Shopping for cars... can use some input

[BrAinPaiNt]

:laugh1:

The car I've always liked was actually the Audi but I don't particularly care for the look of the grill area on models in the last few years.

However, I will be more than happy if someone would donate this one to me.

Do you think I can raise enough from posters on this forum? It's only about 40K

If you want to dream...dream big and go for the Bugatti Veyron.

 

[ethiostar]

I think he wants to save money on gas...not pay extra for diesel. Speaking of which...is it just me or does anyone else remember when diesel gas used to cost less instead of more like today.

Or course he could get a caterpillar diesel engine...it a hatteras sport fishing yacht.

I actually don't mind a diesel and would love to get the WV Passat TDI when its time to replace our Corolla. The difference between gasoline and diesel is about $.25/gallon, which the MPG on the diesel would make up. The Passat I looked at has 43/39 MGP, which is equivalent to or better than most hybrids.

 

[VietCowboy]

So that was you I flew by the other day

I live in Columbus now!

 

[silverbear]

If you want to dream...dream big and go for the Bugatti Veyron.

I'd rather buy a new Camaro, and send it to one of the following:

Lingenfelter Performance... I'm a little leary of them since the founder, John Lingenfelter, passed away a coupla years back...

Hennessey Performance... they're in Texas, and depending on how much money you have, you can get it built up to 1000 HP...

Callaway Performance-- legendary for their Corvettes, they make a nice Camaro too...

Baldwin Motion-- you can get a 69 Camaro built to the max, or a new Camaro done the same way...

When you're done, you'll have less than 150 grand in it, and your car will run with anything Europe is putting out... it'll take the corners like an autocross racer, stop on a dime, and (if your wallet allows) let you run 200 MPH...

If you need more rear seat and trunk room, buy a Cadillac CTS-V and send it off to D3 Cadillac for customization... you can build yourself a 700 HP highway cruiser...

 

[Yeagermeister]

I live in Columbus now!

I was joking. I haven't been to Nashville in a long time.

 

[Sasquatch]

We've got a Prius and a Forrester. Both are great cars which have had very few problems. Good luck to you.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

As an ex-carsalesman I'd like to chime in with some consumer advice. Once you decide on the model you want, then you shop the dealership's price between several dealers over the phone. You always have more leverage over the phone. Tell them you are going to buy a car and you want to buy it for x amount. You start this process by finding out what the invoice is. Don't fall for the, "come in. I can't sell you a car over the phone bit." This shouldn't be to hard to do with some salesman. Have them send you a copy of the invoice and offer X amount over invoice. Don't start negotiating with them over the sticker price. Negotiate with them in terms of how much you're willing to offer over invoice. I suggest, if you like the salesman, 800-1000 over invoice on a car. He usually gets 25% of anything over 400. The minimum they usually make is 100$ per car. But if you give him 800, he makes 200$, etc.

This is an approximation. But that's sort of how it works.

In any case. Don't let them make too much money, because the dealership already takes a good amount of money that's built into the invoice. This is called hold back.

If it's a new car, negotiating is cake, or it should be. You do it from the telephone. Get them to fax you a copy of the sales order. Go in and sign it with your own financing, etc. Deal with a salesman who is willing to work with you. Most places have internet sales departments. When buying, deal with those guys. They're more accustomed to negotiating lower prices than the lot guys.

Hope that helps in your quest to find your dream vehicle.

My advice is to buy a slightly used vehicle, but do your research and always have an independent part inspect it before doing so.

Good luck, my friend!

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

Additionally, if you don't care about the salesman, or if he has the car and you don't like him. You CAN get deals where you cut into the dealer hold back. A lot of dealerships will sell you the car, especially at the end of the month, because they want to hit their dealer incentives from the manufacturer. Always, ALWAYs but new cars at the end of the month--even used for that matter.

And don't let them trick you into thinking giving you the dealer incentives is part of them negotiating in terms of what they can come off of the price. A lot of they try to say we'll give you 2,500 off. But that was what the dealer had already told them they could sell the car for, a rebate of 2,500, if you purchase it.

Everyone gets that rebate....

Just be aware of some of their tactics. You can get the incentive and still knock off some of their mark up.

And NEVER EVER, please NEVER, finance your car with a dealership. Get your own financing and shop your rate around. After you get the buyers order with a price to your satisfaction, take that to the bank and get your loan from there.

Hope that helps.

 

[TwoCentPlain]

...And NEVER EVER, please NEVER, finance your car with a dealership. ...

Honda is offering 1.9% now. Is a bank going to beat that? Just curious. I paid cash for my car last time and will probably do so again.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

Honda is offering 1.9% now. Is a bank going to beat that? Just curious. I paid cash for my car last time and will probably do so again.

