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Weinertron posted:Can someone recommend cars similar in class to the Audi TT? A friend of mine test drove one and said it felt way faster and lighter than his G37 IPL, which I guess can be chalked up to turbos making torque down low vs his screaming V6, as the TT is down almost 140 horsepower on the G37. I really dislike both how the TT looks and its spec sheet, but I've never driven one. Are they actually great cars? What should he cross shop it against? As a TT owner myself (03 VAG products woo  ) I cannot recommend one. poo poo is sluggish and unimpressive to drive except on the highway and then mainly when you need to overtake/pass someone. Maintenance is ungodly expensive on a complicated and out-of-place quattro system. Even on such a small wheelbase the convertible is a rough as gently caress ride between the sport suspension and body roll. I don't really know enough about cars to qualify it further, but you'd have to really want to specifically buy a TT to get one. I bought it because I was 1) stupid 2) young and 3) a fan of small two-seaters. It was also cheapish, low-mileage and had bells/whistles.Granted mine is now 10 years out of date.
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Nov 26, 2012 21:58
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To be fair, the new TT is all around a vastly improved car over the old one, although that's not saying much. I don't have any personal experience on whether or not the new one is actually a good car though. VAG products aren't as bad as they used to be, but they still aren't exactly winning any reliability or cost-to-own awards. Usually toward the bottom of the list, actually.
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Nov 26, 2012 22:01
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Proposed Budget: $3000 New or Used: Used Body Style: Sedan or Hatchback How will you be using the car?: Not even commuting, just stuff like groceries, maybe visiting downtown for entertainment. Moving to Austin in about a month from Berkeley, and I'm planning to buy a car there. Getting an apartment close to work, so I won't even use it for my commute. Bay Area being what it is, I've never had a need to get a car before now, and have no idea what is good (or more importantly, good enough). What aspects are most important to me? Much like what 2DEG said, "Automatic, reliability in so far as it needs to not poo poo the bed for a year". The job will let me save for better options later down the road. Decent trunk space might be nice, more important than having to seat 5.
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Nov 26, 2012 22:06
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Weinertron posted:Can someone recommend cars similar in class to the Audi TT? A friend of mine test drove one and said it felt way faster and lighter than his G37 IPL, which I guess can be chalked up to turbos making torque down low vs his screaming V6, as the TT is down almost 140 horsepower on the G37. I really dislike both how the TT looks and its spec sheet, but I've never driven one. Are they actually great cars? What should he cross shop it against? Awd will generally feel faster from a stop because of traction. From a roll, it will feel less impressive. Also, depends on the trim. The tt-rs is a lot faster than the base.
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Nov 26, 2012 22:38
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Weinertron posted:Can someone recommend cars similar in class to the Audi TT? A friend of mine test drove one and said it felt way faster and lighter than his G37 IPL, which I guess can be chalked up to turbos making torque down low vs his screaming V6, as the TT is down almost 140 horsepower on the G37. I really dislike both how the TT looks and its spec sheet, but I've never driven one. Are they actually great cars? What should he cross shop it against? The new new Beetle. 2 Door Golf R. AI meets BFC: Ask which VAG car is the least bad for me nm posted:Awd will generally feel faster from a stop because of traction. From a roll, it will feel less impressive. He said it was down 140hp from the G37, so that means it's the 2.0T base model. Are those really limited by traction? I think the base model TT only comes with the DSG , the turbos and the faster shifting probably make it feel fast off the line.
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Nov 27, 2012 01:14
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Ok so I'm in the market for a new car and I think I may have come across one. My step brother is a mechanic and recently bought a 2008 Scion tC with 56k miles on it. He bought it because the previous owner hit a tree with it and sold it cheap. So my brother is doing all the cosmetic work on it and also putting in a supercharger for fun. He told me if I wanted it, he'd give it to me for 9,000. I'd like to hear your thoughts about the situation and the Scion tC in general. Are there any known problems with this year and model, is it a good price, etc? Thanks
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Nov 27, 2012 01:37
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Hey TT guy, you could also check out the BMW 1-series or Z4 if you want a little two door thing to compare to the TT. If you go used, Saabs have the same sort of Turbo Retard Boostu thing going on. You could also take a look-see at the Volvo C30R with the Polestar kit, that should be pretty light, quick and comfortable. If you want a TT and don't want to spend the money get a GTI or a Golf R.
