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No real negotiations there dude. If you use your Supplier Discount it's a pretty cut and dry transaction if it's anything like Ford's A/X/Z plan purchases. It might not be, but 300 above dealer cost is a pretty good deal for a new auto.
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Feb 14, 2012 04:13
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Is putting a 33% downpayment on a used car a pretty good idea or is there some glaring consequence I'm overlooking, such as this being a bad idea in case I get into an accident and the car is totalled? Background: Leased 2009 Honda CR-V (I know, I know. It's our last lease) expires in less than a month. We want to buy the car. We've always wanted to buy the car. We are over the miles by a ridiculous amount, which we also anticipated. Residual value is $15k. I can put anywhere between $0 - $5k down. $0 down payment: $435/month $5k down payment: $290/month The down payment is 100% funded from sale of company stock (ESPP) where I received a 15% discount and stock price had appreciated modestly over the past 2 years. With my credit history and dashing good looks, I was offered 4.5% with a down payment of $1k. What rate would I command with putting the full $5k/33% down? I was thinking 3.5% but would be satisfed with 4%. The total amount after interest is really not a big deal; just a few hundred up or down. Suave Fedora fucked around with this message at 17:27 on Feb 16, 2012 |
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Feb 16, 2012 17:24
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Orgasmo posted:Is putting a 33% downpayment on a used car a pretty good idea or is there some glaring consequence I'm overlooking, such as this being a bad idea in case I get into an accident and the car is totalled? Provided your credit isn't poo poo, 4.5% is high. I refi'd my auto loans last year (before rates dropped even further) for 3.74%. Check with your credit union, you don't need to finance it through the dealer.
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Feb 16, 2012 17:29
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TraderStav posted:Provided your credit isn't poo poo, 4.5% is high. I refi'd my auto loans last year (before rates dropped even further) for 3.74%. Check with your credit union, you don't need to finance it through the dealer. I already checked; our credit union is offering a higher rate on used cars than the dealer, and the dealer goes directly through Honda Financial.
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Feb 16, 2012 17:32
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Orgasmo posted:I already checked; our credit union is offering a higher rate on used cars than the dealer, and the dealer goes directly through Honda Financial. I'd shop around much more, and being linked to an automotive company's financing arm is not a bee in their bonnet.  They are known for having lackluster deals.
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Feb 16, 2012 17:35
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Try Capital One, they tend to be pretty good on Auto rates, and they may have a direct link to the dealer already.
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Feb 16, 2012 17:37
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We're getting a wee bit off the meat of my post. The difference between 4.5% and 3.5% on a $10k loan is $100. Over the life of the loan that comes out to less than $3 in interest a month. I just wanted to know if anyone can provide an argument against putting a large down payment on a depreciating asset like a vehicle. Short of that, I'll assume that if I can't pay for the vehicle all in cash, the next best thing is to go with as large a down payment as possible and financing the rest.
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Feb 16, 2012 20:41
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Orgasmo posted:We're getting a wee bit off the meat of my post. The difference between 4.5% and 3.5% on a $10k loan is $100. Over the life of the loan that comes out to less than $3 in interest a month. Sure, less debt is always better. Then pay that sucker down as fast as possible.
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Feb 16, 2012 20:50
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Orgasmo posted:We're getting a wee bit off the meat of my post. The difference between 4.5% and 3.5% on a $10k loan is $100. Over the life of the loan that comes out to less than $3 in interest a month. Depends on your financial situation. Some people might want to burn 5K of savings to decrease the monthly payment, and increase their monthly cash flow. Others might want to keep that 5K liquid in their emergency fund, or put it somewhere else (new furniture, remodel a bathroom) and take the higher monthly payment. The money is cheap to borrow right now, so it just really matters what fits your situation. Personally I like having a big emergency cushion in case of job loss or other unexpected situation so I would rather pay the higher payment and keep myself liquid than blow my savings on a lower car payment. It's easy to spend 5 grand, pretty hard to save it. Seeing as in your situation this is kind of a windfall from the sale of your ESPP stock, I would throw it at the car and keep your monthly payment low increasing your cash flow as long as you have a properly funded emergency fund and retirement accounts and whatnot.
