Buying a NEW car

Who had had bought a new car? What were experiences like? Any problems before or afterwards? Any finance problems long term wise? Is it a wise purchase?

So many damn questions. My journal entry/Link in my sig has the link to the car I'm hoping to buy by TOMORROW. Any advice could be appreciated.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I've never bought a new car, but my parents have purchased two of them. I'd say they're better in the long run than getting used because you are the first owner and get to break them in. Plus they generally go a long time without any major repair or maintenance, other than the standard check up and just being a safe overall driver.

I guess what you should do is pick out a car you want, find info on it and test drive, test drive, test drive. At the dealship, you really have the power over there. They have to make a comission and they'll try to do anything have you leave with a car from your lot. Definitely do not settle for the first one you find. And I do believe that some dealships have some sort of 24 hour test drive to let it sink in more. But good luck with that.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I bought new, once, and I will say this: never again.

I would go with used, because your car will lose 30% of its value within the first year, unless it happens to be something like an instance classic (Honda S2000s sell used 3 or 4 years old, what they sell for new, almost). IT SUCKS being upside down on a loan.

Generally, especially if you go through a dealership, they're willing to haggle ALOT more on a used vehicle. Plus, you can go through a factory certified used dealer which means that their vehicles come with warranties rivaling that of their new ones. Honda for example, provides a 4 year bump to bumper warranty and a 7 year powertrain, which is fucking amazing for a used vehicle.

New vehicles also will cost more to insure (yeah, even when considering financing a used vehicle, the used one will be cheaper to insure). If you know what you're looking for, buying a used vehicle really isn't anymore risky than buying one new.

What I'd recommend doing is buying a vehicle someone leased and then turned back in. Because it's already gone through its initial drop in value, so the moment you start paying on your loan, you've got equity in the transaction.

The myth about used vehicles requiring more maintenance is a load of shit. New vehicles still need regular maintenance: tires, oil changes, fluid flushes, tune-ups (which these days just involves reading data trends in the ECU and making appropriate adjustments to the software), timing belt, etc. Especially if you're buying certified used, it's going to have some sort of maintenance record and they're probably going to go so far as ensure that you come back for your regular maintenance, because they're covering the car under warranty.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Well, I'm almost in the same boat as you, though I'm trying my best to prolong the death of my current car until I'm at a more stable financial point.

Anyway, here's my bit of advice tied in with a question: Have you done much research yet? One of the best things you can do when looking for cars is narrow down your choices at home by reading up on the various cars that you are interested in. Check up on things like the JD Power ratings and whatnot so that you have a good idea how the car holds up. Don't narrow down your choices to the point that you are on a mission, but make yourself knowledgeable on the various cars. If you need help with those bits, check out sites like this: http://www.cars.com/go/crp/index.jsp...A?aff=national

Next, follow the previous poster's suggestion of test driving so that you know how the car actually feels. There isn't much I can add that wasn't already said on that front.

Just remember not to rush your purchase, read all paperwork that the sales person gives you, and most definitely don't make the dealer think that you'll bend to any suggestion that they give to you. Well, I hope my advice helps. Unfortunately, I haven't actually done the buying part yet for I'm still researching and whatnot, so I can't give you much advice for handling the showroom.

How ya doing, buddy?

Basically I boil my need for THIS car down to this: I won't see any new great economical car LESS than 15k with such a cute little body again.

How can I go wrong with this car?

I was speaking idiomatically.

Ah, Yaris. That is one of the cars that I looked at first until I determined that the features for the lowest amount were similar to a car that was from 1980. If you want to get one that is actually decent for a new car of this age, you'd have to go to about 18. Also, this is a brand new model, meaning they just started selling Yaris in general this year while Corolla's have been around for over a decade, so you have a higher likelihood of encountering manufacturing mistakes and malfunctions that are not present in models that have been around for a few years. So, if the price is your reasoning for picking this car, I'd suggest you take Duo's advice of looking at the used car lots. You are much more likely to find a car with more decent features for the price that you are looking at.

If you don't quite believe my statement about the features being non-existent at the lowest price, go to toyota.com and do the "build a car" option. You'll find the packages quickly make it jump in price.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Believe me I did my homework at edmunds.com. They charged like 1300 dollars for the extra packages into that car. Base price was like 12k new. And yeah that's one thing I should had thought about that, even the yaris is cheaper but that shouldn't exclude it from NEW manufactuer type of mistakes (HELLO 360s).

