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Any Aussies in here who can help me? I'm getting a first car, currently looking at a 2003 Ford Fairmont for $8500, 128,000km's. Won't be doing all that much driving so the lovely fuel economy isn't really a problem, I'm more concerned about the availability of parts. Insurance on this model is also *relatively* cheap for my age bracket for some reason. Is something like this a good idea? Is there anything "wrong" with the 2003-2004 Fairmonts?
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Jan 12, 2013 09:02
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Weinertron posted:Your best bet with the important aspects as well as ability to haul are going to be a Subaru Outback or Forester. Also, if you want a real off-road jeep you had better cross MPG off your desired aspects. How often and how large will you be hauling furniture? Maybe rent a van for those days and get a smaller AWD car for your DD? You're probably right but I still want to have an intimate relationship with a Rubicon. I like Subaru but I don't really get the hook. What's so great about them over any other AWD mini-suv/wagon?
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Jan 12, 2013 10:09
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Proposed Budget: 3,000 bux or less New or Used: Used Body Style: Small Truck How will you be using the car?: To get to work and to help move on occasion, I have an old Honda that I'll be keeping I just need a back up ride with some utility. What aspects are most important to you? Reliability, working A/C I don't know the used truck market very well. What should I be looking for in the 90's era? C10's and Rangers seem to be the bread and butter here. Is there anything truck-specific that I should be inspecting for when I go out to look at craigslist prospects? I'm in Austin, TX so I'm seeing a good bit of action on the craigslist. Here's what I've seen so far today: 1,200 dollar 2000 Ranger with 195xxx miles. This seems like a huge catch for me because I put about 10,000 miles a year on a car and I'll still be driving the Honda. The low price makes me nervous though. And basically a lot of Chevies and Fords in the 2,000-3,000 dollar range.
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Jan 12, 2013 19:05
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Black Cat posted:Proposed Budget: 3,000 bux or less Ranger or mazda b-series (same thing). Get a manual if you're looking beyond 100k mi, they're just simple and reliable. I might look for rust if I was up north, but not in tx unless it was a beach truck. Avoid anything that is or was lifted.
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Jan 12, 2013 19:27
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I'll just add that you can't really hope to buy reliability for $3k. A $3k light truck will need regular maintenance of course, but will also be high miles/beat to poo poo/both. Expect significant costs to replace wear items as they wear out. Get your pre-purchase inspection to try to rule out any immediately impending disastrous failures and then budget for ongoing costs. Having said that, nm's recommendation for a b-series or ranger is good; these trucks have above-average reliability.
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Jan 12, 2013 22:52
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Seconding the "reliability is relative" at $3K. Rather than push your budget up, which won't really improve your odds of nothing important breaking in the next 6 months, plan to have another budget for necessary repairs / major maintenance in a few months. For $3K you can get a nearly-bulletproof Ranger, and if you will have another $1000 on-hand 3 months later to cover the inevitable something that goes bang, you're golden. Even $500 as fixit money on it's way in will make your life much, much easier.
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Jan 13, 2013 09:27
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Proposed Budget: $15,000-$18,000 New or Used: New? I was thinking I could get a 2012 for a deal now that the 2013's are out. Open to ideas. Body Style: 4 door preferable, but 2 wouldn't kill me. How will you be using the car?: Commuter car. I drive about 90 minutes (total) per day to work and back. What aspects are most important to you? I want something safe, reliable, low-maintenance, and with decent gas mileage. I was eyeing the 2012 civics, accords, camrys, and corollas, but I was surprised to find most of those going for over 20 grand. Any suggestions? Butter Hole fucked around with this message at 01:14 on Jan 15, 2013 |
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Jan 15, 2013 01:11
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Butter Hole posted:Proposed Budget: $15,000-$18,000 Have you checked out the Mazda 3? The Skyactiv ones get 28 city/40 highway. I'm only mentioning this because I cross shopped those other cars at one point and settled on the 3. The looks are pretty polarizing, but you can get a new 2012 for 16-18k.
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Jan 15, 2013 01:26
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Butter Hole posted:Proposed Budget: $15,000-$18,000 You're a phenomenal candidate for a slightly used Prius.
