Info on new car buying on edmund.com?

Question

Hi Friends

I have been trying to buy a new car and am researching by going to sites like kbb.com and edmunds.com etc.,

There they have given invoice prices TMV prices etc.,

I understand that these are the prices before taxes. So being in Ohio I can expect to see another 6.5 percent added to this invoice price. Is it a fair statement?

Any feedback will be highly appreciated.

Thanks

Ram

Answer 1

MTS229 gave some good info on taxes, but he is assuming you will pay invoice.  You probably will not.  Selling prices are all over the map, depending on the availability of the particular model, its popularity, and what the manufacturer is offering in the way of incentives.

For instance, if you are buying a Ford Expedition, you will probably pay below invoice, but if you are trying to buy a Mini Cooper, you will have a hard time finding one, let alone paying less than MSRP.  The former are overflowing the lots to the extent that Ford is shutting down production to switch to the European Fiesta, while the latter can't make enough cars to meet demand.

Answer 2

Yes, tax is unavoidable if your car is registered in a state with tax (the only state without tax is Delaware). Whatever the invoice is add tax to that (e.g. - 20,000 *.065 = $1,300.00 + $20,000 = $21,300). You can then figure out your car payments based off of the figure with tax (unless you pay the tax yourself out of pocket). I tend to do this since my philosophy is, why pay interest on tax?!

Let me know if you need anything else!