Back on the old FH/DN, I posted a thread in the Lounge asking for some advice to help me narrow down which car models to look at, and generally how to shop for cars in the first place. After some weeks of effort, and some great PM help from Sethdaddy8, I've narrowed down a list of cars I'd like to test drive. Couple of notes beforehand: my price limit is $25,000; I want a crossover SUV, as I currently drive a 1999 Cougar and really want something with more room and interior features like Microsoft Sync; I prefer V6 engines; and I will not be buying until the 2009 models come out. So, the list, in order of current preference: Mercury Mariner Honda CR-V Toyota Rav4 Nissan Rogue So, guys, here's where you come in: convince me. Convince me I'm right, that I've picked out some good cars, and I should start checking out dealers and doing test drives; or convince me that I'm wrong, that I'm an idiot for wanting any or all of those cars, and tell me what I should check out instead.
What happened to the pinto? But seriously with quality wise Toyota and Honda are usually the top choices in this day and age along with gm. IMO. I will say though if you special order one from overseas its gonna cost ya.
The thing about Toyota and Honda is that their Rav4 and CR-V sell very, very well; it'll be almost impossible to bring the price on those two cars down. The Rav4 will probably be a little easier than the CR-V to bargain down, because you know Toyota is angry about playing second fiddle to Honda in the crossover market. The Mariner sells 30,000 a year and Ford wants every sale it can get. I'm more confident about being able to get a Mariner with some very good options (Sync, moonroof, leather, six speakers, etc) for about $22-23k than I am about getting a similarly-configured Rav4 or CR-V for the same price. Also, the CR-V and Rav4 are made domestically, man.
One thing I have heard and i guess if someone knows better then can correct me, but if you can get pre approved for a car loan you are supposedly at a better advantage for negotiating. However, you do have to have a bank willing ot do it and have good credit from what I understand. But again this is just what I have picked up it might be all bull****.
ya know, if you like a V6 you should wait until the new Honda Pilots come out.. since I"m assuming you won't buy the "old" ones based on the looks...
No, that's actually true. It's easier and cheaper to get your own financing through a bank's auto finance division than to get dealer financing. Check out carbuyingtips.com. The question isn't how to pay for the car I want, it's which one I want.
Well I was just saying in response to the it might be difficult to get the toyota or honda ones. I assumed you meant without paying out the butt. And I will be buying a hybrid soon, yes i like to smell my own farts we all watch south park, so I will be doing what I suggested to you.
Oh, no. Funding within my price range is no problem. What I'm talking about is negotiating the price down. If a car is selling well, the dealer has less incentive to bargain with me. He can just tell me to take a hike and sell to the next person. The Mariner has the advantage over the Rav4 and CR-V in that it doesn't sell as well, so the Mercury dealership will come down on the price if it means a sale.
ya I think the new ones are going to look more like an Acura, much more rounded... and the price, well if you get a base model without all the bells and whistles, you should be able to get one for around 25k...
But the fuel economy won't be as good as a regular crossover. I also don't need a fullsize SUV. I'd really like info on the 09 CR-V, but Honda isn't saying anything.
I say the hell with a crossover SUV. Get a crossover car/truck. For 25k you can probably fix up an El Camino and be the biggest pimp in FL.
That would be repetitive. The XL7's not bad at all, but it's a bit too expensive. I did a test-pricing on the site with some options, and ouch.
Not my style, man. At this point, the only regular car I'd consider getting is the Toyota Prius, simply for the gas mileage.
Heres my bit of input, well since you did ask for it...and I did recently buy a new car Honda is at the top as far as Customer satisfaction and resale goes..the problem is they are VERY PROUD of their cars... so much infact, the the entire resale is rediculously overhyped...I say that because you will NEVER make up the extra money you spend up front. Case in point, we just bought a Chrysler Town and Country for Mama. it was the second highes rated mini-van behind the Honda Odessey...to get them equally equipped wouldve come to a difference in price of approx 7-10 grand...we are not talking about a couple of hundred here, we are talking big big difference. I have also owned 2 Ford Explorers. Both of them were INCREDIBLE vehicles. Extremely Versatile, very well built and manufactured ( I is uhh mechanical enguneer ) and the resale on both was VERY VERY good. The first was a 92, I traded it in, with 175,000 and still got almost 5,000 trade in. The second was a 96 with 125,000 and still got almost 12,000 trade in...of course it was an Eddie Bauer and I do take very good care of my vehicles...Therefore, I would probably have to lean towards the Mercury (Any reason Merc and not Ford? I mean they are the same, just more bells and whistles on Merc. Nothing wrong with that, just asking... The rest of the ones you have I think is kindve a wash. I would consider these things. Make sure what you get does come with everything you want...when shopping for Pick-up trucks a year ago, I found that both Toyota and Nissan had "Packages" that were pre-set and you couldnt "Modularize" the bells and whistles. Not sure if that is important to you, but to me it meant, I could get the things that were important to me, without having to pay for other things that werent.... Also, functionality. What exactly do you want this for? Is the 4x4 important? Are you going to be hauling kids? How about hardware etc from Home Depot? just my 2cents worht.
