Car buying advice

[Jello78]

hey guys, so my wife and I are expecting our 2nd child this summer. My wife wants to get a bigger suv for the family. She currently drive a '14 Jeep cherokee. It has been nothing but problems and is very tight with car seats, strollers etc. We are looking now before the baby arrives. So my question to you guys on here, how do you deal with car dealerships? What advice would you give? and what are the do's and dont's? how do you guys negotiate pricing and whatnot? sorry if this sounds newby-ish but I haven't dealt with dealerships and car salesmen. please help!

[shooter311]

I recently rented a car for a week and it was very best up. When I returned it The manager asked how I like the car. I told him everything was great, but it was really beat up on the outside. He said that most his cars are, with the market they have to either pay full price for vehicles, or they can't get their hands on them at all. He said typically they have a huge discount, but all the dealerships froze that discount. It's a crazy market out there. Good luck.

[Agglet]

The market now is weird and almost none of the old rules apply. I did a stint selling cars and what I learned is to never buy new. The veteran sales guys always bought cars a year or two old that way you got all the bells and whistles and saved thousands. For all the talk about negotiating there was never really that much to negotiate on a new car the margins were in used cars and you could wheel and deal all day with those. Probably the only advice now that would still hold up is to go through your own bank for the financing the back office of every car dealership is where the real screwing takes place with the undercoating and financing and loan insurance all that crap. The girls in the office got commission too and they made more than all but the highest selling salespeople.

[flyweightnate]

The used car lots at luxury dealerships are good spots - especially Monday or Tuesday. Snag the trade ins that are often someone "upgrading" instead of offloading a maintenance nightmare.

[iamthelazerviking]

My 98 4runner has been the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned. And spacious enough for hauling the family around.

[JeepDVLZ45]

Are you looking to buy a new car or used car?

There is 0 wiggle room left in new cars. If you don’t buy it, someone else will, probable site unseen (you’re lucky is there is even a car to test drive on the lot). MSRP stickers mean nothing anymore, expect to pay $3k-$10k higher than the sticker in the window.

Bright side is that dealerships are hurting for used cars. Your ‘14 “Cherokee” (sorry, hurts to call it that — Cherokees died with the XJ in my world) will be worth a decent chunk, that is probably your negotiation card…especially at a Jeep dealer.

It’s a crappy time to buy a car. My parents bought one.not too long ago (out of necessity) and it was a miserable experience trying to find one for them. I have one on order from the factory that is 3 months late so far. I wasn’t even able to take it for a test drive because they couldn’t keep them in stock. Luckily a girl I work with has one (went to 6 lots before giving up and calling her and asking for a favor)

Good luck and CONGRATS on the baby

[pirhana92]

I work at a dealership (in parts, not a salesman). No one can get inventory right now on new cars and when they do get cars in, they're almost sold immediately. Used cars are going for almost as much as new cars so don't expect a good deal. As far as vehicles go, I cannot recommend Toyota or Subaru more. I bought m Subaru Outback 6 years ago with 75,000 miles on it. It's got 168,000 now and I've put minimal work into it. My parents just got a Highlander and my wife and I decided that will be our next vehicle.

[flyweightnate]

I'll second the Subaru... conditionally. My wife's 06 (was my mom's) is a tank. My 14 (CVT, etc) is a bit more work - suspension issues, first and foremost. However, the work is really easy to do, and parts are cheap. I think the EPA went short game, and chose complex systems to reduce emissions, without considering the impact of reducing life by 30-50%. Find something drinking 5w-30 instead of 0w-20 and you'll have less work to do.

[Tarsun2]

we went from a rav4 with one child to a 3rd gen highlander when our second child was born...

the 2grfe v6 gets 20 - 25 mpg, has awd, and almost 300hp. its not a sporty suv (very soft) but its got a 3rd row seat that folds flat when not in use. it also has captains chairs for the second row. my fiancé wanted that because the middle seat of the second row come out. (its like a little jumper seat).
this means you can easily get to the 3rd row seat without having to remove a car seat.
most 2nd row seats fold and slide forward to access the 3rd row. problem is, inorder to fold and slide the seat, the car seat has to come out...

[RAZRBAKK]

At this point you are better off looking at the used market. Find a good mechanic that you trust, ask potential sellers if you can take the car to your mechanic. If they don't want to, move on.