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Nov 27, 2012 01:42
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Throatwarbler posted:AI meets BFC: Ask which VAG car is the least bad for me In light of recent events, can we please do this? marsisol posted:I'd like to hear your thoughts about the situation and the Scion tC in general. What are you looking for in a car? A crashed, cheaply-fixed, and then modified Scion pretty much screams "do not buy" from the rooftops. Especially for $9000. The tC is a weird car. It's an economy car that pretends to be a performance car but in the process becomes bad at all of it. It's slow, it handles poorly, it's inefficient, has poor rear visibility, and it has limited interior space. All the downsides of both an econobox and a sports car, but with little of the good. Guinness fucked around with this message at 01:46 on Nov 27, 2012 |
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Nov 27, 2012 01:43
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Mitsuo posted:Proposed Budget: $3000 At the $3k price point, you're really looking for pretty much any car that is still in reasonable shape and has less than 200k miles on it. You can't be too picky because the condition of the actual car is going to matter more than which make/model/year you're thinking about. You'll have to avoid the cars that carry a premium on the used market, and that includes probably any toyota or honda. Since you want an auto, that's probably going to be the single biggest factor: what condition is the auto trans in (because replacing an auto transmission will exceed 50% of the actual cost of the car without doubling its value, and therefore usually not be worth doing at all). I would look for cars that are cosmetically ugly (dings, dents, scratches, rust, mismatched body panels, etc.), but have a clear title (not a salvaged car), maintenance records if possible (especially on critical things like timing belts), and can pass an inspection by a mechanic who you have instructed to in particular take a look at the transmission. Also for any car you're considering, google for it and find out if that model had an automatic that was prone to dying early.
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Nov 27, 2012 01:46
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:I think I'm like 0-fer other than the people I've told to buy a Prius. In this vein can you guys elaborate on hybrid buys from a used standpoint? For example, how old of a Prius would you buy? What is your opinion on the Insight or various other cars now hybrid (civic, camry, etc.) Surprisingly you can find a 2005-7 Prius in my area for $10k with right around 100k on the clock. Are these timing chains like Corollas? What should you look for in general on a hybrid with 100k+ on the odometer? What would be your argument for/against say a Prius vs a Civic/Mazda 3/Corolla/Etc. at the same ~10k mark? Can you do most of the maintenance yourself on a hybrid car? My apologies if this has already been addressed.
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Nov 27, 2012 01:53
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Proposed Budget: $2,400 (maybe more) New or Used: Used Body Style: Cargo Van, preferably extended I'm looking a solid used cargo van for my stage lighting business. I currently haul 1/2 to 3/4 load of a Uhaul cargo van full of equipment locally every weekend so an extended cab is preferable to keep up with my company's growth. I've spent ~$1,200 on rentals in the last 6 months, hence the $2,400 figure - if it lasts more than a year I'm already ahead of the game, and if my business keeps growing, I'll be able to apply some of that cost to an upgrade when I sell it (instead of throwing all that money away on rentals like I do now). Anybody have any suggestions? I usually drive uhaul Ford E-250 cargo vans, or Budget 12-seater Econolines (with the seats taken out). I'm only bringing these up because that's what I'm familiar with driving - I'm really open to anything that will serve my purposes. Ultimately I would love a Sprinter because of the gas mileage and form factor, but that's not really necessary this year, and I can't afford it anyway. I know $2,400 isn't much - would it be smarter to raise my price point to $3,600 or $4,800 and plan on having it a bit longer? Also if I raised my budget would diesel become a viable option? So local gigs with the occasional 400 mile run to LA and back (I'm in San Francisco)... that said, smog is a huge issue here that I would like to not have to deal with if possible. Thanks for any help. I haven't owned a car in over a decade, I've got some catching up to do...