That's an exception. I guess some dealers are offering unbeatable financing. But it's also not easy to qualify for--for everyone.

 

[vta]

Honda is offering 1.9% now. Is a bank going to beat that? Just curious. I paid cash for my car last time and will probably do so again.

I've found that those APR's aren't really for everybody.
They'll claim they need to do a credit check and most act as though they can't access that immediately, then they'll set the APR based on your credit, which unless it is impeccable it won't be the advertised APR.

Paying cash is a good thing.

 

[ethiostar]

Additionally, if you don't care about the salesman, or if he has the car and you don't like him. You CAN get deals where you cut into the dealer hold back. A lot of dealerships will sell you the car, especially at the end of the month, because they want to hit their dealer incentives from the manufacturer. Always, ALWAYs but new cars at the end of the month--even used for that matter.

And don't let them trick you into thinking giving you the dealer incentives is part of them negotiating in terms of what they can come off of the price. A lot of they try to say we'll give you 2,500 off. But that was what the dealer had already told them they could sell the car for, a rebate of 2,500, if you purchase it.

Everyone gets that rebate....

Just be aware of some of their tactics. You can get the incentive and still knock off some of their mark up.

And NEVER EVER, please NEVER, finance your car with a dealership. Get your own financing and shop your rate around. After you get the buyers order with a price to your satisfaction, take that to the bank and get your loan from there.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for all the great insider info man, that's pretty awesome.

As for financing, we are already pre approved by our bank for around 3%, which according to our bank the lowest rate available. If a dealership is offering anything less than that should we accept it? Are there usually some hidden caveats dealers use that we need to look out for? If they are playing it straight, I'm pretty sure we will qualify for it. Our credit history/score is excellent.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

Thanks for all the great insider info man, that's pretty awesome.

As for financing, we are already pre approved by our bank for around 3%, which according to our bank the lowest rate available. If a dealership is offering anything less than that should we accept it? Are there usually some hidden caveats dealers use that we need to look out for? If they are playing it straight, I'm pretty sure we will qualify for it. Our credit history/score is excellent.

3% is nothing. Go with that unless the dealer offers you less. I also suggest finding your own extended warranty.

 

[jobberone]

I'll sell you my Lingenfelter Corvette. It's on the market forum and I can provide much more details. All for around the price of a new Camaro and much faster. I'd still buy the base Prius.

 

[Joe Realist]

Thanks for all the great insider info man, that's pretty awesome.

As for financing, we are already pre approved by our bank for around 3%, which according to our bank the lowest rate available. If a dealership is offering anything less than that should we accept it? Are there usually some hidden caveats dealers use that we need to look out for? If they are playing it straight, I'm pretty sure we will qualify for it. Our credit history/score is excellent.

I don't know if it has been stated, but what about buying used? Something 2-3 years old with 20-20k miles on it can be 1.) a good deal, 2.) a vehicle depreciates the most in the first 3 years, 3.) you may even be able to get some of those options since they are already instaled

Personally - I don't buy new. Last 2 cars I bought 1.) was 2 years old with 13k miles in it. Brand new it went for $28k. I got it for $17.5 2.) 3 year old car with 20k miles on it. Brand new was $35k. I got it for $25k

Whatever you do, pay it off early. 5 year loans are a drag, but if you must get one, pay it off in 4 or less.

Good Luck!

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

I don't know if it has been stated, but what about buying used? Something 2-3 years old with 20-20k miles on it can be 1.) a good deal, 2.) a vehicle depreciates the most in the first 3 years, 3.) you may even be able to get some of those options since they are already instaled

Personally - I don't buy new. Last 2 cars I bought 1.) was 2 years old with 13k miles in it. Brand new it went for $28k. I got it for $17.5 2.) 3 year old car with 20k miles on it. Brand new was $35k. I got it for $25k

Whatever you do, pay it off early. 5 year loans are a drag, but if you must get one, pay it off in 4 or less.

Good Luck!

I agree with this. And you you should also not run credit checks more than once because doing that lowers your score.

 

[ethiostar]

I don't know if it has been stated, but what about buying used? Something 2-3 years old with 20-20k miles on it can be 1.) a good deal, 2.) a vehicle depreciates the most in the first 3 years, 3.) you may even be able to get some of those options since they are already instaled

Personally - I don't buy new. Last 2 cars I bought 1.) was 2 years old with 13k miles in it. Brand new it went for $28k. I got it for $17.5 2.) 3 year old car with 20k miles on it. Brand new was $35k. I got it for $25k

Whatever you do, pay it off early. 5 year loans are a drag, but if you must get one, pay it off in 4 or less.

