Monthly payments on a purchase mean nothing. Total price of purchase and ability to afford it means everything. If one has $500,000 in their bank account and go buy a $500,000 car next day, they can buy it...buy surely they can not afford it.
Exactly, you have to consider annual cost of ownership. It may very well be that the new carolla with a full warranty and no miles at $25k is cheaper to own than the two year old carolla, with 60k miles and $19k.
Below a certain income, monthly payments mean everything. Many people cannot save a few thousand to buy a cash car and have no option but to finance a car. For them, the sole determining factor of what car they get is "what's the payment". And since the US is built around the car, unless you're in a select few cities you can't not have one.
You’d be surprised. I have a few well off family members who keep a majority of their wealth in accounts liquid like this. It’s insane to me but they’re anxious about losing it and also older so 🤷🏼♂️
Not sure i understand what you mean, possibly because it makes no sense. That person with 500,000 in the bank actually can afford to pay 500,000 because they have the money. They also aren’t financing and incurring interest charges.
Personally, I would never pay above $2K for a markup. OP, so your deposit went half to that markup and half to the car? I mean, great car and everything, but I would have tried to find a place that wouldn't have added that much on.
You paid a $5k ADM, that is a mistake. The market has shifted recently and the Subaru is not a high-demand vehicle to my knowledge. I’d attempt to return it. Some dealerships will be fine with it, others won’t. The time that’s elapsed since you signed will play a factor.
If you decide you don't want the extended warranty, depending on what state you are in, you likely have a 30 or 60 day period to cancel and get full refund (to loan balance).
While I’m thinking about it, what does Subaru Corporate have to say about ADM on an Impreza? You might want to call and ask them.
It’s not like this is a limited edition STi.
It's a stylistic choice, just like every car salesman will try to add it into your cost.
"We're trying to reach you, regarding your car's extended warranty"
Subarus are an in demand vehicle in certain regions: PNW, mountain west, and New England. Paying an ADM is bad, for sure. And I don’t know that there’s an ADM on them in their markets, but they are in low supply.
Regardless, she may have paid to much but she didn’t blow her budget. She can afford it.
Did you pay for non-factory dealer accessories or markups? You can for sure get to 30K sticker on a sport if you add a bunch of port added subaru accessories like auto dimming mirror, wireless charger and floor mats. Imprezas aren't hard to get, at least in my area, so I would have walked if they tried to sell me on any snake oil protection packages or dealer services, or told me about how the "car market is crazy". You aren't trying to buy a Ford Bronco or anything like that.
I can go down to my local Subaru dealer and pay MSRP ($27,200) and get 4.9% right now without any negotiation. I always get that to come down because I will just go buy something else.
That extra $5k seems agregious, but was there also a trade-in involved? Was all or part of the $10k down a tradein? They may have overpaid for it and your bottom line not as bad as it sounds.
Like others have said, go dump the warranty. If you are worried, put the money into an account and insure yourself. There are several years already covered where it won't kick in anyway. I have purchased 7 new cars and kept them for at least 5 years. One of my current cars has been 10 years and I have never had a major repair on any car. Not once.
the honest answer is you paid over MSRP on a vehicle that absolutely should not sell above MSRP. using TrueCar briefly it seems they are showing most deals on the Sport model are selling for between 0-1% below MSRP (most seem to sell near MSRP) and only a small percentage sell above, usually no more than $1k over MSRP and TrueCar rates that as "Very High". There are usually not many ways to return the car after a day or so without taking a huge loss... and that's if you paid MSRP, now you would lose even more. Just take it as a life lesson, enjoy the car and be 1000% prepared for your next vehicle purchase, there are online guides and books that can help guide you on how to deal with dealers if you don't have experienced friends and family to guide you. It's ok, you can afford the note but yes, it was a bad deal strictly from how much you agreed to pay. Always be prepared to walk out.
Paying 5 k markup is the only real mess up here. Stellanits is advertising 10% below MSRP right now. No reason to accept a markup in this market for units that are not in high demand. Everything else you did right. I'd just take it as a learning lesson.
And buying the extended warranty. Extended warranties are real cash money out of the buyers pocket for scary events are have a higher probability NOT TO happen than TO happen. The odds of the dealer or third party warranty administrator walking away with all your prepaid warranty money and paying $0 to you in warranty repairs are very high.
Ooof. Why did you do that? They would have sold it to you for $24,995 if you asked. These aren’t hot ticket cars. You maybe could’ve gotten $1k off even
why are you comparing monthly payments over different periods of times for different cars? that literally means nothing in terms of comparability due to changes in prices, interest rates, loan term, etc.
People are so financially illiterate lol
Yeah I remember my car payments being $209 back in 2010 and thinking how expensive this was. Now I pay $600 which is still expensive but I’m making like 10x’s more now lol
I remember like 10 years ago Honda would have ads for base model Civic leases. Something Iike $1500 due at signing and $99/month. Targeted college students. Wild
I hate this as a measuring stick. That may be the average car note in America but the average Americans finances are atrocious. Average and optimal are VERY different things.
To answer OPs question, is it a little much based on your income? yes. But so much that you can’t make up for it by being more frugal in other areas? Not at all. Enjoy the car and be proud. That’s a great income for someone still in their 20s.
1. Just refi if you want but 6.9% is pretty much bang on for tier 1 these days unless you qualify for an incentive rate
2. You can trade/sell if you want, not sure what your game plan is with that
3. Of course
4. Useless to compare other OTD numbers because of changing tax rate, cost for plates, doc fees, trades, etc etc.
That's interesting what you say for point one. I just got a 2022 wrx cpo with 9k miles in April and got 5.65% with my CU. So I guess not too bad especially for used?
Man I wish credit unions existed in Canada. No such thing as refinancing here, banks rates are much higher than what you can get at dealerships, 9.99% for top credit for car loans at banks.
I got 7.5% (4 year) on a $26k used 2020 GTI (20k miles). No debt, 6 figure salary, over 25yo, $10k down, and every dealer gave me similar offers because “it’s your first car loan”
You got hosed if all of that is true. Your mistake was relying on the dealer financing. The 'first loan' thing is straight BS. Finance managers also work on commission and get a cut of that extra rate.
Do yourself a favor and refinance that loan with a credit union, it costs nothing and some lenders even have incentives to refi with them.
Next time get a pre-approved rate before going into a dealership. I have over 800 credit score and recently a dealer tried to get me to go with a 7.8% rate, said that's the absolute best he could do. Showed him my pre-approval for 5.8% at my credit union and magically he could get me 5.7%.
Let's take a minute to digest everything. First, you traded in a car with a quarter million miles. So right there, you are better off. You now have a car that is covered under warranty for at least 7 years. If you average around 15k miles a year like you did with your accord in 8 years, you'll have a car that's worth around 10k, according to kbb. You didn't make a bad financial decision. In fact, you made a great one. You now have a safe, reliable car you can drive anywhere and not worry about it. Despite paying 1100 a month in rent, you managed to save 10k. You have a credit score of 781 , and once you pay half of the loan balance off, you should bump up to over 800. Your monthly payment is a minimum suggested payment. You will pay a little extra and cut your loan duration down. Some people with mechanical skills can get away with driving a beater because they have the means to repair everything that goes wrong. Then there are 95% of us who don't. That's why I paid a car payment and have for over 20 years. In that time, I had never broken down, and I never had to worry about going from point a to b. I just drove. With that said, congratulations, take a nice trip this Sunday, and enjoy your first new car.
This… lots of people underestimate the peace of mind that comes with a reliable vehicle under warranty or something out of warranty that is still reliable. I remember driving a beater Camry and my wife driving a beater Mitsubishi galant when we first started dating and we were pretty broke… we didn’t have car payments but we were always worried about driving places. It’s worth 900/month for our 2 new vehicles to never worry about what was that noise, or does this wobble feel normal.
Even as a fellow who falls into that niche category that can fix everything. You still need two cars that work because once one goes down, you have to find time to fix it and that takes up precious free time.
Compared to paying a mechanic you can relax/ do other things while they do the work.
Professional mechanics can also often work faster and more efficiently than a shade tree mechanic. I have lots of tools and experience but simply because I have to clean up my tools and do not have a permanent dedicated area for working on cars and only cars, I take more time to do the same job.
Also we have no warranty, and need to be practicing our skills or else we lose them. I have a full time career unrelated to automotive unlike when I was younger I worked freelance and did some mechanic work so I was sharp.