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Nov 27, 2012 02:03
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The only way you'll avoid dealing with smog checks is to buy a car made in 1974 or earlier. I haven't bought a cargo van but based on the going price for "any pickup truck that sort of runs" (minimum $1500 around here), I think your $2400 van is scraping the bottom of the barrel. You should expect something beat to hell, very old, postponed important maintenance issues, or some combination of these. (The reason being there are tons of people who need a basic truck/van for work and don't care at all about cosmetic issues, performance, or road safety. Think landscapers, roofers, etc.) That said: cargo vans made by the domestic automakers are all going to be reasonably good. Ford, RAM, chevy, etc. I think you're looking at something made in the 90s with a good 150k to 200k on the clock. Oh yeah and since you haven't owned a car in a decade, your insurance isn't going to be cheap. It's not that replacing your van would be all that expensive, but more that you can do a lot of damage to someone else with a big ol' van. But I guess since you're a business maybe you already have liability insurance (in case you drop some stage lights on someone?) so maybe you can get a multipolicy discount.
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Nov 27, 2012 02:17
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So say I get something 150k to 200k on the clock... how many miles is too many miles? I realize I'm probably purchasing something near the tail of it's lifespan, but I'm hoping to get at least a couple years out of it, maybe a bit more. Is there a general lifespan I should keep in mind when shopping for something like this? Here's a Ford E350 with 173k miles on it from 1998, for $1,295, from a towing company (4th listing down) http://terralindatowing.com/index.php/used-car-list Assuming nothing is catastrophically wrong with it, that looks like a hell of a deal from my perspective. If it lasts 6 months I've already made up the cost in rentals. I'll check the VIN and have a mechanic look at it first, or course. Any suggestions for checking VIN numbers? Carfax? Also, what do you guys think about taking a mechanic to police auctions? Alameda does them once per month, there's one coming up in the next week.
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Nov 27, 2012 02:39
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Leperflesh posted:At the $3k price point, you're really looking for pretty much any car that is still in reasonable shape and has less than 200k miles on it. You can't be too picky because the condition of the actual car is going to matter more than which make/model/year you're thinking about. Thanks for the advice. I thought about it some more, and the job will pay well, so instead of taking my chances with a low price point, I may use part of my relocation money to rent a car until my first pay stub, which I would use to get a better rate from the bank. It also lets me take care of all the other moving hassles first, so I'll have time to properly find a good car.
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Nov 27, 2012 08:12
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Mitsuo posted:Thanks for the advice. I thought about it some more, and the job will pay well, so instead of taking my chances with a low price point, I may use part of my relocation money to rent a car until my first pay stub, which I would use to get a better rate from the bank. It also lets me take care of all the other moving hassles first, so I'll have time to properly find a good car. Austin has a decent bus network and is bike-friendly, so I'd suggest doing those two things and getting a Zipcar membership. You will save a bunch of money versus actually renting a car.
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Nov 27, 2012 13:10
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Austin has a decent bus network and is bike-friendly, so I'd suggest doing those two things and getting a Zipcar membership. You will save a bunch of money versus actually renting a car. Yeah, being from the Bay Area, public transportation/carsharing/biking was the first thing I checked out. I'll be up in North Austin, though, around I-35 and Parmer, and those options don't seem to extend that far.
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Nov 27, 2012 19:37
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Bulk Vanderhuge posted:So I actually read the history report for the 2010 (conveniently offered by the dealership) and there's a repair estimate listed for $2000 Update: The 2010 is still on the lot and has been there for 7 months now. Price dropped to $14,995 and since my bank's interest rate is about the same I dropped by the dealership again to negotiate. Asked about the repair work, salesman said it was just to repair a shopping cart dent on the drivers side door but they couldn't get me a copy of the work order because the guy in charge was conveniently out to lunch. Since trade in value for a similar vehicle is ~$13k I offered ~13,500 but the lowest price he could give me was $13,995 ($1000 finance rebate) plus tax and a $989 "fee" that he couldn't fully explain to me. He wouldn't budge on the price, saying that they were taking a loss on it. I called his bluff and walked out, he phoned me today but still wouldn't give on the price. Now I understand there's advertising, etc expenses and I'm willing to concede a bit on the fee but not sure as hell not a grand worth. The only thing is that he didn't change his tune when I walked so is he being truthful? Would it be advisible to get them to throw in $500 worth of parts into the deal? At this point I think I'm just going to secure a loan from my bank and get a new car.
