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Proposed Budget: $15k-$21k (could put 15k down) New or Used: that's part of the question Body style: mid-to-fullsize sedan, wagon, van? idk Priorites: -Automatic -Roomy & Quiet interior -Reliable -Balls -Amateur serviceable. I don't really know poo poo about cars, but I can change some belts etc. and like to avoid the mechanics at all costs. I could care less about most bells and whistles, power seats etc., but a reasonably powerful engine is important. To put you in the right headspace my Favorite Car Ever was an '88 Plymouth Gran Fury police special because it was like driving around on a couch and could take off like a rocket when you were so inclined. I don't actually drive like a jackass anymore but it'd be nice to not struggle climbing steep grades like our Protege does. I'm a little concerned that this budget will put me in base-model territory with most new cars, but I'm really really tired of driving beaters with their best years taken off them and hate the whole "guess how well this dude took care of his car" game. I'm curious to hear any suggestions that come to mind. I haven't test-driven anything yet except a Toyota Corolla, that was sorta underwhelming and the console made me feel cramped despite being a very little man.
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Oct 11, 2014 07:35
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Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to keep an eye out for grandpa editions, most of the Crown Vics I've seen for sale have been heavily used and did time as cabs or police cars (which I'm assuming shouldn't be touched with a ten foot pole).
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Oct 13, 2014 19:51
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Reacon posted:Budget: $2500 - can be pushed w/ loan $5000 Taking a new-to-you $2500 car along the northern routes in November might not end up being as romantic as it sounds either. I'd pack the trunk with winter emergencies in mind, don't bring anything you can't carry on your person or abandon without crying, and have cash or sufficient credit for a plane ticket home. I'm thinking if you'd need a loan to push your car budget to $5k you probably don't have a lot of cash for bailout money so maybe don't spend your whole life's savings on the car. Not to piss on your parade because road trips rule, I enjoyed an adventure in Central City Nebraska expressly because my car's charging system failed on the way to California. Some guys gave me a push-start at a rest-stop, I had to keep the car running and reroute to find a town big enough to host a mechanic, leave it there with a note because it was after hours on a Saturday, hike into town to book a $20 hotel run by a crazy doll-hoarding lady and then wait a day for the shop to open, another for them to get around to looking at my car, wondering all the while how they might screw me who was from out of town, had no options and knew nothing about cars. They treated me right because not everybody is an rear end in a top hat. Point of a long post being if it was me I'd worry about comfort and style after your deployment, for this trip focus on nothing but mechanical soundness if you have specific people/points you want to hit. To paraphrase someone earlier in this thread, a car's condition on the bottom end of pricing is going to vary a lot more by its individual history than by make and model. "Random suggestions" aren't going to do much for you, because the good options on your particular craigslist are going to be a random assortment of cars that have survived the gauntlet of old age, have a little life left on everything, and are being got rid of reasons other than pending failure. Question- to partially finance a used car in the $15-$18k range, I'd need a small bank loan. Do you take out the loan for the top-end of what you're going to need and then go looking at your serious contenders, or do you go to the bank and secure a loan only after finding your car and hope nobody else buys the car first? Or are dealers happy to let you put money down and wait a day or two while you secure your own financing? I know you're not supposed to buy the same day you look, but if I'm at a dealership an hour away looking at a car I'm specifically there to look at, we agree on a price I'm content with, I can't see myself wanting to drag it out more than I have to. Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 19:32 on Oct 15, 2014 |
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Oct 15, 2014 05:57
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This weekend I plan to go to a dealership & test-drive a couple newer cars with fancy trim to see if they're close enough to powerful rolling couches for me: '11 Accord EX with a V6, 20k miles, $18k plus tax etc '12 Buick LaCrosse Premium, 30k miles, $19k plus tax etc Any thoughts, pointers or warnings on these two models, or are they too young for any issues to have been teased out? They're both already listed below what Edmunds puts dealer retail at (in fact closer to the trade-in value), so does $18k out the door sound like too much to hope for if they're in excellent shape?