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Feb 16, 2012 21:19
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There's always the old Dave Ramsey question of "If you had $5000 of equity in your car, would you borrow against it at 3.5% just to have the cash in your bank account?"
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Feb 16, 2012 22:09
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Isn't balloon financing a reasonable option compared to conv financing when the rate is low? I'm looking at penfed super saver (2.24%) vs conventional finance (1.99%). You pay a little bit more in interest with the super saver since the balloon is always there. The trade off is that you don't have that money sitting in a depreciating asset and are hopefully smart enough to put it in something earning >2.25%. This is assuming that you could afford to pay the car off conventionally in 4-5 years, but are just choosing to invest the difference - not buying a car you can't afford and hoping you aren't upside down come balloon due time. I understand why people get in trouble with balloons, but if you know what you are doing they don't seem that bad as long as the rate on them is low (like <3%). When the rate gets too high they aren't worth it since you always have to pay interest on the balloon amount.
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Feb 17, 2012 04:49
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I would just like to promote the Lincoln Towncar to anyone with a bit of money to spend on a used car. I got mine with 100k miles on it, 16 years old. In perfect condition with all the maintenance done at the dealership and it was driven by a little old man, who stopped me at the grocery store to tell me how much he liked it and stuff. It cost me about a 06 Lancer with 90k miles on it and $500... so like $6000? It should run (at least) another 200k miles if I take good care of it. Yeah, the mileage sucks, but I shouldn't have to repair anything major on it for another 100k miles. It is easy to work on and uses cheap American parts that can be found at the scrap yard for basically nothing. It is pretty cheap to pay someone to work on it too because it's a simple design and there's room to move around in the engine bay. This particular one had new air suspension put in about 6 months before I got it, so I shouldn't have to do anything but maintenance for a very long time. And I look like a boss driving my pearl white, black carriage top, chromed out Lincoln. I am a delivery driver and one major car repair can take me out of work for a couple of days and set me back a week's pay just for the repair. 13 miles to the gallon isn't bad enough to offset the fact that my car will do what I need it to when I want it to and isn't going to cost me $500 every time something stupid breaks. Granted you can get a Crown Vic for way less and have the same reliability, but the chance of it being owned by a little old man who did everything by the book at the dealership is going to be significantly reduced and you get no air ride. Edit: And you can't drive like an jerk and get away with it because people assume you're just old.
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Feb 17, 2012 06:44
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Silver Nitrate posted:I would just like to promote the Lincoln Towncar to anyone with a bit of money to spend on a used car. I got mine with 100k miles on it, 16 years old. In perfect condition with all the maintenance done at the dealership and it was driven by a little old man, who stopped me at the grocery store to tell me how much he liked it and stuff. It cost me about a 06 Lancer with 90k miles on it and $500... so like $6000? It should run (at least) another 200k miles if I take good care of it. I don't get it. If you make your living driving, buying a 13mpg car is seriously affecting your bottom line. If you drive 25k/year, with $4 gas and 13mpg, you're paying a whopping 5k in gas more than, say, a 40mpg Prius. You could use that 5k to pay the monthly on a goddamned new prius! Now, you may not be driving 25k or paying $4 for gas, but 13mpg is so awful that you would very likely come out on top buying a new car (hint: this usually never happens). A towncar might be comfortable but is it worth a few hundred extra a month in gas? (Btw, what's up with your haggling skills? You paid $500 and an 8 year old car with 90k miles for a car twice as old and with 10,000 more miles on it.)
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Feb 17, 2012 07:21
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The only reason why anyone would buy a Panther platform car is if you need to store people or prodigious amounts of guns in the trunk, like cops do. It's a terrible car in every other way. It's true they're not unreliable for the most part, but that's also true for any number of other cars that are better in every other way because they're not Carter-era dinosaurs. EDIT: Also anything with air suspension that's not a Lexus is going to bleed you dry with repair costs. Throatwarbler fucked around with this message at 08:06 on Feb 17, 2012 |
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Feb 17, 2012 08:03
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Throatwarbler posted:It's a terrible car in every other way. It's big and comfy and people get the gently caress out of your way on the highway. Hell even in the city.
