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I don't know if there's one that's usually superior, and if there is it might vary by credit rating. I know my conservative credit union's best offer was 2.9%APR, the dealers' bank pool's best offer without manufacturer incentives was 1.9%. Otherwise they were all more or less the same simple interest loans. If you're the type who has trouble doing math with someone babbling at you or trying to do it for you, or can't think with adrenaline going, or are otherwise human, do your own payment math and planning before you go into the dealership. Find an independent auto loan calculator online and work it out for different scenarios if you're not sure what sort of APR you'd be facing. Write the poo poo down and bring it with you, don't let anyone pull a shell game with you using loan durations and little monthly payment nudges. With very low APRs it's conceivable a buyer would have zero intention of paying any sooner than necessary, and would choose to invest any surplus cash rather than throw it at the car loan, but personally I want the freedom to knock the loan out earlier if windfall comes my way or my finances improve. If you feel the same way or aren't sure: -Avoid loans with overt early repayment penalties. -Be aware of the minimum finance charge; this protects them from wasting time and effort on a client who pays the loan off right away, but if it's too high it might ruin the benefits of an early repayment on your part. Click my post history I think I wrote up more detail on those earlier. -Likewise make sure the interest is not pre-calculated and added to the loan up front; rather you want a "simple interest loan" where the interest is based on the balance as you go. Something Honda did with my wife's loan that sorta annoyed me, and in hindsight I should've niggled over: their "1.9%" loan became a "1.99%" loan during the approval process.
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Feb 20, 2015 18:59
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Radio Talmudist posted:Do you guys have any tips/advice/warnings about financing & car loans? Really depends, the dealers financing department can offer reduced rates that are sub-sized by the manufacturers but if you are not getting one of those special offers it is varies.
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Feb 20, 2015 19:00
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Radio Talmudist posted:Do you guys have any tips/advice/warnings about financing & car loans? do you have decent credit? I tried buying a car with no credit and the dealer flat-out refused to provide financing (the sales guy was amazed that I didn't have student loans and/or mortgage) and the credit union wanted 11%+ or some poo poo, but I was able to get 5% from the bank where I've had direct deposit from a steady job for the past 6 years.
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Feb 21, 2015 01:47
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Fun driving cars. Is it worth getting a mazdaspeed 3 over a mazda 3? Seems like way worse gas mileage. I'm looking to change cars and am debating between the utility of a truck or the sensibility/fun driving of a hatchback manual.
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Feb 21, 2015 03:26
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nwin posted:Fun driving cars. Is it worth getting a mazdaspeed 3 over a mazda 3? Seems like way worse gas mileage. Read through this thread if you want in-depth details. In a nutshell, the Mazdaspeed3 is a shitload of fun, but you will pay for it. Not just gas, but also tires and random bullshit that breaks that is MS3-specific.
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Feb 21, 2015 04:50
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Listerine posted:I've moved the dealer from MSRP down to $22,633 for a 2015 Prius Two. I'm going to see if I can move that further, but does that sound like a terrible price? From what I've seen in some places that's below average for this car but I'm not sure if that's true. I bought one back in July for $21k flat before fees and taxes. This was in San Diego, not sure if that matters. I emailed like 10 dealers and played them off each other until I got that price.
