How To Speed Up Your Car Buying Experience

If you've ever bought a car, you probably remember the length of time it took to get through the car buying process. Below are some tips to help speed up the car buying process, so you don't get stuck at the dealership for an extended length of time.

1. Have a copy of your driver's license. Yes, I've had a few customers that didn't have their driver's license with them, so they couldn't test drive the car and they couldn't fill out a credit app since there was no additional proof of identity.
2. Peak hours for dealerships are in the evenings and on the weekends. The best time to shop are weekdays and mornings. If you go at peak hours, you'll be dealing with the bottleneck of customers waiting to get into finance.
3. Arrive with a pre-approval from your bank or credit union. Not only does this save you time since the dealership won't have to run your credit, you will also most likely be getting a better interest rate. Plus, then the dealership can't submit your credit to countless banks, which dings your credit score. If you need financing and don't have a pre-approval, know your social security number and employment information. Yes, you will need to provide a phone number for your employer.   NOTE: Get a pre-approval unless you want to qualify for special financing rates the dealer may offer with approved credit.
4. If you will be trading in a vehicle, make sure the vehicle is in your name so that you have the right to sell it. Be sure to bring your title and registration to the trade. If you're still making payments on your trade, have the bank that holds the auto loan send you a 10 day payoff amount, or know how to access the 10 day payoff amount online. This is especially important when you visit dealerships when banks are closed, like evenings and weekends, because you may not be able to get ahold of anyone at the bank to get the payoff information.
5. Bring a copy of your insurance. Also have a copy of the declaration page that shows what kind of coverage you have. If you don't have full coverage, add full coverage to your policy before getting the declaration page. You have to have proof of full coverage insurance before you can drive your new car off the lot.
6. If you're paying cash, be sure to have your method of payment with you like check, credit card, or debit card.
7. If you add additional accessories, expect to schedule an appointment to come back at a later date to get them installed.

Doing the things listed above should shave a considerable amount of time off of your car buying experience. Be prepared when you arrive at the dealership. It's not like car shopping is an unplanned stop. People don't car shop for fun.

"Don't Sell Yourself Short"

Since graduation is right around the corner I've been reminiscing about my journey through college. I took English Comp I as one of my very first classes at Valencia. If it wasn't for my Comp I professor, I'm not certain I would have continued my college education. When I started going to Valencia in the Spring of 2009, I went to prove to my twin that I could do things and succeed without her. So, I didn't really have any definite intentions on graduating with my A.A. and I certainly didn't believe I would transfer to UCF to get my undergraduate degree. Well, in one of my conversations with my Comp I professor she gave me advice that certainly led me down the path I'm on today. "Don't sell yourself short" and "Keep your options open" are the two pieces of advice that stuck with me from Professor Sebacher. My first step was switching my major at Valencia from an A.S degree to an A.A. General Studies degree to keep the option of transferring to UCF open, if I decided that was what I wanted to do. When I switched to an A.A., I still had no real intention of actually going to UCF.

I had no real intention to go to UCF until I met Taylor in the Fall of 2011. She also had the 'don't sell yourself short' mentality and she made me believe that I could succeed at UCF. In fact, I registered for 5 classes in the Spring of 2012 at Valencia so that I could graduate from Valencia with her in May 2012 and transfer to UCF in the Fall of 2012. Taylor gave me the reassurance I needed to transfer to UCF with confidence instead of fear and uncertainty.  If you would have told me in the Spring of 2009 that I would graduate with my A.A. in General Studies with a 4.0 GPA, I would have called bullshit! I am so glad I listened to that wise professor and kept my options open and now that I'll be graduating from UCF Summa Cum Laude (top 2.5% in the College of Business) I can proudly say I didn't sell myself short. I overcame tons of health issues while still finding success in the classroom. I overcame tons of self doubt to get to where I am today. Heck, at one point I even overcame depression! I never claim to be smart, but I do pride myself in being a hard worker.

I had a customer today that got his undergraduate degree in finance at UCF a few years ago and is now getting ready to take the GMAT to apply for graduate schools. I mentioned my 3.9 GPA and he is convinced that I should take the GMAT and apply to ivy league schools for my Masters. He thinks as long as I score high on the GMAT I'll get in because my GPA is ridiculously high. I don't even know if it's possible or even reasonable to think I could get accepted to an ivy league school. How crazy awesome would that be? It got me thinking... Will I be "selling myself short" if I don't look into this nonsense to see if it's something that I should be considering?

Captured Moments

Below are a few of my favorite captured moments from my graduation photo shoot! I am so freaking close to graduating!

 



Last Minute Lauren: The Finale

Procrastination has a firm grip on me. My team didn't finish our strategic analysis report until two hours before it was due last week. I believe that was my first "all nighter" in college. I finished my part by 3am and had to wake up at 6am to make sure my teammates were finishing their sections as well.  Honestly, I don't know what grade to expect on it. We worked our asses off on the first report before spring break and only got an 83%, so since we weren't as organized with this one I don't have high expectations.  I'll gladly take a 66%

Today my team had a 12 minute presentation to highlight our strategic recommendation listed in our report. We met at school at 8am, made our power point slides (which was pretty easy because it was just information we covered in the report), we practiced three times, and then I ran to the library to print our slides at 9:15am. Class and presentations started at 9:30am. Thankfully, we were the last team to go, so we were able to step out of class and practice one more time.  The presentation went surprisingly well. I was a little nervous because our CEO (our online professor) said that if the financial analysis section doesn't fully support the recommendation, the highest grade my in-class professor is allowed to give is a C. Since I was responsible for the financial analysis section I felt a lot of pressure to give my team any chance at a decent grade on the presentation.   After the presentation, my professor asked about five follow up questions to clarify certain aspects in our presentation and he didn't ask one question about the financial analysis section. I'm hoping that means I fully supported our recommendation with my financial analysis. The questions he did ask were answered with confidence by my teammates. I think we effectively bull shitted with outstanding confidence.

