<p>As many of you know, I’ve been driving a '99 Chrysler Concorde since I was 15 and it has gotten less and less reliable over the years. When I accepted my job offer on Friday I decided I really needed to get something new(er) and more practical since I will be moving to Colorado.</p>
<p>After quite a bit of shopping (I had been researching what I liked for the last 6 months so I had an idea of what I wanted), I had narrowed it down to a Jeep Compass, VW Tiguan, and Nissan Rogue. All were decently priced and had very low mileage. </p>
<p>I test drove all three and liked the Volkswagen the best, but when I got to the table they were not willing to work with me at all on price, so I walked away. I went back and drove the Nissan again, decided I really liked it, and they WERE willing to work with me on price (and it was more reasonable in the first place.) It was basically new (only has 8k miles on it and is a 2013) and the price was right, and the sales people were much more pleasant to deal with than those at the VW dealer. Several hours later I walked away with a new(er) car that is mine (as soon as I pay off the loan, obviously.) I got a good rate, and got what I wanted (walked away, taxes and everything, for the price I wanted and the monthly payment I wanted.)</p>
<p>Any sage advice for a first-time new(ish) car owner? I’ve read over the owner’s manual and the maintenance schedule and will stick as closely as possible to the scheduled maintenance. I went ahead and purchased the extended warranty (6 years, 100k miles) and a protection plan (which I think will be helpful if I need it, especially since I’ll be driving it from CA to CO next week), and I’ve found the nearest dealer to my new location in case I need anything done while in my new location.</p>
<p>But I know all of you parents always have wonderful advice and I’d love to hear anything you have to add!</p>
<p>Thanks in advance! I am so thrilled, overwhelmed that I am able to do this, and I am very, very pleased with the deal I got. </p>
<p>^That was what my parents and I discussed as well. Getting more for the money and not taking the huge depreciation hit.</p>
<p>They actually had just gotten the model I purchased today; when I first test drove it, it hadn’t even been detailed or washed and the used car manager came out to apologize for the state of it. Needless to say, at the end of the day when they brought it out for me to take home I thought, “Wow, what a pretty color!” lol. It looked quite a bit different!</p>
<p>if it is a used car, run a check on the VIN and make sure its not been in an accident, or had flood damage or anything. The dont always share that info.</p>
<p>If you have ANY problem with it the next month, take it back to the dealer so they can fix it. We discovered that the cigarette lighter didn’t work in our “new” used car, and they took care of it for us.</p>
<p>Words from my dad, long ago…“Always consider your gas tank as empty when it is half full…you’ll never run low on gas.” In other words, fill up your gas tank when it is half empty.</p>
<p>Make sure you know who your extended warranty is with - the manufacturer or the dealer. We bought an Acura just came off a 2 year lease in 2001 with an extended warranty through Acura and my college son is still driving it - loves the car and hopes it never breaks. </p>
<p>Don’t ignore the maintenance schedule. Make sure they have your current address so you can be informed of any recall issues. And enjoy your new-ish car.</p>
<p>Consider doing the ‘severe’ maintenance schedule instead of ‘regular’. Get oil changes done every 3750 miles instead of 7500 miles. If you do the longer oil change interval of 7500 miles, use a synthetic motor oil instead of conventional oil. Better to be on safe side in my opinion, and oil changes are not that expensive. Enjoy your new ride!</p>
<p>Call the manufacturer’s (Nissan America) customer service line during normal working hours, to have yourself listed as the new owner, and ask them what warranties their records show are still open on the car. The original warranties start from the day the car was put into service by the first retail buyer, not the date of manufacturer. You should step into the shoes of the original purchaser on many little warranties you may not have thought of, such as rust or seat belts, and you may be pleasantly surprised.</p>
<p>Also, keep photocopies (or photographs) of your registration, your license plate, and the nameplate on the car (showing VIN and date of manufacture – usually down near the sill, at the driver’s door jamb.</p>
<p>Get the electronic toll pass for your region. And mark your maintenance plans to buy a new battery every three years. This can save you being stranded. Batteries don’t let you know that they’re about to fizzle out.</p>