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Nov 28, 2012 04:15
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. Salesman emailed back saying it's for PDR stuff and can send me a work order but who knows.
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Is the PDR work complete? I would never in a billion years buy a car with outstanding work that hadn't been completed yet.
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Nov 28, 2012 04:26
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Is the PDR work complete? I would never in a billion years buy a car with outstanding work that hadn't been completed yet. http://reports.carproof.com/main?id=X4KGni7d4oorsx3ut4KbRsmNYWTYW2VX No insurance pay out, at this point I think the door was resprayed. I didn't notice anything and only asked when I saw the report.
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Nov 28, 2012 04:32
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booseek posted:Given my rather limited use of the car, should I buy or lease? I do not need to take out a loan to buy the car, so there would be no interest if I buy. And I may be moving in about 3 years, so the sell value of the car, I'm assuming, will be decent in that amount of time. It's worth mentioning since leases have been brought up a few times here that a lease isn't always a good deal. It might be on something that depreciates on something that loses value very quickly, but there are a number of cars that are worth buying and reselling if you're keen on maintenance/not beating the poo poo out of the car. I bought a car new and the lease deal on it was $975/mo, about $150 less than the payment I had buying it outright with 0 down, choosing the 2% APR deal. I sold 3 years and 39000 miles later, and including sales tax it worked out that I had paid $520/mo over that period, nearly half what the lease would have been. Knowing the resale history of a car before you consider a lease can help guide your decision. It will usually benefit the dealership, but not always, so doing the research beforehand may save quite a bit.
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Nov 28, 2012 15:21
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Proposed Budget: $8-12k USD New or Used: Used Body Style: Sedan, Coupe, Hatchback Location: Raleigh, NC How will you be using the car?: Daily driving, commuting to/from work What aspects are most important to you?: Reliability, interior (comfort, sound, smoothness of ride, etc.), fuel efficiency, maintenance costs, isn't a shitbox Currently comparing: Honda Accord Hybrid, Acura TSX, Honda Accord, Volvo S40 Already figured out my budget, needs, etc, and have narrowed it down for the most part to two cars. I'm looking for something that's reliable and fuel efficient, but at least somewhat fun to drive (no Prius). Basically, something that I can drive for the next 5-10 years without any major problems and gets at least 25-30 mpg highway. 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid V6. vs. 2005 Acura TSX Both are going to run me about 9-10k. I liked driving the Accord Hybrid a lot more, but I have some concerns about reliability- I know Honda is known for being reliable, but I've read some things online about the hybrid battery failing and costing a poo poo ton to replace because it's not a common model. When I went to test drive it, the dealer had to jump the battery which I suppose is a huge red flag. He said it was the start-up battery being dead from the car being on the lot too long, and not a problem with the actual hybrid battery. I don't know too much about hybrids having never driven one, but I also know better than to trust a used car dealer. Anyone have any insight? Even if I go this route I'm a little wary about purchasing that particular car, and will see if I can find one at another lot. The TSX I drove I liked a lot, absolutely no problems, but I just liked the way the Accord handled and accelerated a lot more, plus it's slightly more fuel efficient. Even though I loved the Accord Hybrid, I'm thinking that I should just go with the TSX or even a regular Accord based on my experience at the dealer and the things I've read online. Or maybe there's another model out there I've completely overlooked. Pork Chops Aplenty fucked around with this message at 16:40 on Nov 28, 2012 |
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Nov 28, 2012 16:37
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Guinness posted:
Well, I'm essentially looking for a smallish car for commuting mostly. I do like the style/interior as well. Maybe I need to do more reading, but a lot of online stuff suggests it's a good car. I'm assuming reliability is pretty decent? As to the other point, my brother said there was no mechanical or frame damage in the accident, and he owns a body shop so it's not like it's some random dude slapping a lovely hood onto it and spraypainting it. Would the supercharger affect reliability at all? I wouldn't mind the extra hp, especially if there's no downsides. Thanks again!
