Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

michaellno

I just took a quick look on Edmunds TMV pages, and both the Focus and the L300 are right side up ... about $2K on the Focus and just under a grand on the Saturn.

So....

I start thinking to myself .. gee, if I sell both of them privately I'll have about $3K to put down on a new ride for moi. Something sporty and economical ... something ... well ... NEW!

The financially responsible adult says that's a bad idea .. . the kid in me says "let's go shopping!".

Would probably have a budget around $20K ... c'mon, folks, help me spend my money, even if it's only in my mind.

stickguy

How's that for motivation?

But, what will the college student drive when she is home?

Ah, I know, the old CCB trick: sell the old car, forcing you to buy a new one! If you sell two, of course you will need two back!

gee35coupe

It's on ebay. Anybody care to guess?

stickguy

you are buying your MDX back? Or the Si of your dreams?

OK, I have no idea. With you guys, it could be anything!

michaellno

Nope, I wouldn't say anything .... gee and anon trend towards Hondas and Acuras, with the occasional foray into other Japanese makes (see: Spider Condo).

With regards to the college student, my wife has a co-worker who she could carpool with, leaving the kid to drive the wife's VUE when she's home.

Again, the responsible side of me says that we are pretty close to having the Saturn and the Focus paid off and it would be crazy to start up a new set of payments.

Also, we just dropped a ton of money into the Saturn for new brakes (pads, rotors and calipers) and it seems silly to sell it.

How about specific suggestions?

gee35coupe

Not bad. That's close enough.
link title

stickguy

even got the heavy tint, which oddly looks good on a white car!

What's the deal with it? It syas used/1K miles. Is it really used, or just demoed but untitled?

wonder if it's a repo?

But anyway, at least you are winning!

nippononly

you might have to put a hold on the "fever" until summer - won't the Aura be out then? :-)

Don't know offhand how much Aura you will get for $20K, but I would imagine a fair amount.

michaellno

Yeah, I'd have to say that I'm interested in the Aura, but since the L stickered at the mid 20's for a nicely loaded V6, I wouldn't expect the Aura to be much less.

Plus, if I went in that direction, I'd look at the 3.6L V6.

nippononly

well, in THAT case, if you gotta have the V-6, then I guess you could try out a Sonata LX - nicely equipped, nicely built seemingly, and decked out at $20K. :-)

OR a better shot might be a Mazda6s, which has big rebates right now, and which you might be able to coax down to $20K + fees. Not to mention, you can get a stick in the Mazda! :-)

And of course, if you can stand a 4-cyl, you could do worse than an Accord EX, which they are dealing on right now and is still one of the best rides among the midsize sedans, IMHO.

Then again, there is now a good lease deal on the Fusion 6-cyl.....so many choices right now! :-)

gee35coupe

It has the HFP package and everything. I probably won't win it though. But hey, who knows.

qbrozen

almost $22k on a used one??
no thanks!

qbrozen

i really have a problem.

I've only had my Lincoln LS for 5 months and I've got a severe wandering eye. I'm looking at lease deals on everything under the sun, and even an '02 Jag XJ8 I spotted in the AutoTrader caught my eye and had me thinking real hard. The XJ is a car I've always wanted ... folks around me always manage to scare me away from them, though.

Hey, how much does it cost to lease a new Civic Si?

corvette

Supposedly the Jags are better than they used to be, but that's one I'd rather do a trial of under the factory warranty before owning it without one...

gee35coupe

Is over $25k. That's an expensive Civic but whenever you get a loaded anything it kinda kills the value. Heck some people paid well over MSRP for the first ones.

Looks like it made it to my max though. I'm out. One more bid and I lose.

qbrozen

I haven't looked, but what do you get with the HFP? So that's like $2500 more, it seems, right? I sure as heck hope its more than a body kit for that kind of dough.

For $25k, why not get an RSX-S?

kyfdx

They had a Civic SI w/NAV.. MSRP was $22,300...

What is HFP?

gee35coupe

Maybe shocks too.

kyfdx

I like it just the way it comes from the factory... No extras needed..

qbrozen

For some reason, I always become blind to this particular problem ... I CAN'T lease. It always seems attractive to me, but then I remember that my insurance company (and maybe this is true of all insurance) makes me carry the high coverage of a lease on all of my vehicles, thereby adding about $1k-$1500 to my policy for the year. That pretty much offsets any monthly savings a lease provides, and then some.

