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If you're financing a used car it will be a bit trickier, but not impossible by any means. Consider just how much you save on the doc fee alone, plus all the other garbage fees dealers tack on. You should definitely have a car inspected if you don't trust your own judgement, but that also applies to dealer cars.
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Oct 15, 2017 03:18
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A ppi was always in the plan, I learned that much here! The dealership is still emailing me about why a rental is a deal breaker.
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Oct 15, 2017 03:48
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They'll pester the poo poo out of you now, better to just send those emails to spam.
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Oct 15, 2017 04:41
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I don't know how anyone survives in the 21st century without a google voice number and an alternate gmail account for giving to everyone who wants your email or phone that you haven't known and trusted for at least 20 years
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Oct 15, 2017 05:10
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Picked up my 2017 Sierra today, Crimson Red with the 6.2L engine. This thing feels like I'm sitting on a sofa strapped to a rocket ship. Can't wait to check out some local trails I've always wanted to try. Thanks for the advice, thread.
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Oct 15, 2017 05:43
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Michael Scott posted:Dealers with a manufacturer attached to the name have a minimum standard of quality, lmao. This is possibly the worst advice ever given. Cowslips Warren posted:Also, is certified meaning anything other than jack poo poo? SpaceGopher's response above is accurate, but to expand a bit: Certified preowned inspection is a song and dance between the dealer and the manufacturer. You are not really an involved party. They dealer has a car that they took on trade that they want to sell. They don't give a poo poo how bad the car is, could literally be on fire, they don't care.,They want to make as much money on it as fast as possible. The manufacturer wants to offer a warranty program for sweet sweet profit. They want to not get screwed by guaranteeing bad cars that are on fire, but other than that they also don't give a poo poo. You part in this is to decide if the warranty you get from the manufacturer is valuable enough to you to pay more for it. The car is no different than any other used car, other than the fact that the dealer is gambling you won't bring it back and get them in trouble with their manufacturer. Unload My Head fucked around with this message at 06:34 on Oct 15, 2017 |
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Oct 15, 2017 06:27
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Michael Scott posted:I would personally avoid a private party sale for babby's first car. There's too much bullshit to sort through on CL. Dealers with a manufacturer attached to the name have a minimum standard of quality, and as long as you get a PPI in addition, it's a solid starting point. Great advice from DCT Fiesta Rental as usual.
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Oct 15, 2017 06:41
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Michael Scott posted:I would personally avoid a private party sale for babby's first car. There's too much bullshit to sort through on CL. Dealers with a manufacturer attached to the name have a minimum standard of quality, and as long as you get a PPI in addition, it's a solid starting point. I've been catching up on this thread over the last three months and I have to ask... are your posts in here some kind of performance art? Impossibly Perfect Sphere fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Oct 16, 2017 |
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Oct 16, 2017 15:14
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No they aren't. Welp, after mote than one or two people pointed out I'm wrong I'll retract what I said. This is only the 2nd or 3rd time I've had to do that in AI! It seemed right to me.
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Oct 16, 2017 15:16
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Michael Scott posted:No they aren't. Welp, after mote than one or two people pointed out I'm wrong I'll retract what I said. This is only the 2nd or 3rd time I've had to do that in AI! It seemed right to me. It's the second or third time you RECOGNIZED that you needed to do that. Just about every piece of advice you post is somewhere between "sketchy" and "completely and totally wrong." Guys, should I buy a former rental car? NO. <buys rental car, thing go badly> Guys, I want something more reliable. Should I buy an aging german luxury car? NO. <buys aging German luxury car>
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Oct 16, 2017 15:58
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The first few cars I bought were private sales and they worked out well because I did my homework and knew what to look for. I got sloppy on the third one and paid for it. It was a 1976 Mazda RX-3 wagon and I craved that rotary-engine goodness. It turned out to have a salvaged title, had had the hell beaten out of it, and the odometer rolled back. Looked real sweet, though. So get yourself educated as to what to look for and don't get your heart set on any particular car. Stay cold and analytical and back out at the first sniff of dishonesty. If you over-react and lose out on a nice one, don't sweat it - there's lots of nice ones out there. Keep looking.
