Cars - What do the rest of you drive?

[rising_star]

Amogh, I never said anything about the cost of a luxury sports car, just offered some opinions based on driving them. Quite a few of them are well under $50K. But, if you're going for those cars, it's really all about the test drive and figuring out which one offers the combination of acceleration and handling that you like best. My uncle prefers Mercedes-Benz to Lexus, for example, but his wife is the opposite (hence, she drives a Lexus and he drives a Mercedes-Benz). A different aunt prefers BMW over Mercedes-Benz and Lexus, so that's what she drives. I've driven all of their cars and they each have their pros and cons, like almost any vehicle. It really depends on what you're looking for.

 

bhr, the reason I was comparing older to newer Civics was because of something I (mis)read in RunnerGrad's earlier post where I thought the older Civic was being compared to the newer Civic. Upon re-reading, it was older Civic to newer Fit. I think the older Civic is actually smaller than the current Fit, but maybe I'm misreading the numbers or something. Anyway, I was trying to use those numbers to explain why RunnerGrad can fit a bicycle into the Fit but not the older Civic. Moving on...

 

Also, if you're in the market for an auto and a credit union member, make sure to check both their rates and services. My hometown credit union (which I've been a member of for a long, long time) has an auto buying service where they assist you in locating the vehicle you're interested in and negotiate with the dealer on your behalf. They also sell cars they had to repossess and let you know what other banks/credit unions in the area have for sale. It's a great service that my family has used more than once to buy a car and it's free for members. So definitely check to see if you have access to anything like that as it can make the whole process much easier.

 

I think I found my car on cars.com, though that was several years ago. If you're in the market for decent used cars, CarMax is a well-known retailer that may or may not be in your area. Alternately, if you can find vehicles that were corporate vehicles, you may be able to get a good deal. One of my friends that was looking for a car last summer ended up leasing rather than buying because the monthly payments are lower and they don't drive that much. Perhaps something to consider for those of you in the market for a vehicle.

[Lifesaver]

That would be HER Jeep. I thought my hair gave it away. Maybe not.

 

My boyfriend has two pick-up trucks, along with a Jeep of his own. If you want to talk specifics, that'd be:

- 2006 Ford F250 (diesel) (purchased used, in cash, in 2013)

- 2011 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali Duramax diesel (purchased new, mostly in cash)

- 1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport (purchased used, in cash, in 2009)

 

What were you wanting to know about the trucks?

 

The imports you mentioned all hold their value fairly well. You'll be able to pick any of those vehicles up used for under $50,000, but probably not as cheap as you're hoping. Then again, I don't know how many miles you're comfortable with, and you may have luck finding a high mileage ride for cheaper. If you buy from a dealer, the vehicle will likely be eligible for some kind of used car warranty. I wouldn't buy a used car without one. Make sure you give the car a good look over. When I bought my first and only used car, it needed two have two tires replaced, a serpentine belt changed, and needed new brake pads on all four. If I hadn't said anything, they wouldn't have told me. Car places/dealers can be super sketchy. If you don't speak cars, bring a friend who does, or write into your agreement that the sale isn't final until you have a mechanic look at it. Most dealers will allow you to test drive a car overnight/over a weekend, which will give you time to have someone look at it and make sure it isn't beat to crap.

 

In terms of haggling... If you're no good and want to skip that process entirely, go to Carmax. They give you their bottom line price immediately and do not haggle. Saves you some energy, but personally, I found them to be a bit overpriced.

 

Personally, I'd go with a BMW. My mother drives a 335xi and my dad drives an x5 currently. We've had a few others over the years, and I've really enjoyed them. They ride well, hold up great, and their service departments seem to be pretty accommodating. The only downside is that parts can be harder to find/more expensive than American/Japanese parts. And that they only take premium gas. However, I believe that will be the case for an Acura and/or Infiniti as well.

Edited June 25, 2014 by Lifesaver

[Maleficent999]

Our 2012 civic is blue and is named George! As I said above, we got it used in 2013 but the original owner actually bought it in 2011!