<p>We like to get the fluids changed on a newly-purchased used car, even a young one from the dealer. It gives a fresh start to the equipment, and gives our local mechanic a chance to see how dirty the oil was. Your personal mechanic should also take the tires off and check the brakes, no matter who you bought the car from.</p>
<p>The dealer gave me a copy of the Carfax for free and gave me another copy to take home I think California requires by law that they have to show it to you, either that or Nissan does because I had to sign papers saying that I’d seen it and had a copy.</p>
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<p>My dad taught me the same thing with the Chrysler, but at a quarter tank instead of half. I’ve done well and never run out :)</p>
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<p>It’s actually a third party, but I have the entire plan and the contact information for them. The dealer gave me a copy of that as well.</p>
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<p>Mom and dad recommended doing every 5,000. That’s probably what I’ll do.</p>
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<p>Never thought about this, but good idea!</p>
<p>Lizard, thank you for the pdf! I’m bookmarking it. That will be handy to have.</p>
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<p>Also taken care of by the dealer. I have records showing how long the original warranty is still good for as well as my extended warranty and my protection plan.</p>
<p>Very good advice on the battery–I’ll make a note.</p>
<p>And I will probably get fluids changed when I get my first paycheck at the end of July. :)</p>
<p>Thank you all for the wonderful advice! My car has insurance as of this morning so that’s a huge relief as well; it was making me nervous to even drive it until I got that taken care of. I think I’ve done everything I can for now, I just have to get to Colorado and get my registration and new license. My insurance only went up slightly, which was a pleasant surprise since my previous car was worth basically nothing and so had no comprehensive or anything like that; basically just insurance for me in case I got injured in a crash or injured someone else. The Nissan is worth quite a bit more but I’m happy. I will of course shop around but I have been happy with GEICO so far.</p>
<p>Get AAA before you take off for Colorado. You may never need roadside assistance, but you’ll be mighty glad to have it if you do. There are also a lot of benefits with AAA besides car related items…</p>
<p>Totally agree with the AAA advice. They have saved us a lot of money and rescued us many times when the vehicles broke down, we locked our keys in the car, ran out of gas, etc.</p>
<p>Then again, what good vehicle advice can I give? We have 90K miles on our Prius and have never gotten any maintenance on it. Not even regularly scheduled maintenance checkups. Just oil and tires. What a great car it is.</p>
<p>Mom and dad got me AAA when I started driving the Chrysler so that’s all set the protection plan on my Nissan also came with some roadside service for the first few years.</p>
<p>So funny story of the day…I was out doing some shopping before I head off to Colorado on Friday and my phone rings from a number I don’t have in my contacts. I answer and who would it be but the Volkswagen dealership asking if I’d bought a car yet. All of a sudden they’re dying to work with me. I told them too bad, they missed out. He asked what I went with and I told him the Nissan Rogue with basically the same mileage as the Tiguan I wanted for the amount I wanted, and he got very quiet very quickly. I called mom and told her and she asked if I was disappointed, but Nissan was just SO much more pleasant to work with and I am absolutely thrilled with what I got for the price. I just think it’s funny that they were so firm on “There’s no way we can get you out the door for the price you want in that car” yesterday, and today they call me to let me know that they want to invite me back. Funny how that works. (The finance guy at Nissan yesterday did say that sometimes dealers would take deals they otherwise wouldn’t if it’s the end of the month in order to make quota…so maybe they thought I would come back yesterday or thought someone else would buy it. Joke’s on them!)</p>
I think California requires by law that they have to show it to you, either that or Nissan does because I had to sign papers saying that I’d seen it and had a copy.</p>
the protection plan on my Nissan also came with some roadside service for the first few years.</p>