For my wife's Pacifica, Chrysler gave us the deal where we pay it like a lease, but it is not actually considered a "lease" and we don't have to change our insurance on it at all. Does anybody know the official name of this type of lending? I guess maybe its just called a balloon note, but with the option of giving the vehicle back after 3 years.

Is this a common lending practice? Do all manufacturers offer this? Or will this be done away with entirely now that you can lease in New York again?

corvette

I'm an advocate of carrying the high limit on vehicles anyway, but I've always heard the type of financing you're referring to called a balloon note. GMAC calls it "Smartbuy," and I would venture that different financing companies may call it different things.

rockylee

correct. Ballon Note is what smart buy is. Finacial insitutions call it that around here.

Rocky

qbrozen

yeah, i did realize the minimums are too low, so I do carry limits above those, but just not at lease limits.

Smartbuy sounds familiar. Maybe Chrysler calls it the same thing.

andre1969

back in 1998, it was what they called a "Smart Buy". 47 monthly payments, and then on the 48th payment he could either turn it back in or buy it for something like $5600. There was a mileage limit, too. 15,000 miles per year IIRC, or 60,000 miles total. He had around 90,000 miles on it. There was also a 10 cent per mile penalty for whatever you went over.

So basically he had the choice of give them the car back, plus pay them $3000, and have nothing. And still need a car, and not have the credit to buy one. Or keep it and pay the $5600.

He kept it and paid the $5600. And of course the tranny went out 2 months later! Came out to just under $1200 for a used one with 55,000 miles on it, which has been troublefree since then.

And that was over 3 1/2 years ago, and the car hasn't needed anything too major since then, although he had the timing belt done at 120K, which wasn't exactly cheap.

anonymousposts

but fortunately car manufacturers are helping us out. There's nothing really catching our eye other than the Civic and that car is impossible to find the way we want it. The 07 Camry might be nice but they are just coming out so good luck finding a 5-speed SE with the options we want.

We got the Accord waxed and got the oil changed. Looks and drives like a new car. The only problem (knock on wood) in 33,000 miles is the bulb went out for my passenger side heated seat. They replaced it when they changed the oil.

sandman46

Showed the wife a nice pic of this car on the internet last night. The body shape is very similar to her 3s. Figured I'd start "priming the pump" so I can slowly wear her down about replacing the Sentra with a new Civic. Funny, she then walked out into the garage and looked at my Sentra and said it looks "brand new" and it'll last at least 7 to 8 more years. She just doesn't get it! She just doesn't get that "thrill" that we car lovers do when we see a car that puts a smile on our faces.
Hopefully I'll be in a position soon where I won't have to discuss if we can afford a new car and ask how much can be allocated to my purchase. I'll just be able to write a check and make the soul decision as to when and where I buy.
I can't wait. But I'll probaly wait for the '08 model year, and by that time I'll have close to 45k miles on the Sentra and a better rationalization to trade the Nissan.

The Sandman

corvette

You could always order an 07 Camry, but by the time it came in, your three months of enjoying it would almost be up.

guss

buy a car or two in between.

I should talk, I think I am falling off the wagon on Monday.

growwise

but fortunately car manufacturers are helping us out. There's nothing really catching our eye other than the Civic and that car is impossible to find the way we want it.

me and a mate went window shopping and test drove a new civic sedan. I sat behind and was disappointed to find no legroom. I am always stumped as to why there is no room under front seats in some cars. My feet would really like that. Its not always about knee room as much as how far can your feet can go. Front seats should always be elevated from floor pan so that rear passengers can stretch out.
Other than that, I was expecting a quiet cabin but found lacking in sound insulation. Suspension was usual sporty nonsense rather than concentrating on absorbing bumps. Width was narrow but you expect that in economy cars speaking of which it is pretty pricey for economy car and interest rates are thru the roof. 7.9% said the dealer.. I didnt like the silver color but loved the galaxy grey (??) I forget the name..

