[Activ8]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Yeah he got the Genesis sedan, the one with 3.8L V6 AWD. It has a nice blue color. And according to him, the chassis is designed by Lotus.

Your friend seems a bit gaga over his new car, but he's wrong. It does have a Lotus-tuned suspension, but the 'chassis' is fully designed and built by Hyundai

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Activ8

Your friend seems a bit gaga over his new car, but he's wrong. It does have a Lotus-tuned suspension, but the 'chassis' is fully designed and built by Hyundai

Well, I would consider that the best of both worlds. Hyandai built quality and Lotus set up!

Jeroen

[maddy42]

Originally Posted by bhardwhu

hi,

I am evaluating a Kia Forte Koupe as a used car. Would anyone here have any opinion on the long term reliability and resale of the car? I would like to sell the car after 60k miles are hit. Any guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks

Are you looking for new? A check on Autotrader basically showed me the price of a car with 74k miles as $9000. So your basically looking at a 50% drop for the mileage range. Korean cars do not hold value in the resale market. Just fyi.

Reliability wise you should be good. The warranties being offered are very good. 10 years 100k miles is a good selling point on these vehicles.

Maddy

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by Activ8

Your friend seems a bit gaga over his new car, but he's wrong. It does have a Lotus-tuned suspension, but the 'chassis' is fully designed and built by Hyundai

I might have misheard. My mind tends to wander off when it comes to Hyundai

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Well, I would consider that the best of both worlds. Hyandai built quality and Lotus set up!

Jeroen

Hyundai build quality as best of which world? Korean?

A friend of mine went over a crest in his Sonata a bit too fast. Ended up with a bent strut.

[hdnivara]

Shopping for my first car and I'm almost decided on a Mk7 GTI, but given what VW did with TDIs, I’m bit skeptical about them now. VW screwed up big time.

Pros/cons for GTI below.
+ GTI brand name.
+ Torquey motor and a good 6-speed stick.
+ Timeless and muted design.
+ Versatile (tons of cargo space for bike and stuff).
+ Affordable for me.
+ Great colors (I side with deep black/carbon steel grey)
- VW brand name after the audacious TDI scandal.
- Though the resale is good now, not sure how it would play out 4/5 years down the line (not very comfortable with a lease).

OTOH, test drove Civic Si and Fiesta ST. I liked the Si, but the dealers near my place are either out of Si or have colors that I don't want. Will TD Focus ST in the coming weeks.

The more I read/watch about GTI, the more I lean towards it. What do you guys think?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Hyundai build quality as best of which world? Korean?


.

Ok, but at least it should be better the. lotus built quality! Count your blessings

[Activ8]

Originally Posted by amitoj

I might have misheard. My mind tends to wander off when it comes to Hyundai

Hyundai build quality as best of which world? Korean?

A friend of mine went over a crest in his Sonata a bit too fast. Ended up with a bent strut.

Naa, if you're in the car world, time to change opinions based on data.
J. D. Power IQS 2015 rankings - Hyundai in Top 5

I will agree though, that not all JDPower & Consumer Reports questionnaires are the absolute truth - it's all based on relative to others and on customer responses. Porsche for example dedicates itself to being #1 on that list, but everyone knows how expensive they're to maintain. But there is also no other yardstick to measure. So be open minded - the Koreans have come a long way and from the Sonatas I've driven, I found them to be the best midsize commuters.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Ok, but at least it should be better the. lotus built quality! Count your blessings

Good God no - what do you know about reputation for quality of British cars - even Clarkson Hammond & May get that part right

And once again - it's built and designed by Hyundai. Tuning by Lotus doesn't mean every individual suspension. It means when in development. Just like Ricardo tunes engines for a lot of manufacturers. Just like Yamaha did the engine tuning on the Lexus LFA. Just like ... you get the idea.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Activ8

Good God no - what do you know about reputation for quality of British cars - even Clarkson Hammond & May get that part right

.

Im not sure what we discussing here, semantics?

I own a Britsh car as we speak, I must have owned probably 10-12 British cars over the years. And at some point in time I did own a Lotus Elan, co-owned a Lotus Esprit and a Lotus Elise. Believe me, built quality is pretty appalling!

Not sure where the former Top Gear hosts come in, I loved that show. But I thought it was an amusement program, not a car program? If there was one thing I did not like so much is that sometimes they went on and on about a specific car. Not much fun.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by Activ8

Naa, if you're in the car world, time to change opinions based on data.
J. D. Power IQS 2015 rankings - Hyundai in Top 5

That's "Initial Quality", i.e. first 90 days of ownership. Hardly an indicator of build quality.

[Cesc]

So I am in the states now guys. I guess some of you may remember my questions from a few weeks ago. I had to incur some sudden substantial expenses just before coming here and hence my Jaguar XF buying dream has gone up in smoke. My car budget has been halved from $30k to $15k. I can at best stretch that by a few thousand more. I will be putting $10k down and get the rest financed and will be buying used. If I cant get financing at decent terms then I will pay all cash upfront rather than paying stupid high interest rates. With that background in mind here are my questions that I am hoping to get answers from members here:

1) Is it better to go with 2009-2011 base luxury sedans (read 328i, A4 or C300) or with 2012-2014 full size sedans from non luxury manufactureres (read Ford Fusion, Accord etc.). My heart says the former but head says the latter.