Yeah, I think i bought my white Civic in August 2011. She's got less than 30k miles on her, but she doesn't have a name. Maybe I should name her? I don't normally name cars haha

[Amogh]

I was referring more to bikes with salvage titles, not wrecked bikes. I will never have time to restore a bike unless it's for hobby. I already have enough tools from dicking around with my car, and I don't like to pile it up even more. I will never buy a bike with a bad engine, because that likely means the frame was damaged. The salvage bikes that I've seen all had to have their forks replaced. The frame was supposedly not damaged, but I'm not going to risk it. I test rode a bike yesterday. the guy said the title was lost, but I'm 80% positive he wrecked it without telling me. it handled like shit. I was scared to take my hand off the handlebars to check the front suspension stability because I felt like I was going to crash if I did. yea... not putting my life at risk save a few hundred bucks.

Fork bends are indeed risky things to call because there are many ways you can patch up a fork to hold it together but it won't be aligned and won't move freely so if you jam the front brake you can be thrown off the bike due to uneven fork action. However, having said that, if you can find one that had a fork that had a minor bend and that was hammered out, it isn't a complete deal breaker.

[Amogh]

@Lifesaver, Didn't look at your profile pic while I was reading through because there were like 40 messages pending by the time I logged in. Hence I wasn't sure who mentioned the Jeep.

[spectastic]

Fork bends are indeed risky things to call because there are many ways you can patch up a fork to hold it together but it won't be aligned and won't move freely so if you jam the front brake you can be thrown off the bike due to uneven fork action. However, having said that, if you can find one that had a fork that had a minor bend and that was hammered out, it isn't a complete deal breaker.

l've been tirelessly searching craigslist for a good bike, and I think I finally found one. 2003 sv650, fully modded for $2.1k. only thing is it's got 24k miles on it. maybe I can use that as leverage to talk it down to $2000 or 1900, after having sitting on it or test riding it first of course. But the dealer guy said the bike runs perfectly, and I believe him. it's been dropped a couple of times, but I don't really care about a cracked fairing. what do you think?

 

 

not to mention fuel injection with low 50s mpg.

road trip this year for sure

Edited June 25, 2014 by spectastic

[starofdawn]

I'm not passionate about cars. I just need something to take me from point A to point B.

 

I have a 2003 Honda Accord. It was my mom's, and she gave it to me when she bought her new Prius in 2011. Recently just passed 100K in mileage. Has never given me any trouble, not even a flat tire!

[S_Colorado]

I'm driving my 05 Corolla right now. I got it used from the toyota dealership and had it for driving around Seattle and driving between Seattle and LA when I came to visit during breaks. It is a great car. I drove it across the country and back last summer. It rolled over 100,000 miles some where in Pennsylvania. It's up to around 130k now and still gets an 26mpg in the city, and 35 on the highway. I'm moving to Colorado this summer and I'm thinking I might try to get something with 4 wheel drive since I've never really driven in winter weather and I plan to drive back to LA across the Rockies for winter break. I'm probably looking at a used subuaru impreza and then invest with some good tires on it. I've luckily found a place to live within a mile of campus, so I won't be driving a two hours every day like I was in LA. I'm hoping that will make up for any MPG that I lose by switching to 4x4.

[Amogh]

l've been tirelessly searching craigslist for a good bike, and I think I finally found one. 2003 sv650, fully modded for $2.1k. only thing is it's got 24k miles on it. maybe I can use that as leverage to talk it down to $2000 or 1900, after having sitting on it or test riding it first of course. But the dealer guy said the bike runs perfectly, and I believe him. it's been dropped a couple of times, but I don't really care about a cracked fairing. what do you think?

 

 

not to mention fuel injection with low 50s mpg.

road trip this year for sure

SV650 is a nice bike. I hope you have ridden quite a bit before because it does put out quite a bit of power and torque. Cracked fairing should be fine. I'm thinking of getting a gsx650f myself.

Well there are quite a few other costs (gear can set you back a cool $1000 you know, helmet, gloves, boots and a jacket)

Oh and 24k miles means new tires soon unless they were changed very recently.

 

Road trips... Ah, the pleasures of the open road.

[spectastic]

SV650 is a nice bike. I hope you have ridden quite a bit before because it does put out quite a bit of power and torque. Cracked fairing should be fine. I'm thinking of getting a gsx650f myself.

Well there are quite a few other costs (gear can set you back a cool $1000 you know, helmet, gloves, boots and a jacket)

Oh and 24k miles means new tires soon unless they were changed very recently.

