Sell Me A Car-What Should I Buy

[PSUSkinsFan21]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I agree that it comes down to personal preference a lot of the time. From what I can gather from your posts, you tend to judge quality based on the car's performance (engine strength, handling, feel etc) and your personal experience with it. I personally place a great deal of importance on crash tests and scientific surveys examining reliability for the long term.

In the end we're just looking at different things, I think. When I say quality, I'm thinking along the lines of how often is this thing going to break down or need repairs. To me, a car is simply something that can get me from point A to point B consistently, safely, affordably, and comfortably. I could care less what it looks like, how fast it accelerates, what color it is, etcetera.

There are American models which rate ahead of the Japanese, I don't mean to make a blanket statement saying all Japanese cars are better. So you definitely have to compare model to model. But in the end, there's a reason that the Toyota and Honda brands have a better reputation.

They have a reputation because people like you keep making these silly posts!

Actually I think you are right on mostly here. It really does come down to what's important and personal experiences. I've never had my American cars really let me down. If I had a ton of bad exeriences, I might be singing a different tune. And to me, performance is a really big deal. I simply can't drive a Camry with a 4 cylinder engine because my penis is just too small for that.......so I need something that can represent a bigger extension of my schwanger. I also have this road rage problem that mandates a faster car to either catch up to someone to flip them off or to get away from the wrong guy who I just flipped off.

Seriously though, I think my only real problem was people making blanket generalizations. I'm not going to sit here and tell people the Neon is a great car. But that doesn't mean the Cadillac CTS or Envoy or Charger or G6 can't be good either. Just like it'd be unfair to lable a suzuki or isuzu a great car just because it's japanese. If people want to make specific recommendations about specific cars they have some knowledge about, that's great.......but not at the expense of ripping an entire country's automobiles.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by PSUSkinsFan21

They have a reputation because people like you keep making these silly posts!

Actually I think you are right on mostly here. It really does come down to what's important and personal experiences. I've never had my American cars really let me down. If I had a ton of bad exeriences, I might be singing a different tune. And to me, performance is a really big deal. I simply can't drive a Camry with a 4 cylinder engine because my penis is just too small for that.......so I need something that can represent a bigger extension of my schwanger. I also have this road rage problem that mandates a faster car to either catch up to someone to flip them off or to get away from the wrong guy who I just flipped off.

Seriously though, I think my only real problem was people making blanket generalizations. I'm not going to sit here and tell people the Neon is a great car. But that doesn't mean the Cadillac CTS or Envoy or Charger or G6 can't be good either. Just like it'd be unfair to lable a suzuki or isuzu a great car just because it's japanese. If people want to make specific recommendations about specific cars they have some knowledge about, that's great.......but not at the expense of ripping an entire country's automobiles.

Nice post, I'm with you, especially on the bolded part.

I think to sum it all up, it's safe to say that the way to go about buying a car would be:

1) Figure out what kind of features are important to you (safety, performance, styling, reliability, price, cost of maintenance, gas mileage, etc.). This helps you narrow your search to certain classes and models.

2) Take in data from Consumer Reports, JD Power, Motor Trend, and any other pertinent data you can find. If you're looking at a used 2002 model though, make sure you find ratings for the 2002 model. Don't read a rating on the 2006 and assume it applies. And if you're looking for a used model, find a used car rating for it. The new car rating that came out on the 2002 model will not apply as well as a used car rating written in 2006. This research helps you narrow your focus to a few models.

3) Test drive a couple and compare how they feel. If you're a performance guy like PSU, place more emphasis on Test Driving than on the research. If you're like me and don't care much about how the car looks or feels, place the emphasis on the research.

4) Find market pricing data. Look on the internet for dealer invoice prices for each model you like. Expect to pay 200-500 above invoice. This gives you a better feel for guaging prices than comparing sticker price.

5) Buy at the end of the calendar month. Dealers look to move cars faster at the end of the month to push the sales onto their books for the month. Buying at the end of a quarter, or best yet, near the end of a model year (July-August) gives you more negotiating power.

[PSUSkinsFan21]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Nice post, I'm with you, especially on the bolded part.

I think to sum it all up, it's safe to say that the way to go about buying a car would be:

1) Figure out what kind of features are important to you (safety, performance, styling, reliability, price, cost of maintenance, gas mileage, etc.). This helps you narrow your search to certain classes and models.

2) Take in data from Consumer Reports, JD Power, Motor Trend, and any other pertinent data you can find. If you're looking at a used 2002 model though, make sure you find ratings for the 2002 model. Don't read a rating on the 2006 and assume it applies. And if you're looking for a used model, find a used car rating for it. The new car rating that came out on the 2002 model will not apply as well as a used car rating written in 2006. This research helps you narrow your focus to a few models.

3) Test drive a couple and compare how they feel. If you're a performance guy like PSU, place more emphasis on Test Driving than on the research. If you're like me and don't care much about how the car looks or feels, place the emphasis on the research.

4) Find market pricing data. Look on the internet for dealer invoice prices for each model you like. Expect to pay 200-500 above invoice. This gives you a better feel for guaging prices than comparing sticker price.

5) Buy at the end of the calendar month. Dealers look to move cars faster at the end of the month to push the sales onto their books for the month. Buying at the end of a quarter, or best yet, near the end of a model year (July-August) gives you more negotiating power.

I am in 100% agreement with this. And as to #4, I would recommend Kelly Blue Book (www.kbb.com). I just used them to get the fair value on my trade in and to know the general invoice price on the car before I even walked through the door. I got a great deal by pretty much printing everything out and saying "I know what the heck I'm talking about, here it is, either make it happen or I walk". It cut out at least two or three rounds of waiting while the guy goes to his manager, comes back, goes back to his manager, comes back, goes back again, comes back and claims he's not making any money on the car, goes back again........

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by PSUSkinsFan21

comes back and claims he's not making any money on the car

Geez, don't they all try this one? I don't think I have ever bought a car that the dealer was actually making money on or wasn't going "backwards" on. No wonder all these dealerships are going out of husiness.


Sarcasm intended on that last part there.

[PSUSkinsFan21]

Originally Posted by FRPLG

Geez, don't they all try this one? I don't think I have ever bought a car that the dealer was actually making money on or wasn't going "backwards" on. No wonder all these dealerships are going out of husiness.


Sarcasm intended on that last part there.

Unbelievable isn't it? They always pull that crap......like I'm supposed to even care.........or like I'm dumb enough to believe it. They never tell you about all the dealer incentives they get. They just love to show you that invoice number and sing the blues about how they won't be able to buy their kids school shoes after this deal. Personally, I hate the whole process. If it was up to me, I'd just buy directly from the manufacture if I could.