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LeeMajors posted:I just know some of the Camrys and older RAV4s were noted for drinking oil out of a McDonalds straw. That was the 2.4L 2AZ-FE used in everything for the last 12+ years--Camry, Corolla, Matrix, Scions, Highlander, RAV4. Initially Toyota issued a TSB but not a full recall. Finally this year (probably in response to the multiple class action suits), Toyota extended the factory warranty to 10year/150,000mi for issues related to Excessive Oil Consumption. Unfortunately, Toyota considers up to 1qt every 1200 miles to be normal. And you have to pay for the oil change at a dealer so they can put a tamper-proof sticker over the fill and/or drain plugs before you come back after 1200 miles. It really is a dud of an engine. Terrible fuel economy, no stock power, mated to vague 4 speed auto. Mine has only got 30,000 miles and it's as loud as a 90s era 4-cylinder. Not lifters or timing chain loud, just not smooth like a modern car. You could have a TRD supercharger installed with the factory warranty, though. 
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Jul 16, 2015 03:17
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Proposed Budget: $15-20,000 , this is a bit flexible but that's where I'd like to end up. New or Used: Used Most likely, Not against buying New just don't think anything I'm looking for is available New in my price range. Body Style: 2 Door(first preference) but 4 Door/Hatchback is not a problem How will you be using the car?: I plan on using this car for everything, day in and day out. Commuting, shopping, vacations, joy riding, etc. What aspects are most important to you?: At this point, reliability and comfort is the main concern. My typical driving/commuting doesn't include a ton of mileage so I'm not really concerned with MPG and I'm not really looking for something super fast or magnetic ride suspension for my crazy cornering, etc. The situation right now is that I currently own a 2004 Infiniti G35 Coupe. Bought it about 3 years ago and I love the car but unfortunately I made a few mistakes when buying it used. I didn't look it over quite as well as I should have so it has underlying problems from a previous accident(nothing major mechanically, mainly cosmetic paint problems) and just general 10+ year old car problems. Lots of squeaks, exhaust rattles, suspension is a bit rough sometimes, scratches and body issues, one or two small rust spots, window motors sketchy, door locks don't always work. Then to compound on top of that, after owning it for about a year I was basically T-boned by an un-attentive driving going through a stop sign right behind the drivers side door. Fortunately the speeds where very low so there wasn't much mechanical damage but the cosmetic damage was severe and all in I believe the bill from the body shop was somewhere around $5-6000. This was of course all taken care of by my insurance and I took it to the absolute best body shop in the area since the other drivers insurance was paying for it, but I still have a 11 year old car that's been in at least one major accident(not sure how major the one was before I bought the car) so the value is very, very depreciated and its going to keep going that way. When I bought the G35 I paid around $10-11k for it out the door after the loan interest, taxes, title, fees, etc. With all the damage, accidents and little things compounding quickly, I figure its probably worth like $6k at best currently if I sold it privately outright, I could be wrong here but I feel like that's what I'm getting from the websites I've used to gauge it. My thoughts right now are that I either have to do one of two things, decide that I'm going to keep this car forever(or at least until it dies) and keep fixing all the issues/things that pop up myself or get rid of it as soon as possible. I would love any input here as to what you guys think as well. One of my main concerns right now is just simply the price of parts for the car, a window motor is like $200, new set of tires is $5-600 easy, new brakes(it has the brembos) can cost anywhere from $4-800 depending if I get pads and rotors or just one or the other and what brand I go with. I'm just kind of worried something large is going to break and cost me $1000-1500 or something and thats like 25% of the value of the car at this point. I guess these were things I didn't really think about before I purchased the car as I mentioned above, I just really needed a car at the time, I knew my price range, I loved G35's and I found one with all the options/colors/etc that I wanted so my mind just went blind to all the little flaws. My goal would be to get something relatively new, 2010-2014(newer the better) with like 30-40k miles if possible. As much as I love RWD cars, I kind of want an AWD car since the last few winters here(Mid Atlantic) have been a bit rough. Never had a problem driving my RWD cars in the winter, but it did get a bit sketchy last winter driving a 3500lb G35 with all-seasons in 6-8inches of snow/slush. At this point the major car I've been looking at is the Subaru Legacy. The 2010-2014 5th generation style with the 2.5i engine, not the turbo or the 3.6 models as those seem to be a bit above my price range. It's proving to be a bit more difficult than I anticipated finding one with a manual and less than 40k miles. There are some, they