Car buying

[The Sybian]

ah.
yeah.
why did i miss it?

Blame it on the baby.

[rass]

Next time to keep flaco’s interest I need to get an early commitment from a Portuguese waitress instead of a dude from Kentucky.

[A_B]

Next time to keep flaco’s interest I need to get an early commitment from a Portuguese waitress instead of a dude from Kentucky.

I cannot argue with this!

[The Sybian]

Next time to keep flaco’s interest I need to get an early commitment from a Portuguese waitress instead of a dude from Kentucky.

I cannot argue with this!

Maybe I'm getting old, but I thought the food was a much better draw than the waitress. AB is more into the music than the food or waitress.

[A_B]

Next time to keep flaco’s interest I need to get an early commitment from a Portuguese waitress instead of a dude from Kentucky.

I cannot argue with this!

Maybe I'm getting old, but I thought the food was a much better draw than the waitress. AB is more into the music than the food or waitress.

I couldn't focus on anything else. The cacophony of ...noise...was too much. At one point they were a half step away from the brown note I think, which would have been a disaster. At least we were on the patio and they could just get the hoses out.

[rass]

AB was ready to stand up and shit himself just to stop the show if he heard the opening bars of a Billy Joel song.

Also…

Remember on your way home. If you're drivin', don't drink. And if you drink, don't drive…

[elflaco2]

Next time to keep flaco’s interest I need to get an early commitment from a Portuguese waitress instead of a dude from Kentucky.

food and women. you forgot the cervezas

[HaulCitgo]

What piece of shit decided new cars don't need a spare or a donut. Fuckers.

[A_B]

What piece of shit decided new cars don't need a spare or a donut. Fuckers.

Yeah it’s so stupid. And they certainly won’t go out of their way to make sure you know.

[brian]

I present to you the most Las Vegas story ever.

[elflaco2]

Have to buy a car.. not ideal timing but it is what it is. don't judge.
the boy will start driving in February.. and besides that, we have a need for a larger vehicle (aforementioned boy is now taller than me, although at least an inch of that is hair).. youngest is now in the larger car seat and we've learned this past summer that it is extremely uncofortable to all drive around to activities as a family (MIL visits for weeks at a time now regularly, my folks come up regularly on weekends as well)

so...
3rd seat is needed - no minivans.

down to two choices
brand new 23 VW Atlas (dealer) or 2018 48K Suburban (carmax).
Same price
insurance will be higher on the 23
gas will be higher on the 18
both have roof racks (already have a box), both have hitches (already have stuff for that too)

neither will fit in the garage
drove both.. the 18 is as long as my old vw bus so parking was easy for me, the missus not so much.


thoughts?

[mister d]

This feels like a trick question.

[A_B]

I'll say it...buy the new one with the warranty. I love my truck so far and the wife got a chevy as well, but for the same price no reason not to go with the new unless the insurance is ungodly expensive.


Also, my experience is all vehicles that aren't minivans but have "3rd row" options generally aren't easy to get in and out of for that row. The suburbans are somewhat better than most but still a trick to get into. I've over 6 feet tall and I hate it back there.

EDIT: Just looked at the Atlas. You'll hate that third row, IMO. Not much better than my old highlander. Get the Chevy if you will use it regularly.

[A_B]

All that said...I'd go with the minivan.

[HaulCitgo]

I concur about the highlander 3rd row. Not sure about the atlas. Looks nice though.

[GoodKarma]

Newer is better. If you’re taking suggestions look at the Kia Telluride or the Hyundai version (I think it’s the Pallisade)

[wlu_lax6]

All that said...I'd go with the minivan.

[Giff]

That movie has to hold up, right? Right?

[wlu_lax6]

That movie has to hold up, right? Right?

Watched it recently with my son. Very solid.

[Giff]

Good to hear. The source material is top notch.

