Car Shopping Stinks

Stay domestic, buy a lug of baling wire with a Ford, you should make 150,000 miles. Drive-way streaks not included.
 
You sound like a car salesman. Lol. They do seem like good cars though, especially of you are commuting that many miles per day and can do so on electric only.

Lol definitely not a car salesman... I'm just a regular guy that is tired of getting raped at the gas pump! And the way things are going it looks like the prices are going to keep rising.
 
I have.

They have come down in price as they have added more features and models. As you customize, you can get up there in price, but they come fairly equipped to start with which is nice. Just love the Clubman.

I haven't seen the Clubman in person but it looks interesting (have to check out the next car show). Having fun with the site, really liking the Laguna Green. That Limited Edition Goodwood is beautiful.
 
Car shopping for me is a ton of fun, but I love cars. The spending money part sucks, but as far as picking a car out, I would love that. If I was looking for a 2nd car that didn't have to be all that practical. It would be sports car or pickup, and nothing else. Going off the value of other cars you owned and are looking at. My list would consist of Mustang GT, 370Z, Corvette, Cayman, M3 etc.
 
Car shopping for me is a ton of fun, but I love cars. The spending money part sucks, but as far as picking a car out, I would love that. If I was looking for a 2nd car that didn't have to be all that practical. It would be sports car or pickup, and nothing else. Going off the value of other cars you owned and are looking at. My list would consist of Mustang GT, 370Z, Corvette, Cayman, M3 etc.
The new charges are really functional too for a sports car. They have plenty of space and are still a lot of fun.
 
Sure, you could buy a toyota and have a relatively trouble free time with your car, but what do you want out of your car?

This is something you MUST ask yourself.
If you just want another appliance like your washer and dryer, but carries golf clubs, buy a toyota. It will be grey on the inside, boring to look at, boring to drive, probably good on gas, will have a sloppy steering system, mushy brakes, and a hard seat.

If you want something more out of your drive, then make yourself a list and try and hit as many points as you can.
Do you want something along the lines of your G25?
We have an '08 Dodge Charger and it is a great car to drive as far as comfort and economy goes. It has not given us ANY trouble at all (even after some teenage girls smashed into the back of it doing 30mph). The new '11/'12 Chargers are MILES ahead of the old ones. They drive on a whole different level, and are still super practical, really economic (obviously not a prius), and they look really damn sweet doing it all. Here is a really honest review of the new '12 Charger with the new 8 speed auto: http://www.allpar.com/reviews/2012/charger-SXT-blacktop.html
If you want something smaller, a Fusion Sport AWD is a good choice. Again, good mileage, huge trunk, good interior space, and an entertaining drive to boot.
If you want smaller again, I would look at the new Focus, Mazda3, Audi A3, Golf/Jetta, or Impreza.

I realize I am going to get a lot of flack for hyping a Dodge, and crapping on Toyota, but these are my honest impressions. Yes I am a 'domestic' (notice the '' because I know all about peoples' place of construction arguments), but I did include imports in my list of suggestions so there.
 
Car shopping only blows b/c you allow it to blow. In today's age, car shopping is easier than ever, and ideally, the only time you should ever have to step foot on a car lot is b/c you have a test drive scheduled. If you just show up and prefer to "browse" then you really aren't doing yourself any favors. The sales staff is trained to put you through a process and unfortunately, it can be annoying for the consumer.

Good luck JB. I won't advise you on what make of vehicle to go after. They all have their strengths and weaknesses.
 
If I were able to get another car right now I would get a chevy volt, it would be perfect for my daily commute (about 50-60 miles) I would never need gas and it cost on average $1.87 to get full charge. It has a 60 mile range on battery and a 9 gallon gas tank and with battery and gasoline power you can go more then 300 miles. I would recommend this car to anyone! Down in your area the best place for price and availability for this car would be Stingray Chevrolet in Tampa.

For people that dont have a commute, the electric car becomes less and less practical. Add to that that Toyota and Tesla have the larger battery coming and I am not sure it is worth it as of yet. I have looked at Volts and Leafs and my biggest issue with both is that they lack some of the luxury you should get when paying $40k for a car in my opinion.

Car shopping only blows b/c you allow it to blow. In today's age, car shopping is easier than ever, and ideally, the only time you should ever have to step foot on a car lot is b/c you have a test drive scheduled. If you just show up and prefer to "browse" then you really aren't doing yourself any favors. The sales staff is trained to put you through a process and unfortunately, it can be annoying for the consumer.

