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Jam2
Jan 15, 2008

With Energy For Mayhem
I have a rental car until Saturday. I would like to be able to return it on time and have a car to replace it.

How can I resume this negotiation intelligently?

I can pay the 9000 if necessary but would like to avoid doing so if it's possible.

How can I get out of the door for under 8400?

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Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

Find a different car. I really don't think you should pay more than you're comfortable paying, and if the dealership doesn't call you back within 48 hours of you walking, they've decided they're not going to budge further on the price.

Unless you live in some very isolated area, there are more dealerships and lots more cars to pick from. It's not like an '07 Equinox is an especially unique car.

Also the cost of renting a car for a couple more days is what, $100? If you save $1000 on the car you buy by taking a little more time, that's well worth it.

MrKatharsis
Nov 29, 2003

feel the bern

Pretty Boy Floyd posted:

I'm trying to figure out if I can afford to spend $9k~ on a car. I've had my eye on getting an e46 bmw wagon for a while now, and one popped up in my area. The market for these is pretty whacky, so I probably won't be able to negotiate very far down from the $9k asking price. I'm not attached to this particular car, but they don't come up often in the configuration I like and its mileage is <100k.

I've got a 03 Nissan Altima that could probably fetch 2-3k on trade in, around 10k in cash, and I'm wondering if it's feasible to buy a car right now. Chime in, goons.

You haven't posted anything about your income, savings, or anticipated method of payment so it's impossible to give you a meaningful answer. How is the trade in value of your car less than half the cash value?

Speaking entirely in generalities here: if you want a particular uncommon car, it would be better to plan for it, save up, and shop smart online than impulse buy the first one that pops up at Stan's Pre-Owned Sketch-O-Rama.

Waldorf Sixpence
Sep 6, 2004

Often harder on Player 2
Can anyone tell me what I've hosed up here or why this is a bad deal because this looks awesome for the price?
Plus there's an offer on for £500 free petrol, they cover the deposit up to £2000 and I get £250 off as well with a voucher.

I know jack poo poo about cars so if there's some reason why this is really horrible please tell me?

http://www.vauxhall-adam.co.uk/index2.php?id=co.uk&uid=7e8363d0-7916-11e3-ae7f-00e081b15482&via=mail

E: I think buying a new car, especially at that price, is generally considered a terrible idea. Ugh, I have no idea what I'm doing.

Waldorf Sixpence fucked around with this message at 16:19 on Jan 9, 2014

Os Furoris
Aug 19, 2002

Does anyone have any thoughts about the Acura RDX or the Infiniti FX35? Models with around 100k miles are starting to creep down into my price range and both look interesting.

Xguard86
Nov 22, 2004

"You don't understand his pain. Everywhere he goes he sees women working, wearing pants, speaking in gatherings, voting. Surely they will burn in the white hot flames of Hell"

Leperflesh posted:

Find a different car. I really don't think you should pay more than you're comfortable paying, and if the dealership doesn't call you back within 48 hours of you walking, they've decided they're not going to budge further on the price.

Unless you live in some very isolated area, there are more dealerships and lots more cars to pick from. It's not like an '07 Equinox is an especially unique car.

Also the cost of renting a car for a couple more days is what, $100? If you save $1000 on the car you buy by taking a little more time, that's well worth it.

how viable is it for him to agree to financing, a lower price but perhaps at a predatory interest level, then immediately pay off the entire loan? I fantasize about doing this, but I feel like they prob put a minimum payment period or some other trickery to make sure you don't do that.

ryde
Sep 9, 2011

God I love young girls
Proposed Budget: < $30000
New or Used: New
Body Style: 4 door
How will you be using the car?: Shopping 2-3 times a week in urban areas with family (wife and baby). Occasional highway 1-2 hr trips. Occasional trips to ski slopes (mountain, icy/snowy roads).
What aspects are most important to you? Reliability, mileage, and comfort. My wife gets carsick easy, so a smooth ride is preferable. I'm tall so having enough leg room in the driver seat would be good.

I use ZipCar at the moment and the Honda Civics tend to work well, but they feel a big cramped in terms of leg room. Parents have a Camry which is pretty comfortable, but has so-so mileage. I'm pretty stupid when it comes to cars, so I'm looking for more informed opinions.

Also, I'm not particularly set on buying new. Mainly, I'm leaning towards new because I would know the history, have a nice warranty, and possibly be able to get some convenient gadgets in the car.