[elflaco2]

Going to reserve an Atlas on Saturday.
probably wont take delivery until november -- no one seems to have cars. the american cars we saw.. all carried a hefty charge on top of the sticker. vw guys say sticker is sticker, and i've soft spot for VWs (Bus, fox, jetta)
question now in the Hidalgo household is who drives the atlas and who drives the volvo (the kid only gets to drive the jetta)
and since the garage is now clean and organized, motorcycle!

[A_B]

Orange is underutilized, I like it.

Im naturally disinclined towards orange but i don't mind that color.

Orange you glad it wasn't Pantone PMS 151 C?

Quite so

Nike must have had some leftovers from kitting out the UT soccer team.

[Johnnie]

It's looking like time is quickly approaching where I have to get a car. (In November 2020 I sold my 2016 Hyundai Sonata to CarMax before heading to Korea.)

With my wife working from home and my going into work being a short commute (and now being funemployed), we've only needed one car. Now that the new job she applied to will require coming back to the office a couple times a week, I need to get around in the meantime.

I was looking at used cars and see that prices haven't gotten better. I paid $21k for that Sonata brand new and currently there's one with 43k miles for $18k, same year, better package. Also I really, really want a Blazer EV, but until I have a new job that isn't going to happen (plus they aren't available yet.) So I think I just want something for a few years.

Is a lease a good option for me? Or do I get something in the ~$10k range or less and purchase one outright. (I absolutely hate the interest rates on cars right now. USAA/Navy Federal is like 5.4% for 36 months, but whatever.)

So what should I do?

[EnochRoot]

It's looking like time is quickly approaching where I have to get a car. (In November 2020 I sold my 2016 Hyundai Sonata to CarMax before heading to Korea.)

With my wife working from home and my going into work being a short commute (and now being funemployed), we've only needed one car. Now that the new job she applied to will require coming back to the office a couple times a week, I need to get around in the meantime.

I was looking at used cars and see that prices haven't gotten better. I paid $21k for that Sonata brand new and currently there's one with 43k miles for $18k, same year, better package. Also I really, really want a Blazer EV, but until I have a new job that isn't going to happen (plus they aren't available yet.) So I think I just want something for a few years.

Is a lease a good option for me? Or do I get something in the ~$10k range or less and purchase one outright. (I absolutely hate the interest rates on cars right now. USAA/Navy Federal is like 5.4% for 36 months, but whatever.)

So what should I do?

Screw leasing a car. Get into a late-ish model something you can afford that retains its value. If it doesn’t have Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, upgrade the stereo.

[mister d]

Slight counter-point, leasing can work if you're totally up in the air about what you'll need in 2-3 years. Pay a little bit more to keep full flexibility down the line.

[Steve of phpBB]

We've recently bought late-model used cars from Hertz. They come with a lot of mileage, but they're in good shape and seem to be a good value.

I think this especially makes some sense if you aren't planning to put a ton of miles on the car yourself.

[Johnnie]

I took a look at leasing and I completely didn't realize there's a hefty down payment involved. Add that to the 36 monthly payments and it's about as much as a used car that's a few years older.

I also looked at Hertz and Avis car sales and 1) they aren't that local to me 2) their prices are about the same compared to other dealerships.

All-in-all, there just seems to be slim pickings everywhere. I'll just have to do my research and see what makes the most financial sense. Maybe I just have to get a car for the next 5 years instead of 3.

[Giff]

Do you think you could test out how much not having a car those two days affects you? I bet the Ubers you would have to take would not add up to a monthly payment.

[govmentchedda]

Do you think you could test out how much not having a car those two days affects you? I bet the Ubers you would have to take would not add up to a monthly payment.

You think they got Uber where they don't have sports bars?

[Giff]

Touche.

[The Sybian]

Do you think you could test out how much not having a car those two days affects you? I bet the Ubers you would have to take would not add up to a monthly payment.

You think they got Uber where they don't have sports bars?

Uber can usually get to my house in 5-10 minutes, we don’t really have any sports bars.

