Buying a vehicle, need opinions on *experience*

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CodeRedR51

CodeRedR51

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So I'm currently looking at a few cars, had paperwork submitted for a 2005 Nissan 350Z but it wasn't approved through the bank. However, they did approve me for something cheaper, so it needs to be under $10,000, cheaper the better. (preferably less than $7k)

Here's the catch, the paperwork is through an Autonation dealership, so I can pick from the used car inventory of 5 dealers in town. I had my eyes on a 2005 Mazda 3 sedan, but was told this morning that they pulled it off the lot because it had transmission issues. So currently the guy that is helping me find something said he'll put together an email of some cars and send it to me shortly.

Here's what I have to choose from: (you may have to select the price below $10k from the left of each page)

Autonation Honda Chandler

Autonation Nissan Chandler

Autonation Nissan Tempe

Autonation Toyota Tempe

Autonation Ford Scottsdale

Any suggestions based on your experience with a particular vehicle? One of them caught my eye, the 2000 Chevy S10 LS single cab pickup for $4,600 at the Honda dealer. Maybe the 67k mile Sentra GXE at the Nissan Dealer in Chandler. Decisions, decisions...
 
It really all depends on what car you want. An SUV, a hatchback, a saloon/sedan, etc... I'll have a look on the websites and see whether I can help. :)
 
Car preferably, sorry should have stated that. :)
 
I'm assuming you're just looking for something reliable with decent miles, based off your other choices. I can vouch for older Maximas, Camries and older Lexuses as being pretty solid vehicles for this price point. Hondas are good too, though the automatic transmission equipped models from around '98-'02 seem to not hold up as well. My mom had a '97 Accord that had a lot of air conditioning issues, but I'm sure that's an isolated case. I have several relatives with Hyundais, but they just don't feel as solid as a Japanese car. They are reliable though. What about this Escape? There's also this Saab convertible. :dopey:
 
This? http://autonationnissantempe.com/Tempe/For-Sale/Used/Jaguar/X-TYPE/2002-White-Car/20941933/

It's a Jag! Looks in good condition, has a Sat Nav, the interior looks rather good for its 11 year old age and having sat in other Jag's they are rather roomy and comfortable(whether the same can be said for other Jag's, I don't know) and it isn't one of the prettiest car ever; especially those roof rails and that colour(my opinion) but that can always be sorted out another time. It's within budget at $7,000 and has 115,745 miles which I suppose is car that's earned it's life. I might have already mentioned this, but it's a Jag! I also know that they can be a little expensive to repair and they aren't very reliable. Like Doog said, I definitely know that Lexuses are very reliable and they are good-looking cars.
 
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Doog
What about this Escape? There's also this Saab convertible. :dopey:
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I was shown the Escape last weekend, but another sales guy said that he sold it. Guess it fell through and it might be something I would consider. 👍

No on the Saab or the Jag. :p
 
Don't really feel the Mustang, especially since it's a convertible. The Subaru would be great but not sure if the bank would like the mileage.
 
At that price range you don't have that much options. How about the BMW?
 
I am not a fan of Autonation, at least on the corporate level, but some more details will help get an idea. Things like:

- What will be the car's primary use? How far do you drive a day? Drive at any odd times? Do you have other options, like public transportation, if it's not working?
- Do you like working on cars yourself and how are your skills? Have you considered what kind of budget you'll have for repairs and maintenance?
- Do you regularly carry anything, like a drum set, guitar amp, water skiis? Do you typically take passengers? How many?
- Can you drive a stick shift and, if so, do you want a manual?
- Do you enjoy driving and want something engaging, or are you mainly looking for A-B transportation?
 
I looked through the list and am a bit surprised at the prices. I was thinking of pricing my 2000 Accord Coupe with 200K miles at $1,600, but geez. Anyway, if it were me, with my own personal taste and needs, I'd mainly look at the Mazda 3, the Honda Accords and Civics, the Camry Solara, the Nissan Altimas/Maximas and maybe the Subarus. On the Subarus would you make much use of the AWD system where you live? If not then the increased fuel consumption and weight may not be worth it. Since budget is a consideration I'd avoid the BMWs or any other German cars, and you should check insurance rates before agreeing to buy.

But the prices? Did I mention that?

In any case, remember that with those levels of mileage how the car was treated by its owner(s) will make a much bigger difference than who originally made it. With any I'd ask to take it to a mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection. It'll cost around $100.

As another consideration, I'll just throw this out: Is there any way you can get together about $3K or so and find a private seller with a higher mileage but very well cared-for car? They are out there.