We got the Accord waxed and got the oil changed

People always concentrate on oil changes and forget completely about tranny flushes. Consequently tranny goes out first. If you plan on keeping a car for long time (I know it goes against the principle of CCBA), tranny flush is a good idea. A friend of mine has 2000 Accord on which tranny went out less than 100k.

corvette

People always concentrate on oil changes and forget completely about tranny flushes.

I plan on following the book for both for the time being, because I suspect on many modern cars the electrics will go wonky long before the mechanicals wear out. If I still own my 325i beyond the 50,000 mile mark and plan to keep it, I might consider changing the manual transmission fluid and diff fluid.

If you're a gentle driver and do mostly highway miles, there are tires today that will go 100,000 miles, and your brakes will probably outlast the tires. I don't think such components existed 20-30 years ago. As the life expectancies of these components have improved, so have fluids, filters, and the things they protect.

nippononly

what are you getting? Do tell :-)

gee35coupe

No flush needed. Just a drain and fill at some point.

I guess it depends on what you are used to. I'm 6'6' and find the Civic a nice fit. It's not my LS400 for sure but then again I'm a guy that has owned fifty-leven Civic in the past so I'm used to it.
Funny thing about the camry...I checked KBB for prices and there is a $500 surcharge on the SE 4 cylinder manual. What the frag is that?

nippononly

Toyota is building any manual-shift Camrys yet. I tried the "build your own" feature on Toyota.com just to see, and no matter what zip code I put in, only automatic options came up. I wonder if it's order-only, or something?

Sounds like they have taken the SE a little more seriously this time around. I wonder if it might not be a solid competitor to the Accord EX. Of course, I bet the Honda's steering will be better, and the manual too.

gee35coupe

Actually builds manuals. The only 5 speed Camrys are being driven by Elvis, Bigfoot, and The Abominable Snowman. I also hear Bin Ladin has one with leather and NAV.

nippononly

they built at least one.........for the press fleet, as all the usual mags reviewed the manual shift SE (a red one) this month. LOL

qbrozen

After a test drive this afternoon, I fully intended on leasing an '06 Accord V6 6-speed (hey, 666, i just realized that) ... dealer was waaaayy under what i thought my trade was worth. Oh well. I actually kind of like having my mind made up for me. Either a great deal I can't pass up or a horrible deal I can't accept. Its the tough decisions that make me lose sleep.

But, anyway, I think what the wife and I have decided on is to sell my beloved Volvo before it nickels and dimes us to death, and pick up a replacement beater with lower miles.

guss

That's the sign of the Devil. Stay away from that deal.

Here's the story on my 6.

I looked at a 2003 Escape on Thursday with similar miles to my 2004 Mazda.I am getting the unheard of, a check back from the dealer.

The escape has several thing I was missing with my mazda, Sunroof,roof rack(hard to find on the Mazda 6 wagons :confuse: 0,true seating for three kids car seats in back,flip glass for long lumber and did I mention a sunroof. With spring almost here that's one thing I really miss.I looked into adding one and it was $1100 , and still would not look right.

The Escape was really well maintained and had all maintenance done within 500 miles of the required intervals, including 3k oil changes.

Best part was when I told my wife we were getting a check back , she was pretty OK with the deal.

I think this one should be sticking aroud for awhile,it has everthing I had on my want list(plus leather seats).

corvette

The regional Toyota distributors control the build-your-own Toyota website. In my region, the option choices are really limited, and they all come in packages, nothing is standalone. There are some Toyotas you can't build on that site without a $2000 option package. This matches up perfectly with how the cars on dealer lots are equipped, though--if the combination is on the website, you can probably find it somewhere. It's a pretty crummy system.

If you special order the car, you can get it optioned exactly like you want it, and the standalone options in the brochure will be available to you.

rroyce10

..... 666..??


Aphrodite's Child .........?



Terry :surprise:

guss

Nah, didn't you see the movie The Omen.

Damien's(Satan's son) parents shave his head and he has a 666 tattoo.

It's sad when I get most of my Bible knowledge from the movies.

qbrozen

SOOO... help me spend some money. LOL.

Ok, its money I don't have yet. BUT, we are looking at selling my Volvo and picking up something else.

What I'm faced with at this point is ... something with more utility or something more economical??

