Buying a car?

My first and last car was a '97 Chev Lumina. It's time to replace. Not a car guy and somewhat nervous on the issue - because it is a big $ investment. Child due in ~4 weeks.

Current choices based on visiting (1) dealers:
#1: Nissan Versa Sedan: It is smaller, but the gas mileage is appealing. While the spaciousness of the Lumina when I used it was a great plus (freshman year fitting 7 kegs was epic), I often felt it was underutilized.

Next dealer on the strip: Hundai

Guys as soon as this "deal" goes through I have this car I'm willing to sell.. just waiting on the faggot to send me back my goddamn plates

It's been said before but it bears repeating. Go through the internet department to get the lowest price.

First, go to the closest dealers and test drive cars until you find the car you want, but never go back to their office to talk pricing, even if you're curious. It's just a waste of time. Once you've determined your car, email all of the dealers in the area (or use a service like Edmunds.com to email them for you) letting them know the EXACT car you want (trim, color, options, everything). Bounce their prices off each other and ask if they can do better and keep fishing until you hit the bottom of the barrel. Seriously, one guy literally told us "Congratulations! You've found the bottom of the barrel, we can't go any lower, but we can't match dealer X's price, but we can give you Y service...". Make sure you ask for the "on the road" price to get the actual price you're paying. Also, it helps to start the process near the end of the month since dealers are more willing to cut prices to get their numbers up.

We got a brand new Prius for $3k under MSRP by playing this game and it felt pretty good to not have to wonder if we had gotten a fair price for our shiny new car.

Sacel_sl said:

Current choices based on visiting (1) dealers:
#1: Nissan Versa Sedan: It is smaller, but the gas mileage is appealing. While the spaciousness of the Lumina when I used it was a great plus (freshman year fitting 7 kegs was epic), I often felt it was underutilized.

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I think I'd opt for a Ford Fiesta, Mazda2, or Kia Rio before I would consider a Versa. I think I recall reading a terrible, terrible, review of the new Versa Sedan. Extremely cheap quality-wise.

Sacel_sl said:

My first and last car was a '97 Chev Lumina. It's time to replace. Not a car guy and somewhat nervous on the issue - because it is a big $ investment. Child due in ~4 weeks.

Current choices based on visiting (1) dealers:
#1: Nissan Versa Sedan: It is smaller, but the gas mileage is appealing. While the spaciousness of the Lumina when I used it was a great plus (freshman year fitting 7 kegs was epic), I often felt it was underutilized.

Next dealer on the strip: Hundai

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Hm, skip Nissan. Pretty horrible cars reliability wise. Might look at the Honda Fit. Great little cars, with an all new one coming in November. Lots of space and utility for a small but safe car. Big + for expectant parents. Also, not expensive.

my first purchase on my own was a new 2008 toyota corolla, which i still drive it's about to hit 100k.

my father gave me good advice on pricing "any dollar over 20k is all luxury"

therefore i bought a 17k car.

Damn I am driving a luxury Honda Accord (base model LX). LIZARD POPE HAS DECREED THIS AND SO IT SHALL BE. IT IS KNOWN.

Silence_sl said:

Hm, skip Nissan. Pretty horrible cars reliability wise. Might look at the Honda Fit. Great little cars, with an all new one coming in November. Lots of space and utility for a small but safe car. Big + for expectant parents. Also, not expensive.

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:-( all my Nissans have rocked the socks... but so has my Hondas etc

Are you having more than 1 kid within the life of the car...?? get a van... it sucks, take the hit to the man feels and your balls- get a van they are worth it on every level of the game when it comes to kids and their enormous piles of crap that must go with them everywhere.

With the murano we had to plan what we where going to get and do to make sure stuff fit, what random ikea trip? oh fuck will it fit?! with a van you can own most situations... with an SuV and 2 kids or car with 2 kids - what grandma and granpa want to come? screw them drive your own car!

3rd row SuV? you say... well hope the grandparents can fold up into the 3rd row and you don't have anything in the back... or have fun getting the carseats installed in the 3rd row, getting the kids IN the 3rd row seats so your grandparents can sit in decent 2nd row seats...and still nothing in the back maybe an umbrella stroller and a bag or two.

Van, all rows can fit adults and child seats and you can fit a full size double stroller in the back and still have room in the well etc for other ish... and with van choices its the typical selection- Honda, Nissan, yoda or dodge... of them all we chose a Nissan Quest, next up was the Honda... didn't fit well in the dodge and I am really not a toyoda fan.

My Nissan altima was pretty fucking shitty. Every year without fail I had to replace a different sensor for the engine ($600-1000).

Soygen_sl said:

Is this anecdotal, because most consumer review sites say otherwise. My own anecdotal evidence says otherwise as well. I have had 0 issues with my Z and my mom has owned 2 Altimas which haven't had a single issue. I would definitely buy another Nissan without hesitation.

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I've always been under the impression that Nissan has been a step or two back of Honda and Toyota, but I don't necessarily have any data to back that up. They're not bad by any means, just a bit more middle of the pack. Just did some quick googling and it does look like the Z has been quite highly rated.

Here's a link:http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoram...192544256.html

Not surprised in the slightest by the rankings for Land Rover, Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler, or VW. I do wonder how accurate those rankings really are though, it's not a simple comparison by any means. Having a windshield wiper fall off is a bit different than having a head gasket blow, yet both would count as a single "incident" as far as I can tell.

Noodleface_sl said:

LIZARD POPE HAS DECREED THIS AND SO IT SHALL BE. IT IS KNOWN.

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dad wasnt pontifex, just a lizard

Eomer_sl said:

I've always been under the impression that Nissan has been a step or two back of Honda and Toyota, but I don't necessarily have any data to back that up. They're not bad by any means, just a bit more middle of the pack. Just did some quick googling and it does look like the Z has been quite highly rated.

