Question for Streve and everyone
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Was your Windstar as bad as ours was?
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wtg, thanks! Love cars. Love hearing about them.
I'm thinking it over.
The new Corolla design is very discreet.
Mik, I used the yes, no, or walk tactic. I always used it.
My question to you is-- these days-- how do you determine the price you are willing to pay? What references do you use to calculate that?
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@Steve-Miller - Yes
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It’s easier now than it ever was. I use Auto Trader, Kbb.com, Facebook marketplace. I only buy used, buying new would be different.
Once you decide on a make/model, look at all of the ads to get a feel for what it should cost. Do this over the course of a week or two and you’ll know when you see a good deal as well as when a dealer is having a genuine sale. Pay special attention to new car dealers selling used cars that are not their new car brand. They’ll be the first ones discounted toward the end of the month and they won’t have come from the auction.
I bought my truck that way. A 2017 Ford bought in 2020 with 10,000 miles on it. I’d had my eye on it but never looked at it as it was at a Toyota dealer on the other side of LA and the mileage looked janky. When they dropped the price $15K I decided it was worth a look.
Turned out to be legit. Carfax told the tale, every entry showed the mileage. Originally purchased by the Canadian Air Force in ‘17 and driven very little. Regularly serviced, registered in Montana 2 years later. Warranty service in CA shortly after that. Traded in on a Toyota when the owner figured out what kind of gas mileage it got.
Offered full price - not likely to find another like it. Probably overpaid for an extended warranty through Toyota but ended up using 80% of what I paid for the warranty on repairs, most of which had to do with being driven so little and the fact the jet jockeys ran leaded gas in it. The Toyota warranty turned out to be iron-clad, never a hassle.
It has 50K miles on it now and would still sell for close to what I paid for it. No matter- this will likely be my last truck.
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Pro tip: The sweet spot seems to be 3 years old. That’s when lease cars get turned in. Lots of cars available, generally dealer serviced.
We bought Sharon’s car that way.
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Have you looked at the rental companies? I have a relative who has very good experience buying from Enterprise. You don't know how they have been used, but the maintenance records are accurate.
I've fairly good luck with Mazdas. Unfortunately, several of them have ultimately died in accidents with family members so I don't know how far they might have gone.
Our current ride is a 2017 Subaru Forester, which has been good except for the clutch going out inside of 80,000 miles. I blame part of that on difficult driving conditions where my wife and I were living at the time.
The two best vehicles that have served me well were both Fords. My 1996 Aerostar van went to 268,000 miles before a series of minor problems and body rust made me get rid of it. The Ford Focus ST that I later bought reached 297,00 miles before Pennsylvania road salt made it uneconomical to repair. By the way, that was a 2,5L manual transmission car that never required a clutch replacement.
Big Al
Money seems to buy the most happiness when you give it away.
Why does everything have to be so complicated, all in the name of convenience. -ShiroKuro
A lifetime of experience will change a person. If it doesn't, then you're already dead inside. -MarkJ
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Thanks, everyone!
I'm thinking about a new Civic or Corolla (mainly because I'm having fun looking at them) and I'm also thinking about my original idea of a 2002- 6 generation Toyota Camry.
I'll probably come down on the practical side.
It would be an interesting challenge to find one in flawless condition with about 50k miles.
They made a dark green color I like during at least one of those model years.
I'd be very satisfied if I could find this car in green or white and since they last into the high 300,000's I wouldn't have to buy a car again.
We'll see.
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Have you looked at the rental companies? I have a relative who has very good experience buying from Enterprise. You don't know how they have been used, but the maintenance records are accurate.
I've fairly good luck with Mazdas. Unfortunately, several of them have ultimately died in accidents with family members so I don't know how far they might have gone.
Our current ride is a 2017 Subaru Forester, which has been good except for the clutch going out inside of 80,000 miles. I blame part of that on difficult driving conditions where my wife and I were living at the time.
The two best vehicles that have served me well were both Fords. My 1996 Aerostar van went to 268,000 miles before a series of minor problems and body rust made me get rid of it. The Ford Focus ST that I later bought reached 297,00 miles before Pennsylvania road salt made it uneconomical to repair. By the way, that was a 2,5L manual transmission car that never required a clutch replacement.
Big Al
@Big_Al Clutch went out in our 2013 Subaru Outback at 67k miles on a very bad stretch of road on the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut. Steep hill, no shoulder, steady traffic, me alone with a car full of my son's stuff as he was moving to Brooklyn, waiting an hour for a tow truck. Shudder. Some days are like that.
@Daniel. We've had good luck with Toyotas. Learned to drive stick on my Dad's Corolla in 1980ish, drove my 2006 Prius for 19 years until replacing it this year with a new 2024 Prius (which is currently being repaired from a not-my-fault collision)
Our mechanic had good luck buying from CarMax. He went over the vehicle and it was perfect. We sold three cars to CarMax this past year, and that was painless.
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@rustyfingers, thank you for that!
I found it!
I want this year, this color, and this condition.
http://gtcarlot.com/colors/car/33803010-2.html#google_vignette
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Make sure you test drive the car before buying it to check CVT noise levels. Drive it with both the windows all the way up and all the way down.
When I last drove CVT cars, it was a 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander and a Subaru XV Crosstrek. Both of them were very loud during acceleration. You couldn’t carry on a conversation with your passengers. There was a loud droning sound but it’s not present all the time. It was only upon acceleration. It’s an intrinsic problem with CVTs. The drone is coming from the engine because of the way CVTs work. Don’t know if automakers have solved the droning since I last drove one which was 2013.