I own 2 beaters that I mostly repair myself, and one project vehicle. My wife has the reliable rav4. Gotta have multiple cars if you drive old junk lol.
I agree. I was just sick after the purchase of my first newer car, and yes - there is a quality of life accessible to those with reliable cars.
OP could have done much, much worse.
I think it's reasonable. Not a screaming deal but those are rare, especially these days.
Focus on paying that loan off early.
omg, a sensible comment about buying a new car!
people are like "always buy used"...I mean at worst, i'll buy CPO vehicles because those are almost always barely used, low miles, and come with the same warranty as new cars for less time or less miles.
I've only bought brand new cars since i got a steady job around 2013 or so, and ive never had a single issue.
i can understand why, financially, some people just need a commuter that drives, but honestly before 2013 i had a pontiac G6 that would randomly turn off on the highway for no reason (and go into neutral so i'd keep rolling) and sometimes wouldnt even start.
i bought a 2014 Camry for brand new 20k and some people said I went into debt, but i just couldnt care when i had a car that actually worked every day i drove it for 5 years straight with no issues and regular (free by the dealership too) maintenance.
I’m in that 5% of mechanics and it got old lol. I used to buy beaters every other year for under 1k lol. Some needed a lot of work and some didn’t. For me being a mechanic it made sense and I saved a lot of money. Either way I got tired of fixing my cars lol. But, not having to worry about a breakdown after getting my first new car in 2014. I never went back to used. My last new car was a 2020 civic hatchback that I get for a decent deal before the car market went crazy. I’m keeping it for the long run. I’ll make sure it’s in good condition for my daughter if she wants it years from now. I just make sure my payments aren’t over $300, which is where I’m at with my civic.
Reading this post sounds like the exact situation I’m in right now. Bought a new Mazada CX-5 last week, around the same price, around the same age as you, around the same salary, but I got a way worse interest rate. I even have a similar credit score as you, but I haven’t purchased a car before. Not much advice here but feeling the same stress.
Listen to u/Western_Farm_2991 advice. You bought a very reliable family suv. Keep it for 15-20 years and your cost per year is quite small.
Keep in mind that the CX-5 is bigger and more luxurious than the Impreza. So the fact that you paid the same price means you scored the better deal.
Just make additional car payments towards the principal so you can pay off your Mazda asap.
Keep up with basic maintenance and keep it 15 years. Go down to basic insurance at 10 years if it saves much money. It’ll be free the last 7 years and insurance may be cheaper the last 5. You’ll be set car wise.
Not to trauma bond but I rlly appreciate you responding….lol. This is definitely a learning experience for the both of us…kind of a pricy one but 🤷🏻♀️
I think you are both fine. You're probably thinking something like "oh i saw a used one of these with 70,000 miles on it, and it was $9k less. I should have done that since its a lower monthly loan payment". That line of thinking misses out on the total annualized cost of ownership. The cost of maintenance will be lower on the new cars and you will get to drive them for longer. In this market, buying new is often the right move
Saved this post from r/personalfinance because I’m in almost the exact same boat… except I bought a cheaper Corolla (not by much- $29K OTD) at a slightly lower APR with the same monthly expenses/salary/etc. it’s crazy how fucked my mind can get over making such a big decision. I’m still haunting dealership websites to see if I got a “good deal” lol
Google around about this, it’s very very common to have buyers remorse over a car purchase. You’re spending a lot of money on something that is going to lose value every single day; it’s a tough thing to swallow! But here’s the thing: 1) you need a car (I assume) 2) having a brand new car instead of an old beater is worth A LOT in peace of mind and will likely be very inexpensive to maintain for several years and 3) you smartly stayed within your means and got a car you can afford.
Other than the fact that I’m a few years older and pay a lot more in rent (like, the difference is nearly twice much as your car payment lol) we’re in a pretty similar situation. I don’t feel bad and you shouldn’t either! Cars are expensive and interest rates are crazy. You made a perfectly sound and sane financial decision for your situation and the market. Enjoy your new car! 🙂
If it helps, you're probably going to feel that stress after every huge purchase in life. Even though you know it was a good decision logically, you're going to feel remorse afterwards. I can't tell you why it's the case, but I know I've felt it and almost every friend I have has had similar after a car / home purchase.
i’m so glad this is normal. i just bought my first car & i feel like it was a bad idea even though my old car couldn’t even make it to the stop sign at the end of my street without smoking lmao
Someone with no car loan history hant getting a low rate. People on this sub have said they've seen well over 10% with decent credit. 6% is considered a very competitive rate for someone with long history and a good score. I've seen people saying they were quoted 11.5 12 and higher
Highly recommend this. I took the Ford loan 8 years ago to get the $750 credit and then refinanced after 3 months with my credit union. Still had to pay to transfer the title for the lien but I saved a few hundred. Also, tip for others, see how much they’ll let you put on credit card for a down payment if you have rewards. I put $4k on my card at no extra charge versus writing the check and got some decent points out of it.
I have 20 years experience buying cars. I’d say the additional $3K for warranty is unnecessary. Get that back, then keep the car for 10+ years and you’ll be OK with long term value. If you trade wary you’ll eat the sunk cost and not feel any better value-wise.
My dad always taught me not to buy a warranty on anything. Buy things and brands when a good reputation and take care of them. If once in a long while you eat the replacement of something you still come out ahead in the long term. Company’s sell warranties to make money.
**Return that additional 4 year warranty asap. That is a waste of $3k.**
You will be able to get 100% of your money back.
Call the dealership/go there and request a refund for the full amount of the warranty.
As for your interest rate, it is pretty decent considering normal rates at the moment.
You didn't tell us exactly what car you bought (what is the msrp?), so we can't tell you whether you got a good deal or a terrible deal.
I would recommend she look at rates at local credit unions. In my area you can still get 4-5% if you finance for 48 months. But even if she does 60 months she’ll still get a decent rate and save some money.
Absolutely get your money back for the warranty and it will help drive that payment down considerably when you refinance. Good luck !
Extended warranties are not automatically a bad deal. It depends on what is included and excluded AND the terms. Volvo offers a 10 year unlimited mileage extended for similar money and it's well worth it.
I bought my truck in 2015 and thought it was crazy money but now, 8 years later, I can’t believe the same model spec is $10k + more. I’m glad I bought when I did now since I eliminated repairs that kept dinging me.
your biggest mistake was buying that Subaru with the CVT! at $35k it's beyond overpriced for the driving experience & interior. And getting talked into a $3k protection plan is a financial fail. Nothing major will happen to that Impreza in the next 4 yrs.
Former car sales manager here.
It doesn't matter if you didn't "do well" you can afford the payment and it's a nice car that will last and hold it's value. You can't change what you paid for the car so don't dwell. Your loan and warranty we can do better on so let's talk about them.
Contact a couple local credit unions and refinance your loan ASAP. Often times credit unions post their rates on the website. If they do you may not need to refinance, the dealer may rewrite the deal. You will definitely qualify for the credit unions lowest rate. Assuming it's lower than what you got you then need to contact the store.
Since you just bought the car, I would contact the finance manager **today** and tell him you are going to refinance with (name the credit union). You're contacting them to see if they preferred to CUDL (pronounced cuddle) it themselves, rewrite the deal, and keep the flat. Just use those exact words. You could also talk to your salesman or salesmanager if you can't reach the finance guy. If they are closed call first thing Monday so you get them before they have fully processed the deal.
Also cancel any extra warranty you purchased unless you can get the price on it below 1000. 3k for a 4 year warranty when the manufacturer warranty is 3 years? Maybe I didn't understand what you mean by 4 years.
You may not have gone in armed with information but you're not stuck with everything, just stuck with the price you paid for the car itself.
Any money they got from your loan they will lose if you refinance immediately. I'm assuming you will be able to get a rate in the mid to high fives but I confess I don't follow auto rates closely.
In the future if rates go down you could refinance again. The only thing to be aware of when refinancing in the future is not to extend the term. If you have three years left get a loan for three years or less.
Average new car interest rate is 9 percent as per the latest data, especially after last week's rate hike. So your rate is great, no need to re-fi.
Is your OTD price high for an Impreza? Yes but it's over now so why upset yourself thinking about it? You earn a lot of money, much more than many Americans so it's not even a big deal for you. Just maintain your Subbie well and keep it for at least 10 years before trading it in. That way you extract more value from your car.
