Car Buying Help

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Famm_sl said:
That's why I've followed all the google university advice to just stick with an internet sales guy and keep it to emails until you have your negotiated price in writing. Walking in the door before that is asking for frustration, aside from bouncing around doing some test drives, but if you know what you want then just search and email. They bother the fuck out of you after you've made contact but its easy to ignore. You can hang up the phone without answering or whatever and they'll still be super polite and shit of course.

That other place never emailed me back. I don't know if someone knew my name from having left it with them at the test drive, but they probably saw my message asking for out the door and what any unexpected fees would be and said forget it. I read yelp reviews of the place confirming that other people went in chasing their low online price, only to find thousands tacked on in "reconditioning" (on a two year old car with one owner and 40K miles?) freight (seriously? from where? on a trade in?) and one guy said they charged his sister $1600 for state inspection. This place is putting inspection certs on shit all day, doesn't their own service department handle that? Even if not, I know from buying and selling multiple older cars on CL that the inspection stations near me charge like $75-$80.

They are just getting people in the door with the way below market shit then hoping they will be stupid or pushovers or just give up and want the car when they run their scam "there's nothing I can do about this fee!". Really, its not like the price is way over market or book, just that it rubs people the wrong way to trick them onto the lot with those advertised prices. Better IMO to stick with a stealership that's willing to give you an actual up front list price online with no hidden fees and then quibble over the final price.
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If you're not going for anything exotic then yea just shop at Carmax also. They don't haggle or nickle and dime you.
 
P

Picasso3

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I find for exotics like the last roadworthy Chevy cavalier convertible craigslist is king.
 
Famm

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Cad_sl said:
If you're not going for anything exotic then yea just shop at Carmax also. They don't haggle or nickle and dime you.
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I'm sure it varies by region, what vehicle you're looking for and other factors, but I'm not too impressed by my carmax options around here. Pricing seemed a bit over market too. I do appreciate their business model, should be more of it.
 
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Famm_sl said:
I'm sure it varies by region, what vehicle you're looking for and other factors, but I'm not too impressed by my carmax options around here. Pricing seemed a bit over market too. I do appreciate their business model, should be more of it.
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Their prices probably are a bit over market but most people aren't getting market at screwjob used car dealers. The point with carmax is you can get an average to better than average deal without having to deal with the smarmy tactics car dealers use.
 
Siliconemelons

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Cad_sl said:
Their prices probably are a bit over market but most people aren't getting market at screwjob used car dealers. The point with carmax is you can get an average to better than average deal without having to deal with the smarmy tactics car dealers use.
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If you have no steel for car negotiations then CarMax is great-just show up and pay the 0-10% average market price... also the best place to just walk in and be able to sit in, look around and mess with every car on the lot- if you want to drive one just ask the salesmen that gave you his/her card when you walked through the door.

However if you are willing to deal with the standard 'ish then you can easily get 10% below average market or better by dealing with used car lots- esp if its the used side of a dealer lot.
 
kegkilla

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what is the expectation for gas prices going forward? i'm considering getting a lancer evolution, but that might be a bad idea if gas prices go nuts again.
 
Palum

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kegkilla_sl said:
the new Mustang is also on the short list
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I have experience with both, what are you looking for in a car? The S550 interior is really top notch for the price range and it's a faster car and a much better GT vehicle. The Evo will have a bit more torque feel off the line due to turbo lag so it is a bit more fun stop light racing but that also depends on the transmission you want. Evo DCT > 6R80 (though the 6R80 is bulletproof). The S550 has two seats with a generous rear storage compartment for random shit you bring to work (unless you get rag top) while the Evo comfortably fits 4. I would probably go Evo in a rural area that gets snow if it was my only car. As far as handling, the S550 with the performance pack is a monster with minor suspension tweaks but the Evo being smaller and lighter with AWD is a bit more forgiving in the twisties IMO.

Of course, any comparison ends if you are considering a GT350. The 350 straight up murders an Evo like it was in the wrong part of town.
 
Sludig

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Evo interior materials gonna be ass, bit of a rough ride. Still love my friends nice Evo, but depending exactly what you want, go find a used 2008 VW R32. DSG, No turbo lag, AWD Unlike GTI's. Respectable if not great gas mileage while always just tearing off the light. Love hitting 45mph speed limit and being half a mile ahead of traffic. Merge even short ramps at full 80mph highway speed makes things easier. Meanwhile the interior is much nicer with automatic lights, rain sensing wipers, heated everything.
 
kegkilla

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Palum_sl said:
I have experience with both, what are you looking for in a car? The S550 interior is really top notch for the price range and it's a faster car and a much better GT vehicle. The Evo will have a bit more torque feel off the line due to turbo lag so it is a bit more fun stop light racing but that also depends on the transmission you want. Evo DCT > 6R20 (though the 6R20 is bulletproof). The S550 has two seats with a generous rear storage compartment for random shit you bring to work (unless you get rag top) while the Evo comfortably fits 4. I would probably go Evo in a rural area that gets snow if it was my only car. As far as handling, the S550 with the performance pack is a monster with minor suspension tweaks but the Evo being smaller and lighter with AWD is a bit more forgiving in the twisties IMO.

