Buying A Car
 

I've decided to buy a new car within the next few months. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO OR WHERE TO START!!!!! To be honest, my parents have bought every car I've had (meaning, when I needed one, they went and got one, I didn't care what kind. They Set up the sale, I went to the dealer and paid). I've only had piece of shit cars (but they were MY pieces of shit). So, now, I want a new one. What kind? I HAVE NO IDEA! I don't even know what kind I want!?!?!?! THIS IS SCARY! I've only owned Ford Tauruses. Where the hell do I begin????

Hmmm some things to look for:


1. a dealership. I would ask around to see where friends/relatives have bought cars and ask what their experience was like (i.e. were the sales-people nice? was it a low-pressure atmosphere?)

2. type of vehicle. Do you want an SUV? A small car? A midsize car? A minivan? (<- ok i was just kidding with that one :P )

3. Features you absolutely MUST have. (includes gas milage if you are on the road a lot)

4. Know what price range you want. Also check out some specials.. a lot of dealerships have clearance specials this time of the year.

Get a SUV! It doesn't matter what type...as long as you get one. The bigger the better, you can be the queen of the road. :D j/k

Get a 2003 Corolla. Get a 4 way cd player. Make a friend that's a car salesman.

congrats!
I'm in the process of buying my first car. It's used (1997 Nissan 200SX) but it's fun.

Thankfully it seems that new cars are a bit easier to buy. You figure out what kind you want, then you just go around and get the best prices. Used you have to take them to the mechanic, and it's hard to find what you want, it's a wild goosechase.

Can't really offer you too much advice except - DO YOUR HOMEWORK! There are so many great websites out there to help

Not sure if you want a new or used car but..........

There's this place called Carmax, they're all over the country and you might have one by you. They get a lot of cars that were company cars or leased, and they're really really really thorough when it comes to inspecting them. You can't haggle there, either.

Or, Toyota has a really good used program at their dealerships. They certify each used car they sell and they're guaranteed- bought my first car in Aug. from them- 99 blue Solara- and its gorgeous, i couldn't be happier! Whatever you do just make sure you shop around and take someone with you who knows a lot about cars so that they can check it out when you take it for a drive.......orrrrrrrr, if you're buying a used one being sold by an owner, take it to your mechanic that you trust. They'll be honest w/you and tell you if it's worth it.

I was in your same position about a year ago. My best advise is to shop online and get bids on the cars you want and then find the car at a dealership by you and negotiate the price you got online. Here is a great website that walks you through the process. I thought it was the most helpful site b/c it has links to all the others and also walks you through the basics of the negotiation process.

Whoever mentioned carmax is also right on the money. I sold them my old car and they gave me about $1000 more on my old car than people were offering me on a trade-in (I didn't have time to sell my car).

Good luck and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

LD

Here's a question: has anyone ever heard of someone buying a car from a rental company? Hertz has some great used cars, but would that be a bad idea?

I had a friend that used to work at one of those things. Don't buy them there, they treat them like crap! If you do end up buying one you'd be smart to pay a mechanic to look it over.

Congrats on the idea to purchase a new car! I bought mine last January...so here's my advice. Definately do your homework. When you walk into the dealership, whether new or used, have an idea of what type of car you want. Know how much you are willing to spend. Know what type of features you want the car to have and find out before hand if they are INCLUDED in the original price of the car. Before you go into the dealership, check out their website. Most websites allow you to build the car you want online so you can see what it will look like and know an estimate of the cost.

Advice while in the dealership....if you know nothing about cars, make sure you take someone with you who does. You know that the dealers can tell when you are clueless, and they will try to persuade you to add on features that you really don't need. Oh yeah, and the person that does know about cars also can help you nogotiate the price. When I bought my car, I did all the talking with the dealer about what I wanted and didn't want--my dad did the nogotiating thing with the finance guy (worked out really well too, cause i got lots of extra accessories for free AND i got the car for LESS than the sticker price :D ). Anyway, that's just my $0.02. Good luck and don't forget to do your homework!

