# Did you buy or plan to buy a new car? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 21, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985 "2016-06-21T21:40:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/41 "2016-06-23T16:11:20Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’ve owned Hondas in the past and liked them, but not negotiating on price is like saying “fuck you” to the consumer. Au contraire, having a fixed price is a huge benefit to the consumer. If more dealerships had fixed prices, we could comparison shop and not have to act like we’ve entered a Zambian spice market to buy a commonly produced durable good. Might as well say that Lowes is saying “fuck you” to consumers by selling dishwashers at $499, or whatever price is marked. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/42 "2016-06-23T16:18:27Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Au contraire, having a fixed price is a huge benefit to the consumer. If more dealerships had fixed prices, we could comparison shop and not have to act like we’ve entered a Zambian spice market to buy a commonly produced durable good. > > Might as well say that Lowes is saying “fuck you” to consumers by selling dishwashers at $499, or whatever price is marked. I agree, but it would only be a benefit if everybody worked that way. As it is, nearly every other manufacturer negotiates, which makes Honda an outlier: “Pay our price or go somewhere else.” I choose to go elsewhere. You do realize that most high ticket item prices are at least somewhat negotiable, right? We’ve gotten discounts on both furniture and appliances just by asking, or by offering to pay cash. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/43 "2016-06-23T16:51:14Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I made my plan last winter after sliding off the driveway, not for the first time, in my 2WD (Corolla). I got a Subaru last May and then this past winter did not cooperate with enough snow to prove I could make it up the driveway in bad conditions. Oh well, maybe next winter. > > It’s a Subaru Impreza hatchback and I love it. I have a 2012. I hate it. If the numbers work out I’ll be replacing it this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/44 "2016-06-23T17:03:35Z")
I just bought I Chevy Spark about 7 weeks ago. I love it. I wish it were a manual, but I didn’t have any luck finding manuals on the lots. I was definite I wanted a small car-- I even checked out the Smarts, but their rear-mounted engines are loud. I love having a tiny car to park. When I’m looking for a spot, and there’s one of those where two people have both parked right up on the lines on each side, my car will still fit. I’m still getting used to having an automatic, and I have occasionally put it in neutral while going through a stoplight, but mostly I’m doing OK. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/45 "2016-06-23T17:47:43Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I don’t do station wagons (or minivans) in any form so a BMW station wagon is right out. The X1 looks fine but is smaller than than a Mazda CX-5 with slightly worse reviews (both are very good though). If I am going to get a BMW, it is going to be a one of their higher 3-series sedans like a 325i and maybe even a performance version like an M3. I love BMW’s in general but the 5 series always seemed a little frumpy to me so I am not interested in them either. The 7 series is great as a personal limo but I am not old enough and don’t have the driving habits to justify one of those. I like their larger SUV’s like the X5 but my ex-wife has one an I don’t really need one that large so that kills that idea. > > Small SUV’s and crossovers seem to be where it’s at for me at this stage in my life. My current vehicle is a 6-cylinder Toyota Rav4. It has been great and very reliable but I am running up miles on it quickly because of a long commute. However, like **Little Nemo** , I don’t understand why they discontinued the 6-cylinder option. With 269hp and all wheel drive, that thing has no problem overtaking or passing almost any non-sports car on the road easily and it can tow fairly heavy loads if needed although I never do that. That is the main reason that I bought it but I don’t see a reason to get another Rav4 now that option is gone. That makes sense if you’re not digging the look of it, although you can throw quite a few M parts at the wagon and have the diesel option as well. I love sporty wagons and I’d happily drive an E63 AMG Wagon or a tarted up M3 Wagon as a daily driver if I had the means\> 😃 I’m saving up for either a Focus RS, WRX STi or a Tesla 3. I suspect SWMBO is probably going to get a new Ford Edge or an MKX later this year though. at least the 6 cyl is still an option with them and decent towing capacity. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/46 "2016-06-23T18:39:37Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I have a 2012. I hate it. If the numbers work out I’ll be replacing it this weekend. Uh-oh. Tell me why – has it given you problems? Or is it a personal preference? ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/47 "2016-06-23T19:05:51Z")
Just bought a gently used–pardon me, “certified pre-owned”–Honda Accord. It was basically a coin flip between that and a Toyota Camry, but I ended up liking the look of the Accord better. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/48 "2016-06-23T19:18:10Z")
I buy new … drive for 20 years … buy new again … the rig is just another tool in the toolbox; break your hammer, buy a new hammer; break your truck, buy a new truck. Currently a 2013 Toyota Tacoma … I treat it as a motorized wheelbarrow that’s street legal. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/49 "2016-06-23T19:22:28Z")
