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Topic: Buying a new car, need some advice (Read 347212 times)
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TheWalrus
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Posts: 4319
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And yes I am and it depends on what you mean by maintenance. it will cost no more or less to do regular maintenance on than any other vehicle of its class. Or I should say, it shouldn't. For some reason, euro car lovers are extremely fucking weird people who feel their car needs to be serviced only by the dealer because it's "special" and that paying 150 an hour labor is normal. Reality is that it's just a fucking oil change. Use quality parts and a competent guy and you'll be fine. That said, if you do buy, enjoy. They're a pretty ride and damn comfy. (Additionally, I've heard that the engine is ridiculously powerful too. Not that I've tested it. )
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vanilla folders - MediumHigh
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Sheepherder
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The Mitsubishi Outback is supposed to be a vaguely car-ish SUV in terms of handling.
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Sky
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Posts: 32117
I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.
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Use ... a competent guy and you'll be fine.
That's the tough part.
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Merusk
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Bought an '08 Altima yesterday as a final close-out to my vehicle drama. When I did the salvage title on Friday so I could get the insurance payout, I'd not known that you can't drive it after that until it's repaird. (D'oh.) So I went and rented a car. They gave me a '12 Altima and I liked driving it so much I decided to get a new car. Went to Toyota and didn't see anything I liked, then Hyundai and they were closing in 15 mins. (Really? 6pm on a Saturday? Really?) Got a quick test drive on the Elantra - which was the only thing they had in my "$350 or less a month" price range - and didn't like it. Wife suggested just going into the Nissan dealership since I was enjoying the Altima so much anyway. They had an '08 with everything I wanted in the color I wanted for $19899, and dropped $1k off the price for me so I was sold. Plan is to repair the Saturn eventually (as I just blew the $3k the insurance is giving me on the down payment) and give it to the daughter since she'll be driving soon. Pics for the interested: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2200218578306.117429.1632567670&l=6da6b88789&type=1
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The past cannot be changed. The future is yet within your power.
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Nebu
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Posts: 17613
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Beautiful car and only 36k miles (if I saw that correctly). Congrats!
I really like the look of the Altima as a sporty sedan. I think you'll really enjoy the car.
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"Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other."
- Mark Twain
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Arthur_Parker
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Posts: 5865
Internet Detective
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Nice car Merusk. We bought a Nissan Juke Tekna on Friday, first time I have ever bought brand new. Nissan JukeWhite like this one, only with grey inside instead of red. Love the intelligent key that you don't even have to take out of your pocket and the camera for reversing is great.
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Selby
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Posts: 2963
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My ex-wife has one of those (hers is a 2006). Very nice cars and dependable. 450 miles may be a bit much on the tank range, but don't be surprised if you get 350-375+
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Merusk
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Thanks, all. I'm enjoying it immensely so far. I still enjoy the Saturn and will miss it greatly but it was nice to find a car that just felt right when I drove it. I'd tried a few others via family & recent rentals in addition to the test drives and nothing "clicked." My instant love for the rental plus finding this car at the dealership was just one of those, "ok, guess this is how it's going to be, universe," moments.
Yah I figured 450 will be a miracle but anything north of 350 will be awesome.
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The past cannot be changed. The future is yet within your power.
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Selby
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Posts: 2963
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Yah I figured 450 will be a miracle but anything north of 350 will be awesome.
I think it's a 20-gallon tank in hers and she lets it get RIGHT down to the empty line and gets around 19-22MPG. She has the 4-cylinder version (which drives like a 6 honestly, it's plenty quick).
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SnakeCharmer
Terracotta Army
Posts: 3807
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Bought an '08 Altima yesterday as a final close-out to my vehicle drama. When I did the salvage title on Friday so I could get the insurance payout, I'd not known that you can't drive it after that until it's repaird. (D'oh.) So I went and rented a car. They gave me a '12 Altima and I liked driving it so much I decided to get a new car. Went to Toyota and didn't see anything I liked, then Hyundai and they were closing in 15 mins. (Really? 6pm on a Saturday? Really?) Got a quick test drive on the Elantra - which was the only thing they had in my "$350 or less a month" price range - and didn't like it. Wife suggested just going into the Nissan dealership since I was enjoying the Altima so much anyway. They had an '08 with everything I wanted in the color I wanted for $19899, and dropped $1k off the price for me so I was sold. Plan is to repair the Saturn eventually (as I just blew the $3k the insurance is giving me on the down payment) and give it to the daughter since she'll be driving soon. Pics for the interested: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2200218578306.117429.1632567670&l=6da6b88789&type=1Was that ($18,899) the final sales price? Tax, tag, title, and interest on the loan? If not, but I hate to tell, you paid about 4K too much. According to kbb.com, trade-in value (assuming it's a 2.5S with automatic) is about 13,500. You can bet the dealer paid about that, give or take 500 bucks either way. If it's a higher end model or that price was tax/tag/title/interest, the ignore what I said. First step to dealer negotiation on a used car is to find the 'round about trade in value and offer 5-10 percent above that. If they don't bite, walk. I've bought and sold enough cars to have buying from a dealer down to a science.
