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Proposed Budget: 20k or under prefered, but able to stretch if going up a little bit gets a big improvement in the car. New or Used: Used Body Style: Smaller, generally hatchback but not required. It's just me 80% of the time with the occasional passanger. Prefer having a small back seat as a just in case/to hold random groceries and the like without having to get into the trunk How will you be using the car?: Daily driver with a commute of about 15 minutes and a weekly hour each way trip for various things. What aspects are most important to you? Reliability and spirited/fun to drive are my big things. Greatly prefer a manual transmission, but it's not a deal breaker. So my 2004 Impreza is starting to near the end of it's life after 20 years dealing with midwestern winters and 212k miles. So begins the first steps of research to find the next car. My gf has a Fusion so I am looking at something a little more sporty and interesting to drive. Cars on my list so far are the BRZ/GR86, Impreza, Civic SI, Fiesta, and Golf GTI but I'm sure there are some others I am missing. Anything I should be looking out for/avoid on those models?
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Jan 14, 2024 18:08
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The best deal on that list is the Fiesta ST. Theyre insanely reliable, cheap to drive and insure, and offer the same or better handling and power to weight than the SI or the BRZ. Its a Miata with a hatch.
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Jan 14, 2024 18:12
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Deteriorata posted:Credit unions will almost always have the best rates. For what its worth this is not my lived experience; theyve had best rates for me maybe a bit less than half the time. Most recently Bank of America had a much better rate than any other lender I looked at. This is more to say that you shouldnt take as gospel that CUs have best rates and only get offers from them, not that they dont have the best rates: always shop around at CUs as well as big banks.
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Jan 14, 2024 18:16
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Proposed Budget: 6k preferred. Can go up to 8k, but would prefer not to. New or Used: Used Body Style: Sedan? My last car was a Buick Century, which did well for me for years. Family car was a Toyota Corolla. Something roughly that size. How will you be using the car?: Grocery shopping, and subburb driving in the NorthEast United sates. I'm fully work from home, so no regular commute. What aspects are most important to you?: Reliability and low cost of maintenance My Century finally died, cracked head gasket wasn't worth repairing, and now I'm in need of a new car. Haven't bought a car in 20 years, and I don't even know where to start, so turning to goons for advice. Really the only thing I need is something to get me from point A to point B reliably. Is there any make/models to be looking for? Avoiding?
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Jan 14, 2024 18:52
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Dr. Lunchables posted:The best deal on that list is the Fiesta ST. They’re insanely reliable, cheap to drive and insure, and offer the same or better handling and power to weight than the SI or the BRZ. It’s a Miata with a hatch. Are they reliable? I was under the impression the 2.0l in the Focus ST was a better bet long term (not much more expensive and more space too).
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Jan 14, 2024 19:12
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SporkChan posted:Proposed Budget: 6k preferred. Can go up to 8k, but would prefer not to. Enjoy your new used Prius.
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Jan 14, 2024 19:14
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Steve French posted:For what its worth this is not my lived experience; theyve had best rates for me maybe a bit less than half the time. Most recently Bank of America had a much better rate than any other lender I looked at. Yeah when I posted in this thread last month i saw someone suggest BofA and they ended up being almost a full point lower than the credit union (5.79 for BofA). It doesn't hurt to have multiple preapprovals.
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Jan 14, 2024 19:23
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DildenAnders posted:Are they reliable? I was under the impression the 2.0l in the Focus ST was a better bet long term (not much more expensive and more space too). The 2.0 has more issues in general, but Ive heard of less for the 1.6 in the Fiesta. Post 2016 they had a new head and gasket that addressed coolant sneaking past the gasket, but previous gens are up for a warranty replacement if not already addressed iirc. Ive got a 2019 and have had no mechanical issues at all. The big reason Id tend away from the Focus is that youre more likely to run into one thats had previous owner abuse, as these tended to be tuned and hooned by younger drivers by a bigger margin than the Fiestas I was shopping. That said, theyre both pretty solid and theres tons of support and stories taking em into the 200k plus mileage. The fiesta feels zippier in turns though, and is closer in feel to a sports car than the focus, in my mind. Either way, for any hot hatch, try to find a low mileage unmodified version and youll have a hell of a car for a long time to come. Theyre all built on econobox platforms, so theres tons of parts and engineering to force long term reliability, since ford/honda/whoever needed their focus/civic/fiesta platform to be dead reliable at baseline.
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Jan 14, 2024 21:44
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SporkChan posted:Proposed Budget: 6k preferred. Can go up to 8k, but would prefer not to. Yeah, Prius. Maybe a hybrid Fusion.
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Jan 14, 2024 21:50
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Backno posted:Proposed Budget: 20k or under prefered, but able to stretch if going up a little bit gets a big improvement in the car.
