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Selecting and Buying My First Car

764 messages,  Last post on Aug 17, 2009 at 12:29 PM

You are in the Smart Shopper Forum. Your Hosts are kirstie_h & tidester

What is this discussion about? Car Buying


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#198 of 764
We drove the Prizm by latham
Feb 17, 2005 (9:51 pm)
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So we went to check out the Prizm. We were somewhat surprised at the place. Called "Euro Wholesale", it was very small, they had like 20 cars, nearly all more expensive than this one, and 1 guy there. He let us take the car for a drive, and my wife and I each drove it, but he didn't come with us.
 
The sticker price said $8,900 (the ad we followed said $6,450) When I mentioned that the car was a former rental, he seemed surprised, as if he didn't know. He didn't have any service records for the car. He was very much not the car salesman I was expecting. He didn't seem to care whether I wanted the car or not really.
 
Anyway, on the whole the car seemed pretty good to me, though there were a couple buttons missing. However, there were two issues with the car which may or may not be a problem. First, it smelled somewhat of cigarettes, which bothered my wife. I wouldn't want her to have to use that car if we couldn't get the smell out. Second, when I turned it as far left as possible (u-turn), I heard what sounded sort of like a recurring grating sound. I mentioned it to the man when I returned, but got pretty much no comment. He was very willing for me to take it to a mechanic, but I haven't done so yet.
 
We left unsure, because of the two issues I mentioned. What do you think? Can cigarette smell be removed?
#199 of 764
Re: nissan [latham] by latham
Feb 17, 2005 (10:17 pm)
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Replying to: latham (Feb 17, 2005 9:47 am)

Anyone else have an opinion on this Sentra?
 
$6200 - 2002 Nissan Sentra 38k miles automatic link
#200 of 764
Re: nissan [latham] by kirstie_h HOST
Feb 18, 2005 (6:19 am)
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Replying to: latham (Feb 17, 2005 10:17 pm)

Cigarette smell can't be removed. It also sounds like there's either a problem with the Prism, or the dealer just doesn't know anything about it at all. Plus, the different price? Hm...
 
Again, through personal experience, I'm a fan of the Sentra. The News & Views host, pf_flyer, drove one of those some 200K miles before buying another Nissan, so they can certainly live a long and happy life.
#201 of 764
Re: nissan [kirstie_h] by kyfdx HOST
Feb 18, 2005 (7:59 am)
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Replying to: kirstie_h (Feb 18, 2005 6:19 am)

I agree with Kirstie.. if the cigarette smell bothered your wife, just write that one off the list.. you'll never get it all of the way out..
 
But, I like Prizms and Proteges much better than the Sentra..
 
Nissans last a long time.. and that isn't a good thing, if you are the one that has to drive it...
 
The Impalas and Tauri are a good deal.. but, you've been driving small cars before this.. If they meet your needs, no reason to spend more on fuel with a bigger car..
 
Keep looking.. lots of cars out there..
 
regards,
kyfdx
#202 of 764
Re: We drove the Prizm [latham] by qbrozen
Feb 18, 2005 (8:02 am)
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Replying to: latham (Feb 17, 2005 9:51 pm)

the noise you heard sounds like just the tires rubbing. First thing I would do is check the sticker on the door jamb to see what size tires SHOULD be on there and compare it with what IS on there. If the tires on there are wider than they should be, that is probably your problem. Not really a big deal at all. Just don't turn the wheel all the way (sounds sort of like that doctor joke, doesn't it?)
 
The price difference isn't surprising. Happens all the time. If someone shows the ad and they honor it, no big deal, right? But if someone comes in off the street, never saw the ad, they might wind up paying more based on the sticker. Not the nicest way to do business, but its a used car lot, after all, so you can't expect much.
 
I differ on the cigarette smell. I believe enough Febreeze can get rid of anything over time.
#203 of 764
Re: We drove the Prizm [qbrozen] by kyfdx HOST
Feb 18, 2005 (8:06 am)
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Replying to: qbrozen (Feb 18, 2005 8:02 am)

Yeah.. but...
 
It is his wife that has the cigarette smell problem...
 
You know what I am getting at?
#204 of 764
Cheap Escort? by latham
Feb 18, 2005 (8:25 am)
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How does this one sound?
 
$2950 - 2001 Ford Escort 66k miles automatic link
#205 of 764
Re: Cheap Escort? [latham] by qbrozen
Feb 18, 2005 (8:54 am)
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Replying to: latham (Feb 18, 2005 8:25 am)

I'm not a fan of Escorts, but if everything checks out ok, it certainly sounds like you should be able to get your money's worth out of it. I think its about a $2K car on the wholesale side, so the price isn't bad, but you can probably get it a little lower. I'm sure nobody is banging down the seller's door for this gem.
#206 of 764
Finding good deals by latham
Feb 18, 2005 (10:50 am)
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After hearing many speak about good prices on Tauruses, Impalas, Prizms, Proteges, etc. I'm curious about how you find them. I've been searching online (through edmunds, sfgate, craigslist) and posting the best that I find, but have a very difficult time finding the deals that I hear about. Am I looking in the wrong places? Any tips for finding these good deals?
#207 of 764
Re: Finding good deals [latham] by kyfdx HOST
Feb 18, 2005 (12:05 pm)
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Replying to: latham (Feb 18, 2005 10:50 am)

autotrader.com
 
cars.com
 
Your local paper

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