OT: AAA bent my car door

[pixburgher66]

oh i like the look of it too.. my friend did a good job too, he's got the navy blue with white stripes

i also love the charger's look.. that front end is FIERCE.. i just dont trust dodge reliablity

Pretty much agree about the Dodge thing. I mean, this is the "if I have a ton of money and feel the need to spend it" car...not the "I'm an adult with responsibilities car." Which will probably be a Jetta...because they're cheap and hipster.

 

[forty_three]

It's the best way to go. Buying new is stupid. Buy something a year old with like less than 10k miles on it, you will save so much. The depreciation a vehicle gets when you drive it off the lot new is ridiculous.

It's all in what you get. Some cars actually flatline in value the first two years, so the used ones cost nearly as much as the new ones.

I understand that logic, but you are going to be paying well over the 'value' of the car when you buy used too. A lot of the low mileage used cars have been traded in for a reason. Sometimes it nothing serious, other times its not. I have just been told many times that when everything is taken into consideration it makes as much sense to buy new as it does used. lol, and not from people trying to sell me something either.

I do know many people who only buy used and have gotten good cars that lasted for 15 years too.

I also admit I am not a car guy and have never bought what I consider an expensive car. My last one was close in my opinion. For me a car is simply transportation so if its comfortable, economical and safe I am happy. Maybe if I was looking at more expensive cars and saw the difference between new and used I would lean more toward used but in the lower priced stuff I look at the difference is usually not so great.

My car is 10 years old now, I hope it lasts a long time. I don't want a car payment.

I try to find corporate fleet cars. They are usually given to mid level executives who are scared shitless to do anything stupid with them, and companies usually pay to properly maintain them before they sell 'em off. Usually before the Warranty dies. The one I just bought was a 2008 with 31K miles on in. That's practically brand new. And it's well equipped to boot.

My VW lasted me 10 years and it was two years old when I got it. Mechanically, it still worked, but things were falling off of it, like outside mirrors and turn signals. It was just time. I could probably have gotten to 300K on it with a little love and money.

Seriously, everyone I know who purcheses a Toyota has endless problems with the damn things. One month this is going on it, the next it's a recall. Fuck that noise.

I used to hear the same thing about my VW. A friend (who replaced four Chevys in the time I had the VeeDub) always said "VW has the highest number of warranty repairs of any brand". My response was "They fix the things and acknowledge when it goes wrong". They paid for a new turbo for mine at 115K miles because "That part should not have failed". Toyota replaced a transmission for us at 85K. Cars are mechanical, not eternal. And I stand by companies that will acknowledge designs faults and fix them.

we know someone with a Highlander ... no problems at all

but then again does Toyota manufacture them for the american market in the US ? and for the canadian market in Canada

personally I like the idea of buying new ... but then i also like the idea of no car payments

Hmmmm... My wife's Toyota was assembled in Canada.

I do not really understand the logic of buying American because its American anymore. A bunch of the "American" companies build components and in some cases entire cars in factories not in the US. At some point a couple years ago it was reported that Toyota builds more cares in the US than any of the US manufacturers. I just have trouble buying an American product solely because its American when the company has shipped the building jobs out of the country.

The key, IMO, in cars is the engineering of them. They are so tightly engineered that you really can have almost any flunkie assemble it and have it work to spec. And it's mostly robotic, anyway. In my experience, Germans engineer some kickass shit. And Japanese companies do not listen to accountants. When Engineering says go with a 9 dollar part over a 4 dollar part, they go with the 9 because that's what the rest of the car is designed to work with. It does make a difference.

Pretty much agree about the Dodge thing. I mean, this is the "if I have a ton of money and feel the need to spend it" car...not the "I'm an adult with responsibilities car." Which will probably be a Jetta...because they're cheap and hipster.

And they last forever. I saw an article in a VW magazine one time that a guy who had a 1986 Jetta Diesel was approaching 800,000 miles. All he's had to replace are brakes, tires and a muffler... I'm probably going to buy the Daughter one here soon.

 

[beantownmaniac]

And either way, how to fix that? Fucking call AAA. Make their asses pay.

This^^^^^^ They shouldn't pry the door open if it means permanent damage. I'd be pissed as hell.

 

[Bizzle McDizzle]

When did AWAZ move to Chapel Hill?

did I miss a meeting?

 

[Eddie_Shack]

I would stay away from cars that have been discontinued (at least for everyday driving). General Motors seems to be especially bad about not keeping spare parts around.

Friend of mine drove a Saturn crossover (the Outlook I think). Had some problems with it not long after he got it, but they had stopped making them by this point. Car was still under warranty and they couldn't find parts to fix it.

Ended up having to trade it in on a GMC crossover.

I haven't read through the entire thread yet, so maybe I'm late to the party here. I own an '01 Olds, and I don't think I've had to have them order a part yet, be it from a dealership or from a parts store. Pretty much everything is right in stock. Then again, it might be easier to get parts for something like that here in Michigan.

 

[Bizzle McDizzle]

It's the best way to go. Buying new is stupid. Buy something a year old with like less than 10k miles on it, you will save so much. The depreciation a vehicle gets when you drive it off the lot new is ridiculous.

The Trade off is 0.9%, etc, availability.

Check the difference on 20k at 0.9% 48 mo vs 8.9% 48 mo sometime.

That said, the best way to offset the cost and depreciation is to not keep trading in cars every 3 damn years like people do, now THAT a stupid financial decision.