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Nov 28, 2012 17:34
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marsisol posted:Well, I'm essentially looking for a smallish car for commuting mostly. I do like the style/interior as well. Maybe I need to do more reading, but a lot of online stuff suggests it's a good car. I'm assuming reliability is pretty decent? Reliability new is probably pretty good but this car was totaled and then rebuilt with a high performance upgrade. No way is it in the same ballpark as anything you have read online. Since your brother is trying to sell it to you and he does repair cars you might have some extra help when it does break down which can factor into the decision. If I were you I would not go for it if reliability was a high priority for me.
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Nov 28, 2012 18:31
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marsisol posted:Well, I'm essentially looking for a smallish car for commuting mostly. I do like the style/interior as well. Maybe I need to do more reading, but a lot of online stuff suggests it's a good car. I'm assuming reliability is pretty decent? The supercharger alone will make it significantly less reliable, even the relatively expensive TRD superchargers were known to have pretty significant problems. I wonder what sort of fuel economy you'll see also, the only guy I know with an aftermarket supercharger gets 18mpg out of a 4cylinder. What do you like about the style / interior? If you're looking for other sport-looking FWD cars, you might look at a GTI or a Mazda 3, both of which will drive much better than a tC. Scion tCs are indeed very reliable cars, but a car that has been crashed in even a minor way will have wear and tear that an unwrecked one won't, no matter how well it has been repaired. Things like mounts and bolts will have seen more stress than a lifetime of normal car use.
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Nov 28, 2012 18:49
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Proposed Budget: $15K New or Used: Used Body Style: Coupe or Sedan How will you be using the car?: Commuting and the occasional roadtrip. I currently have a 2002 Mazda 626 I bought used last year. The car has been chugging along decently, but I've already had to replace the fuel pump. It seems like an oil leak has formed where there wasn't one before. That coupled with stuttering by the engine and unstable idles, I think it's just a matter of time before I get stranded somewhere. What aspects are most important to me? I really just want an A to B ride that also looks nice to an extent. I've dug around Craigslist and found a 2012 Nissan Altima 2.5S w/17k miles for $13.5K that looks promising. With a low mileage practically new used car like that, what warning signs should I look for? If it test drives fine, is an inspection by a mechanic necessary? Or am I barking up the wrong tree and should find a car a few years older for considerably less?
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Nov 28, 2012 19:20
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Proposed Budget: 20k before TTL New or Used: Either is fine Body Style: Needs sliding doors because of our narrow garage How will you be using the car?: Driving my baby to daycare <7 miles round trip. We do some short trips (45 minutes) on the weekends and go shopping, so some cargo room is nice. We plan on going on roadtrips maybe once or twice a year when our kid turns 3-4. We are a family of 3 (including the baby) and maybe twice a year plan to drive the grandparents with us. What aspects are most important to you? Reliability and ease of maintenance. MPG isn't a big deal to me given the low miles we drive. Would prefer an import though. We are debating on a new 2012 Mazda 5 Touring ($18-19k) and a 2010 or newer Toyota Sienna with under 36k miles for $18k. We need a car with sliding doors, and I understand that these are two entirely different class cars. My friend can get the Sienna for me through auction for 18k; he saw one sold yesterday that seated 8 with 31k miles. We are leaning towards the Sienna because it's a "traditional" minivan and has much more storage for our needs. The Mazda 5 drives great, but you are either left with zero trunk space or sacrificing the third row (which are really tight to begin with). We probably will only need the four pilot seats. The only real downfall of the Sienna is that it's huge, and our garage is pretty drat tiny. I rented one and the liftgate will not open with the garage closed, and is still hard to get a carseat in and out. It works, it's just a bit of a pain. Any thoughts? I am more than happy to wrench on a used car if needed, so the new vs. used aspect doesn't bother me.