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Jan 15, 2013 01:32
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A Proper Uppercut posted:Have you checked out the Mazda 3? The Skyactiv ones get 28 city/40 highway. I'm only mentioning this because I cross shopped those other cars at one point and settled on the 3. The looks are pretty polarizing, but you can get a new 2012 for 16-18k. Hmm, that looks pretty nice! I hadn't considered a Mazda; I'm not really a car guy so I'm kind of like a deer in headlights here. I'll keep that in mind, thank you!
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Jan 15, 2013 01:45
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I've had a 95 Civic hatchback since high school, and over the past 7 years, along with occasional maintenance, it's done me well. Sadly it was stolen overnight last week, and now I'm being thrust into considering what the next car will be, which I've never really put much serious thought into, to be honest. Still working through the insurance process, and have a rental for the next few weeks, but need to start looking into options, so here's where I'm at: Proposed Budget: Up to $6,000, maybe a bit more if the right car came along. New or Used: Used, obviously with my budget. Body Style: I loved the versatility of my Civic hatchback, it being a compact car yet having great storage capacity, so something similar would be great. Plus it was a stick shift so no one could ever borrow it, which I loved. How will you be using the car?: Mostly work related. I freelance, so I guess the most important part of the car again is versatility. Something that would be good for the occasional long-distance road trip (this was something not good for the Civic so a part of me is glad I'm finally moving on), could occasionally haul large amounts of equipment or gear in the back, and still be a practical city car. What aspects are most important to you?: MPG and reliability would be priority for me. Also, being theft-conscious now, something that's not as attractive for quick bucks at a chop shop or something with better security would be nice. I'm not a big car guy, so some ideas on the kinds of cars I can direct my search on would be great.
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Jan 15, 2013 21:19
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Well, most other cars on earth are a lower theft risk except maybe the Integra and the Integra R, so don't worry about that too awfully much. Hatchbacks: Ford Focus ZX3 or ZX5, Mazda3 Wagony things: Ford Focus ZTW (hard to find), Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe, Mazda Protege5, Subaru Impreza (less good on gas), maybe a Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable wagon or something, but they're not stick. CUVs: Honda CR-V, Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute, Toyota RAV-4, Subaru Forester - though these will all be worse on gas. My pick would be to find a Focus ZTW, and then after that a ZX5 or one of the Matrix/Vibe twins. The Vibe tends to be much cheaper due to badging but it's an identical car. You can find everything on my list except the Taurus and Sable in stick.
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Jan 15, 2013 23:33
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Proposed Budget: $7000-$11000 New or Used: Used Body Style: I would like having an SUV or pickup, something that I could put an 8 foot 2x4 in without going through the back window to the front wheel well, but based on my conditions below, I'm more than willing to settle for a mid-size or full size car. How will you be using the car?: Primarily a 30 minute each way daily highway commute. I do some woodworking here and there and usually have a home project going and would like to be able to transport stuff easily, but it's not as important as having something reliable and decent. I can keep borrowing my brother's van when I need to. What aspects are most important to you?: Reliability. I have a 98 Ford Taurus now that is making GBS threads the bed at 140,000 miles. It didn't start this morning in 16 degrees, it blew coolant all over my engine compartment 2 months ago and is just starting to piss me off. The doors don't close half the time and I've put two alternators in it over the last 90,000 miles. I had a 2WD manual transmission Ranger a couple cars ago that I liked, but I got stuck a lot and wrecked it when I lost my back-end on a slick highway and ran it off the road. If I had options in my price range for a pickup, I'd like 4WD. I don't know if a 2WD F150 and that class of truck have enough weight to keep them on the road with some sandbags or not. Again, if I'm being a pain in the rear end with a broad interest, recommend a car. That's what I need. A truck is just what I want and I don't know if a good one is in my price range. I tend to look at old lovely cars because I'm cheap, but I'm not poor. For some reason I just test drove a 2002 Taurus with 77000 miles on it for $6950. I bought my current 98 Taurus in 2006 with $48000 miles on it for $5000. I don't know how to shop for a car so help! Also, this car will be outside all the time in Northern Ohio unfortunately.
