Car Buying 101..help needed! :)

[mami2camjax]

In today’s economy and fluctuating (high) gas prices, if you were to buy a new car in the near future what would be your deciding factors? How do you decide what’s the best vehicle for your family?

I ask, because similar to what I posted a few months back, I am still struggling to decide what’s the perfect family car for my family. This should be so easy, but I’m finding it to be overwhelming, there are too many choices, too many options to consider and I find myself just getting more and more confused.

I am a single mother with 2 kids, ages 5 and 9. I work outside of the home and commute about 30 miles roundtrip. We travel frequently; we enjoy road trips to new places. As a single Mom, I have a budget and need reasonable car payment. I’m currently in a Honda Odyssey lease that is coming to an end, while I do have the option to buy the Odyssey, I don’t feel as though it’s the best thing to do, because it was a bad deal getting into the lease and I feel like if I buy out the lease I will have spent FAR too much money on an Odyssey and it makes me ill just thinking about the money I threw away in car payments, down payments, etc, so basically the van gives me financial nightmares. My payments right now are $538 and while I was able to make those, it was a struggle some months and I’d like more reasonable payments so that my money can go towards other things, not car payments.

So, while I enjoyed all the past recommendations of cars, I’m wondering still if you only transport 3 people on a daily basis and maybe once or twice a month need that extra space, would you stick with a minivan or go with a sedan? If you have 2 (or more kids), does the space (or maybe lack thereof) bother them in a sedan? Do you find you have enough room to haul things around in the trunk space?

Anyone else ever struggle so much with making a decision on a car purchase? I feel like if I’m going to put money into a car, I want something that will last for years, will fit my family’s needs for years and something that I can someday pay off and not worry about stupid car payments!

 

[beccasmom]

I struggled with my car purchases too. But it is a lot of money and you should consider your options!

I am a fan of Honda cars - I have a Civic now (but it's a coupe). But take a look at the models/makes you are considering in a sedan vs a van. Many have very generous trunks. There are lots of great deals right now that you should also take into consideration. Go on-line and review sites like Edmunds and Vehix and read the reviews. Read Consumer Reports and get a feel for what the scoop is on safety issues and reliability (but take with a grain of salt; even stellar makes can produce a lemon now and then). Narrow down your options. Think about: gas mileage (you have a healthy commute); whether the car takes regular vs premium fuel; do you regularly need lots of storage space; comfort; ease of operation; insurance costs for brands you are mulling over. Try not to let your heart rule your head! And be honest about how you will feel about losing the extra space in a van. Sometimes it is hard to downsize.

I love my car, but car payments are a drag. Don't go for all the "bling" options if you don't need/won't use them. My advice - think safety first, then reliability, then "looks". Good luck!

 

[Chicago526]

I don't have kids, but for what it's worth...

Unless I had three (or more) kids I'd stick with a sedan every time. Cheaper to operate, easier to drive (for me, I hate big vehicals), and the perfect excuse to get out of car pooling (sorry, I have no room to drive the boys to the hockey team away game...). I'd rather chip in gas money to other parents to car pool my kid than to drive other kids around, but that's just me.

 

[Nie0214]

I'd get a sedan unless I had more than 2 kids.

I test drove Corollas, Civics, Mazda3s, Elantras and ended up with an Elantra. Safest, cheapest, and luxury-like interior (of those models, and IMO).

 

[big_red_s]

LOL, I'm an expert at buying cars and getting deals.

Here is what I learned:

Never buy a new car. New cars are a waste of money since you lose about $2K of their value the moment you drive them off the lot.

I got both of our cars used but they were still less than a year old, they were simply cars that belonged to rental companies and now they are being sold. Each one had about 20,000 miles on it but they took more then 50% off the price.

Be ready to buy. The dealers will bend over backwards if you are ready to buy today.

Haggle, haggle, haggle. Don't feel bad, the car companies make more money financing cars then selling them. If you are willing to finance they'll give you a great deal on the car.

Buy at the end of the month, or better yet at the end of the year (when next year's models start hitting the floor).

Get them to throw in some "freebies". For example, I got the dealer to throw in free oil changes for as long as we own the car...and for our other car as well (which we bought somewhere else three years prior).

 

[Nie0214]

I'd never buy a car owned by a rental company, but that's just me.

Some good websites:

http://www.edmunds.com/
http://www.carbuyingtips.com/
http://www.realcartips.com/
http://www.dealerrater.com/

 

[Darcy03231]

With what you've described I would purchase a four door hatchback with seats that fold flat. This gives you the versatility to transport people (4-5 depending on how big the people are) and also stuff.

