Community Chat

[Hayfield]

We're going to be buying a new car soon, my DH never buys used.  He feels that since we keep the cars for years, he wants new.  We recently moved to NC, we retired and are in an apartment waiting for the house to be finished.  We sold our older car before we moved and it hasn't been a problem sharing the car but once we're in the house, we want two cars.  Whether you buy new or used, it's a completely personal and financial decision.  I've been told that it's stupid to buy a new car, you should look for a 2-3 year old car with low mileage.  DH dosen't care, we buy new.  Good luck!  

[151949]

@Tabbycat In 1982 I bought a brand new Honda Civic for $6900.I drove it for about 5 years - sold it to my DH's boss who drove it another 5 years or so then gave it to his teenage son. That kid still has it, though now he is about  40, and he uses it as his work car. It's definitly the best car I ever bought. I never should have sold it, but I was sick of driving a stick shift car around mountainous Pittsburgh, and really wanted a car with an auto matic transmission. It's 36 years old and still running.

[VaBelle35]

---

@novamc1 wrote:

@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.

---

@novamc1

This is true.  Dealership service can scam.  I had an Oldsmobile that I loved and took it to the Olds dealership and they were charging me for something that wasn't needed every time I had it serviced because I didn't know any better.

I know more now than I did back then.

[Tabbycat]

Update:

I had a talk with DH and he is open to a Honda. I did a little research and he really likes the looks and reviews of the CR-V. I have an appointment this morning up town and going to drive over there and take a look at them in person. He seems really stoked so I'm going to keep after him on it just to get one more thing of our check list as we age. He still insists on new. That's okay with me if that what he wants. It will be our last car. I'm a little stoked myself.

Remember all the way back when they had the Clunkers & Junkers thing? It's been that long since we have been trying to decide on a car!  Maybe at last it's coming to an end!

[151949]

@VaBelle35 I don't think dealership mechanics are "factory trained". They may or may not get a few inservices from the company. My first husband was a mechanic. He was put in apprenticeship at Rolls Royce as a 7 or 8 yr old child and stayed there til he was an adult. When he was done he was a certified Rolls Royce mechanic. He was one of a very few who were authorized to work on their cars. He always said almost every mechanic he ever worked with in the USA learned anything they knew in the military or at community college and really left a lot to be desired as mechanics, and he always worked for luxury car companies. 

[SeaMaiden]

When you buy used you really need to do your homework.... there are many flood damaged cars and the like on the market and you never know what you are really buying.  Thankfully you can trace the cars background pretty well now... but you still need to do your homework. 

 You can save a lot of money  buying a car that is a couple of years old..... and actually sometimes buying a new car  the ussue is that  you have no history of the car or any problems that may arise in the future..... 

 As far as the  actual car purchase/  and dealing with salesman .... you could go through say Costco if buying a new car and buy pass all the Salesman ploys and BS.  It is much faster and everything but you need to have done all the homework etc to really know what you want to buy.

DH and I went through this in 2016 when we bought a new Kia Sorroto.  The process took about 7 hours at the dealers..... JUST AWFUL.   

[Sooner]

We always take cars to the dealers, but we always drive newer cars and work is almost warranty work, and we feel lucky to be able to do that.  It wasn't always that way.

The dealership knows about the recalls and the issues with different models, has the parts, and will back up the service.  You also have someone to go back on with the company, and in larger areas a choice of dealerships. 

I guess we are fortunate where I live because I can say very good things about people who graduate from our state vo-tech schools.  They are well trained, hard workers and I am proud of them!  Many of them are employed by the dealerships.  I give a big thumbs up to the vo-tech grads and schools! 

[VaBelle35]

My last 3 Camrys, Carmax or the dealership actually lists the VIN number online.  I go to Toyota.com and register it as mine and I can see the repair history, if it was done at Toyota.

[VaBelle35]

If you are paying cash or financing on your own, you just bring the check with you and that makes it easy.

I financed mine through my credit union, so I had the check with me and it was quick and painless.

[VaBelle35]

I'm at the Toyota dealership right now, working on their wifi, they have a nice work area here (I hear some have manicure stations).

I need my 5000 mile maintenance and state inspection.  Because I bought the car from this dealership, I get free oil changes and tire rotations for 3 years and state inspections are free for the life of the car.

State inspection is only $16, but what the heck.  That's pizza night!