Looking for input on a new car

BDx13 - 11-14-2005 at 01:16 PM

OK, so at 31 years old, it looks like I'm going to buy a car for the first time. (that's city living for ya!) i leased a jetta once, that was short lived. anyway, i need a reliable ride. i don't have time for the one car i own breaking down on my wife and kid in the middle of nowhere.

so...
1) do i buy a brand new car or a car that is two or three years old and has already taken that significant initial depreciation?
2) considering how mechanically UNinclined I am, does a Certified Pre Owned make sense?
3) any sugestions in the sub-$20k range?

JawnDiablo - 11-14-2005 at 01:21 PM

i have a 2000 civic and have had zero mechanical problems. put 80,000 miles on it so far. holds its value better than most. good gas mileage. just needs more room ...

XHonusWagnerX - 11-14-2005 at 01:33 PM

I test drove a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid on Saturday and it was pretty cool. Very modern, comfortable inside. Its a little round for my tastes, but thats the aerodynamics thing. The mileage is amazing. 50 MPG City or Highway. At a redlight the thing basicly shuts off and theres NO sound at all. Not even a vibration.

I think the sticker was $22,000 so its more than you said you wanted to spend, but its a good investment I think.

crazyfists28 - 11-14-2005 at 01:37 PM

family man huh?....corvette

JawnDiablo - 11-14-2005 at 01:48 PM

this is the one i have...runs great

defstarsteve - 11-14-2005 at 01:59 PM

honda or volvo
best family man style cars around
safe, and easy to maintain

I've had 2 older honda accords, both 89's both with around 200k miles, both are still doing great...

if you can't affornd new and you're not a mechanic go certified...
pay for piece of mind

upyerbum - 11-14-2005 at 02:04 PM

DO NOT BUY A NEW CAR!!!! Did it once 13 years ago and swore I'd never do it again. I've had two civics and zero complaints. Except the exhaust seems prone to rusting, but this was never a big problem. I'd personally go two to five years old depending on the mileage etc.

JawnDiablo - 11-14-2005 at 02:26 PM

I have to agree with that. There's no way I ever am going to buy a new car again. Cars are engineered allot better now than when i started driving, and for the most part you can run them for a long time after 100k if you keep up with them. I for one will never waste my money on any american made cars because from past experiences of my own and family and friends, they are overpriced, slapped together, and fall apart / depreciate fast. Christ a chevy cobalt is said to depreciate $8000 in the first year of ownership..fuck its a $18000-$21000 car!.I paid my hoda off early and it still had a resale value of $9500 at the time, whish was just under half of what i paid for it 5 years earlier.

moforn - 11-14-2005 at 04:19 PM

I want to recommend a vw, but if reliabilty is one of your criteria then you may want to look elsewhere. The new Mazda 3s are supposed to be pretty nice, you could probably get a barely used one for significantly less than new.

moron - 11-14-2005 at 04:28 PM

Dont buy new. Buy a car off of a 2 year lease. It'll be in great condition and the price should be decent. Go for a Honda or a Toyota. My Subaru is good too. Havent had any major problems with it minus an alternator dying on me once. Ive got 140k on it and I still love it. I had an old 91 Honda Civic that was great. Not much power, but great gas milage.

PS. Read consumer reports before you buy a car. Check the reliabiltiy ratings and then go from there.

jason kills - 11-14-2005 at 04:29 PM

go jap all the way. consumer reports came back and say that toyota is teh best brand on the market right now. go with an early 2000 or 2001 honda or a 2003 or 2004 toyota. dont buy new. waste of fucking money. but get certified pre-owned for the fact that any thing wrong with it has been documented.

every car has their tempermental shit. just got to find otu what it is and deal with it. my car's problem is the fact that it still runs....ugh

Dave - 11-15-2005 at 09:08 AM

i'm on my second Honda, love em. for first one (1990 Accord EX-R) lasted until 305,000km.

have a 98 Civic now, relaiable for sure.
Go for a 2-5 year old Honda or maybe a Toyota.

VW's are nice but.........not the most reliable. but probably better than an american car tho.

clevohardcore - 11-16-2005 at 01:07 AM

DO NOT BUY FORD. I have owned nothing but them for 12 years and alot of headaches

Buy a 2 year old car. Better deals and pretty much in mint condition. AVerage 20-30k miles around that time.

BDx13 - 11-16-2005 at 03:05 AM

god, i love the looks of this ride

JawnDiablo - 11-16-2005 at 06:57 AM

the charger is cool too duane....the srt model with 425 horses...a fuel injected boner

BDx13 - 12-27-2005 at 05:13 PM

So I finally bought my first car. Thanks for everyone's input. Waiting until the end of the year was totally the way to go - tons of incentives and dealers are aggressive with pricing to meet quotas.

