Help! Car just died

[carolrie]

I know that this is very OT, but our car just died and we need a new one. My husband is seriously thinking about getting a scooter instead due to high gas prices. Where would be the cheapest/best place to start looking? I have no idea where to begin. Also, if I get my way and we get a new car, I have heard that car rental companies are good places to buy from when they sell their rentals. Anyone have any experience with this? Thanks!

 

[hambirg]

Sorry about your car. I haven't personally bought a car from a rental company, but I have a friend who swears by it. They always buy from Budget. When we were looking a while back they had some great deals with low mileage. They just didn't have the model we wanted. We ended up getting a car from a local dealer who sells fleet vehicles. It was low miles and still had some warranty on it. They mostly have newer cars with high miles though. Good luck!

 

[DawnM]

I would be leery of car rental cars. People tend to abuse them when they rent them. We had a friend who bought one and had a lot of issues with them.

We did fleet pricing on a new vehicle and got the car for $300 over dealer invoice with no haggling.

A scooter???? It sounds like a good idea but then when the weather is bad and/or you need to get somewhere faster, it ends up sitting in the garage....well, at least it would for us!

Sorry you are in this situation.

Dawn

 

[Zim]

We had a really good experience at Carmax. It's unique because I think they work with dealerships occasionally and car rental places too. But they don't use high pressure tactics, the price you see is what you pay. The place we went to had their own lot, and also worked in association with a Toyota dealership next door. We ended up with a new Yaris - which I think is like a 4-wheeled scooter. Highway it gets 40 miles to the gallon.

 

[nbodyhome]

There are several vehicles like the Yaris - which get great mileage and are safer than a scooter. You can also take your groceries home in them.

I know others swear by used cars - I did buy one used mini-van from Budget a long time ago (the van worked fine for a long time, the sales tactics were ludicrous though, so I'd not go back). I don't know if I'd buy used again unless there were very few mile - you may get a good deal, or you may get someone elses problem. My used Saturn was closer to someone elses problem, but at least it has run well for 7 or 8 years now.

Remember that a scooter won't shield you from rain, you won't be able to put much of anything on it - I think a Yaris or equivilent is a good idea.

 

[dnoyes]

The rental companies keep the cars with lower miles to sell, the rest go to auction and are sold to dealers (dealers call them fleet vehicles)

The rental company gets the first pick because they have them on lease BUT what they pay for them is set at the start of the contract. The dealer that buys them at auction may or may not get a better price (it's a crap shoot)

Market value sets the price.

The dealers are NOT buying these cars from the rental companies, they are cars off lease that are turned back in to GM, Ford and so on that are sold to the dealer at auction by the motor co. You have to be a new car dealer to buy used fleet cars.

 

[midwestdee]

We bought a car from a rental company some years back ( I think it was National) - good price - son now has the car. I've know several people who bought from CARMAX and they were all happy also. I would talk your husband out of the scooter - no versatility - I think you would be sorry. I would check out consumer reports - they track used cars also - good source of which models in a particular year tended to have certain problems. Happy hunting!

 

[Gillian]

The Toyota Matrix is really nice and gets good mileage. It's a good size, and I wouldn't feel unsafe driving it around here with all the minivans and giant SUVs.

The Pontiac Vibe is its twin.

 

[bevtoy]

Consumers Guide (Reports) rates new and used car according to experiances reported to them by every day consumers. Helps you avoid getting lemons and they rate reliable used cars according to prices. Very helpful and reliable.