2) Can a warranty be bought for a 2010-2012 Bimmer/Audi/Merc with nearly 60k miles on the odo? If yes then how expensive is that likely to be?

3) I will most likely use the car for 18-24 months and then change. How difficult is it to sell a 7-8 year old entry level luxury sedan with 80-90k on the odo?

4) How is a private party sale executed - after I pay cash and take keys what all documents are needed and how do I transfer titles and get the car registered. Is that a cumbersome or time consuming process? What if its a out of state car (bought in NJ/VA/Washington DC and to be registered in PA)?

Here are links to a few cars that I found on craigslist - do any of these stand out as good or bad buys?

2009 328i convertible hard top - done 56k - asking $16.5k:
https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/5296776695.html

2009 328xi coupe - done 69k - asking $17.5k:
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/...310930848.html

2011 A4 - done 31k - asking $16.5k (looks underpriced as compared to others and might be fishy):
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/...309270758.html

2011 328i convertible hard top - done 37k - asking $15.5k (again looks underpriced and fishy):
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/...304421289.html

2011 quattro A4 - done 51k - asking $18k :
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/...290169019.html

[josejoseph]

My 2010 Honda Civic's horn stopped working. I showed the car to a mechanic and the fuse is good.

He suspect rats might have chewed the wire but all other electricals are working fine. There's no clicking sound either when I press the horn. Could this be faulty horn or relay?

[amitoj]

Welcome to the States!

Originally Posted by Cesc

So I am in the states now guys. I guess some of you may remember my questions from a few weeks ago. I had to incur some sudden substantial expenses just before coming here and hence my Jaguar XF buying dream has gone up in smoke. My car budget has been halved from $30k to $15k. I can at best stretch that by a few thousand more. I will be putting $10k down and get the rest financed and will be buying used. If I cant get financing at decent terms then I will pay all cash upfront rather than paying stupid high interest rates. With that background in mind here are my questions that I am hoping to get answers from members here:

$15K is a pretty good budget to get a second hand car.

Originally Posted by Cesc

1) Is it better to go with 2009-2011 base luxury sedans (read 328i, A4 or C300) or with 2012-2014 full size sedans from non luxury manufactureres (read Ford Fusion, Accord etc.). My heart says the former but head says the latter.

From a resale and probably reliability point of view, your head is right. But then again, you only live once, right?

Originally Posted by Cesc

2) Can a warranty be bought for a 2010-2012 Bimmer/Audi/Merc with nearly 60k miles on the odo? If yes then how expensive is that likely to be?

Some places like CarMax sell additional warranty if you buy a car from them. But they also charge a premium for their cars. Nevertheless, for hassle free one price buying, CarMax is THE place to go to.

Originally Posted by Cesc

3) I will most likely use the car for 18-24 months and then change. How difficult is it to sell a 7-8 year old entry level luxury sedan with 80-90k on the odo?

A quick check of that would probably be to see how much 7-8 year old cars are selling for these days.

But if you are going to dump the car in less than 2 years anyway, then why do you want to put so much cash in it?

Originally Posted by Cesc

4) How is a private party sale executed - after I pay cash and take keys what all documents are needed and how do I transfer titles and get the car registered. Is that a cumbersome or time consuming process? What if its a out of state car (bought in NJ/VA/Washington DC and to be registered in PA)?

Your local DMV website is the best place to go to for this kind of information. Rules and laws vary from state to state. But it is surely possible to buy a car from another state and have it registered in your home state

Originally Posted by Cesc

Here are links to a few cars that I found on craigslist - do any of these stand out as good or bad buys?

Hard to tell from the listings whether they are good or not. You will need to test drive them and have them independently checked out by a mechanic for any obvious signs of damage. Ask for CarFax reports for the cars you are interested in.

Good luck with the hunt!

EDIT: I reply to you and then go to jalopnik and look what i stumble onto:
http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/ten-ca...les-1742653506

[maddy42]

Update: My car which i use as a daily driver had a dead battery. The battery was changed on Sep 2013. Supposed life of batteries in arizona is 2 years. Same statement was told by 3 different individuals.

Called AAA who sent a person in one hour and drove straight to the dealer. Quoted a price of $130 with 1 year. I could have checked autozone which had a battery for $115 with a two year warranty though.

Maddy

[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Update: My car which i use as a daily driver had a dead battery. The battery was changed on Sep 2013. Supposed life of batteries in arizona is 2 years. Same statement was told by 3 different individuals.

Called AAA who sent a person in one hour and drove straight to the dealer. Quoted a price of $130 with 1 year. I could have checked autozone which had a battery for $115 with a two year warranty though.

Maddy

I usually buy from Costco, they sell Interstate batteries with two(or 3) year warranty

[dr.abhijeet]

Originally Posted by hdnivara

Shopping for my first car and I'm almost decided on a Mk7 GTI, but given what VW did with TDIs, I’m bit skeptical about them now. VW screwed up big time.

The more I read/watch about GTI, the more I lean towards it. What do you guys think?

GTi is a great choice in the class, it may not be as reliable as Si but it's a legendary car. I am surprised about the absence of WRX from the list.