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Jan 16, 2013 02:02
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Proposed Budget: $7000 - $9000, maybe up to $10,000 New or Used: Used Body Style: 4-door car of some sort, preferably with a lot of room. I'm not a small person. How will you be using the car?: 20-40mi daily commute, occasionally carting around friends. What aspects are most important to you? Cost and maintenance. Mileage would be nice but isn't a huge priority. I live in Vegas so the summer weather is pretty harsh but there's not much of a winter. Not sure how much that matters. I'm currently driving a early 90s GMC truck from my family that has all sorts of fun and interesting problems and probably won't last too long -- the transmission is going south and most recently the thermostat stopped working properly, and it some minor leaks. It basically rotted in the driveway for a few years without moving much... The only thing about it I like is that it has pedals that require a little bit of force to move, so accelerating and braking is smoother and less "poo poo I barely touched it and it just jerked to a stop  ".I know absolutely nothing about purchasing a car  I do know that buying something lovely just because it's cheap works out real well, though. My mother bought a $1000 beater that basically instantly required $2000+ worth of work. 
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Jan 16, 2013 02:15
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That sounds about right. 1k cars are bought with the assumption you will need to sink in cash to fix stuff. If you go in buying a 1k car expecting it to be reliable and not require an extra initial investment, you're fooling yourself.
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Jan 16, 2013 02:17
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Bovril Delight posted:That sounds about right. 1k cars are bought with the assumption you will need to sink in cash to fix stuff. If you go in buying a 1k car expecting it to be reliable and not require an extra initial investment, you're fooling yourself. Oh, she was.  Apparently the person who she bought it from
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Jan 16, 2013 02:18
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Speaking of suckers who want to buy cars for 1k... So there's this 1973 Plymouth Fury II (the Canadian version, of which only 3,000 or so were made). Its current owner, who lives in the rural north-west corner of southern Ontario, inherited it from his dad, who bought it new at the time. In the last little while however its current owner married, and now has a child on the way and is moving to a distant town for a new job. So! Out must go his dear old auto, at 1.5K or best offer, in the next month or so or else he'll have to scrap it. Normally I'd pay it no mind, but I've had a little windfall recently and it made me curious. Here's the autotrader link that first alerted me to the car: http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Plymouth/Fury/RIPLEY/Ontario/19_6489089_/?showcpo=ShowCPO I know, it inspires a lot of skepticism, but the car's in better shape than it looks. First and foremost I should mention that he does have the front bumper and grill and took them off to do work on the car. I've seen them and they seem in fine condition, minus a small bit of surface rust. Here's some more photos of the car I took when I went to see it in person:              Now, as for the car itself, he's recently replaced the suspension and brakes entirely. They look to be in quite good condition. No oil stains around the engine I could see, and he says the oil lines are fine. No blue smoke coming out of the exhaust. Checked underneath and saw little rust, seemed painted or sealed up. Pressed against suspect with a screwdriver and it didn't go through, so should be pretty solid. The brakes didn't squeal and there were no stutters or problems with the gas, although the controls felt a little unfamiliar (no digital displays! Even the gear display had an analog needle that I moved along from letter to letter. It's an automatic and runs fine on regular gas. Older than 1987 so it won't need to be emissions tested. State Farm used to insure it and their online quote system says I could have it for $160 a month (I was impressed their online system had the 1973 Plymouth Fury listed, to be honest). Doesn't have a passenger side mirror but you don't need one to pass a safety inspection in Ontario. About the only definite issues I noticed with the car were a) the interior's pretty ratty, and could use a bit of replacing. I'm fine with pockmarked seats, but the seatbelts didn't seem up to snuff, and b) while there was little rust besides a bit of surface stuff here or there, there was a fraying patch job about the size of a wallet just under the back right bumper. Not exactly a world-ender but it'd be nice to get that patched properly. It's a pretty long and heavy car, but I was brought up driving pickup trucks and minivans. I've got six years of driving experience and one four-year-old speeding ticket against me (which thankfully squeaks out under State Farm's "3 years of driver history" requirement). During my test drive I found it as unwieldly as I expected but not too much to handle, and I got around fine at city speeds at the owner's backwoods home. Didn't take it on the highway but the owner says he's driven it at highway speeds before (he doesn't seem to stray too far from home). Looks to have about 110,00 Km on it. I can probably bust him down to $1,000, and I've got about $5,000 to spend. Any more than that and I'll start hearing some serious "I told you so"'s from family and friends. I don't intend to do too much actual driving - I actually don't really need a car, but with my recent windfall I feel like I'm at the right