[DexterMorgan]

Why is car buying such a nerve wrecking experience here in US? I almost had a nervous breakdown (not literally ) when looking for my first new car last year and dealer pressures were maddening.

Result, i ended up buying a car which was not even in my list just because i wanted to get over with the whole process and not have to go to another dealer again for a long long time. Not that i regret too much of my decision after driving civics and camrys later.

Moreover, i find all these numerous online car buying guides/tips, buying used or new, leasing vs financing etc way too much overwhelming.
May be its just me and i agree , i am not good in negotiating and don't take haggling comfortably.

Sometimes i felt like telling dealer- just take my money and give me a car already.

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by DexterMorgan

Why is car buying such a nerve wrecking experience here in US?

Haha... I have felt the opposite. There is so much information and aides available here for the buyers - we are far more empowered than let's say we are in India - for example. If you are buying from a dealer - you could sit at home and do all price comparison, email negotiations etc. I don't think you could do much of that from India. Not a lot of dealers have a website there with as much information - inventory, price, features of the cars in inventory etc. etc. I guess you wanted to have more of the "experience" of buying a car, which you may have missed in the process of handling the "information overload".

PS: I was surprised at your statement first!

[ToroRosso]

^^ - A lot depends, if you are first time Car owner in US and dont have any other means of transportation, it could be really stressful. I just wanted to get it over with at the earliest as I was completely dependent on others for my transportation.

Now, we are hunting a car for my wife, and its fun. I can browse all the inventory I want, i have all the time in the world to get a deal on my terms.

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by Jomz

I have bought 3

'91 Accord - pretty much trouble free, Alternator and driveshaft needed change (Paid $500)
'99 Accord - Had a ball joint break on me & some crazy electrical Gremlins (Paid $4000)
'05 Corolla - Trouble free. (Paid $7500)

I don't think Private party sales are all rosy and nice either. Others might have different experiences.

Anyway It seems we agree to one point, dealers can be as cost effective as PP (you paid an extra $250, I paid below kbb) , provided we do the research and do the market study. Let us end this discussion here.

You didn't mention when you had the problems with 91 accord and 99 accord and in which year you bought it. You also don't know how the previous owners maintained it.

My PP ownership, just 1 - 99 camry, 127k on odo bought in 2011. 2 Prev owners. No problems till 149k after which i changed timing belt, valves and water pump, spark plugs. Cost - $400. I sold it at 155k. The only problem at that time was the rear speakers would occasionally not work.

So, the point to above is, i would term my experience trouble free because for 150k, the car went without any spark plugs change or belt or water pump change and all i did was preventive maintenance.

Again, it depends on the car you buy. A dealer can take you for ride just as easily as an owner can. Case in point, my friend who bought an elantra and had engine light and airbag light on within 5 miles of buying. Funny thing that when we test drove it for 10-15 miles nothing came on.

As for me paying more, i didn't pay more on the price. I got it for $1600 less than their advertised price. But they charged $240 in doc fees which could have been avoided if i knew it is only $80. So technically i just paid $160 more. Peanuts when i got a great car and i saved $1600 over the listed price. If i take $160 hit, i still got it for $1440 less than their asking price. And yes, it was very close to good condition of a private party in KBB IIRC.

As for research, i know many people who even after researching ended up paying more than they should have simply because they were not aware of more rebates that dealer chose not to reveal. Too many factors affect buying decision and every individual have a different experience. And what we share here hopefully helps other members and non-members.

A non-member here who got in touch with me through email got a great price on 2006 G35 with 73k miles. He almost got the same price as i got for a 2005 G35 with 90k miles which i would term as excellent deal for a good car in good condition.

[josejoseph]

Originally Posted by chevelle

As for research, i know many people who even after researching ended up paying more than they should have simply because they were not aware of more rebates that dealer chose not to reveal.

Hi chevelle, can you elaborate on this? What are the rebates that the dealer does not reveal?

Thank you!

[chevelle]

The C7 Stingray pricing has been officially announced today.