[Johnnie]

Ubers/Lyfts are $40-$50 from where I'm at to anywhere 30 minutes away and are very few and far between.

Soooooo....nope.

I honestly haven't used ride-sharing apps since ABQ. They were plentiful there.

[Steve of phpBB]

E-bike.

[The Sybian]

Ubers/Lyfts are $40-$50 from where I'm at to anywhere 30 minutes away and are very few and far between.

Soooooo....nope.

I honestly haven't used ride-sharing apps since ABQ. They were plentiful there.

Become an Uber driver

[wlu_lax6]

Ubers/Lyfts are $40-$50 from where I'm at to anywhere 30 minutes away and are very few and far between.

Soooooo....nope.

I honestly haven't used ride-sharing apps since ABQ. They were plentiful there.

Become an Uber driver

I am 99% sure that sports officiating pays more per hour than ride share driver....and even better if you can figure out how to ride share on the way to/from your game.

[A_B]

I looked hard at leasing last year but ended up with a brand new and a 2019 in great shape. The price difference between was just not worth it since my family has a tendency to ride them til they are on last legs. So I anticipate having a few years of savings after it’s paid off to save for the next one.

[Johnnie]

Update:

TL;DR: I was able to find a 2016 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T Limited for $19,500 with only 32k miles. Garaged, no smoking, no pets, owned by an older lady who took care of it. (So the dealer said.) I also get the dealership's maintainance for life stuff too (oil changes, really).

Out the door price: $21,722.16. (And AZ waives the licensing and registration fee for vets like me.)

ML;WTR:

[+] spoiler

After monitoring search after search between AutoTrader and CarGurus (thanks, DSafe!) setting up my parameters and cross-referencing Edmunds, NADA, and KBB, I learned quite quickly that used car prices are still juiced from the pandemic despite the rough as hell condition they come in. I set my goal at $15k or better and found that it was going to be a struggle to get something decent at that price. Doable, but would take work.

I saw a black 2016 Sonata Sport with low-ish miles and decided to check it out. Let me tell you, this mother fucker wasn't worth more than $10k despite its $15k price. From what I could tell, that thing had been sitting. It was completely filthy. It had aftermarket tint that was poorly applied -- even illegally halfway down the windshield. The oil check was translucent yellow (note: not the color of oil). The backseat wasn't attached. All of the weather stripping was peeling and cracked. The dual exhaust was uneven -- it looked like a chrome tip was on one pipe but not the other. It drove well, but I had to walk. Levels Auto Sales is fucking trash.

Then I checked out another 2016 Sonata Sport with fewer miles (43k) from another place. After a couple of hiccups of it being out for detail or whatever, I finally got to drive it. It was smooth. It had some pickup. Everything was fine. Except for the price. The aggregator websites pulled a low price. However, when you actually checked the dealer's website, that wasn't the price. Check this out. That 'bonus finance cash' and 'trade in bonus cash' won't apply to me. The former is when you finance through them at an amount of $25k or greater. It doesn't even apply at all. And I wasn't trading in a car. So when I took a look at the statement sheet, guess what amount was on there? A price that was even more than the 'everyone's price'. Click the question mark next to the low price. They add a Lojack that you have to pay for. So yea. Fuck that. The car isn't worth $19,700 in any condition.

I continued to another place after that. They had a 2018 Sonata which was also in rough shape. The emblems and antenna cover were missing. The front fender had gorilla glue holding it on. The interior was very stained. One of the wheels was painted over. The car was actually sold a month ago to some dude and driven straight to a place to get aftermarket wheels and tires put on it only for the owner to...not make the first payment and have it repo'd. Good job, Tucson. I didn't even test drive it. You can actually see the gorilla glue in the photos, but not the painted wheel. Both are on the passenger side.