IOwnCalculus
Apr 2, 2003





Xguard86 posted:

how viable is it for him to agree to financing, a lower price but perhaps at a predatory interest level, then immediately pay off the entire loan? I fantasize about doing this, but I feel like they prob put a minimum payment period or some other trickery to make sure you don't do that.

Depends entirely on the terms of the loan. I could easily see a "Crazy Eddie's Shitheaps" buy-here-pay-here lot including early payment penalties; however, no car loan I've ever had through a major bank has had one.

dreesemonkey
May 14, 2008
Pillbug
General car buying questions:
On a whim, my wife and I drove a leftover 2013 Sonata GLS preferred package (heated seats, fog lights). In my research, I liked them the best on paper. Good mpg, good features for the price, great warranty. If we were to buy new we'd definitely run it into the ground so the warranty is a huge part of this for us. As much as the 2014 Mazda 6 appeals to me, it's a first model year and it's more expensive and the warranty is shorter.

Anyway, we liked the car well enough I guess, the car salesman is probably the worst ever in the entire history of car sales, but that's neither here nor there. I told him I'm interested in what their out the door price was since we could put a sizeable down payment down I don't care what the monthly payments would be, especially since Hyundai is offering 0% right now and my credit union is offering 1.49% for up to 3 years.

If I put $10k down they said I'd finance $10,038.63 "OTD", and broke it down to $285.30 x 36 months @ 1.49% from my CU. But the $10,000 + $10,038.63 does not equal the $20,693 "Purchase price" or whatever the gently caress the upper left square is, even after interest charges taken into consideration. So I don't know what's going on. Attached is the ever-present 4 squares paper thing. Can someone explain this poo poo to me? I've never bought a new car and I'm stupid.



The salesman also said something about only having to pay sales tax on the financed amount, which did not sound even remotely correct to me.

In any case, this doesn't seem like a "Holy poo poo what a good deal" price to me, so my first inclination is to wait to see how much money I have to spend on home renovations coming up first, then revisit later.

dreesemonkey fucked around with this message at 21:40 on Jan 9, 2014

Twerk from Home
Jan 17, 2009

This avatar brought to you by the 'save our dead gay forums' foundation.

ryde posted:

Proposed Budget: < $30000
New or Used: New
Body Style: 4 door
How will you be using the car?: Shopping 2-3 times a week in urban areas with family (wife and baby). Occasional highway 1-2 hr trips. Occasional trips to ski slopes (mountain, icy/snowy roads).
What aspects are most important to you? Reliability, mileage, and comfort. My wife gets carsick easy, so a smooth ride is preferable. I'm tall so having enough leg room in the driver seat would be good.

I use ZipCar at the moment and the Honda Civics tend to work well, but they feel a big cramped in terms of leg room. Parents have a Camry which is pretty comfortable, but has so-so mileage. I'm pretty stupid when it comes to cars, so I'm looking for more informed opinions.

Also, I'm not particularly set on buying new. Mainly, I'm leaning towards new because I would know the history, have a nice warranty, and possibly be able to get some convenient gadgets in the car.

Have you driven a Prius? You sould like exactly the kind of customer who wants a Prius, especially if you worry that a Camry has mediocre mileage.

ryde
Sep 9, 2011

God I love young girls

Weinertron posted:

Have you driven a Prius? You sould like exactly the kind of customer who wants a Prius, especially if you worry that a Camry has mediocre mileage.

I think I may have a few years back before ZipCar started using the Civics in my area. If I remember, it ran into the leg-space problem. I'll defiantly look into a Prius though.

ibntumart
Mar 18, 2007

Good, bad. I'm the one with the power of Shu, Heru, Amon, Zehuti, Aton, and Mehen.
College Slice

dreesemonkey posted:

General car buying questions:
On a whim, my wife and I drove a leftover 2013 Sonata GLS preferred package (heated seats, fog lights). In my research, I liked them the best on paper. Good mpg, good features for the price, great warranty. If we were to buy new we'd definitely run it into the ground so the warranty is a huge part of this for us. As much as the 2014 Mazda 6 appeals to me, it's a first model year and it's more expensive and the warranty is shorter.

Anyway, we liked the car well enough I guess, the car salesman is probably the worst ever in the entire history of car sales, but that's neither here nor there. I told him I'm interested in what their out the door price was since we could put a sizeable down payment down I don't care what the monthly payments would be, especially since Hyundai is offering 0% right now and my credit union is offering 1.49% for up to 3 years.