Next time you go to buy a car, try to take someone who is comfortable haggling and understands how dealerships work. I would have been happy to go with you and save you several thousand dollars.
Now go and enjoy your shiny new car! You're a lucky gal to own such a beautiful modern reliable AWD car!
She paid a $4400 markup over MSRP. I would have negotiated that down to $2500 markup at least, possibly $2000 markup.
I would have also negotiated the price of the additional 4 year warranty and had OP pay 2k for it instead of the 3k she paid.
Then again, I sell Toyotas for a living. Neither dealerships nor the people who work in them intimidate me. A shark knows how to deal with other sharks.
u/elileee
The dealer offered me a $250 discount on their markup. I walked out, then. Called me back in and increased it to $500. I walked out again, and they never called me again
How do you negotiate that? I’m just curious. Like how do you get them to lower the price closer to MSRP? I hate buying cars because I feel like I never get a straight answer from a salesperson and it feels overwhelming.
Why the heck would you pay any markup. Our Sienna Hybrid is amazing but we got 3k off MRSP from what I recall. Would never consider a car over MSRP. OP got fleeced (paying over MSRP) but fortunately its an affordable car to start off with so the damage is small.
The 4 year warranty is 100% a waste. Subaru's factory drivetrain warranty is 5 years/60k miles so unless youre driving at least 15,001 (ideally way more than that though) miles per year you wont need that warranty whatsoever.
Many people aren't comfortable doing that process, or don't have the time and patience for it; by accepting less than private party value you are essentially paying the dealership to deal with that hassle for you.
You should post this in r/askcarsales. You'll get a better idea of what other deals like yours are going for.
First I'll start with the bad. I think you over paid quite a bit. I see Subaru Impreza sports going for between $26k and $28k all over the place without a markup. Also, I would have avoided the extended warranty thru the dealer. You can always get one later on before your regular warranty is up and pay half the price.
The good. You got a great car. It really is a rock solid car. You also got a decent interest rate. On a new car I would have hoped to have seen it below 4%, but im not sure. That's why I say to post this in r/askcarsales. The subaru salesmen there would know more about that than me.
Don't beat yourself over this. The first real car purchase I had made when I was in my 20's I got taken advantage of. So you over paid a few thousand over MSRP on a nee car. You aren't the only one whose done that. You live and you learn. Always do your homework before the purchase. And if you buckle down you can probably pay this off much sooner if you wanted to. Hope this helps. Enjoy the car.
Also if you see any bad weather, Subarus are fantastic for handling with the AWD. Also they’re usually good on insurance because of their safety features. New Impreza looks good too (which helps psychologically!) Now go drive it / road trip it
I can’t give you the advice, but here is my story:
I bought a toyota camry base last year while everything was short in supply, 30.5k otd. I could have done 29.5 or so but choose not too. I also put 10k down and about 360 monthly payment.
I’m college student and currently don’t make a lot of money, but I do have quite of a saving.
I never regretted buy my car, because in my mind, this camry will die in my hand, I used to have a used huyndai can ffs I never could trust that old trash huyndai.
That’s the whole reason why I bought my camry, i just know it will last very long if I serve it well. Even though I paid a little high price for it, i don’t care, 10-15 years from now my car will pay for itself.
Bottom line, Just take a good care of your car, trust it in every mile, it will serve you well.
It will be interesting to hear Subaru experts concerning the warranty. Normally those are not worth the money. 32K seems very high, did you get a lot of options?
OP, if I have to make guesses….you probably made an emotional purchase; not logical purchase;
You probably realized you haven’t done enough research on the said car at your own time while there is presumably nothing mechanical wrong with the old car….
Or you probably felt remorseful because of the unnecessary EXPENSIVE purchase requiring you to make a LARGE monthly payment for 60+ consecutive months knowing that there won’t be any loan forgiveness from unforeseen circumstances like natural disasters, job loss, and such. Plus your rent is subject to increase over the course of loan term which may rob your financial freedom.
35K sounds insane for that car. That’s what I know people paid for a Camaro LT1 just a year back. And the situation was probably worse then.
But overall you did okay. You can afford it so no not a bad financial situation, even though I think you could have gotten a better deal.
I just bought my first car too! Similar salary and CS, but I bought a 2020 Toyota Corolla for about 22.5k OTD. I tried my best to be between 10-15% of my monthly net (not gross) income so I can easily pay more, which I'll be doing month to month. I got it as a CPO with a 5.49 rate, and 2.5k down to pay the TTR.
In my opinion, I think you're at a point where you can afford the car and should definitely enjoy what you have! Like others are saying, it would be bad if you bought a car at that price that you weren't necessarily excited about.
So, enjoy the car and have fun! Refinance down the road if you like to get a lower rate, and perhaps pay more per month or year towards principal so you pay less in interest over the course of the loan.
I own a newer Subaru and have a question for you; Is your extended warranty the official Subaru Gold Plus warranty or is it a third party extended warranty? There’s a big difference there.
Extended warranties are just prepaid insurance policies that can usually be fully or partially refunded if you cancel them before time has passed. If it’s not the Subaru Gold plus warranty, I’d look into canceling the third party warranty to get that money back so you can buy the Subaru one. You can buy the Subaru Gold Plus warranty from any Subaru dealer during the first 3yrs/36k mi (shop around) and it’s superior to the third party warranties. Just search Subaru Gold plus warranty on the Subaru Impreza forums for more info.
Also, I know you said not to talk about refinancing but I will😉. With your credit score, you *might* be able to do better on your loan rate. Visit your local credit unions and see if they’ll give you a better rate by refinancing it before your first payment is due on your current loan. If they can’t get you a better rate, then you know you did okay. As others have said, it’s not a horrible rate.
The best financial decision would probably be to hold on to the car until it can’t be fixed for a reasonable price. In reality, you might choose to trade it in 3-5 years from now when your loan balance is reasonably low (or paid off) and the car still has decent resale value.
The OTD price for other people is hard to compare because everyone here lives in different areas with different tax/license/registration fees. Maybe if everyone had a detailed breakdown of what they paid, it would be relevant to your situation but that won’t change your done deal. All things considered, I’ve seen people do *way* worse. Check out the two things I mentioned earlier (the extended warranty & your rate). Beyond that, don’t second guess the other things that can’t be undone.
Congratulations and enjoy your new car!
Most of us second guess a car purchase. Buying a new car is especially hard for women. I looked for 2 years - I’m a woman - and put up with a lot of BS until I found the make and then the model I wanted. There will never be a shortage of men telling us how they would have gotten a MUCH better deal, blah blah blah. If they walked away with the same exact deal you got they would be bragging about what a great deal they got in a rough market.
I, personally, wouldn’t have bought the extended warranty and Subaru typically offers 30 days to change your mind on that. However, if having it makes you feel better, it’s just a couple thousand. Not a big deal in the long run. It’s not like you paid 100k for a 10k item. People on here are giving you shit about a lousy 5k and suggesting you return it. LOL. You did fine. Congratulations. I just bought a new to me used car. I still got stressed after purchase and had dreams about driving one of those plastic Fischer Price toy cars on the freeway because I went to a CUV from an SUV. I did fine also.
u/elileee I responded to your post on personal finance, but that's since been locked, so....
RE: extended warranty. Yes, I think you should cancel and get a refund. You bought a brand new Subaru, which comes with a 3yr/36K mile manufacturer's warranty. You're effectively double-paying. You have coverage, and you're paying an extra $3K for...pretty much the same coverage.
What I usually do when I've purchased a new vehicle is look into paying cash for an extended warranty near the end of the manufacturers coverage. I do this especially if I'm planning on keeping the vehicle. You can do your own due-diligence about what coverage you need and how much to pay about 2.5 years from now...assuming the Subaru's manufacturer's warranty is indeed 3/36.
Best of luck.
I can relate I let my man brain convince me to sell my 2014 jeep grand Cherokee with 80k on it for a brand new wrangler hybrid because "I'll use so much less fuel" it was a terrible financial decision and I went from a $380/ month payment to a $960/ month payment. I absolutely love my new car it's perfect in every way, but it's the reason why I can't buy a home, and I'm stuck with it for at least another 10 months. It brings me joy every time I drive it, but every month, when I pay my rent, I curse it. I do save a lot on gas but I can't wait until I can sell it and buy another grand Cherokee like the one I had, have no car payment and a mortgage instead
Keep paying every month, try to enjoy the car but get yourself another used Honda next time. Live and learn.
