haha if you haven't noticed... i'm a girl and a huge n00b

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lien

You're lucky people on these forums are relatively nice. On other forums I frequent (which I will not name here) you will get one of two types of responses.

Type 1: People will just type the word "Google" (you may get up to 30+ people telling you to "google")
Type 2: People will spend 10 minutes coming up with a witty remark that is meant to insult you rather than taking 2 minutes to simply explain the answer to your question.

 

lol you mean like offtopic? i know that :/

 

*LOL* Sorry, its 2:10AM here and I'm a bit slap happy . . .

On a serious note and in more layman terms, a lien secures a creditor's stake in an item, this case a car. The car's title cannot be transferred until this debt has been paid in full and the creditor signs off on a lien release. It gets a little shady in other fields, but for all educational purposes, that's the skinny on it

If you have a budget for a Z and know basically what you want, inform a dealer and they will keep an eye out for the vehicle. In many cases, the dealer has other lots to serve as a network or perhaps, they attend the dealer only auctions, which does produce a few quality bargains. For bargaining reasons, let's say, you want to spend $23K on a Z, out the door. Then, tell the dealer, you only have $21,500 or $22K. They will locate one regardless, but may try to "upsell" you on the model that they found. No need to worry, you have it in your budget.

G

 

Don't let the thrill of getting the Z rush you into a bad deal. Hey would you happen to know anyone named steven or maryann? They're my cousins and they live in San Jose.

 

lol... you know how big san jose is? i just moved there this year so im hardly familiar with the place myself.

i hate having to buy cars online but to me thats where seems to be the best deals... idk

 

racheroonie, how old are you? The very fact that you ignored everyone's advice and was adamant about the car made me assume that you are either very young (in the teens) or a girl, or both. It turns out you are indeed a girl, so all is forgiven.

The best deals for cars aren't always online. Various factors of where you live adjust a price on a car. Usually bigger cities and such also affect the price on various things in that community. The same principle applies for houses. $150K will buy you a damn good house out here, whereas in Cali, $150 will probably buy you a shack in the ghetto. You could always look at smaller dealerships around the smaller cities in Cali or even in another state, say Nevada or something. They might have good deals for you there. A friend of the family that lives in the Dallas, TX area actually drove over to where they used to live (Louisville, KY) to buy their new car. Just because the price for that car was incredibly cheaper than the dealership prices in Texas.

A lot of the deals online, like in Autotrader, etc., that aren't private sales are from dealerships that can't move their cars in that demographic. Those cars have probably been sitting on their lot for months or maybe over a year. They need to sell the car and advertise what they have online. Here locally, we have a 2003 Brickyard 350Z in Enthusiast trim and the dealer wants $24K for it. He even advertises it online for $24K. Anyone here on the forums can tell you that the price is ********. Just because it's $24K online doesn't mean it's a fabulous deal. Hell, you can get those for about $20K or less right now.

Since it seems you are on a tight budget (especially being a college student), my advice to you is to just keep looking. Don't compromise either. Remember if you're going used, it will be a lot harder to find what you want. I remember when I was looking at 350Zs, I wanted the Z to be at least a Performance Trim (because of the VDC, 18" wheels, and HIDs) and it had to be in Daytona Blue. I was debating on used or brand new. You can go to any dealership and get a brand new one how you want it, but getting one used is a little bit harder. You definitely have to watch out for people ripping you off. Because I was so knit-picky about it, it was hard to find what I was looking for.

All in all, just be patient. The 350Zs aren't going anywhere. If anything, it should be at your advantage. Why? Because as you wait, the prices on the 350Zs are depreciating and more people will decide to get rid of their Z for whatever reason (kids, needs something more practical, got into an accident, can't afford payments, etc.) Good luck in your search and remember, don't settle for crap.

 

+1

Honestly if you didn't know what a lien is, I don't believe that you're ready to go car shopping by yourself. Take an experienced friend or parent.

 

I agree with the guy above.

 

I smell a blonde... j/k j/k!!

 

Well the only reason i'm rushing into it is I need a car really really bad. I started out first year of college without one... and I know most people don't even own cars in college but my I don't live on campus and my town is pretty urban... anyhow, this is my dream car and I'm pretty stubborn on getting it... i could be more reasonable and go for a cheap honda or something but I'm really hoping I'll walk into a good deal sometime this summer. call me unrealistic :/

 

Well, you never really answered so if you just finished your first year, then that would put you at the ripe age of 19 or 20. Urban, like gangster urban or what? If that's the case, do you really want to have a flashy car in your neighborhood?

I understand that you're so excited because it's your dream car, but I think you can wait. Actually, you have to wait. There's no avoiding it. As I said before, you seem to be shopping for a used Z only. Since you're going used, you don't have a lot of options right now. I'm not being pessimistic, but I'm not being optimistic either. You may or may not find the Z you're looking for before the end of summer. As for calling you unrealistic, I wouldn't call it that. Just young and being young, you're impatient. The perfect used car doesn't grow on trees and I wouldn't call every used Z out there perfect either. Most of them have their flaws (as you obviously noticed from that salvaged Z). You have two options in my opinion.

1) Wait for that perfect Z to come along, but expect to do a lot of waiting.
2) Get another car in the meantime (how expensive it is, is up to you), and get the Z later on down the road when you're close to finishing college. There are plenty of other awesome cars out there and it's not like the Z will vanish off the face of this Earth anytime soon.

If you need help shopping for cars, you can PM or instant message me. Of course, everyone else has given their 2 cents also, so I don't think you have any more questions to ask.

 

She might not know about buying a car, but can she spot a pickup line?

 

Har har. Very funny. I have no intentions of doing anything of that sort. I don't even know her but my posts were based on the fact that I was once a college student at one time. When I was in college, I was in a similar predicament as her back in the day. Of course, I'm a guy, not a girl. We all know that guys have stronger willpowers to resist than girls. Anyway, my "dream car" back then was the Impreza WRX when they first came out. I was a sophomore then also but I did the right thing. I decided not to get one and settled for an Altima, which of course is not a bad machine. It got me from A to B and was a pretty good car. After I was finished with college, I saved up a year's worth of money and bought me a Z.

 

I say wait until you're in your last semester of college . . . until then, get a decent ride. Why? Colleges are a target for vandalism and a sure magnet for dents. Think about how small the parking spaces are and how careless the students are. I waited and glad I did.

G

 

^^^ This man speaks the DEFINITE truth. Man, I wonder why I didn't think of that either. We're both glad we waited!

 

OMG my first dream car was the impreza wrx too!! if i end up not getting the Z, i'm going to research more into it. but i dont want to settle for my second dream... a lot of my guy friends drive it too... (the wrx)

i might not drive the car to school because parking and parking permits per semester is rapeage. id actually take the car to a closer bus stop, park there, and take the bus. parking garages is asking for trouble.

 

OMG, she said OMG!!!!

I tell you, it is a match made in heaven, or My350Z, which is mostly the same...

 

Sorry, but the use of "OMG" is prohibited on these forums. Please use "ZOMG" instead.

;D

 

No one has mentioned 1 important thing INSURANCE try and get it insured fun and very costly.What Insurance campany wants to insure a car that in thier eyes has been totaled ...