Of course, any comparison ends if you are considering a GT350. The 350 straight up murders an Evo like it was in the wrong part of town.
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probably would get an AT since i live in the city and it seems like manual would be a pain in the ass while sitting in traffic. also thinking about the new Camaro.

does anyone have a carfax account that could run a report for me? fuck $40 per report.
 
Palum

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Woops, meant 6R80 for transmission model. Anyway, more difficult decision. The AT in the Mustang isn'tbadbut it's a torque converter, it's not a DCT like the Evo has. That said, if you tune either car the shifting performance will be snappier all around.

One thing to mention for a city is that the Mustang is deceptively large, the 6" width and 8" length added on just makes city driving that much more obnoxious sometimes.

The new Camaro looks to be a decent option as well, but there's still not much real life driver's info on it just the normal crap. I'm curious with the pricing because it looks like for the estimated pricing on a 2SS you can get a Mustang GT and supercharge it... we'll see I suppose.

You just commuting in it or back roads on weekends or what?
 
kegkilla

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Palum_sl said:
Woops, meant 6R80 for transmission model. Anyway, more difficult decision. The AT in the Mustang isn'tbadbut it's a torque converter, it's not a DCT like the Evo has. That said, if you tune either car the shifting performance will be snappier all around.

One thing to mention for a city is that the Mustang is deceptively large, the 6" width and 8" length added on just makes city driving that much more obnoxious sometimes.

The new Camaro looks to be a decent option as well, but there's still not much real life driver's info on it just the normal crap. I'm curious with the pricing because it looks like for the estimated pricing on a 2SS you can get a Mustang GT and supercharge it... we'll see I suppose.

You just commuting in it or back roads on weekends or what?
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mostly commuting, would enjoy having some fun with it as well if possible.

my thinking has shifted from the sports car to something more like a BMW, maybe a 1 or 2 series. i think that would make more sense given that i live in the city where i'm frequently driving in traffic and would benefit from a smaller car. i also don't think it would be respectable to buy a Stang or a Camaro or even an Evo really if i were to put an AT on it. i would love to do a stick shift it if i lived in a space where there was a lot of open road that i could really let loose on but the fact of the matter is i'm living in Center City Philly for now and sitting in traffic on 76 isn't the best use of an MT.
 
Frenzied Wombat

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kegkilla_sl said:
mostly commuting, would enjoy having some fun with it as well if possible.

my thinking has shifted from the sports car to something more like a BMW, maybe a 1 or 2 series. i think that would make more sense given that i live in the city where i'm frequently driving in traffic and would benefit from a smaller car. i also don't think it would be respectable to buy a Stang or a Camaro or even an Evo really if i were to put an AT on it. i would love to do a stick shift it if i lived in a space where there was a lot of open road that i could really let loose on but the fact of the matter is i'm living in Center City Philly for now and sitting in traffic on 76 isn't the best use of an MT.
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A BMW 135 in manual is pretty nice. I'm not a big fan of BMW's because of their RFT's and plasticky interior, but the 135 is a blast to drive.
 
kegkilla

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yeah my only concern is the maintenance cost on the 135 has the potential to get crazy. i saw one nearby that is still in warranty til 2017 and has the extended warranty until 2019 (recommended maintenance type shit) that i'm looking pretty closely at.

BMW : 1-Series 135i M Sport
 
Frenzied Wombat

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kegkilla_sl said:
yeah my only concern is the maintenance cost on the 135 has the potential to get crazy. i saw one nearby that is still in warranty til 2017 and has the extended warranty until 2019 (recommended maintenance type shit) that i'm looking pretty closely at.

BMW : 1-Series 135i M Sport
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I almost thought that was the real 135 M that was only available for one year that was awesome and is almost a collectible, but that's just a 135-- the title is misleading.

Out of warranty maintenance is going to be an issue with any non American/Japanese car, but if you're clear through 2019 that's a pretty good deal.

I actually tried to get a real 135M in burnt orange the year it was out, and they were in such crazy demand and limited supply they wanted 10,000 above MSRP for one.
 
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Biggest thing about the 1M is the bodywork and the diff. The bodywork isn't really a performance benefit, but it does let you run slightly wider tires. Just do an OS Giken diff for a 135is DCT do some coilovers w/ M3 control arms and you have a superior car to the 1M in most ways.

tldr; 1M massively overhyped and overpriced
 
Frenzied Wombat

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Cad_sl said:
Biggest thing about the 1M is the bodywork and the diff. The bodywork isn't really a performance benefit, but it does let you run slightly wider tires. Just do an OS Giken diff for a 135is DCT do some coilovers w/ M3 control arms and you have a superior car to the 1M in most ways.

tldr; 1M massively overhyped and overpriced
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Overpriced yes, but it was totally unique in the sense that there were (are) no small sedans with that much muscle and interior/exterior style. Plus it came in manual. The 3 series is a boat in comparison, and so is the S4. The closest thing available today is maybe an S3. Usually small sedans are cheap all around, the 1M was the exception.
 
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