Re: Car comments
Funny comments here:
You ask for advice and comments and someone just posts up the name of a very expensive luxury car, but no other comments.
Someone else mentions a LARGE sedan only getting just under 30 MPG on the highway as a complaint...LOL
Just like buying a boat, I think you should get out there and drive stuff...and don't be afraid to really look around.
My neighbor just bought an 09 Hyundai Santa Fe. The window stick (which he found in the glove box after the purchase said $26k, the deal sticker had $32k on it and they graciously lowered it to $26k for him. What a deal!
I guess Hyundai is just riding high on their current rep and can do those things...I'd never pay almost $30k for one, but hey, to each his own.
On the flip side, we purchased an 08 Chevy Equinox earlier this year. A couple had purchased it in California, drove it to New Jersey and decided to trade it in for the larger Tahoe. They put 3k miles on it. They paid $32k for it, loaded with heated leather, sunroof, nav, chromies, AWD, V6, etc...We got it for $18k with 3k on the clock and GMs new 100k extended warranty.
Now, my buddy had 3k on his Hyundai now, and it's probably worth (in resale) what we just paid for our car...
To me, unless you've never done it before, it doesn't really pay to buy a new vehicle very often...the cost of simply driving it off the lot the first time is entirely too high.
Personally, I'm an American car guy. I've owned at least 20 cars in the 18 years I've been driving and the best of the best have all been American made.
My wife wanted a new car when I first met her and she mentioned her dad would only let her get something Japanese, so I did my research and she ended up with an 02 Nissan Sentra GXE with a 4 banger and power windows...lol, that was about all the options.
That car is a pile of crap. It ate at least 4 wheel bearings in the time we owned it, and a few years back, when ours hit 87k miles, we got a recall notice saying that foam in the ECM box was breaking down and causing premature failures of the ECM. We took it in, got the friggin foam removed and a month later the ECM died and we got a $1200 bill to have it replaced. We tried to work with the dealership to no avail...they couldn't see a connection, because the foam was removed...We called Nissan USA and explained the predicament, and told them that we were a young couple and this was just the first in a long line of cars we'd be buying as a family. They also did nothing for us...nada...zilch.
Then, when that 120 HP beast hit about 120k, the engine died. Cost more to fix it then the car was worth. So, next week it's going to be donated for $500. There's resale value on a 2002 model for you!
Car got great gas mileage, but that was really it's only claim to fame.
Right now I drive my grandfather's old '00 Mitsubishi Diamante. Nice car, I guess...full of bells, whistles and good looks. Has 65k on the clock and it's going to the transmission shop in about an hour because the tranny is slipping.
That's not to say I haven't had troubles with our American cars, too...I have...but I get so annoyed when people preach the virtues of these foreign cars and their gas mileage and reliability.
Take this Equinox for example. It's so new that all I have to do is rotate tires and change oil. I can drive one wheel up on a ramp and slide underneath. The oil plug is easy to get to with nothing in the way. The oil filter sits about 4 inches in front of the pan, straight up and down and is also easy to get to. I can change the oil without getting oil on myself or my vehicle...something almost unheard of in the aforementioned 20 or so cars I've owned. That, to me, is worth its weight in gold.
That Nissan, you couldn't change the oil unless the engine was cold...you'd burn yourself severely trying to weasel your arm up the back of the engine, past the driveshafts, and around the exhaust flex-pipe.
Plus, our country is kind of going to shiz because nobody worries about American made products anymore...the staunchiest republicans I know drive hondas or nissans...where's the sense of pride? Again, my buddy with the Hyundai...how do you tell someone with pride that you own a brand new Hyundai...I just don't see it.
So, does that help you at all with your search? No...you need to find something you really like for yourself...but it gave me a chance to jump up on my soap box for a second.
