Car Buying Help

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Cad

<Bronze Donator>
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The major issue with the civic is it can't fit more car seats. If you put one behind a seat you have to jam the front seat fully forward

I'd much rather drive a Camry than a CR-V or RAV4 though. I don't think those mini-utes really have any additional space either they just sit taller.
 

Burren

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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Hey guys, I'm pretty damn sure I'm screwed, but thought I'd throw it out in case anyone had some brilliant insight to lend. GF bought a used car 28 days ago - 2007 Ford Focus. I was against getting a Ford (my first car was a Ford - NEVER again), but she wanted what she wanted. Surprise surprise, now the automatic transmission appears to not want to go into 4th gear (it feels like, not 100% sure which gear it's getting stuck in), no matter how fast we go. Of course looking this up after the fact, it's a known issue among owners. To make it better, of course there is no warranty - purchased as is. Google says it *might* be a solenoid fix but... more likely to need a new transmission. Short of pulling a Michael Douglas "Falling Down" scenario (and that didn't work out so well for him), anyone have any experience trying to get the dealership to do anything? Well, other than laugh at me, that is.

Investigate if there is an OEM recall on the car for that known issue. Warranty or not, they would have to fix it. Second choice; keep trying to find a fix that isn't going to cost more than the price of the car. Third choice; you eat the cost and "lesson learned" on buying used without research or a warranty. Fourth choice; it gets in an "accident" and insurance writes it off, then you start over.
 

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
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My recent car buying experience reminded me of how much I prefer buying cars from private sellers vs. dealerships. I went to 9 dealerships, 3 used car lots, and then wound up buying the vehicle off craigslist.

The dealership salesmen ran the gamut from pretty chill to super high pressure and one dude that was basically a scumbag, but I always got the feeling that I was being pressured to spend more money, make a decision immediately, and buy what they wanted to sell me vs. what I wanted to buy, and that the price was negotiable, but you never knew how much. The thing where they always have to go talk to their manager drives me nuts. I don't really blame these guys because I know that working at a car dealership is a very high pressure job and you are expected to push hard with everybody that walks in the door but I just don't enjoy that type of interaction.

The used car lots were surprisingly laid back and one guy even straight up told me that he catered to a different price range than what I was looking for and recommended a place down the street that would be more in my range. There was some variation in the price, but it seemed all they really wanted to know was if you have a trade. Once I told them I was paying cash and didn't have a trade, they would instantly knock off 1-2 grand and then it didn't seem like there was much negotiation beyond that point.

Maybe it's just been my personal experience but I've found that people that sell their cars on Craigslist tend to be people who have their shit together (the car is paid off) and take really good care of their cars. This is the second vehicle I've found from a private party where the vehicle was low mileage and appeared to have been taken care of meticulously while being priced similar or below vehicles in worse condition on car lots. Of course the price negotiation varies from person to person, but most of them are not dirtbag car salesmen so it's usually a lot more straightforward.

In any case, I hope I never visit a car dealership again unless I'm buying new.
 
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OneofOne

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After I took the car into the dealer for them to see what was wrong - it comes back (not exactly surprising) the top 2 gears in the transmission were out, and the whole thing needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, the car was driven over 2500 miles in the 28 days we owned it, which negates the 1k miles/30 day warranty. I am fucked. Service guy says he spoke with our salesman and both the Ford and Mazda dealer managers (the Mazda dealership being on the same lot - the owner has a dealership for just about every make of car for sale, no joke) and they say come on in and we can work something out. Trying real hard not to get my hopes up, my gf and I go in this morning. They are willing to eat our brand new loan for the Ford POS Focus if we buy another vehicle from them - the only thing we're out is the DMV shit we paid (about $400). Gf says fuck it, she wants a new car this time. Not a fan of buying new, but gf is paying for it. Walk out with a new 2016 Mazda CX5.

All in all, I'm pretty damn happy with the way things turned out. I truly did not expect them to eat the whole loan like that.
 

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
<Silver Donator>
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That's nice of them, but think about whether your going to wind up spending 15k on a new car to avoid a 3k repair.
 

Jysin

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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Pretty good result. I am guessing they didn't take much off the new Mazda then?
 

TrollfaceDeux

Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
<Bronze Donator>
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My recent car buying experience reminded me of how much I prefer buying cars from private sellers vs. dealerships. I went to 9 dealerships, 3 used car lots, and then wound up buying the vehicle off craigslist.

The dealership salesmen ran the gamut from pretty chill to super high pressure and one dude that was basically a scumbag, but I always got the feeling that I was being pressured to spend more money, make a decision immediately, and buy what they wanted to sell me vs. what I wanted to buy, and that the price was negotiable, but you never knew how much. The thing where they always have to go talk to their manager drives me nuts. I don't really blame these guys because I know that working at a car dealership is a very high pressure job and you are expected to push hard with everybody that walks in the door but I just don't enjoy that type of interaction.

The used car lots were surprisingly laid back and one guy even straight up told me that he catered to a different price range than what I was looking for and recommended a place down the street that would be more in my range. There was some variation in the price, but it seemed all they really wanted to know was if you have a trade. Once I told them I was paying cash and didn't have a trade, they would instantly knock off 1-2 grand and then it didn't seem like there was much negotiation beyond that point.

Maybe it's just been my personal experience but I've found that people that sell their cars on Craigslist tend to be people who have their shit together (the car is paid off) and take really good care of their cars. This is the second vehicle I've found from a private party where the vehicle was low mileage and appeared to have been taken care of meticulously while being priced similar or below vehicles in worse condition on car lots. Of course the price negotiation varies from person to person, but most of them are not dirtbag car salesmen so it's usually a lot more straightforward.

