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The 2014 hasn't been received at all, there are barely any substantial reviews out there. I took a look at one and its material quality is significantly better than the 2012 that a friend of mine has, which was rightfully reviewed poorly. The 2014 has a CVT though, the people reviewing it are almost as spergy about cars as cellphone reviewers are about cellphones because apparently Honda makes a pretty good CVT? I didn't notice a difference from the CVT but I haven't actually driven a 2012 or 2013 Civic. Style is definitely personal but I'm with Trinity in that the Civic looks a hell of a lot better than the Corolla. If you're looking for something to compare the 2014 Civic to, I'd probably recommend comparing it to a Mazda3 which just got a redesign this year, albeit with a loving hideous giant iPad Mini clone touch screen in the middle of the car. I spent a ton of time looking for 2014 Civic feedback Waroduce, there basically is very little. I'd read/watch 2013 reviews and just bear in mind the biggest changes are the CVT and a touch-screen UI, for better or worse. Edit: You're going base, so ignore the touch screen thing. Unless you're in the US and if the base model has the touchscreen [the Canadian base one doesn't], in which case disregard this edit.
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Feb 9, 2014 23:02
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Grumpwagon posted:You'll probably want to narrow it down a bit more. You have a ton of options. To start a test drive list: Ford Focus/Fiesta, Mazda 2/3/6 (I believe rust is still an issue, but chime in), Honda Accord (I don't think the current Civic was received very well), Toyota Prius. Don't even bother looking for 2s. They're so cheap that used will be effectively the same price as new, if he can even find a used one, also they are super anemic. (Unless you'd prefer to look at new cars, in which case the Versa is in a similar situation but has more room.) I have no rust on my 3, but we've had 2 pretty mild winters in the 5 years it's been around. Anecdotal evidence! Just give it a good wash when it gets above freezing to get the salt off, which you should probably do to any car really.
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Feb 9, 2014 23:13
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Godinster posted:The 2014 hasn't been received at all, there are barely any substantial reviews out there. I took a look at one and its material quality is significantly better than the 2012 that a friend of mine has, which was rightfully reviewed poorly. My quick search shows the 2014 Civic with a CVT, the 2013 with a traditional style automatic. The new Corolla is basically new body panels on the same old engine. Drive the Civic and the Mazda3, and see what you think. My personal feelings about the Civic? It is exactly what is promised. A car that gets from point A to point B, and doesn't complain on the way. It isn't super fun, but it is comfy and quiet.
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Feb 9, 2014 23:38
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I hope this is the right thread for this: I have a dealing with dealers question-- I had it narrowed down to the Nissan Juke and the Hyundai Veloster: Nissan would give me $15,500 trade-in plus military discount making the Juke around $6400 Hyundai would give me $15,000 trade-in making the Veloster around $8700, I have the option of getting my husband to put his name on the car for a $500 military discount plus $500 loyalty cash but since he's deployed and I do not have power of attorney at the moment we can't do that (he had to ship off before we could finish the paperwork) Do I have any shot in hell of getting Hyundai to match Nissan's offer? I'm going to go with the Veloster regardless because the Juke is ugly as sin but they don't have to know that. The one problem I foresee is that I stupidly forgot to get a copy of Nissan's offer before I left the dealership since the sales guy was ultra pushy and I just wanted to GTFO. Will they take my word for it or should I go back and get it?