Now, I'm waiting for my professor to announce which team is going to The Great Capstone Competition. If my team gets selected, I don't have to take the final exam. However, if my team is not selected, then I'll have to take the final exam. I am three lectures behind on the video lectures and I'm four chapters behind in the book. I also have not watched any of the 5 "off the books" videos that will be covered on the exam. Obviously, I'm hoping to get invited to the competition so that I don't have to play catch to study for the final exam.

By the way, I'm impatiently waiting to get the grades on my team's strategic analysis report and presentation so that I'll know how bad I can do on the final, if I have to take it, in order to get at least a B in the class. 

Unnecessary Stress

It has been unnecessarily stressful whenever my best friend, Taylor, comes to visit since I've moved back in with my parents. In the past, for whatever reason my mom and Taylor openly dislike each other. It was no secret; there was no hiding it.  Obviously, I know Taylor as being an outstanding young woman with great drive and motivation. She challenges me in life and I love her for it! I trust her completely! Certainly, I know my mom as being someone I can depend on. Even though we've gone through phases of disagreements and periods of dislike, I have and will always love my mom. 

Since getting my new job and having to work weekends, my free time is very slim. So, when Taylor comes to town it's difficult for me to be constantly available to be with her 24/7 while she is visiting. My parents (my mom in particular) have some beef with Taylor being at the house when I'm not home. My mom seriously tried to get me to kick Taylor out of the house this morning when I left for work at 8am. Taylor wasn't able to check into her hotel for the wedding she's in town for until 3pm.  My mom was going to be home, so I didn't understand why Taylor couldn't sleep in and hang in my room until she was ready to leave.  I somehow managed to calmly explain to my mom the stress the situation puts me through. The tension between my mom and Taylor and feeling responsible to keep them separated stresses me out like nothing I've ever experienced before. I always consider getting a hotel whenever Taylor visits, but I usually incorrectly think I can handle it.

After trying to calmly explain the unnecessary stress (which got my mom's attention because she knows stress can be a trigger for a Crohn's flare), my mom offered to let Taylor sleep in and then asked if she could take Taylor to lunch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I thought I was stressed before, that was nothing compared to how much I over analyzed how horribly the two of them having lunch together could go.   I had to leave for work, Taylor said she would also like to have lunch with my mom, and I had no time to talk them out of it.  Thankfully, once I got to work I had a team meeting that cleared my head and then I was busy pricing cars and selling a 2015 CX-5 to a customer.

Out of sight, out of mind.... at least I tried to put the two of them having lunch together, unsupervised, out of my thoughts. Who would win in battle? Shit, am I obligated to be Switzerland? I got a text from Taylor that said, "We had fun *smiley face emoticon*". I haven't had a chance to talk to Taylor to get her point of view yet. However, even my mom said it went well! Holy fuck nuggets, they actually enjoyed lunch together! I can't even explain how happy this makes me.

Taylor's family always makes me feel like part of their family and I always feel disappointed that she doesn't get to feel that way about my family. This was a huge step in the right direction. It was like a ton of bricks lifting off of me. Super thankful for my mom being willing to make the first move and ask to take Taylor to lunch and super thankful for Taylor being willing to go.

Plans Change and I'm Okay With That

Today, I met up with a girl I played basketball with in high school to have her take my senior/graduation pictures at UCF. I already blogged about my ideal plan of locations and even outfits for the photo shoot. While I was getting my outfits ready today before I realized it was going to rain, I happened to find the dress I wore for my high school graduation. My sister had the brilliant idea of recreating the photo since the dress still fit. Apparently, the older I get, the paler I become.  These were taken  about 9 years apart. I think I look so much healthier in the older photo on the left.

2006 to 2015

It rained today during the shoot, so we were limited to indoors and sheltered areas. The rain certainly changed my original photo shoot plans and I'm okay with that. I think we made it work. I didn't get many photos taken on the Pegasus sitting behind Knightro, but by golly I was finally able to climb up there, even though it was in the rain, for a few quick pictures. Thankfully, my sister Kim was there to snap the shot below with my cell phone.

CHARGE!!!

Absolutely Amaze-Balls

Someone pinch me! Graduation is in 37 days!!!  Yes, I am counting down the days! It is finally starting to seem real even though about half of the possible points in my class are still up for grabs. I have placed my order to rent my cap and gown. I have scheduled a graduation/senior photo shoot. I just received the class ring that I custom designed back in February and it is absolutely amaze-balls!

Around the black onyx it says "University of Central Florida." On the right side of the ring is "BS" for Bachelor of Science degree and it also says "Finance" on a ribbon next the symbol for business. On the left side of the ring is my school's crest above "15" which stands for 2015, the year I'm graduating. I had my full name engraved on the inside of the ring. My mom questioned why I had my last name engraved. To which I responded that it will be the name on my diploma and I have no intention to ever get married, so it made sense to put my full name on the ring. 

It's my first real piece of jewelry. It's 10K gold. Honestly, I'm not sure what that means... I just chose that gold because it was the cheapest. Even though I'm not that into regular jewelry, I am so proud to be earning the degree engraved on the ring! I selected the black onyx stone because my school colors are black and gold and since the ring is gold, it made sense to have a black stone to compliment it. I am very happy I decided to reward myself for all of my hard work in school by buying the ring.

I don't think it's bad luck to start wearing the ring before I graduate, so I've already started wearing it as encouragement to finish strong.