I just naturally assume that Toyotas are just guaranteed good reliable cars no matter what. I'd know... my car is '88 v6 toyota camry.

FELIPE NO

Well, my method is the neurotic method of car-buying, so only follow my advice if you're not looking to buy immediately. (I.e. not anytime in the next 6 months lol...)

First off, the car site of all car sites: http://www.edmunds.com
Edmunds for the Yaris: http://www.edmunds.com/new/2007/toyo...chlanding.html

That should give you the "true cost to own" which is useful to know, and also the invoice price. You might try to haggle the dealer down to invoice at least, because even if they sell it to you for invoice they get what is called holdover money (from their parent company) and still profit. I do not know about your specific market, but for the Yaris you should be able to haggle them down a bit (vs. other similar cars like the Fit or Mini that they can barely keep on the lot).

Also, Edmunds has forums for each specific make/model, this thread may be of interest to you: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f0aeb8b/0

Crash test ratings: http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx
Crash test ratings for Yaris: http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=589
(In other words, get side airbags with your Yaris or say goodbye in a side impact crash...)

Yaris-specific Internet forum: http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/
I'm sure there are others, a 5-second search revealed this one. Forums often have several old-timers that are more knowledgeable than the people who make the cars themselves. Of course, that depends on the target demographic of the specific make/model you are interested in.

When I purchased the WRX, I had researched cars for 2 years. I knew every new usdm model that was confirmed for release for the next 12 months and every concept vehicle that was a possibility within the next 24 months after that. I still spend 1-5 hours weekly researching cars even though I am not looking to purchase anytime soon. I have about 5k posts on various car forums...

How ya doing, buddy?

Ah, you didn't mention that you had done that much research on it already. Forgive me for assuming you had not. I apologize.

Still, you might want to just take a peak at the used car lots to see if there's one that's, say, a year old that is at an equal price to what you are already looking at. In the end, it doesn't hurt to simply look.

As for not being able to go wrong with Toyota, I agree that they are reliable in general; however, I have heard one phrase that might come into play. "Friends don't let friends drive Echoes." Echo, was the predecessor to the Yaris, and that car failed horribly. I won't say that I know all the details as to why people hated that car, but the fact that the phrase exists proves that Toyota is not infallible.

In the end, my only point is to be careful with where you put your money down and make a wise choice that suits your needs and wants. I hope you enjoy the car that you pick.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Yeah I heard that Echo and the Yaris has a real slow response time when pulling out. Possibly that's why its not well liked by friends. I suppose seasoned drivers would already became accostumed to the car's slow response time.

I'm OKAY with that actually. I kinda drive like a grandma.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by seferia

...but the fact that the phrase exists proves that Toyota is not infallible.

True! You cannot run on auto-pilot just because of a brand. For example, Honda makes great vehicles but I remember something about a certain year model of the Prelude having an automatic tranny that was pretty much guaranteed to fail... You have to look at the specific model and also the specific model year of a vehicle when doing research...

Originally Posted by Philia

Yeah I heard that Echo and the Yaris has a real slow response time when pulling out. Possibly that's why its not well liked by friends.

Actually, I have heard the opposite. I have heard the demise of the Echo lamented on car forums because it actually had better gas mileage than the Scions, for example, because of its gearing (for one thing).

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I bought a new car 2 years ago and it went very smoothly. Be sure to get a car with a good warrenty and take care of it too, so that the warrenty will last.

It is a far better investment to buy then lease, because in the event that you sell, you will get your money back, same like its better to buy a house then rent.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Hmm... okay. The plan as followed:

Plan A: If the car I currently does start after jumping it, we're assuming dead battery. We purchase the battery and postpone the new car purchase later.

Plan B: If the car doesn't, I'll call ahead to our employers for references on credit unions and call them or possibly visit them first to get a credit quote. If we got a very good quote that net us 200 dollars a month car payment (if that's possible...), we'll get that car I wanted.

Plan C: If the credit union couldn't possibly quote us a very good quote, well... we'll ask around (mechanics) for any used cars and go from there. Rules apply: It HAS to be a small body or my parking situation is just not any better at all. :\ It has to be BETTER than the one I currently own. OBVIOUSLY.

Plan D: Of course, when all fails, we fix the car. Bleh. 600 something just for the heater core and leaking power fluids. I dunno if its worth that since it has extensive water damage inside the interior. But either way, if it runs or not, I could just huff it to work for a while. Walking is good for your health right? :\

Most amazing jew boots