True, but dont be closed minded to the Dealership financing. It is ALL about the interest rate bro. Both me and the Mrs have very good credit, so getting approved wasnt a problem. Truth is, Chrysler was almost an entire point below our pre-approval
I think the Mariner looks better than the Explorer. They're about the same price, but the Merc version is a little more luxurious. That front grille is an eye-catcher, too. For what it's worth, I just spent $950 on repairs to my 1999 Cougar, and we're having kind of a hard time getting the price we want ($10,000) on a 2000 Jaguar S-Type 4.0, so I'm kind of sour on Ford at the moment. It's an emotional thing. Yeah, I definitely want to pick-and-choose my options. I hate packages. I believe Japanese dealers get to set their own prices on options, which is why dealers will bundle options together like that. Well, my needs and usage will be changing over the next 3-4 years. I'll be using it simply to drive to and from work until next year. Next year I'll be racking up almost exclusively city mileage, because I'll be back in school. After that, I'll be back to work full-time. The biggest load I can conceive putting in whatever car I want to drive is whatever I take with me back to school, though given the state of our house, eventually a couple of heavy-duty trips to Lowe's may be in the works.
APR is one thing, but make sure they aren't getting that extra interest back by padding the payments or the final selling price.
Oh yeah, before you ever talk financiing, settle on a price....also, they will do everything they can to confuse the issue by showing you nothing but what your payments are. Dont let them go there. Figure a price on your own, research it extensively through kbb.com and a new one I heard of is manheim.com I think. Find out BOTTOMLINE what the price you are paying is, not what your final payment or any of that CRAP. Also, I might suggest not taking your trade-in vehicle in until you have settled on a fair price. THen haggle over the trade-in at another date. In fact, dont even drive your trade-in when you go to the dealer, that way they will show you a good price on the one you are pricing to entice you back in....
Way ahead of you on all of that. I've been studying carbuyingtips.com like the Bible. I actually plan to sell my 1999 Cougar on my own. It only has 55,000 miles on it. There's some cosmetic wear and tear, mainly involving some paint wear on the front and roof, but big deal. They'd offer me $2000, while the thing is worth $5000 easily.
My wife also read an article on edmonds.com I think it was..Autobiography of a cars-salesman. They (Edmonds) had one of their guys go and become a cars salesman. Some of the tricks they pull are down right nasty. REmember that the gloves come off when haggling...well not literally cause then you would end up in jail...but just short of fistocuffs.
I saw the same thing. It was a little bit long, but yeah, it shed some light on how dealerships work. It looks like my best bet is to buy online, then just show up to sign the papers.
I would be VERY carefull about that. If you can go in with the mindset of "I dont HAVE to buy THIS car TODAY" than you can make out pretty well. Research and get an idea of what it really costs..then go in, let them do their shpeeel, drop your bottom line on them and see what happens.. Also, I wouldnt discount the idea of trade-in so easily. Really really depends on the dealership. When I bought my truck last year, I was trading in a Ford Freestyle (Had it 9 months, hated it). A couple of dealerships in Tucson offered me anywhere from 12,000 to 15,000 trade-in. I went to a dealer in Phoenix and he offered me 17,800 for it...which IS where I bought my truck. It happened to work out for me cause that WAS the truck I wanted. Doesnt hurt
Those are pretty good suggestions--thanks! I suppose it's worth it to see what the dealerships will give me for the Cougar, but I get the feeling I'll get less for it than I would selling privately. Anyone in the market for a low-mileage, recently-tuned Cougar? My biggest problem right now is still finding the right car. I've gotten close, but not quite there. The Mariner would be it if the V6 got better mileage.