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Feb 10, 2014 01:31
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InternetJunky posted:Proposed Budget: ~$60k max SUVs kind of are boxes on wheels by definition? The Wrangler and the Xterra are both fairly small vehicles, as you've found out, and the other problem with body on frame live axle SUVs is that they are very space inefficient internally. What about a Grand Cherokee or a Durango? Both are very good looking IMO and a lot of car for the money. The Jeep can be optioned with more offroad stuff while the Durango is slightly larger and has three rows, but still has a 2 speed transfer case too. I'm assuming that if you've looked at the Wrangler then surely there were also other Jeep/Dodge products on the lot as well, so you've decided against them for some reason? Another option if you are carrying gear and not passengers would be to just get some kind of crew cab pickup truck with a cap. A Raptor starts at $56k and with the lift and the fancy shocks all your neighbours will know what a real outdoorsman you are. Pretty dismal fuel economy though even compared to the Jeep/Dodge. TL;DR: Have a small trailer? Better buy a 3/4 ton truck just to be safe.  Throatwarbler fucked around with this message at 02:25 on Feb 10, 2014 |
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Feb 10, 2014 02:10
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Proposed Budget: 7k New or Used: Used Body Style: 4 Door Compact/Midsize Sedan How will you be using the car?: Primarily for a short daily commute and getting around a city. Short road trips in Summer and Spring but no trips across the or anything. What aspects are most important to you? Reliability and cost of maintenance are the most important. The car is for my girlfriend and will be replacing her 1995 ford escort. She got the car from a friends mother and from the first week she had it it started giving her problems. It seemed like every time a problem with the car came up and she took it to get fixed, it would run good for a few days and then a new problem would arise. This caused a lot of stress because neither of us are very knowledgeable of cars outside of the basics. That car is gone now and she doesn't want the same thing to happen again so we are trying to really find the right car. I've also heard that a car with a manual transmission is normally cheaper and easier to maintain so that is another thing we are looking for.
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Feb 10, 2014 21:50
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The problems you / your girlfriend experienced with that car are most likely due to two things: first, it's a '95 Escort, which is a crap car in pretty much every sense of the word. Second, if she was literally given the car, it was probably in poo poo shape since people don't usually give away good cars. Reliable and cheap to operate in your price point? Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, find the nicest possible example you can. Manuals do tend to be a bit more reliable in that they won't randomly poo poo themselves if/when the previous owner didn't do ATF changes on schedule. Don't fret too much about years or even miles within reason; find one without any modifications, and with the best actual condition / maintenance records you can get your hands on.
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Feb 10, 2014 22:00
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Sorry I should of been more clear, she paid $1000 for the Escort. Thank you for the advice. We will definitely look into those.
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Feb 10, 2014 22:07
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Doesn't really change my point, since at $1k it still was likely to have been a shitbox that her friend's mom was just looking to dump anywhere.
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Feb 10, 2014 22:14
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This car is about 2k above my budget, but it seems like a good deal with navigation and fairly low mileage and what not. Opinions? http://www.luterileyhonda.com/used/Acura/2006-Acura-TL-dallas-b7561aeb0a0a00640db09614f73372be.htm edit: Do I still need to take this car to a mechanic since it's coming from a certified dealership? I'm assuming so but just double checking. an skeleton fucked around with this message at 22:45 on Feb 10, 2014 |
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Feb 10, 2014 22:23
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an skeleton posted:This car is about 2k above my budget, but it seems like a good deal with navigation and fairly low mileage and what not. Opinions? That depends on the dealer. If it's a huge chain you're probably ok because they will likely warranty it to some degree. If it's BillyBob's Certified Used Cars and Lightly Used Toilet Paper Emporium then I'd wonder. Also, is navigation really even a feature? Do you have a cellphone from 2002 or something? Don't upsell yourself 2 thousand bucks on something your phone already does. And 120K ain't that low.
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Feb 10, 2014 23:11
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IRQ posted:Also, is navigation really even a feature? Do you have a cellphone from 2002 or something? Don't upsell yourself 2 thousand bucks on something your phone already does. And 120K ain't that low. I've had navigation in my last three cars and I've gotten so used to having it that I'd really miss it if I didn't. I've gotten it because it was part of the trim package I wanted each time though. More than actual navigation, it's nice being able to just have an overhead view of where I on a map right in my dash rather than having to get out my phone to do. That being said, it's a nav system from 2006, that I'm betting has never been updated so it's likely loaded with all sorts of roads that are incorrect or missing roads that are now upwards of seven years old.
