Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/25 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/25 for details.
Options
Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
If you're just gonna buy another Saturn, I'd say just keep it. The models rated in CR all have mediocre-to-abysmal reliability records. (Sorry, I don't mean to rag on your car brand of choice).
You talked about buying a Subie before--is that still a possibility? I'd say, your question all depends on the details: what you'd buy, & what you'd get for your Saturn (duh). I guess if you're only gonna get $3k, for a 60K mile car, you should keep it, unless it's in the shop a lot & costing you what the payments on a new car w/warranty would be.
Probably no help, but that's my best shot.....
Here's the financial breakdown ...
I owe about $2800 on the Saturn at the moment, but KBB values it at between $7500-9000 (trade in, not retail). Not sure what someone would give me for it in trade; haven't gotten that far, but I suspect that there is, at the very least, a few thousand in equity to play with.
I had to put about $1800 into the car a little over a year ago (brakes and a BCM), but since then it's been smooth sailing. I need to get the transmission serviced, but that's about it for anything over and above regular maintenance.
boom: therein lies the problem -- what to get? As woody pointed out, I did look at an Outback a few months ago. Nice car, and, with a new model coming out in '08, some pretty decent deals to be made on the '07's.
But, but, but .. there really isn't anything about my car I don't like. V6, power everything, leather. I'm finding it hard to think of anything else I could replace it with that A) I can afford; and
I know I've been down this path with this group before, and I've stayed put. I like the idea of having the car paid off (much like andre and his Intrepid), and using the money in other ways.
Decisions, decisions.
EDIT: funny, but the thought of getting an Aura hasn't crossed my mind. Now that the Saturn lineup doesn't include the plastic panels, I'm not as inclined to stay with them.
BCM = "Body Control Module".
It's a lousy design; they pretty much all go bad. The reason I know what it stands for is a friend of mine had the 4cyl wagon, and the same thing happened to him.
He got lucky though, car was still under warranty.
This would grind me to no end, it's a lousy design and it should never fail, or at least they should stand behind it.
The other thing my buddy didn't like was absolutely lousy fuel economy with the 4cyl; 27 mpg was good. 23 was normal. I don't think he ever saw 30, no matter what he tried. He got fed up with it pretty quickly -- he had inherited it from his Dad when he could no longer drive -- and sold it to the local Saturn dealer. Good riddance.
Oh yeah, and the power locks sometimes decided not to work at all, or just unlock in the parking lot, or just lock while he was driving along... and no key cylinder on the passenger side, so that was no good when the remote wouldn't work. Dumb stuff like that.
The Jetta wagon is set to come out next year, but who knows if it's any better reliability-wise. Why oh why can't we have the Euro Accord wagon....? I don't much like Subarus; the AWD is more in the way of a gimmick, and it takes a lot of extra fuel and maintenance. In Colorado, yeah, but in civilized regions, I'll take snow tires and FWD.
IOW, I dont' have any ideas either, but I used 200 words to say so... Cheers,
-Mathias
It would be nice if we'd have it here.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
I don't know, as a fellow SE MI person, I have to disagree with you. The Legacy wagon (which returns 29 mpg, or 31 by the trip computer), even with the crummy RE-92s, seems to deal with snow better than the Civic with Blizzaks, especially while getting underway.
Even yesterday in the rain, the car felt very stable even with a lot of standing water on the road (something that would trip up the Civic, even with new tires).
I have been very pleased with it, pricing was very agressive, oh and its a wagon!!
I don't even know what year or model of Saturn this is? I remember you posting about one of your Saturns once & it sounded like you had spent a ton of $$ on repairs--was that a different one?
I think what bugs me is that it sounds like you have to put a lot of $$ into these that you Probably wouldn't with a Honda or Toyota, etc. (Altho any car can need an $800 brake job at 60K).
