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What's the best vehicle for my needs?

1145 messages,  Last post on Sep 17, 2009 at 12:59 PM

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What is this discussion about? Car Buying


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#909 of 1145
Re: The latest [plekto] by lilengineerboy
Jun 21, 2009 (6:56 pm)
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Replying to: plekto (Jun 21, 2009 11:08 am)

To be honest, it's all about degrees here. My Friend's 5 year old 4Runner is big, heavy, and smooth as glass on the highway. With the V6 in it, he gets almost 20mpg highway as well. It doesn't feel like a truck. Not all SUVs are created equal.
 
From Cars.com - '04 4Runner vs G35x
0-60mph (estimated) 7.6 seconds 5.4 seconds
1/4 mile (estimated) 15.5 s 90 mph 14.1 s 96 mph
Lateral acceleration .79 G .84 G
Slalom 57.4 mph 60.1 mph
 
So over 2 seconds slower, .05G lower, and 4mpg under in the slalom, and that is a better performing SUV...
 
If I HAD to drive an SUV, I would, but I can't think of a reason why I would ever HAVE to do that.
#910 of 1145
SUV by demigawd
Jun 21, 2009 (8:48 pm)
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yeah, an SUV isn't really an option for me. I've never liked them, the ride, the handle, nothing. The whole SUV thing never caught on for me at all. i haven't test driven the G35x yet, so I can't comment on the ride quality, but in general, I do prefer smoother rides.
 
For those of you driving cars with traction control - does it significantly help pulling into and out of snowed in parking spaces without the aid of ripped up cardboard boxes and two people?
#911 of 1145
Re: Performance AWD cars [demigawd] by exb0
Jun 22, 2009 (5:20 am)
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Replying to: demigawd (Jun 21, 2009 8:46 am)

I don’t know about $600 a month, but luxury cars cost you more in maintenance and repair relative to “normal” cars. First of all, parts are more expensive and dealers charge much more for their service because they think that you can afford it. Secondly, these cars have more “features” and electronics in them, more “stuff” to repair.
 
For example, a set of four tires for G35x will cost you $1K, and they don’t last as long since there are performance tires. Same applies to brakes, cost more and don’t last as long.
 
My rule of thumb is, if I can’t afford to buy a car new, I wouldn’t be able to afford to maintain this car used.
#912 of 1145
Re: Performance AWD cars [exb0] by kirstie_h HOST
Jun 22, 2009 (7:47 am)
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Replying to: exb0 (Jun 22, 2009 5:20 am)

I have a G35 (not the x, though), and I can testify that yup, maintenance costs are more expensive. ~$800 for tires, and it chews through rear brakes & rotors with regularity.
 
However, the one thing I can say in favor of the costs is that I've spent exactly $0 in repair over its 92,000 mile lifespan. Nothing's gone wrong - just regular maintenance stuff like brake pads, tires, and just replaced the belts.
#913 of 1145
Re: Performance AWD cars [kirstie_h] by qbrozen
Jun 22, 2009 (9:04 am)
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Replying to: kirstie_h (Jun 22, 2009 7:47 am)

Hmmm... well, that's what you get for going to the dealer. ;b
 
I don't know what its more expensive than. So far, parts have been comparable to my other newer cars, and the only reason I've gone through tires faster is the way I drive it. I bought a set of Sumitomos for the track for ~$440 and another set of all-seasons for the bad weather for ~$500.
#914 of 1145
Re: Performance AWD cars [dave8697] by qbrozen
Jun 22, 2009 (9:10 am)
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Replying to: dave8697 (Jun 20, 2009 8:43 pm)

But what does 'hurt' mean?
 
I'll give ya an example. I bought an '03 Lincoln LS V8 with 30k miles in October '05 for right about $20k. It was a decent price. Trade value was about $18k. About 18 months later, trade value was $12k. So it depreciated somewhere in the 55-60% neighborhood in the first 2 years and went on to depreciate like a rock after that.
 
Like I said, it CAN hurt.
#915 of 1145
Re: Performance AWD cars [qbrozen] by dave8697
Jun 22, 2009 (7:19 pm)
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Replying to: qbrozen (Jun 22, 2009 9:10 am)

Your example was over $5500 a year. A lot depends on how you get rid of it. trading is asking the dealer to give you $4k less than PP. I spend about $30-40k a decade on cars and a decade later they are worth 10% or 20% of that. Recently I bought 3 used cars/trucks for $15k total and they combined for far less depreciation than my new '98 Astro by itself. My next one will still be new, but only because I don't drive 100 miles a day anymore.
 
If I buy it new, I fix everything that goes wrong with it. When I buy used, I find 3 or 4 expensive things wrong with it within a year and I never get them fixed.
#916 of 1145
Re: Performance AWD cars [dave8697] by qbrozen
Jun 23, 2009 (7:41 am)
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Replying to: dave8697 (Jun 22, 2009 7:19 pm)

Yup, like I said, it depends. I only said it CAN hurt, not that it always does. I've done quite well on cars, too. I bought a 350Z from a dealer used and traded it 9 months later at just a $1500 loss. That's only $167/mo. I couldn't come close to even leasing for that price.
 
trading is asking the dealer to give you $4k less than PP.
 
First off, if you get $4k more PP than trade-in, you've found yourself an incredible sucker. Typical dealer asking price is $4k over trade. Typical selling is more like $3k over trade. Private party, best case scenario, is more like $1500-$2k over. Take out the ad fees, detail cost, repair costs, and lost tax advantage (in my state, anyway), and trading is no worse than selling PP on vehicles over $10k.
#917 of 1145
Turbocharged cars by demigawd
Jun 24, 2009 (6:39 am)
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Say, I've been reading up on turbocharged cars. I like the idea of a car with the fuel economy of a 4-Cyl, but the power of a V6 or V8 - BUT, I've heard mentions of a "turbo lag". I figure it's not a big deal when accelerating from a stop. But is turbo lag going to negatively affect my ability to pass in and out of traffic quickly? I'm a lot more concerned about navigating high speed highway traffic than zooming up the fast lane, so I'm not sure if turbo is the way to go in that case.
#918 of 1145
Re: Turbocharged cars [demigawd] by corvette
Jun 24, 2009 (7:28 am)
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Replying to: demigawd (Jun 24, 2009 6:39 am)

Depends on the engine. VW's 1.8T engine had pretty noticeable turbo lag, but the 2.0T does not. Also, I didn't notice lag with Volvo's light-pressure 2.5 liter turbo five-cylinder.

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