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Feb 21, 2015 08:18
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Apparently Prius sales dropped off a cliff in the last quarter, they're still the market leader by a W-I-D-E margin, but a 12% drop is still a 12% drop and I would imagine Toyota's got a lot of backed up inventory right now that they want to move. Thank you sub-$2 per gallon gas prices http://quikdocs.com/news/honda-accord-popularity-dropping-because-of-quirky-toyota-prius/10011529/ "The sales of the Prius slumped nationwide by around 11.5%." http://time.com/money/3654905/toyota-prius-hybrids-sales-decline/ "only a quick line stating “we sold more than 200,000 Prius for the third consecutive year.”...Understandably, Toyota is trying to accentuate the positive in 2014 sales, so let’s turn to the auto resource site WardsAuto, which states explicitly that the Prius’s 207,372 units sold represents a 11.5% decrease from 2013. USA Today recently called on another sales data source to report that through the first 11 months of 2014, Prius sales were down nearly 16% compared with the prior year." If ever there was a time to negotiate down on price on a Prius, in particular, this is the time I would imagine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_electric_vehicles_in_the_United_States 
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Feb 21, 2015 09:55
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chupacabraTERROR posted:I bought one back in July for $21k flat before fees and taxes. This was in San Diego, not sure if that matters. I emailed like 10 dealers and played them off each other until I got that price. Yeah I tried that route, I had one dealer all but tell me to go gently caress myself when I tried to get him lower than my current offer. He countered with 60 bucks less. I'm up in LA. What's the consensus on paying to extend the bumper to bumper warranty beyond the first 3 years?
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Feb 21, 2015 11:35
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Crossposting from the Volvo thread where I hope to get insider specifics, but what's the AI hive think of the S60R? I have a chance to pick up a trade in at my shop for next to nothing. It needs some mechanical work (tie rod, exhaust, air filter box broken), but aside from a cracked front lip it seems good. If I assume $1500 all-in to get road worthy, is it a good car to own and maintain for a year or two? Car in question is a 2005 with 166,000km.
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Feb 21, 2015 14:49
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mr.belowaverage posted:Crossposting from the Volvo thread where I hope to get insider specifics, but what's the AI hive think of the S60R? I have a chance to pick up a trade in at my shop for next to nothing. It needs some mechanical work (tie rod, exhaust, air filter box broken), but aside from a cracked front lip it seems good. If I assume $1500 all-in to get road worthy, is it a good car to own and maintain for a year or two? The AWD components on those are garbage. Haldex control units and the rear diffs blow up all the time. You should probably budget a couple more thousand at least to take care of those items.
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Feb 21, 2015 15:05
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Radio Talmudist posted:Proposed Budget: 5-10k Hey remember the thing about no rentals? No rentals.
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Feb 21, 2015 17:55
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mr.belowaverage posted:Crossposting from the Volvo thread where I hope to get insider specifics, but what's the AI hive think of the S60R? I have a chance to pick up a trade in at my shop for next to nothing. It needs some mechanical work (tie rod, exhaust, air filter box broken), but aside from a cracked front lip it seems good. If I assume $1500 all-in to get road worthy, is it a good car to own and maintain for a year or two? When I asked about the V70R, consensus is that you should plan to plow at least $2K parts and labor in on an annual basis.
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Feb 21, 2015 17:55
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:When I asked about the V70R, consensus is that you should plan to plow at least $2K parts and labor in on an annual basis. I recently looked into the reliability of the euro premium brands (truedelta, CR, etc) and was surprised to find that Volvo scored pretty poorly for recent reliability. I am used to the 200 and 700 series being nigh unstoppable (with electrical gremlins being annoying in the 700s but drivetrain bulletproof). Even weirder was MB coming out pretty good, I thought they would be the worst for some reason (hello Range Rover). Does that sound reasonable? Thinking I may look at some MB wagons (b class  ).
