Topic: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat) (Read 158879 times)

Maxvla · « **on:** May 03, 2012, 08:19:09 PM »

Just skip to the end and join the chat

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I currently own a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix which I bought in late 2007 through an auction buyer that was a pretty good deal, $14,000 at the time. It's been paid off for a while now and I still really like the car, but I'm feeling it's time for a change.

One thing I don't like about my car is the fuel efficiency. Being a 6 cylinder it loves it's gas. I only get about 17mpg city and 20mpg hwy despite it being at 19 city 23 hwy. I drive every day but everything I drive to is close by. In 5 years I've put 17,000 miles on my car making it a 7 year old car with 35,000 miles. I've started to experience some age related failures including a broken window mechanism that was not cheap to fix, interior armrests showing wear and some other things. Also I've been putting off my 30k maintenance which will cost about $1000.

When I bought it I lived in an apartment and it was hit three times in the parking lot within a month of buying it. The damage is fairly minor but repairs were quoted at $1500 at the body shop so I decided against fixing it. I've since moved into a house and its been garage kept. It's been a bit since I looked it up but I think the blue book on the car is around $9500 in great condition. Discounting for the exterior cosmetic damage I could probably get $8500 or so selling it myself or a bit less on a trade in.

I've been interested for a while in these very compact cars like the Honda CR-Z, Fiat 500, VW GTI, and the like, most of which get 35mpg or better plus are small but well made cars. If you guys have suggestions is love to hear them. I haven't even remotely narrowed the choice yet, these are just examples of what I think I want.

The main question I'd like input on is leasing vs buying new. Leasing gets hammered on most of the searches I've done and quite frankly a lot of it comes across with more religious zeal than a fire and brimstone service so I can't really tell if its as bad as they say or if I should trust the pages that say leasing can be good as long as you know you are paying a slight premium to always be driving something new.

The other hitch to leasing with my situation is the mileage. Most leases are 12-15k per year and I drive about 1/3 of that. I've seen some luxury cars advertise 5000 mile leases but is that low of a mileage negotiable on a normal car? On a 3 year lease I doubt I'd have more that 12-15k on the car so the depreciation would be significantly less than a normal person who has put 36-45k on the car.

Or should I forget leasing and go through the hassle of buying? If so I would be 50/50 on new vs 1-2 years old.

Another thing I should mention is I prefer comprehensive insurance even when I fully own so that won't make any difference between buying and leasing perpetually.

Or should I just shut up and keep what I have? LOL

BTW public transportation is nonexistent here so a car is a must unfortunately despite the small mileage.

maverickronin · « **Reply #1 on:** May 03, 2012, 09:05:09 PM »

I get better mileage than that (just barely though) with my V8 90's T-bird.

If it didn't snow around here I'd ditch it and get a motorcycle. More fun, cheaper, better mileage. Maybe you should move to SoCal with the rest of the pirates and take an MSF class?

Buying anything remotely new is probably going to cost you more than gas savings and repairs on you current car unless you've got a pretty long commute. The used market is seriously expensive these days too. If you just want something newer and nicer then it could work out it isn't likely to save you any money.

If you actually want to save some money in the long term you should probably keep you eye out for something older, in pristine condition, and with a reputation for running forever like some early to mid 90's Toyotas or Hondas. You could probably also go over it with an eye for weight reduction and see what you can get rid of. You could do that with your current car to but that sort of thing works better on 4 bangers that don't have much torque and are already pretty light.

Anaxilus. · « **Reply #2 on:** May 03, 2012, 09:25:26 PM »

In case I forget, shoot me PM. You've got quite few issues in that post and I'm gonna take a nap. Busy week.

Maxvla · « **Reply #3 on:** May 03, 2012, 09:29:30 PM »

Mav, those are good ideas and maybe I wrote it wrong, but I'm not really looking to save money, rather how to go about buying/leasing new or nearly new without wasting money. My mileage is so low that the fuel difference isn't enough to warrant a new car by itself, but I would like to be more efficient just because I can.

