thoughts on buying used cars

92tide · Jan 4, 2017

Jon said:
I hear ya. I had the cash from the insurer on the benz and we've been putting away $$ for years, essentially making car payments to ourselves after paying off the other cars. I hate car payments too. I know the Lexus is a bit much but i've spoiled my wife with nice cars and once you do there is no turning back. Fortunately she hates jewelry, clothes, furniture and is cheap in all other respects. She hates shopping unless it is at a thrift store and really only wants a luxury car. Considering what my coworkers buy in jewelry and the credit card bills their wive's run up at the mall I consider myself lucky that all I have to do is buy a luxury car a decade to keep mine happy she came home the other day apologizing for spending $50 on jeans at a thrift store, was like 8 pairs

i think we are keeping the lexus in our back pocket for when her 2008 mazda goes to the grave.

CajunCrimson · Jan 4, 2017

We are getting ready to replace my wife's vehicle. I've noticed some of the dealers still have some 2015 stock -- that are discounted pretty heavily. There is a local dealer that has a 2015 Ford Edge for about $22K -- and it's new -- 7 miles. We are going to test it today --

Used cars have gotten so expensive over the past few years -- it's hard to find anything that feels long-term reliable for under $17K with less than 60K miles -- so, to me, the extra $5K that's new -- is worth it, if I can find the right one.

RedStar · Jan 4, 2017

92tide said:
as the vw diesel saga continues it now looks like we will be doing the buyback option and getting another vehicle. we discovered a leak in the hatchback of our vw, so there is no way we are going to keep it. the amount we will be getting in the buyback program should be enough to cover the cost of a used 2014-2016 small suv/crossover (e.g. cr-v, rav 4). i probably won't go the private sale route so will be deciding on carmax/autonation/etc., vs certified pre-owned from a dealer. i also saw some info about carvana and since they have an atlanta location that would be a viable option for us, but i haven't heard much about them.

does anyone have any experiences with or thoughts about any of the above?

I have no idea how Carmax is still in business. Their prices are outrageously high.

Jon · Jan 4, 2017

CajunCrimson said:
We are getting ready to replace my wife's vehicle. I've noticed some of the dealers still have some 2015 stock -- that are discounted pretty heavily. There is a local dealer that has a 2015 Ford Edge for about $22K -- and it's new -- 7 miles. We are going to test it today --

Used cars have gotten so expensive over the past few years -- it's hard to find anything that feels long-term reliable for under $17K with less than 60K miles -- so, to me, the extra $5K that's new -- is worth it, if I can find the right one.

I had a rented Edge for a week a couple of years back when my wifes car was in the shop getting its new tranny and I have to say I really liked it. I've never owned a ford but it was a really impressive car. I tried to get the Mr's to look at the Lincoln MKX which is the Edge's Lincoln cousin but couldn't get her interested. The MKX ups the luxury a bit but perhaps it's too much as it's more to go wrong. I think the edge is great choice though and at 22K a deal

Jon · Jan 4, 2017

RedStar said:
I have no idea how Carmax is still in business. Their prices are outrageously high.

because most people buy based on payment and not total cost. They go into carmax and say "what can I get for XXX a month" and carmax gives them 4/5 options that seem better than what they can buy for new car monthly payments

TideEngineer08 · Jan 4, 2017

Jon said:
I had a rented Edge for a week a couple of years back when my wifes car was in the shop getting its new tranny and I have to say I really liked it. I've never owned a ford but it was a really impressive car. I tried to get the Mr's to look at the Lincoln MKX which is the Edge's Lincoln cousin but couldn't get her interested. The MKX ups the luxury a bit but perhaps it's too much as it's more to go wrong. I think the edge is great choice though and at 22K a deal

My wife has a 2010, which we've put 120k miles on so far. I just took it to have a full tune up this past week, as we are hoping to get at least another 120k on it. It's been a great vehicle for us.

*full disclosure: yes, I own a crossover. Yes, 92tide, I'm fully aware of the lockbox. I still rebel from time to time though.

CajunCrimson · Jan 4, 2017

Jon said:
I had a rented Edge for a week a couple of years back when my wifes car was in the shop getting its new tranny and I have to say I really liked it. I've never owned a ford but it was a really impressive car. I tried to get the Mr's to look at the Lincoln MKX which is the Edge's Lincoln cousin but couldn't get her interested. The MKX ups the luxury a bit but perhaps it's too much as it's more to go wrong. I think the edge is great choice though and at 22K a deal

Was it a midget Tranny?

Jon · Jan 4, 2017

CajunCrimson said:
Was it a midget Tranny?

nah, I like em full size

day-day · Jan 4, 2017

I have bought used cars from individuals but never from a dealer. The price savings compared to Carmax or some other dealer may be enough to cover any unexpected mechanical issues. I've had good luck but still feel nervous not knowing the car's history. It's been few years so I don't know if this still occurs but I bought one car that had an extended warranty that was transferable.

I know a guy who's Ford dealership was canceled out by Ford a few years ago and he now sells used cars in a big way; I'll check with him before my next purchase. I'm also thinking of the certified pre-owned route depending on what I buy next. Hopefully, I'm not in the market for a while.

