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New Vehicle
Quid
Definitely not a bananaRegistered User regular
Definitely not a bananaRegistered User regular
So I've decided to bite the bullet and get a new vehicle in a few months, which gives rise to and plenty of time to answer the following questions:
1) What should I get? I've had a Chevy S-10 my entire driving life and while I'm fond of it, I'd kind of like something I can fit more than one other person in. I'm entirely unfamiliar with cars, but if one were able to tow a small U-haul container, I wouldn't really see the issue with no longer having a bed to throw stuff in.
2) Financing, zuh? I'll have at least four thousand and upwards of possibly eight thousand for a down payment. Would it be best to go through the dealership or should I try my credit union?
3) Military options: Do any of the prior/current military here know of any special programs/dealerships I can use?
4) Misc. Anything else I should consider? I have months til I actually do this so any advice is welcome.
1) What should I get? I've had a Chevy S-10 my entire driving life and while I'm fond of it, I'd kind of like something I can fit more than one other person in. I'm entirely unfamiliar with cars, but if one were able to tow a small U-haul container, I wouldn't really see the issue with no longer having a bed to throw stuff in.
2) Financing, zuh? I'll have at least four thousand and upwards of possibly eight thousand for a down payment. Would it be best to go through the dealership or should I try my credit union?
3) Military options: Do any of the prior/current military here know of any special programs/dealerships I can use?
4) Misc. Anything else I should consider? I have months til I actually do this so any advice is welcome.
Quid on
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However, if your credit has any slight dings on it, somecredit unions won't approve you for a full value loan. This happened recently with me. I had an otherwise perfect credit history, but a 5 dollar overdraft on a closed bank account when i left college turned into a $125 collection that i only was contacted about last year. Moving on, due to this, the credit union i applied at could only approve me for around 85% of the total value.
I went to the dealership, worked with a sales dude and a finance dude, and ended up with a lower interest rate through their lender, and approved me for the car i wanted. But if your credit is fine shouldn't be an issue either way.
I guess my point is, while most of the time you will get a better rate through your own credit union, just talk to the dudes down at the dealership to see what they might offer. Your downpayment chunk is very nice, that'll help tremendously.
@the actual cars, I have recently fallen in love with VW
Also, with my CU Car Loan, one month I found out that there wasn't going to be enough money in my account for the Loan Payment, so I called the CU. Apparently it wasn't a problem, because the way their system is set up, the autopay tries to take payment on the designated date, but if it fails for some reason, it retries every 24 hours for two weeks until sufficient funds are present, then alerts a Loan specialist at the branch to contact you if it still can't make the transaction. 99% of the time, any of the Big Banks will rape your account with overdraft fees repeatedly without ever contacting you.
Basically it seems to come down to Banks believing that it's a priviledge to be allowed to bank with them, where as the Credit Unions consider it a priviledge that they have been trusted with their Customer's money.
I know it's not possible for everyone to own a car without financing, but if you can avoid monthly payments, by any means, do it. Buy something used and pay cash.
Eh.
Buying used you should still put away a "car payment" each month for the increased upkeep costs associated with an older vehicle. Things do wear out and it's stupid to try and think you're saving money when all you're doing is setting yourself up for a huge payment later on.
Though buying used isn't all bad. I really don't see a whole lot of reasons to buy a real new car when the discounts on cars 2 or 3 years old is so tremendous. YMMV though.
An 8k downpayment and good credit can get you a nice vehicle for a nice price. You could possibly have the option of paying cash for the vehicle at the dealer meaning you could get a sweet deal. You also have the option of exploiting the current gas price situation. Before Katrina when gas hiked up over $3/gallon and stayed that way for some time my local cadillac dealership was practicially giving new CTS sedans away. If you could also pay cash I'm talking getting a new Cadillac for $18,000. This only applies if you want a Cadillac though or some other car that gets sub-par fuel economy. Right now and probably continuing through the summer the value of Hondas and the like will remain quite high as they're good cars to begin with and everyone loves getting 40 mpg.
So basically describe the perfect car for you so we can get an idea of what you want.
Shogun Streams Vidya
With gas prices on the rise... it may pay off in the long run.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
Scion xB's get very good gas milage and have a decent amount of room in them. I do believe you're a southern boy so I'm guessing snow/4x isn't a huge deal for you.
They did just get tanked in the last crash testing I saw though.
Outlander, Endeavor, Montero, even Lancer or Galant
What would you think of a four-door Tacoma, and what's your price-cieling?
Edit: Just to get a better idea what you're looking for.
Also how is your credit? If its good then that's fabulous but if its not this could be tougher. Here are a couple vehicles anyways.
At 22k the Mazda 3 would be completely loaded. I'm talking every option and shit they offer would be on that car. Leather, Bose sound system, dynamic stability, traction control, every bell and whistle they offer. 22k would be the sticker price. Work the dealer down as far as he is willing to go then offer to pay cash and you won't pay anything near that 22k.
This car I'm still up in the air about. Volvo s40. They start around 23 and end around 28 or 29k. I think they're nice cars and I've heard they're reliable but this one make I don't have any personal experience with. In the 90s Volvo was a solid choice but I believe they are now owned by Ford (so is Mazda but its a different situation) so I don't know if Ford has done anything to ruin the brand. As far as I know they're solid cars but do your research.
Post some pictures of a car you're interested in or something.
Shogun Streams Vidya
Not all places have them, but if you call around your area I'm sure you'll find a place that does.
I work as a valet and drive many different kinds of cars and I can say Volvos are among the least pleasurable to drive in terms of comfort, build quality and performance.
Unless you guys don't get the hatchback. It looks like the US might not. In that case the Sedan model is still a good car.
Here's the top vehicles by category:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/best/bestworstNF.shtml
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Note -- the 2.0L engine Civic is the Civic Si. It's the sport edition.
Also these low numbers are the "new EPA figures" -- here are the old and new numbers side-by-side:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorCompareSideBySide.jsp?column=1&id=23502
Personally I think the new EPA ratings are ridiculous, I got 33 MPG combined in my last tank using a Civic that they now rate as 27 MPG combined. Yes, I did use air conditioning.
We also have a Yaris -- it accelerates well and gets great mileage (again, higher than the EPA numbers). But it is fugly inside and out, has a lot of wind noise, and I think it feels too lightweight in its construction and the way it handles on the road. Speaking as someone with both cars at home, if I had to buy one over again it would be the Civic.
I own an Audi, so take that with a grain of salt however.
Agreed. In my '05 'rolla, I look at people in Aveos and Yaris..es?..i? and feel bad for them; "What, you couldn't afford a Corolla?"
I like my Corolla, it sits fairly high for a small car.