Dying/buying car advice

In My Humble Opinion
1

So I’m currently 40 miles from home, staying in a hotel, and my car’s transmission has died. The AAA garage that it was towed to says that it will take 3300 to 4600 dollars to replace it. This is a 10 year old Saturn with a trade in value (in running order) of 2000 dollars, so this seems like a reasonable time to just bite the bullet and get a new car. I’ve known this was coming for a while, but I kind of want to get a hybrid, and their prices are still coming down, so I was hoping to wait for a while.

So… several questions:

(1) Is there any real point to going way out of my way to get second opinions about things? I mean, even in the absolute best case, there’s still going to be SOME repairs needed, and it’s still a very old car that may have gotten to the point of no-point-throwing-money-at-it?

(2) What should I do with my old car? Will the garage buy it for scrap? Is it worth trying to get it towed 40 miles to my house? Should I donate it to one of those places who always want car donations for charity, “running or not”?

(3) What can I expect to pay for a good Hybrid? What kind does anyone recommend? Is there a way to buy a Hybrid where (like with a Saturn) you don’t have to haggle? I can’t STAND the haggling…

thanks
(Man, this is a pain.)

2

I don’t have any answers, but I’m in the same boat as you are. So to speak. I’ll be watching this thread with interest.

3

I can’t help with the hybrid part, but I just traded in my '02 Saturn SL2 (113k miles) for a shiny new Kia Rondo. The Kia dealership wasn’t exactly as no-haggle as when I bought the Saturn, but they do advertise as a “low pressure” car company. Is was relatively painless and I got about $500 more for my trade than I was offered at Carmax.

4

  1. Depends on what you know. If it definitely has internal tranny problems, I wouldn’t bother. If there’s some chance it’s something simple - won’t move because it’s low on fluid due to a leak, for example - a second opinion could be invaluable. An in-between option is to call a reputable transmission shop, describe the symptoms, and see what guidance they can give you.

  2. I’d be very surprised (and a tad suspicious) if the garage wants it. What would be the point of towing it to your house? The tax deduction for charity might be your best overall value, but you could call a salvage yard and see if they’d offer you anything beyond not charging to take it off your hands.

  3. Look for a professional car broker to handle the purchase for you. It would probably cost little or nothing more than if you did yourself (possibly even less), and it saves a lot of hassle.

5

Saturn does have hybrids, but they are in short supply at the moment. Same no haggle philosophy. Ask any of the technicians at the dealership if they would buy your car. Most of the time, there is someone who will want it, and you will be able to get more for it than on trade in it’s current condition. Good luck!

6

First of all, I’m amazed at the $3,300-4,600 estimate. As for the no-haggle purchase, you can do this through Costco if you’re a member. You specify the make, model and trim level you want and they put you in touch with a dealer. A friend did this and bought the car through the fleet sales rep at the dealership.

Edited to add that the premium for a hybrid may mean it’s not financially worth it to buy one. You might instead look at high-mileage conventional cars.

7

Update. My old car is kaput. So I’m going to buy a new car, (or a used car). The Honda Civic Hybrid seems like a good car, but I HATE the idea of trying to haggle for a price. Are there any websites where you can find actual prices that can be paid somehow? Or good websites for bargain finding?

And in general, if I’m willing to pay in cash, should that make it cheaper?

thanks

8

You have an advantage if you know exactly what you want. Most dealerships now have an Internet Sales Manager, and you can generally call them directly (look for their contact info on the dealer website) and tell them exactly what you want, and what you want to pay. They’ll tell you if they can do it or not. Do your research and offer a fair price and you’ll probably get what you want.