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Feb 17, 2012 08:08
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Magic Underwear posted:I don't get it. If you make your living driving, buying a 13mpg car is seriously affecting your bottom line. If you drive 25k/year, with $4 gas and 13mpg, you're paying a whopping 5k in gas more than, say, a 40mpg Prius. You could use that 5k to pay the monthly on a goddamned new prius! My old car needed a new clutch and had some suspension and body issues. This particular Lincoln got a new engine 30k ago and new air ride about 5k ago, so it's pretty close to a new car for being so old. There is no way I could afford a Prius. Especially because I can't do the work on it myself and insurance on anything like that is high. But, even a 4 cylinder import is only going to get around 25 miles when your doing start, stop, and go all of the time. My Lancer ran about 24mpg and my Focus did 23mpg. If my car breaks I loose at least two days of work ~250$ plus repairs, with my Mitsu and my little Focus it was always around $500 for some random computer crap. So one car repair basically fucks my month up. The reliability factor is key. The insurance savings offsets about half of the extra gas cost. The cheap oil helps a bit, then the cheap brakes and stuff help a bit more. Excluding major repairs, the actual, regular operating costs on the Lancer was $0.21 per mile, the Lincoln is $0.24. The major repairs is where the money saving difference happens. If there are no major repairs, the Lancer wins but if there are the Lincoln wins by a lot. There is a reason police and taxi companies use these cars. This is how I figured it out: Import car: Nice gas mileage, easy to park, expensive oil, expensive parts, expensive insurance ($90/month full coverage), can't work on it myself because it's full of computers, can't fit large orders in, might make it to 250k, but probably not, tinfoil in a crash Lincoln: poo poo gas mileage, don't need to park I look like a cab, cheap oil, cheap parts, cheap insurance ($30/month full coverage), can do anything to it in my garage, can put 90 pizzas in the back, will run 250k easily, also it's comfy and has those nice lights that get the corner when you put your signal on, pretty good in a crash, people move out of my way when I drive behind them at night. Edit: I guess I should mention my Lincoln has been converted to E85 which is like $2.60 a gallon here.
Silver Nitrate fucked around with this message at 08:55 on Feb 17, 2012 |
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Feb 17, 2012 08:41
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Silver Nitrate posted:My old car needed a new clutch and had some suspension and body issues. This particular Lincoln got a new engine 30k ago and new air ride about 5k ago, so it's pretty close to a new car for being so old. There's a reason you posted this here and not AI... You are just trying to talk yourself up so you feel better about your purchase. I'm sorry, a Lincoln Town car is not cheaper to work on than a 16 year old Honda Civic. It is not more reliable. It does not use cheaper oil. It gets half the MPG. The private party value of the car is about $4,000 in excellent condition (less than 3% of all cars meet this). You could have sold your car for the $6,000 Are you a cop or a taxi driver? There is a reason no other company in the world other than personal drivers and government use these in a fleet. Not to rain on your parade or anything, but don't come here touting a 16 year old Lincoln as good advice for others. Survey 1,000 mechanics and see how many name Lincoln as the top brand for reliability for 16 years old. See how many of those say Honda or Toyota. The AVERAGE Honda will last over 200k miles without major repairs. You can't say that about Lincoln. You are bat poo poo crazy if you think a Lincoln has a lower cost of ownership than most Japanese cars of the same age. Have you actually looked up late 90's Lincoln reliability? They are plagued with engine related issues. Hey, you like the car and that's all that matters. Just don't try and push it on everyone else because it is not the logical choice. If you want to talk about how great Lincolns are, then make a Lincoln thread in AI. Maybe you found a diamond in the rough, but there were also Ford Pintos that didn't explode. Loan Dusty Road fucked around with this message at 09:58 on Feb 17, 2012 |
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Feb 17, 2012 09:55
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I can't hate the Panther cars. Yeah they may get crappy mileage (at least some of them, I think gearing has a lot to do with it), but they're probably the car that can most consistently get to a half million miles on duct tape and bubble gum.
