Car Shopping Advice

[motocross_cat]

That new kia suv Telluride  is bad ass.

Cant believe I just said that.

 

[Anybodyhome]

On 2/20/2019 at 12:32 PM, Bronn said:

Inifiniti - Expensive. We owned a G35 once. It was nice, but they come with everything that comes with a luxury brand.

Yep.

My wife had a G35 and I hated it. First of all, I didn't fit very well in the car- driving it was just uncomfortable. When the car was 5-6 years old and only had 20k miles, the interior went to poo, seams coming apart, edges coming out from the moldings... I spent a couple grand on upholstery work.

She went back to a Lexus a few years ago- I'm very glad she did that.

[tarheelpride]

2 hours ago, Anybodyhome said:

Yep.

My wife had a G35 and I hated it. First of all, I didn't fit very well in the car- driving it was just uncomfortable. When the car was 5-6 years old and only had 20k miles, the interior went to poo, seams coming apart, edges coming out from the moldings... I spent a couple grand on upholstery work.

She went back to a Lexus a few years ago- I'm very glad she did that.

My wife really loves Infiniti, hence the inclusion on this list. I have a sense of dread about it and I didn't want to consider one. But she wants one and she has driven the Q50 before and feel very comfortable driving it.

[tarheelpride]

To add a bit of context and story on our search that I didn't include in the first post (in case if it changes anything)

 

My Corolla started having problems about 2 years ago, when the MPG I was averaging took a huge nosedive. Went from getting close to 33mpg to under 20 between fillups, doing a mix of driving highway and city miles. Swapped spark plugs, took it to a mechanic, etc... Nobody could figure it out. Kept it maintained. I got hit from behind, got that fixed, then it started breaking down. Broke down on my wife on her way to work. Put more money into it. Then we moved and it seemed to have gotten worse. It does need a bit of work, but I don't want to continue putting money into something I, in particular, don't like driving. I'm happy to have transportation, but I desire to have something newer. Besides, I have no desire whatsoever to work on a car myself, nor the ability.

 

We've been looking for roughly two months now at vehicles. We initially started at Lexus, and while we could afford the price, the insurance payment would have doubled. She doesn't feel comfortable in an Accord and I think the Civic is too small, especially if we're going to start a family soon. CR-V's are too high for what we want. We secured financing a few weeks ago with the idea to have the car before the end of the month.

 

Hence, the short list. I've talked her into a Volvo S60 or XC60, which is shockingly affordable insurance wise and from a price standpoint. I like the safety ratings plus it has the features that we want. I don't think the repairs, if any are needed, will be that bad. The stuff like tires, oil changes, may get a hair dicey. Her pick is the Q50, because she likes it so much and it's easy for her to drive and park. I can do without it personally. Mazda was a middle choice since we rented a Mazda 3 a while back and she liked it a lot and thinks she can handle a Mazda 6.

 

I've worked in car rental for 6 years, so I've driven mostly everything and have a good handle on what I would like. The limiting factor is my wife being comfortable with driving it and parking it. Otherwise, I'd have an Accord or a small SUV. I've seen the Ford, Chevy's, and Dodge's break down on customers too much for me to consider otherwise. I can't stand Toyota, even though I know those are reliable (no driving character, it's just there).

 

I'm willing to consider other makes/models, especially if our short list falls through. I'm just nervous at the negotiation part. I appreciate the advice I've seen here so far. I'm mainly just ready for it to be over.

[Bronn]

15 hours ago, tarheelpride said:

I'm willing to consider other makes/models, especially if our short list falls through. I'm just nervous at the negotiation part. I appreciate the advice I've seen here so far. I'm mainly just ready for it to be over.

Just don't be too ready. The vultures at the dealership will smell it and won't budge. I know car shopping is a PITA and I hate it more than most things myself, but you don't want to rush it or settle.

Go in there like a boss and basically tell them what they're gonna sell it to you for or else you'll walk away. Be confident, do your homework, and don't be a pushover.

I'm glad you mentioned the insurance angle. If you're looking online ahead of time (which you should be) it might behoove you to go ahead and run some VINs to your insurance agent to get a quote on how much change you're going to be looking at, and plan ahead for that too.

Sounds like your Corolla is cursed. We had a Tahoe like that one time. It was a magnet for weird issues that weren't mechanical in nature (we once dropped the keys into the water at a boat dock on July 4th weekend, wife rear ended someone once because of a sun glare, she also backed it into our garage before the door was completely opened and shattered the rear glass, and when we ended up eventually taking it to CarMax for an estimate a car-carrier truck backed into the front end of it. CarMax basically bought it from us for retail because of that, lol.)

[Anybodyhome]

16 hours ago, tarheelpride said:

My wife really loves Infiniti, hence the inclusion on this list. I have a sense of dread about it and I didn't want to consider one. But she wants one and she has driven the Q50 before and feel very comfortable driving it.