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Oct 16, 2014 18:59
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Yeah I have to disagree about stop-and-go traffic, after years of driving sticks I'm determined to get an automatic next for that exact purpose. An hour in traffic with speeds jumping randomly between several gears is just twice as exhausting with a manual, and I can't wait to be done with it.posh spaz posted:Is the Edmunds price OTD or should I add fee and tax to that? Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Oct 18, 2014 |
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Oct 18, 2014 19:26
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I've still got my eye peeled for Crown Vics & Gran Marquis, but I've been leaning towards the newer/higher end of my budget (which is $18-20k). Tested two this weekend that pass/failed in exactly opposite ways, so I was wondering if anyone has an idea of something that might split the difference or check both boxes. '11 Honda Accord EX Sedan w/ V6 Pass: Handling and power, this was absolutely perfect for me. Fail: Seat killed me even with the lumbar support dialed all the way back, like active pain after only a 10 minute drive. Wife found the passenger seat hard & uncomfortable too. '12 Buick LaCrosse Premium (also a V6) Pass: Interior was plush and super comfortable. Fail: Power was there but sorta... slow and weirdly timed? The high windows and poor visibility out all sides also made us feel entombed, so any agility the car actually has was overridden by my need to double-check blindspots. It terrifies me that old people buy these. Suggestions? Any car that moved like that accord with even passable seats would make my day. Still on my to-drive list are Chevy Impala, Malibu if I can find one with a V6, Ford Fusion, Maybe a Sonata... I looked at a 2012 or so Taurus the other day, that felt as full of blind-spots as the Buick though I didn't test-drive (salesman poo poo the bed). Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Oct 19, 2014 |
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Oct 19, 2014 22:55
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Are Chryslers 200's included in the whole "nobody really makes a lemon anymore" thing? I've read about 3/4 of this thread at this point and don't really see any love for them. I'm looking at this 2012 Chrysler 200 Touring with 26k miles and a V6, and $15k seems like a low asking price for something that well-equipped and young. Edmunds appraisal suggests that's pretty normal. Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 21:43 on Oct 20, 2014 |
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Oct 20, 2014 21:30
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One vote for "Chrysler 200 is trash" duly noted. I wouldn't say I want to buy anything till I've at least driven one, just trying to decide what I can rule out without a test drive. If the reason people aren't buying them is they're poo poo garbage like a PT cruiser, then yeah I want to stay away. If the reason is dated electronics, bad ergonomics for tall people, many better options for people who could afford to buy new, those are all three things that I give zero shits about, especially if this unpopularity is now reflected in the price that lets me get a lot for my $15k. I'm already noticing I'm in a minority by not caring about fuel economy in a sedan, so if my different priorities make an unpopular car a good fit for me, I'll take it. Unless they listed wrong, it's a 6 cylinder according to the ad- the "model details" tab on Autotrader is generic autofill information. Edit- maybe they did, features says 2.4L DOHC, so one of them is wrong. Should I be concerned that someone abandoned a car after less than two years? That applies to literally every used 2012 that is for sale. Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 23:22 on Oct 20, 2014 |
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Oct 20, 2014 22:57
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Throatwarbler posted:There's nothing wrong with the new Corolla, it's a great car and with the CVT it gets like 29mg city which is ridiculous. However the current incentives on the Focus are even more ridiculous so you should probably get that instead. To get the CVT on the Corolla you have to step up to the LE which is closer to $20k, the base $16.5k model has a 4 speed auto. I think you can get a Focus SE with the auto for like $15k nowadays, which is 2.slow Jetta money. I was considering a Focus hatchback because right now they're doing like $4k in incentives on new ones, and there's a used '12 nearby for very cheap($13k). Today I test drove one alongside an '11 Mazda3 2.5L, the focus seemed quieter and just as fun to drive. A camry made me rethink my big rolling sofa urges and both of them reminded me how fun a little car is. Two things are scaring me off the Focus- -Don't incentives contribute to depreciation? I mean unless you drive it into the ground, won't you be losing a lot of that free (but taxable) money come resale time? -I saw a lot of internet jabber about transmission issues with the recent Focus automatics. I know there's a reporting bias when it comes to car troubles, but the volume sorta spooked me. Never thought I'd say it but I may try the equivalent Kia or an Elantra. Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 04:05 on Oct 26, 2014 |
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Oct 26, 2014 04:01
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Like, dealbreaker better? The 2011 Mazda3 I drove was a 2.5L but I'll admit it didn't feel any stronger than the '12 Focus with a 2.0, the handling advantage of the Mazda seemed to be more from ergonomics than engine-related.
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Oct 26, 2014 04:25
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I don't know cars, but there are definitely products that manage to suck for more than 3 years in a row (maybe you were being sarcastic). #2 is not a thing I'd ever assume, in fact as a general rule when a product has an issue I assume it's there until there is evidence to the contrary. The picture I'm getting is that there's a noteworthy problem rate for the automatic transmissions used in the Focus for at least 2012, 2013, and there's definitely some hint that it may still be happening with 2014. Granted it's muddled by a degree of "it's supposed to be this way, it's an automated manual dual clutch with a bunch of weird algorithms making decisions" and customers insisting that the car didn't drive like this for the first 12k miles. The transmission problems look to be turning up well into the life of the car so it's not like the verdict on the 2014's can even be in. It's a shame because I mostly liked the one I drove better than the Mazda.
Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 08:10 on Oct 26, 2014 |
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Oct 26, 2014 08:06
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My cave-man valuation strategy is now confused after looking into brand new Mazda3's. I thought I was doing so well too. -List prices between 2014's and 2015s are of negligible difference -There don't seem to be any incentives that would help push the '14s out -List prices for both are extremely close to, occasionally below not just Edmunds TMV but also their Invoice estimate. How might you gauge your bargaining room in this situation? Is this a case where you actually just pay close to sticker price, avoid getting sucked into add-ons, take their financing if it's a simple interest loan and split?
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Oct 26, 2014 09:56
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Did that today, if I can keep them from slipping any extra BS into it I can get a new 2015 Mazda3 i Touring w/ technology package in the color of my choice for $21k before tax & fees. I suspect that's an okay price but it's so hard to know- a Mazda5 that was also under consideration they offered to knock like $500 off, the only reason I discovered that they'd come down another $2k was because I'm poor and took a shot. I really hate that it took 3 hours sitting in a dealership chair while a salesman bobs back and forth between me and the manager, put off their advances on leases etc. before I could finally get numbers out of them and convince them I wasn't buying today.
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Oct 27, 2014 02:52
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My car search is done (thanks again thread) and god drat did that suck. The low point was a dealer 45 minutes away that I dealt with on the phone at first- salesman insisted they had the specific model/trim/color I was after, agreed to my price, and then when I arrived the salesman gave me some long-winded spiel involving an "inventory error" and maybe even ex-employee sabotage! He proceeded to try to trick me into taking either a less-equipped previous year or the white one I'd told him I wasn't interested in. Obviously I walked, and the happy ending is the local dealership matched the price I had worked out with the guy that wasted my time. I wanted to share something I did right- when all this car shopping started I made a separate email address for it. Every salesman who wanted contact info got it freely, I withheld my phone until there was a serious possibility of buying a car, and now that I'm done I just burned down the email address and will never hear from any of these guys again.
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Oct 31, 2014 23:14
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BFC question- Is there a good rule of thumb for predicting depreciation on a new car over the course of 5 years, for the sake of estimating gap insurance needs? My plan was to look at Edmunds private party values for the preceding 5 years with predicted use, express each as a % value reduction, but thought maybe there's a better way or resource for this.
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Nov 6, 2014 18:38
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Leperflesh posted:The best way to go is to make a large enough down payment that you can avoid gap insurance completely. That's the goal, I'm in the position now of being financial cop to someone who caught the new car bug from me and I'd like to make sure she puts enough down to never have to think about it, call insurance periodically etc. By my rough estimate it doesn't seem like too high a bar for the target vehicle- like even $4000 down on a $24,000 Honda CR-V, using the past 5 years of private party info, it looks very unlikely that she'd end up upside down at any point. Being a super low mileage driver helped those figures I'm sure.
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Nov 6, 2014 20:27
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CheshireCat posted:I'm looking at getting a used Ford Focus hatchback through my credit union's "car buying service" and saw this 2013 Ford Focus Titanium recently pop up through the site. Low mileage, exterior and interior seem clean (yeah, yeah, from the low res pictures), and no apparent issues in the Carfax report, but the asking price is pretty well below the market average. For example, a local dealership is asking three grand more for essentially the same car (same model year, trim, options, and only 500 more miles on the odometer). The dealership is about an hour away, so I'm hesitant about possibly wasting my time driving out there and back. Am I overlooking any obvious issues from the information available? How are you estimating the market average? If it's based on advertised prices, it seemed to me that dealer asking prices were all over the place and not very useful to compare or look at. It's like some of them are fishing for people that can't be bothered to shop around, and others price competitively to get people in, maybe get an opportunity to upsell them. Probably do a mix of both. Also note that the other dealership is asking a lot considering a person could probably score a brand new '14 Titanium hatchback for somewhere around $20k. When I was looking at them the '14 Focuses had absurdly large cash back incentives (like $2000-$3500) for anyone that could secure their own financing. Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 04:45 on Nov 10, 2014 |
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Nov 10, 2014 04:43
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Devo posted:In Illinois at least title and doc fees are fixed, but the sales tax should be based on the final sale price. Calculating taxes on a higher price and then dropping in a discount seems weird/shady. FilthyImp posted:Apologies if its been beat to death before, but if a dealer quotes a discount price ($1500 off!!) And then says 'we'll we have to get taxes and fees calculated first, but THEN we'll drop in the savings' it's time to walk right?