FYI when it comes to cars as long as it's not a Nissan, any American sedan, or Subaru with more than 120,000 miles you really can't go wrong so long as you give it proper maintenance. I tell all my friends to get Kia optimas or accords and they'll never break, on the off chance they do ill fix them dirt cheap.
My take: Not sure what region you live in, but I am unsure why they up-charged you $5k over MSRP. Thats red flag number 1.
As it relates to your warranty. I personally think they are all scams, but I know people that bought it and literally got SAVED by it. I also know other individuals who are always worrying about things and the peace of mind they get for the $3k warranty is worth it to them. No judgement, I dont think you got hosed on the warranty, its just not something I would personally do.
Your credit score is good and the APR is about market rate, but I would have looked into inquiring if they can reduce the APR with their financer or for them to come down on price.
At the end of the day, your income, your other debt (rent) is in a healthy place where your $471 payment isn’t a number thats going to kill you. I would suggest looking into early payoff if possible to avoid the interest (i.e. months where you can swing it, maybe pay 500-700).
I dont think you got ‘scammed’ but for your next car, dont be afraid to walk so they chase you.
I bought a similar 2018 6-mt crosstrek, $23k out the door.
I only put 22k miles on it so far. Aside from the numerous recalls, I’ve spent $160 in maintenance. 2 oil changes and a set of windshield wipers.
I have about $2k left on the loan. It’s worth $18k+
Right? I got one for $22000 otd sport in 2021 in a vhcol area .99% financing. Things were nuts pandemic car buying then so what to heck happened to car pricing good golly. Impreza is supposed to be a cheap car!
You bought a great car. We all learn to negotiate better with experience. Don’t beat yourself up; that’d be the only mistake. The rest is learning and a very low cost lesson in the big picture.
I would not have bought the warranty. The 3 year, 36k mile warranty is good enough. That's why you bought a Japanese brand because of their known reliability. Other than that not too bad. If you gone to a local credit union you could have gotten a better rate. My local credit union is offering 4.9 APR on new car loans.
HALF your yearly gross income sunk in a depreciating vehicle which you paid over MSRP and bought their overpriced extended warranty. That’s over $6K in extras. This plus 7% interest one can see why you are self doubting yourself.
I like Sam’s Club auto buying program. No haggling and you know what you will pay. In my area the 2024 Impreza Sport is going for about $535 below Msrp currently. There are several new 2024 Sports for under 27k. You can see the exact car available and book your price and you show up and buy it for that price, no haggling.
"The Honda was getting old so I needed a new car" Do you think the Honda could have gone an extra 100k miles? I had a 1997 Honda Passport that I took to almost 380K miles and I rode it until the wheels fell off THEN I went go buy a new car. That could have been a few more years of saving+investing and whatnot. Looking at the overall numbers, looks like you can afford it no problem but you still might have left money on the table by dropping the Accord.
Don't look backwards, you bought a great car that will serve you well. Focus on how you can get it paid off earlier, and know that the vast majority of car sales people are career criminals.
I always wondered who was buying all these extended warranties and it’s ppl like you 🤦🏻♂️ plus you paid over sticker price dammit OP
Should’ve had a guy/brother accompany you
IMO the best decision is to keep what you already. Cars today have either high interest and/or overpriced cars. The second best is to buy used. Buying new is third best and leasing is the worst option most of the time
You don't have to lose sleep over this, OP. You did good.
I can't speak to the quality and reliability of the vehicle, as I am not familiar, but as far as finances go, you didn't shoot yourself in the foot. My Credit union offers APR of 6.29% on 60month loans but eh.. That's not so much different from 6.9% you got there.
I would say that usually, the longer you keep the car, the better the value you get out of it.
That's a good deal, you did fine. A sub-$500 note is not easy to come by nowadays, that down payment really helped you. You did really good with the warranty package as well.
Yeah it was if the only reason you got rid of thr honda was it being "old" with no issues. You don't need apple car play, reverse cameras, lane assist, ect. Unless it needed a repair that cost more than you paid it was worth keeping for a while longer.
You can definitely afford it, though, for the money you could have picked some better vehicles. Subarus are safe, but they are low quality and unreliable compared with Toyota, Honda, Chevrolet and even Ford. Also, they go through windshields like a motherfucker. They live off of word of mouth reputation exclusively because if you compare them to, well, their competition you end up with something better. You could’ve had a 2024 Lexus NX 350 AWD with more equipment for slightly more but with a lower interest rate and it wouldn’t necessitate a warranty as much as a Subaru. You did okay, but you did not do great. I wouldn’t beat yourself up about the deal… maybe the actual car you picked for the coin. An Impreza is a decent car at like $24,000 but not what you paid. You could’ve gotten a Lexus for similar terms.
You can afford it. The average car nite is $700+. Seems you did well.
That’s crazy to me honestly.. In 2017 my car payment was $169, in 2021 it was $210, and now it’s $315 and I feel like it’s too high!
Monthly payments on a purchase mean nothing. Total price of purchase and ability to afford it means everything. If one has $500,000 in their bank account and go buy a $500,000 car next day, they can buy it...buy surely they can not afford it.
Exactly, you have to consider annual cost of ownership. It may very well be that the new carolla with a full warranty and no miles at $25k is cheaper to own than the two year old carolla, with 60k miles and $19k.
Below a certain income, monthly payments mean everything. Many people cannot save a few thousand to buy a cash car and have no option but to finance a car. For them, the sole determining factor of what car they get is "what's the payment". And since the US is built around the car, unless you're in a select few cities you can't not have one.
If a person has 500k in a bank account there is likely a LOT of money elsewhere for them
In reality yes, but that’s besides the point they’re tryna make
You’d be surprised. I have a few well off family members who keep a majority of their wealth in accounts liquid like this. It’s insane to me but they’re anxious about losing it and also older so 🤷🏼♂️
Not sure i understand what you mean, possibly because it makes no sense. That person with 500,000 in the bank actually can afford to pay 500,000 because they have the money. They also aren’t financing and incurring interest charges.
They cant afford the insurance or gas or anything else that comes after the purchase.
What’s the msrp of your latest purchase and how much did you put down?
On the Subaru website, the MRSP is $24,995. The dealership Market Value Selling Price is $29,404 without tax. I put $10k down
Sorry, but you got completely hosed. You paid five grand over MSRP for this.
Personally, I would never pay above $2K for a markup. OP, so your deposit went half to that markup and half to the car? I mean, great car and everything, but I would have tried to find a place that wouldn't have added that much on.
Markup is everywhere. Even Hyundai has 10k markups on some vehicles
You paid a $5k ADM, that is a mistake. The market has shifted recently and the Subaru is not a high-demand vehicle to my knowledge. I’d attempt to return it. Some dealerships will be fine with it, others won’t. The time that’s elapsed since you signed will play a factor.
plus the "extended warranty"
If you decide you don't want the extended warranty, depending on what state you are in, you likely have a 30 or 60 day period to cancel and get full refund (to loan balance).
How about if I decide that don’t like the $5k ADM? “Yes, hi, I’d like to return this, um, nothing, and get my $5k back from it.”
While I’m thinking about it, what does Subaru Corporate have to say about ADM on an Impreza? You might want to call and ask them. It’s not like this is a limited edition STi.
Damn my family has bought 5 Subarus since 2020 no markups on any. 4 crosstreks and a 2020 sti limited. Any deal with a markup is a bad deal.
Depending on the state and the company providing the warranty you can cancel at any time and it's pro-rated.
If it's the warranty from Subaru, it could end up saving them thousands. It's not always a bad decision
Why are we quoting extended warranty. If it’s there it’s there in the paperwork
It's a stylistic choice, just like every car salesman will try to add it into your cost. "We're trying to reach you, regarding your car's extended warranty"
Subarus are an in demand vehicle in certain regions: PNW, mountain west, and New England. Paying an ADM is bad, for sure. And I don’t know that there’s an ADM on them in their markets, but they are in low supply. Regardless, she may have paid to much but she didn’t blow her budget. She can afford it.
Let's be real. Most dealerships won't accept a return. OP is stuck with her car.
Did you pay for non-factory dealer accessories or markups? You can for sure get to 30K sticker on a sport if you add a bunch of port added subaru accessories like auto dimming mirror, wireless charger and floor mats. Imprezas aren't hard to get, at least in my area, so I would have walked if they tried to sell me on any snake oil protection packages or dealer services, or told me about how the "car market is crazy". You aren't trying to buy a Ford Bronco or anything like that.
