BACK IN THE CAR BUYING MODE ONCE AGAIN - TORTURE!

[chief38]

My first advice you already know, and that is get her what makes her happy!

My second advice is Mercedes S class.......

We owned a Mercedes a while back. While they are great luxury cars for 3-4 years, as soon as the car starts aging and needs repair work & major maintenance work, start writing checks for BIG bucks! Even the simplest items cost a small fortune. Since we tend to keep a car for at least a decade and I like performing all my own maintenance and repairs, the over complication and extremely costly parts turned me off enough that I will never buy another Mercedes, BMW, Volvo or Jaguar again. Been there - done that. That said, if one was to lease it for 3 years - YES..... great luxurious & fun car!!

 

[ladder13]

We have two Acura RDX’s and are happy. Good looking, sporty, excellent interior appointments, great handling, reliable.
Only negative is the quirky touch pad on the center console.

Hers

His

 

[Farmer17]

We had a 2008 Buick LaCrosse purchased new with every available option and it was a great car and very smooth, quiet, powerful, and got good gas mileage. My wife babied the car and always had it dealer serviced and park at the far end of shopping center parking lot so it wouldn't get a ding. It was immaculate but after about 75K miles little things started going out left and right! Power locks, power windows, cruise control, both seat heaters, about every part in front end, trans axel leaks, etc. All the GMs I have owned have been very average reliability wise and I know other people who have great luck with GMs but unfortunately not me.

 

[Rat458]

Just went through this recently.
Wifes 2007 BMW 328 wagon was starting to show its age.
When they reach 100 k they get very expensive to maintain and repair.
Was the least reliable auto we ever owned.
Looking at new autos was very frustrating
She wanted a small pickup.
Why is Everything a four door now ?
Test drove a 2023 Mazda CX 30 and bought it.
Of course there are no longer CD players in cars.
New infotainment systems are designed to see how much the manufacturers can piss you off.
Worst electronic device ever invented.

 

[ladder13]

Don’t poo poo Mazda, they are a very good value. I had a CX5 for 6 years, just wanted to try something different.
Take a look.

 

[Bekeart]

Extended Warranty - Salesman does not Understand NO!

HIGH PRESSURE SALES JOB for Extended Warranty.

I said NO! at the beginning and nearly a dozen times more.

eg. About $2400 for EXTENDED POWER TRAIN WARRANTY
Salesman showed that POWER TRAIN replacement could cost over $4600.

Again NO! I will self insure.

Very few percentage will have total Power Train Failure.

If I do my only cost will be the over $2000 that I did not give the salesman.

Intend to talk with Manager when we pick up vehicle.

Bekeart

 

[Golddollar]

The car that I call Batmobile #2 is a 2008 black Mercury Grand Marquis with just under 157,000 miles on it. It's one of those big, comfortable land cruisers that came with a lot of bells and whistles that still got 20 mpg when I was commuting. It's still running great. Sometimes I have to put a little money in it but it represents only a couple car payments on a new car.

I still like to peruse the internet for cars similar to Batmobile #1 just to keep a leg up in the event something happens to the Mercury. I came across a late model Ford Taurus that had about 125,000 miles on it. The advertisement for it set out the prospective payments. The Mercury is paid for. It struck me, why do I want to take on 5 years of payments in order to gain only 30,000 miles?

 

[LVSteve]

The car that I call Batmobile #2 is a 2008 black Mercury Grand Marquis with just under 156,000 miles on it. It's one of those big, comfortable land cruisers that came with a lot of bells and whistles that still got 20 mpg when I was commuting. It's still running great. Sometimes I have to put a little money in it but represents only a couple car payments on a new car.

These days the cost of new cars is such that repairs to an older BMW or M-B are looking cheap compared to some of the monthly payments out there.

 

[TX-Dennis]

HIGH PRESSURE SALES JOB for Extended Warranty.

I said NO! at the beginning and nearly a dozen times more.

eg. About $2400 for EXTENDED POWER TRAIN WARRANTY
Salesman showed that POWER TRAIN replacement could cost over $4600.

Again NO! I will self insure.

Very few percentage will have total Power Train Failure.

If I do my only cost will be the over $2000 that I did not give the salesman.

Intend to talk with Manager when we pick up vehicle.

Bekeart

The dealers make more profit from financing and those extended warranties and other things they try to sell you (prepaid maintenance, paint sealant, VIN etching, gap insurance, etc.) than they do selling the vehicles. That extended warranty is over 50% profit for the dealer. The others are even higher profit items.

 

[LVSteve]

The dealers make more profit from financing and those extended warranties and other things they try to sell you (prepaid maintenance, paint sealant, VIN etching, gap insurance, etc.) than they do selling the vehicles. That extended warranty is over 50% profit for the dealer. The others are even higher profit items.

Yep, they hate cash. Rumor control says the dealers in this town won't negotiate from sticker for cash. Fortunately, here in NV, you can get the loan for the under sticker price and pay the loan immediately. Oh, and just try and get them to drop the $495 "document fee". It's like you just asked to feed their first born to wolves.

