Originally Posted By BrnardM Well somehow I've managed to go 23 years without owning a car, but the time has come! I really don't know much about cars and I was wondering if anyone had some advise for a first time buyer. I'll probably buy a used car, don't have a preference yet. What models are reliable or get good gas milage (that kinda stuff)?
Originally Posted By trekkeruss "Paging avromark, paging avromark... avromark to the white courtesy phone, please"
Originally Posted By LuLu I've owned Hondas only for the past 25+ years and love them. I've bought 3 new and about 4 used ones over the years. (Accords, Preludes and Civics) I don't think you can go wrong with Honda!
Originally Posted By trekkeruss Yeah, for personal transportation, you really can't go wrong with a Honda Civic.
Originally Posted By bAmboo1 What interesting timing. I just went through the process of buying a car myself. I agree that Hondas are very good cars, but so are Toyotas. The two models which are very reliable and economical are the camry and corolla. I just bought a corolla and have been very happy with hit. Haven't driven it enough to guage the true gas mileage but my parents have one and they can get upper thirties/ a little over forty on the highway. Another piece of advice: don't rule out buying a new car. I began my search with both a used and new car as options. I have no idea what the market is where you live but I soon found there weren't many good deals for the type of used car I was looking for (very reliable, economical, etc) because these cars have a very high resale value. That, added with the fact that I could deal down a new car and get a significantly better interest rate I ended up getting a new Corolla.
Originally Posted By lizard I may be able to help you a great deal. Two and a half years ago I left my job as a sales manager for a dealership. After ten years of buying vehicles for re-sale(I'm a real estate agent now) I was fed up with the traveling, and the whole car business in general. Over the years I bought about 1500 vehicles and would agree with LuLu that Honda's are just about the best, Toyota's are fine too. Five years ago I bought myself a one owner Honda Accord, and I worked at a Mitsubishi store! (the dealership owner was not very happy with me Anyhow I'd be happy to help a fellow LP'er. Feel free to email me; soldbykenc@yahoo just mention LP so I dont miss ya. Ken
Originally Posted By goodgirl Go to your library and ask for the April issue of Consumer Reports magazine. Each April CR rates all the cars. They survey their members current cars and you'll be able to learn more about repair records for different makes and models for various years.
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains How big of a car do you need (for 2, 3, 4 people) We love our Subaru Forrester 135,000miles and counting. But my friends love there Saturn and Ford Escape. I would also check the Hybrid cars. If you are looking for a small SUV - Ford escape, toyota highlander, and Jeep all have the small SUV hybrids and Saturn and Toyota have the small car hybrids (I think other like honda do too but not sure)...
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Wow, - that is amazing - however back to the question, I bought my daughter a Toyota Corolla when she went away to college 3 years and 40,000 miles ago. Couldn't be happier with it for her ( she loves it too) as it gets great gas mileage ( around 30 city and 38 or so highway ) - and that is with the air conditioning on when needed and in heavy traffic a lot of time ( we live outside Chicago) - The thing I like about Toyota's for an everyday car is the reliability ( we have not NO issues outside normal maintenance ) and the fact that 150,000 miles is not unusual for these cars to run...it is the rule rather than the exception. Good luck with your choice - and I agree with the 'new' purchase when good financing rates are offered, as sometimes your payment will not be that different, as well as the fact that these cars to no depreciate that quickly - so new not that much more than 2 years old for example.
Originally Posted By BrnardM Thanks, I appreciate all of this because I really have no idea what I'm doing. Hodas and Toyota seem to be the leader so far, I shall look into them!
Originally Posted By DyGDisney Don't buy a Dodge!! That being said, we love our Saturn. Have had it for 9 1/2 years and it still runs and looks great.
Originally Posted By MomofPrincess I have owned 9 cars in the past 20 years, and my favorite by far is my 2006 Toyota Camry XLE V6. I absolutely love everything about it. I will stick with Toyotas from here on out.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Two and a half years ago I left my job as a sales manager for a dealership. >>> Is that where you got your name of 'lizard?'
Originally Posted By SuperDry When buying new or used from a dealer, be sure to watch your wallet in the finance room. They often make more money there than they do on the car itself, between financing, extended warranty, tire warranty, etc. You would be wise to line up financing prior to going into the dealer. The dealer will really want to finance it themselves, which is fine as long as they give you a competitive rate. Also, watch out for the "(cheap interest rate) or $3000 cash back" offers. Compare the difference between the promotional rate and what you could get from a third-party lender and calculate how much the interest savings really is. You might be far better off to take the cash back and use the third-party financing even if the rate is higher, since in the above example you'll be financing $3000 less principle.
Originally Posted By chickendumpling Lots of good advice here. When DH and I went to buy our first car I read the heck out of Consumer Reports and it helped immensely so I second goodgirl's recommendation. (They had great reports not just on the cars themselves but lots of tips on how to deal with the sales staff.) My very first car was a Toyota. I drove the wheels off that thing, "totalled" it twice and it still ran so well that I gave it to my girlfriend's daughter (with full disclosure and disclaimers) who drove it for years in Alaska. She then turned around and sold it to one of her friends. Last I heard my beloved 1984 Toyota Tercel was still going strong. So, I second MoP's recommendation for Toyota. If it were me and I were looking at buying a used car, I would definitely stay away from older Hondas. Car thieves LOVE them. Good luck on your purchase!
Originally Posted By lizard SuperDry is "right on" about the dealers finance department! It's a profit center that alot of people dont know about. Consumers are way better off having financing taken care of before hand. Credit unions usually offer the most competitive rates. Nice point about the Hondas being stolen in Cal? CD. I didnt even think about that, but I live in Wyoming. We've gotta keep an eye on our horses, four wheelers and snow shovels, but the cars are pretty safe! And yes, Lizard does come from a dealership nickname! Short for lotlizards my fantasy football team.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb LOL Chicky! Great minds and all, I was also going to point out the 'Hondas as thief bait' point. Of course the reason they're always #1 on the most stolen list is because they really are great cars.
Originally Posted By fkurucz ^^^Funny how the Europeans don't share our enthusiasm for Hondas and Toyotas.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss ^^It's 'cause they're snobs. LOL. But then, so are the Japanese. Not many European cars in Japan, at least not that I have ever seen.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <^^It's 'cause they're snobs. LOL. But then, so are the Japanese. Not many European cars in Japan, at least not that I have ever seen.< because they lay import taxes on the german cars that would make ones head spin -- free trade my eye.
