Buying a car ... tips / tricks / advice

SkiFanE · Jan 31, 2012

If the car has issues, trade it in. If you feel confident it's a good car and you'll stand behind it, sell it yourself. I've done both, all depends on what you are unloading, lol.

I'm on the fence on new and used. Done both. I like new for the security of knowing the history. But I like the CPO warranty that makes a used a good deal. But like someone said, used market is hot now, may get a better deal new (with a 0% loan...got that on our last loan, ended up financing it 100% and saving our downpayment in the bank, why not?).

But...I would NEVER buy a used VW. Never owned one...but heard so many lemon stories, I'd be afraid of getting the lemon that someone just unloaded.

hammer · Jan 31, 2012

SkiFanE said:
If the car has issues, trade it in. If you feel confident it's a good car and you'll stand behind it, sell it yourself. I've done both, all depends on what you are unloading, lol.

Just been concerned about our 11 YO Toyota Highlander lately...has 195K on it and it's showing signs of wear. Hard to consider selling a car that burns oil, needs new tires, is starting to rust, and will need brake work (including the parking brake which sticks). Highlanders seem to hold their value well but I'm sure the ones on the lots are in much better condition than ours.

SkiFanE · Jan 31, 2012

hammer said:
Just been concerned about our 11 YO Toyota Highlander lately...has 195K on it and it's showing signs of wear. Hard to consider selling a car that burns oil, needs new tires, is starting to rust, and will need brake work (including the parking brake which sticks). Highlanders seem to hold their value well but I'm sure the ones on the lots are in much better condition than ours.

Yup..dealer trade on that one, get whatever you can to get it off your hands!

My current car is a 2000. Living surrounded by huge tall trees I was hoping the summer/fall storms would land a big oak on it's roof. Worth more totaled, but we were spared.

jaytrem · Jan 31, 2012

Be cautious of places selling a new car for only a bit more than a used version. The idea is to make people into think thy're getting a great deal on the new one. When in reality the used one is just intentionally overpriced. A freind of mine ran into this trick not too long ago. Yeah, your new car is only $1500 more than the used from last year, but it's $4000 more than the used at the dealership 20 miles away. Of course if you do your homework in advance, or have some kind of app for that, it shouldn't be an issue.

And if you're in no hurry, don't buy the first time you meet with a dealer, but try to establish a relationship with him. Maybe get some email exchanges going. My wife did really well with a used Highlander, but it was about a 2 week process to get the price she wanted. The car only had 7000 miles on it and upon very close inspection I think it was only driven indoors.

Good luck!!!

Cheese · Jan 31, 2012

jaytrem said:
Be cautious of places selling a new car for only a bit more than a used version. The idea is to make people into think thy're getting a great deal on the new one.!

Be cautious yes, but don't be surprised if new does work out cheaper than a 1 or 2 year old car. As an example, last month Ford offered $1000 credit on the vehicle, $500 credit on package options and a $500 credit for using Ford credit for financing (no penalty for refinancing immediately). That $2000 off makes new very competitive with newer used Fords.

Just because the dealer doesn't have the car on the lot doesn't mean they can't get the car with the options you're looking for in a day or two. Dealerships trade vehicles all the time.

January/February are slow months for dealerships. Right now there's a good chance they'll be willing to deal.

If they claim they're losing money on the deal, remind them that they'll be receiving the document prep fee, dealer hold back and profits from extended warranties and protection sales ( I wouldn't buy them, but the thought that you're considering them may help price negotiation).

deadheadskier · Jan 31, 2012

xwhaler said:
Consider the Kias. We just got a 2012 Sorento AWD v6 EX for my wife at the end of November. Already have put close to 7k miles on it with her daily commute and every wknd ski trips.
If you had asked me 5 yrs ago to look at a Kia I'd have said no way but they have come a long way. We are similiar to you in that we have a dog and will start to have a kid in the next year or so. We wanted something AWD with space.
We test drove 7 vehicles and Kia was the best looking+value+options+independent reviews/reliability for us.

.

and for the same reasons Hyundai should be on people's radars as well, especially if reliability matters.

I've got an 07 with 168K miles on it that still drives very well and have >$500 worth of issues (under warranty) during my time of ownership. Other than that, just routine maintenance.

I generally try and keep my cars to 200K miles, but I may keep this one even longer if it continues to be problem free.

o3jeff · Jan 31, 2012

Do your homework and know what the car is worth and what they are are actually selling for. Also try to do the bargaining via email, if your sitting in front of them they have a good chance of closing a deal, if you are sitting at home they have to entice you to come back into the dealer and don't be afraid to low ball them, cause a dealer will take advantage of you the first chance they get. And when they are about to agree on a price, make them throw in a trailer hitch or the all weather mats!

skijay · Jan 31, 2012

I am a Costco member and tried the car buying service they offered in 2009. I had found what I wanted locally but the Costco dealer was in Northampton, MA. I drove 30 minutes to get there only to get a price that was higher than another dealership gave me and also the trade in value was about $500 less.

