Car Talk

[Gesundheit]

Not to be confused with the show, though we can talk about that, too. I just need to vent a little about how my car is showing its age and I need to look for a new one before it croaks completely. To add to the loveliness of the situation, there is very little difference between buying used and new in my ballpark, so I might as well cough up a few more Ks and go new and guarantee a clean warranty. What's a big, fat car loan when you're already thousands under in school debt?

A friend dragged me to a dealer to take a look at some models that I like, and I was disappointed that the rep barely tried. I gave him plenty of opportunities to endear himself to me, mentioning my current car and my first car, speaking of them as lovingly as I would any of my critters or relatives. He didn't ask me any questions about either; what I liked about them, what I would have preferred, why I have my current interest in this brand and model. If you're not going to play ball, stay home. I'm not desperate enough to give such a disinterested sales droid a commission. I'd rather bike, which can be rather strenuous in my line of work.

 

[Dallassummer]

I hate sales people in general. When I was looking for my last car, I first went with my mom in the spare car a 1996 Mazda Protege that was less than pretty. Those employee's didn't give us a second glance. So we went to the SAME dealership in my mom's other car: a brand new Mitsubishi Eclipse Convertible and oh my, we had 5 people come and my door was opened for me and everything. People treat you differently with money and I hate it. . I don't particularly like car payments, but there are a lot of nice new cars out there. I love my little 1999 convertible. All paid off and runs great! If you keep a car nice, people won't even know it's old. People always tell me they love my 2006 eclipse, I have to correct them that it is a 1999 Celica. I then get a shocked look. A new paint job can work wonders!

 

[assibassi]

Yep, I disspise Carplaces. Specially the ones, that treat women differently then men.
One Year I was interested in the "Hoda DelSol" , cute little 2 seater. ( I like my 2 seater cars ) I walked into the Dealer and the Salesperson told me, that this is only for People 100 lbs or lighter. ( I was maybe 140 lbs ) . I turned around, walked out, went across Town to the other Honda dealer and bought the Brand new Delsol they had sitting in the show room , went over to the other Dealer and made Donuts in the Parking lot and honked my Horn !!
Second time, I wanted to check out the Honda S2000 and the Car sales man said, "You cant afford THAT Car" . I walked out that dealer, went to the Toyota Dealer and bought a Brand new MR2 and went right back to the Honda dealer and made Donuts in his lot honking my horn. I seem to do that a lot .
But they deserve it !!!!

 

[Yoda mom]

Oh I dread dealerships- my coworker was once a car saleswoman and told me the inside scoop horror stories .

Lol- you had to see the looks when I drove in my garaged 1986 Nissan 4x4 with a 3inch body lift and gem top topper- yes, I confess, original owner and has 392,000 miles on it. it has been from New York to colorado to Seattle to florida- and still looks great! I had to use it to jump started my 3 yr old car years ago .. The war wagon is here to stay I drive it everyday and get offers to buy it -

Soon I can get antique plates ! It has survived The dodges, Mercedes, Kia, and a marriage and now is competing with my 2012 jeep

When I go the jeep, I asked for the cash out the door price and told them to take off their kick back from the manufacturer , destination fees etc.. In the end I was satisfied aftervthe 9 hour battle and (walk away ) and price on paper.. Oh , I went straight to mgr to buy - not sales person and told them to call the dealership owner to make the cash deal..

Then I changed my mind and said- I will take that cash price - I have excellent credit- I will do the financing thru my own credit union..with no money down and keep the cash in my 457
All I got was "but but you were paying cash, we cant do that" oh but they did.. I got fully loaded special edition numbered for same price as the stripped version with crank windows..
Never give in .

Be as perseverant as a Sphynx =^.^=

 

[curlysue]

I hate buying a car!!! We had to buy one last year for my hubby (his was totalled). I have a 2011 basic model Kia Soul (yes, I bought it because I liked the comercials) and he liked it so we went to get him the same model... LOL So I paid 13K out the door for mine and the 2013 one was 20K... WTH??? It is the exact same car however mine came with a spare tire and he got fix'a'flat" Long story short we have two Kia souls now.... I think it's still a rip off!!