If I put $10k down they said I'd finance $10,038.63 "OTD", and broke it down to $285.30 x 36 months @ 1.49% from my CU. But the $10,000 + $10,038.63 does not equal the $20,693 "Purchase price" or whatever the gently caress the upper left square is, even after interest charges taken into consideration. So I don't know what's going on. Attached is the ever-present 4 squares paper thing. Can someone explain this poo poo to me? I've never bought a new car and I'm stupid.



The salesman also said something about only having to pay sales tax on the financed amount, which did not sound even remotely correct to me.

In any case, this doesn't seem like a "Holy poo poo what a good deal" price to me, so my first inclination is to wait to see how much money I have to spend on home renovations coming up first, then revisit later.

I was taught about the four square trick when I did some volunteer training at my law school's legal aid center a few years back, but I didn't realize car salespeople still used it that much. In a nutshell, the sales department has those four squares to confuse you. The numbers are obviously not in your favor to begin with. The salesperson will generally ask you which number is bothering you, take it to the tower, and come back with a lower number in one square, but higher in another. There'll be an excuse such as, "Good news! He can go down a couple thousand in the down payment by bumping up the monthly payment a smidge" and then you'll do the dance again. Often the trade-in value is the bargaining chip they focus on. They'll give you close to what you're hoping and quietly increase the sales price square.

The whole point is that it's a shell game: if you fall for it, you'll pay close to what the salesperson wants in the first place because he/she will have made the numbers look fair after several rounds of negotiations and apparent concessions.

Frequently there's also a section for you to initial that says you'll buy the car today if the terms are agreeable to both parties. That is completely meaningless, but it adds psychological pressure that you have to make this deal work today or else. Plus if you sign it, that signals to the salesperson you're committed to this car (whereas someone willing to walk away is more likely to refuse or not even play the four square game to begin with).

And at some point, you might also get the "If I can get the price you're asking for, will you buy the car today?" question as a prelude to walking back to the tower. (I had this happen when I bought a car back in July, though thankfully no four square nonsense.) That also adds pressure and a feeling that you're going to have to commit right now or else lose on a good deal. Which is bullshit, of course, since even if you answer yes, there's no legal commitment to follow through at that point.

Not to mention by the time the typical four-square negotiation is done, the page is a morass of crossed-out and highlighted figures. It's confusing and wears the buyer down.

tl;dr version: Four-square sales technique is a sham, don't buy from a dealership who forces it on you.

Edit: This explains the process a bit, the rest of the article's a good read, too:
http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/confessions-of-a-car-salesman-pg4.html

ibntumart fucked around with this message at 23:30 on Jan 9, 2014

IOwnCalculus
Apr 2, 2003





I'll add this - if you can get 0% APR, why would you want to put $10k down? Stick it anywhere else and earn interest on it.

But yes, the four square thing is horseshit. Don't ask a dealer for monthly payments, ask them for the total out the door price including tax, tags, whatever awful doc fee your state allows them to charge, etc.

dreesemonkey
May 14, 2008
Pillbug

ibntumart posted:

tl;dr version: Four-square sales technique is a sham, don't buy from a dealership who forces it on you.

Thanks, yea I get the general gist of what they're trying to do. If I had more time and I was more serious about buying the car I would have just asked to talk to the sales manager directly instead of their little games. The guy didn't have much to stand on since I said I'm only concerned with the OTD price, which is the most important one after all (if you can secure a good interest rate)


IOwnCalculus posted:

I'll add this - if you can get 0% APR, why would you want to put $10k down? Stick it anywhere else and earn interest on it.

But yes, the four square thing is horseshit. Don't ask a dealer for monthly payments, ask them for the total out the door price including tax, tags, whatever awful doc fee your state allows them to charge, etc.

Allegedly, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but some of the discounts/rebates/customer cash hyundai offers cannot be used if you're doing 0%. Not sure how true that is, but whatever. So in theory they'd sell me it with less discount at 0%, vs. maybe $1500 in discounts with ~10k financed at 1.49% over 36 months (which is something like $300). So liquidity aside, the higher APR makes more sense if they can couple it with other discounts. Also I hate debt and the goal would be to pay the rest of the car off within the year.

