so I just feel nauseated thinking that I'm paying for something I won't own for three years... I also have saved up an okay amount of money (relatively, considering I've never grown up with or around money, haha) so it makes me sad seeing half of it go towards this. Oh and then having to pay for full-coverage insurance instead of liability insurance.

But yeah, before anyone thinks this thread was (totally) unnecessary because I should've gone on Google, I have. I've been researching all night and into today but wanted a more personal touch to complement my research. That and my family has terrible credit so I can't really go to them for advice (not their fault).

I also apologize if my OP isn't clear; I wrote this over the course of two hours at work.

First off, the car you're considering is fine. I own a 2010 Lancer Sportback GTS and its been a great car so far. The only thing that concerns me is the relatively high mileage vs. financing it. While they have a decent reputation for reliability, with that many miles you probably will start having some fairly pricey maintenance to perform, not to mention repairs that will begin cropping up. I hate having to spend money on a car for such items while still having a payment.

If you want to continue on with the process I've found its nearly impossible to keep knowledge of the trade out of the deal before you get the car's price hammered out. They will point blank ask you if you have a trade and unless you lie they'll keep wheedling away until you tell them. They'll offer you next to nothing for the Neon - it will shock you. Its not a very good car and has very little residual value, especially at that age. You'd be better off selling it outright than with trading it in. Do that and then have a good knowledge of the Lancer's value for its condition (try Kelly Blue Book for a good ballpark). Also, have financing from a credit union (if you belong to one) worked out so you'll have an option to the dealer. On used cars dealers will offer very high rates of interest - you'll almost always do better with a CU if they'll finance it. They will also try to pad the deal with high priced private warranties (don't do it) and other add-ons that you don't need and just inflate the cost of the car. They will also try to get you to work from the perspective of "What kind of monthly payment can you afford?" Don't let them drag you there. Its another tactic to get you confused and make something seem reasonable (while they extend the length of the contract if you finance with them). Its about the total price of the car before any talk of financing, not your personal monthly budget.

Basically, get rid of the Neon beforehand, have a good idea of what the Lancer is worth and get your financing squared away before you set foot on the lot. Try to keep the deal as simple and clean as you can. Even with all that be prepared for a gut wrenching experience. Buying a car is almost never enjoyable. If it gets too much for you, walk. Don't forget its your money and you are in control. Good luck!

Ooh, thank you. This is exactly what I needed to read 'cause it puts it all together. I have tried selling the Neon (with a full disclaimer of what it needs) but it's been listed for a while in several places with no dice. It needs a new water pump and a timing belt, which made me drop the price pretty low, but since I live in a university town, there are either poor students, rich students whose parents will buy them a new car, or poor immigrant families who just want something that will be cheap and come relatively ready to drive. I'm getting a bit antsy since I drive my car 26 miles a day to go to school and it's overheating more and more each day, it seems.

Initially I was (and still kinda am) against financing a car, especially because I don't make that much money (I make more than other people my age, but I'm also married, going to school, and the sole provider, so it doesn't go very far), so I had to work out a financing plan that would work for my budget, which on that specific car works out at being three years of low payments at a decent interest rate (still hoping that at 23 and having managed credit and debt repayment very well for the last five years that I can even be approved for a good interest rate). It's still really stressful just 'cause I feel like I've hit a wall. I can either fix the car and just brace myself for the next big repair that'll inevitably happen, sell the car (which will take a while and the issue that it has may become unbearable and make the car worth even less), or trade the car in and get a newer one and get shafted on payments since I can't afford a car with lower mileage, haha.

It's making my head spin, which is why I really appreciate the advice.

Toyotas are the most reliable for your buck, namely Prius and some Corolla models.

100,000 miles in 5 years is alot of driving and wear on her but 1 owner with proper maintenance is a good thing. I suggest you do your homework as a used car dealership is a shark tank but if your credit is good then that works in your financing favor (you need full coverage though). Also keep in mind that they mark them up alot more then what they pay and if they're offering a flat rate for any used car then assume they balance that for themselves in sticker price. Ask for a manager/supervisor before you close a deal as they can give you a better price then salesman are allowed to work with.

Good luck and keep your poker face on

Yeah, my dream car was a Prius for the mileage but I can't for the life of me find something in my price range (under USD $10,000) that doesn't have a big battery change coming up soon, sadly.

I think part of me is thinking I should just svck it up and pay for my car's repair, as frustrating as that car has been, haha. In the last 21 months, I've had to replace the transmission, rear brake rotors, oil pan, catalytic converter, O2 sensor, and now the water pump and timing belt. And about every six months, something new has occurred. That and I'm smack dab in the middle of the semester with another one coming up about two weeks after it, so there isn't much time to decide.

You can trade the car in, but they'll just be basically taking it off your hands and will probably jack the price of the other car up to cover most, if not all, of what they give you for the Neon. As far as 100K in five years, it was probably highway mileage and that's not as hard on the car as city miles. Still, at 100K you'll need to replace the timing belt soon. Does it have a manual or automatic (CVT)? If its the CVT you might need to service it as well if the former owner didn't do it. CVT fluid is expensive and it will probably cost you about $200 to have that done. I sympathize with your plight! When I was in college I had a slowly disintegrating Toyota Celica with 160,000 on it and was going to a school 1700 miles away from my parent's home. It was flat scary crossing the Western US in something that old!

It has a CVT, which at first made me think, "Cool!" but then "Ohh..." as I learned that variable transmissions aren't as user friendly. I saw on the Carfax that the transmission fluid was changed recently, as well as all four tires, so I thought that was pretty good. Here in Georgia with so much spread out, I saw that the car was kept in Georgia for all maintenance and that one owner so I'm pretty sure they're mostly highway miles, which is good. Seeing that I drive 26 miles round trip to go to school, 22 for Wal-Mart, 10 for most other supermarkets, 80 to visit family, 100 to head to Atlanta, and am driving about 90-100 miles round trip to see this dealer, I can see how easily that'd add up here. I always get annoyed at how far everything is but am kinda used to it since I grew up in a rural area of California (way more rural than where I live, though it's metropolitanrural) and am kinda used to that.

I ran a projection on the cost of ownership for each car, including insurance and maintenance for the new car and insurance and repairs on the old car (I averaged out the repair costs I've had and found that for every month I've owned the car, I've paid nearly $100 on repairs) and found that the difference until the estimated end of life of the Neon (when I'd have to get a new car anyway) would be $4900, so it all comes down to: Do I want a newsed car now or then? But this thread isn't about that, haha. I'll go ahead and run the numbers for financing so I can approach them with an offer already. I'm reading all the fine print on the prices and making sure I can get that price or at least haggle down to it.

I doubt they'd give me $1000 for the Neon (which is KBB value for my car in Poor condition) but hopefully somewhere around there, even.

CVTs are very user friendly. My Lancer has one and basically just put it in drive and go! You get used to the lack of shift points like in a traditional automatic, but it works basically the same.

Too bad you're not still in SoCal. That place is great for buying a car. So much competition for your business. I bought mine in Huntington Beach. It was worth going down there from NorCal - saved me thousands.

I can relate, every car I've owned has eventually turned into a money pit for me as I couldn't afford better/newer cars each time although I did manage to get good deals on good cars.

Knowing how to drive would be good, having a licence would also be good.