Congrats
 

Hey! Congrats on a new car! My best advice is : DO YOUR RESEARCH!!! If you walk into a dealership and do not know what you want or what style of car does what they will eat you alive. Dealers just want to sell you a car! They don't care that the transmission is on re-call. Get on some www.honda.com, www.chevy.com and check out all the little things. Mileage is important. The type of engine is important.

I'm definitly a car person. I just got a 2002 Z28 since they getting rid of them for a while. I"m a Chevy girl anyway, not a Ford girl. But I"ll be up for any questions you have.

Good luck!


Jen

I just bought my first car in June, a used 99 Saturn. It was a pleasant experience--I went with Mile One used cars. They gave me a great deal, and they cover parts and labor for the first year you own the car.

I definitely reccomend test-driving a lot of different cars, and to know what you want. Don't let yourself get talked into more than you want to spend, or something you don't want to drive. SUVs and pickups eat gas--remember that a lot of the money you spend will be justified by the gas milage, especially with the way the world seems to be turning these days. I also reccomend going to one of the more expensive dealers and driving a nice car, just to know the feel of a good engine. It makes comparisons easier.

Good luck! Hope you pick out a beauty.

~Emma

Read reviews, but be careful - some of the auto reviews are written by people who want to stay on the good side of auto manufacturers, and therefore, they tend to gloss over some of the drawbacks of the car.

If you're going to buy a new car, go to an auto show. Most auto shows are scheduled for late winter/early spring. It'll give you a great chance to look at a lot of cars in one place.

Go to Consumerreports.org and pay for a one-month membership (I think it's something like $5/month). Use your membership to read their auto reports. It was very helpful in helping hubby & me narrow down our choices. (Alternately, if you don't want to pay the $5/month, go to the reference desk at your local library and ask them for a copy of the Consumer Reports Auto Guide.)

Edmonds.com is also a great resource -- especially the message boards there. Car owners are not shy about expressing their likes and dislikes on the boards there!

And lastly, if you can find one, see if you can find an online message board created by owners of your particular make and model. Those have been invaluable to us as well.

Good luck! :cool:

Here's some advice:

--Consult the Consumer Reports Buying Guide that they put out every year(you should be able to find these in a good library). They do full reports on ALL cars, including reliability, performace, comfort, etc etc. They give advice on good cars to buy as well as what cars to avoid.

Based on my own experiences, from reading these guides, as well as knowing friends with new(er) cars, here's my advice:

--Great cars: Toyota, Volkswagen, Subaru are all VERY good cars. I drive an older Subaru that runs great, gets really good milage, is very comfortable, and has needed few repairs. I've heard newer Subarus are even better! VW's are also very reliable cars(though some of the New Beetles have had problems), especially Golfs or Jettas.

--AVOID THESE CARS: Ford Mustang; one of my SAI sisters owned a 2001 Mustang and it was a piece of crap...it broke down on her constantly, didn't get good milage, and just all around was a lemon. Chevy Caveliers(some years) have had a lot of problems, as well as some Fords.

Hope this helps at least a little. Good luck, and keep us posted! :)

I can second the Mustang claim....
I love the way they look and wanted one for the longest time. But one of my sisters have one and she had to buy 4 before she got one that worked!
Her 1st one- you had to hit the dashboard if you wanted to honk the horn,
2nd time- to start the car you had to do it twice, etc.
They're so fun to drive but from what I can tell, many have problems.

Another thing about mustangs, don't purchase one if it snows/sleet/freezing rains in your area. Mustangs are TERRIBLE in bad weather.

Just to second sairose- Subarus are EXCELLENT cars to buy, and they REALLY retain their value. My mom's 4 year old Impreza is worth probably around $10K still, and it wasn't an expensive car to begin with. VW also hold their value well, at least jetta's do (i wanted a jetta, they were all out of my price range).

