Recommendations for a new or new to me car

[BamaFlum]

SiriusXM is like Cable TV for your ears.

More channels than you will ever want to listen to, but you are paying for all of them.

Depends on your listening habits and time spent in your vehicle.

If you listen mostly to music, I would say there are other sources, e.g., Spotify, Apple Music, etc..

You can play most any source of music from your phone via Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.

If you want news, talk, sports, etc., then perhaps SiriusXM would be a good value for you.

If you bought the car from a dealer, you might wrangle a free 3 month trial subscription from them. That would give you plenty of time to "test drive" it.

Just my 2 centavos.

Enjoy your new ride.

And even if you like news/talk radio, you can always listen to podcasts. I would go with a streaming service and then Apple Podcasts.

 

[seebell]

Will the Chinese girl from your office be riding in your BMW?

 

[Padreruf]

Nice car...I hope you keep it 10 years and enjoy every day! Sirius can be worth it if you negotiate with them. Before the free period is up, call and tell them you want to cancel...then spend 15-30 minutes haggling and you can get the price down to about 7-8 per month. If you don't want the talk channels, etc., you can get just music for about 5 per month. Or you can listen to FM or connect your phone and listen through it to other channels.

All depends upon how much time you will spend in your car and what you want to be listening to as you do.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

Will the Chinese girl from your office be riding in your BMW?

She is no longer at the office and moved on and got married to a Chinese guy. Her mom paid her 300k to get married. If I knew she was getting that I would have easily married her.

 

[Saban4Ever]

Okay, so obviously I bought the BMW. Basically I just couldn't pass it up. I did get an extended warranty and some added bonuses. I will never have to pay for an oil change or tires or brakes. 4 years to pay it off and no penalty for paying it off early. 30k miles on it now. I am excited about finally being a BMW owner. I have always loved them and you only live once. After driving that, a Camry or Accord would have been a disappointment.

Going to be hard getting used to the gas being on the passenger side and trying to figure out all the bells and whistles. The BMW geeks are supposed to show me in detail how everything works. In the meantime I was shown some of the easier stuff. My phone is connected and I am still trying to figure out how to make the radio play my music.

Is Sirius worth it?

I bought my first BMW in 2015 (it is a 2 series) and am glad I did. I just got a newer 2 series recently. If you get a chance, try the track experience at the BMW Performance Center in South Carolina. It is very fun! Sirius is good to have, but it is not one of my top priorities. Before the BMW, I had Toyota and Infinity over the years. Both were good cars, but the BMW is much better overall. So far, I have not had any issues with the BMW. It is good that you did research on which models are best for which years, etc. Enjoy your new car!

 

[Saban4Ever]

Okay, so obviously I bought the BMW. Basically I just couldn't pass it up. I did get an extended warranty and some added bonuses. I will never have to pay for an oil change or tires or brakes. 4 years to pay it off and no penalty for paying it off early. 30k miles on it now. I am excited about finally being a BMW owner. I have always loved them and you only live once. After driving that, a Camry or Accord would have been a disappointment.

Going to be hard getting used to the gas being on the passenger side and trying to figure out all the bells and whistles. The BMW geeks are supposed to show me in detail how everything works. In the meantime I was shown some of the easier stuff. My phone is connected and I am still trying to figure out how to make the radio play my music.

Is Sirius worth it?

If you live in the Atlanta metro area and are looking for a reputable place to take your BMW to be worked on, Bimmer's in Kennesaw near the airport is a less expensive place than taking it to the BMW dealer. They have people working there who used to work at a BMW dealer in the shop area. I used to take mine there for oil changes after the 4 year "free oil change" expired.

 

[twofbyc]

It is a 330 with the MSport package. Drives amazing. It was formerly a lease, so I am it's first real owner.

Congrats! My Bolt finally came in, too. Like you, I’ll never have to pay for an oil change either!
Really, that is a great perk - oil changes on Beemers are expensive.
Enjoy your travels!

 

[twofbyc]

Nice car...I hope you keep it 10 years and enjoy every day! Sirius can be worth it if you negotiate with them. Before the free period is up, call and tell them you want to cancel...then spend 15-30 minutes haggling and you can get the price down to about 7-8 per month. If you don't want the talk channels, etc., you can get just music for about 5 per month. Or you can listen to FM or connect your phone and listen through it to other channels.

All depends upon how much time you will spend in your car and what you want to be listening to as you do.

They cave every time, and if you spend a lot of time in your car, to me, it’s worth it. I don’t use any streaming service so I don’t know how to compare them, as far as cost and choices go. $1.25/week ain’t much if you drive 300-400 miles a week.

 

[CB4]

Well I’m pretty much in the same boat as @DzynKingRTR . I’m about to to start a new job where I’ll be doing more driving to accounts. Wife pretty much insists I get something newer (2012 Honda Accord with 160k).

I’m a dedicated Honda, Toyota and Nissan guy and will most likely go with a smaller, low mileage used SUV types (CR-V, RAV 4, Highlander, Rogue, Murano, etc). Not to say I wouldn’t consider a sedan or another make. I’ve just had really positive experiences with these brands.