Thanks for both your input. I'm a lot more tempted than I thought I would be with their first offer, a new sonota with an $800 equipment pack for ~$20500 OTD including interest over the life of the loan? Doesn't sound that bad, really.

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

dreesemonkey posted:

Allegedly, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but some of the discounts/rebates/customer cash hyundai offers cannot be used if you're doing 0%. Not sure how true that is, but whatever. So in theory they'd sell me it with less discount at 0%, vs. maybe $1500 in discounts with ~10k financed at 1.49% over 36 months (which is something like $300). So liquidity aside, the higher APR makes more sense if they can couple it with other discounts. Also I hate debt and the goal would be to pay the rest of the car off within the year.

Yes, it's quite normal for new-car buyers to have to choose one of: a promotional APR through the factory financing arm, or cash on the table in the form of incentives/cash back/etc.

In these cases, and especially if you've got your own financing in your back pocket, you should usually go for the cash. Just remember that the cash is not "instead of" negotiating a good price. E.g., don't just take the MSRP, subtract the factory incentives, and then pay the result, because for most cars the MSRP is higher than the actual going price of the car (it builds in a large profit for the dealership).

Throatwarbler
Nov 17, 2008

by vyelkin

Os Furoris posted:

Does anyone have any thoughts about the Acura RDX or the Infiniti FX35? Models with around 100k miles are starting to creep down into my price range and both look interesting.

The RDX gets terrible fuel economy, the rear seats only fold down like half way, it's kind of not "worth it" in general. The new one with the V6 engine is supposed to be much better, at least in terms of drivetrain/FE.

The FX seems really expensive on the used market, the styling of the pre-2008 version has reall not aged well, and it seems to me that the fastback roof profile is such a compromise on rear storage that you might as well look into an M35 instead.

IOwnCalculus
Apr 2, 2003





dreesemonkey posted:

Allegedly, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but some of the discounts/rebates/customer cash hyundai offers cannot be used if you're doing 0%. Not sure how true that is, but whatever.

It can go both ways. In my case Honda was offering a 0.9% rate, but they were also offering an additional $750 (unadvertised) for financing with American Honda instead of bringing my own.

Os Furoris
Aug 19, 2002

Throatwarbler posted:

The RDX gets terrible fuel economy, the rear seats only fold down like half way, it's kind of not "worth it" in general. The new one with the V6 engine is supposed to be much better, at least in terms of drivetrain/FE.

The FX seems really expensive on the used market, the styling of the pre-2008 version has reall not aged well, and it seems to me that the fastback roof profile is such a compromise on rear storage that you might as well look into an M35 instead.

Seems like I need to take a look at the MDX then, possibly something else. All the wife requires is a car that sits up high for driving position and getting the baby in and out of the car seat (we are tall).

I would like to get her something reasonably luxurious and reliable. Gas milage is a concern but not huge since she just won't be putting that many miles on the car. Any suggestions?

dreesemonkey
May 14, 2008
Pillbug

Os Furoris posted:

Seems like I need to take a look at the MDX then, possibly something else. All the wife requires is a car that sits up high for driving position and getting the baby in and out of the car seat (we are tall).

I would like to get her something reasonably luxurious and reliable. Gas milage is a concern but not huge since she just won't be putting that many miles on the car. Any suggestions?

I'm not sure if there are still issues but as much as people love hondas, they don't like their automatics when paired with a V6. They pretty much require honda's ATF fluid and at least back in the early/mid 00s the accord V6s would eat trannies in a very un-honda way. Not sure if they used the same variant of the transmission in other vehicles (oddesy, pilot, acuras) but that's one thing that's always made me worried about V6s hondas.

dreesemonkey
May 14, 2008
Pillbug

IOwnCalculus posted:

It can go both ways. In my case Honda was offering a 0.9% rate, but they were also offering an additional $750 (unadvertised) for financing with American Honda instead of bringing my own.

Yea since they weren't very forthcoming with exactly what those discounts were, I can't really say off the top of my head.

I think we've pretty much decided it wasn't an amazing deal (it being a '13 leftover), so if we revisit in a while we can probably find a similar or better deal if we look seriously. My sister said we should try dealers down their way since it's a larger area so the dealers are probably a bit better to buy from.