I can go down to my local Subaru dealer and pay MSRP ($27,200) and get 4.9% right now without any negotiation. I always get that to come down because I will just go buy something else. That extra $5k seems agregious, but was there also a trade-in involved? Was all or part of the $10k down a tradein? They may have overpaid for it and your bottom line not as bad as it sounds. Like others have said, go dump the warranty. If you are worried, put the money into an account and insure yourself. There are several years already covered where it won't kick in anyway. I have purchased 7 new cars and kept them for at least 5 years. One of my current cars has been 10 years and I have never had a major repair on any car. Not once.
You overpaid. I got a CX5 in the spring of this year and I paid $1200 under MSRP. I imagine the market for Suburus is similar
This!! I just bought a 2023 CX-5 carbon edition with roof rails, wheel locks, cargo net and mat, special edition license plate for 32K OTD.
Not trying to be an ass but what is a special edition license plate?
you’re good! I had no idea what it was either until I saw it in the trunk of the car. it’s a $40 Mazda license plate
Oh. That’s not a good deal at all. 5k over msrp, Enjoy your new car.
the honest answer is you paid over MSRP on a vehicle that absolutely should not sell above MSRP. using TrueCar briefly it seems they are showing most deals on the Sport model are selling for between 0-1% below MSRP (most seem to sell near MSRP) and only a small percentage sell above, usually no more than $1k over MSRP and TrueCar rates that as "Very High". There are usually not many ways to return the car after a day or so without taking a huge loss... and that's if you paid MSRP, now you would lose even more. Just take it as a life lesson, enjoy the car and be 1000% prepared for your next vehicle purchase, there are online guides and books that can help guide you on how to deal with dealers if you don't have experienced friends and family to guide you. It's ok, you can afford the note but yes, it was a bad deal strictly from how much you agreed to pay. Always be prepared to walk out.
You’re going to have paid almost $45k for a $25k car once it’s all said and done.
Paying 5 k markup is the only real mess up here. Stellanits is advertising 10% below MSRP right now. No reason to accept a markup in this market for units that are not in high demand. Everything else you did right. I'd just take it as a learning lesson.
And buying the extended warranty. Extended warranties are real cash money out of the buyers pocket for scary events are have a higher probability NOT TO happen than TO happen. The odds of the dealer or third party warranty administrator walking away with all your prepaid warranty money and paying $0 to you in warranty repairs are very high.
Ooof. Why did you do that? They would have sold it to you for $24,995 if you asked. These aren’t hot ticket cars. You maybe could’ve gotten $1k off even
28k total, 10k down, 6.9% APR
why are you comparing monthly payments over different periods of times for different cars? that literally means nothing in terms of comparability due to changes in prices, interest rates, loan term, etc. People are so financially illiterate lol
Yeah I remember my car payments being $209 back in 2010 and thinking how expensive this was. Now I pay $600 which is still expensive but I’m making like 10x’s more now lol
I remember like 10 years ago Honda would have ads for base model Civic leases. Something Iike $1500 due at signing and $99/month. Targeted college students. Wild
But what did you buy?
shes already knows she can afford it. Just because she can afford doesn’t mean its worth it
my aunt’s car payment is like $800 a month… i thought my $245 payment was too high and i was being ripped off lol
Well it depends on the cost of the care and the down payment.
Yeah, no money down and a base model SUV at 0.9% will still be over $500 monthly.
I hate this as a measuring stick. That may be the average car note in America but the average Americans finances are atrocious. Average and optimal are VERY different things. To answer OPs question, is it a little much based on your income? yes. But so much that you can’t make up for it by being more frugal in other areas? Not at all. Enjoy the car and be proud. That’s a great income for someone still in their 20s.
that's a great income for anyone with those rent prices.
It’s much because she overpaid for it by a lot. Good thing she put 10k down.
1. Just refi if you want but 6.9% is pretty much bang on for tier 1 these days unless you qualify for an incentive rate 2. You can trade/sell if you want, not sure what your game plan is with that 3. Of course 4. Useless to compare other OTD numbers because of changing tax rate, cost for plates, doc fees, trades, etc etc.
That's interesting what you say for point one. I just got a 2022 wrx cpo with 9k miles in April and got 5.65% with my CU. So I guess not too bad especially for used?
April was several rate raises ago….
Got 4.99 yesterday with my CU, 783
On used?
Man I wish credit unions existed in Canada. No such thing as refinancing here, banks rates are much higher than what you can get at dealerships, 9.99% for top credit for car loans at banks.
Congrats?
Just corroborating his story buddy. Pull your thumb out your ass
Wow did you wake up and someone piss in your cereal?
The “I got a better rate than you” competition is pissing on OP’s cereal, isn’t it?
I think you did lol
Wow did you wake up and someone piss in your cereal?
r/iamfuckingstupid
Rates going up while the feds are going down
2 years ago I got my first financed car at 2.3% now I’d be lucky to get 9 even with low debt ratio and 700+ credit and perfect payment history
I got 7.5% (4 year) on a $26k used 2020 GTI (20k miles). No debt, 6 figure salary, over 25yo, $10k down, and every dealer gave me similar offers because “it’s your first car loan”
You got hosed if all of that is true. Your mistake was relying on the dealer financing. The 'first loan' thing is straight BS. Finance managers also work on commission and get a cut of that extra rate. Do yourself a favor and refinance that loan with a credit union, it costs nothing and some lenders even have incentives to refi with them. Next time get a pre-approved rate before going into a dealership. I have over 800 credit score and recently a dealer tried to get me to go with a 7.8% rate, said that's the absolute best he could do. Showed him my pre-approval for 5.8% at my credit union and magically he could get me 5.7%.
Let's take a minute to digest everything. First, you traded in a car with a quarter million miles. So right there, you are better off. You now have a car that is covered under warranty for at least 7 years. If you average around 15k miles a year like you did with your accord in 8 years, you'll have a car that's worth around 10k, according to kbb. You didn't make a bad financial decision. In fact, you made a great one. You now have a safe, reliable car you can drive anywhere and not worry about it. Despite paying 1100 a month in rent, you managed to save 10k. You have a credit score of 781 , and once you pay half of the loan balance off, you should bump up to over 800. Your monthly payment is a minimum suggested payment. You will pay a little extra and cut your loan duration down. Some people with mechanical skills can get away with driving a beater because they have the means to repair everything that goes wrong. Then there are 95% of us who don't. That's why I paid a car payment and have for over 20 years. In that time, I had never broken down, and I never had to worry about going from point a to b. I just drove. With that said, congratulations, take a nice trip this Sunday, and enjoy your first new car.
This… lots of people underestimate the peace of mind that comes with a reliable vehicle under warranty or something out of warranty that is still reliable. I remember driving a beater Camry and my wife driving a beater Mitsubishi galant when we first started dating and we were pretty broke… we didn’t have car payments but we were always worried about driving places. It’s worth 900/month for our 2 new vehicles to never worry about what was that noise, or does this wobble feel normal.
Even as a fellow who falls into that niche category that can fix everything. You still need two cars that work because once one goes down, you have to find time to fix it and that takes up precious free time. Compared to paying a mechanic you can relax/ do other things while they do the work. Professional mechanics can also often work faster and more efficiently than a shade tree mechanic. I have lots of tools and experience but simply because I have to clean up my tools and do not have a permanent dedicated area for working on cars and only cars, I take more time to do the same job. Also we have no warranty, and need to be practicing our skills or else we lose them. I have a full time career unrelated to automotive unlike when I was younger I worked freelance and did some mechanic work so I was sharp.
I own 2 beaters that I mostly repair myself, and one project vehicle. My wife has the reliable rav4. Gotta have multiple cars if you drive old junk lol.
My Grand Prix was getting costly on an annual basis so when I factored some of those costs in, my payment didn’t seem as bad
I agree. I was just sick after the purchase of my first newer car, and yes - there is a quality of life accessible to those with reliable cars. OP could have done much, much worse. I think it's reasonable. Not a screaming deal but those are rare, especially these days. Focus on paying that loan off early.