are just few and far between. Another option I've been looking at is the Audi S5 because I really, really like the look of the coupe versions and they seem to come with a lot more comfort type options but from what I'm seeing in this segment of the market I'm either going to have to go older or much higher mileage(60-80k). I worry a bit that with the Audi I'm going to fall back into the exact same situation I'm in with the G35 currently in a few years though. Both are available with a manual which is an absolutely necessity. I've also thought about a WRX a little but those seem a bit more expensive than the Legacy. Any other suggestions or input would be lovely. Need to have a manual option, AWD or RWD is a must, relatively new and reliable. I'm not looking to purchase right this instant, but possibly before this winter. Edit: Forgot to mention the money aspect of it, I have about $5k cash that I can afford to toss towards the new car and then of course I can either sell the G35 or trade it in(for a much lower value most likely). Planning on financing the other 10-15k or whatever it ends up being. Last time I did it through my credit union and they gave me a great rate(but only a 24month loan since the car was so old), so probably though them again if I can't do better elsewhere. 100% Dundee fucked around with this message at 03:53 on Jul 16, 2015 |
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Jul 16, 2015 03:42
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Naive question - if I ever change my mind about a car I buy, is it normally easy to to trade the car in for the KBB "dealer trade in" value?
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Jul 16, 2015 13:28
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100% Dundee posted:Proposed Budget: $15-20,000 , this is a bit flexible but that's where I'd like to end up. Dodge Challenger.
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Jul 16, 2015 13:59
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I'm looking for some recommendations for a used car. Proposed Budget: $4000 or below. New or Used: Used. Body Style: 4 Door Compact or Midsize How will you be using the car?: For commuting to and from work, going out of town occasionally (400 miles round trip), driving around town (grocery shopping, etc.). I don't care too much for luxury options. I prefer all disc brakes, power windows, and air conditioning. What aspects are most important to you? Aspects that are the most important to me in this order are: Reliability, cost of ownership/maintenance, replacement part cost, fuel economy, size, then style. I tend to lean towards Japanese cars, but I'm not completely against domestic. I live in the United States. I would appreciate any help that others can recommend.
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Jul 16, 2015 19:18
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Ideal Paradigm posted:I'm looking for some recommendations for a used car. Why do you think you need 4 wheel discs on a compact non performance car? The answer, by the way is the cleanest focus you can get. Avoid the base engine ( non zetec) on older cars.
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Jul 16, 2015 20:23
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In the sub-5,000 range, you don't get to have a lot of requests. That's just how it goes. Focus is a good answer. A Mazda Protege might be good too, if you don't live in the rustbelt.
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Jul 16, 2015 20:40
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nm posted:Why do you think you need 4 wheel discs on a compact non performance car? From what I understand, disc brakes give better braking power, are more resistant to rain/water, safer in general, but are more expensive maintenance wise. I could be wrong on those, but that's from what I know. Also, are there particular years for the Ford Focus that I should be looking at?
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Jul 16, 2015 20:44
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Ideal Paradigm posted:From what I understand, disc brakes give better braking power, are more resistant to rain/water, safer in general, but are more expensive maintenance wise. I could be wrong on those, but that's from what I know. Drum brakes on the rear wheels are fine. In fact, if you went and plunked down $17k and bought yourself a brand-new 2015 Ford Focus, it would have drum brakes on the rear wheels.
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Jul 16, 2015 20:58
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Ideal Paradigm posted:From what I understand, disc brakes give better braking power, are more resistant to rain/water, safer in general, but are more expensive maintenance wise. I could be wrong on those, but that's from what I know. Unless you're racing cars, you probably don't need it on something light. In fact, I think Mazdas b-spec racer has rear drums. They provide almost no benefit on a small car other than looking cooler unless you are on a track. As for years? Probably the last few years of the first gen. I think that was like 2008ish when it ended? I'd just buy the best one you can, avoiding the non-zetec (zetec models will be trim models starting with a z, aka zx4, zxw, etc) models from 2004 and earlirr. The 2005+ cars all have duratecs which are fine.