I’m a Nissan fanboy and always have been, so in March we traded in my 2000 Frontier KingCab and bought a 2016 Rogue. The salesman was rather surprised when I handed him the keys to the truck and said “Here, you can have it back.” I had bought that truck from the same dealer 17 years ago. The owner got a real kick out of that. So far we are loving the Rogue. It handles well, has plenty of room for the pets and equipment and gets _lots_ better gas mileage than the Frontier ever did. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/50 "2016-06-23T19:24:38Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I just ordered a 2017 Fusion Energi, but I’m lucky and only have to pay the corporate lease rate (my first time being able to use this benefit in my company). Platinum or Titanium level (I don’t recall which). White, but not the version of white that I’d have to pay extra for, and I opted for the interior that’s _not_ black (really, color names are quite outrageous these days). are you coming back soon? I’ve half a mind to negotiate with my landlord to get a 240VAC, 30A circuit run to the garage. Some of the (retail) lease deals on the C-Max are unreal. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/51 "2016-06-23T19:49:35Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > You do realize that most high ticket item prices are at least somewhat negotiable, right? We’ve gotten discounts on both furniture and appliances just by asking, or by offering to pay cash. Yes, that’s possible, but if Lowes doesn’t agree to haggle on the price of a dishwasher, you aren’t being personally insulted. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/52 "2016-06-23T19:50:45Z")
2016 Jaguar XF Prestige 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/53 "2016-06-23T19:54:10Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I’ve half a mind to negotiate with my landlord to get a 240VAC, 30A circuit run to the garage. Some of the (retail) lease deals on the C-Max are unreal. Just so you know, there’s very little reason that a C-Max would need a 30 amp EVSE car charger. The C-Max has a 3.3 kw charger in it, so from zero to full on the battery takes about 5 hours on a normal 120v outlet. It can charge from zero to full in two hours on a 240v/16 amp EVSE. But with a 240v/30 amp EVSE, it takes… two hours. ---
**Author:** ![ERON](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ed8c4c/32.png) [@ERON](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ERON)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/54 "2016-06-23T21:44:41Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > 2016 Jaguar XF Prestige 😃 Nice. Which trim and how much is it? ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/55 "2016-06-24T01:25:32Z")
[quote=“jz78817, post:50, topic:757985”] are you coming back soon? [quote] Moving back in July! > [@](#): > > I’ve half a mind to negotiate with my landlord to get a 240VAC, 30A circuit run to the garage. Some of the (retail) lease deals on the C-Max are unreal. I know a lot of people want Tesla/Bolt style long range electrics, but the kind of nice thing about the smaller batteries in the Energis is that they’ll completely charge with regular, plain old 120. I know in another thread you complained how people keep blocking the chargers. Here’s hoping I have access to one in my building an hour or so each day! ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/56 "2016-06-24T10:33:42Z")
I just put a deposit down on a 2016 Prius. I’m replacing my 2004 model with ~157,000 miles on it (still runs fine) Brian ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/57 "2016-06-24T10:40:05Z")
[quote=“Balthisar, post:55, topic:757985”] [quote=“jz78817, post:50, topic:757985”] are you coming back soon? [quote] Moving back in July! > [@](#): > > I know a lot of people want Tesla/Bolt style long range electrics, but the kind of nice thing about the smaller batteries in the Energis is that they’ll completely charge with regular, plain old 120. actually I’d rather have a full EV like the Focus (which makes a 240VAC charge source pretty much mandatory) but those are just compliance cars for California and other areas, no deals on those here. > [@](#): > > I know in another thread you complained how people keep blocking the chargers. Here’s hoping I have access to one in my building an hour or so each day! which building, if you don’t mind me asking? ---
**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/58 "2016-06-24T12:17:07Z")
I’m thinking of an Infiniti Q50 right now ---
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/59 "2016-06-26T20:22:23Z")
I bought a 2016 Mazda 3 i Touring in March. My previous car was a 2007 Mazda, same model. I’m enjoying the added safety features like the backup camera and the blind spot monitoring system. I did end up getting black cloth interior instead of the lighter color because the lighter color is apparently really hard to find these days ---
**Author:** ![oregongrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@oregongrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oregongrown)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985/60 "2016-06-27T04:28:35Z")
Here is a trick to negotiating your new car price. Once you decide what car your looking for go to [autotrader.com](http://autotrader.com) then search your car within a reasonable radius, let’s say 200 miles. Most dealers list their cars on that site. Then click price from low to high. That will show you the dealers offering the biggest discount. Print the biggest discount you can find and take it to your dealer. Most will price match or at least come close if they think they are going to lose a sale. Just saved my friend 4 grand after finding a dealer with a large discount. Keep in mind they won’t match if the dealer you find is 1500 miles away. True car website is a joke. Paid for by the dealer that sells you a car. Good luck. Least expensive new car listed as of now is under $8000. You can find it by not entering a model then click price low to high. Ignore the typo cars for $1. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-or-plan-to-buy-a-new-car/757985.md?page=4)