age to experiment with car ownership and am willing to take a few risks for a good story or experience. I wouldn't normally bother, but there's something strangely charming about this beat up 70's car. Maybe my older cousins are to blame for wowing me as a teenager with their matching rebuilt 70's Camaros. If I'm going to do it though, I'd better decide soon, since there's a lot of paperwork and fees to be handled. If it matters, I've seen the car's permit, although the owner hadn't bothered getting one of those government vehicle information packages since he wanted to see if anyone even wanted his car in the first place. So. What should I know/look for/do? Is this a diamond in the rough, or a tar pit waiting to suck in ten grand then stall on the highway and kill me? P.S. hope this is the right place to ask, and sorry if it isn't just point me in the right direction. Dolash fucked around with this message at 03:16 on Jan 16, 2013 |
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Jan 16, 2013 03:10
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Proposed Budget: Maximum of $25,000 New or Used: New Body Style: Any size sedan (not a SUV/Truck/Hatchback/Station Wagon) How will you be using the car?: I will not be using this for any super specific purpose. I would like it to be able to handle going up mountains were there will be likely snow for snowboarding. Mountain roads are also likely. I don't plan on doing heavy hauling with it. Roughly 30 mile commute daily. What aspects are most important to you? The most important aspect for me are the car being reliable and having good gas mileage. I would love if it was a little sporty, but that doesn't need to be the central focus. A good stereo would be appreciated, and I would strongly favor something that can play music off a portable player/phone. Really this will be my first purchased car so I want something that I can trust and which doesn't have large additional costs. Sorry for being boring 
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Jan 16, 2013 03:25
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Dolash posted:Speaking of suckers who want to buy cars for 1k... Wait, the fuckin' thing runs? If you don't buy it, I will.
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Jan 16, 2013 03:49
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Agronox posted:Wait, the fuckin' thing runs? If you don't buy it, I will. It ran, and quite smoothly I thought. It felt weird to drive (the seat felt lower to the ground than I was used to, the windows seemed smaller, the gas and breaks worked fine but had unfamiliar sensitivity, and most unfamiliar of all the steering wheel didn't pull itself back to a neutral rest position if I let go of it), but I was doing 50 Kmph, stopping at stop signs and rounding corners along the streets surrounding his house with relative ease. I probably can't verify his claim about highway driving at this time, but he's been very honest so far.
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Jan 16, 2013 04:10
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Ingenium posted:Body Style: Any size sedan (not a SUV/Truck/Hatchback/Station Wagon) As someone who does not understand the purpose of a sedan... why? What does a sedan do better than a wagon? Snow, you say? The Subaru Impreza gets good gas mileage, is fun to drive and reliable, and is available as a sedan. Thoroughly within your budget. The Legacy is as well but since it's bigger it's not as good on gas and it's more of a boring drive.
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Jan 16, 2013 05:13
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Dolash posted:It ran, and quite smoothly I thought. It felt weird to drive (the seat felt lower to the ground than I was used to, the windows seemed smaller, the gas and breaks worked fine but had unfamiliar sensitivity, and most unfamiliar of all the steering wheel didn't pull itself back to a neutral rest position if I let go of it), but I was doing 50 Kmph, stopping at stop signs and rounding corners along the streets surrounding his house with relative ease. I probably can't verify his claim about highway driving at this time, but he's been very honest so far. That thing would look pretty awesome painted black. You might want to try the Craiglist Gold thread in Automotive Insanity, some of the regular posters have some old Mopar experience. There was a really cool thread about a '73 Fury III in AI. A retired cop hired uncle_skin to recreate his first police cruiser. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3403395 I don't know much about old Plymouths specifically, but generally there isn't much of an enthusiast following for full sized 70s cars. This means used interior and body parts will be hard to find, because no one is hoarding them like they are for more popular old cars, and there won't be anybody manufacturing new reproduction parts. In uncle_skin's thread he mentions spending a lot of money to have the dash pad repaired because new ones are not available and no good used ones could be found. I think most mechanical parts won't be as much of a problem because a lot of those will interchange with a whole bunch of other models, but again, I don't know that much about old Plymouths. Also be extremely careful about rust when buying old cars in Ontario, there is probably no worse place in North America for rust.
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Jan 16, 2013 06:31
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Friar Zucchini posted:As someone who does not understand the purpose of a sedan... why? What does a sedan do better than a wagon? To be honest it is really more of a style thing for me; I love cars that have more aerodynamic of a profile. I would also assume that this would come with better gas mileage at the cost of space.