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Jul 16, 2015 22:12
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Ideal Paradigm posted:From what I understand, disc brakes give better braking power, are more resistant to rain/water, safer in general, but are more expensive maintenance wise. I could be wrong on those, but that's from what I know. Something like 80 percent of braking is done by the front brakes. In most situations, the rears just keep the car's rear end and face oriented correctly.
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Jul 16, 2015 23:13
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Dundee how close to South Carolina do you live? I'm interested in your G35 when you're ready to move on.
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Jul 17, 2015 02:57
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MANGOSTEEN CURES P posted:Dundee how close to South Carolina do you live? I'm interested in your G35 when you're ready to move on. Not really close at all, I'm in Northern Virginia. Right outside of DC specifically.
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Jul 17, 2015 04:09
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Prius, 2009, around 110,000 miles. $9500 seems to be about the going price in my town. Apparently a shop in Houston (5 hours away) will put in a refurb battery for $800. With the Gigafactory around the corner lowering prices in about 3 years(which, I guess is how long that refurb battery might last) is this at all a good plan? Presumably the cost of refub batteries will continue to plummet as the price of cells drops by 30% by 2017.
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Jul 17, 2015 04:57
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Does it actually need a refurb battery because if so, $9500 feels high to me. If you're just scoping out how to reduce the cost of the battery for if/when it needs one, sure.
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Jul 17, 2015 05:46
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What's the general opinion here for buying a used hybrid vehicle? There are two here that are in my price range: http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/cto/5125225301.html http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/5086818496.html Also, why is the Ford Focus so strongly recommended here versus other vehicles that have a reputation for reliability like the Civic or the Corolla?
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Jul 17, 2015 06:35
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Ideal Paradigm posted:What's the general opinion here for buying a used hybrid vehicle? If you want a hybrid, or just a boring and reliable driving appliance, you should specifically look at the second generation Prius. Honda's hybrid system isn't awful, but it's not as sophisticated as Toyota's, and the overall Toyota hybrid drivetrain design has fewer wear items and points of failure. I wrote up a slightly more detailed description a little while back, but that's the short version. If you can't swing the money for an early gen 2 Prius, you're likely better off looking at ordinary economy cars. The Focus gets recommended because it's a solid little economy car that tends to depreciate faster than Japanese models. People tend to overvalue older Japanese economy cars, and undervalue American ones, well into the period where American cars stopped sucking golf balls through garden hoses. This is most obvious when it's a simple rebadge (the Chevy Prism and Pontiac Vibe sell for less than Toyota Corollas and Matrixes, even though they're the exact same cars from the same factories), but you can take advantage of the same effect by cross-shopping the Focus against similar Hondas, Toyotas, etc.
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Jul 17, 2015 07:41
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The Civic hybrid is retarded, do not buy one.
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Jul 17, 2015 13:14
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Hadlock posted:Prius, 2009, around 110,000 miles. $9500 seems to be about the going price in my town. Apparently a shop in Houston (5 hours away) will put in a refurb battery for $800. With the Gigafactory around the corner lowering prices in about 3 years(which, I guess is how long that refurb battery might last) is this at all a good plan? Presumably the cost of refub batteries will continue to plummet as the price of cells drops by 30% by 2017. Aren't the batteries in the Prius and the Model S different technologies? The Prius uses a nickel metal hydride battery and the Tesla uses a lithium ion battery.
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Jul 17, 2015 14:47
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Proposed Budget: 15k-20k New or Used: Used Body Style: SUV or AWD sedan How will you be using the car?: Daily commute, getting through snow during winters. What aspects are most important to you: Looking to pick something up for my wife, since she got a new teaching job and needs something more reliable to get to school. Style wise, she likes more "round" SUVs vs the "boxy" ones. Same goes for AWD sedans. Not looking for anything older than 2011.
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Jul 17, 2015 18:03
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TIGER HOODZ posted:Proposed Budget: 15k-20k Newish non-turbo impreza with snow tires. That said, she'd almost certainly be ok with an fwd sedan and snow tires unless her school doesn't have snow days or she lives or works in the sticks.
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Jul 17, 2015 18:08
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Honda CR-V is pretty round, as is the Nissan Rogue which is popular for no discernible reason.
