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My new car…

My new car…

Posted on October 27, 2009 in car

So, last night I bought a new car – a 2010 Suzuki SX4 AWD. I pulled the Car Cost Canada report on the car (which cost me about $40), but in the end because of that report, I got over $1,000 off the price of the vehicle – and there was only a $1,500 difference between the wholesale price and the MSRP. Whether that wholesale price is entirely true or not, I don’t know – but that was what was in the report, and I’m happy with the negotiating I did.

The price of the car came to around $25k, but after taxes, freight, PDI, etc. it was closer to $30k. I put down $2,000 and my bi-weekly payments for 48 months at 0% interest will be about $265. Which I am comfortable with. I could have lowered my bi-weekly payments and gone with a 60 or 72 month term, but I know I can pay off the car in 4 years or less (no penalty for paying off the loan faster).

In terms of the car that I chose, it was between a fully loaded SX4 or a base model Subaru Impreza (which was still more expensive than the loaded SX4). And after researching both models extensively and talking to people about both cars, I decided to go with the SX4 for a bunch of different reasons. It has more ground clearance, better fuel economy, 2WD and 4WD locking capability, higher driving position, and it looks 100% nicer than the Impreza.

Anyway, even though it was a lot of money for the car and I’ll be making payments for a few years now, I’m really happy with my decision. We’ll go back to the dealership today after work to pick it up. :)

5 Responses to “My new car…”

Author comments are in a darker gray color for you to easily identify the posts in the comments

Give Me Back My Five Bucks » Dear GMBMFB Readers says:

Thursday, March 4, 2010 - 10:58am at 10:41 am

[...] lot of people have been leaving comments about how my blog has shifted focus, how I’m spending too much, how I’m boring now, how I have [...]

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Eyl says:

Friday, August 12, 2011 - 07:00am at 7:33 am

This is awesome. I hope to learn a lot from you and budgeting!
This blog intrigued me…Can you explain how the Car Cost Canada report works? I'm looking at buy my first new car, and I don't have many people who can "teach" me the ropes and best way(s) to save money…. Your help is appreciated! Thanks

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- Krystal Yee says:
  
  Friday, August 12, 2011 - 08:59am at 8:59 am
  
  So basically you pay a fee to the Car Cost Canada website (I think it's $40?) and you will receive a report which lists the wholesale price of the car (the price the dealership pays for the car from the factory), plus any dealer/factory rebates/incentives that are on the table. You can take that wholesale price report to the dealership and compare it to the MSRP of the car you are looking for, and use the report as your basis for negotiations.
  
  When I went to buy my car, and started to talk numbers with the manager, he seemed pretty shocked that I had brought along the Car Cost Canada report. The salesperson even said “wow, you sure did your homework.” And I didn’t even have to negotiate! I showed him the report, said I wanted a set amount off the price of the car, and he just went and did it for me, no questions asked. Exactly how I like to do business. :)
  
  Reply
6 Expenses That We Judge The Most | Well Heeled Blog says:

Thursday, October 13, 2011 - 06:21am at 6:22 am

[...] that I can drive to death (example: see my hand-me-down-from-Dad 240K miles Honda). Remember when Krystal at Give Me Back My Five Bucks bought a car and the firestorm erupted in her comment section (the comments seem to have gotten lost when she [...]

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Do you shop around for auto insurance? | Give Me Back My Five Bucks says:

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - 02:29am at 2:00 am

[...] Posted on February 28, 2012 in sponsored post A few years ago when I bought my new car, I just went ahead and bought all of my insurance through ICBC, because that’s what I always [...]

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