TideMom2Boys · Jan 5, 2017

We have bought numerous cars from Carmax. We have only had one problem with a car, and they took it back a couple weeks later. (Even though I think it is a 5 day window). After that, we got my Cadillac SRX (mid size SUV) and we love it.

cbi1972 · Jan 5, 2017

Jon said:
I had a rented Edge for a week a couple of years back when my wifes car was in the shop getting its new tranny and I have to say I really liked it. I've never owned a ford but it was a really impressive car. I tried to get the Mr's to look at the Lincoln MKX which is the Edge's Lincoln cousin but couldn't get her interested. The MKX ups the luxury a bit but perhaps it's too much as it's more to go wrong. I think the edge is great choice though and at 22K a deal

My wife and I rented an Edge when we visited Yellowstone a couple years ago, and we really liked it. She owned a Jeep at the time, and when she got sick of the electrical issues, she looked at the Ford Escapes. The Edge is a little bigger than she needed, though it was good for a trip where we had a bunch of bags. She has since bought an Escape, and she loves it, and I do too. It's comfortable, has optional 4WD, and the amenities are as good as I have seen in any car. Navigation works, you can remote start to heat it up on a cold day, heated seats, rear camera, a working garage door remote (a feature which doesn't work on my BMW. I've followed the instructions to the letter), and it looks great in blue. It also has memory of seats and mirrors so I can drive it without having to monkey around with it. Just hit the number and it adjusts everything except the rearview. Gets decent mileage and can use regular gas or even E85 (My cars require premium). Also, I have 32GB of MP3s in a USB stick that will play through the system and display title and artist. This stuff may be standard on new cars these days, but it seemed pretty cool to me. My newest car is a 2008.

Jon · Jan 11, 2017

just stumbled on this elsewhere and thought it may be relevant, though I wish I had it in my search it only confirmed my choice

http://community.wolfram.com/groups/-/m/t/992746

and here you can get really granular on a per model basis (from the same data)

http://dashboard-light.com/

92tide · Jan 12, 2017

i got all of the claims data to vw yesterday so now i just wait (i'm hearing about 6-8 weeks for processing).

i think we are down to looking at the cr-v and the mazda cx-5. we will go drive both in the next few weeks to see. both vehicles have gotten great ratings but i have been reading that the cr-v has vibration issues with the new cvt transmission (2015 and newer). we will probably drive the ford escape too just to see.

i will probably also drive the mazda 6 just to see what it is like, but i don't think we'll be going with a sedan. both the cx-5 and mazda 6 are available in manual transmission (which we prefer) but there don't seem to be many of those around.

with all of these, i can get a late model with relatively low milage and decent features for close to what i will be getting as a buyback from vw.

TIDE-HSV · Jan 12, 2017

92tide said:
i got all of the claims data to vw yesterday so now i just wait (i'm hearing about 6-8 weeks for processing).

i think we are down to looking at the cr-v and the mazda cx-5. we will go drive both in the next few weeks to see. both vehicles have gotten great ratings but i have been reading that the cr-v has vibration issues with the new cvt transmission (2015 and newer). we will probably drive the ford escape too just to see.

i will probably also drive the mazda 6 just to see what it is like, but i don't think we'll be going with a sedan. both the cx-5 and mazda 6 are available in manual transmission (which we prefer) but there don't seem to be many of those around.

with all of these, i can get a late model with relatively low milage and decent features for close to what i will be getting as a buyback from vw.

We've been very pleased with my wife's Forester. It does have a CVT transmission, but there have been no issues with it. Even though their reliability is way above average (they seem to stick around on the roads forever), their factory warranty is short, so we did reluctantly purchase Subaru's own extended warranty. (Never purchase a 3rd party warranty.)

TIDE-HSV · Jan 12, 2017

The only problem I have with Carmax is their prices. Several years ago, I decided to purchase a used truck for an occasional hauling vehicle and settled on a Tacoma. I looked up a 2010 model and they actually brought it over here from Memphis. It had rust issues. A couple of months later, I bought a 2011 model, clean with only 7K miles, about 25K less, for $1K less. Checking with friends, I found out this was typical. Also, there's a lot of dissatisfaction with their service department. In a way, you'd expect it. It would be a nightmare to try to work every day on so many different makes and models...

92tide · Jan 12, 2017

TIDE-HSV said:
We've been very pleased with my wife's Forester. It does have a CVT transmission, but there have been no issues with it. Even though their reliability is way above average (they seem to stick around on the roads forever), their factory warranty is short, so we did reluctantly purchase Subaru's own extended warranty. (Never purchase a 3rd party warranty.)

i will probably look around to see what's available when i get the check, but the foresters i saw online are a bit higher than i want to spend.

TIDE-HSV · Jan 12, 2017

92tide said:
i will probably look around to see what's available when i get the check, but the foresters i saw online are a bit higher than i want to spend.

The AWD tacks on about $1K, at least. If you get interested in one, and buy used, try to get a 2014 or newer. They totally redesigned that year and the car is much better finished. However, the ride is still a bit stiff. Definitely still pure SUV...

tattooguy21 · Jan 12, 2017

DO NOT USE carmax. Compare their prices to truecar or carvana and you'll see them routinely charging $2-4000 more for their vehicles. Seriously. Don't take my word for it. Do a search and it'll confirm what I'm saying.

The cx5 is pretty awesome on fuel, maintenance, etc

TIDE-HSV · Jan 12, 2017

tattooguy21 said:
DO NOT USE carmax. Compare their prices to truecar or carvana and you'll see them routinely charging $2-4000 more for their vehicles. Seriously. Don't take my word for it. Do a search and it'll confirm what I'm saying.

The cx5 is pretty awesome on fuel, maintenance, etc

I agree. It's basically a creature of intensive advertising. In the case of my truck, I ended up buying from a dealer, with, as I said many fewer miles, a year newer and $1K less...

BamaSC · Jan 12, 2017

I might be coming close to looking at a slightly used vehicle also. I plan to keep my current car but relegate it to garage queen/weekend/sunny day/track day car. It's starting to rack up too many miles doing everyday chores. Given that, I may try to find a new daily driver. Requirements are 4 doors, RWD, and manual transmission. Not many of those to choose from.

thoughts on buying used cars

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