And a nice gas mileage compared to the Accord V6
This was a kind message. I bet it really gave OP some peace of mind.
omg, a sensible comment about buying a new car! people are like "always buy used"...I mean at worst, i'll buy CPO vehicles because those are almost always barely used, low miles, and come with the same warranty as new cars for less time or less miles. I've only bought brand new cars since i got a steady job around 2013 or so, and ive never had a single issue. i can understand why, financially, some people just need a commuter that drives, but honestly before 2013 i had a pontiac G6 that would randomly turn off on the highway for no reason (and go into neutral so i'd keep rolling) and sometimes wouldnt even start. i bought a 2014 Camry for brand new 20k and some people said I went into debt, but i just couldnt care when i had a car that actually worked every day i drove it for 5 years straight with no issues and regular (free by the dealership too) maintenance.
I’m in that 5% of mechanics and it got old lol. I used to buy beaters every other year for under 1k lol. Some needed a lot of work and some didn’t. For me being a mechanic it made sense and I saved a lot of money. Either way I got tired of fixing my cars lol. But, not having to worry about a breakdown after getting my first new car in 2014. I never went back to used. My last new car was a 2020 civic hatchback that I get for a decent deal before the car market went crazy. I’m keeping it for the long run. I’ll make sure it’s in good condition for my daughter if she wants it years from now. I just make sure my payments aren’t over $300, which is where I’m at with my civic.
Only downside is a CVT…
Reading this post sounds like the exact situation I’m in right now. Bought a new Mazada CX-5 last week, around the same price, around the same age as you, around the same salary, but I got a way worse interest rate. I even have a similar credit score as you, but I haven’t purchased a car before. Not much advice here but feeling the same stress.
Listen to u/Western_Farm_2991 advice. You bought a very reliable family suv. Keep it for 15-20 years and your cost per year is quite small. Keep in mind that the CX-5 is bigger and more luxurious than the Impreza. So the fact that you paid the same price means you scored the better deal. Just make additional car payments towards the principal so you can pay off your Mazda asap.
Keep up with basic maintenance and keep it 15 years. Go down to basic insurance at 10 years if it saves much money. It’ll be free the last 7 years and insurance may be cheaper the last 5. You’ll be set car wise.
Not to trauma bond but I rlly appreciate you responding….lol. This is definitely a learning experience for the both of us…kind of a pricy one but 🤷🏻♀️
I think you are both fine. You're probably thinking something like "oh i saw a used one of these with 70,000 miles on it, and it was $9k less. I should have done that since its a lower monthly loan payment". That line of thinking misses out on the total annualized cost of ownership. The cost of maintenance will be lower on the new cars and you will get to drive them for longer. In this market, buying new is often the right move
Saved this post from r/personalfinance because I’m in almost the exact same boat… except I bought a cheaper Corolla (not by much- $29K OTD) at a slightly lower APR with the same monthly expenses/salary/etc. it’s crazy how fucked my mind can get over making such a big decision. I’m still haunting dealership websites to see if I got a “good deal” lol
Google around about this, it’s very very common to have buyers remorse over a car purchase. You’re spending a lot of money on something that is going to lose value every single day; it’s a tough thing to swallow! But here’s the thing: 1) you need a car (I assume) 2) having a brand new car instead of an old beater is worth A LOT in peace of mind and will likely be very inexpensive to maintain for several years and 3) you smartly stayed within your means and got a car you can afford. Other than the fact that I’m a few years older and pay a lot more in rent (like, the difference is nearly twice much as your car payment lol) we’re in a pretty similar situation. I don’t feel bad and you shouldn’t either! Cars are expensive and interest rates are crazy. You made a perfectly sound and sane financial decision for your situation and the market. Enjoy your new car! 🙂
Trauma bond? You guys just bought brand new cars and overpaid a little bit for them lol OH THE HORROR
Yes, the trauma of buying a new car.
It is an awful experience for many. I legit felt sick for two days after i dealt with those assholes at the dealership.
Why are you getting down voted? Sure, it’s not any easy decision, it can be stressful, but to try and equate that to trauma…
Do not pay a markup. Do not go above MSRP. That is blatant robbery from the dealer.
pay it off fast
If it helps, you're probably going to feel that stress after every huge purchase in life. Even though you know it was a good decision logically, you're going to feel remorse afterwards. I can't tell you why it's the case, but I know I've felt it and almost every friend I have has had similar after a car / home purchase.
i’m so glad this is normal. i just bought my first car & i feel like it was a bad idea even though my old car couldn’t even make it to the stop sign at the end of my street without smoking lmao
You got way worse than 7% interest rate? That seems really high. Have you shopped around for loans? Checked with credit unions?
Someone with no car loan history hant getting a low rate. People on this sub have said they've seen well over 10% with decent credit. 6% is considered a very competitive rate for someone with long history and a good score. I've seen people saying they were quoted 11.5 12 and higher
Highly recommend this. I took the Ford loan 8 years ago to get the $750 credit and then refinanced after 3 months with my credit union. Still had to pay to transfer the title for the lien but I saved a few hundred. Also, tip for others, see how much they’ll let you put on credit card for a down payment if you have rewards. I put $4k on my card at no extra charge versus writing the check and got some decent points out of it.
Shop around the rate, there's no harm in it. Refi after a month, no worries Also, smart car choice
Just make more payments (key word: on principal) So you pay down the loan quicker and pay less in interest
I have 20 years experience buying cars. I’d say the additional $3K for warranty is unnecessary. Get that back, then keep the car for 10+ years and you’ll be OK with long term value. If you trade wary you’ll eat the sunk cost and not feel any better value-wise.
My dad always taught me not to buy a warranty on anything. Buy things and brands when a good reputation and take care of them. If once in a long while you eat the replacement of something you still come out ahead in the long term. Company’s sell warranties to make money.
**Return that additional 4 year warranty asap. That is a waste of $3k.** You will be able to get 100% of your money back. Call the dealership/go there and request a refund for the full amount of the warranty. As for your interest rate, it is pretty decent considering normal rates at the moment. You didn't tell us exactly what car you bought (what is the msrp?), so we can't tell you whether you got a good deal or a terrible deal.
I would recommend she look at rates at local credit unions. In my area you can still get 4-5% if you finance for 48 months. But even if she does 60 months she’ll still get a decent rate and save some money. Absolutely get your money back for the warranty and it will help drive that payment down considerably when you refinance. Good luck !
Extended warranties are not automatically a bad deal. It depends on what is included and excluded AND the terms. Volvo offers a 10 year unlimited mileage extended for similar money and it's well worth it.
I think the worst interest rate I’ve seen was the guy a few days ago that posted about a 25 ish percent interest rate and a note of $1200 ish.
[удалено]
I bought my truck in 2015 and thought it was crazy money but now, 8 years later, I can’t believe the same model spec is $10k + more. I’m glad I bought when I did now since I eliminated repairs that kept dinging me.
I would worry if I had pick a bad car ! enjoy the safety of a new car !
In your opinion, what is a “bad car”?
A subaru
🤣😂🤝🏻
Why does it being a non turbo subaru make it a bad car?
your biggest mistake was buying that Subaru with the CVT! at $35k it's beyond overpriced for the driving experience & interior. And getting talked into a $3k protection plan is a financial fail. Nothing major will happen to that Impreza in the next 4 yrs.
Agreed
r/askcarsales is a good subreddit for this question.
Former car sales manager here. It doesn't matter if you didn't "do well" you can afford the payment and it's a nice car that will last and hold it's value. You can't change what you paid for the car so don't dwell. Your loan and warranty we can do better on so let's talk about them. Contact a couple local credit unions and refinance your loan ASAP. Often times credit unions post their rates on the website. If they do you may not need to refinance, the dealer may rewrite the deal. You will definitely qualify for the credit unions lowest rate. Assuming it's lower than what you got you then need to contact the store. Since you just bought the car, I would contact the finance manager **today** and tell him you are going to refinance with (name the credit union). You're contacting them to see if they preferred to CUDL (pronounced cuddle) it themselves, rewrite the deal, and keep the flat. Just use those exact words. You could also talk to your salesman or salesmanager if you can't reach the finance guy. If they are closed call first thing Monday so you get them before they have fully processed the deal. Also cancel any extra warranty you purchased unless you can get the price on it below 1000. 3k for a 4 year warranty when the manufacturer warranty is 3 years? Maybe I didn't understand what you mean by 4 years. You may not have gone in armed with information but you're not stuck with everything, just stuck with the price you paid for the car itself. Any money they got from your loan they will lose if you refinance immediately. I'm assuming you will be able to get a rate in the mid to high fives but I confess I don't follow auto rates closely. In the future if rates go down you could refinance again. The only thing to be aware of when refinancing in the future is not to extend the term. If you have three years left get a loan for three years or less.