Go to this site and read what they have to say. www.carbuyingtips.com.

Have your loan already in hand and if their interest rate is better that yours use the car dealers.

Bringing this thread to the top. . .
 

I KNEW I could count on GreekChat to help me in my time of need! All I had to do was perform a search!

I think I'm being faced with having to buy another car. Oil light came on yesterday (and hubby had just changed the oil about 2 weeks ago) and yesterday afternoon he picks the car up to check it out, but before going home, he stops to put gas in it. He calls me from the gas station and says "It died." I'm asking what died and he's telling me that my car died.

Long story short, we get it towed, and the mechanic couldn't open up the engine - it was locked up. So they're dropping the oil pan to see if they can see into the engine. If we have to get another one, it'll be between $3,500 and $5,000 (like we have that under our mattress!). It's not worth it. My car is a '96 Ford Taurus with 175,000+ miles. I really would like a good used Honda accord or an Explorer.

This thread gave some good advice, hence the reason I brought it back TTT just in case anyone else is planning to purchase a vehicle.

btb87

DON't get an explorer. My parents have had 2 now and they both had the same propblem. The service department at the dealership keeps telling them that this problem is common in explorers. Their transmission went..OR so they thought. They had it replaced and since then the sensor light has gone on about 20 times. Everytime it goes on they have to take it to the dealership to have it reset or some other problem fixed. Luckily it is all under warranty but they won't drive it anywhere because the light always turns on. Once the light is on the has problems shifting through the gears. PAIN IN THE ASS!!

We live in California and my parents are on a trip back east. They drove their 93 Honda Accord that when they left had 207, 000 miles and was running strong. They are on their way back home and have yet to have any problems. AMAZING little car!!

Thanks for the tip. I think I'm gonna get my husband's car (which I don't want, but beggars can't be choosers) and he's going to get a truck, which he was looking at over 2 weeks ago anyway, so it's probably worked out.

Speaking of your parents' Accord, they'll probably have it for quite a while. I traded my Accord for the Taurus that I know is now out of commission - when we traded it, it had 314K miles! How's that for quality?? :)

Wow that is amazing also. We had bets as to how far they would make it before they broke down. I can't believe that they made it all the way across the US and back with out a single problem. I know they will drive that car until they can't anymore.

Re: Buying A Car
 

Buying a car can be scary, but my husband and I have gone through Edmunds.com . Once you know what you want to buy, Edmunds will give you the dealer's cost and the average buying cost of each car. This gives you alot of bargaining chips in your corner. I've never bought a car for more than $300 over cost since finding this site!

There's also info on whether the dealer gets a kickback and if there are any rebates to help you out...you can also check online to specific dealers to see if they're willing to provide email quick quotes. You print out the quick quote and bring it to the offering dealer. They "have" to sell you the car at that price for the time slated on the email! Settles any bargaining needed!

Good luck!

Funny, I started this thread, what, close to 2 years ago and I still haven't bought one!!!! Now, the "Check Engine" light comes on, it over heats daily, and the transmission is slipping....

What could all of this mean???

BUY A NEW CAR, SIGMAGRRL!!! GEEZ!!!

LOL...

Another vote for Subarus! Within my family, we have had 12 of them - one as long as 11 years! We're toying with taking a photo of all of the current Subarus with all of the current owners - maybe they'd give us a free oil change or something!

One tip I've always tried to stick to is remembering that the dealership does need to make a profit, but it shouldn't be more than $500-$1,000. I've played two dealers against each other (don't we all?) and the most I've been able to save off of the sticker price is $5,100.

I bought a brand new Hyundai Elantra a few months ago, and I LOVE it!!! Hyundais from a few years ago were (evidentally) pieces of crap, but the ones now are really good, and they have a GREAT warrantee.

My husband bought a '97 Mustang through Carmax. He really enjoyed the car-buying experience through them. They have really high standards about the cars they sell. I would definately check them out.

Good luck with the shopping!