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Feb 17, 2012 13:54
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Yes, there is a reason cop cars use the CV - because they have been reluctant to buy anything that is not a big American RWD V8, and once the Caprice disappeared in 1996, the CVPI was literally the only game in town until the Charger showed up roughly a decade later. The CV changed so little in that time that you now had millions upon millions of CVs in police use and a huge industry worth of accessories that police cars require, all built around the last-gen Panther platform. It has nothing to do with cost of maintenance, and everything to do with total cost of ownership when any alternative costs you 20% more to buy just in the lightbars / computer setups / other parts you need to make a car into a cop car. Fuel-wise, 25k miles per year at 13MPG at $2.60 per gallon for E85 is exactly $5k/yr in fuel costs. 25k miles at 25MPG (which you should be able to best in any proper economy car - I average 22-23 in my turbocharged MS3) and $4/gallon gas is $4k/yr. With a Prius, if you averaged 40MPG (which again you should be able to beat) you literally spend half what you do on E85 and run at $2500/yr.
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Feb 17, 2012 14:45
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Silver Nitrate posted:There is no way I could afford a Prius. Especially because I can't do the work on it myself and insurance on anything like that is high. But, even a 4 cylinder import is only going to get around 25 miles when your doing start, stop, and go all of the time. You are just so very misinformed here. A Prius gets better gas mileage in town than it does on the highway. Regenerative braking is awesome, and many people see 50+mpg in the city. Plug-in versions are even better. My 4-cylinder Camry gets 23 MPG in solely city driving, and 32 on the freeway. It is 13 years old and has 185k miles. It's easy to work on, and very comfy. The trunk space is ample, can hold 4 bags of golf clubs and shoes with room to spare. The parts are cheap and plentiful should you need to fix something. I changed the starter at 170k miles in 20 minutes, and the part was $55. Oil changes literally take 10 minutes due to the placement of the filter and drain plug. The car cost me $3,500 back in 2008. I figure that it's pretty much paid for itself at this point, and any more miles/years I get out of it are a bonus. It probably has another 75-100k miles left before something major lets loose. Panther cars are nice for what they are, but they are still gas hogs and have some quirks that can be expensive to fix.
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Feb 17, 2012 16:16
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Silver Nitrate posted:I look like a boss driving my pearl white, black carriage top, chromed out Lincoln. This is the correct reason to buy a Lincoln. Silver Nitrate posted:16 years old These are reasons NOT to buy a Lincoln.
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Feb 17, 2012 16:40
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IOwnCalculus posted:Yes, there is a reason cop cars use the CV - because they have been reluctant to buy anything that is not a big American RWD V8, and once the Caprice disappeared in 1996, the CVPI was literally the only game in town until the Charger showed up roughly a decade later. The CV changed so little in that time that you now had millions upon millions of CVs in police use and a huge industry worth of accessories that police cars require, all built around the last-gen Panther platform. Doesn't it also have something to do with how the frame is built? I don't remmeber the specifics but the frame on the CV (and the Caprice before) was solid and in some way different from cars now, so it made them much easier to repair after ramming a car or whatever.
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Feb 17, 2012 16:42
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FISHMANPET posted:Doesn't it also have something to do with how the frame is built? I don't remmeber the specifics but the frame on the CV (and the Caprice before) was solid and in some way different from cars now, so it made them much easier to repair after ramming a car or whatever. Yep, they can throw it up on a rack, pull the frame and put it back in service.
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Feb 17, 2012 16:56
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FISHMANPET posted:Doesn't it also have something to do with how the frame is built? I don't remmeber the specifics but the frame on the CV (and the Caprice before) was solid and in some way different from cars now, so it made them much easier to repair after ramming a car or whatever. They were body-on-frame rather than unibody like pretty much every other modern car.