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Jan 14, 2024 22:03
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Dr. Lunchables posted:The 2.0 has more issues in general, but I’ve heard of less for the 1.6 in the Fiesta. Post 2016 they had a new head and gasket that addressed coolant sneaking past the gasket, but previous gen’s are up for a warranty replacement if not already addressed iirc. I’ve got a 2019 and have had no mechanical issues at all. This is really making me want to buy a Fiesta St honestly. Please stop.
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Jan 14, 2024 23:33
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I wouldnt buy a BRZ again, especially not a used one. Its very fun to drive and has one best feeling manual transmissions but torque dip really sucks and its so impractical. If you drive a Hot hatch back to back with BRZ its night and day.
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Jan 15, 2024 02:33
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DildenAnders posted:This is really making me want to buy a Fiesta St honestly. Theyre sooooo cheap and reliable. Its impossible not to smile while driving one.
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Jan 15, 2024 02:34
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Calidus posted:I wouldnt buy a BRZ again, especially not a used one. Its very fun to drive and has one best feeling manual transmissions but torque dip really sucks and its so impractical. If you drive a Hot hatch back to back with BRZ its night and day. Torque dip fixed starting with the 2021 model year
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Jan 15, 2024 02:39
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TheBacon posted:Torque dip fixed starting with the 2021 model year Looking at OP budget I kinda assumed they would be stuck with gen1.
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Jan 15, 2024 06:03
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What's the most painless way to buy a car? Is there a way to do this via email or get the majority the work done before walking into the dealership?
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Jan 16, 2024 20:41
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Gucci Loafers posted:What's the most painless way to buy a car? Is there a way to do this via email or get the majority the work done before walking into the dealership? If you're not price sensitive there are many car buying services out there where you just tell them what to get you and it shows up in your driveway. Whether that's realistic for your needs and budget is a different story that is likely the more important thing to discuss.
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Jan 16, 2024 20:46
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My budget is about ~$30k for something like a newer Honda Accord, Civic, etc. is best to use something like Carvana? Edit - I still plan to test drive it, have it checked out, etc. Gucci Loafers fucked around with this message at 20:57 on Jan 16, 2024 |
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Jan 16, 2024 20:53
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Also there are ground rules if you don't feel like trading cars in every 6 months because you tried shopping purely on features and numbers: Don't buy a model you've never test driven Don't buy a used car you haven't test driven and gotten mechanically inspected. A full service agent will negotiate coupons but except for specific make, models, and finance structuring, will tend to cost you more than what they save you. In case of used shopping they can also manage getting a mechanics inspection. All this stuff costs money on money so  A partial service agent (ex. Costco car buying) saves you some running around looking for the right package or avoiding dealerships with crap service and should theoretically skip the negotiation step. But they aren't fully executing a transaction, you just go into their partner dealership and reference your quote and they are free to jerk you around or sell you extra junk.
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Jan 16, 2024 20:55
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I found the costco car buying program pretty useless. The car they quoted me had already been sold. Truecar ended up working better, but even then just as a jumping off point. They sent me a bunch of offers, I got the best one and called/emailed the other dealerships if they were going to match or beat. Ended up with identical prices on two different colors, went with the one the wife liked better. Still had to spend 3 hours at the dealership finishing paperwork (even without financing or trade in), but there was no haggling and no attempts to upsell, just lots of hanging around.
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Jan 16, 2024 22:26
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Gucci Loafers posted:What's the most painless way to buy a car? Is there a way to do this via email or get the majority the work done before walking into the dealership? I bought 2 cars last year mostly online. I'm sure you could do it all with docusign stuff but neither of the dealerships I bought from used it. One of them delivered car to my door and I signed paperwork, other I flew in, signed papers and drove away.
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Jan 16, 2024 22:43
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Thank you so much for the help all! Now the fun game of getting the $$$ together, test drive all sorts of things, and wait for a good one to become available.
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Jan 19, 2024 04:05
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Help I watched too many Assetto Corsa touge videos and I've acquired a sudden irresistible urge to build a drift car that led me down the dark path of looking at Japanese wedges on ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/166560513182
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Jan 22, 2024 05:21
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I've bought three cars online. 1st was as documented, zero problems. (Saab Turbo X in Geneva, IL) 2nd I got a bait and switch once I sent the actual check off with the VIN on it, because I know they were waiting until I came up there (Atlanta) to spring a 1.5 liter Accord on me when I was looking for a 2.0. It was only when I actually sent the check that they had to call and tell me. I learned from this to run the VIN through an identifier to make sure it matches all the options you're picking. I ended up getting what I needed from another close by Honda dealer in Conyers. No more bullshit from that point, although I had my guard up. 3rd time was recently, just a few pages ago in this thread. Looking for a blue GV70, found one in Norman OK that was lower priced than the other closer one in Atlanta (but not so low as to raise alarm bells). Signed paperwork through email that said 19 miles on it. Flew to OKC, got to lot, drat near 1000 miles on it. From that, I learned two things; don't buy a one-way ticket, no matter what. The deal isn't done until you're driving off the lot, even if you signed the papers, so leave yourself an escape hatch. And second, make sure they send you an odometer pic and you get them in writing confirming every single nitpicking detail.