 

[Rat458]

These days the cost of new cars is such that repairs to an older BMW or M-B are looking cheap compared to some of the monthly payments out there.

Its a fine line .
That thing was nickel and dimeing us to death.
And who was the Idiot that come up with the idea of putting a starter Under the intake manifold?

 

[LVSteve]

Its a fine line .
That thing was nickel and dimeing us to death.
And who was the Idiot that come up with the idea of putting a starter Under the intake manifold?

Given that most motors use crossflow heads, on the other side it would be under the headers. Seriously, I owned a '95 Isuzu Rodeo that had a special removable piece of exhaust pipe engineered that way for the removal of the starter from underneath. Maybe the BMW starter also exits below.

 

[raljr1]

We just went thru this. We had a 2018 BMW X3 and a 2018 Cadillac XT5. The BMW was a good car, but not comfortable for ling drives and a bit small. Also the annoying beeps every time you get near something. it only had 37,000 miles on it.

The XT5 we bought used a few years ago. I loved that car, wonderfully comfortable, just big enough. It had about 68,000 miles on it.

Mrs Raljr1 decides that we don't really need two cars anymore. I said ok, let's get another XT5. She says we NEED a third row seat for when we go with, son, daughter and grands...So we ended up in a Cadillac XT6.

Got a got price for the BMW, a decent trade for the XT5, and with 3.9% for 48 months, I didn't take any other funds from savings.

Oh, and Mrs loves the new one. Hasn't named it yet, but that's coming.

 

[Old cop]

Yep, they hate cash. Rumor control says the dealers in this town won't negotiate from sticker for cash. Fortunately, here in NV, you can get the loan for the under sticker price and pay the loan immediately. Oh, and just try and get them to drop the $495 "document fee". It's like you just asked to feed their first born to wolves.

Another reason we decided to keep our 10 y/o Avalon a couple of more years. I feel like there’s a gun in my back walking into a dealership. I have a few medical problems and am no longer up to an hours long back-and-forth dealership experience.

 

[ladder13]

We have a ride yet?

 

[JMD999]

I started looking to replace our ‘13 Toyota Avalon w/100K+ but couldn’t get motivated. There’s nothing wrong w/the Avalon, we both like it so after visiting the local Toyota dealer we decided to keep our car a couple of more years. We’re older and don’t drive much anyhow.

Keep her going, my mother (94) has a 2000 avalon, we just fixed the ignition key / lock it was being finicky after 24 years (in Florida). I told her we will keep it going FOREVER, after just buying a 2023 (forester), i was concerned with all the computer driven eveything on these new cars. The Avalon has 24 less years of "computerization". Just for that its worth keeping.

 

[kamloops67]

Well, you could do what my step dad did for my mom.
Dad had been into town and made a big sale at the co-op
Mom’s tired old Datsun 4x4 needed to be replaced . Mom didn’t want another pickup truck , but instead was looking for a car that was comfortable and fuel efficient for the 40 mile trip into town for groceries or what have you .
My dad came home and proudly showed her the new car he had bought for her , without consulting her . It was an AMC PACER !!! lol
My mom hated that car and I hated being seen in that fishbowl
The straight 6 was actually not too bad power wise but it was not particularly fuel efficient nor was the car very comfortable-it was a rolling greenhouse without AC
Yeah, on second thought let your wife pick her own car

 

[venomballistics]

Wouldn't touch Hyundai or KIA for the unforgivable vulnerability to theft they engineered into their products.
Perhaps after some exhaustive research, you could just foist a car on her.
Sit in a greasy spoon with a view of an intersection, and take note of the older vehicles you see.
Not the 65 mustangs and vettes... But the run hard road warrior junkyard refugees that refuse to go quiet into that goodnight.
That's where you should plunk your money down

 

[Krogen]

Well, you could do what my step dad did for my mom.
Dad had been into town and made a big sale at the co-op
Mom’s tired old Datsun 4x4 needed to be replaced . Mom didn’t want another pickup truck , but instead was looking for a car that was comfortable and fuel efficient for the 40 mile trip into town for groceries or what have you .
My dad came home and proudly showed her the new car he had bought for her , without consulting her . It was an AMC PACER !!! lol
My mom hated that car and I hated being seen in that fishbowl
The straight 6 was actually not too bad power wise but it was not particularly fuel efficient nor was the car very comfortable-it was a rolling greenhouse without AC
Yeah, on second thought let your wife pick her own car

Bingo! You have that right! Never buy a car OR a gun for your wife. Odds are you'll get it wrong. Men and women are not wired the same. . . .

 

[Rotorhead1026]

Sit in a greasy spoon with a view of an intersection, and take note of the older vehicles you see.
But the run hard road warrior junkyard refugees that refuse to go quiet into that goodnight.
That's where you should plunk your money down

Or, as you drive down the highway, note the models that are stopped on the shoulder for non-flat reasons, especially if they’re abandoned.