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Feb 17, 2012 17:32
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FISHMANPET posted:Doesn't it also have something to do with how the frame is built? I don't remmeber the specifics but the frame on the CV (and the Caprice before) was solid and in some way different from cars now, so it made them much easier to repair after ramming a car or whatever. That helped too, but when the last iteration of Panther came out there weren't any viable unibody American rear-drivers anyway; the RWD G-Body disappeared ~10 years prior, and since the relatively anemic mod motor in a CVPI was 'enough' these days, departments don't buy Camaros or Mustangs for pursuit use anymore. Technically, the Corvette meets the requirements of body-on-frame, American, V8, and RWD, but you're missing that back seat  I'm pretty sure the Corvette might be the last body-on-frame car in production in America, anyway, and there's probably very few elsewhere in the world as well (Morgan?).The idea that makes body-on-frame desirable is that in theory, most impacts (even ones substantial enough to damage bodywork) will result in cosmetic damage. I don't think this necessarily holds true in reality, though, since if you smack a car on the wheel with another car, it's going to need to be pulled whether it's body-on-frame or unibody. It's not like departments have options anymore anyway, since every choice on the market today (the cop-only Caprice, the FWD/AWD Taurus, the Charger) is unibody, as is the Carbon Motors cop car if it ever actually sees production.
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Feb 17, 2012 19:15
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How crappy/low-value does a trade-in have to be before a dealer won't want to touch it? My thinking is -- if the perceived discount to the buyer is smaller than the money that can be made on the car at auction (so 0 effort on the dealer's part to sell the trade-in), then the trade-in is worth dealing with. If the loss from giving this discount is still within the amount of what the dealer is willing to give up to haggling, then the deal is still worth it. Ex: deal without trade-in: 20,000 trade-in's private party value: 3,000 amount that dealer is willing to give up to close deal: 500 trade-in's likely auction value: 1,000 offer dealer can give to buyer: 1,500 So the dealer closes the deal at 20k -- 18.5k cash and 1500 for the trade-in. He takes the trade-in and sells it at auction for 1000. So the total money they've gotten from the sale is now 19.5k, which reflects the maximum budge off of 20k they initialy intended. I guess my model works in general, but illustrates how a dealer might proceed if they don't want to bother at all with cleaning a trade-in up and trying to resell on their lot. e: I put the private party value as a bar for what the dealer should try to get close to so as to draw the buyer in. As opposed to causing the buyer to take on the hassle of selling the car himself to spend less money total. kimbo305 fucked around with this message at 05:07 on Feb 20, 2012 |
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Feb 20, 2012 05:03
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I'm guessing it varies from one dealer to the next. There are two additional costs to taking a trade-in: one is the opportunity cost of the cash tied up in the trade-in until it is either sold or auctioned, and the other is the labor cost of dealing with the traded car. So I'd bet that for some larger dealerships that handle dozens of trade-ins a day, they'd be willing to take almost anything (the opportunity cost as a percentage of their total assets is small, and the labor is already paid for and spread across a large number of trade-ins). Whereas other dealerships with smaller volume or who cater to a different type of customer (say, one that does a lot more leases of high-end cars) would find either the opportunity cost (small dealer) or the labor cost (low volume of trade-ins) more than they want to accept. Ultimately though, my guess is that most dealers will accept almost anything as trade-in because it is likely to lead to a sale, where refusing the trade-in is likely to lose that sale.
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Feb 20, 2012 20:02
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What are the costs involved with sending a car to auction? Who sends the truck around to pick up cars, and who pays for it? I'm guessing it costs the dealer roughly what a tow costs to get it to the auction site?
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Feb 20, 2012 21:34
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Well, the auction house takes a cut for one part. I think it's a rather heavy cut as well. Not the greatest source ever, but on Pawn Stars Rick mentioned that they take around a 20% cut.
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Feb 20, 2012 21:52
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Is that for all auction houses, including the lots that sell just cars?
