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_EtCetera_ Buying a car a tough choice for students Recent college graduates and first-time buyers can take advantage of special rebates and discounts by Rebecca Cronican ETCETERA EDITOR Buying a car is more than a big decision for college students and recent graduates - it’s several big decisions. Is it better to buy or lease? Is new better than used? What’s a reasonable price? And with the bills stacking up for rent, utilities, in surance and everything else, new graduates and college students have to know what they’re getting into to make sure they get the best deal on a car. Some students think they don’t have enough mon ey for a car, but dealers say there are plenty of options to make cars affordable on a tight budget. Jennifer Rainman, a geography senior, said, “I’d love to buy a new car, but I know I won’t have enough mon ey, and I feel like I would waste a lot of money leasing a car.” Keith Hudson, general manager of Jim Hudson Pon tiac GMC Suzuki Explorer, said it’s important to keep a budget in mind and be realistic. Most recent graduates don’t have the money to buy a $40,000 vehicle for their first car. He encourages leasing, as does Pat Johnson, senior sales representative at Galeana Chrysler Plymouth Jeep Kia. “You can lease more car for less of a monthly pay ment,” Johnson said. Standard leasing programs are for three years. At the end of the three years, the car is returned and a new one can be leased, starting the cycle again. Monthly pay ments stay the same. According to Hudson, the benefits of leasing are that . the car stays under warranty, and every three years, the car gets replaced with a new model, which means bet ter technology and, probably, more style. Also, the bank assumes the depreciation on the car. As with everything, there are drawbacks to leas ing. Leased cars have mileage limits. With a standard three-year lease, the limit is 36,000 miles, or 12,000 a year. Under that program, the driver must pay a penalty of 15 cents for every mile over the limit at the end of the three years, Johnson said. Extra miles can be bought in advance, so the penalty is not inevitable, though the added expense of buying the miles ahead of time must be considered when figuring a budget, and it also requires planning. Another drawback is that the car is never really yours. “When you do a lease, you don’t truly own the car,” Hudson said. For those who do want to actually own a vehicle, the options are buying new, used or program vehicles. Used cars are cheaper, but they don’t come with a full factory warranty, and there’s no way to know the service history. If the dealership is reputable, it will inspect used cars before reselling them to ensure that the car is in good condition. “We have a mechanic that’ll completely go over the vehicles,” but it’s still impossible to see everything, Johnson said. Some say buying a used car is like buy ing someone else’s problems, but Galeana tries to avoid that with a 100-point inspection and by guaranteeing their used cars. Program vehicles are those that have been owned by a rental fleet. They aren’t necessarily better than used, Johnson said, but they usually have 20,000 to 25,000 miles on them, compared with 50,000 to 70,000 on trade-ins. The miles put on rentals are mostly highway miles, which wear the car less than miles put on the car in the city, where traffic is stop and go. Also, program cars are typically still under factory warranty when they’re sold. Most dealerships have discounts or rebates for col lege graduates and first-time buyers. Jim Hudson and Galeana give a $400 rebate on select models to college graduates from six t _ r _ __ . ■ — — mumiid uuuicgiauu ation to two years after. There’s not a cer tain time of year that’s best for getting low prices on cars. How ever, at the beginning of a model year, man iifar'furorc fronnontlv --J-J put higher incentives on cars from the last model year. That usually is in August or September, Johnson said. Both Johnson and Hudson emphasize, however, that no time really is better than another for buying a car. “Someone who knows haw to shop for a car - they’re going to get the best price,” Johnson said. There are several options available for financing a car that will keep payments within a reasonable budget, Johnson said. Galeana has a program where a leased car has low er-than-normal monthly payments, followed by one big balloon payment in the final month of the lease peri od. That gives the consumer time to save money. Many dealerships have similar programs. Wheri buying a car, the lender determines how much money is put down. Some lenders want to see 10 percent to 15 percent cash down on the price of the vehicle, Johnson said. The final figure, though, depends on the interest rate, •“which is affected by credit history. For someone who hasn’t built a solid credit history but doesn’t have credit problems, a bank might ask for no less than 10 percent down on a vehicle that costs no more than $15,000, Hudson said. For those with bad credit, each case is unique. Buying a car loses some of its constraints when a se cure job immediately follows graduation. Scott Landry, a computer engineer who was gradu ated from USC in May, works for Microsoft now and just ordered a new - \/aI„a C Af\ His deal is no ordinary deal, however, as Landry will fly to Sweden, where the car is made, to drive the car while on vacation in Eu rone. At the end of his trip, he’ll return the car to a spec ified port city, where the car will be shipped to him in Charlotte. “The program is great, because I get to order the ex act car that I want. On top of that, I get a free trip to Europe, where I can drive the car,” Landry said. Until April 15; buyers can participate in Volvo’s pro gram and receive a free round-trip plane ticket from one of 22 major U.S. cities to one of 27 European destina tions. And, of course, the new car provides transporta tion in Europe. For the most part, though, buying a car is a domes tic endeavor. Johnson advises having a clear idea of what you’re looking for and doing plenty of research, which is easy with the Internet. Knowing what to expect will make negotiations easier. “.You just have to know what you want,” Johnson said. Td love to buy a new car, but I know I won t have enough money, and I feel like I would waste a lot of money leasing a car.’ Jennifer Rainman geography senior 1 $119 o Gets you: 0 0 0 0 *an eye exam & *2 six packs of disposables §or *an eye exam & | * 1 pair of daily wear lenses , u Corner of Gervais St. § and Gadsden o Across from Jillians o 715 Gervais St. § 799-2020 § o o 0 0 0 Dr. C. Earl Loftis Jr. 0 Office hours: M-Th 9am-6pm 0 ' Fri. 9am-4pm a 10 p^Mr^ fb^ office 3Tf^^r 4r 1^v l^oo/sl Cotff- 4js|P U-^T^N i& pcytrfbfxM^ IP^S/ 4^tx (Vtp^rfe ^6/^5Tlo^3 \<3 ¥ 17 OfJ-Cl# fop P^Pct/TlVP offTcPps \ 3Pri4TOp3 . I ^ffoud i£> v6rg: J -iS>Gr Ofil TO y1p.3C.PR/ ' 'p^r^p yex/p 3-n/pp/sir IP Vt/s/P PW AJt^MPPp -cucp T}fp pPp3o^Mc •R19 -C{joo3P 377/PP/^T OoyTPpjNjMP^T PtPCTlo/s|3 -vbr^ I I Planning to come home to Greenville for the summer? Take summer classes at Greenville Tech, and you can save money while you get ahead. 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