I then swung by another place to check out a 2014 Sonata. It had about 70k miles. And it was a decent price ($11,700) and in good shape that maybe I'd just go down a few years, but I wasn't feeling it. There's a distinct dropoff in performance, amenities, and safety (standard back up camera) that I couldn't really shake. And when I asked the guy what the price was I got something that was a couple grand more that what I saw. So I immediately felt that that was dumb because the aggregator sites plus 'what my car's worth' sites were typically spot on with the lower price shown. I passed, but remained hopeful.

I got home and started searching again -- literally moments after I came back from car shopping-- and that's when I stumbled across a post on CarGurus that had the 2016 2.0T Limited with only 32k miles, but no price listed. Like, what? That's comically low miles for a 7 year old car. So I called the dealer about the price. It was being sold by a bonafide dealership: Jim Click Hyundai. And come to find out, the car was going for only $19,999 -- which kinda shocked me. I was expecting $23k or more, but nope. I actually could make this work and incredibly enough, it's actually priced appropriately. So I decided to drive back out into town and look at it. The only major issue was paint chips on the hood which will get fixed. Everything else was clean despite it not going into 'recon' to get it up to speed to sell. Like, even in it's current state it was far better to show than any other car I had seen. (According to the dealer -- so, grain of salt, but maybe not really because why lie to a military dude who he also gave extra $500 off to -- it was driven by an older woman who garaged it and serviced it regularly.) So now I'm getting sold on it even though it's higher than I'd like to pay. And after I took it for a test drive, it was a wrap. It was great drive and reminded me of what I had previously, but better. So that was that. It'll be ready in a couple weeks. I'll just put more of a down payment on it.

All-in-all, used car dealers that aren't under the umbrella of the big dealerships are fucking trifling. I'm happy that I went to a proper dealer in Jim Click. They have dealerships for all the major car manufacturers. The little dealers were just not presentable and the vibes in many cases were so off. So, in the end, I got, what I feel, is a great car with lots of options at a lower price than other similar models that are for sale. Weirdly enough, my previous car, brand new, was very, very similar in price with the 'out the door' price for this one. This was my previous car, if you're curious. I got $10,500 when I sold to Carmax prior to heading to Korea and it looks like they priced it for $14,599 in El Paso later on.

[Steve of phpBB]

Update:

TL;DR: I was able to find a 2016 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T Limited for $19,500 with only 32k miles. Garaged, no smoking, no pets, owned by an older lady who took care of it. (So the dealer said.) I also get the dealership's maintainance for life stuff too (oil changes, really).

Out the door price: $21,722.16. (And AZ waives the licensing and registration fee for vets like me.)

ML;WTR:

[+] spoiler

After monitoring search after search between AutoTrader and CarGurus (thanks, DSafe!) setting up my parameters and cross-referencing Edmunds, NADA, and KBB, I learned quite quickly that used car prices are still juiced from the pandemic despite the rough as hell condition they come in. I set my goal at $15k or better and found that it was going to be a struggle to get something decent at that price. Doable, but would take work.

I saw a black 2016 Sonata Sport with low-ish miles and decided to check it out. Let me tell you, this mother fucker wasn't worth more than $10k despite its $15k price. From what I could tell, that thing had been sitting. It was completely filthy. It had aftermarket tint that was poorly applied -- even illegally halfway down the windshield. The oil check was translucent yellow (note: not the color of oil). The backseat wasn't attached. All of the weather stripping was peeling and cracked. The dual exhaust was uneven -- it looked like a chrome tip was on one pipe but not the other. It drove well, but I had to walk. Levels Auto Sales is fucking trash.

Then I checked out another 2016 Sonata Sport with fewer miles (43k) from another place. After a couple of hiccups of it being out for detail or whatever, I finally got to drive it. It was smooth. It had some pickup. Everything was fine. Except for the price. The aggregator websites pulled a low price. However, when you actually checked the dealer's website, that wasn't the price. Check this out. That 'bonus finance cash' and 'trade in bonus cash' won't apply to me. The former is when you finance through them at an amount of $25k or greater. It doesn't even apply at all. And I wasn't trading in a car. So when I took a look at the statement sheet, guess what amount was on there? A price that was even more than the 'everyone's price'. Click the question mark next to the low price. They add a Lojack that you have to pay for. So yea. Fuck that. The car isn't worth $19,700 in any condition.