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Feb 21, 2015 18:09
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So what was the consensus re: milage for a prius? I found one that has around 140k for like 7 thousand bucks. It should last quite a while with maintenance, right? EDIT: Assuming it's in an overall good condition and is not a steaming pile of poo poo Also given its hybrid engine are there any idiosyncries re: maintenance? I assume I still change its oil? Also, are those tiny wheels expensive to replace? Radio Talmudist fucked around with this message at 19:16 on Feb 21, 2015 |
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Feb 21, 2015 19:03
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Alright let's try this again: Proposed Budget: less than 22,000 New or Used: used Body Style: (e.g. 2 door? 4 door? Compact/Midsize/Fullsize Sedan? Truck? SUV?) 2 door or 4 door. I'd like smaller car than a fullsize one, but am open to either. How will you be using the car?: (Do you tow things? Haul more than 5 people on a regular basis? Have a super long commute? How are you going to use this vehicle? Do you prefer a luxury vehicle with all the gizmos?) Work commuting for 95% of it What aspects are most important to you? (e.g. reliability, cost of ownership/maintenance, import/domestic, MPG, size, style) Reliability, fun to drive, comfort, MPG I'm quickly getting away from getting a truck, because the MPG really scares me off (14/19 is what I'm seeing common place for most 4WD trucks I'm interested in. I want at least 20mpg). So I'm considering the following cars: Mazda3 or MS3, BMW 3 series, Infiniti G series. I want something that's going to be sporty enough to drive, but will perform ok with the snow and myriad of potholes I'm currently experiencing in Boston. I drive an Accord right now and that thing is beyond boring. edit: I should add that I like to try and do my own general maintenance like oil changes/brakes/etc. If that's not possible with any of these choices, please let me know. edit2: leaning towards this: https://usaa.zagusedcars.com/car/Infiniti-G-2011/JN1CV6AR0BM350676 as a possibility. Though I'm not sure I would necessarily need AWD if I'm buying winter tires, I suppose it couldn't hurt. nwin fucked around with this message at 03:08 on Feb 22, 2015 |
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Feb 21, 2015 19:10
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Listerine posted:Yeah I tried that route, I had one dealer all but tell me to go gently caress myself when I tried to get him lower than my current offer. He countered with 60 bucks less. I'm up in LA. I bought it at Mossy Toyota in SD, I wonder if I referred you to them they'd give you the same deal? I have the email of the guy who made the deal, along with the original email showing the $21k flat offer. I can try to hook you up with him. Also SD has lower sales tax than LA  PM me if you're interested in this, I'd be happy to help you out.
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Feb 21, 2015 19:56
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nwin posted:So I'm considering the following cars: Mazda3 or MS3, BMW 3 series, Infiniti G series. I want something that's going to be sporty enough to drive, but will perform ok with the snow and myriad of potholes I'm currently experiencing in Boston. I drive an Accord right now and that thing is beyond boring. 16" wheels and snow tires will make just about any modern car able to handle winter just fine. Save an extra $800 for wheels and snow tires you can be happy with any of those choices.
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Feb 22, 2015 01:55
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Hi all, me and my fiance are kind of in the market for a new car. Or trying to figure out if we should just dump lots of money into fixing up her car. Our current car situation: 2005 Toyota Corolla CE. No major issues, sees daily use. It's old and has lots of dings and dents, and the lack of quality of life stuff (hand crank windows, broken AC) are getting to me. My fiance hates this car, it's way too big for her, especially when parallel parking in Seattle. We'll likely keep this as a backup car and for the rare times that we both need a car and can't drop each other off for something. 1996 Honda Civic Del Sol. Has been completely out of commission since December. Before that, had a long list of things wrong. As I type this her uncle is working on getting it running enough for us to get it out of our garage and to either a real mechanic to get it fixed up, or use as a trade in for a new car. Proposed Budget: $30k New or Used: New Body Style: (e.g. 2 door? 4 door? Compact/Midsize/Fullsize Sedan? Truck? SUV?) Small and sporty. I prefer 4 doors, she prefers 2 doors. How will you be using the car?: City driving, short commute. I have a 10 mile commute, but I usually take the bus. She is a freelance designer, and uses the car more than me to go visit her clients. The car is mostly for 3-5 hour road trips to Portland / Vancouver, and groceries. What aspects are most important to you? Me: Reliability, and automatic. I have a 2005 Corolla that I've done minimal maintenance on, and it's wonderful. I want a new car I can get at least 10 years out of without worrying, if not 15-20. Her: Sporty and small. She likes manual cars a lot. She hates how big my corolla is, especially when parallel parking. 3. If you do not live in the U.S. you should probably say so because what's available can vary a lot. I'm in Seattle, WA in the US. She likes her Civic Del Sol a lot. It's a small car, it's sporty, and she likes driving stick. She would be willing to try out one of those cars that has fake manual, I think my brother has a Subaru that can switch between automatic and paddle shifters. There doesn't really seem to be anything modern like the Civic Del Sol: A reliable car combined with something really tiny and sporty. This makes me wonder if I should just start dumping cash into fixing it up completely instead of buying a new car. If I look at is as $500 a month for a new car or $500 a month in upgrades and fixes, will the Civic Del Sol end up somewhere after 5 years that I can expect at least another 5 years out of it? I would want 10 years out of a new car. Right now the Volkswagen GTI seems like a good frontrunner choice. Volkswagens seem to be pretty reliable, which hits my biggest concern, and the GTI is small and sporty, which I think will make her happy. I'm checking for anything I might have missed here. I haven't done a ton of car shopping. When I bough the Corolla I was single and right out of college so I just wanted a car I could afford that was extremely reliable.