Anyway, I went with a new Hyundai Sonata GLS V6. I couldn't find a bad review on this car. The MSRP is about 21,500. I got them down to an even 20k, then got another 3k in rebates, and then added aftermarket leather at cost, for a total of about 19,000 with tag and title. A comparable Accord would run about 10k more.

I also got two years of free oil changes and state inspections, double warranty (to 20 years, 200,000 miles), a TV, AND an iPod in the deal. Random, but whatever.

CR83 - 12-27-2005 at 05:36 PM

Are you shitting us about the TV and iPod? If not, way to go BD. That's a good shake down.

I'm on my first Hyundai and I have no complaints really. I just wish my CD player had random on it.

Killthehumans - 12-27-2005 at 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by clevohardcore
DO NOT BUY FORD. I have owned nothing but them for 12 years and alot of headaches

Buy a 2 year old car. Better deals and pretty much in mint condition. AVerage 20-30k miles around that time.

Fords are nothing but a headache, buy a nice certified preowned honda.

BDx13 - 12-27-2005 at 06:01 PM

nah, no BS on the extras...
- the dealership doubled the manufacturer's warranty starting in November (who's gonna have a car that long to cash in on it, anyway?)
- in December they started this program where if you buy a car, you pick a present from under the tree. could be a free oil change, tix to the flyers, target gift certificate, ipod, or $1,000 off the car.
- then, the week after Christmas they started giving away a Phillips 27" flat screen TV with every new car.

i spent a lot of time looking into used cars, but because i only wanted to go back a few years, an Accord still cost like 12k. once i knew i could get the $1,000 loyality discount (my sister in law drives a hyundai) in addition to the $1,000 factory rebate and the $1,000 financing rebate, i decided just to go for the new car.

it also helped that the rental car i had last week was a sonata. four hours in NYC traffic during the transit strike and a three hour interstate drive are great ways to test drive a car!

XHonusWagnerX - 12-27-2005 at 06:50 PM

Im trading my car in for this. I hate spending money SO much that I freek out everytime I need to make a descision. I think its the right one and everyone I have asked agrees.... I still cant help being freeked though.

moron - 12-27-2005 at 06:54 PM

Im gonna cry the day my car dies.

and Congratulations on the purchase, Duane. I bet in 2 years though you'll be hating those fucking car payments. I sure did. Now that my car is paid off it's going nowhere.

BDx13 - 12-27-2005 at 07:16 PM

damn, honus, if you hate spending money, you're REALLY gotta resent that car! is that the 3 series? what'll that set you back?

the car is gonna run just under $300/mo for five years. so, yeah, that'll probably get old. i'll probably pay it off sooner, though, we'll see.

XHonusWagnerX - 12-27-2005 at 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BIG DUANE
damn, honus, if you hate spending money, you're REALLY gotta resent that car! is that the 3 series? what'll that set you back?

the car is gonna run just under $300/mo for five years. so, yeah, that'll probably get old. i'll probably pay it off sooner, though, we'll see.

Its a lease because as soon as a car Im driving gets a little old I get all pissy with it. I spend to much time in the car, I need to be comfortable and like what I drive. Plus Im to pickey... I dont like really ROUND cars and thats what most of the new cars are. Damn aerodynamics!

So I give them my car (which I still owe $14,000 on) + $4000 cash and it will be $329 a month for 2 years with 20,000 miles per year.

The lease could be a mistake, but its a chance I need to take. Some people swear by a lease and others think its a hug waste. I think its just something you have to try and decide for yourself IF thats the route you want to take.

I really do get frantic about money. It may not seem that way, but anyone who knows me, knows how obsessivly I save and how cheap I am with myself most of the time. XNMEX might know that side of me a little. Oh well... Ill keep saving and hope for the best I guess!

JawnDiablo - 12-27-2005 at 08:56 PM

if i had all the money i spent on beer since i was 21 i could probably buy that new 500 hp vette....

XHonusWagnerX - 12-27-2005 at 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by juandiablo
if i had all the money i spent on beer since i was 21 i could probably buy that new 500 hp vette....

I got a straight edge vanity plate because I know that if I drank or smoked theres no way I would have the money to buy the car I have.

BDx13 - 12-27-2005 at 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by XHonusWagnerX
I got a straight edge vanity plate because I know that if I drank or smoked theres no way I would have the money to buy the car I have.

woah, we might need a pic of that!

XHonusWagnerX - 12-27-2005 at 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BIG DUANE

Quote:

Originally posted by XHonusWagnerX
I got a straight edge vanity plate because I know that if I drank or smoked theres no way I would have the money to buy the car I have.

woah, we might need a pic of that!

JawnDiablo - 12-28-2005 at 12:15 AM

damn

chris - 12-30-2005 at 04:58 PM

another vote for a civic. I have a 2001 and as much as I really want a more fun car/american car it gets great gas mileage and is realiable as hell. I am mechanicly inclines so it pretty much just costs me gas and oil.