Miranda Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 how much is my used car worth? Every dollar I would have to pay for any other car. I have avoided new car dealerships all my adult life. You need more choices in your hate poll, I think I would avoid 'dropping heavy machinery on my toes' good rant, find a book called 'don't get taken every time.' miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9146gt Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Toyota....480,000 on my 1990 Tercel no driveline work no motor work!!! Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Front Man Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I call them Joyota's FM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Shop around and look for a 1-2 year old car. Some are nearly new with low miles and cost about 1/2 of what the same new model costs. Look for private party sales and if you can pay cash. Most people can't and that gives you buying and bargining power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moneypenny Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Hummmm. tell us how you really feel... Some Very good Points Uncle bill Likes his prostrate exams... don't lie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadHunter Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Shop around and look for a 1-2 year old car. Some are nearly new with low miles and cost about 1/2 of what the same new model costs. That's what I did 10 years ago and bought a 2 year old off lease Camry w/25K miles. It has 221K now. My only regret was that orange cleaners weren't as common then to help get the greasy car salesman mank off of me after I left the dealership. I will second the kidney stone choice for the poll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Like I've said on other occasions, the Nissan Sentra is the Timex watch of the auto industry. I've had two of them (bought new each) since 1985 and you can't kill 'em... floods, blizzards, icy roads, hot days, weather of all sorts--you can't kill em. Good mileage, reliable as God, and carefree--especially my newer (1998) one. Unreal cars. They're cute but no one steals 'em like they do other makes. They're small and easy to park. Tinted windows came stock and the only improvement I made to it was a very decent set of tires... which the Firestone dealer fixes for free if I need it. No, of course it's not a pickup truck but not everyone needs a pickup truck. If you want a stealthy, unobtrusive, 5-speed, somewhat powerful little car (climbs steep hills like you wouldn't believe), get a damn' Sentra. The base model (in 1998) MSRP'd for $14K, listed for $12K and I offered them $9K in cash. Boy, did they take it. I just Kelley'd it this week and it's still worth $4-5,000. And I'll probably drive it for several more years at least. Why not..... it runs great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I treat car shopping as a sport to be enjoyed. I might take weeks to buy a car while I am working two or three dealers. "No, I don't want paint protection. No, I don't want upholstery protection. Oh, you don't have one on the lot that has not been treated. Well, I'll let you order me one that you haven't prepped. The other dealership said they would. Now, do you want to make a sale or not"? Last new car I bought I settled on a price I wanted to pay, went to the credit union and got a certified check for that amount. Went back to the dealer and saw the sales manager ragging on an older gentleman who was trying the same tactics as I was. I sat down with the salesman who I had been driving crazy for the last three weeks and made my offer showing him the check. He said he would have to check with his sales manager at which point I told him that if I even saw the rat bastard sales manager come out of his office I would walk with my check. Bought the car. If you turn car shopping into a sport you can mentally own the car salesmen. Great fun! CYa, Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I really enjoyed the rant. It is very frustrating when, as the consumer, you feel like the manufacture is not listening. I, however, like the whole car shopping thing. But then I've been known to shoot a revolver too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Norman Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Did much of the same things others here have mentioned. Wound up at dealer #3 with about the price I figured. Wife added two options that cost a bit, but hey, its really her car:) New car had to meet a few criteria: Automatic Flat towable without modification I have to be able to sit in it. CRV, less than stellar reviews Saturn VUE, same Chevy Malibu, great reviews, wife liked, if I sit up in the drivers seat, with seat as low as possible, my head hits roof! Jeep Liberty, unlimited warranty on drive train, I fit in it and it fit all criteria. Merry Christmas Sweetie! Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted January 1, 2008 Author Share Posted January 1, 2008 Right now, I'm tossing around either a Honda Accord V-6 or a Toyota Camry Hybrid. The hybrid drives really well. I'm a bit skeptical of the mileage claims since what I saw on my test drive was a ways short of the fantastic claims I keep reading. It looks to me to be a 30mpg car on the freeway and a 20 mpg car in the city, unless I'm missing something....which makes it identical to a Honda V-6. I've read everything from 31 mpg highway to 41 and even 44, which I can only figure was going downhill one-way. The 2008 Accord is incredible. The cabin is nearly as roomy as my Suburban. Drives like a sports car. All the power you could want and it has the same cylinder shutdown feature as Chevy does on the freeway, which gives it even better mileage than an equivalent Buick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 (edited) Meanwhile Europe gets the Honda Accord Diesel in 2009 that gets 52mpg. The lack of good cars in USA is beginning to annoy me. Edited January 1, 2008 by BritinUSA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putty Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 We love our Accord. Hauls azz...nice sound system too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el pres Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 I treat car shopping as a sport to be enjoyed. I might take weeks to buy a car while I am working two or three dealers. "No, I don't want paint protection. No, I don't want upholstery protection. Oh, you don't have one on the lot that has not been treated. Well, I'll let you order me one that you haven't prepped. The other dealership said they would. Now, do you want to make a sale or not"?Last new car I bought I settled on a price I wanted to pay This is a great way to do it!! Find your own financing !! Lets say you go to a Honda dealer to buy a Honda, you agree on the price but they dont want to use Honda Motor company financing. They say that they will get you a better rate with their associate xx financial down the street. Be wary as they could be working together and you might be paying extra in your loan for a kick back to the dealer (hidden fees, the real rate is less then your