I never said I don’t like BMW . I have a Volvo that was purchased new . But when someone says they are not in love with a vehicle of any brand then they should not be looking at something used that can have expensive repairs. If Liz was looking at a new BMW then go for it .
That does not make any sense. There is no relationship between not favoring a specific brand of car or their maintenance/repair records.
You owe this forum and Liz an apology.
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No I don’t , I can have an opinion just like anyone else .
I have an opinion also, but can’t note it here. The moderator would delete it.
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@Liz10 - Liz , read the third post by John Goreham again . He drives and tests vehicles for a living so his advice does have merit .
I give credit to @Liz10 for doing her homework. She knows that the BMW requires premium fuel. She is concerned that the Subaru Crosstrek that she drove and liked has a CVT transmission. There are features like heated seats and a moon roof that she would like, but is willing to do without. She knows what is within her budget.
If a person has the means, there is no reason why that person should.not go for it.
Obviously, my tastes in cars are different than most people. I’m cheap. On the other hand, when I went from the lower trim line minivan without power sliding doors to one with power sliding doors, it is a feature that I wouldn’t want to give up. I wouldn’t want to give up an audio system where I couldn’t connect my smartphone via Bluetooth, yet years ago I didn’t care whether or not a car had a radio. .
I have never considered a BMW because the nearest dealer is 55 miles away. However, I wouldn’t consider a Mercedes, Subaru or Nissan product for the same reason–no local dealer.
With my tastes and preferences, I hesitate to advise someone. When I go to the grocery store, I pick up the house brand. If Mrs Triedaq goes to the grocery, she comes home with name brands. Mrs. Triedaq is always saying, “Get what you want. You don’t have to cheap out”. For me, it’s hard not to be cheap.
These days you should not divulge that you’re paying cash until after a price is negotiated.
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While the new car warranty is better than the CPO warranty I can’t see paying the extra $15,000 for the security of a new car warranty.
Some people advise not to buy an extended warranty, to put the $2000 in a savings account and you will have all the money needed for future repairs, I believe I could do the same with the $15,000.
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Does it really matter to the dealer whether they get their money in cash or via a check from a bank? I also wonder if the dealer gets some kind of commission if they complete the loan application and do all the upfront work for the bank.
Yes it does in many cases. We were going to pay cash for a new Nissan Frontier in 2014 . They took another 500.00 off the price if we used zero interest financing . They did request we make at least 4 payments so they would get 500.00 from Nissan.
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If they were Nissan’s then I’m not surprised. We’ve had a ton of posts on here with issues about their CVTs. Other CVTs, though, not nearly as much. Pretty much everyone on here agrees to have the fluid changed in a CVT every 30k miles.
I think you should take @VOLVO_V70’s advice and go onto manufacturer websites and use their create a car function so you can look at the different options for different vehicles. And again, I would encourage you to ignore the depreciation factors. Cars are never going to be an appreciating asset unless you have a classic car
No. They are the same thing.
When I say cash I don’t mean a briefcase full of greenbacks.
The dealer must fill out IRS form 8300 to report cash transactions over $10,000, not so for checks, a check can be traced to determine the source of your loot.
I don’t think anyone was talking about walking in with a couple hundred $100 bills to pay for a car. They’d have to use that little pen on every one to verify they weren’t fake also.
Dealers get money back from arranging financing that they wouldn’t get if someone just pays it all up front (cash, check, cashiers check, credit card, debit card, etc.) The idea is that the finance company will make money on the interest over the term of the loan and provide an incentive to the dealer to push financing. The dealer might be willing to provide some of that incentive back to the buyer if they think the car will be financed through them. They also get money back from the manufacturer for selling a new car that they may be willing to go below their cost in the deal, knowing that they will still make money on the holdback.
I don’t have the same negative view of dealers that some have and have really never had a bad experience with them. I bought my first car at 16 or 17 from a Nash dealer. The Morris Minor was advertised for $195. When I asked to see it, they said $175. When I said I would take it, they lowered it to $150. When I went to write the check, the two guys conferred with each other in low tones and said they would take $125 for it. Of course I found out why later but they did everything they could except send along a trunk full of parts to go with it. Very good education for $125.
You might consider a RAV4, the hybrid version if you can afford it - it may be more economical long term. Watch out for hidden damage in used cars, learn to check for obvious problems first and take the final candidate to a trusted independent mechanic for a thorough checkout (Carfax only contains the problems that were reported). Don’t fall in love with any particular car, there will be plenty more.
+1
I have walked out of a few dealerships after perceiving that I was wading in shark-filled waters, but I have to say that I haven’t had negative experiences with the dealerships from whom I actually bought vehicles.
While it is true that my Volvo dealership was largely unsuccessful in making my car reliable, the same was true for several indy foreign car mechanics, so I don’t really blame the Volvo dealership for their failure to “polish a turd”.
Please don’t!
Unfortunately there’s a high percentage of dealerships I won’t buy from based on passed experiences. I’ve driven 20 miles past a Nissan dealership to another Nissan dealer because of their tactics.
OK I won’t. Even though I have no clue as to what your are referring to.
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@MikeInNH. I did go to an out of town dealer twice. Back in 2003 when we bought a 2003 Toyota 4 Runner. Our local dealer sold Toyota, Nissan, and Buick under the same roof. The salesman really didn’t seem interested in the Toyota line. We went to a dealer 25 miles away. The salesman was great, understood what we wanted and found a 4Runner for us at another dealer and had it driven up. The downside was that the service department wasn’t good. Our 4Runner had a problem that the service department made worse. Furthermore, we had to drive two vehicles over to the dealer to leave it for the warranty repair. After several attempts at a repair, I went to the dealer with a copy of the lemon law, told the owner it was the last chance to make it right or the dealer had to buy it back. Furthermore, I said I had to have a car to drive while they sorted the problem out. That did the trick. The 4Runner was fixed properly and we still have it.
The other time I went out if town was when I bought a Ford Windstar back in 2000. I went to a small town dealer in the next county. It only took 5 more minutes driving time to get to that dealer than to drive across town to our local Ford agency. The out of town dealer would provide me with a car to get back to campus while the local dealer would not, so I actually saved time.
Mrs. Triedaq is a more discriminating buyer than I am and she really wanted the 4Runner.
I need a minivan and I don’t care what make it is. I would have bought another Ford minivan from the dealer, but Ford no longer made them. I bought a Chevrolet Uplander from the dealer that was half a mile from my house. All was o.k. until I was ready for a new minivan. Then GM stopped making minivans. Fortunately, a new Toyota dealership opened up a mile and a half away. I’ve purchased two Sienna minivans from this dealer. Unlike Mrs. Triedaq, I really don’t care what make minivan I drive. If you’ve driven one minivan, you’ve driven them all. If the local Toyota dealer didn’t want to come through, I would try the dealer for a different make.