[rajushank84]

Thanks a LOT, chevelle! That's very useful and EXACTLY the info I need!

BTW I noticed this trend: three of my friends who moved to the US ended up buying new Accords. Seems to be a very popular car .

[mohit]

Originally Posted by rajushank84

Thanks a LOT, chevelle! That's very useful and EXACTLY the info I need!

BTW I noticed this trend: three of my friends who moved to the US ended up buying new Accords. Seems to be a very popular car .

Accord/Camry have a few advantages - Reliable, spacious, reasonably powerful (read - passing others on a highway doesn't have to be planned based on gradient of the road and wind velocity etc.) and good on gas. Someone with a head over heart approach can't resist the pull of all these in one car

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by rajushank84

Thanks a LOT, chevelle! That's very useful and EXACTLY the info I need!

BTW I noticed this trend: three of my friends who moved to the US ended up buying new Accords. Seems to be a very popular car .

The pleasure is all mine, Sir!!

If its a new car and you have a family to support, accord/camry makes perfect sense. Its priced in perfect ball park too. The good thing is, competition has caught up with them, so if one is willing to take the risk and try something different than norm, Mazda6, Optima, Fusion and malibu are competitive choice.

With accord and camry, you close your eyes and buy it, it won't let you down. For fun and driving pleasure, there are better options.

Also, Honda has 1.99% financing so it is very easy. A little haggle and you can bring the price down too. My friend got almost $5000 off an accord coupe v6 on labor day sale.

[majorpayne]

Originally Posted by chevelle

I bought a 1998 camry for $3700 cash. So when transferring car to my name, i asked the owner to mention price of just $1500. So when i went to DMV to pay fees, i paid $150 or so. Tax is not included since its a personal sale. Now in case he would have wrote $3700, i would have ended up paying more something in range of $350. So i saved $200 straight away.

I'm not sure if this will work anymore - well not in Canada atleast. I wouldn't be surprised if the same applies to the US as well.

Even if you get a bill of sale from the seller for a value lower than what you actually paid for, when you go to the DMV to get the car registered , you will need to pay fees/taxes based on the blue book value of the car. And they always take the higher value into consideration i.e - If the bill of sale value is lower than the blue book value, then the blue book value is what will be considered.

However, if the person you are buying the car from is a blood relative, then you are exempt from paying the tax. I could be wrong, maybe this is not so in the US, but it is something that you might want to look into.

You can find the blue book value of any car on Official Kelley Blue Book Values You Can Trust From Kbb.com, The Trusted Resource - Kelley Blue Book

[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by rajushank84

BHPians in US: have a couple of questions for you:

2. Normally when buying an old used car from an owner (thru craigslist), what does it normally cost to register + tax + insurance? (I know "it depends", but a highly approximate figure would really help in planning how much money to save-up etc).
For eg: for a car like this which costs $7k: what would the DMV fees + sales tax + insurance + registration come to (highly approximately)?
2002 Ford Mustang ,V8, GT, run great 75K, one owner, Manual tranmissio

Keep in mind this is a Manual tranny, selling off a mustang as itself is a huge pain. V8 is definitely better than the V6, you will surely enjoy driving it esp in the Bay area. Insurance will be priced on the engine capacity also. I used to pay $100 a month for 3rd party for my V6 with 1 month driving history in US. And yes if you are concerned of mpg V8 will fetch around 10-11mpg or less

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by majorpayne

I'm not sure if this will work anymore - well not in Canada atleast. I wouldn't be surprised if the same applies to the US as well.

Even if you get a bill of sale from the seller for a value lower than what you actually paid for, when you go to the DMV to get the car registered , you will need to pay fees/taxes based on the blue book value of the car. And they always take the higher value into consideration i.e - If the bill of sale value is lower than the blue book value, then the blue book value is what will be considered.

Haven't faced this in CA atleast. Don't know about it in other states. But i can for sure confirm for CA, NY and MA. Since my friends and myself have bought this way. Don't know when it is implemented but i sure will be pissed if it happens.

I am not sure if its a good idea to go by KBB. Because the conditions taken for granted in kbb don't always work in real life.
Agree with kraft. Its hard to sell mustang's and specially stick shift. Unless you lower the price and pray someone picks it up. Its a dying breed.

[aditya.86]

People used to follow the same practice here in Texas too. But when i went to get my car registered, they considered the KBB value for fair condition. I had bought the car for 3800$ and the taxes and fees came upto 270$.

It was an 02 Accord 4 cyl MT by the way.

[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by aditya.86

People used to follow the same practice here in Texas too. But when i went to get my car registered, they considered the KBB value for fair condition. I had bought the car for 3800$ and the taxes and fees came upto 270$.

It was an 02 Accord 4 cyl MT by the way.

This is news, I was under the impression we pay DMV for what is mentioned by the seller. How much was mentioned by the seller in the title?

[majorpayne]

Originally Posted by chevelle

Haven't faced this in CA atleast. Don't know about it in other states. But i can for sure confirm for CA, NY and MA. Since my friends and myself have bought this way. Don't know when it is implemented but i sure will be pissed if it happens.

I am not sure if its a good idea to go by KBB. Because the conditions taken for granted in kbb don't always work in real life.
Agree with kraft. Its hard to sell mustang's and specially stick shift. Unless you lower the price and pray someone picks it up. Its a dying breed.

Yeah, it sucks that they use KBB here. But I guess you can't blame them, as they were probably losing a lot of revenue without it. My only consolation is that it is only applicable to cars in Canada. They don't have KBB for bikes as yet

[rajushank84]

Anyone driven the 2011 Mustang V6? Different reviews say different things. Some give a lukewarm review but some say that it feels very powerful.

