Comments on: The Simple Dollar Morning Roundup: Generation X Finance Edition

By: sfninersfan

sfninersfan — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 17:17:58 +0000

Here’s what I did to get a car for $750 under invoice. I just got my 2007 Corolla last week (Jul 07).

1. Decide which car and options you want. Get invoice price from edmunds.com. You need to know exactly what you want and what you dont need.
2. Email several dealers with this info including invoice price.
3. Confirm price, availability, taxes, everything important in email.
4. Got preapproved car loan from credit union.
5. Once you have everything negotiated “in writing” in your email, print it, and call and meet the guy.

This is the short version. I have more details in my blog for those interested:
http://buycorolla.blogspot.com

By: Laurie

Laurie — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 12:33:58 +0000

My husbands bestfriend is a mechanic and he does all the work on our cars. He has us do an oil change every 3,000 miles because he says it really is much better than waiting. He believes an oil change really is the cheapest thing you can have done on your car and it does help it to run better and last longer. My husband also drives 2 hrs a day for his commute and is still driving the same 14 year old truck and it runs great.

By: lorax

lorax — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 23:53:58 +0000

I’ve done a stint repairing engines, I’ve seen what never changing the oil can do. But still, I change the oil and filter every 5000 miles.

For the ultimate advice from unbiased mechanics with a long track record, see http://cars.cartalk.com/content/advice/oilchanges.html. The cartalk guys can’t be wrong!

By: Charlie

Charlie — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 19:18:41 +0000

An extra 2,000 miles can make a significant difference in the color and quality of the oil. I am pretty vehicle savvy and quality maintenance will save you money in the long run, and thats what it is all about. I prefer every 3,000.

Another thing to consider is doing the oil change yourself. If you are waiting on the oil change (in most cases) it will take about the same amount of time as if you were have a mechanic do it.

In the end the most important factor in have your car service is trusting the mechanic them self (not just the person at the desk. Paying a lower hourly rate for labor won’t save you money if they are replacing parts that don’t need to be replaced.

Even though honest mechanics are hard to come by they do exist and are essential for saving money over the extended life of a car.