I should say, I work at home so I have no commute. I live in a very walkable, bike-able area - I can shop, bank, mail things, go out to eat - all of that - with no car and generally choose the exercise. I typically put about 4k miles on a car per year if I rent a different one for long trips, presumably I’d put more like 8k on a new one that served all my needs, since I think I might drive more. I camp a few times a year and the option to use a car/SUV in lieu of a tent if I want to is appealing. My D has a Passat wagon that is great for that. (I don’t want a VW - the one and its repair bills are plenty for me!)
A car is not what I want to spend money on. That would be college bills and travel, at the moment.
If I had my way, the car would cost around $6k and have under 50k miles. I’ve seen a couple in that ballpark, one is a Chevy Spark which I THINK I got as a rental once and really liked, but I’m not positive. That particular car is like 30 minutes away, though, I’d have to go drive it. Some Toyota Yaris, Hyundais. Kias and Fords in that ballpark too.
Then I go read Consumer Reports and other online review sites and get totally overwhelmed.
@OHMomof2 You sound like a perfect candidate for just using zipcar, Enterprise carshare and the like for when you need a vehicle. Given how little you drive, it would probably be cheaper than maintenance, insurance, etc.
I have bought (lease) most of my cars without leaving my home. I know what car, model I want. I start to call all dealers around me. Dealers do not just sell cars in their own show room, they can sell cars anywhere they are affiliated with. The dealers are giving me their prices on the same inventory. I can negotiate with them for the best price.
Once we agreed on the price, the dealer would get the car to my house with the paperwork for me to sign. I do not have step inside of a dealership.
i do my research before hand so I would know what’s the maximum I would pay. My brother would say, “It’s not a good deal until you could make the salesperson cry.”
I follow the same model as @oldfort except I usually do most of the “conversation” via email after doing my online research. Most dealerships have salespeople dedicated to internet sales these days. I don’t mind haggling but its easier to be on an even playing field via phone or email and talking to many dealerships than it is sitting in a salesperson’s office. And more time friendly as well.
@doschicos - we don’t have any of those nearby, nor do we have public transportation.
Without getting into detail, I have a reason to drive about 30 miles every weekday this year and that reason would cover a car payment. And I do need a car, I just don’t need it as often as most people. The point I made about how little I drive is to explain why I don’t care much about heated seats or the thrill of driving a nice car. I do some around the area driving and maybe 3-4 times a year I do 1,000+ mile trips.
I bought a used Honda though a Honda dealer last year and what I so hated was waiting around and especially when they tried to sell me on extended warranties and financing. After having been there 2+ hours I got up and started to leave because I was so sick of the high pressure tack-on sales. They backed down. Never again.
I have had much better experience with an independent used car dealer who I originally found on EBay but has a dealership not too far away. Honest car nut that has fair prices and is easy and pleasant to work with. I have bought two cars from him and would go back for a third. He is a find.
When I say “call,” it includes emails and calls. I would usually do emails first, especially when I want them to make a formal offer with vin and such via email so it would be in writing, then I would usually conclude with calls.
At the Honda dealer where I just bought my used civic, when I was signing all the paperwork the salesman put down the next sheet for me to sign and said “this is about the extended warranties that are available, you can look at it if you want but you don’t want that right? so just sign it”. Such a relief!
I used a service where they could give you the dealer invoice, the dealer holdbacks, the incentive programs, as well as data from what the make / model car recently sold for (within the last three months). Using this information, I drafted a letter and emailed it to about 10 dealers, and received bids from about four dealerships. Cars are commodities, and it made sense to me to buy this way. This is the third car I’ve purchased this way. I only stepped in the dealership to sign papers and take delivery of the car.
^You should be able to find similar info on edmunds.com with a little research and, yes to the only stepping in the dealership to sign and take delivery. It’s the way to go!
It’s a game, but one I’m willing to play to get a good price. We bought a 2015 RAV4 on Dec 31 of last year. Researched prices for previous month on autotrader.com for both new 2015 and 2016. Dealers near me gave me okay prices but weren’t willing to budge. Dealer 100 miles away had 2015 XLE AWD for less than what the dealer near me wanted for the LE AWD. Gave the nearby dealer one last chance to meet their price, and when they weren’t williing, we made the 100 mile trip to the dealer to seal the deal. Toyota had their 0.0% financing, and the dealer didn’t pressure us for any add ons. Got there in the afternoon and was out by 8 pm with the new car. So, drive a little more, save about $4k off MSRP.
I hate car shopping. In the past we used edmunds and other sites like that to get the best price. However in June we used the credit union car buying service. They were great. First I went ahead and did the edmunds and other things on the internet got my best price, called 4 dealers in the area, got them all the reduce their price based on each others prices and then had the credit union buying club see what they could do. The car buying club saved us a couple thousand dollars off the best price I could get… I would have never guessed that they could do that. Plus they delivered the car to the house. It was great. if you belong to a credit union I would see if they have that service. I know ours also does it for used cars.
Thanks everyone. The Spark sold to someone else before i could get there, oh well. Currently watching the used deals and thinking about the commitment to a new Elantra.
I am fine with manual transmission but if I ever have to sell the car i imagine that makes it harder? Some good deals on newish manuals (Versa, Kia something).
Used manuals are among the best cars to buy used because they depreciate faster. For the most part only older people learned how to drive them. Some dealers won’t even take them on trade in because they are so hard to sell.
If you want something new, Subaru offers 2% under invoice for members of the IMBA (anyone can join). No haggling required and you can take any car off the lot or order one, plus Subaru’s have very low depreciation. You have to be a member for 6 mo. A redesigned Impreza is due in December; the current model is rated best compact model in Consumer reports.
I want a Tesla so bad!!! Saw first one about 4 yrs ago and have been lusting for that car ever since. Maybe I’ll win the lottery.
But I hate car shopping so much I’d probably never get out to buy that Tesla. I drive cars into the ground and just keep band aiding until it no longer runs
You know there are sites now where you can shop for a car online and it is delivered to your home.
I checked out sites like Beepi and Carvana and I think this maybe the future of car shopping.