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Oct 16, 2017 16:10
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Jiminy Christmas! Shoes! posted:I've been catching up on this thread over the last three months and I have to ask... are your posts in here some kind of performance art? I'm still convinced he is a troll. Years of posting and it's literally all either white noise or objectively incorrect "advice". Even a blind pig finds an acorn once in awhile, you've got to work to be so wrong so consistently. You have 6k and a long commute. Just find a nice Prius on craigslist already, take it to your mechanic to have it checked, and you're good to go. Stop looking at trash-tier Nissan garbage. Unload My Head fucked around with this message at 16:22 on Oct 16, 2017 |
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Oct 16, 2017 16:19
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Motronic posted:It's the second or third time you RECOGNIZED that you needed to do that. Just about every piece of advice you post is somewhere between "sketchy" and "completely and totally wrong." Spoiler alert Michael Scott posted:Hi thread what's the story with oil consumption? My B8.5 seems to be going from max to min (which I assume is about 1 quart difference?) in under 1,000 miles. Is this normal? Obviously B8s had bad consumption, not sure how out of line this is. Surely a major manufacturer with a reputation for quality to uphold like VAG wouldn't equip their engines with a broken PCV system and $0.25 Chinese piston rings? Who could have seen this coming?
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Oct 16, 2017 16:21
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Throatwarbler posted:Spoiler alert Turns out the digital meter is just weird. Goes from max to middle and stays in middle pretty much the whole interval so far. No bad oil consumption!
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Oct 16, 2017 16:38
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There should be a Michael Scott Gives Car Advice thread and that should be the only thread he can post in.
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Oct 16, 2017 17:17
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Come on Thermopyle, make it happen. We believe in you!
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Oct 16, 2017 19:40
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Unload My Head posted:I'm still convinced he is a troll. Years of posting and it's literally all either white noise or objectively incorrect "advice". Even a blind pig finds an acorn once in awhile, you've got to work to be so wrong so consistently. My commute thankfully changed where I only go 6 miles one way to work. The amount of time I save and the loving gas is insane. I have always liked Priuses but am leery about the battery replacement. In AZ, will they burn out pretty standard like non-hybrid batteries?
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Oct 17, 2017 02:50
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Deteriorata posted:I got sloppy on the third one and paid for it. It was a 1976 Mazda RX-3 wagon and I craved that rotary-engine goodness. It turned out to have a salvaged title, had had the hell beaten out of it, and the odometer rolled back. Looked real sweet, though. As an old school rotary fanatic who's owned multiple RX-2's, RX-3's, a RoPU and, briefly, an RX-4 wagon, you're the first person I've ever heard describe a late RX-3 wagon as 'looking real sweet'. 
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Oct 17, 2017 02:58
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Cowslips Warren posted:My commute thankfully changed where I only go 6 miles one way to work. The amount of time I save and the loving gas is insane. people are weird as gently caress about the Prius battery. It's a high dollar expense but you will almost certainly save enough money over the lifetime of the car in consumables to replace the HSD battery IF NEEDED. it's not a guaranteed need, and they don't "burn out" or whatever in any sort of unusual pattern. A reman unit is in the $1,000 range and you can do individual cell replacement now for less. Nobody assumes that their transmission is going to grenade (well except some FCA people) or that their timing belt will break and lunch their valves, but for some reason everyone assumes that the Prius battery pack is a ticking time bomb that is bound to go early.
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Oct 17, 2017 04:08
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It's because of all the ridiculous hand-wringing when the 2nd generation Prius got crazy-popular and nobody knew how long the packs would last and Toyota wanted like ten grand for a new pack.
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Oct 17, 2017 04:23
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Very valid points. So what would be the years of Prius to avoid for a used car?
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Oct 17, 2017 04:27
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The only 'bad' Prius is the first-gen, the one that doesn't look like a Prius, just a crappy little car.(pre-'03, IIRC) It isn't even truly bad, just not near as efficient as all the newer ones are.
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Oct 17, 2017 04:41
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Cowslips Warren posted:My commute thankfully changed where I only go 6 miles one way to work. The amount of time I save and the loving gas is insane. They last longer because the battery is at least somewhat protected from the climate extremes. There's also always individual variance in cars. I recommended a second gen Prius to a friend locally, and he has pretty much hit Prius Repair Bingo. HV battery replacement, water pump replacement, and now the combination meter has taken a poo poo. At least the first two were covered on warranties. Of course in the grand scheme of things, the majority of Prius owners will probably never replace any of those.