Starts at $51995. Convertible will be $56995 (Includes Destination Charge of $995 for both - Coupe and Convertible)

Great pricing. IMHO pretty modest increases considering the upgrade in specs. This means that the price increase from 2013 to 2014 is just $1,400 for the coupe and $2,395 for the convertible.

One can add up to $20000 worth of options on the base C7. Chevrolet also points out that the C7 Stingray Z51 costs $2,200 less than the C6 Grand Sport while delivering better acceleration (0-60 mph in less than four seconds) and improved track performance (including more than 1 g in cornering).

The base level equipment comes standard with a seven-speed manual transmission, Bose audio and those stylish HID headlight with LED running lights. The coupe gets a removable carbon fiber roof panel and the convertible will have the ability to lower its top remotely using the key fob.

Reportedly, The C7 will have 475 hp with Z51 package. Approx 469 hp without Z51 package. If this are true numbers, it will put many a sports cars to shame at this price.

Here is the source. http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/26/e...orvette-sting/

This is awesome. I can't wait to upgrade to C7 in next 3-4 years.

[VLOCT]

Still waiting for the North American price for Alfa 4c. My name is in the pot, for the time being. Almost pulled the trigger on the Launch Edition. But have decided to wait for the car to get to the show rooms and do some detailed test drives. Want to make sure that it's not too track focussed.

Besides, if I'm going to give up my Solstice GXP, I want a convertible and that won't be ready till 2014. Hoping that they have a European delivery with a factory visit, some time at the factory track and then, combine in with a short European vacation, get to floor it on the Autostrada and the Autobahn, few laps at the Nurburgring , that will be perfect. All a wish list at this point.

But the test drive better be epic. If it's, the 911 and GXP are gone.

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by chevelle

My friends believe in your reasoning. I don't agree with them. But when going out with friends, its best to rent so everybody can drive and have peace of mind about any damage to the vehicle.

We took a Explorer to Mammoth Lake and we went to a crater there that had a 2 mile off-road. Had we gone in a friend's SUV, we would have not gone there since it would mean lots of body scratches and bad road for suspension. With the rental Explorer we didn't worry about going and went there and had lots of fun.

I am one of the few who despite having two cars will still have to do a rental for long trips or airport runs and luggage space and comfort are not the positives of G35.

Which reasoning of mine do your friend agree?

Renting out when going with friends is understandable, it then helps to split costs & overall responsibility

I think i should have been more clear, i just meant folks(indiviudals or single families) who have cars which meets their requirement yet prefer to rent.

Anyways I think i can see the different scenarios(other than old cars) where renting makes sense

Originally Posted by ToroRosso

^^ - A lot depends, if you are first time Car owner in US and dont have any other means of transportation, it could be really stressful. I just wanted to get it over with at the earliest as I was completely dependent on others for my transportation.

Now, we are hunting a car for my wife, and its fun. I can browse all the inventory I want, i have all the time in the world to get a deal on my terms.

True, for a first time purchase its such a pain to travel to different dealers, not to mention the cost & time spent.

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by chevelle

. No problems till 149k after which i changed timing belt, valves and water pump, spark plugs. Cost - $400. I sold it at 155k.

Which valves did you change?? Just curious.

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by josejoseph

Hi chevelle, can you elaborate on this? What are the rebates that the dealer does not reveal?

Thank you!

Hey Jose, well i will just have to take a recent example from my friend circle. I am always surrounded by friends with different experiences when buying a car.

He was looking for a new accord with 2013 around the corner. He finalized a 2012 LX-P and agreed on price - $23k or so. He didn't check true car or other websites so he was not aware that on msrp there were 2 rebates and a low financing option. So while he got a loyalty discount for trade-in an old accord, he didn't get a rebate of $1000 that dealer was suppose to share as it was from manufacturer. Other dealers later on when check were advertising with that discount and it reflected directly.

So, in this case, dealer pocketed the $1000 and also didn't discount much than normal. So one has to be aware of such things when buying new. I feel truecar.com is the best site for this for all brands under one place. Obviously each manufacturer has this on their website but when at dealers who bothers to check their website? I have never done that.

Obviously, this doesn't apply to pre-owned cars as it is totally demand driven scenario.

