Rabkorik
Silver Knight of the Realm
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Buying a car?
- Thread starter Solariss
- Start date
Looking for a new daily driver for the fiancee (weekend car for us, so want something nice). Any advice? We tend towards luxury so have looked at 328i, a4, ats, q50, is250. Any other cars in that class I am missing? Something considered a step down that is worth giving a look? Right now the A4 is winning with the Q50 close behind.
November
Lord Nagafen Raider
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We have a 2007 RAV4, purchased new. It's just shy of 100k miles, and we've had zero problems with it. I want to say we've replaced the tires around 60-70k and the front brakes around 80kish. Other than those expenses, everything else is routine maintenance every 5k. We got the 4 cylinder, but now I wish we'd gone with the V6. I want to say it gets 27 MPG highway / 21 MPG city.
The 2013 is a redesign. I don't like it. Too much plastic and it's only available in a 4 cylinder. That last redesign was 2006 I believe. Some sport versions have the spare tire underneath as opposed to the tire case on the rear door. Some versions also have a 3rd row seat option.
I've been looking at Focus, Optima, Rio, Elantra, Sonata, Fiesta...I don't know if I can stomach dropping 10-15k on one of those. Would much rather drop some dough on a 70's to late 80's vehicle. MPG aside, I LOVE to drive. All of the above sounds like a numbing coma.
What I would love is a late 80s t type or grand national, but parts are too expensive and harder to find.
Any thoughts on an El Camino? Can usually be found for much less than 10k in great condition. Very basic in terms of maintenance. Not a fan of modern cars.
Edit: Bah fuck it. I'll buy one of these generic modern cars, and get my elky later down the road.
Any thoughts on an El Camino? Can usually be found for much less than 10k in great condition. Very basic in terms of maintenance. Not a fan of modern cars.
Edit: Bah fuck it. I'll buy one of these generic modern cars, and get my elky later down the road.
Eomer
Trakanon Raider
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Any thoughts or opinions on Dodge Calibers? After taking a few cars for test drives yesterday, the lady friend is leaning away from the sub-compact class (Accent, Yaris, or Fits). She wants something a bit bigger. She really liked the Caliber and Matrix she drove. Problem is that the resale on Toyotas is so high that finding a decent Matrix or even Yaris is really pushing her budget. Budget also prevents her from being able to go with a new enough Hyundai, as most of their cars prior to 2011 are pretty ugly looking, completely devoid of features, and are generally beaten to shit by their owners.
But there's a good number of fairly inexpensive, low mileage, 2008-2009 Calibers floating around out there that might be within her budget. They're pretty well equipped options wise and are decently sized. The engine and CVT seem to get very poor reviews from car magazines/sites, but she didn't notice the difference. Only thing I could find online is that apparently some 2007/2008's have issues with suspension linkages or rods or something, otherwise they are apparently fairly reliable.
On that note, might go the Focus route as well. It just seems like used Hondas and Toyotas are priced ridiculously high around here, although I suppose that's probably the case elsewhere. It just seems silly that she can buy an 09 or 10 Caliber for the same price as an 06 or 07 Matrix with twice as many miles and half the features.
Sleaziest salesman by far was also at a Hyundai dealership. She explained her budget sticker price wise, what she could do for a payment, and said she was looking for a 2006-2009 vehicle. Dirtbag kept fucking trying to steer her towards a new or nearly new vehicle. "Oh don't worry, the payments are virtually the same!On an 84 month term." Fuck you asshole, she told you what she wants twice now, if you don't have anything just fucking say so.
I've never really dealt with car salesmen before, it's fucking exhausting. It also doesn't help that her idiot brother is telling her that she NEEDS a fucking SUV or truck for winter driving. Really you idiot? How in the fuck is a RWD 15 year old truck going to be a better winter driver exactly? How does an AWD SUV stop faster? She lives in the goddamn city, she's not driving on unplowed country roads with two feet of snow.