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Nov 14, 2014 19:03
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kernel panic posted:Is there any reason that I should be paying more for fewer features in the Mazda 3, or will the Ford do just about as well? If the '12 Focus you're looking at is an automatic, I read enough internet & enthusiast forum chatter regarding transmission problems to make me decide to avoid one. I have no firsthand experience of problems with it and actually really enjoyed the 2012 focus I test-drove, it was a quieter ride and seemed peppier than the '11 Mazda 3 2.5L I tested right after. But in the end I'd just read way too many posts by people trying to decide whether their car had real transmission problems or it was just their unfamiliarity with how a DCT should behave; it's worth a google anyway. By contrast the most concentrated complaints I've read regarding the Mazda3 have been regarding the buggy infotainment system and road noise (both of which are fair complaints).
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Nov 19, 2014 06:32
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Delorence Fickle posted:Oddly enough I have been checking out a Mercury Montego that just went up for sale about a day ago. As for a minivan? The Mazda 5 has been crossing my mind as well. If comfort's a priority make sure you get up to highway speeds when testing the Mazda5. I drove a new '13 and found the road and wind noise levels pretty bad, and the seating didn't exactly feel luxurious either despite it being the GT.
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Dec 1, 2014 18:40
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AnimalChin posted:Things I don't like about the Mazda 3: it might be a little ... adolescent. I'm about to be 39 years old and the transformers meets jet-fighter cockpit/HUD/styling might get old real quick. Also front-wheel drive has never sat well with me for some reason. Other than that it gets rave reviews everywhere. I wouldn't let this keep you from a test drive, though I don't really get the FWD hangup. I ended up with the '15 s Touring and while it's far from the quietest ride it is extremely enjoyable to drive. I'd think the styling on any car would just become background noise after a while, but I don't expect the HUD or control layout to get old because what makes them great now is the ergonomics. It's just plain nice having a shorter glance to see speed or where the cruise is set, and if you're considering the GT your cruise control would actually be useful outside perfect open road conditions. The infotainment controller is strong and well placed, The paddle shifters and gear selector shifters are substantial, the automatic makes good decisions. I wouldn't call my enjoyment of this car "mature" and my wife calls it a bachelor car, but who cares? I haven't enjoyed driving for a long time, now I do and the heated seats are great on my aging back. Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 23:24 on Dec 1, 2014 |
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Dec 1, 2014 21:26
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Rizuhbull, are you newish to driving? Personally I think everyone should have several years minimum of road experience including staying cool through some pants-making GBS threads moments with a protective car around themselves before doing the same on two wheels. It takes a surplus of attention to stay safe on a bike, so you want your driving and traffic skills to be at the automatic level. Also don't fall into the trap of thinking a scooter is safer in any significant way than a motorcycle.
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Dec 8, 2014 18:48
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rizuhbull posted:Yeah, new driver. No, I know a scooter is as dangerous as a motorcycle. It has so many cons and I'd never chose it over a car, but if I want to get balance and somewhat of a feel for two wheels and then get a motorcycle, I think it'd be worth pursuing. I'm just unsure if I want to do that or save up for a car. Scooters are so cheap (1k) that I could probably do both at the same time anyway though. Also I'd only be out a few hundred dollars if I did buy a scooter because it's value is so low as is, I could buy a thousand dollar one and sell it a few months to a year later for 6-8 hundred, assuming nothing breaks. http://forums.somethingawful.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=200 Balance is really really a very minor part of scooters & motorcycles, like not even a factor. Like Kyoon said, get a bicycle if you need to work on balance. At any speed the motorcycle/scooter balances itself, the low-speed balance issues you had in MSF training don't really come into play in real world use outside of doing fancy U-turns standing on the side of your bike or doing the box for the DMV test. For most riders, staying balanced means keeping your bike moving, and getting your feet planted well enough at stops to keep the bike away from the tipping point. You don't balance a motorcycle or scooter that's in motion beyond a crawl.
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Dec 8, 2014 19:11
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For the sake of argument- what if he could angle for a substantial refund? Who finds a car that's not a piece of poo poo in need of major repairs for < $2000 anymore? Resale value seems pretty ridiculous to consider on a $2200 car. What if he could get it down to like $1000-$1500, AND is confident in it being [reasonably] mechanically sound, AND he's already established the insurance situation as acceptable (who buys more than basic liability on a $2k car?), AND he means to drive it into the ground and expect nothing more than a few bucks from his local auto recycler when he's done with it? Couldn't this be turned into a reasonably priced disposable car?
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Dec 10, 2014 07:24
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SLICK GOKU BABY posted:This is the exact thing that I've been considering. From doing some digging around I do know that a local body shop performed the repairs on the car (they owned the car for ~8 months). Its been 5 years since then, not sure if they would have the records or if they would be willing to share them if a random person called and asked about it. Well the records won't show how well the work was done, and being "the record" and mechanics being generally untrustworthy individuals, it may even refer to things that weren't actually done. If you aren't assuming that car's very possibly a timebomb with used condoms stuffed where the airbags used to be, and happy with it anyway, then yeah return the car dude. No old invoice should be able to put your mind at ease.