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Jan 16, 2013 08:54
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Ingenium posted:To be honest it is really more of a style thing for me; I love cars that have more aerodynamic of a profile. I would also assume that this would come with better gas mileage at the cost of space. This is wrong. Sedans aren't inherently more areodynamic, and the cD times frontal area is going to determine your aerodynamic drag, not "does it look sleek." Nothing wrong with liking the styling better, but there's no actual advantage to a sedan unless you need/want a secured trunk. Anyhow, you are a prime candidate for the new Honda Accord or the Ford Fusion if you want a true midsize car. If you want a smaller car, the Elantra, Mazda3 and Focus are good. I can't really agree with the recommendation of the Impreza above. The Impreza is a great little car, but you're making a number of sacrifices to gain AWD. The Impreza is not actually a fun drive compared to segment. You don't need AWD to drive to a ski area on occasion. Pretty much all new cars have the ability to at least play music off a 1/8th aux jack, so don't worry about that too much either.
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Jan 16, 2013 15:12
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:This is wrong. Sedans aren't inherently more areodynamic, and the cD times frontal area is going to determine your aerodynamic drag, not "does it look sleek." Nothing wrong with liking the styling better, but there's no actual advantage to a sedan unless you need/want a secured trunk. My understanding on aerodynamics is that the dramatic change in crosssection caused by a squared back to the car increases the back pressure, which in turn increases the form drag. This would come in the form of a larger Cd, roughly 0.30-0.35 for sedans and 0.35–0.45 for SUVs (numbers may be off but the relation is correct). Sorry for the tangent from the purpose of the thread. The Ford Fusion looks right up my alley. I have thought about that car in the past but haven't given it too much research. When I told my dad about it he mentioned reliability issues, is that at all true?
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Jan 16, 2013 17:42
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:This is wrong. Sedans aren't inherently more areodynamic, and the cD times frontal area is going to determine your aerodynamic drag, not "does it look sleek." Nothing wrong with liking the styling better, but there's no actual advantage to a sedan unless you need/want a secured trunk. I drove several times, for over a week, a new rental Fusion with the V6 and it was a terrible car. The steering is highly boosted with no feel whatsoever. Materials in the cabin mostly look and feel terrible. The center control area is designed by morons and has about 100 buttons. Finally, the transmission is inexcusably deficient in several areas including behavior of the torque converter, shift curves, kickdown &c. Just my opinion. Maybe it's actually a good car?
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Jan 16, 2013 17:53
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wr0x2 posted:I drove several times, for over a week, a new rental Fusion with the V6 and it was a terrible car. There's your problem. The Fusion is entirely redone for 2013, there is no longer a V6 option and they have massively worked over the interior. I can see the complaint about too many buttons, but I've sat in a few and fit and finish seems pretty incredible. I believe steering on the 2012 was hydraulic and numb, but the 2013 is electric and not terrible. 
Twerk from Home fucked around with this message at 18:01 on Jan 16, 2013 |
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Jan 16, 2013 17:58
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I drove a rental fusion back 2010 and it was pretty ok outside of the transmission which seemed to run a RNG to decide when/what gear to shift into. Then again I drive a big SUV and was entranced by the fact that it could synch with my ipod and understand me yelling at it....so low standards.
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Jan 16, 2013 18:55
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The Fusion went to electric steering sometime around 2010 for all models except the Sport.
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Jan 16, 2013 19:08
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TBH I have toyed with the idea of (eventually) getting a Fusion just because it's drop-dead gorgeous, so much so that the aesthetics outweigh the uselessness of a sedan. I'll probably (eventually) end up with an Outback. Ingenium - here's a decent article comparing the latest crop of midsize sedans: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1212_2012_2013_midsize_sedan_comparison/viewall.html
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Jan 17, 2013 00:48
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Could use some advice more on the budgeting side of saving for a car. Recent gradate with a new job and finally I have some decent money coming in, I also have no debt. I have set a budget to save $20,000 by the end of 2013 which as long as I stick to my budget should be no problem. I currently drive a 1987 BMW 325is with around 117,xxx miles on it but it is in very good condition mechanically and aesthetically I project to be able to sell it at the end of the year for $3000. I am saving for my dream car that I have wanted for years now, a used BMW M3 I'm leaning towards a 2002ish e46 but am not opposed to an older model (e36, or ideally e30). My issue is what can I expect as far as maintenance/gas/insurance or recurring bills from owning an M3? I know repair on them can get pricey very quick but I hope to get one in good condition and I will take very good care of it. If it helps I am in Wisconsin but would not be adverse to looking elsewhere to pick up the car. Budget: Cash by end of 2013: $20,000 1987 BMW 325is: sold for possibly $3,000 (does this sound resonable?) Total = ~$23,000 My estimate for cost and what I would like to spend at most on the car is $20,000 does this sounds reasonable? What other unexpected purchasing fees can I expect? Also my current plan is to do this with money in hand. Would getting a loan even though I don't need it be worthwhile? I currently have no credit and would like to start establishing some, is it possible to get a loan and then straight up pay it back immediately for some insta-credit? Help a financially clueless goon out!
