Man from Kotaku goes to buy car, spends at least $36,000 on a Nissan Sentra.

"willkinton247" (willkinton247) 09/28/2015 at 09:28 • Filed to: Horrible deals

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!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! How on earth do you end up spending $500/month on a 72 month loan for a Nissan Sentra? I did the Build and Price for a Sentra on Nissan’s website and the most I could make it cost was $26,322, and that was with the top SL trim level, and every single option selected, including:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

All of that completely pointless and unneeded nonsense added up to only $2,977.

What on earth is Mike Fahey doing? That guy has to be a car salesman’s wettest of wet dreams.

Mike, please come explain exactly what happened, because I am very concerned. I think we here at Oppo can help you avoid getting that screwed over in the future.

EDIT: It was pointed out that he said he spent this much 20 years ago, which means he spent the equivalent of $56,000 in today’s money on a Nissan Sentra. According to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a 1995 Nissan Sentra GXE had a base price of $13,839, and if you wanted ABS, you could spend an extra $995. My mind boggles.

Sneaky Pete > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 09:31

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There’s something called interest that gets added into the monthly payments. So would things like an extended warranty/service contract, gap insurance, etc.

PS9 > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 09:32

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I’m guessing you’re not familiar with the concept of interest rates on loans.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 09:33

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He also said that it was 20 years ago.

willkinton247 > Sneaky Pete 09/28/2015 at 09:36

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If he had atrocious credit, and ended up with a 9% interest rate, and lived in a state that had a very high sales tax (lets say 6%), he could end up with $500. More likely though, he said yes on the extended warranty, etc.

As for gap insurance, with that amount spent and therefore owed on a Sentra for 6 years, he’s going to need it.

willkinton247 > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 09/28/2015 at 09:39

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True, but that makes it even worse of a deal. That means that in 1995, he spent $56,000 in today’s money on a Nissan Sentra.

64Mali > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 09:39

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To get to near 500 a month with a 27k price tag, your looking at an interest rate of near 10%. Now if he kept a prime 4% interest rate and he financed 32k that would also yield 500/month. Which 5k in extended warranties, paint coverage, and Taxes equaling 5k is not unreasonable.

Still Guy got hosed..

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 09:41

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My point exactly.

mazda616 > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 09:42

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Everyone needs some good air bag anti-theft bolts.

PS9 > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 09:44

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For a first time buyer with no credit history, 9% is pretty great. People don’t emerge out of the womb with an automatic 900 FICO score. Good credit is something you have to spend a non-trivial amount of time building.

Also, bad credit loans are nowhere near 9%. Think 15-20%.

willkinton247 > PS9 09/28/2015 at 09:45

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Oh I am, but that means he had to have atrocious credit to get at least a 9% loan, and a tax rate of at least 6% to get to $500/month, and have every single available option, both factory and dealer installed. He probably said yes to every single dealer scam offering on the book.

He also said this was 20 years ago, which means he spent the equivalent of $56,000 on a Sentra. There is no way anyone could possibly frame this as him not being taken for a total ride.

Ash78, voting early and often > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 09:47

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TL;DR, but the most universal feature on most new car purchases is negative equity from your trade-in. Sadly.

Coty > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 09:47

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ANTI THEFT AIRBAG BOLTS THOUGH WHAT THE FUCK

Patrick Nichols > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 09:52

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The thread on that post about how to properly clutch in and out is hilarious and I almost spit water on the screen when I saw someone say that race cars need to be clutched in all the way between shifts...

jariten1781 > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 09:54

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If he talked about it as ‘500/mo’ then he’s a monthly payment buyer (aka sucker)

He knew he wanted a ‘cheap’ car because he wanted to be frugal.

He told the salesman he could only afford 450 a month.

Salesman 4-squared a cheap car (probably one that had been on a the lot for a while at that) to 500 a month and convinced him it was the best that could be done and surely he could swing 50$/month.

Happens all...the...time.

People buying on monthly payments regularly have no clue what they’re doing. Same in every industry that has monthly payment buyers (furniture/mattresses, roofs, HVAC, etc.)

willkinton247 > Patrick Nichols 09/28/2015 at 09:54

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HA. Most race cars these days don’t require any clutch in between shifts, and most regular cars should be clutched in all the way to minimize wear on the transmission.

willkinton247 > jariten1781 09/28/2015 at 09:56

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This is why it pays to care to know about cars.

djmt1 > Patrick Nichols 09/28/2015 at 09:57

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Ooh, it’s kicking off.