Edit: Since you mentioned experience, I'll give a brief overview of some of mine. I'm a car nut, have shopped a lot, especially a year or so ago, test drove a bunch and have bought a few. I've owned two Hondas (both lasted for a very long time, one has over 200K miles, and were reliable), a Toyota (reliable but boring), two Nissans (each had over 200K miles but were not as reliable and needed more repairs than the Hondas and Toyota) and bought a 2012 Mazda 3 last year (which has been great).

I've also owned various Fords, GMs, a Plymouth and an AMC. I'll just say it's good Ford and GM have gotten better. I may be forgetting a few.

I've test driven and / or spent time in Acura TSXs (liked but didn't quite love), BMW 328i (loved driving it but had other issues that kept me from buying), Hyundai Sonata (actually found one with a stick; it was nice but not fun), Infiniti G35 (Nissan's manuals aren't what they used to be), Mazda 6 (preferred the 3), Subaru Legacy GT (pretty cool, but 17MPG with premium for my 80 mile a day commutes would have become costly), VW CC (not quite as fun as I thought and VW reliability can be a gamble). And some others. But I'll stop.
 
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R1600Turbo
the 2000 Chevy S10 LS single cab pickup for $4,600 at the Honda dealer
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Is it just me, or is 29 mpg highway pretty damn good for a truck? I mean clearly smaller trucks don't really sell these days otherwise more manufacturers would make them, but it seems like a step backwards if nobody is offering a 30 mpg truck these days. Best I can find is the current Tacoma and that's only 25 mpg...
 
homeforsummer
Is it just me, or is 29 mpg highway pretty damn good for a truck? I mean clearly smaller trucks don't really sell these days otherwise more manufacturers would make them, but it seems like a step backwards if nobody is offering a 30 mpg truck these days. Best I can find is the current Tacoma and that's only 25 mpg...
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I think it's really good, too. The problem with truck MPGs is that no one's making compact trucks, at least for the US market. Compare the 80s and 90s Toyota Pickup to the current Tacoma, and it's gotten a lot bigger. I also think the mid 80s Nissan pickup got over 30MPG. I'm not sure why the market changed. I remember the small Toyota and Nissan pickups as being both practical and economical, reliable and pretty inexpensive. Just good ol' basic transportation for a couple people and a fair amount of stuff.
 
My experience tells me that you're going about this all wrong. First of all, you shouldn't be financing a car at all. But if you're going to, you should do it through your bank with no requirements on where you buy it (and do shop around with other banks to find the lowest rate). Your bank should approve you up to a certain amount and then verify that the car is worth what they're loaning you. It's ridiculous to be constrained to a particular seller, and will likely cost you hundreds or even thousands more.

My recommendation would be to select exactly what you want - make, model (and year if it makes sense). Look for it on autotrader, craigslist, classifieds, cars.com, etc. Once you find one that fits your description, is in good shape, and fits your price, you should take it to the appropriate dealership and pay for a pre-purchase inspection (typically $100-$200). They will tell you everything that is wrong with the car. From there you can decide whether or not to buy it, and you can use the pre-purchase inspection findings to negotiate the price or even bolster your claim with the bank that the car is in good shape.

^ That's how you should buy a car. Don't finance through autonation.
 
There we go... I was about to write about maybe he financed it through AutoNation but you edited it and put that last bit. I suppose now that the paperwork has gone through he can't go back although I'm not entirely sure, I didn't go to law school.
 
He almost certainly has not signed a contract that says he has to buy a car.
 
I agree with these last posts, which is why I mentioned buying a well cared for car from a private seller and avoiding financing. And I also agree that if financing is necessary it's best to talk to your bank or credit bureau. Some of the reasons why are in the above posts, but in short, a bank or credit bureau typically wants to give you a loan you can pay back (with interest); a dealership just wants you to buy a car. (And I personally would never give AutoNation money).

Edit: If it matters or helps at all, of my car experience I rambled on about only one was bought with financing (one of the Nissans). I had my first job, wanted a nice car and wound up being too optimistic on what I could afford. I met the terms and paid for the car, but it was rough sometimes, and I regretted it. Ever since I've only bought cars for which I could fully pay.
 