Maybe--just start test driving some different vehicles--I don't know your priorities--CRV perhaps?--a different Subaru?--& get some trade-in offers on your car. If you found some great year-end deals on a car you like, & a good trade offer on your Saturn......at least you'd have more info. to make a decision. And would have a head start on car shopping even if you don't do anything for awhile.....
its primarily for the wife. she's tired of me having the alfa to enjoy in the nice weather (although i haven't had it on the road since 2 summers ago), and wants her own toy. Although she says she let me drive this one sometimes. (yeah, right)
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I knew a woman with an AWD Subaru wagon who slid into another car on a snowy country road when she couldn't stop (with the stock tires). I suggested getting 4 snows & wheels from the Tire Rack, which went nowhere.
My RWD 5-series wagon was actually quite decent in moderate surburban snow when I had Michelin Arctic Alpins on it, & the traction control was on a fair amount. I now have a set of Dunlop Winter Sport M3's I hope to get mounted by next winter. But I might trade it on a Subaru if I moved to VT or lived on a dirt road in Maine.
My Range Rover, with the stock summer or "all weather" tires, was surprisingly mediocre in snow (in 4wd). Really bad. I think it was the 18" Michelins, don't remember the model.
Problem with snow is, even if you live in E.MA, or SE MI, & not on top of a mountain in NH or CO, you never know when things could get Really Hairy.....
Its not the turbo model and its fine with 1 or 2 people but gets a little pokey with a full load of passengers. It gets called upon to tow small trailers relatively often and it does that fine. HWY mileage is in the high 20s/low 30s. I found the seats comfortable and I like the ergonomics of the cabin.
I keep trying to come up with my biggest complaint and I can't think of one - eh maybe its geared a little off with too big of a jump between 3rd 4th and 5th. You can't downshift to 3rd for passing/merging at highway speed, and 4th doesn't quite get it done. The turbo would alleviate that issue entirely I am sure.
I think it feels more coarse than the Honda or Toyota because of the boxer motor, but I like it personally.
That I don't want one is more a case of sour grapes.. I WOULD like one, but I can't justify it; my 'commute' is only 2.3 miles and it's in-town, so what's the point... and my wife needs a minivan for her business, so if you have that already, then an alternate vehicle should be a Vibe or Matrix rather than a Legacy. It IS a cool car, though. At least with a stick.
Of course, when conditions get hairy, I leave my 2WD truck in the garage and ride my bike to work... no problem, thanks to studded tires... those things are magic. I don't mind riding in the snow... rain is much worse...
-Mathias
Did you buy the Nashbar studded tires? I am trying to figure out how to extend my riding season...
They're the not-so-aggressive street-riding kind, and they are nothing short of fantastic. Sloshing around in the snow, I actually caught myself looking ahead and thinking, "Thank Goodness, some glare ice! Finally some grip!"
http://www.msu.edu/~steine13/can01.jpg
http://www.msu.edu/~steine13/can02.jpg
It's quite the workout, thought. They don't like to roll.
It's a good thing that CCBA is NEVER off-topic...
-Mathias
I had no idea they made studded tires for bicycles..
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!
Edmunds Moderator
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited Velvet Red over Wicker Beige
2024 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Daytona Gray over Beige
2017 BMW X1 Jet Black over Mocha
Yes, this is the same car I was referring to a number of months ago, with the repairs.
Yes, I'm familiar with the BCM problem endemic to the car.
Yes, I am also having some minor issues with the power locks (driver rear door doesn't always work with the first push of the button).
However, I am getting fairly decent mileage (approx. 24-25 MPG), but my commute is about 20 miles one way, most of which is either 4 lane divided road (50-55MPH) or interstate (75MPH).
And, I will concur with those who think that we need to have more wagons available in the US! The Passat wagon looks a bit, hmm, shall we say .. odd. I love the Legacy wagon.
I remember when C&D would do their "Boss Wagon" projects back in the 80's. Those looked like a lot of fun, even if they didn't always turn out as good as they had hoped.
Didn't Paul Newman drive a Volvo wagon with a Mustang 5.0 in it for a time? A true Q-ship.
