First for those who are not regulars here. Bing is the screen name for a long time member.
Recently Bing posted that he might be looking for a new vehicle or even 2. But with all the recalls of brands that should have their act together , mergers that don’t make sense and ownership changes it makes choices more difficult then it should be.
I had a 2014 Nissan Frontier and it was fine but now I wonder if any of their products are worth looking at. It seems all the manufactures are making questionable decisions.
I am thinking about replacing a vehicle or maybe getting a second one . Another problem is dealerships being bought and sold like a Flea Market.
In PA & NJ, a LOT of dealerships have been bought out by the Ciocca group and I have never heard anything positive about that mega-company. I probably won’t be buying another vehicle in my few remaining years, but if I do need to buy again, I really hope that there are dealerships other than the Ciocca group.
I’ve bought 3 of my last 4 cars from Carvana. The selection is amazing, and they bring the car to my house. I’ll admit you pay a bit of a premium for their service, but to me it’s worth it.
The 1 of my 4 cars we bought at a Honda dealer. Suffice it to say…they wasted a lot of my time and screwed us on the financing.
I plan on buying all of my cars going forward from Carvana, or at least not from a dealer, and using my bank for the financing.
We aren’t interested in new cars. Our Odyssey is 6 years old and my Model 3 is 2 years old. Like @db4690 I do my homework and know exactly what I want when I go to the dealer. I’m not picky about color and have always found an acceptable new car. A lot depends on where you live. In Central Maryland I have a huge number of dealers to choose from. Someone in OK like @VOLVO-V70 or Minnesota like @bing have fewer choices. If Volvo is close enough to DFW there should be a huge selection too.
My concern is not selection ( Oklahoma is not a waste land ) but as I listed in the post having confidence in the manufacture or dealer network makes choices more difficult.
The flyover states have car dealers too! Any decently sized metro area has dozens of dealers. Even a GM town like Dayton, Ohio had 2 Datsun (Nissan) and 2 Honda dealers in the late 1970s. It even had a Peugeot, Porsche, Audi and a Saab dealer, too.
I have bought a few new cars in my time but the best financial deals are 2 to 4 year old used cars.
This started out as concern over the reliability and decision making at the car manufacturing companies and quickly pivoted to the process of buying a vehicle.
To be fair, I have concerns in both areas. I have been in the market for a replacement vehicle for some time but the overall reliability seems to be a major concern across the board and I loathe the existing dealer process for buying vehicles…
One of the reasons for buying a car a couple years old is that websites like CarComplaints can collect data on the quality of the car. Reliability is still a question but a car with loads of complaints in early years is a red flag. This is especially true of cars with no significant changes in several model years.
As manufacturers strain to keep up with technology and “right size” their technical workforces, quality and reliability will take a big hit. Just watch the news. GM just booted Corvette management. These are the people that led the mid engine C8. That does not bode well for the car.
What I meant is that there are 14 Honda dealers with8n 40 miles of my house. Toyota tells me that there are 35 dealers within reach. Chevrolet says that there are 25 dealers within 35 miles. I’m sure that any large metro area has similar choices, but most places do not.
Slightly used is definitely the best financial choice. My fears are people who have dumped those because of some latent defect. Look at all the super low mileage GM trucks for sale. And knowing about the 5.3L engine issues, scary.
Here’s my unicorn: a 2021 Sierra or Silverado L82/L84 manufactured after 3/29/2021 with RPO code YK9.
Why? Because that was during the chip shortage and those were purposely built without AFM or DFM.
I bought my truck slightly used because I wanted the newest one I could get without being the new(er) 4cyl turbo, no more V6 for the Taco’s… it had right at 12,000 miles and was only 9 months old IIRC… Looked like it came off the showroom floor… I would have bought new but just have a hard time with a 4 banger in a mid size tuck, even though it offers way better torque (same HP unless hybrid), just don’t think the little blown 4cyl will pass the same test of time like the V6 has… But I used CarMax…
I know you are talking new, but you are also talking about trust, I went used due to trust… Both with the vehicle as well as the dealer… BTW they are the only ones that could get the RWD truck I was looking for, that I could find… Matter a fact, the few others that should a rwd were getting it from CarMax anyway…
Haha, It was more of a joke, just picking at db4690 for not telling us what he bought (entirely his right)… I was going to say Cybertruck but Yugo was just easier to spell…