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Oct 17, 2017 05:07
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Thermopyle posted:There should be a Michael Scott Gives Car Advice thread and that should be the only thread he can post in. Do it! KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:people are weird as gently caress about the Prius battery. It's a high dollar expense but you will almost certainly save enough money over the lifetime of the car in consumables to replace the HSD battery IF NEEDED. it's not a guaranteed need, and they don't "burn out" or whatever in any sort of unusual pattern. A reman unit is in the $1,000 range and you can do individual cell replacement now for less. Nobody assumes that their transmission is going to grenade (well except some FCA people) or that their timing belt will break and lunch their valves, but for some reason everyone assumes that the Prius battery pack is a ticking time bomb that is bound to go early. Basically this. If you are buying a 6k car on craigslist a 1k expense is not completely unfathomable. It's unlikely, but not moreso than a blown engine or trans or other big item. The Nissan Leaf had endless battery problems in hot states because Nissan is an idiot joke of a company that doesn't know what they're doing and they passively cooled the pack and then let people run it down to empty. Toyota is a real car company that makes real cars and they did not do either of those things.
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Oct 17, 2017 05:27
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JnnyThndrs posted:As an old school rotary fanatic who's owned multiple RX-2's, RX-3's, a RoPU and, briefly, an RX-4 wagon, you're the first person I've ever heard describe a late RX-3 wagon as 'looking real sweet'. It IS pretty sweet looking. 
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Oct 17, 2017 15:43
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Jiminy Christmas! Shoes! posted:It IS pretty sweet looking. It looks pretty good, but a '76 has those godawful railroad-tie safety bumpers that really look bad in the front.
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Oct 17, 2017 22:51
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My last post got lost in goons arguing about a Nissan and people making fun of other people for giving terrible advice, so I'll try again with slightly revised criteria. I'm looking to go down to one car (insurance, something that would be better all purpose, etc). Budget is around 25k or so, looking at new or very nearly new. What would you guys recommend to look at as a wagon/hatch/SUV that is <200" long (to fit in the garage) and I can throw a car seat in the back seat and a bike into the hatch? Not opposed to a hitch bike solution but I'd rather keep it in the hatch for security. Both of my current cars have pretty specific uses (2 seater coupe sports car and a truck) and get about the same (not great) mpg. I'd like something a little better on fuel that doesn't require premium because it's about 10 bucks more per tank where I'm at. I'm getting older and don't think I need a sports/sportier car as much anymore but hopefully whatever I get isn't totally mind numbing to drive. Really my only other must haves in a car are heated seats, NO sunroof, and bluetooth (android auto would be nice). I've narrowed it down (still haven't driven any) to these and am open to other suggestions. VW GTI VW Alltrack Subaru Forester Mazda CX-5
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Oct 18, 2017 16:06
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If you're looking at the CX-5, why not the CR-V as well?
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Oct 18, 2017 16:08
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Go drive a GTI, it ticks all the boxes you requested. My experience driving CUV's: Forester: Safest most boring car of the group. I bought one purely for safety equipment. Infotainment system sucks for 2017 CX-5: Pleasant to drive but small quirks when not fully optioned turned me off to it. Infotainment system sucks CRV: Second most boring car of the group. It's a Honda. The CR-V I've driven is a couple years old so no experience with the infotainment system. Not a CUV but because you asked, GTI: The car I wanted but without front collision avoidance and AWD was knocked out of the running. Fun, practical, fuel efficient. Android Auto equipped.
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Oct 19, 2017 00:00
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Turns out the only thing more annoying than trying to fix your parents computer over the phone is helping them shop for cars over the phone. My mom finally had her 23 year old Volvo 740 die, and needs a new whip. I suggested to her the usual you want a car? buy a Prius, you want a red car, buy a Mazda 3 hatch. To little uptake. Apparently she likes the ride height on the Ford Escape, and thinks it may be easier to get in and out of as she gets older (a reasonably spry 70 year old now) She also liked the "bells and whistles" on a Malibu. With that level of vague old person talk, is a Malibu a reasonable use of 23k for a 70 year old woman who probably doesn't put 4000 miles on a car in a year? Does it actually have a good tech package? How is the ford escape as an old person car? Slo-Tek fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Oct 19, 2017 |
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Oct 19, 2017 00:41
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Proposed Budget: $4000 New or Used: Used Body Style: Don't care that much. I am liking the idea of a 4runner or Cherokee, or Nissan Xterra but they use more fuel. Also, I'm 6'6". How will you be using the car?: Commuting, groceries, generic poo poo. Potential for long commutes, and short commutes. Gotta carry tools for work so needs some space. What aspects are most important to you? Reliability, cost of ownership, mpg. I need to buy my first car because my motorcycle isn't cutting anymore as a daily. Any recommendations? My father is telling me a Toyota with aprox 100k miles but I can't find that in my price range. Phoenix.