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Dec 10, 2014 18:38
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DeadFatDuckFat posted:I'm currently trying to negotiate prices on a new car at several dealerships. I'm trying to decide whether or not to finance. I don't "need" to finance at all, in that I have enough money to pay completely for the car I want off the bat. But while negotiating, some of the salesmen say they might be able to offer a better deal if I end up financing. So my question is, it pretty common for there to be no penalty for paying off your car early (like the month after you first buy it)? I know that I should be finding out from the dealers themselves, but I wanted to kind of see if there was a standard practice of getting better prices through financing, then just paying off the car early to get the best deal possible. Regarding fine print- I was very careful to make sure the the loan I took out was a "simple interest" loan and that there would be no early repayment penalties, which the finance manager repeatedly insisted was the case and I imagine they are safe saying, legally. However while reading the fine print I discovered a third option- minimum finance charges. On the back of the loan document under the heading "You may prepay." you have this: quote:...if the minimum finance charge is greater than the earned finance charge, you may be charged the difference; the minimum finance charge is as follows: (1)$25 if the original Amount financed does not exceed $1,000, ... (3)$75 if the original Amount Financed is more than $2000. I imagine that's there to prevent people from taking out loans with the intention of immediately paying them off, which would make whatever kickback the lender gives the dealer a loss for the lender. Anyway sit there and patiently read every single word front and back of the document, no matter how blasé the finance manager acts about the loan.
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Dec 12, 2014 06:28
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Was there a clause that invalidates the minimum finance charge after X months, or did he just mean that you'll have paid your $75 (or whatever minimum) in interest by then?
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Dec 14, 2014 19:23
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Michael Scott posted:When you make posts like these, unless you feel it's confidential or something, please tell us what model you got and what the out-the-door price was, and the incidentals. Thank you. This wasn't directed at me but I did the same thing earlier, so: I ended up with a '15 Mazda 3 s Touring (2.5L) hatchback for $24,650, minus $500 customer loyalty discount. So $24,150 ($26,500 OTD after taxes, registration and an $80 doc fee). California. No options or add-ons, everything I wanted was standard on that trim. My long car shopping story: Several weeks of test driving used cars, eventually realizing that maybe didn't want a comfy boat with a big engine after all, maybe I wanted a nimble car like my old Mazda 323, especially since today's 4-cylinders are stronger than 15 years ago. I'd also become increasingly sick of trying to pull theories on a used car's history out of thin air and carfax hints. I gradually upsold myself from a "used $12,000 car I can buy outright" to "Maybe I can afford to finance something in the $22k area" My existing car died during this time, motivating me to pull the trigger. Test drove a '14 Mazda3 2.0L, was a little underwhelmed versus the used 2011 2.5L I'd test driven at a different place (I had made an offer on that, but they didn't bite and I wasn't in love with it enough to go any higher, I suspected electrical issues). Dreaming a few nights later I put in for a "special internet quote" (hur) at a dealership 45 minutes away on the trim level I really wanted- an s touring (the 2.5L). Their site only showed a white one in stock, and if I was going to push my finances this far I wasn't going to settle for anything but the color I wanted, but I was just curious. One of the few cases where I provided my phone number, so a sales guy calls me the next morning. He insisted they DID have the color I wanted in stock, didn't know why it wasn't showing up on the site. I had an optimistic price ready ($24k, $26,300 OTD), I told him if he could get me out the door for it he'd sell a car that day. He agreed that he could get there after a $500 Mazda loyalty rebate. Was excited but not counting my chickens yet after several weeks of dealing with salespeople. One 45 minute drive away, this one sits us down to give us the bad news. Short version of a long spiel: an inventory error in the computers, possibly caused by a malicious ex-employee! (no I did not believe him). They did not have an s Touring in any of the colors I wanted. He then proceeds to show me those they did have, and I went along with him while I tried to decide if I should try and leverage the "you hosed me here" angle and settle for something else or just walk away. One's a sedan instead of a hatchback, all but the last are 2014's, none have a sunroof, each car I'm getting more and more pissed off. The last one's the exact thing I'm after but the wrong color- the '15 s Touring in white, as seen on the website. Go figure, the web inventory was accurate. I stayed polite but made it clear I was annoyed. Told him he knew what I was hunting, if he came up with one and I hadn't already bought a car then we'd probably have a deal. Got lunch, and when I was no longer too pissed off to see straight I called our local dealership's sales manager. I'd been working with him on the Mazda i Touring (2.0L) a few nights before, and I knew that they had an s Touring on the lot in a color I was willing to settle for. I told him the price I'd been quoted by the lovely dealership. He hemmed and hawed a little, "boy they're really digging deep there..." "The tax rate's lower there, isn't it?". Taxes at our local one are 0.5% higher, and in the interest of just making a deal I gladly threw him a bone, rounded up and increased my out the door offer by $200. He took it. And now I get to go through all this bullshit again for my wife. Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 20:58 on Dec 19, 2014 |