Here's a link:http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoram...192544256.html

Not surprised in the slightest by the rankings for Land Rover, Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler, or VW. I do wonder how accurate those rankings really are though, it's not a simple comparison by any means. Having a windshield wiper fall off is a bit different than having a head gasket blow, yet both would count as a single "incident" as far as I can tell.

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I'm sorry, I just can't fathom that list. Lincoln and Mercedes with less problems than Honda? Having seen Lincolns back home in Canada rusted to shit after four years while the Honda was still immaculate, and friends Mercedes in the shop every few months for some minor problem, I simply can't wrap my head around that rating hierarchy. I owned two Hondas and they never had a single problem during my ownership which I certainly can't say about my BMW's. Hell, I have a friend in Montreal that is still driving his 10 year old Honda civic with 160,000 KM on it and besides wear and tear items he hasn't had to fix crap on it.

Thanks for all the responses - Good points about the minivan and multiple kids. If the woman and I are going to get two vehicles, one needs to be larger I now think.

Yaris had bad handling and overall felt like junk.
Prius C Hatchback had near nonexistent trunk space and multiple bad blindspots - driver head rest block portion of left view; small rear window; backseat headrests blocked chunks of small rear window; rear view mirror placed in middle of windshield instead of top? - It also had too many gimicky features that were unneeded distractions, that were factory default apparently.
Ford Matrix Sport seemed interesting, but I ran out of time to test that one.

Added: Ford Fiesta, Mazda2, Kia Rio (I think I remember this one being too small), and Honda Fit to list of cars to look out for.

Frenzied Wombat_sl said:

I'm sorry, I just can't fathom that list. Lincoln and Mercedes with less problems than Honda? Having seen Lincolns back home in Canada rusted to shit after four years while the Honda was still immaculate, and friends Mercedes in the shop every few months for some minor problem, I simply can't wrap my head around that rating hierarchy. I owned two Hondas and they never had a single problem during my ownership which I certainly can't say about my BMW's. Hell, I have a friend in Montreal that is still driving his 10 year old Honda civic with 160,000 KM on it and besides wear and tear items he hasn't had to fix crap on it.

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Well I think that particular list is for the the most recent model year, or near to most recent model year. So what Lincolns were doing rust wise after 4 years isn't really relevant (not to mention anecdotal, my grampa has a 15 year old Town Car that is beaten to shit but keeps on trucking, so Lincoln must make amazing cars!), as that data wouldn't include older Lincolns. It's possible they've significantly improved recently. I wouldn't get too hung up on minor differences either, Lincoln vs Honda is a difference of 7 issues per 100, that's not too significant. And again, the severity of those issues isn't taken in to account as far as I can tell, so maybe half of the Lexus issues were severe power train issues while the vast majority of the Land Rover issues were minor things like fit/finish/noise/vibration shit. As far as your personal experience or experience of friends, that is again anecdotal. My dad's owned several Audi's that have been nearly flawless, but I don't think you'd find many people in the industry not being paid by Audi that would say that they make particularly reliable vehicles as compared to their direct competition.

Long story short, if a brand is listed in the top half of that list it's probably making some pretty good cars. If it's listed in the bottom half, it's probably making some pretty shitty ones. But buying a car from a good or bad brand doesn't necessarily guarantee that you will or won't have problems. Some particular makes/models within a brand can be outliers, as well. Just take solace in the fact that even some of the worst made cars today are far more reliable than some of the best were even 10 years ago.

Those are pretty much IQS which are 100 % horse shit. On those things, not understanding how a feature works is rated as a problem. Which is why lexus is so high, they focus on customer service so much at the beginning of the process. There are more realiability problems with a lexus than a Toyota just because there are more things to go wrong. Those surveys are all trash and sadly confuse people.

Well, here I am...Still shopping for a vehicle. I figure I'd ask again, as my priorities have shifted.

What I'm looking for in my next vehicle:

-Leather Interior
-Reliable
-Easy to maintain
-Decent gas mileage
-Less than 10k$

I know, sounds pretty broad. But after researching and researching, I am honestly lost at what vehicles to look at. My buddy keeps telling me to bump my budget and find a lower mileage Acura TL. Again, I would really love to keep my budget at least 10k$ or less (DMV fees and whatever not including). I need to go from point A to point B in a relatively comfy ride. I don't need some race car, or some slammed/modded up ride.

I've been reading that Lincoln MARK VIII are some god damn workhorses (with regular maintenance of course). They're not very sexy looking, but I'm eyeing a '98 Lincoln MARK VIII with 85k miles, asking 4.5k

Whats yal thoughts?

kidRiot_sl said:

Well, here I am...Still shopping for a vehicle. I figure I'd ask again, as my priorities have shifted.

What I'm looking for in my next vehicle:

-Leather Interior
-Reliable
-Easy to maintain
-Decent gas mileage
-Less than 10k$

I know, sounds pretty broad. But after researching and researching, I am honestly lost at what vehicles to look at. My buddy keeps telling me to bump my budget and find a lower mileage Acura TL. Again, I would really love to keep my budget at least 10k$ or less (DMV fees and whatever not including). I need to go from point A to point B in a relatively comfy ride. I don't need some race car, or some slammed/modded up ride.

I've been reading that Lincoln MARK VIII are some god damn workhorses (with regular maintenance of course). They're not very sexy looking, but I'm eyeing a '98 Lincoln MARK VIII with 85k miles, asking 4.5k

Whats yal thoughts?

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Get a used Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. You won't get the leather interior but I can't see how you'll pull off a used Acura TL for less than 10K unless it's in shit condition. Personally I think you'd have to be nuts to buy any American car built before the year 2005 or so, so ixnay on the Mark VIII.