Community Chat

[faeriemoon]

New; for the warranty.

[151949]

My DH does all the car buying, though he doesn't do a very good job at negotiating because he gets so starry eyed over getting a new car, and they see right thru him.I did much better when I was single at getting the price down because I wasn't afraid to walk away. Also I bought a car for transportation only - he wants something luxurious.Me - Honda Civic, nothing added , stick shift - him Buick Enclave with ALL the bells and whistles. 

[ChiliPepper]

@Tabbycat

I am going through the car buying process also. I have done a ton of reading, looking, researching, asking questions, test drives.

I dreaded this process also but it had to be done, my present vehicle is nearing 200,000 miles on it.

I am buying used - Certified pre-owned - they cost a little more but are thoroughly checked & come with an extended warranty.

I am buying from a dealership vs. a private seller or Joe Blow on the street corner. I feel I will get a more reputable deal that way.

I learned several things I think will be helpful, I wish I had known at first.

First lesson (painful): my present car is worth very little - even though it still runs - it has no resale value.

Seconds lesson: almost every lot/dealership has a website & they display their cars & prices on-line (mostly). This pretty much takes the wheelin' & dealin' out of the picture - the price is the price within a few hundred dollars maybe. Not like the old days when you had to haggle endlessly with them. Car Gurus & similar sites will tell you prices that similar cars in your area are available & selling for & they rate available cars as fair, good or great deals. The only thing you can negotiate with (not a factor for you at all or me as much) is what they will give you for your trade.

Third lesson - especially if you are buying used: be ready to buy quickly when you find what you want. If its a good car & a decent price - someone else is gonna want it so be ready. I lost a couple recently because I thought about it too long.

Take a deep breath & go for it. I felt the same way as you so I put off looking seriously until recently. I found the process not nearly as bad as I thought. Every salesperson is helpful, they have been assertive but not aggressive if you know what I mean. Take your time, if you don't feel good about your salesperson or they are too pushy - just leave. I am not finding that however.

Again, I am buying slightly used - not new.

Good luck!

[gidgetgh]

I would never, ever lease. Might as well just go to Hertz and rent a car. 

[Tabbycat]

Hi, I had to go to the chiropractor... bad back.

After reading your responses, I definitely now think it should be a midsize SUV with my old back. I noticed a couple of CRV's today. They are cute!

 A lot for us to mull over. Neither DH nor I drive a lot anymore, but it will have to be a vehicle he will be comfortable driving. He's not a car expert and it will be left up to me to do all the leg work  and get this conversation going. He needs a vehicle. I worry he will be left sitting along the road someday.

Our cars are old. His is '87 work truck and has seen it's days. He'll keep it for a farm truck.

Mine is a '95 Ford van bought new, but he's not comfortable driving it because it's too big. I'm keeping it for extra car because it only has 128,000 miles. I'll get nothing on a trade in and it's always been serviced and garage kept.

I think we will need to go to a dealership. Hubbs was out with a fellow retiree yesterday and he told him to stay away from the Toyota dealership close to us. They have a terrible reputation and the yelp reviews are horrible. We may have to rethink what model we want. Maybe a Honda... I'll have to talk to him and look on line for a dealership close by. Don't want to go to the next county for servicing.

Wow ... so many great suggestions! !

I think somebody mentioned the motors in the Honda are not good like they used to be. I need to go back to see who that was. TIA

[Mothertrucker]

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@Sooner wrote:

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@Mothertrucker wrote:

I like to buy used..Let someone else eat the depreciation..My current car I bought new, only because I my other car was totaled and I needed to move quickly..

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Yes.  There is some depreciation, BUT years down the road newer cars bring more if you sell or trade them in.  It pays off to check out the numbers on how a car will hold its value.  Run the numbers on how that model holds its value before you buy a car.  It can make a HUGE difference in what the residual value might be.

Also, driving a new car is worth something to some people.  

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True...new is exciting to some..I forget that, cause I drive a new car every day, LOL! Well, truck, anyways...

Residual value applies to leases....Generallyfor trade ins, most dealers use the “black book” these days... it is more “dealer driven”...and base trade in value on what they can buy a comparable car at the auction for..That said, some do hold their value very well, while other drivers are upside down till practically the end...Working with one now...owes $12K and vehicle is worth maybe $8K.

20 Years in the car business has shown me there are no absolutes, that is for sure!!!!!!

[VaBelle35]

I didn't want a new car because I get upset when my car gets scratched.  I thought I was mature enough to have a new car this time around, but it was scratched on the hood before I even made the first car payment.

[Mustang Shar]

I buy new because I’m single and cannot afford to break down somewhere. My current car was a dealer courtesy car with 4000 miles on it. I saved $15000.00-BMW my dream car

Buick has a good looking SUV Encore. Smaller than most

[AuntG]

The new vs. used decision is a tough one. Our last two vehicles were new, but a low mileage used car wouldn't bother me in the least. I like five passenger SUVs. Not those big gas guzzlers, but a sensible vehicle with no extra options.

[novamc1]

@VaBelle35

<<For me, I like to have my car repaired at the dealership.  I want manufacturer trained people fixing my car and using manufacturer made parts.  This is important to me.  I've gone the generic repair shop route with repair parts and it ended up costing me more in time and money and repeat repairs because they didn't know how to fix something the first time.  I don't have that issue with the dealership.  It's fixed, it's fixed right and it's fixed right the first time.>>

Agree completely.  I always had my relatively trouble-free 13-year-old Cadillac serviced at the dealership and the same with my 2007 Camry.

I don't trust other shops to have the expertise or the parts on hand to do the job quickly if repairs are needed.  Other non-dealer shops would at least have to order any parts that mght be needed, and this  just adds to time sitting in the repair shop.

I also like the idea of holding  the brand-name dealer accountable if something goes wrong.  Not sure this accountability would work so smoothly with a generic repair shop that worked on the car.

I will say, however, that the local Toyota dealership tried to  (scam) cost me several hundreds of dollars on an air-conditioning repair, when all the car needed was having me telling them that the A/C didn't cool as I drove it out of the dealership for that very same repair.  The  needed "repair" was some little tiny mechanism that was stopping cool-air flow.  It got fixed as soon as I drove back into the service lane and said "Hey this doesn't work!"

Customers in the service lane  always need to beware.  This is where many auto dealerships make most of their money.