Buying a car

[Jong Lafitte]

Honda HRV. Love that little thing.

ya know benny, a friend of mine has this exact car and I'm quite impressed. AWD seems wanting compared to the subie system ala yer old Fozzie (though, I haven't driven it, but I can kinda tell) but, pros and cons; is about the same system everybody is using except a few outliers. Friend has all seasons that suck and it still does pretty darn good. PLENTY of pick up and a compact-ish package and has all the modern gadgets at what seemed like a pretty good price. I also really like the non-carpet carpet in this one. (maybe a lower trim model). Might be a bitch to haul skis inside as its short.

[buttahflake]

With 172cm skis, you won't need a big car.

Call Stainless and ask about a low mileage Urus.

Yer kinda a size-queen, huh? You like the big ones, guy.

[simple]

Lives in an apartment, wants to put a bicycle in the trunk....now I know you must wear a turtleneck base layer

Anyway Mazda CX-5 is my recommendation to most people.

[skaredshtles]

Benny, get a used Honda Crosstour with CPO warranty. Great price and reliable with AWD. In your shoes, that is what I would buy.

That's an old codger vehicle.

Oh, wait.

Carry on...

[Timberridge]

Yer kinda a size-queen, huh? You like the big ones, guy.

Who doesn't?

[Benny Profane]

ya know benny, a friend of mine has this exact car and I'm quite impressed. AWD seems wanting compared to the subie system ala yer old Fozzie (though, I haven't driven it, but I can kinda tell) but, pros and cons; is about the same system everybody is using except a few outliers. Friend has all seasons that suck and it still does pretty darn good. PLENTY of pick up and a compact-ish package and has all the modern gadgets at what seemed like a pretty good price. I also really like the non-carpet carpet in this one. (maybe a lower trim model). Might be a bitch to haul skis inside as its short.

Nice seats, too. Ski s go on top in a box.

[The AD]

Did my only new-car purchase through the Costco auto-buying program. Nearly all communication via email with dealer, and none of the car-dealer horseshit.

For my last car I went through Costco to get their quote and then I emailed every dealer in the area and asked them if they could beat the Costco price. One of them did. I made sure they were giving me the bottom line price and then went to the dealer and picked up the car. I paid cash so the whole thing took about 30 minutes.

[snapt]

Huh I wonder. Have ‘15 MDX put 65k on and flawless. Only oil. Torque vector awd rips in the snow. Will drive it till wheels fall off

This one rips in the snow, gets great MPG and is generally an awesome car, when not in limp mode. Seems like an oil leak issue is pretty common. Local dealers won't do the fix, Honda corporate is telling us to drive 6 hours to another dealer to hope they will. Hopefully the recall comes sooner than later, otherwise we may lemon it. It's the new 1.5 turbo, not sure which Acura models have it.

[Timberridge]

[The AD]

Our mechanic told us to run away from current-model CRVs

Really? What are the issues? I've had mine for two years now and the only problem I've had so far is the button on the shift selector broke off--which is annoying, but hardly "run away" worthy.

edit: found this https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...ngine-trouble/

[Jong Lafitte]

Nice seats, too. Ski s go on top in a box.

Ya. Just go get it man and call it a day. I heard this radio piece the other day on maybe 1A or something about how more choices leads to less happiness, so one way to counter that it to just choose quickly and be happy. I never saw a poorly built car that said Honda on it.

[MiddleOfNight]

I made sure they were giving me the bottom line price and then went to the dealer and picked up the car. I paid cash so the whole thing took about 30 minutes.

I tried .. but I got to the dealer and they offered me another instant rebate (1K) to finance a portion I think it was 6 or 8K. So I did, drove rig home, logged on and paid off the balance.
Easy money. Ha!

[The AD]

It did seem strange to buy a car with cash. The dealer only allowed a certain amount on credit, so I paid as much as I could on my credit card (Costco Citi card to get the rebate) and used a debit card for the rest.

[Self Jupiter]

Really? What are the issues? I've had mine for two years now and the only problem I've had so far is the button on the shift selector broke off--which is annoying, but hardly "run away" worthy.

edit: found this https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...ngine-trouble/

Per Mrs Jupiter - ‘something with air conditioning, I forget.’ I didn’t get the sense there was common major failure, more that they’re just not as generally reliable as they once were. Which seemed near indestructible imo. I don’t mean to be an alarmist, but I trust this shop. The convo context began when wife had mentioned her dad was in the market for a new(er) car, and loved his CRV and was thinking about getting another one. We also have a CRV but it’s a little older.

[::: :::]

Our 17' CRV

long bed?

[plugboots]

OK, an AWD vehicle that will hold 1 bike in the back. Basically any AWD car. What do you want to spend? BMW/Audi money or Mazda 3 Hatchback w/ AWD?
I like it:

[Benny Profane]

Too small

[The Tortoise]

My two requirements are, AWD, and must fit a bike in the back, lying down. Roof rails, too.

Just get a VW Alltrack. You should be able to get a screaming deal. And the roof rails aren't a mile off of the ground.

[liv2ski]

Just get a VW Alltrack. You should be able to get a screaming deal. And the roof rails aren't a mile off of the ground.

Yup, great warranty too if you MUST have a new car

[The Tortoise]

Just don't get a sunroof.

[Ted Striker]

Back when I asked this question, I got some good advice.

On the car I was asking about, emails didn't really work out to a better price than finding the right sales guy in person. On the subsequent new car purchase (wife's Subaru Outback) I did the entire thing electronically (email+text) which saved about 2k over the local guy's "best price" - but I did have to drive 80 miles from my house.

The full story is we test drove the car (and other models) at a semi-local dealer, and might have purchased from him, but he annoyed the hell out of me. So I came up with an email basically saying that I was ready to buy the car with the exact trim level/list of options, that color didn't matter, that I wouldn't haggle or waste their time, and that I was going to go with the best offer. I sent it to every dealer in western WA and PDX. The majority came back at the exact same number, a few were much higher, and a few were slightly lower. After looking at reviews - and the map - I contacted one of the guys, and ultimately bought the car from him.

Afterward, I replied to most of the offers I received. Some of them wanted to know if their price was competitive and/or why I went with someone else, and I gave them an honest response.

[Benny Profane]

Just get a VW Alltrack. You should be able to get a screaming deal. And the roof rails aren't a mile off of the ground.

I test drove this car, liked it, especially the engine, but availability seems to be an issue, and, my experience tells me that when that happens, the dicking around reaches a fever pitch. I negotiated for a Crosstek in '11 when they first came out that didn't exist when I arrived at the dealer. That bitch got my opinion in her face.

[nickwm21]

True Car - avoid at all costs. All they do is sell your contact info to all the local dealers and you will get sales calls and emails for years.

Buying a new car - find out exactly what you want, model, package, color, warranty, etc... Call all the dealers within 150 miles. Ask them for their best price over the phone. Call your local dealer; tell them the best price and ask them to beat it.

But... the best way to buy a car is to buy used, from the original owner, clean title, full maintenance history, after the 70,000-90,000 mile service cycle.



Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[XXX-er]

local dealer sells 1000 trucks a year in town of 5000 people so obviously there is a big out of town clientele, they have a trailer big enough to carry a truck and will deliver

[plugboots]

OK, now we're getting somewhere. Mazda 3 too small, whatever. So how 'bout one size bigger, with some extra not-needed ground clearance, and more money:

Actually, why not just a 3-series or A4 w/ AWD?