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Danoff
He almost certainly has not signed a contract that says he has to buy a car.
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I didn't mean a contract so he definitely has to buy a car, just if he does buy a car, it has to be through AutoNation but just because he said he had paperwork through I assumed he had signed a contract and now he can't go back on it. :)
 
homeforsummer
Is it just me, or is 29 mpg highway pretty damn good for a truck? I mean clearly smaller trucks don't really sell these days otherwise more manufacturers would make them, but it seems like a step backwards if nobody is offering a 30 mpg truck these days. Best I can find is the current Tacoma and that's only 25 mpg...
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Sorry guys, forgot about this thread. But yes, I signed papers for an '05 350Z and although I did not get approved for it, the bank did approve for a smaller loan amount. So now we're just looking for something. Certainly looking heavily at the S10 and yeah, the mileage is good. Will do some research on them more this weekend.

On my tablet so can't type a novel, will get back to everyone tomorrow. 👍
 
Looking today, there's a high mileage Solara at the Honda place, but that's it.

Nissan in Chandler-I see two Eclipses, one a2003 for 6k with 86,500 miles. There's also the Impreza Wagon I think Leonidae already mentioned, but it does have over 200,000 miles and the site say it's gold/brown, but the pics say otherwise.

Nissan in Tempe-02 Blazer for 7k, 02 Jag X-type for 7k, 2000 Lexus ES300 for 7k, and a 2001 Legacy Sedan for 7k again.

Toyota in Tempe-...Damn, spoilt for choice here.

Ford in Scottsdale- On the other hand, two Civics and a Mustand Deluxe. I'd avoid this one.
 
$7,000 for a 13 year old ES with nearly 150,000 miles on it? That's just overpriced. It's not even a high trim car, either.
 
Doog
$7,000 for a 13 year old ES with nearly 150,000 miles on it? That's just overpriced. It's not even a high trim car, either.
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Agreed..
 
Went to look at the 2000 Sentra XE with 67k miles and it was sold. :(

Anyone know if I ask the dealership which bank the loan was approved through, are they required to tell me? Could I contact that bank to take that approval elsewhere?
 
R1600Turbo
Went to look at the 2000 Sentra XE with 67k miles and it was sold. :(

Anyone know if I ask the dealership which bank the loan was approved through, are they required to tell me? Could I contact that bank to take that approval elsewhere?
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They definitely should tell you. Have you already put money down and feel locked in or something? I really think you should look elsewhere, as those prices are way too high and agreeing to financing without even knowing who is doing it seems bad to me. Do you at least know the interest rate and length of the loan?

Edit, to see if I'm off about prices, I did a quick web search for cars under $10K in the Chandler Arizona area. The ones I would consider are:

Crown Vic! . Forgot about those. I think they could be good, inexpensive options. They've been popular as police cars and taxis for many years as they can take a lot of hard driving. The downside is that a lot of people will hit the brakes when they catch site of one.

'95 Accord. It's pretty old, but I may check to see how good the guy's maintenance records are and condition of the car. And it has a stick.

A Miata! Yeah, well it's not exactly practical, but it's tempting.

A Hyundai Tiberion. Don't know much about them, but it looks interesting.
 
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Sertsa
They definitely should tell you. Have you already put money down and feel locked in or something? I really think you should look elsewhere, as those prices are way too high and agreeing to financing without even knowing who is doing it seems bad to me. Do you at least know the interest rate and length of the loan?

Edit, to see if I'm off about prices, I did a quick web search for cars under $10K in the Chandler Arizona area. The ones I would consider are:

Crown Vic! . Forgot about those. I think they could be good, inexpensive options. They've been popular as police cars and taxis for many years as they can take a lot of hard driving. The downside is that a lot of people will hit the brakes when they catch site of one.

'95 Accord. It's pretty old, but I may check to see how good the guy's maintenance records are and condition of the car. And it has a stick.

A Miata! Yeah, well it's not exactly practical, but it's tempting.

A Hyundai Tiberion. Don't know much about them, but it looks interesting.
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Don't buy old Hyundais... the Crown Vic is an insanely reliable car that will run forever but it drinks gas like there's no tomorrow
 
No money down, only papers signed for the Z which wasn't approved. Would say no to those cars, Miata is too expensive for what it is. I may just hold off for a while.
 
Sometimes just holding off is your best bet until you find what you really need/want. When you go back and buy something from a dealer like an '00 Sentra, you'll kick yourself when you see how much less private sellers are putting up the same car for. Been in that situation with an '04 Civic.

You could probably find a 2000 Sentra for close to 3-4k. Not sure how much they were asking at the dealer.
 
Problem is with my credit, dealer is the only option. Or pay cash on a $1,000 car which seems to be nonexistent down here unless you want to replace a motor.
 
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