Due to the price of newer cars these days, you might actually be better off leasing for a couple years until inventory builds up again. You need to make sure the numbers make sense, and that you have a good estimate of your yearly mileage. Also aim high on mileage if you choose to lease. Also don't get stuck in the lease loop. One and done.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Worst time to buy a car. Between inflation, supply & demand all vehicles are way over priced.

I would keep what you got, and fix it.

If you buy new or even used today keep in mind you will over pay for anything you buy. When chip manufacturing picks back up. Prices will come down your vehicle will be worth substantially less then you payed for it. If you buy new get the gap insurance. Because insurance company isn’t going to give you mark up value because you purchased at a time of high demand. It really is Worst time to buy cars right now. Expect to pay above MSRP or you will get bumped by people who will. Especially on high demand vehicles.

I just sold a used car with over 100k miles for $5k over book for a “good deal”.

[glaman5266]

What pirhana92 said. If you NEED a different vehicle I'd get a Toyota & be done with it. They're more expensive, but worth every penny. We've had our RAV4 for going on 5 years & gone from 75K miles to 130K miles. Only replaced tires & brakes. Best vehicle we've ever had for hauling around the kids. They also retain their value better than most.

Bright side is that dealerships are hurting for used cars. Your ‘14 “Cherokee” (sorry, hurts to call it that — Cherokees with the XJ in my world) will be worth a decent chunk, that is probably your negotiation card…especially at a Jeep dealer.

This is a very good point. Jeeps are valuable (no clue why, from a reliability standpoint), so you might have some more pull when trading it in.

I would keep what you got, and fix it.

Also a good point. With current car prices it's likely worth letting your vehicle nickel & dime you a bit before getting rid of it.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Whatever you do don’t trade the Jeep in sell it privately.

I just scooped a $7k vehicle for $650 because the dealer was going to give them $500 credit for it on a new car. (Audi thought to have a bad turbo) when I got it in the shop it needed some relays oil leaks fixed and an O2 sensor. After 9hr in the shop $300 in paintless dent repair a good detail it’s ready for retail. Going to do good on this one auto black on tan sitting on H&RSprings it’s going to sell quick.

[Deus Machina]

Can't tell you much about how to deal with sales right now, but if you can even find anything worthwhile, I'll offer the same advice as always: start with looking at Toyota.
Yeah, you pay the 'Toyota Tax' but the extra cost on the car is at most half of what you'd pay for maintenance on anything else across the lifetime of the vehicle.
Not sure about the current ones, but it used to be that modest Toyotas didn't always have all the bells and whistles, but that meant there was less to break, and the actual layout of the vehicle was very nice for actually using it.
I used to suggest Hondas second. Maybe they're still worth it. I haven't checked in a while. Some seemed to last forever, the rare one seemed to keep giving trouble, but not often in the engine.

American vehicles lately just don't hold the cost/benefit ratio. Would be nice, but they so often prey on the "Domestic or nothing! MURICA!" demographic. Camper vehicles, not family-movers.
Steer clear of Dodge/Chrysler IMO. They seem to last if you keep up on the maintenance but, by god, you're going to keep doing maintenance. And if they ever even touch the red when they overheat, they're going to need a new head gasket and deck level. And they're going to want to overheat. And, at least in the company vehicles I ran, the placement of the sensor meant that by the time you see it climbing in yellow, the important bits hit red.
The engines held up to driving those vans nearly 24/7. Literally weekly oil changes, often over mileage. But we were lucky to have a week go by without one of the five or six getting a new water pump or gasket. The local mechanic we used has kids going through college thanks to us.

[waffles2]

Do you all have any recommendations for the lease market? I have to get a new company car before June 1 but have some skin in the game as a co-signer. Complicated to explain the situation. It works though.

I’ve had a Subaru Outback the last three years. I plan on buying the vehicle only to resell for a profit. Just not sure how to proceed in today’s market.

[latches109]

Toyota Highlander HYBRID. if you have kids get the hybrid. it's a game changer with babies and toddlers. You can leave your kids in the car sleeping, with the AC on, for a long time powered by the hybrid battery, no motor idling.
Rav 4 will be too small for you with two kids, and when fully loaded the 4 cylinder does not have enough torque up grades. Also, the hybrid battery on the floor provides a better center of gravity, great for strong cross winds.