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Don Lapre posted:The focus and mazda 3 are completely different cars in America. My fault, I thought they switched over everything in the mid-2000's. Still, not a bad car.
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Apr 17, 2010 22:35
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Actually, strangely enough I was looking at a Matrix while walking out of the day job. The thing is, I had initially planned on getting a new Camaro LS, but decided that it would be a rotten daily driver (especially in the winters) and I guess talked myself into the Honda Civic LX-S as it was new and sporty and reliable and...yeah. Last year, btw, I made a hair under $12K from Amazon referrals from SA alone. I keep getting run further and further out of business by people who have better bots than I, but business has kept steady enough and my freelance writing is taking off this year. I'd be surprised if some of the guys in the Coupons forum didn't make $30K+ from that alone. I should also note that I have no debt. Matlock fucked around with this message at 07:04 on Apr 18, 2010 |
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Apr 18, 2010 03:01
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tuckfard posted:Not if this is the best place to ask, but I'm trying to figure out what's the best option with my little money. I know this was a month ago and you may have made a move by now (although there is no post), but I can tell you that you can certainly find a mid to late 90's Corolla, Civic, or Tercel for that price. The Tercel may seem like the worst option there, but if it has a good history it's probably bulletproof. They're not nice cars, but it's hard to match for low overall cost of ownership. Runs on fumes, parts and repairs are cheap IF you ever need them, and you can probably drive it for a few years and turn around and sell it for more or less the same price.
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Apr 18, 2010 07:44
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Matlock posted:I'm looking at buying a new car, namely the Honda Civic Sedan LX-S. According to Overstock.com, it runs $17,206. Taking a look around the area, most of the used Civics in the current gen are at asking prices ~$18K and in the EX trim. I think you're spending too much money on a car. Just for comparison's sake, I just bought a used 2006 Civic EX, financed it @6.69% for 4 years, loan was about $14k. My payments are $325 a month, and my insurance is $80 a month higher than when I was driving my paid off 1997 Integra. I made about $70k last year, and I feel like $425 for a car payment + insurance is a ridiculous expense. I think that if you bought the car you're looking at, right about the second or third month that you're making your car payment, you'll feel a little sick to your stomach. If I were you, I'd try to find a 2006 or 2007 Civic in a southern state for $10k to $12k, you're getting essentially the same car for way cheaper without the rust issues. I really like my Civic, I just hate paying for it. 
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Apr 19, 2010 18:24
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Going by the advice, taking it to used and all that, this looks like a good path to take: http://bit.ly/cOOkM2 As it stands, to reiterate, I have $10K on-hand to put down on it. I have enough in my monthly budget to pay it off (with this, like $5K, which I'd take in a 24 month), and $5K in cash reserves past the $10K to put down with no other debts on hand.
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Apr 20, 2010 23:17
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Matlock posted:Going by the advice, taking it to used and all that, this looks like a good path to take: looks like that auction has a reserve price, might be a bit higher than $10k
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Apr 21, 2010 00:02
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Given that the BIN is $13,9, probably that.
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Apr 21, 2010 01:09
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That accord is worth the $14k, easily. Cost of ownership is a little higher than a Civic due to the much lower gas milage, but still pretty reasonable.
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Apr 22, 2010 03:02
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This is the closest thread I could find to the topic. What's the best way to find the cheapest car insurance in the US besides going to every insurer's website and signing up for a quote individually? Kind of like a priceline.com for insurance.
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May 25, 2010 21:34
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I think Progressive will give you everybody else's rates, but they might be biased towards Progressive (read: not accurate) since they're obviously trying to sell you Progressive insurance.
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May 25, 2010 21:38
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Hey I am considering buying a different car since I really don't like my 2001 Passat and want something more reliable and less expensive to repair. I'm just starting my car search now. A couple of questions to start off with: - I noticed that there were some hybrids that seemed comparably priced to the other models I was looking at. I know cw when they first came out was that they were overpriced, not really that much better mpg-wise, and cost more just to give you a warm fuzzy feeling. What're your thoughts on hybrid in general, or specific models? - I know nobody is buying Toyota right now because of the brake thing. I was hoping that there might be some good deals to come out of this. Is it worth looking into or should I stay far far away from any recalled models? - My first two cars were Civics and I loved them, so I'm of course considering getting a newer model and just calling it a day. Are there other cars which are similar that I should be considering? (price under $20k would be optimal, but I'm willing to pay more if I get a car that will last super long and be super reliable).