Good luck JB. I won't advise you on what make of vehicle to go after. They all have their strengths and weaknesses.

However when you dont know what you want, you have to visit places to test drive and figure that out. That bold part is so interesting to me.
 
Point 1. I bought my car in February mostly using USAA's car buying service. I built exactly the car I wanted and clicked the button that showed me dealers with that car. The nearest one was in ATL, two hours a away. I went to my local dealer, who actually had the same car, different color, but they didn't show up on USAA. They said they weren't part of the program but would match the price. In fact, they BEAT the price. They beat both USAA and the TRUECAR "suggestions". I told them straight up, no add-ons, no maintenance plans, nothing. And if they could beat the financing I already had approved, they could have that as well; so they did. I thought it went pretty well, with really no effort on anyone's part other than all my research.

Point 2. My co-worker just got a custom Clubman, and I really like it. It's pretty damn awesome.
 
However when you dont know what you want, you have to visit places to test drive and figure that out. That bold part is so interesting to me.

Your situation isn't unique, and yes, sales staff is trained to do one thing when you set foot on that car lot, and that's to get you on a test drive and get you inside the building. I think that today's consumer in the automotive sector knows more about specific cars than the sales staff. In my experiences, it always just boils down to money, either the selling price or the trade in value, and not so much about demo'ing the vehicle, like it use to be.

My advice to you, and it seems like you have an idea of what cars you're interested in, find them online, contact the dealership via instant messaging, or a phone call (don't email them, they'll never stop emailing you) and set up appointments to test drive. I bet you'll freak when you see how differently you're treated when you go that route.
 
I like the new Ford Fusion or Focus. The new Focus gets some serious MPG's.
 
finding what you want is the easy part, making the purchase is the unpleasant part of the process. Advice: make friends w. someone at a high level in a major multi-marque car dealership. The difference in the level of service you receive is astounding! The last 2 new car purchases we've made were through friends in high places. We did not get a major discount on the price of the vehicle that anyone else with good negotiation skills could get. What we did get was exemplary service. No need to haggle over prices, and no worries about whether we were getting hosed in some unknown way.

The price-point was worked out between us and our friend on a bar napkin at our favorite watering hole then we received: a sales rep assigned to us, a week-long test drive, all-hands investigation for the just the right combination of options and colors, employee discounts on add-on accessories, and high-level influence with their Service Dept forever.

I have been fortunate enough to know people in a position to help me through this process, otherwise I'd probably never buy a new car.

Good luck in your search
 
Sure, you could buy a toyota and have a relatively trouble free time with your car, but what do you want out of your car?

This is something you MUST ask yourself.
If you just want another appliance like your washer and dryer, but carries golf clubs, buy a toyota. It will be grey on the inside, boring to look at, boring to drive, probably good on gas, will have a sloppy steering system, mushy brakes, and a hard seat.

If you want something more out of your drive, then make yourself a list and try and hit as many points as you can.
Do you want something along the lines of your G25?
We have an '08 Dodge Charger and it is a great car to drive as far as comfort and economy goes. It has not given us ANY trouble at all (even after some teenage girls smashed into the back of it doing 30mph). The new '11/'12 Chargers are MILES ahead of the old ones. They drive on a whole different level, and are still super practical, really economic (obviously not a prius), and they look really damn sweet doing it all. Here is a really honest review of the new '12 Charger with the new 8 speed auto: http://www.allpar.com/reviews/2012/charger-SXT-blacktop.html
If you want something smaller, a Fusion Sport AWD is a good choice. Again, good mileage, huge trunk, good interior space, and an entertaining drive to boot.
If you want smaller again, I would look at the new Focus, Mazda3, Audi A3, Golf/Jetta, or Impreza.

I realize I am going to get a lot of flack for hyping a Dodge, and crapping on Toyota, but these are my honest impressions. Yes I am a 'domestic' (notice the '' because I know all about peoples' place of construction arguments), but I did include imports in my list of suggestions so there.

Without getting in to an argument I just wanna say this literally made me laugh out loud.
 
For people that dont have a commute, the electric car becomes less and less practical. Add to that that Toyota and Tesla have the larger battery coming and I am not sure it is worth it as of yet. I have looked at Volts and Leafs and my biggest issue with both is that they lack some of the luxury you should get when paying $40k for a car in my opinion.
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I would agree if you don't have a commute it's not practical and at that price point it should be more of a luxury car but I think chevy is doing a good job of keeping this new technology in a price point that average people can afford.
 