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Oct 19, 2017 00:45
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$4000 might get you a Toyota with 200k miles. Dunno, honestly it sounds like you need a midsize SUV and you're going to have a hard time finding a midsize SUV for $4000 that you won't be taking to the mechanic every 6 weeks. How urgent is the need? Can you afford to spend some weeks or months searching?
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Oct 19, 2017 01:24
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Sooner rather than later. Honestly I want something yesterday. It's a chore carrying everything on the motorcycle and when I get off work I want something comfortable instead of hopping on a motorcycle. REALLY want AC before summer hits again. I don't mind a car but it's hard to say how well I'd fit without going and seeing it. I know $4k isn't much but it's what I've got.
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Oct 19, 2017 01:29
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Yeah, $4k in Phoenix will not get you anything Japanese with 100k on the clock. They don't rust here so they hold value. $4k should find you a clean if otherwise unremarkable XJ Cherokee. Are you willing / able to do work yourself? Any Jeep is going to need at least a slow drip of parts, but the labor usually isn't awful and the parts are cheap. Doing the work yourself will keep cost of ownership relatively low. Keep in mind that high mileage isn't a death sentence. If the vehicle has been well maintained, the odometer is just a number.
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Oct 19, 2017 01:52
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So what are the general things to look out for in a mazda3 second gen with a little over 100k miles on it, I wrecked my Prius and I'm looking for a replacement, and while I'm probably just gonna get another one Id have to travel a couple hours to find one that fits my needs, whereas mazda3s are common as dirt in my area.
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Oct 19, 2017 01:52
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Maksimus54 posted:Go drive a GTI, it ticks all the boxes you requested. Forester is actually a SUV though, so it’s got that going for it.
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Oct 19, 2017 01:58
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IOwnCalculus posted:Yeah, $4k in Phoenix will not get you anything Japanese with 100k on the clock. They don't rust here so they hold value. I don't really care if its Japanese, American, or Martian. I know Toyota will be reliable and such but as you said they hold value. All the 4runners I see are 200k miles+ which I'm not sure how that is as far as 4runners go. I don't mind doing work myself if its something that isn't going to takes days of no driving to do. I do all my work on my motorcycle as it is.
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Oct 19, 2017 02:06
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Babysitter Super Sleuth posted:So what are the general things to look out for in a mazda3 second gen with a little over 100k miles on it, I wrecked my Prius and I'm looking for a replacement, and while I'm probably just gonna get another one Id have to travel a couple hours to find one that fits my needs, whereas mazda3s are common as dirt in my area. Good maintenance records and no rust. Slo-Tek posted:Turns out the only thing more annoying than trying to fix your parents computer over the phone is helping them shop for cars over the phone. My mom who bitches about knee pain but refuses to go a doctor really wants to get a Forester. And I think she should, and she at least seems to be listening when I tell her she doesn't need AWD (it would live in a garage and be driven like once a week). She does not like my Mazda3; too low for her and too hard of a ride. It isn't an old lady car really. If she just wants a car that is a bit taller, just works, etc, I'd just see which japanese CUV she likes most.
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Oct 19, 2017 02:09
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Schroeder91 posted:I don't really care if its Japanese, American, or Martian. I know Toyota will be reliable and such but as you said they hold value. All the 4runners I see are 200k miles+ which I'm not sure how that is as far as 4runners go. I don't mind doing work myself if its something that isn't going to takes days of no driving to do. I do all my work on my motorcycle as it is. At $4k the condition of an individual car is going to matter far more than the make or model. I guess see if you can find something with cosmetic damage dragging the value down (but no rust).
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Oct 19, 2017 02:11
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IOwnCalculus posted:Keep in mind that high mileage isn't a death sentence. If the vehicle has been well maintained, the odometer is just a number. As the owner of a Corolla with 260,000 miles on it, can confirm
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Oct 19, 2017 02:25
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