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May 28, 2010 20:22
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moana posted:Hey I am considering buying a different car since I really don't like my 2001 Passat and want something more reliable and less expensive to repair. I'm just starting my car search now. A couple of questions to start off with: I've yet to see a hybrid where it actually makes financial sense to buy the hybrid vs the normal 4 cylinder non hybrid version of the car. Hybrids make people feel warm and fuzzy, and give you mad eco cred, but from a financial standpoint they still don't make sense. The payoff is usually in the 7 to 8 year range, and by then you need a new battery pack for the car. YMMV with the calculations, but a normal person putting 12 to 15K a year of mixed driving use on a car, it's still not advantageous to buy one. re: Toyota, they're having some deals, but people are all over them because they know this recall poo poo is blown way out of proportion and there are deals to be had. Toyota is offering 0% for 60 on a few models, which isn't normal. They're usually like Honda and don't have to have big incentives to move vehicles. You can get 0 for 60 on Camry, Corolla, Tundra, and Yaris' right now. Toyota tends to hold resale value pretty well, if you can get into a new Camry for a good price, it's a great car. Civic's are great cars and always have been. Cheap to fix, require little maintenance, and go forever. ( I drive a 2000 Civic with 130K on it and everything is mechanically perfect). You can't really go wrong with one. You buying used or new?
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May 28, 2010 20:40
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I walked into a Toyota dealer last week in Orange County and tried to deal. No dice, business seems alright over there.
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May 28, 2010 20:43
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skipdogg posted:You buying used or new?
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May 28, 2010 20:48
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skipdogg posted:I've yet to see a hybrid where it actually makes financial sense to buy the hybrid vs the normal 4 cylinder non hybrid version of the car. Hybrids make people feel warm and fuzzy, and give you mad eco cred, but from a financial standpoint they still don't make sense. The payoff is usually in the 7 to 8 year range, and by then you need a new battery pack for the car. YMMV with the calculations, but a normal person putting 12 to 15K a year of mixed driving use on a car, it's still not advantageous to buy one. For what it's worth, a salesman assured me that "nobody in America has paid for a Prius battery replacement."
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May 28, 2010 21:02
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moana posted:Really depends on what kind of deals I could get. What size of car are you looking for? I've done a ton of research, but I'm mostly looking at smaller hatchbacks (Fit, Mazda2, Fiesta, etc).
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May 28, 2010 21:16
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Mandalay posted:I walked into a Toyota dealer last week in Orange County and tried to deal. No dice, business seems alright over there. My buddy leased a 2010 for $200/mo for 3 years last month. He drives over 400mi/mo for his job, and gets 50c/mi. Since gas is so cheap for him, he basically gets a free car. Today, the same car costs $500/mo to lease for three years, and that makes very little sense.
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May 28, 2010 21:27
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Grumpwagon posted:What size of car are you looking for? I've done a ton of research, but I'm mostly looking at smaller hatchbacks (Fit, Mazda2, Fiesta, etc).
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May 28, 2010 21:46
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That Prius wouldn't be a bad deal at all. They're kind of in their own class. I was talking more about say regular Ford Fusion vs. the hybrid, or say Highlander Hybrid vs regular, etc. There's nothing really comparable to the Prius, and the mileage is fantastic.
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May 28, 2010 22:25
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If I were you, Moana, I'd try to pick up one of the 06 or 07 Civics. You can probably find one for $11-$14k. They're pretty sweet, with a lot of features not on the 05 and older models. I have an 06, and other than the cheap interior, I love it. You save $10k over the new version and it'll last you just as long as you want it to if you take care of it. Jagershot fucked around with this message at 22:31 on May 28, 2010 |
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May 28, 2010 22:29
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moana posted:- I noticed that there were some hybrids that seemed comparably priced to the other models I was looking at. I know cw when they first came out was that they were overpriced, not really that much better mpg-wise, and cost more just to give you a warm fuzzy feeling. What're your thoughts on hybrid in general, or specific models? You should test drive the previous generation Prius. If you like the ergonomics, hatch space, and ride, it's a decent option vs the markup of a new car. That it can get 40mpg in the city pretty easily is a bonus, but ultimately not a big factor. It can't do that well if you speed along on the highway for miles. I wouldn't recommend getting a hybrid solely for fuel economy, because that usually doesn't pan out for people. But yeah, if you like Civics, you should look at used ones. Or maybe consider a new Kia Forte? It's pretty much the new Korea Civic clone, and not bad by most accounts.
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May 28, 2010 22:44
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Apart from what I've read, I know very little about hybrids. I'm pretty sure that if anything drivetrain-wise need work, it's dealer-only though. I highly doubt non-dealer mechanics have had any experience working on hybrids yet. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong)
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May 28, 2010 22:58
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CornHolio posted:Apart from what I've read, I know very little about hybrids. I'm pretty sure that if anything drivetrain-wise need work, it's dealer-only though. I highly doubt non-dealer mechanics have had any experience working on hybrids yet. I've seen one reputable shop in the Boston area advertise full service for all Japanese hybrids. They claim to be fully certified to work on all Japanese makes, so I guess they invested in the obvious gap.