I just bought a new car and after a lot of research that's what I decided on. I had an SUV (which I loved) but the gas mileage was terrible. For me I thought the sedan was too limiting as I was used to being able to flip all my seats down in the SUV and transport quite a bit of stuff.

My new car is great. Has good gas mileage and is just big enough.

 

[mami2camjax]

Darcy - what hatchback did you purchase if you don't mind me asking? I never even thought about those. Thanks so far for the suggestions, I truly do appreciate your responses.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

I LOVE our Mazda 6 5-door. It is a hatchback, but it looks completely like a sedan until you open the back. The rear seats fold flat and you can stuff a TON in there because you aren't limited by the size of your trunk opening. It drives like a regular sedan. There is a removable cargo cover so you can't see what is in the trunk (it comes off if you want to use the large space. We have a 2007 model. They stopped making the Mazda 6 5-door in 2008, so you can't get a new one anymore, but there are used ones out there... My mom has one too and we haven't had any trouble with either of them (although we did just get ours in May--mom has had hers for 2 years).

 

[jodifla]

I have a lot of friends with Pontiac Vibes....they are a twin to the Toyota Matrix. One family I know has 5 Vibes! the dad has one, and each twenty something kid has one.

They seat 5, and they have fold down seats. I think they are actually listed as a small SUV, but with much better gas mileage.

I remember getting in my friend's Vibe, and thinking it felt totally different on the inside...it looks like a small car, but seems like an SUV inside.

http://www.edmunds.com/pontiac/vibe/2009/consumerreview.html

 

[Darcy03231]

Darcy - what hatchback did you purchase if you don't mind me asking? I never even thought about those. Thanks so far for the suggestions, I truly do appreciate your responses.

The 2009 Dodge Caliber. I just picked it up Sunday and love it! I think I looked at every 4 door hatchback out there. What sold us on it was the lifetime powertrain warranty. I keep cars for a long time so I buy new when I get one. Plus, we couldn't beat the price! By the time I was done with my trade in and all the incentives we paid a bit over $10,000 for it.

 

[mami2camjax]

WOW! That's an awesome deal..I'm so glad you mentioned hatchback, that hadn't even been on my radar!

 

[TnTWalter]

I like the hatchback station wagon SUV crossovers. I also recommend buying at least 2-3 year old car because they've already DEPRECIATED and of course if you can CASH baby. Although with the new lifetime powertrain warranty, I'd be sorely tempted to buy new if I could squeak the best possible price in the world.


Good luck.

 

[Pigeon]

We are a family of 4. We just bought a small sedan. I was looking for the most environmentally and budget friendly car with great reliability. I'd never get a minivan. Our other car is wagon that I hate, and will eventually replace with another small Honda or Toyota.

The advice to only buy used doesn't hold for some cars. If you want a small, fuel efficient Honda or Toyota, you save no money at all buying one that is slightly used, and will likely pay a higher interest rate if you need a loan. These cars hold their value extremely well. To save appreciably on those cars, you need to buy one that is at least 3 years old with 70K or so. Even then, the cars haven't lost a ton of value.

So to me, it made much more sense to buy our car new.

 

[Nie0214]

The advice to only buy used doesn't hold for some cars. If you want a small, fuel efficient Honda or Toyota, you save no money at all buying one that is slightly used, and will likely pay a higher interest rate if you need a loan. These cars hold their value extremely well. To save appreciably on those cars, you need to buy one that is at least 3 years old with 70K or so. Even then, the cars haven't lost a ton of value.

So to me, it made much more sense to buy our car new.

I agree!

 

[big_red_s]

I'd never buy a car owned by a rental company, but that's just me.

I've had great luck finding good cars which were owned by a rental company. Of course I went through 5-10 before I found one I'm willing to buy but at, or close to, 50% off for an almost brand new car.

 

[Darcy03231]

I like the hatchback station wagon SUV crossovers. I also recommend buying at least 2-3 year old car because they've already DEPRECIATED and of course if you can CASH baby. Although with the new lifetime powertrain warranty, I'd be sorely tempted to buy new if I could squeak the best possible price in the world.


Good luck.

I did pay cash My last vehicle I had to finance. When the loan was done I continued to deposit that amount into savings for the next time I had to buy a car. While I originally planned to drive my SUV for a few more years, the Cash for Clunkers program was too good of a deal for me to pass up. What was even better is I didn't need to use everything that I had saved! Since I'm a drive it until it dies person and usually keep a car for 10-14 years (kept the SUV for 8), I prefer to buy new, know what I've bought, and know that all the maintenance has been done as scheduled. Just my personal preference.