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Nov 28, 2012 19:49
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Why do you need to be able to seat 8 people for a family of three? The Mazda 5 sounds like it fits your day to day needs way better. What scenario are you envisioning where you need to seat three rows worth of people and have room for cargo? There are lots of ways to deal with what I assume will be a rare situation of needing to seat that many people and haul cargo. You could: put a cargo rack on top, rent a bigger vehicle (you can rent a full size minivan for under $300 a week), or you could put on a hitch and tow a small trailer. Everything you say points to the extra size of the Sienna being either not that helpful or actually a problem. edit: just saw that the roadtrip with grandparents is said three rows of seats situation. In that case, a cargo box on top or rental would probably be the way to go. The 5 just seems like a better fit for 99% of your driving needs. powderific fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Nov 28, 2012 |
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Nov 28, 2012 23:28
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Trenchcoat posted:Proposed Budget: $15K First, find out what's actually wrong with your current car. It is a 10 year old car; it needs maintenance, but the maintenance costs on a 10 year old car will always be less than paying $15k for a newer car (which will also need some maintenance). You're pretty vague about the issues with your 626... an oil leak could be extremely minor, or it could be extremely major. Stuttering and unstable idle again could be as simple as a fuel filter that needs to be cleaned/changed, or a complicated engine issue. You could easily be in a situation where $500 in repairs saves you the price of the new car, and ~$700 to $1k a year in maintenance and repair is reasonable for a car of that age. The fear of getting stranded generally seems to be used a lot in this thread as if it's this huge factor. But what if I suggested I'd pay you $15000 to spend three hours by the side of a road and miss three hours of work on a random workday. Would you take it? I'm guessing the answer is "definitely yes" in which case, the possibility of having a bad day should not motivate you to drop fifteen grand on another car. All that said: if you actually just really want a newer car, then you don't need to rationalize it. That $13.5k Altima that is only at most a year old is a red flag. That's way too cheap. It's either a scam, or a car that's been in a wreck that totaled it. Do not buy a salvaged-title car. You should always get a used car inspected, but especially a used car that is too good of a deal to be true. This is a car that ought to still be in warranty. KBB suggests that car should be around $18k private party in good condition, so you need to find out why it's priced well below "Fair". Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 23:55 on Nov 28, 2012 |
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Nov 28, 2012 23:52
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powderific posted:Why do you need to be able to seat 8 people for a family of three? The Mazda 5 sounds like it fits your day to day needs way better. What scenario are you envisioning where you need to seat three rows worth of people and have room for cargo? I got to chime in here on the other side and toot the minivan horn. My sister-in-law has just two children, both now middle school aged, and loves her minivan to death. They have moved frequently with a military job, and every place they've landed have done a lot of DIY home improvement stuff including buying/selling a lot of furniture. The cargo space of a minivan with the seats down/out is unbeatable, and has been her favorite feature. If that's a part of your life, you may want to consider that in your decision.
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Nov 29, 2012 00:24
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canyoneer posted:I got to chime in here on the other side and toot the minivan horn. My sister-in-law has just two children, both now middle school aged, and loves her minivan to death. They have moved frequently with a military job, and every place they've landed have done a lot of DIY home improvement stuff including buying/selling a lot of furniture. yeah I definitely do plan on doing some DIY stuff on my house and it would be nice to have the cargo space without having to rent a truck every time. I'm going to try renting the Sienna again and if it's too big of a pain I'll go with the Mazda 5. We have zipcar around here so its just 15 bucks or so to rent the Sienna a couple of hours.
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Nov 29, 2012 00:29
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I don't think a used minivan would be too bad an idea, used minivans are extremely cheap because of how many families buy new ones and then realize they hate them or don't need them. Because you say MPG isn't a huge deal, I'm going to play devils advocate and say a minivan is the best bet for you guys. Don't be afraid of the Town & Country, and realize you can get a heck of a deal because of how fast they depreciate. Minivans are really incredible utility vehicles, their only real downside is the terrible mileage but you're not worried about it.
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Nov 29, 2012 00:44
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The 5 can still haul a lot, but the Sienna would definitely come in handy if you use 4x8 sheet goods or longer lumber with any frequency. The big thing to consider is whether you're trading the occasional convenience of extra cargo space for an every day hassle of the thing being too big for your garage. I suppose that'll be easy enough to figure on your second rental though.