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May 28, 2010 23:38
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CornHolio posted:Apart from what I've read, I know very little about hybrids. I'm pretty sure that if anything drivetrain-wise need work, it's dealer-only though. I highly doubt non-dealer mechanics have had any experience working on hybrids yet. yes and no. at first, we had very little mechanics in the shops that could work with hybrids, but like anything, things will change. I think there's not really that -big- of a difference in terms of simple maintenance outside of the engine so by the time the mechanics come around is probably when you can foresee problems with the engine? this is just all speculative.
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May 28, 2010 23:51
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skipdogg posted:Toyota is offering 0% for 60 on a few models, which isn't normal. They're usually like Honda and don't have to have big incentives to move vehicles. You can get 0 for 60 on Camry, Corolla, Tundra, and Yaris' right now.
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May 29, 2010 04:18
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moana posted:Oh heck, this 0 for 60 thing is only until June 1st I guess? That sounds pretty rad, maybe I will do some car shopping this weekend and try out different ones. I have never gone out to a dealership to test drive things before so this will be a new experience! Don't they just raise the price of the car (or drop it less during negotiation) on those 0% deals, or can you still get it down near invoice?
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May 29, 2010 12:47
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sanchez posted:Don't they just raise the price of the car (or drop it less during negotiation) on those 0% deals, or can you still get it down near invoice? Depends on how well you negotiate. If your a Costco member, I suggest going through the Costco Auto program. I was looking at 2010 Fusions, and the dealers first offer with 100 over invoice with 2,000 in rebates or 0% for 60. No negotiation needed. I decided to hold off buying, but the process wasn't bad. Most car companies let you choose between a rebate or APR special, I don't think Toyota's doing the rebates though. They tend to have a negative effect on resale values.
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May 29, 2010 16:50
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sanchez posted:Don't they just raise the price of the car (or drop it less during negotiation) on those 0% deals, or can you still get it down near invoice? I got my Hyundai for well under invoice even with the 0% financing. You should avoid discussing financing during the price negotiations anyway; all you want to talk about during that discussion is the final price of the car.
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May 29, 2010 17:19
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skipdogg posted:Depends on how well you negotiate. If your a Costco member, I suggest going through the Costco Auto program. They go through the same process as cars.overstock.com, I believe.
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May 29, 2010 19:39
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moana posted:I have never gone out to a dealership to test drive things before so this will be a new experience! Just go in promising yourself you won't sign anything right away and hold yourself to that. Some salespeople can really lay the pressure on. Salespeople tend to hate me because I call them out on their bullshit.
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May 29, 2010 22:52
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ynotony posted:My buddy leased a 2010 for $200/mo for 3 years last month. He drives over 400mi/mo for his job, and gets 50c/mi. Since gas is so cheap for him, he basically gets a free car. Leases are full of financial manipulation. The only way that I see this making sense is if he paid a fair amount down.
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May 29, 2010 23:04
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Mandalay posted:Leases are full of financial manipulation. The only way that I see this making sense is if he paid a fair amount down. He paid $0 down. This was when Toyota was having its publicity problem. Like I said the same exact lease is closer to $500/mo today, which doesn't make any sense considering a three year old Prius still goes for mid to high teens.
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May 30, 2010 20:11
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If you're thinking in economic terms, hybrids just aren't worth it compared to vanilla gas-sipping sedans. Here's a handy chart on Corolla vs Prius, for instance:
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May 30, 2010 23:23
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SuperCaptainJ posted:If you're thinking in economic terms, hybrids just aren't worth it compared to vanilla gas-sipping sedans. Here's a handy chart on Corolla vs Prius, for instance: The vast majority of these comparisons seem to be done by ignorant Free Republic posters who seem to have some kind of axe to grind against unpatriotic left coast liberal radicals who want to use less fuel and not drive huge trucks. This one is pretty easy - the Prius is an EPA MIDSIZE car, similar in internal volume to a Toyota Camry or BMW 5 series. So the correct comparison would to a Camry, the MSRPs for automatic transmission equipped models(you can get a manual Camry for slightly cheaper)with similar equipment would be $21,395 vs $23,550, or a difference of only $2,155. Looking again on Toyota's site, the actual EPA highway mileage is 32 for the Camry and 48 for the Prius, and the actual "breakeven" period @ 15k miles/year would only be 4.6 years. This is the worst possible case for the Prius, since the Hybrid's great advantage is in city driving. If you compared COMBINED EPA figures (26 vs 50), it drops to 2.5 years. That doesn't even account for the various ways with a hybrid that you can save even more fuel on, such as controlling your braking behavior to make maximum use of regenerative braking. The Prius is a great car, that's why it sells so well. It's really not that mysterious.