Good Luck!

I've been looking for the type of cars we're looking for that are 2-3 years old. So far, the price difference i've seen is about 3K. Of course most of my search has been online but even when I've gone to a dealership to test-drive a new model, I've kept my eye out for something slightly used but I haven't seen one that would make it worthwhile to buy used yet.

 

[ethiostar]

So the wife and I took Friday off and test-drove 3 or the 4 cars that we're considering.

Mazda CR-V: A nice car with a reasonable price tag. The base model comes with everything we're looking for. The ride was a bit rough though. We felt every little bump on the road. Overall, a very mature, reliable, and conservative car. This car will have the best resale value of the three....around 22K.

Mazda CX-5: Nice looking and fun to drive. Man, the wife and I had a blast driving this car. We wanted the manual drive but they didn't have it so we drove the automatic. Still, very nice. To get everything we want we will have to get the 2nd tier trim, Touring, which doesn't come in a manual . All three cars are listed at 31 or 32 mpg on the HWY. This car gets the best fuel efficiency in the city at 26mpg compared to 22mpg for the other cars ....around 24K.

Equinox: Decent car. Roomier than the other two. The back seat slides back and forth and also reclines, which is nice. We'll have to get the 2nd tier model, LT1 to get everything we want. The drive was ok. According to my research this car doesn't get the advertised mgp, 22/32......around 24.4K.

We looked at the GMC Terrain but didn't test-drive it. It's pretty much the Equinox in a slightly different and bigger body, and IMO less attractive.

One thing we realized is that a backup camera is essential for these cars.

We're going to take our time with this. In the meantime, I'm working on my car, the one that broke down and led us to start looking for new/er cars much earlier than we had planned. It's a 1995 Nissan 200sx with 200K miles that overheated. I took it to the shop and they told me that pretty much the entire cooling system needs to be replaced, radiator, water pump, upper/lower hoses, thermostat, etc... The price they told me to fix it was $956.00 :O. The car is worth only slightly more than that if we're lucky. So, I bought all the parts for less than $200 and I'm replacing everything myself this weekend. I worked on it today for about 5 hrs and i'm half way done. Hopefully by tomorrow evening I will have it all done and we'll take our time looking for the right car for the right price.

 

[big dog cowboy]

My advice is to buy a slightly used vehicle, but do your research and always have an independent part inspect it before doing so.

Around here there is no difference in price. You are better off buying new and getting the entire length of the warranty.

And NEVER EVER, please NEVER, finance your car with a dealership.

I normally buy a Chevy and finance with GM with 0% or maybe 1.9% at most.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

So the wife and I took Friday off and test-drove 3 or the 4 cars that we're considering.

Mazda CR-V: A nice car with a reasonable price tag. The base model comes with everything we're looking for. The ride was a bit rough though. We felt every little bump on the road. Overall, a very mature, reliable, and conservative car. This car will have the best resale value of the three....around 22K.

Mazda CX-5: Nice looking and fun to drive. Man, the wife and I had a blast driving this car. We wanted the manual drive but they didn't have it so we drove the automatic. Still, very nice. To get everything we want we will have to get the 2nd tier trim, Touring, which doesn't come in a manual . All three cars are listed at 31 or 32 mpg on the HWY. This car gets the best fuel efficiency in the city at 26mpg compared to 22mpg for the other cars ....around 24K.

Equinox: Decent car. Roomier than the other two. The back seat slides back and forth and also reclines, which is nice. We'll have to get the 2nd tier model, LT1 to get everything we want. The drive was ok. According to my research this car doesn't get the advertised mgp, 22/32......around 24.4K.

We looked at the GMC Terrain but didn't test-drive it. It's pretty much the Equinox in a slightly different and bigger body, and IMO less attractive.

One thing we realized is that a backup camera is essential for these cars.

We're going to take our time with this. In the meantime, I'm working on my car, the one that broke down and led us to start looking for new/er cars much earlier than we had planned. It's a 1995 Nissan 200sx with 200K miles that overheated. I took it to the shop and they told me that pretty much the entire cooling system needs to be replaced, radiator, water pump, upper/lower hoses, thermostat, etc... The price they told me to fix it was $956.00 :O. The car is worth only slightly more than that if we're lucky. So, I bought all the parts for less than $200 and I'm replacing everything myself this weekend. I worked on it today for about 5 hrs and i'm half way done. Hopefully by tomorrow evening I will have it all done and we'll take our time looking for the right car for the right price.

You can buy the radiator at a junk yard. I had a friend put mine in for about 250. Good going. That quote is insulting and you should run from that mechanic shop.