Shopping for a vehicle can be difficult, but it will be made even tougher if you don’t have a firm grasp of the entire process. Fortunately, one of the best ways to improve your ignorance is to learn from the mistakes of others. Below, we’ve viewed some egregious car-buying situations from Reddit users, emphasizing what you shouldn’t be doing when you’re shopping for a new ride. Before you start searching for a bad credit car loan in Louisville, see the specific situations you should be avoiding…
This first example from Reddit user u/AceOfBasePlates explains why you shouldn’t rely on anyone other than your insurance company when you find yourself in a car wreck…
“As the title states, my parked car was hit by a guy backing out of his driveway at the end of September. Right after the accident, I called the police, got an accident report, and the other driver admitted fault. I submitted a claim with his insurance, got a letter stating my claim was in the process…and I haven’t been able to get anything else from them since. I have spoken to their higher-ups, left hundreds of messages, and nothing happens. No updates, no one who answers will give me any information, nothing. I think I am at the point where I need to file with my insurance to get my car fixed, but I wanted to see if there are any other steps I can or should take. Is getting money from the other driver’s shitty insurance company a lost cause? Will my insurance go after them? Do I get a lawyer involved? Thanks in advance everyone.”
Unfortunately, this user ultimately wasted a good amount of time attempting to get all of the necessary information from police, and they even contacted the other driver’s insurance company. If you’re in a financial bind, this wasted time could have a drastic negative impact on your finances. Instead, this individual should have immediately reached out to their insurance company. They’d have all of the resources to get the ball rolling, and you can have a resolution to your predicament in no time.
This next example from Reddit user u/canIbuyACar emphasizes why you shouldn’t be shortsighted when devising a budget:
“Boyfriend is 22, just got a job – actually his first one. He’s bought everything himself his entire life. His parents, however, are fairly well off but only pay for one thing, his phone bill. I’ll give him credit that he’s been fairly smart with money and always saved up. His monthly expenses are as follows: – 250 student loans – 250 gas – 8 Netflix He has been driving a yr 2000 Chevy that (honestly) is a beater. The transmission actually died on it last month and he had it replaced even though the car was totaled. That cost about 1600. Anyway, he just got a new job making $32,000 a year and while it has full benefits including a 401k, he’s been showing me the numbers and telling me he can “buy a $35,000 car” – which is one he’s really wanted for the past two years. Doing the math he figured he pays about 667 in taxes a month, and that at 4.0% interest with 10,000 down, his payments would be about 550 for the car and 250 for the insurance. So, I did the math with him and totaled EVERYTHING up. It came out to $22,000 – taxes, gas, Netflix, insurance, and car payments. I just can’t help but think he’s wasting a considerable amount of money and shouldn’t do this. But he won’t listen and says he’ll save 50% of the remaining 5000 every month and the other 50% he’ll budget for expenses. So that’s $400 guaranteed savings and another 400 for whatever expenses (less than 100wk). I want to show him this thread so I’m hoping I can get some good feedback from much smarter people (that aren’t me). His parents are the type of people who don’t care what he does because it’s his life but have 100% said they won’t give him a dime.”
This individual’s boyfriend made several financial mistakes when devising their budget. For starters, he figured that his parent wasn’t supplying him with any money when they were actually providing him with free room and board. Furthermore, the budget only accounted for gas money, Netflix, and loans. That means the individual isn’t accounting for any random expenses that might pop up, including clothes, savings, or any other necessary purchases. Finally, assuming his finances are going to remain consistent for the foreseeable future is a bit shortsighted. While he may only be spending $500 right now, that total could easily change in a week’s time. Essentially, by limiting himself to a particular budget, he’s assuring that he won’t be able to move out of his house for at least half-a-decade.
This final example from Reddit user r/BAinBS confirms how dealerships will stop at nothing to get you into their literal business:
“I got what looked like a scratch-off game card in my mailbox that was from a car dealership a couple towns over. It looked like a standard promotion/junk mail and I would normally throw this stuff away but this card had differing amounts that could be won simply by scratching off the various boxes on the card. Well wouldn’t you know it, I had a combination of symbols that, on the key on the right side of the card, said I had won $5,000. I then read the fine print on the back of the card and it seemed legit. No red flags to speak of. I am normally EXTREMELY skeptical of these types of things. You can’t just win free money, right? So I called the number of the dealership and was transferred to a man who acted very excited that I had won this promotion. I asked him point blank, “Is there anything else that I need to know? Did I really just win $5,000 on a free mailer that everyone gets?” He said all I have to do is come down to the dealership and match the code on the back of the card. If it matches and I can prove that I live at the address on the mailer, he would cut me a check for the amount that I won. Keep in mind he didn’t say “$5,000” he said “Amount that I won”. I’ll be honest, and I was still skeptical, but I could really use that kind of money right now (I mean who couldn’t right?). I basically laid it on the line and said, “Listen your dealership is at least 45 minutes away. I am not buying a car today. This isn’t like cash back on a new car or anything is it? Please tell me this is for real. I cant afford to drive that far both ways if this isn’t what you are telling me it is.” Without hesitating, the man on the phone said “This is for real. If we verify it and you really did win, we will cut you a check today.”
So, I hopped in my car and drove the 45 minutes to the dealership. When I walked in I saw a few people holding the same mailer. I was suspicious but at the same time, there were several levels of money, all the way down to like $25, that could be won according to the game card so I figured these people had some amount of money as well. I walked up to the sales counter and told them who I was. I said, “Hey I’m the guy that called about an hour ago. I won $5,000 on your mailer game”. The three guys at the counter cheered and congratulated me. One of them ushered me into an office and asked me for my ID and proof that I lived at the address listed. Once I gave him that he asked me for the game card. He then gave me a form to fill out to claim my winnings. He punched in the code into his computer and said, “Alright man, let’s find out if you won.” “What do you mean, if I won?” I said back. “One of you told me on the phone that I already had won.” I began to shake because I knew I had been tricked, no, straight lied to earlier. This man looks me in the face and says “You did win. You won a spot in our contest to see if you won $5,000.” I was speechless. He said, “Don’t you want to find out if you won the money?” I realized then that I had been scammed into driving to this dealership. I said nothing. I looked this man in the eyes for at least thirty straight seconds in dead silence. I was so angry I could barely get words out. I am normally a very calm, easy going person and I hate confrontation, but I was so ashamed that I fell for this. I finally said, “You mother fuckers lied to me. You lied and told me I had won this money. I just drove all the way from (my town) to (this town) because one of you assured me this wasn’t a scam to get me here. I asked you if there was anything else I needed to know, if this was for real, and you said it was.”
He responded by saying it wasn’t him, that it must have been one of the other employees. He then told me that my drive “Wasn’t really that far”. I lowered my head, got back into my car, and drove home.
And that is how I fucked up today. I really hope that the son-of-a-bitch that put this together wins a bunch of money in the lotto and then dies of a heart attack before he can collect his winnings. Thanks for reading.”
Ultimately, this individual understood that if a dealership offer appears too good to be true, then the inkling is probably correct. Dealerships aren’t in the market to just give away money, and this individual should have recognized that before traveling 45 minutes to the premises.