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Merusk
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Final price with everything, yes, including the "never get it" extended new-car warranty. I only drive about 12k miles a year, and the warranty lasts to 100k miles or 2015, whichever comes first. It's a certified pre-owned so the warranty might have been a waste, but I've had to pay to replace water pumps etc before and this covers them so overall as long as I get one repair covered it will have been worth it. Going to KBB says I should have paid $18,975 for the car alone, once I added-in the features.
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The past cannot be changed. The future is yet within your power.
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TheWalrus
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Posts: 4319
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Yah I figured 450 will be a miracle but anything north of 350 will be awesome.
I think it's a 20-gallon tank in hers and she lets it get RIGHT down to the empty line and gets around 19-22MPG. She has the 4-cylinder version (which drives like a 6 honestly, it's plenty quick). I keep telling my wife if she runs it that low all the time she's gonna burn up the fuel pump and I will not pay for another one. It falls on deaf ears.
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vanilla folders - MediumHigh
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Sky
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Posts: 32117
I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.
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That KBB site says my FJ trade-in is $24.5k, I owe about $15k on it. The cheapest one within 75 miles is an 07 with 77k miles on it, going for over $20k.
Mine's an 08 with 17k miles on it :)
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Viin
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Posts: 6159
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I'll give you $16k for it.
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- Viin
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MisterNoisy
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Posts: 1892
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Nice car Merusk. We bought a Nissan Juke Tekna on Friday, first time I have ever bought brand new. Nissan JukeWhite like this one, only with grey inside instead of red. Love the intelligent key that you don't even have to take out of your pocket and the camera for reversing is great. I love seeing these funky little things zipping around - they look like angry frogs. Also, congrats on the new car, Merusk. :)
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XBL GT: Mister Noisy PSN: MisterNoisy Steam UID: MisterNoisy
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Selby
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Posts: 2963
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I keep telling my wife if she runs it that low all the time she's gonna burn up the fuel pump and I will not pay for another one.
Oh believe me I've had that lecture 2-3 times. I told her it's an in-tank pump, costs ~$300 for the pump and another $200 for the labor to install it. She's an ex for a reason. I bought a new ride the other day, but it's hardly worth bragging about ;-)
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MisterNoisy
Terracotta Army
Posts: 1892
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I keep telling my wife if she runs it that low all the time she's gonna burn up the fuel pump and I will not pay for another one.
Oh believe me I've had that lecture 2-3 times. I told her it's an in-tank pump, costs ~$300 for the pump and another $200 for the labor to install it. She's an ex for a reason. I bought a new ride the other day, but it's hardly worth bragging about ;-) Oh man, that takes me back. You planning to fix it up and make it fast?
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XBL GT: Mister Noisy PSN: MisterNoisy Steam UID: MisterNoisy
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Sky
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Posts: 32117
I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.
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Chimpy
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Posts: 10619
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He's got a long way to go, and a short time to get there.
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'Reality' is the only word in the language that should always be used in quotes.
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Merusk
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Verah nice, Selby. When's Sally Field coming over?
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The past cannot be changed. The future is yet within your power.
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Selby
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Posts: 2963
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You planning to fix it up and make it fast?
It doesn't need much to be fixed and it's already plenty fast! It's a fun car to drive.
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TheWalrus
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Posts: 4319
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vanilla folders - MediumHigh
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Nebu
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Posts: 17613
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Need some advice... so UP YOU GO THREAD!