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Feb 20, 2012 21:54
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CornHolio posted:I can't hate the Panther cars. Yeah they may get crappy mileage (at least some of them, I think gearing has a lot to do with it), but they're probably the car that can most consistently get to a half million miles on duct tape and bubble gum. I'm glad you understand some. I just got the promotion I was waiting on, now I will drive less that 400 miles a month. My insurance savings alone covers those miles. Judge all you want do, but this car has really been great to me. In the last year I paid ~$35 for non-routine (not oil or brakes) repairs (a water pump). Go for a Crown Vic if you have the opposition to air ride, but chances are it won't be as nicely maintained as a Lincoln. Kimbo: Almost any dealer will give you 1k for almost any trade in. If your car works well, it should be 2k+. They make their money off of financing and if it's a big dealership, repairs. The bigger dealerships don't even have to sell cars at a profit to make money on the whole thing because their service department will cover that loss. The trade-in value is just something to get you in the door or keep you from walking, see $4000 bonus trade-in offers. A big (really big) dealership can sell cars at a loss and get away with it successfully because their whole business profit is on more than the sticker price of the cars.
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Feb 26, 2012 13:57
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Financials Take home pay: Variable, but averages out to about $1,800 a month after retirement, benefits, and taxes. May raise in the future as I now qualify to receive unemployment compensation between projects at work. Expenses: $50,000 in school loans. I've been paying $700 a month for the past year, and will continue to do so for the next nine years. Protip: don't go to law school. I live with my parents rent-free in a fairly comfortable situation that is unlikely to change unless I magically get a better job. Also $80/month for my cell phone. Probably $200 total for gas and food. For the past year the rest of my cash has gone towards improving my indoor life (new computer, TV, clothing, etc). Now I want to put some of it towards improving my car life. Savings: I will have $3000 in savings set aside for a down payment once my tax return arrives. Current work projections indicate that I will be able to increase this to $4000-$5000 by April so long as I continue to save hard. Current Car: 1995 Saturn SL Sedan with 137,000 miles. I've been driving this thing since high school (a decade now) and I feel like it's on its last legs. I haven't taken the best care of it over the years due to lack of car education and lack of money while in school. I know it has multiple oil leaks and I'm pretty sure it has a number of other undiagnosed problems. I wouldn't be surprised if it died next week, but I also wouldn't be surprised if I got another year out of it. The point is that I am going to have to replace it, if not now then in the nearish future. On the flip side, the car is a super econobox with manual everything (including steering!) from 1995. I would very much like to drive something a bit more plush. I'm not too demanding of a guy, but I would really like to have power windows/locks/steering, remote keyless entry, AC and heating systems that actually work well enough to do their jobs on hot and cold days respectively, etc. Basically, after driving a super shitbox for a decade I feel like I've done my time. So while my current car is not going to last forever, my own personal desire to drive something more comfortable is definitely playing a role in my current decision making. What I'm After: I want to buy a modern five door hatchback subcompact. The Mazda2 is currently at the top of my list - I test drove one earlier today and absolutely loved it. It also seems to be the cheapest choice available that comes with all the features I want and none of the features I couldn't care less about. I also test drove a Fit (wasn't too enthused about it) and intend to test drive a Fiesta later this week. I intend to buy used to keep the price down, and I intend to drive my purchase until it falls apart. I could certainly save some cash by settling for a reliable mid-2000s sedan, but I find these recent model hatchbacks really attractive in a number of ways and the thought of owning one makes me all squiggly inside. 2011 Mazda2s in good shape don't pop up on Craigslist very often, though right now there's a listing for a perfect condition 2011 with only 7k miles at $11,500 (this seems like such a good deal that I'm tempted to jump on it right now despite not quite having my finances lined up yet). I've seen dealers list similar vehicles for $3,000 more, which seems silly. I've given myself a budget of $5k down (ideally) and a 36 month $7k loan through my bank (probably). I've got an excellent credit score and expect that I would receive around a 3-4% interest rate on the loan. This works out to about $200/month for 36 months, which my budget should be able to accommodate comfortably. I suppose I can also get ~$1,000 for my Saturn on Craiglist if I get lucky. Obviously things are still in the planning stages here, and the elephant in the room is my awful student loan debt. Is it reasonable to treat myself to a decent vehicle so long as I continue to pay off these loving loans at the standard ten year rate? Kefit fucked around with this message at 10:48 on Mar 6, 2012 |
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Mar 6, 2012 10:06
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Probably some people will tell you that you should save up cash and then pay cash for a car. If you truly are comfortable with your living situation (and so are your parents) then I'd still advocate that approach, but you have room in your budget for a modest car payment. I think $11k is a good price for that car, but also keep in mind that just because dealers list used cars at a given price doesn't mean that's what they actually sell them for. Used car pricing is always a hilarious markup for suckers; you should go in with the expectation that you will get at least 10% off that price, and 25% or more is not out of the question, especially right at the end of the month. Of course, some cars are more popular than others and that certainly affects the price tag. I can't argue with wanting a hatchback since that's exactly what I want and buy. Currently I'm driving a 2003 Mazda Protege5 which is a pretty nice car - I got it a year ago for $8300 with just 39k miles on the clock and in really really nice condition. This is in the SF Bay Area where cars cost a little more than elsewhere, too. Look around at what you can get for a mid to late 2000s hatchback and you might find something you like for a few grand less than that Mazda2. Beware scammers on craigslist. If you contact a seller and they start talking about shipping cars, wiring money, or anything like that, it's a scam.