Also, I'm super cheap, and while I liked the car, I was driving it thinking "Is this $20k nice to me? Not really". I must have stockholm syndrome from my lovely paid for cars ('01 civic, '99 avalon)

Os Furoris
Aug 19, 2002

dreesemonkey posted:

I'm not sure if there are still issues but as much as people love hondas, they don't like their automatics when paired with a V6. They pretty much require honda's ATF fluid and at least back in the early/mid 00s the accord V6s would eat trannies in a very un-honda way. Not sure if they used the same variant of the transmission in other vehicles (oddesy, pilot, acuras) but that's one thing that's always made me worried about V6s hondas.

Considering my car is a 2006 V6 accord....maybe I shouldn't put all my eggs in one basket.

Budget is 12k or less.

skipdogg
Nov 29, 2004
Resident SRT-4 Expert

If you're just looking for a well equipped CUV, check out Limited trims of Toyota's like the RAV4 or Highlander.

The domestics don't have anything really worth mentioning. You probably won't like the Escape and I'm not sure what the interiors are like on the new ones. A Ford Edge in Limited trim is very nice. Acura MDX's aren't bad vehicles, but they tend to hold an absurd resale value.


Everything is going to be reliable these days if well taken care of. The 90's horror stories of exploding transmissions are pretty much done for. Everything made in the last 5 years will run past 200,000 miles by following the factory maintenance guide. Cars are much better made these days.

I would probably recommend you go look at a Highlander Limited, followed by the RAV4 Limited and a Ford Edge in SEL or Limited trim.

IOwnCalculus
Apr 2, 2003





dreesemonkey posted:

I'm not sure if there are still issues but as much as people love hondas, they don't like their automatics when paired with a V6. They pretty much require honda's ATF fluid and at least back in the early/mid 00s the accord V6s would eat trannies in a very un-honda way. Not sure if they used the same variant of the transmission in other vehicles (oddesy, pilot, acuras) but that's one thing that's always made me worried about V6s hondas.

They still require Honda ATF but I think they nipped the reliability problem in the bud around 2001-02. We'd all be hearing about it a lot more if it happened to more than a three or four year span.

reitetsu
Sep 27, 2009

Should you find yourself here one day... In accordance with your crimes, you can rest assured I will give you the treatment you deserve.
Proposed Budget: under $25000
New or Used: New, preferably
Body Style: Hatchback
How will you be using the car?: Driving a few miles to/from work and the store. A few 2-3hr road trips a year, with one larger ~8hr trip.
What aspects are most important to you?: Automatic transmission, Bluetooth, decent mileage. Something that isn't complete poo poo in snow, since half the streets in my Midwestern town aren't plowed.

I've got a 2005 Focus to trade in, which the internet tells me I should get ~$2k for. I'd like to swing payments under $300/mo, and could put up to $7k down, though I'd prefer a little less than that.

Jam2
Jan 15, 2008

With Energy For Mayhem
Used car exhibits loud popping sound when drivers side door is opened. Carfax is clean. Bad sign?

rockcity
Jan 16, 2004

Throatwarbler posted:

The RDX gets terrible fuel economy, the rear seats only fold down like half way, it's kind of not "worth it" in general. The new one with the V6 engine is supposed to be much better, at least in terms of drivetrain/FE.

The FX seems really expensive on the used market, the styling of the pre-2008 version has reall not aged well, and it seems to me that the fastback roof profile is such a compromise on rear storage that you might as well look into an M35 instead.

Yeah, neither of them get great fuel economy. I've owned both an RDX and the slightly smaller EX35 and they both got maybe 21-22mpg combined. That being said, I liked my RDX a lot despite it. It's reasonably peppy given it's size and I thought the interior quality was pretty nice for the money, especially used. As for the FX35, the ones prior to 2008 look really dated interior-wise for me. I test drove one when I was looking for my RDX and liked the way it drove. I ended up getting an EX35 instead for my next vehicle because they were a lot cheaper on the used market and I didn't really need the extra cargo room. They're probably shorter than you'd want though. Definitely five the Honda a look. One of my co-workers has one and likes it a lot.

Shampy
Apr 27, 2003

by FactsAreUseless
Your QUESTIONNAIRE
Proposed Budget: $24,000-$28,000
New or Used: I prefer a new car honestly but as I mention in my backstory at the bottom, I AM looking on https://www.offleaseonly.com since I am in SOUTH FLORIDA.
Body Style: I'm having a kid, so I prefer 3-4 door. Right now I really dig the Veloster Turbo but the chat thread said maybe I should just let the guy shoot me.
How will you be using the car?: I commute an average of 36-45 miles 5 days a week to work and tend to drive a bit otherwise as well due to living in such a spread out city (Miami)
Do you prefer a luxury vehicle with all the gizmos?) Uh honestly I'd like to have a car with bluetooth that will work well with my phone as well as a screen so I can play poo poo on for the baby to see or whatever it is they do when they're born.
What aspects are most important to you? Probably RELIABILITY, MPG, value retention, AND SAFETY for the family. Oh and I prefer hatchbacks or crossovers (think JUKE LOL).