 

Road trips... Ah, the pleasures of the open road.

i've ridden around 5 bikes, and 4 of them were sv650s, so I'm well aware of their low end torque. I think I'll be able to handle it with practice. but you're right, this one has new tires, along with new oil, the whole deal. I actually found another bike (gs500) that's almost $1000 cheaper than the sv650, in relatively new condition. It's not the bike I think I will eventually get - sv650 is (or a ninja). but with that price, I can probably ride it through winter, and sell it for a profit in the spring, while buying a sv650 during winter at a good price. shitty thing is the guy stopped responding to my txts, after telling he'd hold the bike for me. ...... I don't think I will ever venture into the supersports though. the gsx and gsxr are pretty much the same right? why not just go for an r6?

[kyjin]

I ended up going with a used 2012 Ford Focus when I needed a car last year. If you're going for a used car, I highly recommend looking at Enterprise Car Sales division. No haggling, good financing, warranties, and the people who work there don't work on commission, so you aren't pressured like when you go to a dealership. The biggest thing for me was fuel economy (I'm in LA so gas is insane) and something not too small, but big enough to have a few others in the car. Plus I got a hatchback, which is great for groceries. 

[bhr]

Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope

 

Do not buy from Enterprise. Rental cars are the absolute worst things to purchase, people treat those things like crap when they have them, and you still are paying a dealer premium.

 

If you don't want to haggle, go to Carmax, buy the extended warranty (read the Jalopnik writeup on it, it's basically the only warranty they say is worth buying), and relax.

[TakeruK]

I agree with not buying from a car rental company because I know I don't treat my rental cars very well when I rent them! Also, check the CarFax reports and see what was the registered use of the car by previous owners. Most of them are rentals and I'd avoid that if possible!

[S_Colorado]

I test drove a used Honda CR-V today and really liked it. They have a good resale value and I was able to find a lot of them for sale under 18k with less than 60k miles on them and AWD. I'm going to look at the Forester and the Equonix too. And maybe the Impreza wagon.

[kyjin]

I don't think a used rental is any worse for wear than any other used car. And yes, you need to do your research, look at the CarFax, etc. I personally had a great experience with Enterprise, and my used rental is basically like a new car without paying the sticker price. A lot of used car lots have used rentals; they're harder to avoid than you'd expect in the used cars market.

[TakeruK]

A lot of used car lots have used rentals; they're harder to avoid than you'd expect in the used cars market.

 

I agree, I think 9 out of 10 CarFaxes we looked at were used rental cars. We were lucky to find one that was not a rental and also had everything else we wanted! Our (subjective) reasons for not wanting rentals were:

 

1. They tend to have really high mileages--much higher than average driving rate. This usually means fewer time left on the warranty.

2. Health problems mean that if previous users smoke in the car, it might affect us. Even though Enterprise and others don't allow smoking and charge a "cleaning fee" if you do, I think people break these rules and I'm not super certain that they actually clean the car nor am I certain how thorough of a job they might do.

3. I treat rental cars pretty poorly and I think many others do too. 

 

I think for us, it was worth the time we took to find exactly the used car we wanted. But these were just our personal fussiness and I agree that if these things don't matter to you, then a used car is a great deal. 

[bhr]

I test drove a used Honda CR-V today and really liked it. They have a good resale value and I was able to find a lot of them for sale under 18k with less than 60k miles on them and AWD. I'm going to look at the Forester and the Equonix too. And maybe the Impreza wagon.

I have the old-model Equinox, and my only complaint is gas mileage. The newer model (2010 and later, I think) gets about 10 mpg better than the older model.

[Lifesaver]

Subaru has the best AWD system, hands down. I wouldn't buy a Honda if you're relying on it to get through snow. A Chevy, maybe. I love subies.

[spectastic]

^seconded... two wheel drive and snow... not a happy marriage. 

[ss2player]

^seconded... two wheel drive and snow... not a happy marriage. 

 

Eh, depends on the snow! A good set of snow tires, FWD, and a moderately heavy car will do fine in most places. If they're expecting A LOT of snowfall, then by all means go for A/4WD. Just get ready for lower gas mileage.

Edited June 30, 2014 by ss2player

[S_Colorado]

I found out that Costco had an auto club. I had no idea Costco dealt in cars but it was a nice way to buy without having to do any negotiating. Negotiating is fine with a used car, but I've had very little luck negotiating new ones.

