|
We've been with Liberty Mutual for decades. They're not the cheapest, but claims service has always been excellent. Stuff is taken care of pronto.
|
#
?
May 25, 2019 04:47
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 06:19 |
|
|
Deteriorata posted:We've been with Liberty Mutual for decades. They're not the cheapest, but claims service has always been excellent. Stuff is taken care of pronto. This is my experience as well
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2019 14:48
|
|
|
I've had Geico for years because they've always been hilariously cheaper than State Farm, and also have up to $1M in liability. I don't know what it is about their actuarial tables that make us much cheaper for them than everyone else. 
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2019 15:44
|
|
|
Geico is owned by Berkshire Hathaway and are the second largest insurer in the US. They have a lot of money to play with. Does Geico do homeowners policies yet? Last I checked they still moved you to 3rd parties.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2019 17:47
|
|
|
Yeah, they just act as a broker.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2019 18:24
|
|
|
Residency Evil posted:I've had Geico for years because they've always been hilariously cheaper than State Farm, and also have up to $1M in liability. I don't know what it is about their actuarial tables that make us much cheaper for them than everyone else.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2019 02:08
|
|
|
State Farm actually made a profit on their underwriting this year for the first time since like 03. They’re huge and make a ton on investments but it’s still pretty bad that they can’t make even a 1% underwriting profit.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2019 02:31
|
|
|
Does GEICO still hate sports cars? Many years ago I was a young man (but over 25) with a Camaro and they kept hiking my rates for no reason (clean record) until I was forced to leave. I switched to State Farm for literally like 40% of what GEICO was charging me (same car, same coverage).
Number_6 fucked around with this message at 05:56 on May 27, 2019 |
|
#
?
May 27, 2019 05:53
|
|
|
So now that I'm done with grad school and have some job offers (don't get excited -- I'm staying in academia and the pay is meh) I think it might be time to replace my 1998 Ford Escort wagon. There's nothing wrong with it, except that it's unpleasant to drive in every way except visibility (and the excellent visibility is a function of its lacking modern safety features  ) and if I am going to need a car I'd like to have one that my wife can ride in without getting seasick from the mediocre suspension. Also, it has a slushy automatic transmission that fights me every time I try to go up a hill, since the engine is definitely not producing more than 100hp after 20+ years.My budget is around $15k (or less, obviously) and I want something that meets these criteria: - wagon, hatchback, crossover, or SUV (that has or can have a roof rack and trailer hitch) - manual transmission - 150+ hp - 32+ mpg - <10 years old With my credit rating I should be able to get a good APR on a loan, and I will be putting down at least $5k in cash. Does anyone have any thoughts on the following makes and models, and what to look out for? I'm leaning towards one of these: - Mazda3 - Mazda CX-5 - Ford Focus - Subaru Impreza - Subaru Crosstrek - VW Jetta SportWagen - Honda HR-V - Honda Civic Hatch (the new one with 4 doors) The Mazda3 hatch is my preference, probably, given its combination of MPG and handling, but OTOH it could be helpful to have something with a little higher suspension that could go on dirt/gravel roads better. Also: what's the thinking on mileage for used cars? I guess 12k/yr is "normal" usage, so should I just try to go off that? Is there a mileage range that I should just not consider at all?
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2019 17:45
|
|
|
What are you trying to trailer? Most of those cars aren't rated to tow, and if you get into an accident with a trailer, your insurance is going to tell you to pound sand. If someone handed me $15k and told me to buy a hatchback, I'd be looking for a used Fiesta ST. No more slushbox!
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2019 18:06
|
|
|
Forget the Subaru's if you care about fuel economy and repair bills.
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2019 18:08
|
|
|
KillHour posted:What are you trying to trailer? Most of those cars aren't rated to tow, and if you get into an accident with a trailer, your insurance is going to tell you to pound sand. In the USA, they will pay for your claim 100%. There is no exclusion in any ISO standard contract nor any carrier specific contract I’ve ever seen that would deny coverage for either 1st or 3rd party damages if you were towing a trailer with a car. Insurance companies pay for stupidity all day, every day.
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2019 18:14
|
|
|
big crush on Chad OMG posted:In the USA, they will pay for your claim 100%. There is no exclusion in any ISO standard contract nor any carrier specific contract I’ve ever seen that would deny coverage for either 1st or 3rd party damages if you were towing a trailer with a car. I'm just going off of what one of my prior insurance agents once told me, but I've never had a claim with a trailer in tow, so I guess I don't know for sure. Still, I'm pretty sure towing with a car not rated to tow can lead to all sorts of problems - and I'm positive it can void the warranty on your drivetrain.