The Backstory:
I have a simple question for you all. Let's say someone had a gun to your head and said, "Motherfucker you better wake the gently caress up. You just wrecked your car and you need to get something new with the insurance settlement. These are the options you have because I only like hatchbacks."

He gave me these options:

Mini Cooper S
Hyundai Veloster Turbo
Ford C-MAX SEL
or just a loving big Cooper

All are more or less in the same price range which I'm ok with, I just don't want to get shot in the head, ya dig? Oh by the way, the company I works for allows us to purchase the following cars at invoice pricing through passport unlimited for the following companies; Ford, Hyundai, SAAB, Volvo, Audi, VW. So if you guys have any other options or cars I should look at, let me know. The car I wrecked was a 2006 Mazda 3 hatchback that I loved dearly but I'd rather a car that may hold it's value a little stronger. This is my first car purchase that I'm doing some relative research on, so bear with me please.

Help me A.I., you're my only hope.

BY THE WAY I'M HAVING A BABY SO THE VELOSTER IS MY #1 CHOICE RIGHT NOW WITH THAT 3RD DOOR

edit: I've also been looking at this site http://www.offleaseonly.com since I am in South Florida. If any of you want to take a gander and tell me what you think, DO IT BABY.

skipdogg
Nov 29, 2004
Resident SRT-4 Expert

Welcome to the world of parenthood. First thing you should consider is rear facing baby seats take up a poo poo ton of room. Like Alot. Some of these infant carriers need 36 inches of space and sometimes that's hard to do while keeping a comfortable seating position.

I would dismiss the Veloster immediately. Comedy option, get a Mazda 5.

Phone
Jul 30, 2005

親子丼をほしい。
Real option: Mazda5 with the 5-speed.
Comedy option: Mazda5 with a Mazdaspeed3 drivetrain swap.

Takes No Damage
Nov 20, 2004

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.


Grimey Drawer
Been researching my first on-my-own car purchase and I'm starting to lean towards a Mustang. I'm not super far along in the process, I haven't even test driven one of the drat things yet, but after researching Mustangs, Camaros and various Dodge's, if I end up buying a muscle car it will be a Mustang V6 from '11 or later.

So far I've found two that are pretty much what I'm looking for, one from a dealership
http://www.rockwallford.com/certified/Ford/2012-Ford-Mustang-rockwall-71b3baad0a0a00645e792f967dfaf808.htm
and one from Craigslist
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/4270925095.html

Is there a way to tell just from the posts online if one would be better than the other, at least in terms of features/ownership? Craigslist guy is 1500 more, but it's got less miles and (he claims) has had custom enhancements over Ford's stock. Buying from a dealership comes with its own challenges but you get at least some coverage/warranty if things start breaking right away that wouldn't be present buying from an individual. Having no actual car buying experience I'm not sure what generally comes with each 'buying experience'.

Shampy
Apr 27, 2003

by FactsAreUseless
Look into the Mazda even though I get those discounts with the companies I listed?

p.s. I'm a big pussy and don't know how to drive manual. The Focus only comes manual it looks like.

Shampy fucked around with this message at 01:00 on Jan 11, 2014

Phone
Jul 30, 2005

親子丼をほしい。

Shampy posted:

Look into the Mazda even though I get those discounts with the companies I listed?

p.s. I'm a big pussy and don't know how to drive manual. The Focus only comes manual it looks like.

Take 30 minutes and learn. In all of those cars, they're gutless inline 4 cylinders mated to a 4 speed automatic.

bsamu
Mar 11, 2006

Proposed Budget: <$8k
New or Used: Used
Body Style: Hatchback
How will you be using the car?: It'll be a commuter car and a car for long trips. We're looking for a reliable hatchback with a reasonable amount of space. Being fun to drive isn't super important but it'd be nice to have. Ideally looking for cars without >120k miles on them already.