Edited June 30, 2014 by S_Cybelle

[VulpesZerda]

I'm driving my 05 Corolla right now. I got it used from the toyota dealership and had it for driving around Seattle and driving between Seattle and LA when I came to visit during breaks. It is a great car. I drove it across the country and back last summer. It rolled over 100,000 miles some where in Pennsylvania. It's up to around 130k now and still gets an 26mpg in the city, and 35 on the highway. I'm moving to Colorado this summer and I'm thinking I might try to get something with 4 wheel drive since I've never really driven in winter weather and I plan to drive back to LA across the Rockies for winter break. I'm probably looking at a used subuaru impreza and then invest with some good tires on it. I've luckily found a place to live within a mile of campus, so I won't be driving a two hours every day like I was in LA. I'm hoping that will make up for any MPG that I lose by switching to 4x4.

I also have a 2005 Corolla! I love my car. And, like you, I took mine across the country (plus some). It was a 11,500 mile road trip. So after 18 months of ownership the odometer now reads about 160k - it was 130 when I purchased it. Nothing wrong with that, though; my dad's Camry went up to 415k miles. It could've gone higher than that but my sister kinda crashed it this spring.

I will most definitely try to buy another Corolla when I'm done with this one!

[RunnerGrad]

Eh, depends on the snow! A good set of snow tires, FWD, and a moderately heavy car will do fine in most places. If they're expecting A LOT of snowfall, then by all means go for A/4WD. Just get ready for lower gas mileage.

 

Agreed.  This past winter we got a lot of snow for our region (we normally only get a couple of centimetres over the course of a winter; this year we had a LOT of snow - our entire front yard was covered in snow from all the shovelling.)  We put winter tires on both our cars (Honda Civic and Honda Fit) and had absolutely no problems dealing with the snow, ice, slush, etc.

 

Winter tires really do make a huge difference. 

 

I've lived in many regions of Canada (Ottawa, Southern Ontario, New Brunswick, Edmonton, Winnipeg, St. John's).  I've never felt the need for 4WD.  Winter tires have sufficed, even in the regions that get a lot of snow.  The people I know who have 4WD tend to either live in very hilly/mountainous regions, or else live in a very rural area with poor snow clearance.

[Miro]

as a reward for finishing undergrad and signing up for 5 to 6 more years of grad school I bought a  2013 Prius C in 2013. It only carry 4 people comfortable however I am fine with that since 98% of the time when i  I drive the car I am usually the only person in it. The car cost me $ 25,500.00 since i wanted all the trimmings. after 1 year and 4 months of owning the car, I still like it. I think that it is the cutest car on the road Her name is Miyo. 

 

I plan on driving this car for the next fifteen  years. some of you guys will ask, what about kids and a husband well, my current boyfriend fits well in the front and the kids will be able to fit fine in the back until they are about 10 to 12 yrs old ( by that time my car should be about 15 yrs old).  what about if you want to take a road trip with four other friend? In those cases we always rent cars beside nobody want to volunteer they car for a road trip with friends. 

 

the car is great on gas mileage and parking it is pretty easy. I only drive the car on weekends so i will consider changing my insurance to weekend only use ( i live really close to school since i hate driving in ATL) 

[Amogh]

i've ridden around 5 bikes, and 4 of them were sv650s, so I'm well aware of their low end torque. I think I'll be able to handle it with practice. but you're right, this one has new tires, along with new oil, the whole deal. I actually found another bike (gs500) that's almost $1000 cheaper than the sv650, in relatively new condition. It's not the bike I think I will eventually get - sv650 is (or a ninja). but with that price, I can probably ride it through winter, and sell it for a profit in the spring, while buying a sv650 during winter at a good price. shitty thing is the guy stopped responding to my txts, after telling he'd hold the bike for me. ...... I don't think I will ever venture into the supersports though. the gsx and gsxr are pretty much the same right? why not just go for an r6?

The GSX-650F is in the same range as the GSX-R600 etc. The R is meant to mean Racing spec. Those bikes (especially the 600cc ones which is the general engine capacity most races specify) can with very little modifications (essentially safety stuff to meet the requirements) be used to race in MotoGP! Someone actually did recently, last year I think. He even finished in the top 10th.

 The GSX is just a style moniker. This bike is essentially a Bandit 650 with fairing and sportier setup. So it's in the sport touring category. I'm not ready for a SuperSport. Don't think I'll ever be. They're too uncomfortable anyways.