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2019 18:25
|
|
|
KillHour posted:I'm just going off of what one of my prior insurance agents once told me, but I've never had a claim with a trailer in tow, so I guess I don't know for sure. Still, I'm pretty sure towing with a car not rated to tow can lead to all sorts of problems - and I'm positive it can void the warranty on your drivetrain. Agents aren’t adjusters, and anecdotally they seldom even read the policy contracts they sell. You’re also very unlikely to have your drivetrain warranty “voided”. A dealer could decline specific service if they feel that damage is related to operating the vehicle incorrectly - money shift, towing 10,000lb with a Prius, fording rivers, etc. but nobody “voids” a warranty but a manufacturer, and it’s extremely rare.
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2019 18:37
|
|
|
KillHour posted:What are you trying to trailer? Most of those cars aren't rated to tow, and if you get into an accident with a trailer, your insurance is going to tell you to pound sand. A small sailboat, Laser-class or similar. They weigh <150lb, and most of the weight would be the trailer itself. Technically they're car-toppable, but they're also 14ft long and I'm not sure I'd trust a roof rack spaced less than 1/3 the cargo's length. But I don't know, maybe it's easier than I think and the roof rack would be okay. KillHour posted:If someone handed me $15k and told me to buy a hatchback, I'd be looking for a used Fiesta ST. No more slushbox! They do seem really neat, but they also seem just too small to carry anything in them, and part of my motivation for getting a hatch is the superior cargo capacity for the size class. Maksimus54 posted:Forget the Subaru's if you care about fuel economy and repair bills. Okay then. There aren't many available anyway so that's an easy note to take.
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2019 18:54
|
|
|
You're one of the few people that fits the actual use-profile for a CUV. How about a CR-V?
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2019 19:03
|
|
|
Do they come in manual transmission? Or am I being pointlessly nerdy for wanting a manual at all?
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2019 19:25
|
|
|
Apollodorus posted:Do they come in manual transmission? They have a CVT that feels like its made of rubber bands. Fun, Practical, Cheap, pick 2.
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2019 19:59
|
|
|
KillHour posted:They have a CVT that feels like its made of rubber bands. What do you mean by this? I don’t think I’ve ever driven a CVT so it’s hard for me to picture.
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2019 20:51
|
|
|
Apollodorus posted:What do you mean by this? I don’t think I’ve ever driven a CVT so it’s hard for me to picture. CVTs don't "shift up" like cars with traditional transmissions. You put your foot down and the car goes faster, but the RPMs stay in the power band. It feels like the engine is attached to rubber bands, which are attached to the wheels, so the speedo has to "catch up" to the tach. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJTV7c-eM6M&t=145s KillHour fucked around with this message at 21:00 on May 28, 2019 |
|
#
?
May 28, 2019 20:56
|
|
|
If you really want a manual transmission you are going to need to scratch the CX-5 and the HR-V. Don't buy a used 1.5T Honda just yet as they had some serious defects in the first couple years. Manual Golf/Jetta Sportwagen is a good candidate but they do require a bit more assiduous maintenance and are prone to breaking slightly more frequently and more expensively when they do. Make sure you know a good brand specialist and you live in a place with Volkswagens (so if you live in like, coastal Carolina, do not buy one) I find the "goes on dirt roads" thing a little hilarious as I lived on a dirt road in a town with 3 paved roads and no stoplights for the vast majority of my life (well, at this point, the slight majority), and never found the need for CUV clearance. You can probably find a manual Focus very very cheaply and I honestly think you should do that, since it is a pretty good drive (probably like 85% of the fun of a Mazda3, give or take), it's very cheap, it's very cheap to fix, and it's reasonably reliable. Most complaints stem from the god awful automatic transmission (not relevant for you!) or MyFordTouch, so just get a lower trim level. Dealers in my area are advertising leftover 2018s for like sixteen grand for a fully loaded slightly used top trim Titanium, so you can squeeze well within your budget. Otherwise, the Mazda3 checks most of your boxes but you'll pay a premium to the Focus.
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2019 22:00
|
|
|
If you don't need to fit people in, the Fiesta is quite large with the seats down. I can fit a huge (like 61cm) bike in the back of my mazda2, which is basically the same car.