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Jan 17, 2013 02:58
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Ingenium posted:My understanding on aerodynamics is that the dramatic change in crosssection caused by a squared back to the car increases the back pressure, which in turn increases the form drag. This would come in the form of a larger Cd, roughly 0.30-0.35 for sedans and 0.35–0.45 for SUVs (numbers may be off but the relation is correct). Sorry for the tangent from the purpose of the thread. There's not a significant difference in Cd between hatchback, wagon and sedan bodies of the same vehicle, and in any event aerodynamic drag doesn't play a very large part in fuel efficiency at this point because everything is pretty aerodynamically efficient. End tangent. The Fusion is good. There have been some recall issues with the 1.6 ecoboost in other applications. The previous Fusion was quite reliable and I thought it was a very good car. The new one looks nice and is pretty well equipped for the money. I've driven the 1.6 ecoboost in the Escape and it's a great engine. Your mileage may vary with MyFordTouch; I haven't found it as annoying as car mags/blogs/grandmas, but it's not exactly Good.
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Jan 17, 2013 03:19
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wr0x2 posted:I drove several times, for over a week, a new rental Fusion with the V6 and it was a terrible car. The steering is highly boosted with no feel whatsoever. Materials in the cabin mostly look and feel terrible. The center control area is designed by morons and has about 100 buttons. Finally, the transmission is inexcusably deficient in several areas including behavior of the torque converter, shift curves, kickdown &c. Just my opinion. Maybe it's actually a good car? Yeah one, you didn't drive a new Fusion. You drove the old Fusion, which was quite a competitive car when it was first designed and whatnot in approximately 2006. You also can't really judge transmission behavior from rentals. I do agree with your critique of the interior, but again, 2006, but I also don't agree with your critique of the steering. It's a family sedan, and it was at least class competitive up til the point it died.
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Jan 17, 2013 03:21
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Popete posted:Could use some advice more on the budgeting side of saving for a car. You're a recent grad, don't buy a used M3. The repairs on the E46 are loving Expensive. There are serious issues with VANOS on those cars, which cost a tremendous amount of money to fix, in addition to the usual E46 issues. What's your annual tires/insurance/consumables/repairs budget like? You want to take very good care of the car, which is great, but that is going to cost you a quite substantial amount of money. You will owe sales tax, title and registration in addition to your outright purchase cost. You will have to pay a poo poo ton of money for insurance. I don't think you're going to get anything unmolested in particularly great condition for 23,000. You will need winter tires if you are planning to drive it in the winter. I'm not trying to discourage you from owning your dream car (well okay, I kind of am), but I think it would be a good idea to wait for a few years til you have a better financial safety net. This isn't to get all BFC on you, but you're a recent grad with a nice E30. Bank some money, keep checking the classifieds and do some research.