 

[Kyla L]

We recently purchased a truck, so I know what you are going through. My best piece of advice is to go in knowing what you want in advance. That way they can't talk you into something that is way too much car or features for what you need it for.

Our truck was on sale for 5k off on the internet. And even though we pointed out twice we wanted it for the Internet price, he started our quote out at full price. My husband said "I already said I wanted the Internet price or I will leave." And we got the 5k off. I looked it up while we were even browsing the lot. We got a mid size 4 door pickup truck fully loaded w/o leather for the price of a single cab that was the base model.

 

[Kyla L]

I hate buying a car!!! We had to buy one last year for my hubby (his was totalled). I have a 2011 basic model Kia Soul (yes, I bought it because I liked the comercials) and he liked it so we went to get him the same model... LOL So I paid 13K out the door for mine and the 2013 one was 20K... WTH??? It is the exact same car however mine came with a spare tire and he got fix'a'flat" Long story short we have two Kia souls now.... I think it's still a rip off!!

Lol that is really funny. We bought a 2012 Nissan Juke in January of 2013... for 21k... the exact same car, but a 2014 model when we were looking at trucks was... 18k... I about had a heart attack. Mine went down in price instead of up!! So I checked resale value of my 2012 and it went down so much! lol I almost had a heart attack. For what we paid I could have waited a year and gotten a Nismo edition Juke with leather racing style bucket seats and a bigger engine... because apparently I want to be speed racer.

 

[Embracing-Joyx4]

@Yoda mom GREAT story I have a Nissan I hope it last me for that many miles. My husband just bout a Kia soul. well see which car last longer I really don't want another car payment for 5 years when I'm done with this one... I can see the end soon.

 

[Yoda mom]

@embracingjoy, almost forgot the warwagon went to New Mexico too! I Get the oil changed& rotate tires religiously. I had a Kia sorrento Ex and took that everywhere too! Seattle,Florida , Texas ( with my big ole rottie ^max^ that passed away at age 13.). I loved the interior it was as nice as the Mercedes I got rid off and it ran better for the first 50k

the only reason I got rid of the Kia was at 60k it needs expensive maintenance, timing belt change if it needs it or not :/ and they recommend a water pump at the same time.etc or you can mess up the engine(ridiculous - most timing belts go 100k plus) . With a paint job it was over 2k so I traded it and got 9k at 59,000 miles. The lights inside went on and off too after it hit 50k electrical problem somewhere..

And yes those internet prices-- and loss leads ads in the paper- one vin # only deals- ridiculous..
@Gesundheit , even buying a bike was crazy- both my disc brake bicycle and my Harley - I commuted 60 miles a day on harley and changed at work because the Kia was horrible on gas .. Rain ,cold and shine - don't miss those days

Best wishes on the car search! My thoughts are with you!

 

[Gesundheit]

Ooh! I never updated everyone! I am a proud owner of a Subaru Outback. My husband and I invited the aforementioned friend to come with us as we picked out, since he really knows his stuff and doesn't even need to crunch numbers to know what we'll need. The process was mostly painless, though the rep kept trying to push the dealership's financing. This confused me, because I already had financing lined up, provided it, wasn't going to change my mind, so I couldn't understand why this guy kept pushing this and that form in front of me. When he walked away to help someone else with something (with our permission; I needed a break from him), I asked our friend what was going on. He told me that the rep was still trying to push the dealership's financing, "And if he doesn't stop, you threaten to leave."

Now, regarding the show Car Talk, there is news, in case anyone missed it: Tom Magliozzi passed away, earlier this month. I had no idea about their ages. This news brought me back to the first time I learned Anne McCaffrey's age. I knew when Dragonriders was published, but when I finally put 2 and 2 together, around my early teens, my heart plummeted when I realized how little time she had left relative to my life. She passed away in 2011. I had no way of knowing when we'd lose either of these brothers. I'll have to see if the earlier shows are available for download; I know I've barely listened to a fraction of them.