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Dec 19, 2014 20:55
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Car purchase #2, I just had (I think) a good experience with Costco's auto program. We were after a '15 Honda CR-V EX 2wd, but during the test drive phase the two nearby dealers had been evasive shits when I tried to get a firm number/opening offer out of them. When purchase time approached my wife must've used the costco website because a guy from a third dealership who handles their Costco, AAA and online sales contacts her with a straightforward offer, $200 over invoice, $25,140 before taxes and fees- only $40 over what I'd been planning to use as an opening offer with our dealers. I really appreciated not being dicked around and getting a hard number from the guy straight off, it was under what she was prepared to pay, so we decided we'd rather give him the business and didn't bother to see if other dealers would beat it. I know salesman words are wind, but I think I learned the following: 1-There's nothing in it for the random sales guy on the lot if you go through Costco. At the dealership where we ended up buying the CR-V a salesman had originally been super cool and helpful back when I was shopping for my own car. Low pressure and one of the only guys that didn't raise my hackles. I tried to get it so he saw some commission or something when we bought the CR-V but was pretty much told that the dealership's regular sales guys couldn't have gotten us this price, that his contribution was duly noted but he couldn't get anything out of our deal. If true, this would explain why when we'd walked onto another Honda lot and asked the salesman who pounced on us a simple question (what is the Costco price on a 2wd CR-V EX?), he brought us in then gave us the runaround for a good 20 minutes before I decided to up and leave. 2-They're supposedly having a hard time moving the 2014 CR-V's because despite the major refresh/minor redesign of the '15s (including CVT, sport mode, bitchin headlights), the manufacturer has only been giving Honda dealers a $750 incentive to unload the '14s. The large number of '14s on local lots bears this out, though the more metropolitan ones seem to have managed to ditch them. 3-According to the guy who sold us a car mind you, they're not really having a hard time moving the '15 CR-Vs at or near sticker price yet, so apart from prearranged pricing programs the other sales guys probably wouldn't have bothered with me and my $25,100 offer if I'd gotten to that point. I had originally discounted the Costco problem since the collective wisdom of the internet seemed to be that programs like Costco are better than no haggling but that you can do better. Now I think it's at least worth checking out if you're looking at a car that's short on dealer incentives or bargaining leverage.
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Jan 7, 2015 07:33
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Madbullogna posted:I've been looking at stepping into a smaller more economical and 'commuter-friendly' vehicle, as I am currently one of those morons that drive around town in a crew cab 4wd F150 despite not really needing one. I think I have narrowed down my choices to a new Mazda 3 hatch, or a new Ford Focus hatch. I am a glutton that wants to be spoiled with bells and whistles like HIDs and heated seats, so I'm likely looking at an S Grand Touring for the Mazda, or the Titanium for the Ford. -Buying a new car will probably not net you savings versus driving a gas guzzler that's still in decent running condition. Hunting a more fun/comfortable commuter, sure, but don't bullshit yourself about being "economical" as a reason for the upgrade. -One drawback on the Mazda3 in the bells & whistles department is the stereo system if you plan to primarily use a USB Flash. Between starts the system randomly forgets the metadata and has to reload (which takes a nontrivial amount of time). Even when Metadata's been retained or reloaded, browsing a large collection is slow (dunno how it compares to other systems though). It also randomly forgets where it is in the shuffle queue between starts, which completely defeats the purpose because they've based it on a design where it shuffles once after UFD insertion and retains that shuffled sequence. I got so sick of hearing the same "random" first tracks, I gave up and switched to using my phone/bluetooth for music selection. When I wrote Mazda they claimed this was WAI but acknowledged that improvements can be made, so hopefully a future software update resolves it. -That said I don't regret the Mazda3 at all, really loving the thing actually and just hope it proves reliable. Like you said, who can tell the future? You could hold out for the '15 Focus and find it has other things that are garbage. I chose to avoid it because of a large number of complaints about the transmission on the automatics in recent years, and just last week a coworker's own '13 focus started having transmission problems. -Look closely (if you haven't already) at the specific gains going from the s Touring to the s Grand Touring. I would've liked adaptive cruise and automatic headlights, but the s-GT seemed to me like a big price bump for things I wouldn't miss, and the s Touring a sweet spot. Also, iirc both the Touring and GT have moonroofs with 2015, but if you're looking at '14s only the GT's have them standard.