paying)... And to bring in a check for the final amount is brilliant!! I 've done it, and it works awsome. Now they are not working to get more money out of you but trying to squeez the car you want on that check!! With this scenerio they will say we can do but you need to give us a seperate downpayment, no, no, no, stick with the check amount.. Eric W -- the MPG amounts on the stickers are always overinflated. The conditions at the time of the test are non real world. Indoors in a lab with no wind resistance, no passengers, no hills. These are the best poss numbers this car could ever produce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 I now have a 2008 Accord: Thanks to Bruce Gary for prodding me to give the Costco Auto buying program another go. That executive membership card really makes a world of difference in the tenor of the car buying process. The salesman was a complete gentleman, and the finance guy was very polite and low-key when offering me the overpriced options, all of which I declined. No angst. No raised voices. It was a great experience. The final price was fair and I'm happy now that my driving costs will be fixed. Also, before you buy an extended factory warranty, google your manufacturer's plan. There's a huge amount of variation in prices and terms, so if you indeed plan to keep a vehicle over the long haul and hedge your bets on your maintenance costs, it's worth your time to search. I found plans with better terms that were about 3/4 to 2/3 the price the dealer quoted, and I'm sure it will get better as I search and dicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seth Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 I'm sorry I'm late on this but there's a great way to buy a car that most people miss. The basic premise is have more information than the dealer. I buy and sell cars with some regularity. When I buy new, I always walk in with the dealer invoice already in hand. They are commonly available online at sites like consumer reports. Not their cheezy reviews, but if you look into their pay services, they offer the complete invoice on the car for each option and what retail is. So for example, take a Toyota. It retails for $20k. Invoice is $15k. Each accessory has a dollar value which is what it costs the dealer and what the retail cost is. Ie... radio retails for $250. Dealer invoice is $100. When I walk in to buy that Toyota, I already have the EXACT dealer invoice in hand in black and white. Check written out and paperclipped to the invoice paper work. When the business part of buy a car comes up, I start with the bare invoice, removign all their marketing fees, handling fees, etc... and work UP instead of starting iwth the MSRP and work down. Its always easier to get a better deal when they're trying to add stuff back instead of your trying to get it for free. So. Walk in with the invoice and know what each option costs the dealer. THAT'S your number. In this economy, they need you, not vice versa. IF they don't accept your offer, leave. They'll call back in an hour... if they don't chase you out to your car. I paid $7k under MSRP on my wife's Grand Cherokee and $3500 under on my Toyota... all from knowing how. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 (edited) Uhh....that's the Costco program that you just described. Better yet, Costco forces the dealers to provide purchase data as well as follow up to make sure you're happy with the sale. Hate to tell you this, but I paid far more under sticker than your examples, so I'd say that it's a fairly good program. Edited January 3, 2008 by EricW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AikiDale Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Meanwhile Europe gets the Honda Accord Diesel in 2009 that gets 52mpg.The lack of good cars in USA is beginning to annoy me. It's not that we don't have the technology so much as we don't pay enough attention to the polititians; and it costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seth Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Eric, I'm thrilled to hear that you did that well! I didn't know that program was so thorough. Congrats on a great deal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-JQ- Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 (edited) I know there is a "mini-mart"...but is there a "car dealer" course of fire??? Edited January 3, 2008 by hk_mtbr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 I've told this sometime before, but I'll give the short version here. In '95 I went into a dealership armed with a laptop with a program that dealers use to purchase cars from the factory and each other (no longer have a copy, I'm afraid). It had all pricing available, but also true dealer cost. I would go to a vehicle, type in the base model code and then hammer in the 3-letter codes for all installed options. The system then showed the true dealer price. The salesman nodded after a few minutes, smiled and agreed (he asked how I got it but I wouldn't say). Then I typed in the Secret Squirrel code and the screen split, showing what THEY paid for the base and each option. He stopped smiling at that point. I managed a very nice discount once they knew the level of info I had access to, and because I would only deal with the #2 saleman on their monthly total board. When he asked why I would only deal with him, I pointed out it was end of month, and if he wanted to win the prize, I might be his last chance. The Costco program sounds like a very close parallel to having that dealership software I was using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seth Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 I love buying cars. I can't do it as much as I used to, with an infant and one less job, but its still one of my favorite thrills. And I LOVE a good deal. I'm not cheap by any stretch, but I do like to haggle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AikiDale Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Got your new ride right here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Gundry Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Gotta love the fuel economy and performance of todays cars part of your rant. I think it really boils down to stupid consumers, drivers, and the auto industry telling us what we want versus asking us. Back in the mid 80's, you could buy at least a dozen nice cars that weighed less than 2500lbs - now they are almost all over 3k... 100hp back could easily keep up with 160hp today... Why do they keep making the cars bigger and fatter??? WHY??? If I wanted a bigger car, I'd buy the bigger model. Remember when the camry was a compact? Remember when the Rabbit was a sub-compact (and weighed 1800lb soaking wet) - now the mk5 Rabbit is 3100lbs and a few feet larger in every direction Sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el pres Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Got your new ride right here! I would not want to take on a semi or even a good size SUV in a plastic car!! How do you that would end up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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