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2019 22:46
|
|
|
My wife and I are looking at a 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe with about 85k miles, a little under $10,000. Is there anything to look for specifically on these? Has a clean Carfax.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2019 06:41
|
|
|
KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:You can probably find a manual Focus very very cheaply and I honestly think you should do that, since it is a pretty good drive (probably like 85% of the fun of a Mazda3, give or take), it's very cheap, it's very cheap to fix, and it's reasonably reliable. Most complaints stem from the god awful automatic transmission (not relevant for you!) or MyFordTouch, so just get a lower trim level. Dealers in my area are advertising leftover 2018s for like sixteen grand for a fully loaded slightly used top trim Titanium, so you can squeeze well within your budget. Unfortunately it looks as though literally every Ford Focus hatchback on cars.com within 200 miles of me that is listed as "manual" is in fact automatic, and mislabeled by some idiot who doesn't know what a manual shift knob looks like. However, there are a few Focus STs within my budget, and those are all manual and get ~32mpg.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2019 12:59
|
|
|
KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:If you really want a manual transmission you are going to need to scratch the CX-5 and the HR-V. Don't buy a used 1.5T Honda just yet as they had some serious defects in the first couple years. Jesus loving Christ, quit posting this poo poo. Every time a question relating to new Hondas comes up, some goddamn idiot posts OMG THE 1.5TURBO IS PROBLEMATIC. It only had oil-dilution issues in one circumstance - someone who lives where it’s very very very cold(like Alaska or northern Minnesota) in the winter AND only takes extremely short trips(like under five miles). Period.* Honda says they have a software fix, I’m a bit sceptical, so we’ll see, but unless you live in a frozen wasteland and only drive a few blocks a day, I wouldn’t worry about any of it. I know, I know, nice meltdown, etc, but holy poo poo, this has been gone over in this thread several times already. *oil dilution under these circumstances isn’t uncommon in other engines, either, but the 1.5T seems to be worse than usual.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2019 13:35
|
|
|
Just buy the 2.0 NA, there's a perfectly good alternative. Honda just started the campaign in the coldest weather states; it's also going to apply to Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. When buying a used car, you have no loving idea how the PO used it. I agree that I would have no issue buying a brand new 1.5T Honda for my own use! But I wouldn't buy one off some other idiot here in Michigan. Apollodorus posted:Unfortunately it looks as though literally every Ford Focus hatchback on cars.com within 200 miles of me that is listed as "manual" is in fact automatic, and mislabeled by some idiot who doesn't know what a manual shift knob looks like. ST owner - no they don't. On the highway, clean, you might get 32 at ~70 mph. Combined, I get like 25 with about a 50/50 split, of course it's Michigan so highway driving is more like 80. When you're towing your boat you ain't getting 32. There is a center-mount exhaust, which can make trailering a bit annoying, although there are plenty of ball mounts.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2019 15:12
|
|
|
I don't have a boat currently and would not be towing it more than once a week if I did. The fuel efficiency consideration is more for long-distance drives. 25mpg combined is about the same as my current Escort anyway, though I've been using it almost exclusively for highway driving (85 mile commute each way) so it's been getting ~30mpg on a given tank. When I was driving it mostly in city driving, it was getting like 19-20mpg. Maybe I don't need to worry about mpg as much if I'm not going to be doing that awful commute any more, because if I take the better of the jobs I've been offered I'd be moving out of state and live somewhere I can commute by bike. The money I would be spending on gas will instead be going to plane flights back home once or twice a month. But seriously though why are all those Ford Focuses listed as "manual" when they are obviously automatic?
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2019 15:53
|
|
|
because car dealers are run by morons, for morons I would certainly hold off on buying a car if you think you will move somewhere with a bike commute. I am A Car Guy and even I think owning a car is deeply stupid, wasteful, and expensive so if you ever have the opportunity to not do it, you should. The FoST is a great car and a really good value. I like mine a lot. The only things I don't like are the turning circle (Nimitz-class levels), the weirdly impractical center stack that takes up a lot of space, MyFordTouch, the bulk of the Recaros that take up a lot of rear seat room, and the rearward visibility. My wife does not like the passenger side Recaro seat from a comfort perspective, but she does not mind the driver's side one. Just get the ST1 and you don't have to worry about that.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2019 16:27
|
|
|
Two more dumb questions: - Are there any consistent rules about how many miles on a used car is too many for it to be a good idea? Or anywhere I can find out stuff like "car X becomes less reliable after Y miles" etc? I know 12k/yr is considered "normal", but would I be stupid getting a 7yr old car X with 84k miles than a 5yr old of the same model with 60k? - Is it ever an okay thing to do to buy a car from someone on Craigslist or any private seller? This is assuming I took it to a reliable mechanic who could perform a thorough check on it, of course. I imagine it's a thing people do, but people do lots of stupid poo poo.