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May 31, 2010 00:06
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Throatwarbler posted:The vast majority of these comparisons seem to be done by ignorant Free Republic posters who seem to have some kind of axe to grind against unpatriotic left coast liberal radicals who want to use less fuel and not drive huge trucks. Throatwarbler posted:This one is pretty easy - the Prius is an EPA MIDSIZE car, similar in internal volume to a Toyota Camry or BMW 5 series 2010 Corolla EPA passenger volume (cu. ft.): 92.0 2010 Prius EPA passenger volume (cu. ft.): 93.7 2010 Camry EPA passenger volume (cu. ft.): 101.4 Cargo volume is larger for the Prius of course due to the hatchback, but obviously passenger volume is more comparable between the Corolla and Prius. Throatwarbler posted:The Prius is a great car, that's why it sells so well. At any rate, Moana is talking about Civics and Corollas vs hybrids so this conversation is irrelevant
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May 31, 2010 00:28
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SuperCaptainJ posted:Ok, well I'm a liberal left-coast radical and I think it's a fine comparison to make Why does Toyota make the Corolla, which by your terms clearly competes with it's own hybrid Camry? That's not how car making works. There are some people who aren't going to buy a Prius but will buy a Camry. If they think they can sell more units by using a particular model lineup, they do it. quote:but instead I'll just talk numbers: A Chevy Colorado crew cab pickup truck has similar passenger volume to the Corolla, so plainly they are comparable vehicles? The Camry and the Prius are classified in the same category, and the Corolla is not. quote:The Prius is a great car. But in terms of saving money on smaller sedans, the Corolla is better. No, buying a smaller, shittier car will be cheaper. We could have known that without your big chart. However, your statement: quote:If you're thinking in economic terms, hybrids just aren't worth it compared to vanilla gas-sipping sedans. Here's a handy chart on Corolla vs Prius, for instance: ...is simply not true if you are actually comparing cars with similar sizes and capacities.
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May 31, 2010 01:02
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Throatwarbler posted:stuff I disagree with pretty much everything you said but the topic is civics & corollas vs hybrids anyways so I think my chart is very helpful
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May 31, 2010 02:01
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Is the Honda Fit an acceptable alternative as a family/economical vehicle? What similar better vehicles are there? The one (well two, actually) feature that really sold me on the Honda Fit is how it felt roomy in it and the way the backseat folds down. For those reasons alone, I'm also a fan of the Toyota Sienna as a family vehicle. I believe the price tag on the Honda Fit was between 17k-18k CDN? Thanks! e: I'm not planning on buying a vehicle anytime soon (maybe in 3-4 years?), but for the sake of education, how do you negotiate the price with a dealership? I'm kind of ignorant on that department and usually resort to physical violence. Do I talk about rebates AFTER determining the final price since I don't plan on buying an used or new vehicle until I finish my degree. Is negotiation different when it comes to new and used vehicles? How so? Are there any room for negotiation w/ used vehicles (previously leased)? Thanks! quaint bucket fucked around with this message at 02:52 on May 31, 2010 |
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May 31, 2010 02:43
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quaint bucket posted:Is the Honda Fit an acceptable alternative as a family/economical vehicle? What similar better vehicles are there? The honda fit and Toyota Sienna are 2 completely different vehicles. The honda fit is a good car, but its going to be cramped with a couple of babies and strollers. I think it would be ok with slightly older children who dont have as much baggage.
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May 31, 2010 02:56
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Throatwarbler posted:A Chevy Colorado crew cab pickup truck has similar passenger volume to the Corolla, so plainly they are comparable vehicles? God drat, are you just trying having some hardcore issues justifying your Prius purchase or what? The Prius is not, under any circumstances, a vehicle comparable to a Toyota Camry. The Camry is a very, very large car. The Prius is a very mid-size car. Prius Wheelbase: 106.3 / Camry Wheelbase: 109.3 Prius Overall Length: 175.6 / Camry Overall Length: 189.2 Prius Overall Width: 68.7 / Camry Overall Width: 71.7 The Camry is a much bigger car. If you are looking at a Prius and you ask yourself "What can I purchase which is about this size and has a normal engine?" you're going to end up looking at the Civic, Corolla, and other cars of that size. Not the Camry. And of course, if you do that you'll end up discovering that buying a Prius is quite a bit more expensive.
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