It's OK though, I guess this will be my year to look for something old that I can fix up. That, I can pay cash for! :-)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
We agreed on $3350. Not a great deal, but its the right car at the right time. We've just had such a hard time finding a decent one at any price. I mean, even much newer ones have been such dogs that we can't justify parting with the money. So I THINK its money well spent. Only time will tell, though.
Oh, and I just got off the phone with Hagerty. I valued it at $5k (just in case) and they are charging me only $137 a year with a $250 deductible. This is exactly why I was glad to find a clean '87 (classic insurance).
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Whenever I get the itch for a convertible the 3 series with a stick is one of the ones I look for. I think you did pretty good on the price, even if it is 20 years old. The bottom of the market seems to be @ $2500 to $3000, so if you had to sell tommorow. you will be all right.
Wow, five cars, I feel like I am really falling behind with 2 cars and 2 drivers.
Have fun with the new wheels !
I had an appt for the Durango, dropped it off at 9 am, they took it in at 10, I though ok, maybe this won't be too long of a wait. I went to my mom's house about 11:30 and went back to the dealership at 4:30. The truck was ready at 5, so I'm thinking, ok, they fixed everything......WRONG!
In that time the ONLY thing they replaced was the rack and pinion and did an alignment (if you want to call it that). The truck is worse than before, steering wheel isn't centered anymore, and the steering is horribly stiff (course that could just be because I was used to all the slop it had before).
I took it back to them about the steering wheel, their response, well, leave it here overnight and we'll fix it in the morning......uh, I live 100 miles away! So, for now I'm living with it, they had to order parts for everything else, so it still squeaks and clunks, only now it doesn't go straight down the road, ugh. It'll probably go back in a couple weeks after the parts get in.
Its getting harder and harder to live with the Durango, its a good little truck, runs great, but the service dept just makes me cringe. :sick:
Honda CR-V is looking better all the time!
So... Flag Day or Fathers Day..
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!
Edmunds Moderator
It wasn't much better, it had a lot of fuel system problems, it left us in Washington with a blown injector, was never right after it was fixed. However, that isn't why we got rid of it, the reason it left was mainly because we never used it, we had 3 diesel trucks. It sat in the yard 90% of the time, I use the Durango more than I used it. Seemed silly to pay all that money for it to sit, we got a really good trade in for it considering the body damage and such that it had.
Hindsight, I should have traded it for a new SUV of some assorts, maybe a CR-V or something like that rather than the Durango. The Durango was cheap and I figured it wouldn't be bad to live with for a year or so. I'm trying to make the year mark, lol, would be best if I could since I'll most likely have it paid off by then and can sell it.
Its not terrible to live with and hopefully when they finally get everything fixed it'll be a little better. For now though I can only drive it, I cannot ride in it, it makes me car sick, lol. Not sure if that will ever change.
Yeah, when we financed my wife's van back in March, I had to really beat the bushes for a good rate. I ended up using my (state employee) father's credit union, who did a full 2 points less than any of the banks or the dealership itself could do. It was in between 5 and 6, as I recall.
I guess I'm going to be in for some sticker shock if I ever finance another car.
unfortunately, it had to be an automatic, as 3 of the 4 vehicles we had were stick and my wife is not yet able to drive a stick and I'm beginning to think she never will. So now we have 3 sticks and 2 automatics.
yes, yes, you ARE falling behind. Come on, man! only 1 car per driver??
;b
Actually, the biggest hassle for me is having guests over. We just had our driveway done and I had them make 4 parking spots (5 if i park them all myself) off to the side of the driveway. The Alfa and new-to-us bimmer will occupy the 2 garage spots, but that still leaves our other cars taking up 3 of the 5 parking spots. So any more than 2 visiting cars will become a problem.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Maybe you need one of these;
http://www.katopark.com/optilift.htm
Just stack them up like cord wood.
I also plan on building an additional 3-car garage, but that won't happen for a LOOONNGGG time.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
And yeah, dripping is a problem. Ironically, out of all of my old cars, the DeSoto, which is the oldest, is also the one that drips the least!
and here is a 2-post, like i was thinking of. Its still not the right one, though. The one I'm thinking of is blue, i believe, and always advertised in the back of car mags. I think for around $4k.