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Feb 22, 2015 04:01
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Chainclaw posted:Hi all, me and my fiance are kind of in the market for a new car. Or trying to figure out if we should just dump lots of money into fixing up her car. If you want no maintenance and reliability a GTI is not your car. Its also probably around the same size as your corolla. Buy a Miata. If you are OK with VW reliability then maybe a 500 Abarth.
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Feb 22, 2015 04:24
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But the GTI is a bigger car than your Corolla which you deem to be far too large?  You can get a 2 year old Ford Focus hatch for like $9k, it's about the same size as a Corolla, will have electric windows and AC and drives OK and is 100x more safe in a crash than either of your old cars. But then what are you going to do with the $21k leftover in your budget? I mean you could go even smaller and go with a Fiesta or a Kia Rio, but at that point you're not really saving much money vs utility. Alternatively spend a few grand more on a Fiesta ST and nicely ask your girlfriend to teach you how to drive a loving stick shift you big babby.
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Feb 22, 2015 04:26
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Chainclaw posted:
Also, probably not actually muc smaller than your corolla, they're in the same size segment. Sporty, small, reliable, and automatic is going to be tough The fiat 500 is a reliability nightmare The mazda 2 is fun to drive bit slow and the automatic sucks the fun out of iy. The versa sucks. Minis are amazingly unreliable. The fit may be up your alley, but the current gen is less fun to drive than the last. The yaris is boring as hell. The fiesta st has unknown reliability and is manual only. If you really want something gti (and corolla) sized, maybe a mazda 3? All of these will leave you a lot of change.
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Feb 22, 2015 04:33
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I just can't come to grips with someone who thinks a Corolla is "way" too large.
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Feb 22, 2015 04:41
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Maybe it's more that the Civic Del Sol just has a far tighter turn radius than my Corolla? She complains about parking my car all the time. I do know her car is much smaller than mine, my head sticks out the top of her Civic Del Sol unless I slouch. I guess I'm also pretty clueless on cars, you guys are even coming either farther down in price than my point, I thought I was being super cheap with that price, especially considering the car we actually want, the Tesla, is something like $70k. I also thought VWs were reliable, with how many super old ones you see around all the time. Any good resources for learning enough about cars to actually help me make a decision on buying one? From your guys responses I already know I'm a complete moron on this subject. edit: Also there's a DeLorean dealership near me, but I have the feeling you guys would laugh me out of here even worse if I seriously considered one of those. edit2: The parts I had ordered off eBay for the del sol aren't even near the correct size for the car, either. I feel like I am to cars what my parents are to computers. Chainclaw fucked around with this message at 05:06 on Feb 22, 2015 |
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Feb 22, 2015 04:53
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Well to be fair the GTI is brand new for this year, so strictly speaking none of us can really say how reliable it will be 5 years down the road. Who knows, maybe this generation will be the reliable one and they've just spent the last 4 generations perfecting their craft? The odds aren't good though.