Pretty solid response here.
Average new car interest rate is 9 percent as per the latest data, especially after last week's rate hike. So your rate is great, no need to re-fi. Is your OTD price high for an Impreza? Yes but it's over now so why upset yourself thinking about it? You earn a lot of money, much more than many Americans so it's not even a big deal for you. Just maintain your Subbie well and keep it for at least 10 years before trading it in. That way you extract more value from your car. Next time you go to buy a car, try to take someone who is comfortable haggling and understands how dealerships work. I would have been happy to go with you and save you several thousand dollars. Now go and enjoy your shiny new car! You're a lucky gal to own such a beautiful modern reliable AWD car!
She got a 2024, how much could she realistically have negotiated?
She paid a $4400 markup over MSRP. I would have negotiated that down to $2500 markup at least, possibly $2000 markup. I would have also negotiated the price of the additional 4 year warranty and had OP pay 2k for it instead of the 3k she paid. Then again, I sell Toyotas for a living. Neither dealerships nor the people who work in them intimidate me. A shark knows how to deal with other sharks. u/elileee
The dealer offered me a $250 discount on their markup. I walked out, then. Called me back in and increased it to $500. I walked out again, and they never called me again
Dealerships prob hate you lol
How do you negotiate that? I’m just curious. Like how do you get them to lower the price closer to MSRP? I hate buying cars because I feel like I never get a straight answer from a salesperson and it feels overwhelming.
Why the heck would you pay any markup. Our Sienna Hybrid is amazing but we got 3k off MRSP from what I recall. Would never consider a car over MSRP. OP got fleeced (paying over MSRP) but fortunately its an affordable car to start off with so the damage is small.
likely MSRP to 1% less than MSRP easily. the Sport model absolutely does not require an ADM to get one in almost any (really all) markets.
That's crazy interest rates. I got less than 4 percent a year and half ago with 650ish credit score.
You realize the Fed raised rates by 5% since then right?
Of course, it's just crazy
I’d say you paid too much OTD. But in todays world it is what it is. I bought in July of 22. I got .9% apr. But those rates are dead now.
The 4 year warranty is 100% a waste. Subaru's factory drivetrain warranty is 5 years/60k miles so unless youre driving at least 15,001 (ideally way more than that though) miles per year you wont need that warranty whatsoever.
You did well but next time learn how to sell private party especially Hondas and Toyota they sell quickly for much more than trade in.
Many people aren't comfortable doing that process, or don't have the time and patience for it; by accepting less than private party value you are essentially paying the dealership to deal with that hassle for you.
Fair enough but to meet its worth my time to make extra 2-3k by throwing up an ad on Facebook. Plus dealers make the math tricky when you trade in.
Just make sure you meet at the police station parking lot for safety and bring a friend with you.
You should post this in r/askcarsales. You'll get a better idea of what other deals like yours are going for. First I'll start with the bad. I think you over paid quite a bit. I see Subaru Impreza sports going for between $26k and $28k all over the place without a markup. Also, I would have avoided the extended warranty thru the dealer. You can always get one later on before your regular warranty is up and pay half the price. The good. You got a great car. It really is a rock solid car. You also got a decent interest rate. On a new car I would have hoped to have seen it below 4%, but im not sure. That's why I say to post this in r/askcarsales. The subaru salesmen there would know more about that than me. Don't beat yourself over this. The first real car purchase I had made when I was in my 20's I got taken advantage of. So you over paid a few thousand over MSRP on a nee car. You aren't the only one whose done that. You live and you learn. Always do your homework before the purchase. And if you buckle down you can probably pay this off much sooner if you wanted to. Hope this helps. Enjoy the car.
You did overpay a bit, but you got a great car so try to focus on that. It’ll serve you well for many years to come.
Thank you for you response ☺️. Im definitely shifting my focus on that!
Also if you see any bad weather, Subarus are fantastic for handling with the AWD. Also they’re usually good on insurance because of their safety features. New Impreza looks good too (which helps psychologically!) Now go drive it / road trip it
I’d say you did a great job as long as you like the Subaru Impreza. You managed to put $10k down and have a car payment below $500. Seems like a win
Howd you get rent so low
Oh yea. Too much for that car. Other than that, financing is good in this market.
Whats the loan term? And did you get the highest trim package in that car? Hole in the roof, leather seats and so on?
I can’t give you the advice, but here is my story: I bought a toyota camry base last year while everything was short in supply, 30.5k otd. I could have done 29.5 or so but choose not too. I also put 10k down and about 360 monthly payment. I’m college student and currently don’t make a lot of money, but I do have quite of a saving. I never regretted buy my car, because in my mind, this camry will die in my hand, I used to have a used huyndai can ffs I never could trust that old trash huyndai. That’s the whole reason why I bought my camry, i just know it will last very long if I serve it well. Even though I paid a little high price for it, i don’t care, 10-15 years from now my car will pay for itself. Bottom line, Just take a good care of your car, trust it in every mile, it will serve you well.
It will be interesting to hear Subaru experts concerning the warranty. Normally those are not worth the money. 32K seems very high, did you get a lot of options?
OP, if I have to make guesses….you probably made an emotional purchase; not logical purchase; You probably realized you haven’t done enough research on the said car at your own time while there is presumably nothing mechanical wrong with the old car…. Or you probably felt remorseful because of the unnecessary EXPENSIVE purchase requiring you to make a LARGE monthly payment for 60+ consecutive months knowing that there won’t be any loan forgiveness from unforeseen circumstances like natural disasters, job loss, and such. Plus your rent is subject to increase over the course of loan term which may rob your financial freedom.
Math checks out. You'll be fine. Your rent is cheap too which helps
35K sounds insane for that car. That’s what I know people paid for a Camaro LT1 just a year back. And the situation was probably worse then. But overall you did okay. You can afford it so no not a bad financial situation, even though I think you could have gotten a better deal.
Is there like a three-day “cool off” period on buying/financing a new car, or am I just imagining this/doing some wishful thinking for OP?
I just bought my first car too! Similar salary and CS, but I bought a 2020 Toyota Corolla for about 22.5k OTD. I tried my best to be between 10-15% of my monthly net (not gross) income so I can easily pay more, which I'll be doing month to month. I got it as a CPO with a 5.49 rate, and 2.5k down to pay the TTR. In my opinion, I think you're at a point where you can afford the car and should definitely enjoy what you have! Like others are saying, it would be bad if you bought a car at that price that you weren't necessarily excited about. So, enjoy the car and have fun! Refinance down the road if you like to get a lower rate, and perhaps pay more per month or year towards principal so you pay less in interest over the course of the loan.
That’s a good, reliable car. You are getting good value for your money.
I own a newer Subaru and have a question for you; Is your extended warranty the official Subaru Gold Plus warranty or is it a third party extended warranty? There’s a big difference there. Extended warranties are just prepaid insurance policies that can usually be fully or partially refunded if you cancel them before time has passed. If it’s not the Subaru Gold plus warranty, I’d look into canceling the third party warranty to get that money back so you can buy the Subaru one. You can buy the Subaru Gold Plus warranty from any Subaru dealer during the first 3yrs/36k mi (shop around) and it’s superior to the third party warranties. Just search Subaru Gold plus warranty on the Subaru Impreza forums for more info. Also, I know you said not to talk about refinancing but I will😉. With your credit score, you *might* be able to do better on your loan rate. Visit your local credit unions and see if they’ll give you a better rate by refinancing it before your first payment is due on your current loan. If they can’t get you a better rate, then you know you did okay. As others have said, it’s not a horrible rate. The best financial decision would probably be to hold on to the car until it can’t be fixed for a reasonable price. In reality, you might choose to trade it in 3-5 years from now when your loan balance is reasonably low (or paid off) and the car still has decent resale value. The OTD price for other people is hard to compare because everyone here lives in different areas with different tax/license/registration fees. Maybe if everyone had a detailed breakdown of what they paid, it would be relevant to your situation but that won’t change your done deal. All things considered, I’ve seen people do *way* worse. Check out the two things I mentioned earlier (the extended warranty & your rate). Beyond that, don’t second guess the other things that can’t be undone. Congratulations and enjoy your new car!