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Jan 22, 2024 05:46
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GD_American posted:I've bought three cars online. I'm only half serious, but if I went for that car (which I probably won't - I think even post-covid, 8 grand is stupid money for a 300zx), I would demand pictures of everything and would probably try to bribe someone local to check it out in person for me. That said, I'd be buying something with the intention of gutting the interior and doing a full engine rebuild anyways, so I don't think I'd be too picky. The main real issue would be that nobody makes a good looking body kit for the Z31, and half the point of building a drift car is to put a ridiculous widebody kit on it. 
KillHour fucked around with this message at 06:00 on Jan 22, 2024 |
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Jan 22, 2024 05:57
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I sold a car a few months ago on Autotrader to a guy who flew in to pick it up (LA to Reno). It was fairly cold the morning I was driving down the hill to meet him (single digits F) and I got a late start so was aggressive with the defroster. There was a bang on the freeway halfway there and I watched as a crack extended in both directions across the windshield from the center over the course of 15 or so seconds. poo poo, sorry dude, I swear it wasnt like this yesterday
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Jan 22, 2024 06:01
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Does anyone have an old Datsun pickup they'll let me ruin? https://www.pandemlab.com/product-page/pandem-datsun-521 https://www.pandemlab.com/product-page/pandem-datsun-620-wide-body-kit
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Jan 22, 2024 06:07
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GD_American posted:
A one way ticket is fine. Ive never bought a return ticket when traveling to buy a car. But Im always prepared to walk away and I realize it might take an extra day to do it depending on how things go.
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Jan 22, 2024 06:13
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fknlo posted:A one way ticket is fine. Ive never bought a return ticket when traveling to buy a car. But Im always prepared to walk away and I realize it might take an extra day to do it depending on how things go. I don't think I'd trust a car I bought sight unseen to get me back home from the other side of the country. But OP is probably looking at slightly nicer cars.
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Jan 22, 2024 06:17
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KillHour posted:I don't think I'd trust a car I bought sight unseen to get me back home from the other side of the country. Where's your sense of adventure?
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Jan 22, 2024 07:21
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KillHour posted:I don't think I'd trust a car I bought sight unseen to get me back home from the other side of the country. But OP is probably looking at slightly nicer cars. Somehow if you post about it on the Internet it makes it always work out: https://www.theautopian.com/heres-my-idiotic-plan-to-drive-a-broken-240000-mile-500-toyota-minivan-1000-miles-to-save-my-ailing-coworker/
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Jan 22, 2024 16:09
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Twerk from Home posted:Somehow if you post about it on the Internet it makes it always work out: https://www.theautopian.com/heres-my-idiotic-plan-to-drive-a-broken-240000-mile-500-toyota-minivan-1000-miles-to-save-my-ailing-coworker/ Somehow I knew it was David Tracy before I clicked on the link.
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Jan 22, 2024 16:32
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KillHour posted:Help I watched too many Assetto Corsa touge videos and I've acquired a sudden irresistible urge to build a drift car that led me down the dark path of looking at Japanese wedges on ebay. And now i've wasted a good 30mins on ebay motors looking up dumb cars from the 70s and 80s like I would ever actually be able to purchase a hobby car.
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Jan 22, 2024 23:04
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KillHour posted:Help I watched too many Assetto Corsa touge videos and I've acquired a sudden irresistible urge to build a drift car that led me down the dark path of looking at Japanese wedges on ebay. https://pandemusa.com/collections/widebody-kits/products/pandem-corvette-c5?variant=44020843970793
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Jan 24, 2024 01:47
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heffray posted:Z31 is probably easier to work on than a Z32, but you'll be at Decent C5 budget by the time you get that car reliable for track use. Oh no I went in the wrong direction and found a new life goal  https://libertywalk.co.jp/bodykit/lb-works/lb-works-countach/
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Jan 24, 2024 02:31
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Postscript on my Genesis adventure- finally went through the paperwork in the glove compartment. it has a test drive customer info sheet with the dude's phone number and address, and a photocopy of his license and insurance. I left him a voicemail and a text telling him what happened and a picture of them, told him I was shredding it, and then told him to go raise hell.
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Jan 24, 2024 03:45
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Wild.Internet Explorer posted:As soon as you said you were flying out to pick it up, I was going to say be careful because yeah Hyundai dealers are trash.
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Jan 24, 2024 03:48
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Yeah. I'm fully on board the "the biggest problem with Genesis is Hyundai" train now.
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Jan 24, 2024 03:52
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https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inven...55/NONE/DEFAULT Any particular reason why this model of Mazda 3 seems to be nearly the same price range as many 20 year old economy cars? I seem to remember them being quite nice (and a decent amount in stick).
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Jan 25, 2024 00:32
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Figured it was going to be a Mazdaspeed, but nope. Couple of caveats with the price there are NYC on a small lot.
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Jan 25, 2024 01:54
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