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Feb 22, 2015 05:11
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Are VW's reliable now? The 1994-2005 era was pretty miserable, a genocide of power window unit deaths on a scale not known before or since. I had a 96' Jetta with 120,000 miles on the clock, and it seemed like every other week another piece of the interior would crack in an uncomfortable way that would likely cut you, or fall off, or the cooling system would blow up, I've never had such a maintenance nightmare car. I've only hated one car and it was that loving VW. Apparently that lasted until at least 2004 but I haven't sat in a VW in a long time. My BMW from the same era with 160,000 miles looks brand new by comparison.
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Feb 22, 2015 05:41
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Hadlock posted:Are VW's reliable now? Maybe the 2.5Ls.
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Feb 22, 2015 05:43
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So, I'm getting cold feet on a brand new 2015 Honda Fit. It's just so much money  I found a 2008 Honda Fit (automatic because being able to loan my car to others is a key feature for me) for just under $11k, with 72k miles. Its at a dealership but not certified preowned. I'm tempted because it's close to half the price of the new car, but also much older and clearly has some miles on it. I am having a hard time balancing wants vs needs here. But I mean... I'm also upgrading from a 99 Honda Civic. So I can't really say "wow that's a crappy car" or anything. Thoughts?
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Feb 22, 2015 05:55
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Mocking Bird posted:So, I'm getting cold feet on a brand new 2015 Honda Fit. It's just so much money How much are you paying for the 2015 Fit? They hold their value crazy well, it's a new car I wouldn't have a problem buying.
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Feb 22, 2015 06:01
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Bovril Delight posted:How much are you paying for the 2015 Fit? They hold their value crazy well, it's a new car I wouldn't have a problem buying. 17-19k depending on model. Most of the dealers have them listed at 19-22k  I think it's more psychological than anything. I am aiming to spend only 50% of my net income every month, and a 2 to 3 year loan for 18k (minus my 3k downpayment) puts me well above that... But maybe that's worth it for a new, reliable car with known history? I AM SO TORN, GUYS. Mocking Bird fucked around with this message at 07:18 on Feb 22, 2015 |
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Feb 22, 2015 07:09
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Mocking Bird posted:So, I'm getting cold feet on a brand new 2015 Honda Fit. It's just so much money A 2008 Honda fit isn't going to need a warranty barring massive unluckiness. Even then, anything that goes wrong, including an entire drivetrain replacement (engine and transmission) will cost less than the price difference between new and used. Given your budget issues, get the used fit.
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Feb 22, 2015 07:19
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A local place has a 2000 Ford Ranger listed for $4000 with < 100,000 miles and a clean Carfax. Is that truck reliable? My lease is expiring and I want to either pay cash for a beater or start taking the bus.
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Feb 22, 2015 16:58
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In general, yes. Random poo poo will break but parts are cheap and labor is easy.
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Feb 22, 2015 17:05
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Thanks! I actually just noticed it's only 2-wheel drive (RWD) so I'll pass on it.
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Feb 22, 2015 17:30
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So I just got in a wreck today. Guy ran a red light, and my 2008 Audi A4 is definitely totaled. Would love some thoughts on what to get because I was planning to keep my car until it died, so I haven't been paying attention to car happenings. Proposed Budget: $15-35k. Yeah that's a huge range, but I don't know how much I'm going to get from the insurance company. I owned the car free and clear. Also, my current job ends in September and I'm looking for a new one. My income is currently 75k; new job will pay between 115 (government) and 160 (private sector) New or Used: strongly prefer 1-3 years old. Body Style: sedan or hatchback How will you be using the car? Driving to work and the golf course Do you prefer a luxury vehicle? Yes, but I hate debt more than I like fancy badges. What aspects are most important to you? MPG and reliability. I hate infotainment/navigation systems. I'm fine with an iPod input and a nice sound system (easy enough to do after market) Based on my one hour of research so far, I'm leaning towards the ATS or the 328d. I'm also considering doing a short term lease for something to tide me over until I get my next job. Any thoughts?
