<p>Haven’t read the entire thread but can recommend Edmunds as a good source. Let the (multiple) dealers compete for your biz. </p>
<p>Comparing Honda buying to Toyota, I’ve found little haggle room for Honda’s as they come pretty much fully equipped, and Toyota’s can come with various option “packages”. One hint is to try to buy a car at the end of a month (dealers want to clear their inventory), or when no one else is buying. Got a great deal a few years ago when I purchased on Dec. 23rd, with savings galore.</p>
<p>“I happen to think the Prius is ungainly and hideous”</p>
<p>Oh come on. Priuses are cute ugly. Hummers are just ugly.</p>
<p>BTW, I wanted to buy a Prius. Was willing to pay few thousand more than a gasoline car, but it turned out to be about 7k more than the Accord I bought (our 4th).</p>
<p>I don’t think the Prius represents the statement that it used to because there are so many on the road now. Some of my very conservative friends- yes I do speak to conservatives - have either bought them or have questioned me a lot about mine and thinking of buying them. That wasn’t the case when I got my first one in '02. Then everyone asked me where I plugged it in.</p>
<p>Yeah, but they sure make you pay for it. In the high end models, it is a mere $1800 option (with backup camera included) and in the low end models it costs an additional $3500 or so with a bunch of other unnecessary stuff thrown in. (Can you tell I’m a cheapskate when it comes to cars?)</p>
<p>^^^ that’s true. We take our Garmin whenever we <em>really</em> don’t want to get lost. I think there are also portable GPS units that come with real time traffic/bluetooth etc. too.</p>
<p>BassDad, you’re right about the way they soak you…I’d like to have the Navigation system and the Levinson sound, but not at $3,500 bundled with the rear view camera I don’t want and a “parking assist” feature that I’d loathe. (My record on a parallel park is a total of four inches clearance, front and back. A foot or so is routine but I can’t do it if I’m really tired.)</p>
<p>DudeDad, I’m now looking to actually buy on the 30th…end of month, end of quarter. I’m dropping the loan-prequal card saying “Yes, I want this!” by the credit union tomorrow to start the gears grinding for financing.</p>
<p>UCLA/UCSD, there are SUV’s and there are SUV’s. Some people need extra seating or extra cargo and–given that the emissions control regulations effectively give preference in scoring to SUV’s over station wagons with a resulting adjustment in manufacturing by the auto makers–I understand the need. To a point. See also, wretched excess. The mega Cadillac and Ford models would be targets for my 20 mm. canon as well. (Thinking of one agent who uses his as a ***** extension…) Now that I think about it, I’d probably be content just to get SUV’s scored as cars rather than trucks, which, given how they’re used, would be more appropriate. One of my friends, a retired colonel who went to TAMU and is otherwise fairly conservative, ■■■■■■■■ at all the SUV’s with brush-guards and whose most dangerous mission is parking at Neiman Marcus.</p>
<p>In my biz, the Prius would actually be a better bet than the hybrid Camry, the “statement car” chic and carrying cachet here in the People’s Republic of Santa Monica, where yours truly is in the most conservative third of the population. TheMom would definitely prefer the Prius, she thinks they’re cute, along with the PT Cruiser and the new Beetle and that death-trap Morris whatever car.</p>
<p>Gah. First you start on Edmunds.com. Then you go to Autobytel.com. Then LATimes.com. Next thing you know, you’re an auto website junkie. I liked college search and application better…CC was my one-stop shopping place.</p>
<p>Can I throw in a question? We’re looking for a family car that will be driven by parents and teens. Safety is #1 consideration. After that it should be nice, somewhat luxury car but not flashy. Sedan or smaller SUV. Can be new or used. Max price $35,000. Audi A4 is being considered. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, it’s one of Consumer Reports’ more highly recommended cars. It gets a Superior rating on crash protection and accident avoidance (and predicted appreciated), Average ratings in Predicted Reliability and Owner Satisfaction.</p>
<p>Not previously mentioned here, I don’t think, but I start out with the Consumer Reports magazines (one for New, another for Used) because they do their own testing on vehicles bought blind from dealerships, not vehicles provided to the magazines by the manufacturers. Their ratings & descriptions may not be perfect, but they’re a pretty good point of departure.</p>
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<p>Narrowing in. Lexus has a sale that begins on June 29. I was looking to buy on June 30. How about that?</p>
<p>I took a test drive and the salesman at the dealership tried low-key approaches from oblique angles to several of the standard questions: what do you drive now and will you be trading it in, will you be financing, etc. Happy to say that I deflected every one. On financing I said, “I find that if I take care of the price, payments take care of themselves.”</p>