The current frontrunner is a 2007-ish Mazda 3 hatchback but I'm curious if there's anything else in the 6-8k price range that we might be overlooking.

Throatwarbler
Nov 17, 2008

by vyelkin

rockcity posted:

Yeah, neither of them get great fuel economy. I've owned both an RDX and the slightly smaller EX35 and they both got maybe 21-22mpg combined. That being said, I liked my RDX a lot despite it. It's reasonably peppy given it's size and I thought the interior quality was pretty nice for the money, especially used. As for the FX35, the ones prior to 2008 look really dated interior-wise for me. I test drove one when I was looking for my RDX and liked the way it drove. I ended up getting an EX35 instead for my next vehicle because they were a lot cheaper on the used market and I didn't really need the extra cargo room. They're probably shorter than you'd want though. Definitely five the Honda a look. One of my co-workers has one and likes it a lot.

Yeah, the FX is larger than the MDX and the EX is smaller than the RDX, there's a bit of a difference, it just goes to show how the passenger/cargo room is compromised on both of them. The FX is like a Japanese X5 or Cayenne.

lampey
Mar 27, 2012

Takes No Damage posted:

Been researching my first on-my-own car purchase and I'm starting to lean towards a Mustang. I'm not super far along in the process, I haven't even test driven one of the drat things yet, but after researching Mustangs, Camaros and various Dodge's, if I end up buying a muscle car it will be a Mustang V6 from '11 or later.

So far I've found two that are pretty much what I'm looking for, one from a dealership
http://www.rockwallford.com/certified/Ford/2012-Ford-Mustang-rockwall-71b3baad0a0a00645e792f967dfaf808.htm
and one from Craigslist
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/4270925095.html

Is there a way to tell just from the posts online if one would be better than the other, at least in terms of features/ownership? Craigslist guy is 1500 more, but it's got less miles and (he claims) has had custom enhancements over Ford's stock. Buying from a dealership comes with its own challenges but you get at least some coverage/warranty if things start breaking right away that wouldn't be present buying from an individual. Having no actual car buying experience I'm'm not sure what generally comes with each 'buying experience'.

Smoked headlights are a terrible idea. There are a lot of modifications which do not justify the price. He wants 20k for a car that is basically three years old and does not appear to be owned by a responsible person.
Not completely relevant but have you considered a crown vic, 4 doors is more practical, insurance and total cost will be a lot lower, v8> v6, the trunk is gigantic.

MrKatharsis
Nov 29, 2003

feel the bern
The V6 in the new Mustang is 300hp, way more than the Crown Vic. It gets better mileage too. Not every v8 > v6.

I would highly recommend renting a V6 Mustang for a weekend before you buy one. I had one last month and while fun, it wasn't something I'd really care to live with. Needlessly cramped interior, typical modern car poor visibility, seats not really suitable for a road trip.

Internet Explorer
Jun 1, 2005





So this isn't really relevant to any recent posts, but I just wanted to say I ended up getting a 2014 WRX Hatchback with the Limited trim for just under 30k for 2.9% financing a few weeks ago and I am absolutely in love with it. Just past the 1,000 mile break-in period and I took it camping for a few days. It holds a ton of gear, drives extremely well, and I am really glad I decided to spend the extra money for the leather interior and HID headlights. I really can't think of a better car.

Phone
Jul 30, 2005

親子丼をほしい。
For beating around town, the WRX is fantastic.

Throatwarbler
Nov 17, 2008

by vyelkin

MrKatharsis posted:

I would highly recommend renting a V6 Mustang for a weekend before you buy one. I had one last month and while fun, it wasn't something I'd really care to live with. Needlessly cramped interior, typical modern car poor visibility, seats not really suitable for a road trip.

OP should also check out the Challenger.

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Takes No Damage
Nov 20, 2004

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.


Grimey Drawer

Throatwarbler posted:

OP should also check out the Challenger.

I have looked briefly at the big 3 American muscle cars, Mustangs, Camaro and Challenger/Charger. Everything I read about Camaros said while handling/acceleration etc was good, the windows were all so tiny it was like driving around in a tank. The Dodges sounded decent but there were also complaints about interior space and they all seemed to be a couple of grand more than similar Mustangs. This is all still preliminary research, and I'm in no way a 'car guy' so if a lot of the bullet points from the Craigslist ad are :rice: then yeah I don't need it. I'll test drive the one from the dealership and continue to read up on similar models. Thanks for the input.

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