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Jul 17, 2015 18:18
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Ideal Paradigm posted:Also, why is the Ford Focus so strongly recommended here versus other vehicles that have a reputation for reliability like the Civic or the Corolla? At the sub-$5k bracket (you could argue this matters still up to like $10k, honestly) one of the biggest possible factors in whether a used car is a good buy or not is the condition for your specific used car. Excluding extremes in both directions, a car that may have been considered 'less reliable' when new, if it has been well cared for and maintained properly over the 10+ years since it rolled off the line, will probably cost you less time and money on repairs going forward than a 'reliable' car that has been beaten to poo poo for that same timeframe. Domestics are undervalued across the board, and while many of them deserve that, it means you can get good deals on the ones that don't. $4k on a Focus will likely buy you a newer, better-condition car than $4k will get you on a Civic. For small trucks, while everyone loves the Tacoma, the only ones for sale anywhere near what I paid for my old Ranger were at least a decade older.
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Jul 17, 2015 18:26
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I am going to need a car once I buy a house. Please help. Proposed Budget: $10,000 give or take a couple thousand New or Used: Used Body Style: AWD Sedan How will you be using the car: Driving around a city, getting groceries, dealing with heavy snow in the winters. What aspects are most important to you: I want something that will last and get decent gas mileage.
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Jul 17, 2015 20:33
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Dazerbeams posted:I am going to need a car once I buy a house. Please help. You would almost definitely be fine with a FWD car and good snow tires, unless you live somewhere where roads aren't regularly plowed. If you really need to drive through heavy snow, you should be thinking more about ground clearance and snow tires than AWD. What about the best Prius you can find in your budget?
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Jul 17, 2015 20:38
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Over the past few winters of living in the city and witnessing spotty plowing service, I don't trust the roads to be reliably tended to 30 minutes out. Granted I will probably only drive myself to the nearest public transit during snowfall.
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Jul 17, 2015 21:05
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AWD is incompatible with good gas mileage. Pick one. e. Oh, and driving on salted winter roads is incompatible with longevity. You can improve things by washing the underside of the car constantly, but you can only stave off the rust monster for so long. So with a $10k budget, you might be wanting to just look for cars that don't have much rust on them yet. For AWD, subaru leads the pack. But subarus do not get great gas mileage. Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 21:12 on Jul 17, 2015 |
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Jul 17, 2015 21:10
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Leperflesh posted:AWD is incompatible with good gas mileage. Pick one. Cvt subarus get pretty decent mileage, not as good as fwd cars, but the penalty is lower than it used to be. However, the awd tax isn't worth it for most people.
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Jul 17, 2015 21:15
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nm posted:Cvt subarus get pretty decent mileage, not as good as fwd cars, but the penalty is lower than it used to be. Are CVT Subarus under $10k yet? I'm not sure how long ago they moved to it.
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Jul 17, 2015 21:19
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Well, nix the AWD then.
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Jul 17, 2015 21:34
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nm posted:Cvt subarus get pretty decent mileage, not as good as fwd cars, but the penalty is lower than it used to be. Hmm. A 2015 Impreza with the 2.0i PZEV and a CVT gets 28/37. That's a big improvement over where they were a few years ago, I think! Of course, that's a new $20k car. For ~$10k, you're looking at probably around a 2008 model. A 2008 2.5i Impreza doesn't have CVT, just a regular automatic, and gets 20/27. Not great compared to comparable sedans without AWD.
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Jul 17, 2015 21:43
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I've found several Ford Focus models for sale. One sticks out as being too good to be true versus the other pricing and features among the others. 2008 SE 4 Door: http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/5103847659.html 2008 SE (looks like it might be a dealer): http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/5039440151.html 2009 Ford Focus SE: http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/5070045035.html 2009 Ford Focus SEL (looks a little cheap for the year and model): http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/cto/5126069084.html Are those in the ballpark of what I should be looking for? I figure I can probably get them for a little cheaper than listed.
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Jul 17, 2015 22:57
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I'm looking at a 2000 Lexus RX400h on Craigslist. At 132611 mi, $9000 isn't a bad ask for it. My concern is I've heard of this model having issues with the inverter and with transaxle leaks, both of which can be costly repairs. I tried checking the VIN for any open recalls and found none. Thoughts?
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Jul 18, 2015 18:03
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If I want to look at buying a 2015 impala when the 2016 models come out, what kind of discount would be likely for previous years model?
