Another car thread....

Maxima and Civic are two completely different cars. They're both (generally) reliable as hell. The 2004 Maxima will be completely revamped, so they'll be dealing on new cars from this model year in preparation. But since you're looking into a used Max, I'm not sure if you'll see similar savings...

I'll leave the rest of the stuff to people that know what they're talking about. That financing stuff is too much for my wittle brain to handle.

 

A 2001 Maxima will be MUCH nicer than a Civic. Bigger, more powerful, better looking. But Civics are really cheap.

If you are buying used, I would use www.carfax.com. You enter the VIN number and get the entire vehicle history of the car.

As far as credit, it's probably a good idea to get your credit report online so you know what it is. It will basically determine your interest rate. And paying your other car faster should make your score higher, so you may qualify for the best rate.

The best thing is to do your research. Edmunds.com and carbuying tips.com are great sites.

 

Just because you overpay on your Dodge doesn't make your credit sparkle.

Wait until you can pay the TT&L out of your own pocket.

And lastly, you have a truck, park wherever the hell you feel like it.

 

Nissan Maxima is definitely the superior car to the Civic. In fact, the Maxima is one of the best put together cars out there. Many experts in the industry rate Nissan above Honda and Toyota.

A warning however about the Maxima (specifically a 2001-2002). I bought one for my wife since I had such a high opinion of it and found out later on that there was a design ****ch in the turning radius. In other words, when you are trying to park it, its almost like you are driving a SUV or truck. If you are going to make a u-turn on the road, be sure you have at least 3 lanes. lol

 

Just a warning about www.carfax.com. What this website does is more of a title search than a vehicle history search. Ive always had a problem with carfax because they mislead people with regards what type of information they can dig up on a vehicle. Certain insurance companies do share their information with Carfax which allows them to know if a vehicle has been flooded or wrecked. However, by no means is their report complete or even thorough.

Alot of the big insurance companies out there do not share their information with Carfax. If a car has been wrecked or flooded, the only way it will show up on a title search would be if the vehicle had been declared a total loss by the insurance company. If a car was wrecked or flooded and fixed, but not totalled, more than likely Carfax is not going to be able to find out about it.

 

Get a Mazda 6 - Zoom Zoom!

I will get one as soon as they have a no payments for 6 months or 0% financing.



Not to hijack your thread, but I have a question. Some dealers are saying that they will double your down payment, but you pay MSRP. Which sucks, but Munday Chevy says they will double it up to 6,000 down. So, if I put 6k down, then it is 12k. Plus I get the 3k for a rebate. That's 15k down right? How do they manage that, where do they get their money back (aka screw me)? Sucks cause there really isn't any Chevys I want right now.

 

....And there's the catch.

 

Sonny, the catch is that you will be paying MSRP or more, and then probably a higher interest rate on the loan.

These types of ads are to get people into the dealership. My friend was buying an F-150, and he had an ad where it was marked down a ridiculous amount, like $7000 or something. He went there, they were cool to him, but when he brought up the ad, they said it applied to only one vehicle and they started to kind of ignore him.

One way to know for sure the price is good- find the invoice price for the car, then allow for a 5% dealer profit. Don't go above that.

 

I agree, but I still think it is the first start in looking for a good used car. Most likely the title will have "reconditioned" on it somewhere if the car has been totalled. But there are other things they check for like if it has been turned in under the lemon law, if the odometer has been rolled back, if it was a lease car or rental car, how many owners the car has had, etc. The $5000 guarantee doesn't mean much - that's the max. The actual guarantee is 10% of wholesale and I'm not sure what you'd have to do to claim that. All said though, for $20 bucks, I think it's worth it to run a Carfax report as a good first start on checking a used car.

 

For $20 bucks, yes it is worth it. The point I was trying to make is, don't ever rely on carfax for a complete history check. Based on my experience in the industry, I feel Carfax ultimately only turns up, on average, only about 50% of a vehicle's true history.

 

thats a good point. the best thing to do is take the car into a mechanic. Pay them around 50 bucks and have them do an inspection. Heck you can test drive a car and have a mechanic check it out. Its the best way to find a lemon. Be sure you know your mechanic though.

We spend a lot of time in our cars its a good idea to put forth a little cash when deciding to buy one. Whats 50 more dollars when you plan to spend 20k.

 

I would take the civic. real cheap, takes less gas, easy to fix, and u can add some nice rims or maybe some systems to it to make it better. I've notice the Maxima have some problems as well. The shifting gears seems to be loose and the steering wheel feels different then most. The joy stick axle or whatever its called gets a little messy sometimes. But this is from experience on 2 Maximas i've driven.

 

Wife has the 2001 Maxima SE and it has been a great car. Well built, great motor, good excelleration, leather interior is very nice, lots of space for 4 adults, very smooth ride, fun to drive, and we even take it instead of my car on long trips.

Civics I hear are very economical and practical cars, so its reall going to be a matter of taste.

 

My wife and I always used regular in our Maxima and never had a problem.

In fact, using premium/plus fuels is very unecessary in alot of today's vehicles. Alot of experts just recommend saving your money and using regular with the occassional fuel additive every 3,000-6,000 miles. This is what I have always done in my cars and have never had an adverse effects with regards to fuel economy or engine performance.

 

Ditto, once every 3-5 tanks she adds a fuel injector cleaner.

 

As for my car search, I was almost set on the Honda Accord, but now it's between the Accord and the Mazda 6. To be honest, I hadn't even thought about the Mazda 6 until I read some posts on this board, and it looks like something I'd like. As for the Accord, I just simply do not like the exterior of the sedan, but I <b>love</b> the coupe, which looks like a completely different car. Obviously, 4 doors doesn't really matter to me, although I suppose it would be nice.

I'll probably take about two more months to look around and then decide. Anyone have anything more they can tell me about either car or either maker? I looked at the ConsumerGuide website and they definitely rate the Accord higher.

 

I like the 6 better because of pricing. You can get a maxed out Mazda6-s for like 22k with a 6 and 220hp, leather, sun roof, etc. The same Honda costs in the high 20's. Also the Mazda has a 4yr 50k warranty and my Mazda dealer (Munday) where I bought my wifes 2002 Protege ES gives free oil changes for life.

I am in love with that 6.

gr8-1 - they don't make the 626 anymore or the Millenia. The Mazda 6 replaces them both as far as I know.

 

Thanks for the response. From what I've seen and read, I like the Accord a little more, I'll just have to determine whether it's worth paying the extra 3 or 4 thousand. Like you alluded to, it probably isn't, but I just really love the coupe's look! I'm torn.