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Jan 17, 2013 03:29
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Popete posted:M3 Stuff Recent college graduate and able to save up $20k to use as funbux? First, max out your 2012 Roth IRA (deadline is April 15th). Next, max out your 2013 Roth IRA. Saving this money at what I'm assuming is a young age is worth like, cripes, 10 times as much as putting it into a 2002ish e46. I've had a few and it's not cheap. They're fun cars, but really you're young and this is a nice thing to not completely gently caress up (because most people do!) KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:I'm not trying to discourage you from owning your dream car (well okay, I kind of am), but I think it would be a good idea to wait for a few years til you have a better financial safety net. ^^^ Edit: A 1987 325i is also an awesome car. And with 117k miles on the original engine? At that age that's nothing. Chakron fucked around with this message at 03:45 on Jan 17, 2013 |
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Jan 17, 2013 03:40
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Popete posted:Help a financially clueless goon out! One thing to remember is that banks give out much higher interest rate/shorter length loans on cars that old. For instance I just went in to my credit union to get a pre-approved loan of $15k and with my credit score of 774 and my cosigners credit score of 815 we were only able to get a 5.4% loan on used car from 2002-2005. Now I am under the impression that our credit scores are pretty fantastic, but that rate is not quite as fantastic since the cars I am looking at are so old. If I were to use the loan on a 2006-2010 car they said that would get me down to a 2.4% interest rate on the same loan and if I bought a 2011+ car they would do 1.99%. I'm not sure how much this matters to you if you are planning on getting a loan then paying it off immediately in full, but I also don't think that will really help your credit very much so it may just be a waste of time doing that. You might want to look into some local credit unions if you have any, some of them have "credit builder" type programs where you can just pay into a little savings account type deal monthly for a designated amount of months and it helps you build up some credit. For example, if you know you wont be buying the car until at least the end of the year, you could set up an 12month 10-15k "credit builder" loan and then at the end of the year you could just withdraw your money/move it back into your regular account and purchase your car outright like you planned. I may be way off with some of this info since this is my first time getting a loan/doing any type of financing this large, so take this with a grain of salt. In other news, I think I'm pretty settled on a G35 at this point. I'm currently heavily considering a very, very clean black on black, 2004, 6MT, loaded(navi, power everything, brembos, 18's, sunroof, etc) with 79k miles that the dealer told me was 13.5k out the door when I took it for a test drive(haven't done any haggling yet, mind you). In a few days I am going to take it to a friend who is a Nissan/Infiniti Master Tech so we get it up on a lift and take a good look at everything. The only thing that I am wary about is that the car has one prior accident at around 10k miles, one year after the first owner purchased it and also that the previous owner installed some shoddy looking K&N Typhoon intake and some equally shoddy looking no-name exhaust system. Presumably the accident was fixed/taken care of by some full coverage insurance. Surprisingly the clutch and transmission felt the best out of any of the G35's I have test driven so far, so maybe the previous owner just had bad taste in mods but was a fairly decent driver? Who knows, I'll be sure to update if I end up buying this one or once I eventually do!
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Jan 17, 2013 03:51
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My friend bought an e46 m3, his dream car, and he hated it. He bought a year old mustang a little later and loved it.
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Jan 17, 2013 03:56
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If you are looking to buy a car that was in an accident, get all repair documentation, go visit the shop if possible and call them on the phone to discuss the repair with them. Car was in accident, cover/rad support/headlights/grille/lower spoiler replaced, sprayed etc, you're probably good to go. Car was in an accident, new quarter, sectioned B pillar, frame pull etc, not good to go. Don't assume that because a car was "fixed" that it was fixed correctly. edit: take pictures of the 2004 nav i want to see it
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Jan 17, 2013 04:04
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Thanks for the advice guys, I suppose I'm just getting excited to actually be making money for once and the dream of owning an M3 could be a reality. What about getting an older 90's e36 M3? Are those any better for maintenance and insurance costs? At this point I'll probably just hold off buying a car even if it is still an e46 M3 until mid 2014, who wants a sports car in mid winter in Wisconsin anyway? That way I will have more saved for extra expenses and give myself time to shop around. As far as a budge for maintenance I hadn't really though about that, I suppose I would be willing to set aside 3-4k a year at worst for a car but I can't imagine even an M3 costing that much unless it was for serious repairs. 100% Dundee posted:You might want to look into some local credit unions if you have any, some of them have "credit builder" type programs where you can just pay into a little savings account type deal monthly for a designated amount of months and it helps you build up some credit. This is a really good idea, I was planning to go in and talk with my bank about possibly getting a credit card for building credit this weekend I'll ask them about this as well.
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Jan 17, 2013 04:07
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Dude you're an early 20s single male buying a car that's expensive to insure for all demos. Expect to pay a lot of money in insurance even if you drive a Ford Fiesta. The only way it could be worse is if you have a lot of priors and you didn't graduate from high school. VANOS unit costs about $2,500. Single part. Any M3 specific parts (rotors, pads etc) cost about 2-3 times what their non-M equivalents cost. Required services are more rigorous, frequent and expensive (Service I and II alternate every 15k, and cost 800-2000 bucks depending on which one and where. They replace some fluids and adjust your valves for your money). You (should also) eat tires. You seriously need to do some of this research on your own. If your attitude is "I can set aside 3-4k at worst for a car" you can't afford an M3.
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Jan 17, 2013 04:20
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