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Jan 9, 2015 19:28
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At that price range and prioritizing good parts availability, I was pointed at Crown Vic or Grand Marquis. Even their last models are dinosaurs though, with interiors from a bygone age. Throatwarbler posted:If you are going to drive it that many miles you should probably get a Prius.
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Jan 22, 2015 07:00
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Here's what I saw (also CA), I'm assuming they're not bullshit but who knows: $80 Doc $26 "Electronic Registration" $100 "Registration Fee" $161 "License Fee" $8.75 "California Tire Fee" Sales tax should be on the actual sale price you've negotiated, not the sticker as far as I know. Incentives act a little different (more like rebates applied to your down payment) but you said used so that doesn't apply here. Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 04:57 on Feb 8, 2015 |
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Feb 8, 2015 04:50
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theHUNGERian posted:I had a feeling I would be overpaying, but they wouldn't buckle no matter how many times I pointed at the price given the maintenance record. In addition, neither KBB nor Edmunds suggested lower prices than that and so I had no ammo left to counter with lower numbers. This goes against a lot of the advice I read on the web but I think it's hard to turn "dings" into price reductions like you were trying (this maintenance record is spotty, these seats smell funny, KBB says it should be cheaper, etc.) because A) salesmen are very well prepared with answers for all of these things and B) granting a price reduction over a specific ding is a sort of acknowledgement that the vehicle is lacking in some area. That runs contrary to what they're trained to do, which is to talk the car up. Even if you pointed out a flaw that was impossible to sugarcoat or rectify with a service contract or something, any subsequent price reduction would really only be because they had ground to give on the price and began to smell your disinterest- not because you made the right point and they rethought the worth of the car. You aren't negotiating the objective value of the car; KBB numbers and flaws are not real ammunition. Your ammunition is your willingness to walk away carless today if you don't like the number, simple as that, versus their willingness to wait for a better buyer. It needs no rational basis (though it will come under attack so it should be defensible). You're not there to convince them of how little their car is worth- they know exactly what was paid and how low they will go to unload it today. Their goal is to come down just enough to keep you from walking away empty handed, anything more would be leaving their own money on the table, so as long as you were sitting there they really had no motivation to come down any further. Pointing out flaws in the vehicle serves mainly to frame your ambivalence towards it (to make it clear you might walk) or to get the flaw rectified as part of the deal. For the salesperson there's no functional difference between a guy who simply offers $22k because it's all his wife will let him spend, and another offering $22k because they kicked all the tires and know the actual market value of the car. Actually, the first might be preferable because the salesperson can pose the price reduction as a favor to get the guy in the car he wants, both can participate in the happy customer/benevolent salesman conceit, and the customer will go tell his friends Chaz at Perry Ford really hooked me up versus the latter who would just tell people how he put the sales staff on the ropes and got them to reduce their wild markup.
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Feb 12, 2015 07:42
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Forget odds, you're accepting the worst with that though- alternators run what, less than $200. You're paying up front for an alternator failure every 10 months for 4 years straight.
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Feb 13, 2015 05:54
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The short answer to your loan & buy outright vs financing question is they're the same thing. Whether it's a car loan from your bank, or dealership financing (which I think they usually farm out to one or more banks) they're both loans, so you need to compare APR, loan terms, read and understand all the fine print, and try to get one where you can potentially avoid interest by paying it off sooner. What I did was secure pre-approval on a car loan through my credit union, then went shopping. That way I knew the worst case interest rate I was facing, that I had a source of X dollars without predatory terms, and if the dealer offered better financing I'd take that.
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Feb 19, 2015 00:15
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I don't know if there's one that's usually superior, and if there is it might vary by credit rating. I know my conservative credit union's best offer was 2.9%APR, the dealers' bank pool's best offer without manufacturer incentives was 1.9%. Otherwise they were all more or less the same simple interest loans. If you're the type who has trouble doing math with someone babbling at you or trying to do it for you, or can't think with adrenaline going, or are otherwise human, do your own payment math and planning before you go into the dealership. Find an independent auto loan calculator online and work it out for different scenarios if you're not sure what sort of APR you'd be facing. Write the poo poo down and bring it with you, don't let anyone pull a shell game with you using loan durations and little monthly payment nudges. With very low APRs it's conceivable a buyer would have zero intention of paying any sooner than necessary, and would choose to invest any surplus cash rather than throw it at the car loan, but personally I want the freedom to knock the loan out earlier if windfall comes my way or my finances improve. If you feel the same way or aren't sure: -Avoid loans with overt early repayment penalties. -Be aware of the minimum finance charge; this protects them from wasting time and effort on a client who pays the loan off right away, but if it's too high it might ruin the benefits of an early repayment on your part. Click my post history I think I wrote up more detail on those earlier. -Likewise make sure the interest is not pre-calculated and added to the loan up front; rather you want a "simple interest loan" where the interest is based on the balance as you go. Something Honda did with my wife's loan that sorta annoyed me, and in hindsight I should've niggled over: their "1.9%" loan became a "1.99%" loan during the approval process.