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Feb 11, 2014 00:11
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rockcity posted:I've had navigation in my last three cars and I've gotten so used to having it that I'd really miss it if I didn't. I've gotten it because it was part of the trim package I wanted each time though. More than actual navigation, it's nice being able to just have an overhead view of where I on a map right in my dash rather than having to get out my phone to do. That being said, it's a nav system from 2006, that I'm betting has never been updated so it's likely loaded with all sorts of roads that are incorrect or missing roads that are now upwards of seven years old. http://www.amazon.com/GreatShield-L...mount+galaxy+s4 I dunno, I guess if it's bundled in with a trim level sure, but I don't see the point in saying "oooooh navigation!"
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Feb 11, 2014 00:34
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Can anyone tell me about late/current model hatchbacks? I thinking about leaning towards a '12 Ford Focus but want to know what my resources would be for getting my research off the ground cause at this point anything is looking better than a 96 F-250
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Feb 11, 2014 00:40
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IRQ posted:http://www.amazon.com/GreatShield-L...mount+galaxy+s4 I agree. I tend to avoid mounts and things like that because they're basically like putting up a sign that says you might have steal-able electronics in the car. That one because it's a dash mount is ok, the ones that are windshield, you can see where someone had a mount up even if you take it down. I'm a little paranoid over that stuff because I had my car broken into a while back because of a cassette adapter and had my MP3 player stolen.
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Feb 11, 2014 00:52
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QuiteEasilyDone posted:Can anyone tell me about late/current model hatchbacks? I thinking about leaning towards a '12 Ford Focus but want to know what my resources would be for getting my research off the ground cause at this point anything is looking better than a 96 F-250 I love the Focus. You can also look at the Mazda3, although you'd really want a new one, it was just redesigned. If you're getting a Focus, either don't get the MyFord Touch, or use it first and make sure you're ok with it, because lots of people say it's really really annoying.
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Feb 11, 2014 02:47
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an skeleton posted:This car is about 2k above my budget, but it seems like a good deal with navigation and fairly low mileage and what not. Opinions? This is not a certified car. Yes, it needs an inspection, but even if it was actually CPO it would. Those are loving awful pics, even if they were from a private seller. I wonder what they are hiding?
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Feb 11, 2014 05:44
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rockcity posted:I agree. I tend to avoid mounts and things like that because they're basically like putting up a sign that says you might have steal-able electronics in the car. That one because it's a dash mount is ok, the ones that are windshield, you can see where someone had a mount up even if you take it down. I'm a little paranoid over that stuff because I had my car broken into a while back because of a cassette adapter and had my MP3 player stolen. my completely stock GM SUV had the entire navigation/radio unit removed in my office parking lot a few years ago. Due to some unfortunate design choices, that is apparently a very common crime. So even stock navigation isn't safe.
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Feb 11, 2014 06:10
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nm posted:Those are loving awful pics, even if they were from a private seller. I wonder what they are hiding? Seriously......this is not a car that is hard to find. Many more examples at the same price can be had so why would you deal with someone who can't be arsed to even take decent pictures? It smells of a slimy poo poo who is trying to "get you on the lot" so they can hard sell the thing. This is a commodity car. Don't get hung up on individual examples.
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Feb 11, 2014 06:14
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Motronic posted:Seriously......this is not a car that is hard to find. Many more examples at the same price can be had so why would you deal with someone who can't be arsed to even take decent pictures? It smells of a slimy poo poo who is trying to "get you on the lot" so they can hard sell the thing. Also, is that body kit OEM? Even with the massive overexposure, i see bad fit and maybe some paint damage on the bumper.
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Feb 11, 2014 06:29
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Thanks alot guys. I'll skip that one for now. I'm running into another problem, though, which is most people don't seem too happy when I ask them if I can take their car to a mechanic. Usually the best response I get is "you can bring one if you want." Who are these people with mechanic best friends who will come inspect cars with them? I am not one of these people.
