How to buy with bad/no credit?

[JoeShmo]

Punishment for not owning credit cards is that my score is in the 500s, because I only owe on my mortgage, so no revolving credit.
I'm sure if I go to my credit union, and they see how much is being direct deposited over the past few years, they'll have no problem giving me a decent rate (they're advertising 3.14% for 60 months, 2.89 for 48 months). This is how I bought my last car about 5 years ago (and paid off in 3 years).
BUT! I hear getting financing on my own, a dealer is not going to give me as good of a deal, as they make money if I use KMF.
Whats worse, is I'm going to get a 2019 GT2 AWD. Yes, I know, the advice would be "get a few credit cards, and build up your credit over the next few months, and THEN buy". Nope... I'm impatient.

The other advice is that I can get a better deal on a 2018... For my rebuttal there, I must introduce you to my little story. About 2 years ago, I wanted the K900, but only a select few dealers were allowed to sell them. What impressed me the most about the K900 was the heated rear seats, and the surround camera. The other thing I wanted in a new car was AWD, which the K900 fell short on. So then the Stinger gets announced, hits the mark for AWD, but the US version is missing the heated rear seats and surround camera. grrr.. Buying one in Canada would mean no financing, as I'm a US resident. So FINALLY the 2019 has those features. And if I'm going to get a new car, I want ALL the bells and whistles, so GT2 it is! (plus, the 130 miles driving daily, I'd like a comfortable car... hopefully the electronic shocks in the GT2 are even better in that department).

Any thoughts? Should I just go in and ask for out-the-door pricing without playing the silly haggle game? Once they do their wealth screen on me, they might not want to give much in additional discounts. Sure, maybe they'll toss an incentive or two in there for good measure, but car dealers will always try to squeeze any last penny out of you. They'll be all over the "how much you can afford" vs my "how much I'm willing to pay".
(I absolutely HATE haggling, as I'm quite the introvert). I imagine it's somewhat normal to just take an additional 3k off the price after all the incentives.

I'll probably try to do a 48 or 60 month finance, that'll put me around $1000/mo, which is doable.

 

[Waynerm002]

Here's my thought. Seems like you have the money to handle all of this, might I suggest you work with your CU to get a loan there, go drive the car at the dealer and get a feel for it and tell them you have your own financing and want the best price with incentives. Your score will send some flags up and the interest rates will be higher from KIA than from your CU. I'm in Ashburn and bought my car in Winchester, the folks I have worked with have been really great. Samantha is my sales person at Parsons KIA (in Winchester) and she is really great, Susan the GM is also great and her office is close to the service section. Ask to speak with her, tell her your situation and see if she has any advice.

You might be a good candidate for the upcoming K900 if you want to wait a few more months. It will have the same bones as the stinger (3.3t w/8 speed transmission and AWD standard), be comfortable and will be more of a driver's car than the last one.

Here is a link to KIA's US media site: 2019 Kia K900 Photos and a video on it from a non biased source:

Can you tell I'm also into this car too? If this was out at the same time as the Stinger and the deals were close, I would probably go with the K900. Hope I was able to provide some good info for you.

 

[JoeShmo]

Thanks for the info. I think the K900 will be a bit more than I want to spend. I just can't imagine spending that much on a car (60k+ is pricing is similar to 2017). The initial plan was to get a 2 year old K900 and spend around $30k. But I'd miss out on the AWD, so that brought me over to a used Jag XE/XF R-spec or Volvo S90 T6... or Merc C300. I should have took notes when I compared all the features. I think the 2019 GT2 AWD ticks all the boxes though... although a bit high on the price. But can I get all those same features from another manufacturer on a 1 or 2 year old used car?

Also, my 2012 Kia Soul+ has 223k miles on it. Only thing I've replaced in the engine area is the crank sensor. So that's why I'm looking at getting another Kia. Part of me says it doesn't make sense to pay ~50k, when I can get that same car for $40k next year used (guess). But that mentality has delayed my car buying for about 2 years now. Logically, the 2018 GT2 AWD makes the most sense, as spending an extra $10k for surround view and heated rear seats is silly. But I know I'll constantly be thinking of all those times when those features would be handy. And if I buy the 2019, I'll be thinking about how I should have saved the 10k. Did I mention I tend to overthink things? =)

So, I'm pretty sure I'm set on a Stinger.

 

[jmf_tracy]

Lease then buyout, it is cheaper if they offer big lease incentives

 

[JoeShmo]

Leasing crossed my mind.. Then theres the whole "lease hacking" thing where you buy out within a few months. I really need to read up on this, and see if its a viable option. I was brought up thinking leasing is bad. And I also dismissed it because I drive at least 35k miles a year, and no lease allowed for that many miles. So I'd have to figure out the penalty for terminating the lease early without going over the allotted mileage. OR, the lease and buyout thing. I'll need to do some homework to figure out what this is all about.

 

[Waynerm002]

Buying it out isn’t terminating the lease, a lot of us have done this on the 2018s based on how high the incentives are and it works out better if you can score a low interest rate loan from your CU.

 

[JoeShmo]

I see things like "For Qualified Lessees" though. Google tells me that you typically need a higher credit score to lease than getting a car loan. If that ISN'T the case, I was thinking of leasing until my credit was a bit better (grab a few secured credit cards), then buy the car out after a year or so.
I've cleaned up some silly items on my report, so I should be able to get my score into the orange within the week, which will make things a lot easier with lease or buying outright.
The other silly thing is I'm so paranoid with dealing with salespeople doing "the hard sell", that I haven't even test drove one yet. I tried to rent a GT2, but Turo didn't like my insurance score(!?). I guess I'll just test drive right before I sign on the dotted line....