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jarjarbinksfan621 posted:considering to buy a 2000 nissan maxima with 240k miles and no current mechanical issues for $1500 as my first car. is that so many miles that i'm likely throwing money away? Auto or manual? What trim level? And how much driving will you be doing? I own and love that year of Maxima, but as great as the engine is, 240k is pushing it. You'll want to check its maintenance history for new cylinder coils and the suspension probably needs work if it hasn't gotten new struts recently. Also the starter might be ready to go, but they're not terrible to fix.
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Jun 3, 2015 08:57
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Larrymer posted:Oh I'm definitely putting the cart before the horse here. I haven't tried the seat but I have a feeling it will suck. It doesn't really have a middle seat in the back so it'll have to go behind the passenger seat. Wife rarely rides in the car with me (we take her car everywhere) so maybe it will be ok with it just moved really far forward. I just hear tons of people bitch about coupes and car seats and was trying to think ahead since there are about a billion other things to prepare for. My first instinct would be to check out the G35 sedan, if you like the coupe and just want a more accessible rear seat. You'll probably lose a little bit of "fun to drive" but it should be broadly similar?
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Jul 5, 2017 00:08
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One of the reasons American cars are cheap to fix in America is because the parts are already in America and American cars are very common in America, so lots of people know how to fix American cars in America. German cars are expensive to fix in America partly because the parts have to come from Germany and German cars are less common in America so fewer people know how to fix German cars in America. I suspect that German cars are cheaper to fix in Germany because the parts are already in Germany and German cars are very common in Germany, so lots of people know how to fix German cars in Germany. American cars are probably relatively more expensive to fix in Germany because the parts have to come from America and American cars are less common in Germany so fewer people know how to fix American cars in Germany. I might be crazy here.
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Jul 20, 2017 08:30
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teh_Broseph posted:Caught an itch there for a minute but instead of test driving a BRZ and Fiesta ST I'm reading through the long-term investing thread OP materials and just sticking with my well maintained 02 Maxima. More like BORING finance and careers a har-har. Gen-5-Maxima-That-Won't-Die fistbump! Mine's a 2000 and just keeps on going. I am tired of it but can't justify a new one when this one still runs so well. For funsies and extra BFC credit, go ahead and set up an automated draft of what your payment *would* have been and stick it in a high yield savings account (like Ally). You'll get used to your eventual budget for when you do buy the next car, but when you get to that point you'll have a big chunk of it saved already.
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Sep 7, 2018 04:40
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luminalflux posted:It can certainly feel that way in places with ridiculously short onramps and heavy traffic, like the 101 in LA around echo park / silverlake or the pasadena freeway. Those onramps were built between 1953 and 1955. A 1953 Corvette took 11 seconds to get to 60. A 2020 Mitsubishi Mirage (The slowest car available in the country right now according to 10 seconds of googling) can get to 60 in 12 seconds. For comparison, a 1959 Mini Cooper took 29+ seconds to get to 60. A 1954 Beetle 1200 took 35 seconds. I agree that a Prius feels really slow, but its 10.2 second 0-60 time would have been exhilarating when those ramps were built. No car sold new in America today is slow enough to be unsafe.
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Aug 31, 2020 17:55
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quarantinethepast posted:So for these cars on craigslist, would it be reasonable to have a mechanic look at it before I buy it? Assuming the current owner lets me do that. You should always have a trusted mechanic look over a car before you buy it (It's called a PPI), and it's a red flag if the seller doesn't want to let you. More experienced car buyers can tell you the details of getting one set up, but the PPI is a good and necessary thing to do.
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May 23, 2022 02:14
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A: Prius if they can find one and swing it. Corolla or Civic hybrid if not. The actual answer will be "whatever they can find in stock." B: Sit down with an amortization calculator and figure out how much you're actually saving with weird payment plans vs. paying the minimum for the life of the loan. In an era of rising interest rates it might not be worth it, and in the best case it probably won't be $1000. Getting gap insurance to cover a low down payment will probably work out better. C: No loan from a reputable place will penalize you for paying extra, and no one should accept a loan under those terms. Dealer financing will ask you not to pay it off in the first 6 months, but that also isn't a requirement. If they want to pay some extra early to get above water and drop gap coverage, I wouldn't blame them, but again it's probably a lot of sacrifice for not much gain.
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Aug 29, 2022 05:04
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KillHour posted:I refuse to spend 200k on a car with a black interior.  but for other reasons.
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Sep 2, 2023 10:15
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I guess it's about time for cars with worn out carbon-ceramic brakes to be hitting the market, huh. That's going to be the source of many, many "this cheap exotic car ruined my life" stories.
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Sep 19, 2023 07:09
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I think it's important to note that I, too, am always correct about how other people drive and if their experience differs from what I state, it's their problem for not being as skilled or knowledgeable as I am, or possibly because they own the wrong vehicle.
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Dec 17, 2023 21:31
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DTaeKim posted:Thanks for the input. Am I right in assuming he doesn't need a hybrid car? He probably doesn't need one, but he'll need to do the math. Hybrids help more with stop and go driving than they do on freeways, but it still could make sense if the hybrid premium isn't too much.
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Feb 10, 2024 03:10
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Car manufacturers are starting to put cats in harder-to-steal places, but of course that's going to be limited in effectiveness. Searching for "(car model) catalytic converter shield" will let you know if it's a common enough problem for people to spend engineering time on a solution.
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May 2, 2024 20:46
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Going to a Carvana/CarMax and just sitting in various cars to get a feel for what you like and dislike is a great plan in your current situation. Lurk Facebook Autos and Craigslist so you can start to notice patterns and get a feel for what's normal, what isn't, and who you can ignore. If you haven't shopped around for auto loans yet, talk to a local credit union about it. There's not a generic "preapproval letter" you can get for car loans like you get for mortgages, but you can talk about age/make/model/mileage and see what terms they would offer, and have a better idea of what your payment would be like. Make sure your credit's clean and you have payment history. When you're closer to pulling the trigger (i.e. have a sense of your budget, requirements, specific likes and dislikes), you can start seriously learning about and looking for the cars you like. Look for forums or subreddits for the models you like and read about common problems to look for. If you're really lucky you can find local recommendations for mechanics. Speaking of, find a mechanic you trust who will do your Pre-Purchase Inspection (PPI). Know what their process is, so you know when to get them involved.
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May 3, 2024 21:19
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