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I would agree if you don't have a commute it's not practical and at that price point it should be more of a luxury car but I think chevy is doing a good job of keeping this new technology in a price point that average people can afford.

You think $40k is the price point most can afford? While I dont necessarily have a problem with the price, I do not necessarily agree with that. There are a TON of great autos that are pretty incredible, below that price range. After looking at them yesterday, comparing that car in any category to our Infiniti (which is a 2011 and 7 grand less) is pretty out there. Right now people are paying for being early adopters and while I am normally all for that, I dont see a return on this one especially if the new batteries are coming from "Toyesla" that are rumored to be here already.
 
You think $40k is the price point most can afford? While I dont necessarily have a problem with the price, I do not necessarily agree with that. There are a TON of great autos that are pretty incredible, below that price range. After looking at them yesterday, comparing that car in any category to our Infiniti (which is a 2011 and 7 grand less) is pretty out there. Right now people are paying for being early adopters and while I am normally all for that, I dont see a return on this one especially if the new batteries are coming from "Toyesla" that are rumored to be here already.

After government rebates and everything you will actually pay 7-8k less but the fact remains GM can't even make a Door Module that works reliably so my confidence in them to create a fully electric car that is reliable is extremely low. I don't know anything about the Leaf. I do know however the ROI on these cars is like 22 years or something at the moment.
 
I actually like going to by a car. I like the haggling and going back and forth over the price and details. When we bought my wifes Land Rovernot to long ago it was at a place that did not haggle over the price. While they gave us a fair deal on the vehicle and the trade in I think I could have done better. So from now on I will avoid the no haggle places and find a dealership that I can work with on price. One thing I do reccomend is being able to tell the saleman no and walk off the car lot, they do not like seeing that money walk out the door and I have had salemen come running after me to give me the deal that I was asking for. And if they don't then you know that there are other dealerships that have the car you are after and willing to work woth you.
 
After government rebates and everything you will actually pay 7-8k less but the fact remains GM can't even make a Door Module that works reliably so my confidence in them to create a fully electric car that is reliable is extremely low. I don't know anything about the Leaf. I do know however the ROI on these cars is like 22 years or something at the moment.

That is correct, but that does not work the same for everybody.
You are also correct about the ROI right now.
 
I hate buying cars...Bought a Ford Edge in late April...Had an X-number from a friend and was paying cash....Salesman was fair, even gave me a few dollars off the X price...But the paperwork took about 1 1/2 hours, with no explanation...I wasn't feeling good which made it worse..We agreed on the price then I had to deal with a woman trying to sell me 4 different items: undercoating, cloth protectant etc...Wouldn't take no for an answer, went on for about 25 minutes.....Finally told her I was sick and leaving...She left and I was told the car wasn't available until the next day, they had to pick it up...Came back the next day at an appointed time to pick up my car (140 mile round trip each day)..And salesman was with another customer..He has to make a living so I waited...for over an hour...By now I'm furious...Finally met him and he turns me over to the "closer"..First tried to sell me several warranty plans..Refused each one, and each time he rudely questioned my refusal..Time to sign papers I see a loan application and credit checks in my name and my wife's name...I questioned these papers and couldn't get a definitive answer, only that this was their procedure..I told them the day before I was paying cash so no loan and no credit check (credit is great, 821 score, just don't like activity on it)..During the signing he continued to try selling me warranties and every time I said no, he asked why not then would stare at me..After an hour of this I had enough..Took all the papers I had signed (which was about 1/2 of them), tore them up and left...called another dealer the next week, talked to a salsman on the phone, told him what happened at the other dealer and he matched the price and agreed to not try to sell me anything..Walked in the next day and was out in 1/2 hour with my new car and a smile on my face...A tale of 2 dealerships... Both were big dealerships in the Norfolk Va area...Next time I'll do it all over the phone...Been a Ford man my whole life, have had 5...Would buy again..But I do hate the BS at most dealers...
 
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From what I have read, the worst 3 brands in initial quality are Land Rover, Mini, and Jeep. This was in the past year.

When you go to a new car lot, you are looking for a suitable vehicle, not a relationship with a sales rep. Feet are made for walking. You can limit your excursions by taking advantage of buying plans probably available through Sam's or Costco. One I am familiar with is 123car.com. Truecar,com should be beneficial. If you connect with a fleet/internet rep at a dealership, you can look at his inventory. If he doesn't have a particular color or vehicle you want, but says he can get it, don't bite. That will add $250-300 to the price just for him picking that vehicle up nearby.
 
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