Originally Posted by Jomz

Which valves did you change?? Just curious.

EGR Valve and Valve cover gasket. Also the PS Fluid reservoir tank was replaced, fluid filled in and all the lines were checked. All this costs $413 to be precise and not $400.

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Which reasoning of mine do your friend agree?
True, for a first time purchase its such a pain to travel to different dealers, not to mention the cost & time spent.

About your the reasoning you gave in 3rd para. Avoiding clocking miles for resale values. When i pointed out that eventually you will pay that much in rent, they say, oh in that case, it will be less maintenance and less wear and tear on the car. I agree on wear and tear but that is the price you pay for lower operating costs.

[amitoj]

A colleague of mine recently bought a new car through Costco. He was quite impressed by the whole process. He got the car for nearly 2K less than the invoice cost but then he also said that the prices on the invoices dont reflect the rebates that the dealers get. So, the dealer surely made some profit anyway.

Anyone else heard of anyone's experiences through Costco car buying service?

[rajushank84]

Hi

Late to the SUV disucssion (for some reason I stopped getting notifications from this thread) but for what it's worth: three of us friends recently did test drives of CRV, RAV4 and Tiguan for a friend (one of the three) looking to buy a small SUV.
We were all convinced the Tiguan feels way better than the other two, with its turbo-4 engine and nice interiors.

We didn't have Escape in mind because the decision maker (buyer) had the usual "definitely no ford" rule in mind despite my recommendation to test drive it too.

He ended up getting the Tiguan.

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by rajushank84

Hi

He ended up getting the Tiguan.

Congrats to your friend.

When i rented Escape last week, i was given the option of Tiguan but looking at the cargo space and interior space, i knew it cannot fit 2 bags, forget accommodating 6 bags and 4 people. So i opted for Escape so while it took 5 bags comfortably it didn't took 1 cabin bag which had to be put up front. Still it was good enough for 2 hour drive. So if cabin space and cargo space is a priority, Tiguan doesn't make much sense. This is just with regards to space and its a fact that Japanese are expert in space management that VW or any other German competitors can't match. For driving experience i am sure Tiguan is better but i haven't driven it and no plans to in future. Just not my kind of SUV

[Ananthang]

Originally Posted by Ananthang

Urgent Suggestions needed for a problem -

I moved to St Louis in US of A recently from India and on this weekend on a 2005 Camry which has done 84000 miles for 8700 Drive out.
It was from a New Ford car dealer and from his used car inventory.

Today I pulled up the Car Fax only to find out that there is Inconsistent Odometer readings.

The car had done 43K miles upto Dec 2008 and the next entry says 169000 in Jan 2012. The car was sold in to Dealer in Sep 2012 at 84000
The car was offered for sale from Dec 2012 at 84000 miles.

Can carfax have a clerical error?

Thanks for your inputs.

Raised my cars inconsistent mileage with Car Fax Research team. I raised it in their portal and sent a scanned copy of the new title.

In 2 weeks, I got a mail from them that the Incorrect mileage is removed and they sent a copy of the updated carfax link for my car.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by DexterMorgan

Why is car buying such a nerve wrecking experience here in US? I almost had a nervous breakdown (not literally ) when looking for my first new car last year and dealer pressures were maddening.

Go for a second hand car from a place like Max. What you see is what you get. The car and the price. You can't haggle. There are no options, the car is the car.

They usually have a very large selection of cars to choose from. Just about all the various manufacturers and models under the sun. When we lived in the US, their prices started from $ 10.000 upwards. So they don't do old bangers. These are all second hand cars up to 3-4 years old maybe.

We bought my wife's Ford Focus from them, for just over $10.000,--. Three years later, when we moved to Delhi, they bought it back from us for around $6-6.500,--. That's not a bad depreciation for three years of driving!

And what I like about buying a car in the US is you walk into the dealership and you drive out in your new car. All paperwork sorted. Selling the car back to Max was equally painless. I arrived, they check out the car, the make you an offer and if you accept, you walk out of the door, ten minutes later with a cheque and all paperwork completed.

Jeroen