PS9 > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 09:59

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9% is not ‘atrocious’ for a first time buyer with no credit history. It’s the average. I knew a family member who actually did have an atrocious credit history (bankruptcy, divorce, 300 fico score), and the loan on his new-edge mustang was something like 20%. Loan shark rates, sure, but that’s what a sub-prime loan looks like, and it’s nowhere near 9%.

Perhaps everyone you know has sparkling credit with 900 FICO scores out of the womb and has a mailbox full of 0% financing offers, but understand that this is not the average by a long shot. A normal buyer with no credit history (especially a first timer in their 20s or so who might also have a small mortgage or student loans they’re trying to pay off) is gonna be looking at some mid-range numbers when time comes to finance.

Also, you can’t calculate out the inflation like that. It would only be the case that he effectively spent ‘$56,000’ on a Sentra if he used 2015 dollars to buy the car 20 years ago, He spent [20 years ago] dollars to buy it, so that money still had [20 years ago] value at the time of purchase. What that value might be today is totally irrelevant to that.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 10:02

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Yeah I avoided that article. No need to dogpile on the poor guy for not realizing that the lack of mechanical feedback means he is likely to pick up bad habits instead of figuring it out, but it will be a neat experiment.

I want to see some good cross-posts now. Have Jalopnik teach the other groups how to drive stick shift and autocross. Have Gizmodo teach people how to assemble a computer or learn some new tech. Have Kotaku teach people how to play a game like counter strike or DOTA or something. Have Deadspin teach them how to watch/play football. Have jezebel teach people how to represent women (no hate on this one, just wait for it......). And then have gawker teach them how to shit the bed when it comes time to do good journalism (BOOM!).

Patrick Nichols > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 10:05

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A lot of race cars don’t even have a clutch pedal anymore and the second point is debatable. If you can match the revs consistently shifting up from 3rd through 5th or 6th a little clutch is all you need. Shifting down is a little harder to get right and 1st and 2nd can be tricky.

crowmolly > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 10:07

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Maybe he just went for the $9000 pinstriping

jariten1781 > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 10:11

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Today you don’t even need to know about cars. There’s plenty of info available on what you should be able to get. You just need to do a minimal amount of research before any large purchase. I don’t have a whole lot of sympathy for the people still getting caught up in terrible deals nowadays.

I’ll give the guy the benefit of the doubt though...20 years ago that was way harder. Your options were trying to find an up to date book/magazine in the library, digging around on horribly formatted websites of questionable veracity, or relying on your friend’s/family's expertise. If you weren’t a car person, hadn’t been taken through the wringer a few times, and your family/friends weren’t car folks it was very easy for an otherwise bright first time buyer to be screwed.

Iheartmy365kHonda - Car enthusiasts do like FWD > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 10:11

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Other than not spending his money wisely, he is also trying to learn the clutch... on a video game. The one thing that does not give pedal feedback. This guy is... I can’t. Like I can’t describe him.

For those who want to learn how to use the clutch, either rent a car with a manual, or go get yourself a $1,500 BMW E30 or Honda Civic/Accord. At least something with some clutch life left. Don’t go broke learning the clutch. The worst that can happen from buying a dirt cheap car is that you’ve got yourself a runner or that you can sell it again. Also, video tutorials are everywhere online. Please don’t do what this guy is doing.

Agrajag > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 10:12

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I thought it was a joke.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 10:49

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First thing I thought when reading this.

\makes me think about all of the millenials complaining about the wage gap. Because the common hive mind of millenialism is “What is the price? If I just know the price I will pay it.” a la Apple products.

Sam > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 09/28/2015 at 12:00

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I’d say the concepts you can learn using a wheel will help you learn to drive in reality. Now the game he’s probably going to play, that is what will teach him improperly. Something like Euro Truck actually stalls or judders. Forza 6 does not.

Tohru > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 12:19

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I’m hoping he was exaggerating for comedic effect. I didn’t know they DID 72 month car loans in 1995. Besides that, he could’ve bought a base-model ‘95 Corvette for that kind of money.

Tohru > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 09/28/2015 at 12:21

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As a former Kotaku commenter, “HOW TO PLAY DOTA2”

1. Speak only in Russian

2. “MID OR FEED CYKA”

3. Disconnect 10 minutes into match.

Yossarian > PS9 09/28/2015 at 13:52

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Yup, even with a co-signer as a first time buyer VW was going to stick me with a 9% rate. Didn’t matter that my credit was tier 1 too. After playing them back and forth with a credit union we finally agreed on 4.9% and even that was with a significant down payment.

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > willkinton247 09/28/2015 at 18:03

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He was exaggerating. When he said he didn’t know how to drive stick the salesman thought he was less of a man and would be suckered into that price...