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Feb 11, 2014 14:00
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Grumpwagon posted:I love the Focus. You can also look at the Mazda3, although you'd really want a new one, it was just redesigned. If you're getting a Focus, either don't get the MyFord Touch, or use it first and make sure you're ok with it, because lots of people say it's really really annoying. You eventually get used to MFT - I've had a MFT Focus for like seven months. That doesn't make it good; it's more like you just get adjusted to its specific idiocies. However, Sync makes up for it for the most part. Don't forget the Elantra, the Rio5, and the Subaru Impreza if you want AWD or whatever.
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Feb 11, 2014 14:23
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an skeleton posted:Thanks alot guys. I'll skip that one for now. That's another red flag. If someone won't let you bring or bring the car for you to a mechanic of your choice for a pre purchase inspection just walk away.
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Feb 11, 2014 16:38
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Motronic posted:That's another red flag. If someone won't let you bring or bring the car for you to a mechanic of your choice for a pre purchase inspection just walk away. Yes. A friend of mine bought a car from some random person on Craigslist and refused to get it inspected since the person "seemed trustworthy" and the car "looked okay" and the seller was in a hurry to sell (wonder why?!) and my friend didn't want to make them wait for an inspection.  Guess who has to miss work or come in late at least once every other week because their car is a piece of poo poo?
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Feb 11, 2014 17:03
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It's OK to be a bit sympathetic, because people selling stuff on craigslist get jerked around constantly by assholes, so they probably don't want to deal with an rear end in a top hat that they think wants to drive away in their car, waste hours of their time, and then hideously lowball them. What I'd suggest is to see the car, and then talk about a price that isn't too far off from what they're asking, and then suggest a mechanic that is very local to them where you can take the car. At that point you should be able to say "unless the mechanic finds something wrong that's in addition to the issues you've already disclosed, I'm prepared to buy this car for $x. We can go straight from the mechanic to the bank." Obviously you should find a mechanic near the seller and call to ask what a PPO costs and whether you need an appointment, so you're not on the spot wasting the seller's time if they agree. If they still refuse at that point, well, you should walk, and it sucks, but you don't want to buy an uninspected car.
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Feb 11, 2014 20:52
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That is definitely the approach to take, but also if you're in the very low end of the market (less than 3-4 grand) a lot of sellers are going to tell you to get bent if you ask to do a PPI. If the 3k car you're buying is a common-ish car (Civic, Corolla, etc), is still in mostly one piece, and can move under its own power, someone will come along with cash in hand and buy it without the hassle of a PPI and the resulting haggling over all the issues that will turn up in a PPI of a 3k car. If you're in that segment of the market the good deals and least problematic cars get listed and sold in under 24 hours. You really need to be enough of your own mechanic to avoid getting screwed because no seller is going to wait to do a PPI while 3 other people are ready to put cash in hand without one. Guinness fucked around with this message at 21:02 on Feb 11, 2014 |
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Feb 11, 2014 20:59
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I was in the 1-3k range of buying cars, and its true, a lot of folks are weird about getting a PPI, but with some patience, it's doable. Leperflesh posted:It's OK to be a bit sympathetic, because people selling stuff on craigslist get jerked around constantly by assholes, so they probably don't want to deal with an rear end in a top hat that they think wants to drive away in their car, waste hours of their time, and then hideously lowball them. This is really the best advice. I had to walk away from a few cars, and I essentially took this tack.
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Feb 12, 2014 04:36
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Proposed Budget: I've got $4-5k for a down payment and I'd prefer to to not have to deal with monthly payments for more than a year or two, so my absolute maximum will probably be around $12k New or Used: either, probably used Body Style: 4 doors How will you be using the car?: Super short commute to work and occasional couple hour trip for hiking/camping Do you prefer a luxury vehicle with all the gizmos?: gently caress that What aspects are most important to you: The only thing that really matters is bang for the buck. I'm looking to minimize my lifetime cost per mile. Some very distant secondary considerations: space would be nice (I'm 6'2"), it'd also be good to have some ability to deal with snow as I moved to Wisconsin recently (pro tip, avoid doing this if at all possible) Judging from what I've read in this thread, I would guess I'm looking at a Civic or a Corolla, but I thought I'd ask for a specific recommendation anyway. Also, random question, has there ever been a worse car than the Geo/Chevy Metro? Since my other car died, I've been driving my dad's old (~2000) Metro and, while it's still going at 150k miles, the thing is just the biggest piece of poo poo I have ever seen.