But there's a good number of fairly inexpensive, low mileage, 2008-2009 Calibers floating around out there that might be within her budget. They're pretty well equipped options wise and are decently sized. The engine and CVT seem to get very poor reviews from car magazines/sites, but she didn't notice the difference. Only thing I could find online is that apparently some 2007/2008's have issues with suspension linkages or rods or something, otherwise they are apparently fairly reliable.
On that note, might go the Focus route as well. It just seems like used Hondas and Toyotas are priced ridiculously high around here, although I suppose that's probably the case elsewhere. It just seems silly that she can buy an 09 or 10 Caliber for the same price as an 06 or 07 Matrix with twice as many miles and half the features.
Sleaziest salesman by far was also at a Hyundai dealership. She explained her budget sticker price wise, what she could do for a payment, and said she was looking for a 2006-2009 vehicle. Dirtbag kept fucking trying to steer her towards a new or nearly new vehicle. "Oh don't worry, the payments are virtually the same!On an 84 month term." Fuck you asshole, she told you what she wants twice now, if you don't have anything just fucking say so.
I've never really dealt with car salesmen before, it's fucking exhausting. It also doesn't help that her idiot brother is telling her that she NEEDS a fucking SUV or truck for winter driving. Really you idiot? How in the fuck is a RWD 15 year old truck going to be a better winter driver exactly? How does an AWD SUV stop faster? She lives in the goddamn city, she's not driving on unplowed country roads with two feet of snow.
I really don't want to spend more than 15k. I'm not going to buy some brand new boring vehicle. So after a long long long search on craigslist, heres what it's come down to.
2005 Tacoma (xtra cab or crew cab), usually go for a little less than 15k
1997-2002 Lexus GS, usually go for less than 10k
I would really love a Tacoma, but not sure if I can fully justify buying a truck. It would be a major plus because they're so roomy, reliable, take it to the snow, and throw a surfboard in the back, MPG not too shabby either. But a GS is, well, about 5k cheaper, better mpg, can still take to the snow (would need chains), and can put a surf rack on it (not sure if I would want a 9ft board on the roof though).
Out of those two, which do you think would be a better buy? I am really leaning toward the Tacoma. Big, roomy, reliable, plus I love the commanding view. But the $$ saved would be nice.
2005 Tacoma (xtra cab or crew cab), usually go for a little less than 15k
1997-2002 Lexus GS, usually go for less than 10k
I would really love a Tacoma, but not sure if I can fully justify buying a truck. It would be a major plus because they're so roomy, reliable, take it to the snow, and throw a surfboard in the back, MPG not too shabby either. But a GS is, well, about 5k cheaper, better mpg, can still take to the snow (would need chains), and can put a surf rack on it (not sure if I would want a 9ft board on the roof though).
Out of those two, which do you think would be a better buy? I am really leaning toward the Tacoma. Big, roomy, reliable, plus I love the commanding view. But the $$ saved would be nice.
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Eomer
Trakanon Raider
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That's what I thought too, but the Caliber doesn't appear to have any big red flags when I did some googling around. Every indication is that they're pretty reliable vehicles. Again, the engine and CVT don't get good reviews in terms for performance, but the girlfriend didn't even notice. It was hard to tell how "solid" the car was when we drove it, as there were floor mats in the back that were making a lot of noise, but overall it seemed like a pretty decent vehicle given how cheap you can buy them for. Again, you can buy one 2-3 years newer with half as many miles for the same price as an equivalent Yaris or Matrix.
Although actually, now that I poke around on JD Power it's getting mediocre ratings for quality/reliability. So does the Matrix, actually. I don't know who to believe!
Eomer
Trakanon Raider
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Her budget is 8-10k, so she's got to go for used 2007-2010's, more or less. It's a shitty price point I'm finding. A bit more and she could buy something near new with warranty. A bit less and it's just a beater that you don't give a shit about.
Eomer
Trakanon Raider
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Yeah, that's a bit out of what she can afford payment wise, and she probably couldn't get the financing for it. She's finding that financing is going to be hard, because she works three different jobs (which add up to full time hours or even more than that), two of them only for 2-3 months, and the banks aren't liking that at all. I could co-sign, but at that point I may as well just lend her the money personally, which she doesn't want to do.