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Mar 6, 2012 18:56
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I don't think you can get a new Mazda2 or Fiesta for $12k, can you? Maybe a base Mazda2. But that's not exactly going to be plush. I suspect you'll regret you decision in a few years when you want things like, oh, cruise control. Either increase your total budget to $14-15K for a decent mid-range hatchback or go with a used vehicle. The Ford Focus 05-07, Mazda3, and Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix are all relatively new, reliable, and available as a hatchback.
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Mar 6, 2012 20:45
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He was talking used, but those subcompacts are so new used stuff may as well be new. Before making any decision, I'd follow the previous advice and check out some slightly older, slightly less compact hatchbacks as well. At the very least find a used Mazda 3 or something similar to test drive so you've got something to compare to. With those cars you'll have a much larger used market to choose from, and they'll probably have better amenities/comfort too.
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Mar 7, 2012 18:46
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Depending on what you liked in the Mazda2, though, the Mazda3 might not quite do it. I've got a Mazdaspeed3 (love it) and yet I also really want a 2 to go with it, just because the 2 is so much lighter and you can feel that in everything the car does. The mileage on a 3 won't be quite as good, though. Anyone complaining that a base Mazda2 isn't "plush" doesn't understand just how stripped down a SOHC '95 Saturn really is. They really have nothing for features, and even the base 2 has everything he's looking for. My sister's first car was also a '95 SL1. The one redeeming factor of that S-series is how light those cars are as well...so if you like the way the car 'feels' to drive (aside from the godawful seats, oil-burning engine, and all of that other wonderful Saturn poo poo) the 2 is probably more up your alley than a larger car would be.
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Mar 7, 2012 19:12
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My wife's 2001 Saturn SL-2 is for sale Seriously, if a goon wants it, I'll sell it for $1,500. Right at 125k miles, automatic and air, but nothing else. Crank windows, manual locks, no cruise. Located in Charlotte, NC.
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Mar 7, 2012 20:28
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Faceless Clock posted:I don't think you can get a new Mazda2 or Fiesta for $12k, can you? Maybe a base Mazda2. But that's not exactly going to be plush. I suspect you'll regret you decision in a few years when you want things like, oh, cruise control. A buddy of mine just bought a new Mazda2 and the same day he was kicking himself for not stepping up and spending the extra 1500 on the touring model. fog lights, spoiler, cruise, and the steering wheel audio controls are worth the 1500 bucks.
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Mar 7, 2012 20:34
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Nocheez posted:My wife's 2001 Saturn SL-2 is for sale Holy poo poo, my wife is selling an identical SL-2. Make sure you put "Dave Ramsey Special" in the craigslist ad.
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Mar 7, 2012 20:51
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 17:45 |
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My sister is selling an 01 SC-2. And I'm still driving barebones 98 SL like Kefit's (which is why I've been reading this thread). Mine was made without a right side mirror, so my parents bought me one for my birthday. Saturn4life.
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Mar 7, 2012 21:21
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