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Feb 12, 2014 05:35
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an skeleton posted:Thanks alot guys. I'll skip that one for now. My mechanic refuses to do road calls for this exact reason, and I don't blame him for it.
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Feb 12, 2014 09:16
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I'm going to be buying a new car this weekend for something like $3k under MSRP (should be $19k, is $16k). I know they're going to try to drag the price up with fees, extras, and all that jazz, considering every other dealership I've contacted at first didn't believe me, then went "oh hell no we're not matching that price". I also know that some fees (vehicle registration fees) are basically something where you have to take a hit on. Is there any list of "these fees you should pay, these fees negotiate, these fees are bullshit"?
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Feb 12, 2014 21:51
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If you didn't negotiate the out-the-door price, expect to pay tax, title and registration. Pretty much everything else is bullshit. There may be a docs fee which the dealer assesses, which is bullshit, but may be tough to avoid since usually area dealers are in collusion about that.
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Feb 12, 2014 22:31
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This is why you should only negotiate in out-the-door numbers. Before you even go back to the one giving it to you for "$3k under MSRP", ask them for their out-the-door total, which will include all of the fees and poo poo they're tacking on. Ask the next-lowest-priced dealer to do the same, and see where they stack up. edit: Hi Kyoon! And yeah, doc fees are literal bullshit (they are charging you fees to do the tasks they have to do to sell the car, like the man-hours of paperwork, on top of the actual tax / registration fees) but every time I've shopped dealers for a car, every dealer has insisted they can't remove it, and every dealer has been within $5 of each other. They vary widely from location to location, though. In Phoenix they're all right at or under $400; in LA it seems like there's probably a law to limit them to $75 or so. IOwnCalculus fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Feb 12, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 22:32
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ranbo das posted:I'm going to be buying a new car this weekend for something like $3k under MSRP (should be $19k, is $16k). I know they're going to try to drag the price up with fees, extras, and all that jazz, considering every other dealership I've contacted at first didn't believe me, then went "oh hell no we're not matching that price". I also know that some fees (vehicle registration fees) are basically something where you have to take a hit on. Is there any list of "these fees you should pay, these fees negotiate, these fees are bullshit"? You want to negotiate on out the door numbers. Then, if after you show up they try to add stuff on, you walk. Edit: also, expect them to try to upsell you with paint protection, scotch guard interiors, vin etching, extended warranties, and so on. In almost every case, these are not worth it so just decline everything. APOLLO OHNO-UDIDNT fucked around with this message at 22:39 on Feb 12, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 22:33
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my friend has a great story about a 6 hour negotiation in which he was offered a contract, struck through their bullshit, and then signed. They then refused to accept and did the whole back and forth then printed out a new contract with new terms, but still slipped some bullshit or another in so he crossed that out too and the process repeated. He ended up with a car ~$500 below invoice (end of month incentives I guess) but holy poo poo he said it was exhausting and dumb. He is kind of aggressive like that though so I would imagine a normal person may do things differently or a dealership would probably not do that if they're not sitting at the end of the month really needing a sale that night to hit numbers.
Xguard86 fucked around with this message at 23:17 on Feb 12, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 23:15
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IOwnCalculus posted:This is why you should only negotiate in out-the-door numbers. Before you even go back to the one giving it to you for "$3k under MSRP", ask them for their out-the-door total, which will include all of the fees and poo poo they're tacking on. Ask the next-lowest-priced dealer to do the same, and see where they stack up. Yeah in central NC where I bought my last car it was four hundred bucks. Couple calls around, and I just said gently caress it, not worth the struggle. Your mileage may vary, like the dude above who was really in to getting the deal. Honestly, I value my negotiation time pretty highly and will cave on a couple hundred bucks just to seal the deal. On the other hand, this is falling in to the Trap since dealers rely on the fact that they're being paid to be there and you'd rather be canoeing or watching pornography.