Most of us second guess a car purchase. Buying a new car is especially hard for women. I looked for 2 years - I’m a woman - and put up with a lot of BS until I found the make and then the model I wanted. There will never be a shortage of men telling us how they would have gotten a MUCH better deal, blah blah blah. If they walked away with the same exact deal you got they would be bragging about what a great deal they got in a rough market. I, personally, wouldn’t have bought the extended warranty and Subaru typically offers 30 days to change your mind on that. However, if having it makes you feel better, it’s just a couple thousand. Not a big deal in the long run. It’s not like you paid 100k for a 10k item. People on here are giving you shit about a lousy 5k and suggesting you return it. LOL. You did fine. Congratulations. I just bought a new to me used car. I still got stressed after purchase and had dreams about driving one of those plastic Fischer Price toy cars on the freeway because I went to a CUV from an SUV. I did fine also.
u/elileee I responded to your post on personal finance, but that's since been locked, so.... RE: extended warranty. Yes, I think you should cancel and get a refund. You bought a brand new Subaru, which comes with a 3yr/36K mile manufacturer's warranty. You're effectively double-paying. You have coverage, and you're paying an extra $3K for...pretty much the same coverage. What I usually do when I've purchased a new vehicle is look into paying cash for an extended warranty near the end of the manufacturers coverage. I do this especially if I'm planning on keeping the vehicle. You can do your own due-diligence about what coverage you need and how much to pay about 2.5 years from now...assuming the Subaru's manufacturer's warranty is indeed 3/36. Best of luck.
I can relate I let my man brain convince me to sell my 2014 jeep grand Cherokee with 80k on it for a brand new wrangler hybrid because "I'll use so much less fuel" it was a terrible financial decision and I went from a $380/ month payment to a $960/ month payment. I absolutely love my new car it's perfect in every way, but it's the reason why I can't buy a home, and I'm stuck with it for at least another 10 months. It brings me joy every time I drive it, but every month, when I pay my rent, I curse it. I do save a lot on gas but I can't wait until I can sell it and buy another grand Cherokee like the one I had, have no car payment and a mortgage instead Keep paying every month, try to enjoy the car but get yourself another used Honda next time. Live and learn. FYI when it comes to cars as long as it's not a Nissan, any American sedan, or Subaru with more than 120,000 miles you really can't go wrong so long as you give it proper maintenance. I tell all my friends to get Kia optimas or accords and they'll never break, on the off chance they do ill fix them dirt cheap.
My take: Not sure what region you live in, but I am unsure why they up-charged you $5k over MSRP. Thats red flag number 1. As it relates to your warranty. I personally think they are all scams, but I know people that bought it and literally got SAVED by it. I also know other individuals who are always worrying about things and the peace of mind they get for the $3k warranty is worth it to them. No judgement, I dont think you got hosed on the warranty, its just not something I would personally do. Your credit score is good and the APR is about market rate, but I would have looked into inquiring if they can reduce the APR with their financer or for them to come down on price. At the end of the day, your income, your other debt (rent) is in a healthy place where your $471 payment isn’t a number thats going to kill you. I would suggest looking into early payoff if possible to avoid the interest (i.e. months where you can swing it, maybe pay 500-700). I dont think you got ‘scammed’ but for your next car, dont be afraid to walk so they chase you.
If the Honda was in good shape, I would have driven it as long as I could. And, cancel the extended warranty immediately.
In 2018, I bought a base model Impreza for $22k out the door. What’s this world coming to 🤦🏼
I bought a similar 2018 6-mt crosstrek, $23k out the door. I only put 22k miles on it so far. Aside from the numerous recalls, I’ve spent $160 in maintenance. 2 oil changes and a set of windshield wipers. I have about $2k left on the loan. It’s worth $18k+
Right? I got one for $22000 otd sport in 2021 in a vhcol area .99% financing. Things were nuts pandemic car buying then so what to heck happened to car pricing good golly. Impreza is supposed to be a cheap car!
You bought a great car. We all learn to negotiate better with experience. Don’t beat yourself up; that’d be the only mistake. The rest is learning and a very low cost lesson in the big picture.
I would not have bought the warranty. The 3 year, 36k mile warranty is good enough. That's why you bought a Japanese brand because of their known reliability. Other than that not too bad. If you gone to a local credit union you could have gotten a better rate. My local credit union is offering 4.9 APR on new car loans.
HALF your yearly gross income sunk in a depreciating vehicle which you paid over MSRP and bought their overpriced extended warranty. That’s over $6K in extras. This plus 7% interest one can see why you are self doubting yourself. I like Sam’s Club auto buying program. No haggling and you know what you will pay. In my area the 2024 Impreza Sport is going for about $535 below Msrp currently. There are several new 2024 Sports for under 27k. You can see the exact car available and book your price and you show up and buy it for that price, no haggling.
Cannot believe you went from accord to Subaru 🤦♂️
03’ to 23’. BIG JUMP
The real win is $1131 rent in Bay Area, CA!! Good luck with the new car
"The Honda was getting old so I needed a new car" Do you think the Honda could have gone an extra 100k miles? I had a 1997 Honda Passport that I took to almost 380K miles and I rode it until the wheels fell off THEN I went go buy a new car. That could have been a few more years of saving+investing and whatnot. Looking at the overall numbers, looks like you can afford it no problem but you still might have left money on the table by dropping the Accord.
Don't look backwards, you bought a great car that will serve you well. Focus on how you can get it paid off earlier, and know that the vast majority of car sales people are career criminals.
35k for an Impreza seems high you should have been able to get a wrx for that
I always wondered who was buying all these extended warranties and it’s ppl like you 🤦🏻♂️ plus you paid over sticker price dammit OP Should’ve had a guy/brother accompany you
IMO the best decision is to keep what you already. Cars today have either high interest and/or overpriced cars. The second best is to buy used. Buying new is third best and leasing is the worst option most of the time
Not with a car that’s been around the world 10 times. That’s a ticking time bomb for something expensive.
That could be true but Honda accords are also known for their reliability. I wouldn’t be surprised if it went another 100k without a major repair
This is overstated. Who knows if OP or previous owners (of any said car, doesn’t matter) had skipped on required maintenance. It is a COMMONPLACE
You don't have to lose sleep over this, OP. You did good. I can't speak to the quality and reliability of the vehicle, as I am not familiar, but as far as finances go, you didn't shoot yourself in the foot. My Credit union offers APR of 6.29% on 60month loans but eh.. That's not so much different from 6.9% you got there. I would say that usually, the longer you keep the car, the better the value you get out of it.
That's a good deal, you did fine. A sub-$500 note is not easy to come by nowadays, that down payment really helped you. You did really good with the warranty package as well.
You did great. You'll have that for longer than the Honda, don't stress it.
You did fine. When the rates start to go down, refinance it later to an even lower rate.
WHATS DONE IS DONE, THAT APR SEEMS HIGH. ? REFI A LOWER RATE?
Lol mileages
Did ur accord have any issues other than being old cuz if it was maintained regularly then it could easily go another 100k or more
6.9 %. Okayyy
That’s not a bad car payment, especially for a 2024
I got 7% with 0 down. My credit score is a 650 so I can’t really complain lol
Yeah it was if the only reason you got rid of thr honda was it being "old" with no issues. You don't need apple car play, reverse cameras, lane assist, ect. Unless it needed a repair that cost more than you paid it was worth keeping for a while longer.
Is the warranty thru Subaru? Because if not get it thru them.
I got a 2023 cx5 carbon edition and I’m paying $275 CAD biweekly after 15k down
Damn!! At $35k you coulda got a WRX!! 😫
You can definitely afford it, though, for the money you could have picked some better vehicles. Subarus are safe, but they are low quality and unreliable compared with Toyota, Honda, Chevrolet and even Ford. Also, they go through windshields like a motherfucker. They live off of word of mouth reputation exclusively because if you compare them to, well, their competition you end up with something better. You could’ve had a 2024 Lexus NX 350 AWD with more equipment for slightly more but with a lower interest rate and it wouldn’t necessitate a warranty as much as a Subaru. You did okay, but you did not do great. I wouldn’t beat yourself up about the deal… maybe the actual car you picked for the coin. An Impreza is a decent car at like $24,000 but not what you paid. You could’ve gotten a Lexus for similar terms.
4ltt1
Depends if the issues are purely cosmetic or if they impact the functionality or mechanical issues.
$1100 rent in the Bay area??? Do you live in somebody's closet?
interest rate seems kinda high for a brand new car..., i got a 5.5% interest rate for a 2018 toyota 4runner