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Nov 29, 2012 00:56
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Bulk Vanderhuge posted:http://reports.carproof.com/main?id=X4KGni7d4oorsx3ut4KbRsmNYWTYW2VX Have you seen said door in person in multiple lighting conditions? Go and look very carefully. I wouldn't trust a panel spray unless I knew the shop that did it and I went over it like hell before taking delivery.
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Nov 29, 2012 02:15
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Leperflesh posted:First, find out what's actually wrong with your current car. It is a 10 year old car; it needs maintenance, but the maintenance costs on a 10 year old car will always be less than paying $15k for a newer car (which will also need some maintenance). You're pretty vague about the issues with your 626... an oil leak could be extremely minor, or it could be extremely major. Stuttering and unstable idle again could be as simple as a fuel filter that needs to be cleaned/changed, or a complicated engine issue. You could easily be in a situation where $500 in repairs saves you the price of the new car, and ~$700 to $1k a year in maintenance and repair is reasonable for a car of that age. Appreciate the reply. That's a good perspective. I need to figure out if all I want is to drive a nicer, newer car. I've been putting off leaving the car with the mechanic, but I think I'll give him a call.
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Nov 29, 2012 03:00
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In general, if things start to go a little wrong, don't put them off. Little issues turn in to big issues.
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Nov 29, 2012 03:32
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PUSSY MASTER 007 posted:Proposed Budget: $8-12k USD Gonna blow your mind real quick... Acura is owned by Honda. And the Acura TSX everywhere else in the world is the Honda Accord Euro. 
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Nov 29, 2012 05:10
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Phone posted:Gonna blow your mind real quick... Except in Europe where it's just the Honda Accord. Did I blow your mind? Who gives a poo poo?I wouldn't buy the hybrid. It doesn't get particularly good fuel economy and there's a lot more to go wrong. The hybrid battery does fail, especially if exposed to high temperatures, and you're just not getting to the end of the 8 year battery warranty. It's also I think the first Accord to have the VCM system that deactivates cylinders (fine) and the active noise cancellation thing that goes with it (problematic, although not hugely expensive to fix). Also probably needs a timing belt by now. Buy the TSX or a 4 cyl Accord, preferably with a manual transmission to keep your transmission and timing belt related costs low and your fun factor high.
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Nov 29, 2012 06:12
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Throatwarbler posted:Except in Europe where it's just the Honda Accord. Note also that Honda hybrids do not seem to have the bulletproof reliability that the Prius has. Battery replacements are extremely rare on Priuses but not so much with the Hondas.
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Nov 29, 2012 06:25
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I have a question that I think belongs in this thread, as I haven't found a better thread for it. I'm 27 and buying my first car soon (jeep) so I don't have the luck of having battle-hardened parents help me negotiate prices with the salesman. All I'm interested in is getting a discount equal to sales tax (after tax, preferably, but whichever I can get), which in Los Angeles is about ~8-9% or there abouts. Is this a common request/size of discount to be worth perusing? Or will I spend weeks bouncing from dealer to dealer wasting my time in trying to get it?
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Nov 29, 2012 06:32
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PUSSY MASTER 007 posted:When I went to test drive it, the dealer had to jump the battery which I suppose is a huge red flag. He said it was the start-up battery being dead from the car being on the lot too long, and not a problem with the actual hybrid battery. I don't know too much about hybrids having never driven one, but I also know better than to trust a used car dealer. Anyone have any insight? Even if I go this route I'm a little wary about purchasing that particular car, and will see if I can find one at another lot. Bigger batteries have more charge to peter away, so it does take longer for them to go dead. But it is really bad for them to go dead. On my '07 Camry Hybrid, I was told you could safely let the car sit for 6 months from a full charge before you needed to fire it up and charge up the battery. The Accord Hybrid's charge is a bit smaller, but on the same order. It's very possible that the normal battery died with no injury to the hybrid battery, depending on its condition and how long the car's sat, but your concern is definitely well placed.
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Nov 29, 2012 06:41
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