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Any Car Advice?


Sivin

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They can easily go 250k plus, but after 150 stuff starts to break.  If you're  buying a used one with over 100k see if it's had the water pump/head gasket/timing belt fix yet.  Some of them never have an issue with it, but on others the head gasket goes without much warning around 150k.  It's about $1800 for all three, but once it's done it's about all the under the hood maintenance a Subaru needs.  

After 150k you can also expect some suspension/ steering repairs- the CV boots, the rear wheel bearings and struts are all common replacements on high mileage Subarus.  If you're looking at late 90s ones, the ones actually made and assembled in Japan seem to be better built, and look for the 2.2 l motor over the 2.5.

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Driving in to work this morning, 8 of the 30 or so cars in the faculty lot were Subaru. The student lot had a fair few also (but that lot also had at least one Range Rover and several Volvos, you can tell this is NOT a state school by the parking lot)

I'd love s Volvo, but my poor salary isn't up to the challenge. 

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I've been leasing a Chevy Equinox for ~2 years now and really like it.  It's big enough to haul my PA and guitar gear around town, it has more bells and whistles than I'll ever need, it gets ~25 mpg, and my payment is $350 a month with the peace of mind that if anything should happen to it, it's all covered.  I just traded my last one in for a new one and don't think I'll ever go back to not leasing again.

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The lease ran out on my car before I went on holiday and now I'm back to no car and have until the weekend to find one, I'm going to buy this time as I don't want to be tied into a lease for 3 Years again as I'm planning to move to a different Country hopefully in the next year and don't want to be hit with any penalties.

Trying to find the right thing is very stressful, it has to be an SUV, modern so under 3 Years old and preferably something that won't depreciate much in the time I have it.

I'm also unsure wether to go for petrol or diesel at the moment given the almost daily anti diesel reports, but some are very contradictory as they say diesels are bad but new ones are ok.

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Sigh. So yeah, hubby and I are very short on time these days. We decided what we wanted and looked at online inventory of all the cars around. Hubs talked to "online sales" dude at dealership we chose. Picked out model and negotiated price. Then, made appt to go to dealership to talk to showroom sales guy.  We went, checkbook and trade-in title in hand. Turns out, that particular car isn't on the lot. It's coming soon in next week's shipment. Maybe. Can't guarantee that it won't be pre-sold to someone else before it gets to the local lot since they also have dealerships elsewhere in the state. BUT... they do have ones in the next trim level up on the lot right now... We left. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

A former employee/friend of my dad's was supposed to give me a Nissan Sentra in exchange for having 'lost' his car trailer, as repayment instead of cash. I was going to pay back the value of the trailer's value to my dad instead of getting a loan from the bank.

Somewhat predictably, the fremployee has begun ducking calls so I am back at square one.

Square one has a Smart Car in Nashville that is right in my price range, and I can't stop thinking about driving the little clown car up and down the interstate. I think I'm going to swing by the dealership it's at on Friday when I'm in town to give it a test drive.

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Take it on the interstate if you test drive a Smart Car and see how that feels to you.  I think it's a great option for around town if that's all you need, but I would think long and hard about it if you have to do a regular amount of distance travel on the interstate.  

Granted, I live in Texas, but I can't say I've ever seen one of those things cruising down I 10 in west Texas where the speed limit is 80 and the next anything is 60 miles away.  There is something to be said about having some size and power if highway driving is something you are going to have to do regularly.  

For me personally, one of the best things about owning a vehcile is the chance of escape that it offers.  If I can't randomly fuck off to California in a car that i paid good money for, I'm not sure id not be better off just buying a motorcycle or a Vespa.  can get a decent one cheap, easy on gas, and honestly a lot more fun, and cool.  Also more dangerous, and you'll spend more for a decent helmet and weather gear, but maybe worth thinking about if you are on a budget and the main thing you have to transport is you.  

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Wow, I didn't know that they are actually selling the Smart in the US. It's certainly fast enough but driving on a US highway among all those trucks and SUV in one of these is a bit daunting. Won't you be run over? 

As for the car as such, it's cuteness factor can't be argued but it's probably not the most practical car and not particularly great value for the money. And its fuel (in)efficiency is appalling. If I wanted a small car I'd rather go for something the size of a mini. 

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For those based in the US, used/pre-owned cars are dropping in price and will probably continue to do so as the secondary market absorbs a glut of new car sales from 2-3 years ago.  New cars are seeing more discounts/incentives too to keep them competitive.  Unless some of the large auto manufacturers reduce production, the next year might be a very good time to buy.  If the sub-prime auto loans continue to struggle, which I expect they will, prices may drop even more as a lot of inventory is repossessed for re-sale.  Of course, that will make car financing more expensive if you are a sub-prime borrower, but buyers with good credit will have a good buying opportunity.

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  • 3 months later...

I've been a RAV4 driver for almost a decade now and I'm looking to trade in and get a new vehicle in the next two months. But I've got no clue what I should get. I do know the recent street flooding in my area has made me consider sacrificing gas mileage for something with higher clearance like a truck or a Jeep Wrangler. 

Also, I'm not sure if I want to go pre-owned and get more luxury options in my budget or get a new car with less features. 

Advice and recommendations from any US drivers here would be appreciated!

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Just now, The Great Unwashed said:

So, looking to buy a used (new for me) car in the 2-3 year old range within the next 6-9 months. I have a trade-in with a value around $8k and am wanting to pay the difference in cash. I've always heard about the so-called "cash discount", but I've been reading lately that you may pay a premium on cash purchases with a dealer and you should negotiate price before telling therm you're paying cash.

That is absolutely correct. Negotiate your price BEFORE talking about how you will be paying. 

Also negotiate your trade in and do not discuss your trade in until after you've negotiated your price. And ideally, go to a dealership of the tradein's make (so if it's a Toyota, go to a Toyota dealership) and ask to get an evaluation of the car's Actual Cash Value. 

Just now, The Great Unwashed said:

I've thought about buying privately but that would involve the hassle of selling my trade-in.

This might be worth it, honestly.

 

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20 hours ago, Kalbear said:

That is absolutely correct. Negotiate your price BEFORE talking about how you will be paying. 

Also negotiate your trade in and do not discuss your trade in until after you've negotiated your price. And ideally, go to a dealership of the tradein's make (so if it's a Toyota, go to a Toyota dealership) and ask to get an evaluation of the car's Actual Cash Value. 

This might be worth it, honestly.

 

I actually had really good luck with CarMax a few months ago. My in laws moved from Maine to Florida and had to get rid of their 2nd car. I went to two Subaru dealers (included the one they bought it from) and was offered 16,000 from one and 16,800 from the other (KBB was around 17,000). I went to CarMax and they gave me $18,000. Could have been just luck or due to the model but I was surprised when they made the offer. If you have a Carmax near you it was pretty painless to go in and get a quote. 

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3 minutes ago, zelticgar said:

I actually had really good luck with CarMax a few months ago. My in laws moved from Maine to Florida and had to get rid of their 2nd car. I went to two Subaru dealers (included the one they bought it from) and was offered 16,000 from one and 16,800 from the other (KBB was around 17,000). I went to CarMax and they gave me $18,000. Could have been just luck or due to the model but I was surprised when they made the offer. If you have a Carmax near you it was pretty painless to go in and get a quote. 

AAA offers this service as well.

I'd do this even if I was going to sell it privately, just to get a baseline price.

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