<p>One good place to start is with your insurance company. They rate cars with regard to safety and cost of repair. You can also save a bit on the insurance by choosing a car with a good ranking. As far as safety goes, go with the extra airbags for sure and check the various independent safety ratings. No matter how small the SUV, rollover likelihood is greater - you can find those ratings too. I personally think Toyotas are really hard to beat so I’d look at the Camry and Avalon.</p>
<p>Anent insurance company info–and this may be way outdated and things have changed–but at one time the Honda Accord had a much higher theft rate than its competitor the Toyota Camry. I first heard it from a police officer and later from an insurance industry article/blurb.</p>
<p>Anyone got an opinion about the utility of LoJack? I dunno how much it costs even. And I wouldn’t have it installed by the dealer.</p>
<p>^^with regards to LoJack. My brother is a police officer in an affluent city with the computers, software, or whatever for LoJack tracking, and he was the one that told my parents that it was not worthwhile. (I posted earlier about the classic dealer rip-off of my senior citizen parents.) He said not enough departments have the resources, and while they do have them in his city, they are often not working.</p>
<p>I’ll try and get specific details, but right now the UC Irvine 'Eaters are making a big run to stay alive in the college world series.</p>
<p>TD: When you have selected a car, go to the Edmunds.com site and click on the “Get a Dealer Quote” button. I have talked to several dealers who have told me that they will charge a higher price to a walk-in than one who first contacts them over the internet. When I asked why, I was told that they know that those coming from the internet had been doing all of their research. I don’t know why a walk-in wouldn’t have done research as well, but… there you have it.</p>
<p>The Anteaters prevailed tonight, 8-7 in ten innings. They now have to win two against Oregon State to get to the best-two-of-three finals.</p>
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<p>Digi, that’s what I actually did. They put me in touch with four dealerships and I’ve followed up beyond an initial exchange with two. One of them would be more convenient but the other has just been more engaged, quoted the best price orally, and has been persistent without being pushy…all without asking the questions the other dealer’s reps did. </p>
<p>I’m asking for written prices sometime next week…prudence dictates that I wait until two current escrows actually close. Probably buying late next week or on the weekend. If the quotes are within $300, I’ll go with the one that’s been more pleasant convenient. If they’re $1,000 or more apart, I’ll go with the best price. If it’s in between, I’ll dither.</p>
<p>N.B., the color they call “aquamarine” is not. I need to sit somebody in Lexus marketing down with a large set of Crayolas. The color on the website isn’t accurate either. And when they tried to interest me in the Ruby Red or whatever it’s called, I declined, noting it was the color of USC and threatening to go to another dealership for even suggesting such a thing.</p>
<p>Dig, I think the big reason for that is that once you walk in, they have to hand over a large piece of the sale in commission to the salesperson on the floor. </p>
<p>UCgradmary, The Audi is popular around here. It’s always gotten great crash test ratings from the IIHS (tougher standards than the NHTSA). As mentioned, it’s not known for it’s reliability. </p>
<p>as a measure of real world safety, with the caveat that driver demographics have some influence (less now that IIHS has controlled for that - but still some).</p>
<p>(TheDad, the list above seems to show that the Accord and the Camry are pretty comparable in terms of theft these days, at least as of 2005.) </p>
<p>This nonprofit has put together a new and interesting sort of ranking (the US News of auto safety?!) based on weighted factors such as IIHS and NHTSA crash test ratings, vehicle fatality rates, rollover potential and vehicle weight. The linked articles are interesting to read for an overview.</p>
<p>The caveat with this list is that it doesn’t always take individual differences in cars into account - for example with the rollover risk - bases the score on height and width of the car and the presence of antiroll but does not discriminate or take into consideration things like reinforced roofs that would allow a passenger to survive a rollover.</p>
<p>Roshke, thanks for the charts…I knew that things changed from year to year, so the evening out of the Accord and the Camry doesn’t surprise me…it looks like the Nissan is the theft magnet at the moment.</p>
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<p>Has anyone ever regretted buying a particular color of car? I’m between the Ruby Red (yes, despite the potential of being connected with USC) and a very pretty blue and I can’t make up my mind. Every time I lean one direction, I get pulled back in the other. The Ruby is dark enough that I’m not concerned about being a red car “ticket magnet,” fwiw.</p>