I like the 2-post because you can use it to rotate the tires.
The 4-post units typically seem to be drive-on ramps, rather than frame lifts.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
ak, sounds like it's time to bail out of the Durango. I know it's under warranty, but I cannot begin to imagine the hassle of living 100 miles from the dealer. My Saturn dealer is probably no more than 15 miles from where I live, and I hate it!
(Of course, with 3 Saturns in the family, I'm on a first name basis with all the service advisors)
All the dealers are 100 miles away, so its not just Dodge, however they are by far the WORST service dept in Fairbanks! The next closest Dodge dealer is 300 miles away.
If I buy a Honda I'm going to try buying it at the Fairbanks dealer, haven't bought from them before but I know if you do they treat you like gold in the service dept. Course that means selling the Durango outright since they won't take it in trade (its too old).
I love the new CR-V. But I wonder if it is rugged enough for your "environment".
Jeff
Just buy a da*mn Honda already! Even when you bought the durango, you had been saying you wanted a Pilot. :confuse: The CR-V is fine too. There are reportedly killer deals on Pilots now.
But Pls. take a SOLEMN VOW: NO MORE CHRYSLERS!
(End of rant. Whew, I feel so much better now....).
Unless one of the not-so-big anymore three is offering one of their 0% deals (and that's usually for only 36 months) you're not going to do much better than 3.9 for 60 months.
I don't *need* a Pilot really, I can do fine with a CR-V, I'd like better gas mileage than the Pilot offers anyway. Basically what I need is a 4WD family vehicle that gets good gas mileage and can handle grocery duty every 2 weeks (which includes a stop at the feed store).
Hubby has his Dodge Ram which has been an outstanding truck, but if it needs service he's on his own! I WILL NEVER own another Chrysler product, nope, never!
I think if I buy a Honda I'll be pretty content with it, if it doesn't give me any trouble I'll keep it for a long time. Heck, if I like it well enough even if it does give me trouble I'll keep it (read: the Titan).
You watch, the CR-V fits everything I want, but darn hubby won't fit in it, lol. Story of my life!
Anyway, the Accord was a great car. It's one of the only cars I ever wish I had not traded. I should have spent some money to have the a/c fixed, gotten it repainted and kept driving it. It had 150K on it when we traded it and it still ran like brand new.
7%-8% for retail banks is typical, right now..
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!
Edmunds Moderator
You might want to try this company: http://www.overheaddoor.com/ I've heard of them before, and they have a pretty good reputation I think.
When I had my garage built, a separate subcontractor came out to install the doors, but I forget who it was. I could look around and see if I can find any paperwork on them if you're interested, but I dunno if they're national or just local.
Not really, he has 2 trucks, but the Ford is a business truck only and the Dodge really is too. He rarely drives them for anything else other than going out in the woods or deliveries. Its my vehicle that is the family vehicle......lucky me, lol.
Anyway, the Accord was a great car. It's one of the only cars I ever wish I had not traded. I should have spent some money to have the a/c fixed, gotten it repainted and kept driving it. It had 150K on it when we traded it and it still ran like brand new.
Nah, the Accord would've required at least 1 800 brake job, fuel pump, main relay, 2 distributors, master cylinder, radiator, counterbalance shaft seals, water pump, upper and lower control arms, sway bar end links...
Sometimes its good to know when to cut your losses
At that mileage it not only managed to forgo all that other stuff but still had the original alternator, starter - heck it still had the original battery up to 120K!
Our 00 Accord, our candidate to be the first 10 year car in the family (we had a few 8 year jobs), has eaten up our money with routine maintenance and brake jobs but that is it. 135K. Still the original battery.
james
I think the 93 in our fleet is an especially poor one (leave it to my folks to get a "lemon" Honda), but it does hold the record for # of times on a hook. Now I am trying to figure out what to replace it with, but everything of interest is beyond my means so I just keep repairing it.