I am in the process of buying a new car (in Houston/surrounding area). I need something small, along the lines of a Ford Focus, Honda Civic size and price range (there's also the Chevy Cavalier, Saturn Ion, Hyundai Elantra, Mitsubishi Lancer, Toyota Corolla, Pontiac Sunfire...just to name some others, not that I'm considering any or all of those). I was hoping y'all could give me some advice as to which cars you think are good or not and why. My budget is pretty limited. Also, can y'all recommend any dealership or warn me of any? The advice would be greatly appreciated.
I can recommend the Toyota Corolla strongly, but I don't know anything about the latest models. If you find a 1998 model for sale (that's what I have), you'll be in business I bet. My parents liked Star Toyota near League City, just off the Gulf Freeway. Good luck.
i recommend the mazda protege...i had one during law school and i never once had a problem with it. not once.
Thanks, although Mom wants me to have a new car, not "pre-owned." If it were totally up to me though, I wouldn't care. Thank you!
Check out Edmunds.com They will give a price that others in your area are paying. Too bad they don't still give out dealer cost. I used that site like crazy when I bought my last car.
Civic, Corolla, Sentra, Tercel, Protege, Lancer - you can't go wrong w/ these. Stay away from Kia & cheap domestic builds.
I have a 2002 Corolla and it has held up fantastically despite my neglect. Allready put 40,000 miles on it, and very very rarely change the oil. How well it continues to hold up under this abuse is up for debate, but after two years it's still going strong. I'm sure you'll treat yours better and won't have to worry.
Thanks for the tip. I just found out about that site this morning by stumbling upon it. That's all I've been doing all day!
Aha. Youve come to the master negotiator. If youre looking at Hondas, only negotiate with 3 dealerships: David McDavid, Gillman, and Spring Branch. 1. Go to www.edmunds.com or www.kbb.com and find out the inventory price. 2. Call each of them and list every feature you want on the car. Hondas don't have a lot of standard add on crap (like Toyotas) that you neither want or need. If you don't get something in a LX, you simply upgrade to the EX. 3. Play each dealership against each other. The goal is to pay as little as possible over inventory. This will depend on when you buy the car (cheaper at the end of the quarter) and how popular the model. Since Civics and Accords are produced in mass, you can negotiate the heck out of them. 4. Negotiate the lowest possible price on the phone and then buy it at Spring Branch. They offer the best service. One caveat. Spring Branch charges a VIN etching fee and Gillman does not. Right before you buy the car, tell them you will not pay for the VIN etching. They try to sneak that past you. That way you get the VIN etching for free and save the $100. Last, if you have a trade-in, remeber to negotiate them separately if possible.
We got our Toyota truck from Star Toyota in 2000 and had a good experience with them. Toyotas are virtually indestructible and should last a good long time. (Plus, you'll be showing your Rocket team spirit by buying from our new arena sponsor).
I should have added, maybe... since I am looking for price as well, I should mention that I can get a supplier discount from GM through my company. I can also get a Ford x-plan through a friend. I don't know if that makes any difference to you, but since price is important, I thought I should tell you. Thanks! Keep it coming!
I drove a Honda Civic for over 150,000 miles. Damn thing would not die. When I traded it in, I thought it would get another 100,00 miles no problem.
Be wary of the Focus. They are very good cars overall, but they are plagued with recalls. Could be a headache. But the hatchback version is praised in reviews. I'd go with Mazda Protege. Nice looking and fun to drive. Cavalier, Ion, and Sunfire= junk. Elantra, Corolla, and Lancer are good.
Stick with Honda or Toyota. Buy it at least slightly used to avoid that new car depreciation. Buy it from a national dealership that provides a warranty; that way they will still be around to honor it. Get a final price before you ever talk about trade-ins or financing. Ask questions about any extra charges you don't understand like 'undercoating or 'delivery fee'. Shop around on the internet for the best interest rate. Get an isurance quote on different models you might want to choose between, there could be $10 or $20 a month difference. Check the milage on the tires, if you need to replace them soon thats $400 out of your pocket. Get the dealer to put new tires on ; included it the car's price and you'll pay a lot lower interest rate on them than if you had to put them on a charge card. Take a lot of time researching, it can save you a lot of money.
I bought 2 cars via Credit Union and got really low rates (4.5 and 5.2) on my wifes and my vehicle. The credit union has its own dealerships that they work with and give awesome deals to their members. Its a good way to go.
THats what I was going to suggest. Actually, most credit unions work with all dealerships. If she does belong to a credit union or can join one (through her work), then she just has to go to the fleet department. Credit Union perks are awesome. When I bought my truck last year, I got $100 over invoice plus a $4000 rebate and 5.0% financing. I already have a gross amount of equity in it after only a year.
When you negotiate the price of your car, give the salesman a drive-out number, so the tax, title, license (TTL) is built into your offer. This way, you don’t have to worry about them slipping any weird fees into the final price. They’ll look at you like you’re insane. “What you don’t want to pay taxes?!? You have to pay taxes, we live in America, you cant control that…etc” Just tell them, I understand about TTL, I want to see $12,000 (for example) as the final value of my car including TTL. Make sure if write Drive-Out next to your offer otherwise, the dealership will assume its your offer + TTL. When I got my truck in April, and my previous 3 cars, I used www.edmunds.com and each time I have paid from 7% - 10% below the “invoice” price listed on their website with TTL built-in my final price. So I’ll look straight past the “True Market Value” column and start with the “invoice” pricing. I’ll add up all the car’s options that I need using the invoice pricing, add a couple hundred dollars (this is optional), and that would be my drive-out offer for the salesman. I did have to go to a lot of different dealers, as they aren’t making much money off of me, but after one day of going to various dealerships, you’ll get a solid number in your head of the lowest range, then as RIET stated, you play the dealership against one another. I also got 36 months 0% finance as well for my truck. You can also negotiate the finance rate, if your credit is good enough. But of course, if you got a really good deal on the price of the car, they probably won’t budge on the finance rate.