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Jul 18, 2015 23:04
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I guess I'm a case of "go buy a Prius" but then there are statements likeKYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:edit2: man, people really buy a prius to drive 6k mi/yr? that seems crazy IRQ posted:There's plenty of people who buy them to be smug about the environment. Twerk from Home posted:That's like "how to lose money buying a Prius", but we saw a ton of it when my wife and I were searching for a car for her. I'd bet most Priuses average less than 8k miles / year based on what's on the used market. so maybe not because gently caress driving, I drive the minimum possible amount, like 4-6k miles/year. Bike commute to work unless it's truly awful out, buy groceries every other week. Small-ish town so most bars and other stuff is within biking distance, which is also nice for not drinking and driving. SO Proposed Budget: up to $25k-ish, could go higher New or Used: Either Body Style: agnostic other than space requirements How will you be using the car?: Commuting only on lovely weather days (southeast Washington), occasional errands. What aspects are most important to you: Reliability, mileage, cargo space, I guess looks would be nice In my job I end up moving just about every year, frequently across the country. Maybe that will end soon and maybe it won't. That means every year I sell everything that won't fit into my car (currently a Honda Accord) and drive away. It would be really swell to have more storage so less has to get tossed, and moving a lot means I buy/sell big furniture and electronics on craigslist a lot. Also, I'm considering getting a big dog. Prius (2015 model II for $20k with $2.5k cash back offer http://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/640585547/overview/) would work for that I guess, but I'm also considering something like a Honda CR-V ($25k sticker http://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/640978058/overview/) or Subaru Forester ($25k sticker http://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/635055163/overview/). Saving money is always good so I don't really need anything new, just would prefer reliable, good value, and sufficient cargo space to move things like big TVs and bookshelves. Does the generic "go get a Prius" advice really not apply for people who hate driving and don't do it much at all?
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Jul 20, 2015 01:36
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berzerker posted:Does the generic "go get a Prius" advice really not apply for people who hate driving and don't do it much at all? I'd argue its also the best buy for that person. It's more efficient in the city than the highway, and is totally uninspiring and boring to drive so it won't disappoint you if you already hate driving. I saw a review once that said it should be called a "People Transport Pod" instead of a car, and I don't disagree. It's the best at its job though.
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Jul 20, 2015 01:39
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berzerker posted:I guess I'm a case of "go buy a Prius" but then there are statements like One of the really nice things about the Prius is that it is over-engineered as gently caress (meaning that they are the most reliable thing out there), so no it is not a bad recommendation for you necessarily. However, if you are packing up and moving every year, you should really either consider something that can tow a small trailer or something you can tow behind a U-haul. Selling all your furniture and such every year is silly and super wasteful. If that's your lifestyle then it might be in your best interests to by a compact like a Mazda3, Focus/Fiesta, etc, or something larger but rock solid like a Prius, and tow it behind a rented truck.
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Jul 20, 2015 02:03
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All non-prius cars should be equipped with specialized cow catchers that docks with priuses, so if a prius is ever ahead of you at a light you can safely and efficiently nudge them up to full speed when it turns green.
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Jul 20, 2015 03:41
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IRQ posted:Selling all your furniture and such every year is silly and super wasteful. If that's your lifestyle then it might be in your best interests to by a compact like a Mazda3, Focus/Fiesta, etc, or something larger but rock solid like a Prius, and tow it behind a rented truck. It's not silly or wasteful at all. I just don't invest much in physically large material goods. Craigslist makes it really easy to sell things for at least as much as I bought them after a year's use. For the past few years I've averaged a net loss after reselling all my furniture, bike, household stuff, etc. of about $200/year, including the stuff that goes to Goodwill and I re-buy at the next town's Goodwill. That's less than renting a U-Haul for a cross-country trip. In fact, since I was out of town for two months on business at the end of my lease before this upcoming move, I was able to fit everything I own into a 4x5 storage locker, end my lease early, and save $2700 in rent. Anyway, the Internet says a Prius with seats down has about 40 cubic feet of space, which is a lot more than the Accord's 15 that I've used for my last few moves, so maybe that will be enough. I'll probably just get a Prius and people who want to mock me for having an ugly car or being "smug" about the environment can bite me.
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Jul 20, 2015 04:42
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Buy a used full size truck with higher than usual mileage. That way you can haul poo poo and since you don't drive much during the week the poor fuel economy isn't a big penalty. Probably a v6 2wd f150 would work, there should be plenty of them on the used market.
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Jul 20, 2015 08:41
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