The following day I went back to the Springfield, MA (non Costco) and bought the vehicle.

I think if I bought it from the Costco dealer I rec'd $250 in dealership credit or a debit card. Still was not worth it.

drjeff · Feb 1, 2012

My 2 cents - get something slightly bigger than you think you'll need. Trust me when I say that it's positively amazing at the amount of gear that you find yourself carrying around when you have a little kid!

On a more serious note. Do yourself (and your wife too) a favor and actually look in the back seat to see how easy and/or tough it is to get to the clip in latch for the child seat restraint. Some of them are an absolutely beast to access which if you're going to be switching car seats in/out this can be a real pain in the a$$

o3jeff · Feb 1, 2012

wa-loaf said:
My sister-in-law just got the new CRV. It's really nice and good sized inside.

I have the Acura version of this(RDX), do you plan on having the 2 dogs, and your child in this at the same time? 2 dogs will fit fine with the seats folded down, but with the seats up the dogs will have to sit upright back there. Other than that the car is a good size, roomy back seats that can fit adults and plenty of room for ski gear with one side of the rear seat folded down.

You might need something a lot bigger than you think.

wa-loaf · Feb 1, 2012

o3jeff said:
I have the Acura version of this(RDX), do you plan on having the 2 dogs, and your child in this at the same time? 2 dogs will fit fine with the seats folded down, but with the seats up the dogs will have to sit upright back there. Other than that the car is a good size, roomy back seats that can fit adults and plenty of room for ski gear with one side of the rear seat folded down.

You might need something a lot bigger than you think.

This is the 2012 CRV, bigger than the old one and has a nice square back on it maximizing space in the rear. I really do fine with my Outback and a roof box with two kids and even when I had a dog. Trouble I run into now is my gf has a kid and we don't have room for 3 kids in either of our cars. She's looking for something new right now and the CRV is top on her list. I'm keeping the Outback for at least another year.

Nick · Feb 1, 2012

I enjoy camping in the summer too so that's a ton of gear, so I definitely want big enough... have to balance it though with mileage and other factors.

HD333 · Feb 1, 2012

We fought the too small battle for too long. Bit the bullet and bought a 2011 Tahoe last weekend. If we outgrow that we are in trouble.

drjeff · Feb 1, 2012

HD333 said:
We fought the too small battle for too long. Bit the bullet and bought a 2011 Tahoe last weekend. If we outgrow that we are in trouble.

Well there is always the Suburban!

If one outgrows that, well then someone in that family needs to get fixed! :lol:

jaytrem · Feb 1, 2012

drjeff said:
If one outgrows that, well then someone in that family needs to get fixed! :lol:

Hey Jeff, try not to be so snippy.

xwhaler · Feb 1, 2012

The Kia Sorento is very roomy...u can get it equipped with fold flat 3rd row of seats of you want that arent as puny as you would think. We leave ours folded down and the dog goes back there with plenty of space.
We have already talked though about the issue of the skis/poles+bags+baby seat+dog and realize that we'll likely be getting a roof box sometime next year.

I liked the looks of the Tiguan but its one of the smallest CUV's on the market right now and I don't think practical for a growing family.

If you are concerned with gas mileage consider the 4 cyl Sorento. Ours is a v6 with loads of power but we test drove a 4 and it had perfectly adequate highway performence.
I think the 4 cyl gets mid to high 20's with AWD.

Geoff · Feb 2, 2012

HD333 said:
We fought the too small battle for too long. Bit the bullet and bought a 2011 Tahoe last weekend. If we outgrow that we are in trouble.

The European approach to this problem is totally different. What you see there is that everybody owns small cars. They'll put a pod on the roof and tow a small trailer in those infrequent times when they need the extra capacity. For the life of me, I don't understand why anybody would want to drive around in a Tahoe or Chevy Subdivision every day when they only need that interior volume occasionally.

Nick · Feb 2, 2012

i think it's more convenience, nothing to hook up, just get in the car and go.

FWIW my wife will stay home once we have the baby and I get to work from home 2x per week, so I am really only driving to work and back (60 miles RT) 3x per week, plus wherever else we go. A long haul from when we were both driving 60 miles RT 5x per week.

o3jeff · Feb 2, 2012

Nick said:
i think it's more convenience, nothing to hook up, just get in the car and go.

FWIW my wife will stay home once we have the baby and I get to work from home 2x per week, so I am really only driving to work and back (60 miles RT) 3x per week, plus wherever else we go. A long haul from when we were both driving 60 miles RT 5x per week.

I thought the car was for her?

hammer · Feb 2, 2012

Geoff said:
The European approach to this problem is totally different. What you see there is that everybody owns small cars. They'll put a pod on the roof and tow a small trailer in those infrequent times when they need the extra capacity. For the life of me, I don't understand why anybody would want to drive around in a Tahoe or Chevy Subdivision every day when they only need that interior volume occasionally.

I sometimes wonder about the European approach to towing...

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