Buying A Car

[sigmagrrl]

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????

[texas*princess]

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.

[Dionysus]

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. j/k

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

[kddani]

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

[AXJules]

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.

[bruinaphi]

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

[sigmagrrl]

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?

[Kevin]

Originally posted by sigmagrrl
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.

[Jadey28]

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 ). Anyway, that's just my $0.02. Good luck and don't forget to do your homework!

[UKDaisy]

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

[Winterbloom]

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

[Sistermadly]

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!

[sairose]

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!

[AXJules]

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.

[Dionysus]

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