In any case, I hope I never visit a car dealership again unless I'm buying new.
What the shit. Who goes to 9 fucking dealership this day and age.
 

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
<Silver Donator>
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I had something pretty specific I was looking for and a specific price I wanted to pay for it so it took some searching since I wasn't willing to compromise much. I'm very happy with the result. I did a lot of online searching as well and that's eventually where I found what I was looking for.
 

OneofOne

Silver Baronet of the Realm
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That's nice of them, but think about whether your going to wind up spending 15k on a new car to avoid a 3k repair.

I look at it as being freed from the damn Ford (and not having to figure out how to get rid of it), to get into a Honda or Mazda (which is what I wanted in the first place), which is substantially more dependable and reliable. With the amount of driving she does, she needs something like that. There was no way I was going to put a single dime (nor allow her to) into that Ford. I'd just call the purchase a complete loss and not throw further money after it. The original intention was to get her a "good enough for now" vehicle - until she handed it off to one of her kids in 2 years and got something better. We just realized we should have gotten something better in the first place.

I knew better - I've owned a Ford before - but we were tired of driving around town looking at cars, and we both just wanted to be done with car shopping, and made a very poor decision.

Jysin Jysin They knocked a few grand off and added a maintenance package. Everything I've read says you'd expect to pay between 22-23k for the 2.5L automatic, and we paid less, so I'm happy.
 
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Cad

<Bronze Donator>
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I look at it as being freed from the damn Ford (and not having to figure out how to get rid of it), to get into a Honda or Mazda (which is what I wanted in the first place), which is substantially more dependable and reliable. With the amount of driving she does, she needs something like that. There was no way I was going to put a single dime (nor allow her to) into that Ford. I'd just call the purchase a complete loss and not throw further money after it. The original intention was to get her a "good enough for now" vehicle - until she handed it off to one of her kids in 2 years and got something better. We just realized we should have gotten something better in the first place.

I knew better - I've owned a Ford before - but we were tired of driving around town looking at cars, and we both just wanted to be done with car shopping, and made a very poor decision.

Jysin Jysin They knocked a few grand off and added a maintenance package. Everything I've read says you'd expect to pay between 22-23k for the 2.5L automatic, and we paid less, so I'm happy.

05 06 07 FOCUS AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 2.0L DOHC 648571 | eBay

Just saying
 

TrollfaceDeux

Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
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This story is shady as fuck and probably a shitty thing that my business manager (F&I) did but one day this customer rolls into our lot to see some cars from her car. Backs into one of ours. Her headlight got fucked and ours cracked. Business manager and the sales guy walks out to the lot. Asks her what she was doing here, yeah yeah yeah looking at car, boom boom, her budget 15000.


If you buy that car for $15000, no insurance invovled and no charge.

Comes back and buys it but since warranty was included in $15000, she still pays for the damage but no insurance.


I love the guy but that shit was super unethical....
 

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
<Silver Donator>
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There was no way I was going to put a single dime (nor allow her to) into that Ford. I'd just call the purchase a complete loss and not throw further money after it.

Okay, but that is completely irrational.
 

Burren

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
4,008
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Sort of, but people do things for reasons we sometimes don't understand. I always loved the "I don't like the MPG of my truck, for daily driving. So, I'm going to go buy a $10,000 car to save on gas"......yeah? SAVE? OK.....

I've been guilty of the car flipping/swapping thing and losing money. I was fine with it because I wanted what I wanted. But, it certainly wasn't rational; completely emotional.
 

Noodleface

A Mod Real Quick
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I'm a fan of buying new

People will say whatever they want to justify whatever, I just like brand new cars
 

OneofOne

Silver Baronet of the Realm
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Okay, but that is completely irrational.

It very well might be. But I had no interest in throwing a large amount of money into a new tranny in the hope that something else wouldn't go wrong (including the new tranny). I simply don't trust Fords, at all. We actually could have gotten an even better deal had we bought a new Ford instead of a Mazda, but we didn't even consider that for a second.

I'm happy with the way things ended up. And I have BJs lined up for quite some time to come - she's very very happy we got this car and loves it. I drive an 02 Civic (I always have bought used), and it's even gotten me thinking maybe it's time for an upgrade. We'll see.
 

Siliconemelons

Avatar of War Slayer
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Not a fan of buying new, but gf is paying for it. Walk out with a new 2016 Mazda CX5.

All in all, I'm pretty damn happy with the way things turned out. I truly did not expect them to eat the whole loan like that.

Hope they gave a sweet deal on the CX-5 as the new gen comes out this year... but the cx-5 is ranked one of the best "standard" size crossovers there is.
 

Siliconemelons

Avatar of War Slayer
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Random: once your car is estimated to be in the green and automatic distro lists hit your name- you get very funny car ads in the mail at least once a week.
 

Senaiel

Silver Knight of the Realm
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After I took the car into the dealer for them to see what was wrong - it comes back (not exactly surprising) the top 2 gears in the transmission were out, and the whole thing needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, the car was driven over 2500 miles in the 28 days we owned it, which negates the 1k miles/30 day warranty. I am fucked. Service guy says he spoke with our salesman and both the Ford and Mazda dealer managers (the Mazda dealership being on the same lot - the owner has a dealership for just about every make of car for sale, no joke) and they say come on in and we can work something out. Trying real hard not to get my hopes up, my gf and I go in this morning. They are willing to eat our brand new loan for the Ford POS Focus if we buy another vehicle from them - the only thing we're out is the DMV shit we paid (about $400). Gf says fuck it, she wants a new car this time. Not a fan of buying new, but gf is paying for it. Walk out with a new 2016 Mazda CX5.

All in all, I'm pretty damn happy with the way things turned out. I truly did not expect them to eat the whole loan like that.

What trim package did you get if you dont mind me asking? Also AWD or FWD?