280 lb-ft at 4250 rpm... difficult to believe that this car is not fast. Not compared to a GT, but compared to 4-cylinder econoboxes around the same price. Does it still feel slow, or is it satisfying to drive?

[majorpayne]

Originally Posted by rajushank84

Anyone driven the 2011 Mustang V6? Different reviews say different things. Some give a lukewarm review but some say that it feels very powerful.

280 lb-ft at 4250 rpm... difficult to believe that this car is not fast. Not compared to a GT, but compared to 4-cylinder econoboxes around the same price. Does it still feel slow, or is it satisfying to drive?

I rented one of these out in CA a couple of months ago. I absolutely enjoyed driving it down route #1. I thought it was pretty powerful, compared to my civic (obviously right?..lol). And it sounded really nice as well. I put the pedal to the metal at every opportunity I got.. and most importantly, it put a big smile on my face every single time! Overall, I really enjoyed the car. It had good power, and I had a blast on those twisty roads on route #1. If you're thinking of buying one, I would say rent one out for a few days, and that way you can draw your own conclusions about the car

[Cheiron]

Originally Posted by majorpayne

... If you're thinking of buying one, I would say rent one out for a few days, and that way you can draw your own conclusions about the car

I would highly recommend renting. In the US one has the opportunity to rent and try out a plethora of car types and it is fairly easy to ensure you get the kind you want in the major metro areas.

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by rajushank84

Anyone driven the 2011 Mustang V6? Different reviews say different things. Some give a lukewarm review but some say that it feels very powerful.

280 lb-ft at 4250 rpm... difficult to believe that this car is not fast. Not compared to a GT, but compared to 4-cylinder econoboxes around the same price. Does it still feel slow, or is it satisfying to drive?

I rented it from Vegas to Grand Canyon a couple of months back. Had some 10k miles on it. It is a good car with good engine. But, i had some problems. The seats are not comfortable. Rear seats are disaster but the passenger seat is uncomfortable too. We had total of 8 hour journey and it was not good, very tired at the end of journey. The interiors while better than previous mustang still doesn't feel like a $25k car. The engine was loud, AT was a bit jerky especially when going up inclines. Comfortably did 96mph(GPS) without putting strain on engine, but boy was it loud. It is not too happy taking corners at high speed(60-70mph), stick to designated limit or a little above and it is really good. Is it a canyon carver? I would say yes if you know its limitation. Found the brakes to be a little soft.

Load it up with desired options and it will easily reach $30k at that point it doesn't make sense.

The only complain i hear from users are those who drive stick shift. Apparently 2011 had gearbox problems which ford has acknowledged for focus, fiesta and mustangs.

Resale value is not good and very hard to sell. You should be covered for 60k miles or so, then you are on your own

p.s: My comparison is mostly with camry and g35.

[naj]

Originally Posted by Cheiron

I would highly recommend renting. In the US one has the opportunity to rent and try out a plethora of car types and it is fairly easy to ensure you get the kind you want in the major metro areas.

Hi!!

@ Cheiron Kindly guide on the below-
Is renting different from leasing?
Leasing is typically for new cars, isn't it?

Is there a Down payment associated with renting and what could be the typical range of rent?

Cheers

[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by naj

Hi!!

@ Cheiron Kindly guide on the below-
Is renting different from leasing?
Leasing is typically for new cars, isn't it?

Is there a Down payment associated with renting and what could be the typical range of rent?

Cheers

No renting and leasing are different. You don't have to pay any deposit for Rentals. Rental prices vary city to city, cars to cars. Say in LA you can rent a compact for $20 for a day, which are typically Ford Focus, Accent, Aveo. The prices may go up to $100+ for SUV. You can rent Mustangs for say $100-$125. These prices may vary, if you have any coupons or corporate discounts.
On top of this you need to pay for your insurance , which will come up to $30 approx based on what you choose.

Some options that include in insurance

Loss Damage Waiver (LDW)
Reduces the financial liability for loss or damage to the Avis car as long as they comply with the terms of the Avis rental agreement. Cost of LDW will vary by location, car group and rate. If you have rental car coverage through your personal insurance or charge card, LDW offers maximum protection while your personal insurance or charge car may contain a deductible.

Personal Accident Insurance (PAI)
Return to top of page Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) provides accidental death benefits and emergency medical expense benefits to the renter and all passengers in the Avis car.

The renter is covered 24 hours a day during the rental for the following:
-$175,000.00 accidental death
-$2,500.00 medical coverage for injuries due to an accident
-$250.00 for ambulance expenses

The passengers are covered while in the car for the following:
-$17,500.00 accidental death
-$2,500.00 medical coverage for injuries due to accident
-$250.00 for ambulance expenses Exceptions:
NEW YORK: The renter is covered 24 hours a day during the rental for the following:
-$175,000.00 accidental death
-$3,500.00 medical coverage for injuries due to an accident
-$250.00 for ambulance expenses

Personal Effects Protection (PEP)
Return to top of page Personal Effects Protection insures the personal belongings of the renter and the immediate family members who are traveling with the renter. The maximum coverage is $600.00 per claim, with a maximum coverage for individuals of $1,800.00. Exceptions:

Additional Liability Insurance (ALI)

Renter may purchase Additional Liability Insurance (ALI) at the time of rental. ALI provides additional protection for bodily injury, death or property damage and increases the limits to $1,000,000 or $2,000,000 combined single limit depending on the location. When ALI is purchased, Avis will always provide the Financial Responsibility Limits (FRL) on a primary basis.
Source : avis.com