The Paul Senior secret method for buying a new car.
I can't beat the dealerships in the sales process. Why would I even expect too? It's their business to get - extract - the best price they can, and they are salesmen and women who practice doing this every day. Vs. the rest of us who might do a little homework once every few years when we go to buy.
There are three methods I see for improving a position vis-a-vis the dealership and the cost of buying/maintaining a car.
1. Don't buy new. Buy used cars from private parties. Don't buy at all (keep the ole junker). Don't own a car at all.
2. Have a mechanic friend with dealership training/access. You buy a used car -- even a high mileage one - and you keep it and have your mechanic friend service it.
3. The Paul Senior way. Buy a new car AND concurrently buy stock in your car's auto manufacturer. As an example, if someone were a value investor who bought a new Hyundai, my guess is the person would be planning on keeping the car maybe 5 or more years. For a $30k car investment, I suspect a person making an additional $$ investment in Hyundai stock at that time (unfortunately though, likely through iShares EWY), and also holding those shares for the life of the car ownership -- that person would be satisfied with the results. That's how I do it, anyway. (Audi bought---> a small proportional $ amount of VLKAY bought). I first got this idea from reading Peter Lynch: One of his best ideas he said, was buying Subaru stock at about $3 and selling it a few years later at about $30. It dawned on me when reading that, that when I bought my new Subaru in '74, the stock was selling for $3 and I could've, but didn't buy the stock at that time. Ever since, when I buy a new car, I've been very attuned to perhaps acquiring stock in the manufacturer also. |