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2019 16:17
|
|
|
Yeah I have bought and sold a bunch of cars on craigo. Be prepared for a lot of aggravation. If you're at the low end of the market (say 5K and under) it becomes easier as a buyer in my opinion. Scheduled maintenances are posted for all cars by the manufacturer. YOu can get an idea of the scope of maintenance that is likely to occur at any given mileage. Most of these are items that need to be replaced semiregularly as they are consumed. This is stuff like brake pads, accessory belts, clutches, spark plugs, filters, batteries etc. They all have their own wear rates and likely schedules. Generally, heavier repair (as in things breaking more unexpectedly) starts to rear its head around 7-8 years / 100k miles. At that point you tend to encounter timing belts, water pumps, thermostats, starter/alternator, maybe some gaskets of various kinds, suspension components. It's kind of tough to tell and is use/condition based. A car with 100,000 miles on Michigan roads is going to need a bunch of suspension work. Same car with 100,000 miles in Southern California won't have the same problems. Maintenance history is much more important than overall mileage. I would have more confidence in a car with 150k miles with complete maintenance records vs a car with 50k with nothing.
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2019 16:40
|
|
|
KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Maintenance history is much more important than overall mileage. I would have more confidence in a car with 150k miles with complete maintenance records vs a car with 50k with nothing. So much this. Most cars these days will run a really long time as long as they're maintained properly. If I was buying a used car I would almost prefer one with a 12 to 15K a year average than say 7 to 10K a year. Many people drive a lot more than they used to with cities getting bigger and suburbs moving farther away. Maintenance records are the key though. Also little things like quality of replacement tires, other little things can key you into how the vehicle was taken care of. If they threw the cheapest walmart tires they could on the car, odds are they cut corners on maintenance as well. Many people get scared off, or are unwilling to spend money on the big ticket maintenance items as well. A 1000 dollar timing belt job every 7 years/100K miles is still routine maintenance of the car. People love to sell before that time though and get something new instead of just paying the money.
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2019 18:30
|
|
|
That's really good to have put in perspective -- for comparison, mine is 21 years old now with just over 150k miles, but it had only 32k miles when I got it in 2012. I suppose I could keep it running longer, but I'm just sick of the thing. So if I were to try buying a car over Craigslist, perhaps in cash, what do I need to keep in mind in order to get what I want and not be screwed over? I gather I'd need to see the title and its full maintenance history, test drive it, and then take it to a mechanic whom I'd expect to pay $100-150 to check it out and comment on the condition of the body/frame and parts. What else?
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2019 19:43
|
|
|
My wife wants to buy a mid size SUV instead of a truck, I'm partial to a 4Runner (2010ish) she found a few Pathfinders she likes (same era). How bad are the Nissans of 8-9 years ago?
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2019 20:20
|
|
|
Anyone hosed around with new Mercedes A class? How bad are they ?
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2019 20:33
|
|
|
TheReverend posted:Anyone hosed around with new Mercedes A class? why do you want one Rhyno posted:My wife wants to buy a mid size SUV instead of a truck, I'm partial to a 4Runner (2010ish) she found a few Pathfinders she likes (same era). How bad are the Nissans of 8-9 years ago? Do you need full on BOF? The older Pathfinder is fine, but it is incredibly fuel inefficient and not pleasant to drive. If you don't need a BOF truck for offroad or towing, save yourself some headache and get a unibody midsized CUV (Pilot, Highlander, et al).
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2019 02:29
|
|
|
Hmmm, for some reason I thought the Highlander was bigger than the 4R. I will realign my search a bit. I think she just likes the Nissan styling, neither of us have driven one. My father has given me his old 2 axel trailer and we will be doing some moderate towing and trailering.
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2019 03:54
|
|
|
When you say moderate, how frequently, and how much weight? If not frequent and lower weight, you can do it with a CUV without problems - the Highlander with a tow package is rated for the same weight as the 4Runner anyway.
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2019 13:16
|
|
|
KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:why do you want one Not sure. They're new so I don't know if they are bad. Might be ok entry level luxury car?
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2019 14:32
|
|
|
why buy an A-Class when you can buy a CPO C-Class pretty much all entry lux products are poo poo
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2019 14:59
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 06:19 |
|
|
Makes sense. Thanks!
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2019 15:26
|
|