I continued to another place after that. They had a 2018 Sonata which was also in rough shape. The emblems and antenna cover were missing. The front fender had gorilla glue holding it on. The interior was very stained. One of the wheels was painted over. The car was actually sold a month ago to some dude and driven straight to a place to get aftermarket wheels and tires put on it only for the owner to...not make the first payment and have it repo'd. Good job, Tucson. I didn't even test drive it. You can actually see the gorilla glue in the photos, but not the painted wheel. Both are on the passenger side.

I then swung by another place to check out a 2014 Sonata. It had about 70k miles. And it was a decent price ($11,700) and in good shape that maybe I'd just go down a few years, but I wasn't feeling it. There's a distinct dropoff in performance, amenities, and safety (standard back up camera) that I couldn't really shake. And when I asked the guy what the price was I got something that was a couple grand more that what I saw. So I immediately felt that that was dumb because the aggregator sites plus 'what my car's worth' sites were typically spot on with the lower price shown. I passed, but remained hopeful.

I got home and started searching again -- literally moments after I came back from car shopping-- and that's when I stumbled across a post on CarGurus that had the 2016 2.0T Limited with only 32k miles, but no price listed. Like, what? That's comically low miles for a 7 year old car. So I called the dealer about the price. It was being sold by a bonafide dealership: Jim Click Hyundai. And come to find out, the car was going for only $19,999 -- which kinda shocked me. I was expecting $23k or more, but nope. I actually could make this work and incredibly enough, it's actually priced appropriately. So I decided to drive back out into town and look at it. The only major issue was paint chips on the hood which will get fixed. Everything else was clean despite it not going into 'recon' to get it up to speed to sell. Like, even in it's current state it was far better to show than any other car I had seen. (According to the dealer -- so, grain of salt, but maybe not really because why lie to a military dude who he also gave extra $500 off to -- it was driven by an older woman who garaged it and serviced it regularly.) So now I'm getting sold on it even though it's higher than I'd like to pay. And after I took it for a test drive, it was a wrap. It was great drive and reminded me of what I had previously, but better. So that was that. It'll be ready in a couple weeks. I'll just put more of a down payment on it.

All-in-all, used car dealers that aren't under the umbrella of the big dealerships are fucking trifling. I'm happy that I went to a proper dealer in Jim Click. They have dealerships for all the major car manufacturers. The little dealers were just not presentable and the vibes in many cases were so off. So, in the end, I got, what I feel, is a great car with lots of options at a lower price than other similar models that are for sale. Weirdly enough, my previous car, brand new, was very, very similar in price with the 'out the door' price for this one. This was my previous car, if you're curious. I got $10,500 when I sold to Carmax prior to heading to Korea and it looks like they priced it for $14,599 in El Paso later on.

I’m glad it worked out.

I agree you’re better off buying used from a new car dealer. They have more incentive not to stick you with a piece of crap.

I’m so un-knowledgeable about cars, any used car dealer would have his way with me.

[Johnnie]

I’m so un-knowledgeable about cars, any used car dealer would have his way with me.

I'm not a gearhead by any means, but I've done routine maintenance myself numerous times via my Jeep and Dodge (MOPAR BABY) so I have no problem looking under the hood to check fluids or doing general visual inspections like cleanliness of the bay or the air filter.

You can't exactly take a car you intend to purchase to your mechanic first either, so everything you do comes to look, listen, and feel instead of test and ops check.

And then the golden rule of buying a car always exists: you have the ability to walk away. There are so many cars out there that you can't get wrapped up in loving only one.

[A_B]

If you buy during the week and have a guy you trust you absolutely can take it to the mechanic for. Quick once over. But I haven’t done that in years since the carfax usually works. But pull it yourself and don’t trust what dealer hands you. It is often outdated