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Feb 22, 2015 22:07
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Is your future job prospects certain or no? If not, I would get something reasonably cheap to hold you over. Infotainment has infested anything over like $25k (new). Also, aftermarket stereos are away harder to install on modern cars, but they are basically unnecessary too. How much do you drive? A 328d is going to need a lot of miles per year to make it worth it. If you want something reliable and don't care that much for power, a couple years old IS250 will fit the bill pretty well. Similarly, a G37 will do the same with more power (and money and fuel consumption).
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Feb 22, 2015 23:07
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nm posted:Is your future job prospects certain or no? I'm a lawyer, so no job is certain (as you well know nm haha). But seriously, I'm finishing up a district court clerkship and have multiple fed gov and private interviews set up. I drive a pretty good amount. I put about 45k miles on my car in 4.5 years. My family lives in Florida, I live in georgia, and it's not unusual for me to drive 20 miles to get to a golf course on the weekend.
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Feb 22, 2015 23:36
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That's 10k mi per year. I wouldn't bother with a diesel. Lots of miles would be 20k mi+ per year. I'd wait to see how much you get for the car. I suspect you won't get as much for a 7 year old A4 as you think. Honestly, I would shoot near the bottom of your price range because having cash on hand, or less debt means you have more flexibility to quit your lovely lawyer job when you want to shoot yourself. This means if I was married to a lux brand, I'd go for something Japanese. Anything is going to be a bit older and quite frankly the Germans don't really do long term reliability. The G37 is going to have a lot of deprecation, though i think the hidden gem is the Infiniti M35/7 as they are very well built, very reliable and very comfortable. That said, I would look at non-lux brands. You're gonna get a lot more bang for your buck. The higher trim accords are very nice, for example.
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Feb 22, 2015 23:44
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Yeah accords are definitely on my radar. I'm not expecting to get a bunch for my car, so we'll see how much I get from that. Infiniti M is almost certainly more than I want to spend. I'll probably focus on Hyundai and Accords before other stuff. I'm debt-free, so taking on $10k to help buy a car wouldn't destroy me, but I'm going to try to avoid taking on any debt unless I totally fall in love with something.
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Feb 23, 2015 00:22
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Chainclaw posted:She likes her Civic Del Sol a lot. It's a small car, it's sporty, and she likes driving stick. She would be willing to try out one of those cars that has fake manual, I think my brother has a Subaru that can switch between automatic and paddle shifters. There doesn't really seem to be anything modern like the Civic Del Sol: A reliable car combined with something really tiny and sporty. This makes me wonder if I should just start dumping cash into fixing it up completely instead of buying a new car. If I look at is as $500 a month for a new car or $500 a month in upgrades and fixes, will the Civic Del Sol end up somewhere after 5 years that I can expect at least another 5 years out of it? I would want 10 years out of a new car. Scion FRS or Subaru BRZ fit the small, sporty and reliable. They have stick and automatic CVT options. Scion TC are a little more practical and bigger. You could also give a Ford Fiesta ST a look.
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Feb 23, 2015 06:24
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Calidus posted:Scion FRS or Subaru BRZ fit the small, sporty and reliable. They have stick and automatic CVT options. Scion TC are a little more practical and bigger. You could also give a Ford Fiesta ST a look. The FRS/BRZ has had a bunch of issues, though I suspect a lot are first year issues. The TC is not a sporty car, but a corolla coupe. Bland snoozemobile. The Fiesta ST is awesome, but I don't think the track record establishes them as reliable or unreliable -- it is also manual only.
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Feb 23, 2015 06:43
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