When I do the math, economical doesn't seem to make sense. I mean, this is a 4th car, so, even in a best-case scenario, it might get driven half the time. When I calculate that out, at $3 per gallon (which gas isn't even close to right now), I save a whopping $30 a month by getting 35 mpg vs 25 mpg. SO why get an overpriced, cramped Civic to save $30 a month?

So the other thought - utility - seems to be the more practical choice. Maybe a nice late 90s Dodge Dakota extended cab. I had a '97 and loved it. But the 14 mpg and poor handling made it completely impractical as a primary car .... so maybe as a 4th car ....???

Anyway, I'm thinking in the $5500 range ...

the biggest key is going to be something high on reliability and low on maintenance (hence, once again, a Civic makes sense here). The Volvo is just demanding too much time for the amount we drive it now (although, i could contemplate the idea that now so much is fixed ... will it be good to me for a while?).

rroyce10

... **Damien's(Satan's son) parents shave his head and he has a 666 tattoo ...**

.. hmm, sounds like my ex brother-in-law ...... and all this time I thought he was just cheap and on sale for $9.99



Terry.

stickguy

something like a TOyota PU (a small one). At least it serves a prupose, and you can't get much more reliable.

qbrozen

yeah, i just looked that up this morning. I see the late 90s tacoma still used the 2.4 4-cyl (is this still a rendition of the old 22R??). That might fit the bill if I could find a fairly low-mile extended cab (another question: can the backseat fit a carseat??).

oh, that reminds me, did i mention i was away from the board for a couple of weeks there having a kid? Our son was born 2/22. The carseat has put a whole new spin on carshopping.

guss

Congratulations !

No way a rear facing infant seat will fit in any of the mid size pick-ups extended cabs and most full size ones for that matter. You will need a crew for at least the next year. Those will all be pretty pricey and probably out of your $5500 budget.

You could find a 4-cyl 4Runner in that range though.

qbrozen

see now, I really think I could manage with my '97 Dakota Ex-cab. But, IIRC, that is the largest backseat of any mid-sizer.

my wife mentioned a 4-runner, too. I'm just not sure I could find a decent one in the pricerange. I'll keep my eyes out for it, though.

michaellno

I just found out that Ford is offering $500 to current college students if they buy or lease a Ford or Mercury vehicle between now and 1/2/2007. This is on top of any other incentives that are available.

Here in CO, there has been quite a bit of advertising on the $0 out of pocket leases for Fords and Mercurys. Two examples are the Fusion SE for $219/mo and the Mariner 4x4 V6 Luxury for $279/mo.

If (and that's a pretty big if) they are equipped the way I would want it, that seems like a screaming deal. Since the daughter going off to college would come nowhere close to the annual mileage allotment, I could easily shave a couple of hundred bucks off my vehicle budget each month.

Granted, I'd have to figure out what to do at the end of the lease, but my thinking is that by that time, the kid would be 21 and could buy her own car (with Mommy and me co-signing, if necessary).

woodyww

Yes, that's part of why I own a bmw wagon ("Touring")--so I can go & buy used rims or tires (or audio equip., or whatever) & haul them home.

The last time I did that, I actually fit 9 nice 16" tires, mounted on bmw alloys, in the trunk or hatch, of my 5-series wagon, seats folded down, w/o wrecking the interior--this is not as easy as it sounds. The guy who bought 4 of them for his 7-series was going thru a moderate amount of dues getting them into his back seat & trunk.

My problem seems to be, having the snow tires I need, with the rims I need, for the car I still have, & getting the tires/rims mounted on the current car, all at the same time.....oh well.....

woodyww

That's assuming, that the daughter wouldn't do what I did when I was in college, & go on all kinds of crazy road trips all over the country, & either wreck the car(s), or blow the engines, in several different ways. But then, those were the "good old days".....& all that's probably more of a "guy thing"......

*Since the daughter going off to college would come nowhere close to the annual mileage allotment*

guss

I thought that was why God made 15 year old Dodges. For college students with no idea of where they are going.

I bought the Escape last night. I really like it , fits my body size a lot better.

I looked into the Mariner lease deals and they are pretty decent if you don't put more than 12k miles on a year. Unfortunately I am around 17k, and I am not a big advocate of leasing. Life changes too quickly for that type of commitment.