Question: I’m considering biting the bullet and going with a hybrid. My son purchased a 2022 RAV4 Hybrid for his wife last year and absolutely loves it. In the opinion of the ones here, are they worth the premium and are what are the pros/cons?
Thanks!

 

[crimsonaudio]

Well I’m pretty much in the same boat as @DzynKingRTR . I’m about to to start a new job where I’ll be doing more driving to accounts. Wife pretty much insists I get something newer (2012 Honda Accord with 160k).

An Accord with 160k? I assume it's paid for. Also assume you're not having many issues with it.

That car should be pretty efficient and should last many more years - unless you're having issues with it, I personally cannot imagine wasting the money on a new car. It would probably be 10+ years before you actually broke even.

 

[CB4]

An Accord with 160k? I assume it's paid for. Also assume you're not having many issues with it.

That car should be pretty efficient and should last many more years - unless you're having issues with it, I personally cannot imagine wasting the money on a new car. It would probably be 10+ years before you actually broke even.

I agree with you. It is long since paid for. It is mostly my wife (after 38 years of marriage) pushing the notion- “if your going to be driving that much you need…”

Case in point - my other vehicle is a 2007 Toyota Tacoma with 175k. She knows better. I’ll be buried in that truck.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

An Accord with 160k? I assume it's paid for. Also assume you're not having many issues with it.

That car should be pretty efficient and should last many more years - unless you're having issues with it, I personally cannot imagine wasting the money on a new car. It would probably be 10+ years before you actually broke even.

I agree. Drive the car until the wheels fall off. Unfortunately that is exactly why I have a car payment again. I plan on driving this one just as long.

 

[crimsonaudio]

haha

 

[Toddrn]

I agree with you. It is long since paid for. It is mostly my wife (after 38 years of marriage) pushing the notion- “if your going to be driving that much you need…”

Case in point - my other vehicle is a 2007 Toyota Tacoma with 175k. She knows better. I’ll be buried in that truck.

2000 Honda Civic getting ready to roll 200,000. Keep the oil changed, change transmission fluid every 30,000 miles, timing belt and water pump every 80-100,000 and they will last forever. I told someone just a couple of days ago that they would pry it from my cold dead hands along with my gun. My son has a 1998 Civic with over 320,000.

 

[CB4]

2000 Honda Civic getting ready to roll 200,000. Keep the oil changed, change transmission fluid every 30,000 miles, timing belt and water pump every 80-100,000 and they will last forever. I told someone just a couple of days ago that they would pry it from my cold dead hands along with my gun. My son has a 1998 Civic with over 320,000.

The best news is I’ll be moving into a director role with this new company. So 90% of my work will be remote as opposed to 50% travel with the business development position. Most any travel I do will be by air so I’m keeping the Accord and driving the wheels off of it.

 

[BamaNation]

My wife and I both have Lexus RX models. Wife's is a 2003 RX300 with 250K miles on it and mine is a 2012 RX350 with 260K on it. Whenever the time comes to replace these, they will be replaced with similar, newer models.

 

[BamaNation]

Okay, so obviously I bought the BMW. Basically I just couldn't pass it up. I did get an extended warranty and some added bonuses. I will never have to pay for an oil change or tires or brakes. 4 years to pay it off and no penalty for paying it off early. 30k miles on it now. I am excited about finally being a BMW owner. I have always loved them and you only live once. After driving that, a Camry or Accord would have been a disappointment.

Going to be hard getting used to the gas being on the passenger side and trying to figure out all the bells and whistles. The BMW geeks are supposed to show me in detail how everything works. In the meantime I was shown some of the easier stuff. My phone is connected and I am still trying to figure out how to make the radio play my music.

Is Sirius worth it?

I have a calendar notifcation every year to contact sirius to cancel. every year they make it worth my while to keep it for about $5/month streaming + 1 receiver. They usually say something like 'what can we do to keep you?' I say 'give me your absolute best deal available'. They say '$15/mo.' I say 'nope. cancel. they say 'how about $12 / mo'; I say 'nope. cancel'. they eventually say '$5 mo' I say 'ok one more year.' ... happens every year on same day for last 10 years.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

I have a calendar notifcation every year to contact sirius to cancel. every year they make it worth my while to keep it for about $5/month streaming + 1 receiver. They usually say something like 'what can we do to keep you?' I say 'give me your absolute best deal available'. They say '$15/mo.' I say 'nope. cancel. they say 'how about $12 / mo'; I say 'nope. cancel'. they eventually say '$5 mo' I say 'ok one more year.' ... happens every year on same day for last 10 years.

Probably going to just pass on it. Never had it before so it is not like I even know what I am missing.

 

[Bamaro]

Probably going to just pass on it. Never had it before so it is not like I even know what I am missing.

If you like to listen to any specific types of music, talk, sports, etc, all without commercials while you drive, Sirius cant be beat as long as you follow Bamanation's advice above.

 

[mdb-tpet]

I'd recommend moving closer to work/public transportation so you don't have to drive. Then you have lots of options. Walk, bike, jog, whatever you like to get to work when you have to go it. The savings are phenomenal and you can always rent a car when you really need one.