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Feb 20, 2015 18:59
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ExecuDork posted:I have a credit card that I've had for nearly 2 decades that will charge me about 7% on cash advances (my limit is frighteningly high); that seems like a bad idea if a much better rate is available from my bank. I've never had a loan, and I think a reasonable, affordable one would do good things for my credit history. I don't know my credit score, but my CC keeps offering me higher limits which I assume means they, at least, have some confidence in me, and I can't think of anything that would count as a big mark against me as far as things like paying rent and utility bills goes. -You're jumping the gun planning to spend a monthly surplus that you don't have yet (and is only estimated). -Buying a car AND furniture at the same time is perhaps not the best course of action if you'd need to take out a loan to do either one. -You lack the savings to perform a move without either carrying a balance on your CC or taking a loan, which means when you do land at your new job a higher priority should be on establishing some savings so you don't end up in this position again. -Having a balance on your CC and having a loan are, personal budget-wise, identical for all intents and purposes save for the APR and potential for the credit issuer to change the APR. -Having a zero balance on a CC is only a treat if you've gotten used to not paying the balance in full every time. There is a third option that you can get to when you earn more than you spend, which is always having a balance that you pay in full on a card that rewards you with 1% or so cash. -Re your credit score, this is also a good thread http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3256838. E; I suspect (but don't know) that you're talking about a marginal or no difference in your credit score 10 years down the line, negligible compared to things like a lifetime of always paying your bills on time. Choices like overextending yourself with loans when you have no savings or Big Life Event funds could combine with a little bad luck, and make you unable to pay those bills. That's a risk to your credit score, among other things. Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Mar 4, 2015 |
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Mar 4, 2015 23:31
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YoungSexualNorton posted:I've whittled my baby man car options down to a Yaris, a Honda Fit, or a Mazda3. All three are in price range, so mainly I'm looking at reliability followed by enjoyment. Another critical thing you can't tell by looking online- physical fit which varies a lot between people and cars. That's a short enough list that you could easily resolve to test drive all three before worrying about narrowing it any further. One of my most promising cars on paper, super popular car, took all of a 20 minute test drive to make my back start to ache.
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Mar 9, 2015 17:54
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I'm not getting your math- they'll give you max $13,800 for your cooper, you have a payoff of $14,500. That means you give up the cooper you're at -$700 . If you buy a $27,500 car that puts you $28,200 in debt. e; Yeah I keep rereading but all I can make of it is you're almost upside-down on your car loan (assuming dealer's offer is low) and trying to avoid $1000 in extremely standard maintenance by spending another $27,500 on a whole new car? Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 18:21 on Mar 10, 2015 |
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Mar 10, 2015 18:12
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 21:34 |
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Am I completely misreading his post, in that it's anything but madness?  Xarthor posted:Well, the thing is it's $1,000(ish) now, but soon enough the back brakes will be due for a replacement, that's another $500 and I've the fluid changes and at 60,000 I'm due for a serpentine belt which isn't covered by my extended warranty and god knows how much the labor alone on that will be. I could be looking at $2,500+ more than just the current $1000 over the next year or two. With the amount of miles I drive (which is on the medium to higher end of the spectrum, I admit.) I'm just wondering if it wouldn't be better to trade it in now while they're willing to offer me a pretty fair deal and not have to worry about ANY maintenance for another 2-ish years. If you have more money than you know what to do with, and bringing a car in for a routine brake job stresses you out more than the thought of increasing your debt by fourteen thousand dollars, why not. If you seriously think this makes any financial sense, then: - You need to go back over your original math until you understand it, because you re-used that $13,800 twice, once on your existing debt and again against the new car. That is a thirteen thousand dollar error - Routine maintenance on a car is way more cost effective than buying a brand spanking new one. - The service prices you're quoting sound really high or pessimistic to me. Maybe this is a mini thing? If it's a Mini thing and you can't afford it then another Mini might not be a good idea. - You've had the car for 3 years at most, and owe more than you think you can get for it. In other words after 3 years of car payments you have effectively no car and no savings for the next car. And want a new car. Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 18:50 on Mar 10, 2015 |
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Mar 10, 2015 18:48
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