Questhate · « **Reply #4 on:** May 03, 2012, 09:58:31 PM »

Max -- what are you planning to accomplish by leasing vs. buying? Do you see yourself getting a new car in a few years, or are you going to be sticking with this car for a while. From what I understand, with buying you'd be financing the entire car whereas with leasing you're just financing the depreciation value of the car. As you've already alluded to, if you really don't drive that much, you'll probably be better off buying since they're calculating the depreciation value based upon the annual mileage (and it seems you go way under that). You really should talk to a leasing person and work out the numbers for yourself. If you're going to upgrade in a few years, and you'd like to just keep the payments low, then leasing may work out. I'd imagine for the majority of people, buying a car is a better option.

And what's your criteria in a car? Is a compact car with good mileage your main criteria?

Not sure if you looked into a Honda Fit, but I was always a fan of that car for that super compact segment. My buddy just got one actually. It's suprising agile and fun to drive. In comparison, hopping back in my 350Z felt sluggish and unrefined. He can fit his entire bike in the back too, so you know it'll be able to transport amps

I *think* it gets around 30mpg.

LFF · « **Reply #5 on:** May 03, 2012, 10:42:44 PM »

I recently purchased a 1971 Mini Cooper 998cc. This old little car with this engine, can do a nice 85mpg with a properly tune engine. As is, it gives me close to 60mpg.

You don't need a new "hybrid" to save gas. The Geo Metro x-fi also had amazing gas millage...hard to find now. Now...if you buy a geo metro motor and adapt it to the mini cooper...you're looking at 95mpg or more....and a zippy little car.

Just an idea.

HOWEVER...whatever you do...DO NOT get a Fiat. Those are little coffins on wheels.

Maxvla · « **Reply #6 on:** May 05, 2012, 08:08:57 AM »

Nice Mini! I've thought about one of those also, but I really want to stay with a new or almost new car. My first car was purchased when it was about 8 years old and kept it for another 8 years, my current was 2 years old and I've had far fewer issues with the newer car and the value is still pretty decent on it. My first car was about $5,000, after 8 years it was worthless needing too much stuff done so I gave it to a family friend and it lasted another 2 years before it finally died. My current car has lost about the same value, or a little bit more, but I've also had about 1/5 the repair cost performed and I've had a closer to new, and somewhat more advanced tech car to experience.

The ultra-small cars like the Scion iQ/Smart FourTwo which was initially interested in, I think are too expensive for what they are and don't give as good gas mileage as I think they should. So I think I'm liking the hatchbacks right now. One I like the look of is the Kia Rio 5 door (SX trim, $17,700 list). This is more in the price range I'd like to be, and it also gets good mileage at 30/40.

I like the VW GTI, but it's just too expensive, IMO. $25k for a small car is too much with all the competition out there. I know it's turbocharged and is probably better made, but it's significantly more expensive.

Another I've looked at is the Chevy Sonic which is similar to the Rio in features and pricing.

The Honda CR-Z is a really interesting one as it's a hybrid with selectable modes for leaning more towards power or efficiency at the press of a button. It's a little bit more expensive at $19k, but it is a hybrid, and it's a Honda. Gonna do a lot more research about this one. I also know a guy who works on Hondas all the time so I'm going to ask his opinion on these.

rhythmdevils · « **Reply #7 on:** May 05, 2012, 08:51:40 AM »

Problem with small cars made in the last 5 or 10 years, but especially the newest ones is that the bodies are so damn thick that the windows are tiny. Visibility in that Rio is going to be terrible. Visibility in the Honda is Gawd awful. Visibiltiy in the Mini Cooper is even pretty bad.

grev · « **Reply #8 on:** May 05, 2012, 01:36:56 PM »

I'm with LFF, small cars are the way to go, I dislike the mentality of 'if something is good, more must be better'.

I bought a 1996 Nissan Micra/March 3 months ago, 800kg car with 1.3 litre engine that has a very light flywheel, good air filter, extractors and Nismo exhaust, good on fuel and can still go very well.

As a matter of fact when it was turboed, it used to beat all the V8s, especially the ones that are made by Holden (Australian car maker) and exported to the USA and rebadged as a Chevy.

Marvey · « **Reply #9 on:** May 05, 2012, 06:05:53 PM »

I'll take this small car.

Author Topic: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat) (Read 158879 times)

Maxvla

The New Car Saga (and general auto chat)

maverickronin

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

Anaxilus.

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

Maxvla

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

Questhate

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

LFF

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

Maxvla

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

rhythmdevils

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

grev

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

Marvey

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

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Author Topic: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat) (Read 158879 times)