Oh, don't get wrong, there's no question that it's a nice-handling car, has plenty of power and rides pretty well. My biggest complaint was the driver's enclosure- it was simply too narrow and I'm 6'6" and my right knee was always rubbing the console, and the workmanship of the interior. 

The leather, compared to a Lexus, is not even in the same league. The seats had such a thin layer of leather they actually tore when the car was less than 4 years old. The material, both vinyl and leather began popping out from behind the edge moldings on both doors at 5 years old.

Where the 2 different colors meet, around the faux wood and along the edge of the power window button the material edges starting coming out from behind.

Only issue I had with the Infinity. I just think it wasn't really well built.

[Anybodyhome]

Don't rental companies sell their cars and would you consider that? 

[Bronn]

15 minutes ago, Anybodyhome said:

Don't rental companies sell their cars and would you consider that? 

I don't want to speak for him, but I know I wouldn't.

I've overseen a few vehicle fleets in my time, and I know that they are pretty comparable, if not maintained better, than rental fleets.

You're dealing with a wide range of drivers who might have bad habits that tax the vehicle systems in different ways, which isn't really a good thing IMHO. Also, you don't really know what their maintenance guidelines are and they might just be skirting by with bare minimum or worse.

I just wouldn't trust it all that much, unless the price was really really good.

 

[tarheelpride]

33 minutes ago, Anybodyhome said:

Don't rental companies sell their cars and would you consider that? 

From my experience working at Enterprise, I’d go with them only if I knew someone that was working for the car sales department. Those cars are generally maintained (the whole “we want a clean fleet” thing combined with “we sell off the worst ones and keep the top 2%” jumbo). I’ve ran a couple of stores so I’m familiar with the maintenance process. Otherwise, I wouldn’t go with rental companies for the simple fact that the majority of the car models are base models. They buy their cars in bulk and there’s more savings in buying base models. I’d have more variety at a dealer and more room for negotiation. Those rental lots have a single price and they don’t negotiate. 

 

By extension, CarMax is out since a good deal of the vehicles they have for sale comes from rental car companies and those cars are often a bit lower in quality. Those cars are driven rougher and could have had more repairs done. I want to steer clear of vehicles that have had accidents unless a) I get an excellent price and b) an independent mechanic checks it out and tells me there should not be any lingering problems. 

 

With some one of the cars I had to rent out based on necessity, I am weary of rental fleet cars. 

[tarheelpride]

1 hour ago, Bronn said:

'm glad you mentioned the insurance angle. If you're looking online ahead of time (which you should be) it might behoove you to go ahead and run some VINs to your insurance agent to get a quote on how much change you're going to be looking at, and plan ahead for that too.

Definitely this. This is how I ruled out Lexus and 2017 Infiniti’s. The insurance costs are too prohibitive, even if we save money on the front end. I looked up the VIN’s of the specific vehicles we’d be interested in and the insurance went up at most $20/month on the Volvo’s. I can definitely shell out the extra $20 if that means we get what we want at a very good price.

[toldozer]

If you want a Volvo I would recommend eurocarsllc.com I don't know if he has any in stock now but I've bought two of my cars from him.  He has a lot of nice European cars if you don't mind extremely low miles and a year old for killer deals.  Still very happy with my Benz i bought from him last year. As long as it still has the manufacturer warranty on it you're good. 

 

He won't take your car in on trade because of the year and mileage though so you'd have to sell it. 

[thefuzz]

Not trying to pick on your OP, but you have really piqued my interest.

 

How are you married, and neither of you have ever bought a car?

What do you mean by "my wife can't handle an Accord"? or however you put it?  I have no clue what that means, especially if you are looking at Volvo's.

What is your situation where you can't sell private party?

What interest rate did the credit union give you?  Terms?

What is so intimidating about the negotiation process?  To be honest, I have negotiated 1 car in my life....purchased well over a dozen cars, and many boats.  (boats require much more knowledge/savvy than cars, and more negotiation)

Why the rush?  You need to slow down.

[Arroz con Panther]

Can I hijack this thread for a quick second to ask what people think about Acura? My wife needs a new car soon and is pretty set on a MDX. Any thoughts?

[tarheelpride]

Long story short, no car yesterday. Several of the dealerships we visited and I are about 2K apart on an XC60. S60 was too small. I'm sure I pissed off a few salesmen with my insistence that I will not budge from my price. My wife and I probably spent a good 10 hours between dealerships and I will admit, it is very tiring. Maybe one of those dealerships will call me back, who knows. One kind of insulted me by dropping the price $375 upon negotiation. Suffice to say, I got up and left.

 

It's probably time to consider other makes/models in this search, considering our budget and what payment we're trying to stay in. I still do not trust Ford and Chevy, and know the hell that Chrysler/Dodge products will give me. We still are considering Mazda for the price point (I understand what a few of you have said about them) and she does not want an Accord. I don't want a Toyota at all, so no clue. VW scare me a bit (as do any German-made vehicles). Infiniti will probably still be on the list, but I'd have to get a good Q50 for under $20k for me to consider it, with how high our insurance will be.

 

Back to the drawing board