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Feb 13, 2014 00:33
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I am looking at a 2004 G35 with 6 speed and trying to find reasons why I shouldn't get it. Solid engine, solid platform from what I can tell, maintenance won't kill me, tires are a reasonable size. What am I missing? Do these cars have any weak links? Is an 08ish Mazdaspeed 3 going to be cheaper to run in the long run if they both had the same amount of miles on them (70-80K)?
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Feb 13, 2014 03:23
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Xguard86 posted:my friend has a great story about a 6 hour negotiation in which he was offered a contract, struck through their bullshit, and then signed. They then refused to accept and did the whole back and forth then printed out a new contract with new terms, but still slipped some bullshit or another in so he crossed that out too and the process repeated. He ended up with a car ~$500 below invoice (end of month incentives I guess) but holy poo poo he said it was exhausting and dumb. He is kind of aggressive like that though so I would imagine a normal person may do things differently or a dealership would probably not do that if they're not sitting at the end of the month really needing a sale that night to hit numbers. I am currently shipping for deals on my next (new) car. One dealer out in the boondocks is offering $1200 below invoice before other incentives, and it just seems too sketchy to be possible. I'm grinding a few other dealers that are close for $500-$800 below invoice and it sucks but I'm pretty much there. Of course after I have the best deal on the new car I will need to grind again on trade in (should be able to do well enough to avoid the hassle of private party sale, which would be difficult on my old car for reasons). The amazing thing is if you can get someone who is fully transparent about he back end stuff and can include it in the deal. I have one dealer willing to lower the price more based on financing knowing full well I won't carry the loan full term (but pay it back the third month).
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Feb 13, 2014 04:20
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What do you need to do to get a car at invoice or below? Almost every dealer Ive been to is completely transparent about the profit they make on their cars. I paid for a report on the cars I was interested in to get invoice pricing and the margins are fairly slim. Volkswagen in particular refuses to negotiate at all. The others want to split their "profit" 50/50. Again I suppose if Im buying a 2014 Mazda3 there is no chance I will get a discount. Despite this I cant even touch invoice on a Ford Focus even with Ford's X-Plan. Are you all secretly family members of auto industry employees?
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Feb 13, 2014 17:38
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Kraftwerk posted:What do you need to do to get a car at invoice or below? Almost every dealer Ive been to is completely transparent about the profit they make on their cars. I paid for a report on the cars I was interested in to get invoice pricing and the margins are fairly slim. Volkswagen in particular refuses to negotiate at all. The others want to split their "profit" 50/50. Again I suppose if Im buying a 2014 Mazda3 there is no chance I will get a discount. Despite this I cant even touch invoice on a Ford Focus even with Ford's X-Plan. Are you all secretly family members of auto industry employees? How big of a city are you in? I can get awesome deals on any domestic brands because there are 11 Ford dealers in my city, 9 Chevy and a ton of Dodge too. When I contact 11 Ford dealers wanting to buy a car that all of them have on the lot, at least 5 are always willing to play ball and 3 will get really really cutthroat. I'd suggest contacting all dealers within a 30 mile radius of you, more if you're willing to drive further.
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Feb 13, 2014 17:45
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Honestly, I value my negotiation time pretty highly and will cave on a couple hundred bucks just to seal the deal. On the other hand, this is falling in to the Trap since dealers rely on the fact that they're being paid to be there and you'd rather be canoeing or watching pornography. Yeah, this is why I do 99% of my negotiation over email. You know, from my smartphone in my canoe.  And I completely agree on your "there's a time cost" sentiment there. Is it nice to save $200 on a purchase of any size? Yes. Is it worth spending three hours of your life screaming at a slimebag in a suit who keeps moving numbers around to try and trick you, to save that $200, instead of maybe skipping some fast food? gently caress no.
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Feb 13, 2014 17:53
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