• Don't fall in love with a car. More than likely there are other cars just like it. 
• Don't tell dealers what kind of payment you can afford--they will match the price to that payment. 
• Do your homework. Get on the internet, and find out about the car you want, what best suits your needs, and what options are available. 
• Compare prices with other dealerships in your area. 
• Watch out for new cars that are already a year old, but priced as a new car. The value of the auto is now much lower because it is a year old. Once you sign papers and walk out the door of the dealership, you could suffer a loss on the value of the car. 
• Explore financing options carefully - if the dealership builds it, sells it and finances it, are YOU really getting the best deal? 
• The used car market is flooded. You might be better off selling your car instead of trading it in. Check with FBCU for a true blue book price. 
• You can make a better deal if you don't have a trade-in. 
• If a dealer starts bad-mouthing your credit union or another dealership, you should walk away. 
• Think about adding life, disability and unemployment insurance and an extended warranty to your next purchase. It could save you from repossession at a later time. In most cases, MCCU offers the insurances at a much lower price. 
• Most dealers want to do your financing for two reasons - they hope you will come back to them for your next purchase; and they get a rebate from the banks they finance with. Needless to say, FBCU does not rebate the dealerships. 
• FBCU can tell you if the dealer's price is within reason. While dealerships have to make money, we want to make sure it's not all made from you. 
• FBCU wants to save you money. If the dealer can give you a good price, and better financing, we want you to finance with them. However, in most cases, we can you money. 

Most people with relatively new vehicles owe more on them than they are worth. Here are some tips for contending with the problem of being "upside down."

• Keep the car until you build equity. If you financed your car for 60 months with a minimal down payment, it will take about 40 months of payments to build some equity in the vehicle. 
• Sell the vehicle on your own rather than trade it in. The retail value of a used vehicle can be thousands higher than the trade-in value. 
• If you are upside down, add extra money to your payments. An additional $50 to $100 per month will cover at least some of the gap. 
• Shop consumer incentives and rebates, then apply that money to the gap. 
• Wait for the right time to buy - usually towards the end of the year as dealers look to see off the previous year's models. Incentives are sometime higher then as well. 
• Avoid long term loans, which have greater interest costs. If you can afford it, limit your new car or truck loan to 48 months. 
• Talk to First Basin Credit Union before you sign anything. We are here to save you money.

Should you buy new or used?
By Remar Sutton

Ever known this feeling? You think you can afford that car payment (the sales person said you could!), but some months down the road it begins to hurt. And there are 52 more payments to go! You end up eating lots of pinto beans.

Don't let that happen to you again. If you're thinking about a new or newer vehicle, do it like this, and you'll be in control of your car-buying -- perhaps for the first time.

Think budget before you think new or used. Here's a radical approach to budgeting: Find out how much cash your budget will provide for a vehicle. Let that amount of cash determine what you buy.

First, determine how much cash your payment will buy. What payment can you really afford? Can you afford to pay more? Would you like to pay less? Think about your current payment, and adjust it up or down to fit the payment you actually can afford. And then have a loan officer at Medical Community Credit Union tell you how much cash that payment will buy. That's right, payments buy you a pile of cash. For instance, if you say, "I can afford $300 per month and don't want to pay more than 48 months," what you're really saying is "I can afford to buy $12,000 in cash." That's based on a 9% loan rate.

Second, determine if your trade-in is worth any cash. Ask your credit union loan officer to tell you your car's average wholesale value, a rough guide to its real value. And then deduct what you owe on it, if anything, from that wholesale value. Your credit union can get you your payoff -- the amount it will cost to retire a current loan. Let's say your old vehicle is worth about $4,000 wholesale; let's assume you owe $1,500 on it. That means your old car is going to contribute $2,500 to your cash pile.

What if you owe more than your car is worth? Dealerships call this "being in the bucket." Make an appointment to see a credit union loan officer to discuss your options.

Third, look at other cash sources. Are you planning on making a down payment from your savings? Smart. Let's assume you're putting down $2,000 from savings.

Fourth, add up all the cash from all these assets. Your car budget contains $12,000 from your payment, $2,500 from your trade and $2,000 from savings. You have $16,500 Available Cash to buy a vehicle and remain on budget. Don't spend more than that, and if you're careful, your payment won't be more than your budgeted $300 per month. No more pinto beans!

Fifth, let your Available Cash determine whether you buy new or used. If you're shopping for a new car, look for cars with Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Prices below your Available Cash. If you're shopping for a used car, try to buy a car with a "Loan Value" close to your cash figure. Your credit union can give you the names of used car models in that range.

Take your time, save your money. New or used, go slow, be patient, and don't be pushed. It's your money. Make a budget and stick to it.