I'm in love with the Audi TT. I also loved my VW GTI. I recently bought a Subaru Outback to be practical and I HATE HATE HATE it. I'm going to find myself something fun to drive that is also decent for cross country road trips. Coupes/hatchbacks only. (thought about Mazda3 speed, but too many doors)
Anyone have a comparable suggestion to a TT or GTI? I plan to buy something 1-4 years old with 30k miles or less, so no new models (unless < 30K).
Thanks!
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« Last Edit: November 01, 2012, 01:03:13 PM by Nebu »
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"Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other."
- Mark Twain
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Hammond
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Posts: 637
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Go for the Audi :) it may be easier to find a used A5 instead of the TT. I have a A4 and that is the nicest road car I have ever drove.
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Nebu
Terracotta Army
Posts: 17613
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Go for the Audi :) it may be easier to find a used A5 instead of the TT. I have a A4 and that is the nicest road car I have ever drove.
Do they make a 2 door A4? I'll check.
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"Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other."
- Mark Twain
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Viin
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Posts: 6159
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You musta skipped the turbo version of the Outback.
How about a G37 coupe?
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- Viin
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Nebu
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Posts: 17613
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You musta skipped the turbo version of the Outback.
How about a G37 coupe?
I'll check it out. Compared to my GTI, the Outback handles and drives like a pig. I thought I could get used to it, but I just can't.
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"Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other."
- Mark Twain
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Hammond
Terracotta Army
Posts: 637
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Go for the Audi :) it may be easier to find a used A5 instead of the TT. I have a A4 and that is the nicest road car I have ever drove.
Do they make a 2 door A4? I'll check. A5 for the most part is the 2 door version of the A4.
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proudft
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Posts: 1228
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You musta skipped the turbo version of the Outback.
How about a G37 coupe?
Our WRX wagon handles far, far better than our G35. There's a bunch of apples-to-oranges going on here but they are, like, not even comparable. Now I'm morbidly curious how much the different body/engine on the Outback could screw it up so badly (and also I think they keep changing the body of the damn thing - is it back to looking like an Impreza?) The WRX has been awesome and totally sold us on Subaru. A Forester with the turbo will probably replace it when it dies, but it is still going strong at 160k and so that isn't likely until 2018.
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Trippy
Administrator
Posts: 23626
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Go for the Audi :) it may be easier to find a used A5 instead of the TT. I have a A4 and that is the nicest road car I have ever drove.
Do they make a 2 door A4? I'll check. A5 for the most part is the 2 door version of the A4. It's priced like an A6, though. There's also the BMW 3 series Coupe. I used to drive one (323ci). It was great to drive, when it was actually running properly I drive a Infiniti G37 Sedan now. Drives very similarly to the previous gen 3 series (new 3 series has electric steering, bah).
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Hammond
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Posts: 637
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I test drove the G37 and it was a nice car! As far as the A5 goes if you are buying it used the price drops significently. 30k miles may be a little tough but there are a lot of lease returns around the 3 year mark with decent mileage. 30k should be doable.
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Chimpy
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Posts: 10619
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Buy another GTI!
You can get a brand new one with everything but the Autobahn package for less than 30k. Hell you can probably still find 2012 models around that are discounted.
(Though looking at it, the 2013 doesn't have the Detroit wheels which is lame cause they are cool!)
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'Reality' is the only word in the language that should always be used in quotes.
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Soln
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the opportunity for evil is just delicious
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Someone want to offer some general buying tips?
And what's the real skinny on buy vs lease? I'm tending towards a lease because I might want to give it back in 2 years. Thx
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Merusk
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Leasing is the same as renting anything else. You still are making the monthly payment and have to front the down payment and some maintenance costs and at the end you get to have nothing to show for it. You're paying the depreciation costs to the dealer and doing them a favor while they make money.
If you want to give it back in 2 years, find a beater and buy it. Most leases I've seen are 36 month minimum with a penalty for breaking them early. (i.e. "Sure you can walk away, just pay us the next year's lease value and you're out of the contract! Heck since we're such good guys we'll just roll that in to your next lease payment for you.") You can try transferring the lease to someone else, but that's as big of a pain as trying to sell a car, and again you don't get anything out of it.
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The past cannot be changed. The future is yet within your power.
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TheWalrus
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Posts: 4319
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I'm with ^ that guy. Why would you blow cash on something you're just going to hand back? I mean, unless you're rolling in the deep. (Pockets)
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vanilla folders - MediumHigh
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