And to me, its transportation, not a "statement" of any kind.
I'm due for a new car this year.
Can I afford a Lexus, mercedes, etc? Yes.
Will I pay that for a CAR? Oh hell no. Most likely get a '12 CRV when the '13s come out. But ONLY if they have 0.9% available.
Hell, I WANT the Pilot, but cant justify the cost increase or gas mileage decrease in any way.

Bought my loaded 2002 Taurus brand new off the shwroom floor in Sept '01. So will be in year 12 next month. THATs how you beat the depreciation issue.

 

[Bizzle McDizzle]

Then again... i may just drive this one until it falls apart.

Meh.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

I stand my ground ... you dont have to be an asswipe to get what is fair

but speaking of asswipes (lol) ... my brother is off the hook in the other direction ... makes public scenes at banks, retail establishments if stuff doesnt go his way ... uses his presence on twitter to complain about restaurants and get free meals ... and he is ultra proud of it lol

I went ballistic at a bank once. I opened a new checking account at a Fifth Third, and when they asked me if I wanted monthly statements sent in the mail, I told them "no". Before I go too far into the story, I will say that I was 19 at the time, very irresponsible, and had a lot of rage. I didn't ever balance my checkbook, I lived at home, had very few expenses... I would pretty much deposit my check, and if I needed money I would go to the ATM, check my balance, and pull out whatever cash I needed. I never would overdraft, because I would always check my account before I withdrew, but I didn't actually keep close tabs on my account. With that out of the way..

Right after opening my account, I got my ATM card in the mail. I didn't think much of it, I didn't read through the paperwork (because I was a dumb irresponsible 19 year old, of course), I just put it in my wallet and went on my way. Well after about a month, I got a monthly statement in the mail. It was very weird, it had nothing about deposits, withdrawals, debits, etc, it had a bunch of crap about IRAs, stocks, bonds, CDs, etc. So I took it in, asked them about it, and they spent a few minutes banging away at their computer, then told me it was fixed.

This kept up for a couple months, and I pretty much just ignored it. Every time I went into the bank, the lines were massively long, and at the front of every line was some angry bastard just yelling, cussing, and being very impolite. I always wondered why people had such short tempers, couldn't they just relax? Anyways, it was just a statement, I didn't care that much. Then I started to get my debit card denied. A lot. Every time, I would drive to the ATM, check my balance, there would be plenty of money in there, so I would drive to the bank. I would stand in line, listen to angry customers yell, then when I got to the front I would give my usual spiel. "I get weird statements even though I'm not supposed to, my ATM says I have this much money but my card got denied, what's going on?". Every time, the "fix" changed.

First it was a quick few keystrokes, then my problems were solved. Then they got the manager. The next time they called the district office, they next time they called the headquarters in Cincinnati. The last time they were VERY adamant that they had fixed the problem, they were always very vague about what was causing the issues, but this time the assured me, swore to me that I wouldn't have any more problems.

Next week, I got my check, deposited it, and the next day went to go get a new mirror for my car. Card denied. Steam shot out of my ears like in the cartoons. I drove to the nearest branch, calmly explained to the nice cashier the history behind what had been happening, being very careful to be polite, knowing full well I had never been to this branch, knowing it wasn't her fault. I was very careful about this. I gave her the whole history, explaining everything. She asked to see my ATM card. I gave her the card, the one card, the only card they had ever sent me.

"No, not this one, your debit card"

"This is my debit card"

"No, this is blue, it's a credit card, did you sign up for overdraft protection?"

"No, I didn't"

"Well, this is a credit card for overdraft protection, the ATM cards are red"

"May I speak to a manager please?"

The branch manager's office was right in the middle of the lobby, it was just a desk in the corner with no walls or partitions. I sat down and waited for her, and I explained what had happened. She kept asking me questions, she was a little rude and kind of seemed like she was disbelieving my story. We discovered on her computer that I had been set up for ODP, and a money market account for people with lots of investments. When I described the person who set up my account, I was told "Ha, hah, ha hah, oh Bob, he can do stuff like this from time to time". Then I discovered that everything that I had been buying with my "debit card", I had been putting on my overdraft credit card account. Every withdrawal I had made was a cash advance using my credit card. She kept asking me, "are you SURE you didn't sign up for these accounts? Are you SURE you never got sent an ATM card?"

I told her "No, I just got this blue credit card, I never got the red ATM card" (flashback five minutes, the teller had just told me that the ATM card was red".

"Oh, so you never got the ATM card, but you SOMEHOW magically know that it's supposed to be red??" she said, with a very sarcastic and condescending tone.

Honestly, up until this point, at EVERY instance with this bank, through all the troubles, screw ups, and mistakes, I had been very calm and polite. Even with this lady up until then, I had been polite, probably a little frustrated, flustered, maybe even a little curt, but I had been pretty good. Well at that point, with her accusing me of lying about all of this, I basically went apeshit. I stood up and screamed at her at the top of my lungs, all the tellers and customers staring at me. I told her that her teller had just told me the color of the card, and how dare you fucking accuse me of lying, and that her and her shit ass bank could eat a bag of baby dicks, and that she needed to close my account right FUCKING NOW. I mean I went ballistic on this bitch, she was shaking and cowering like I'd never seen. She refused to close my account as she needed to verify that I didn't have any checks in circulation that they would be on the hook for, so I told her she was a fucking dipshit, kicked the chair I was sitting in across the lobby, and stormed out of the bank.

Needless to say, I haven't been in a Fifth Third bank or done any business with them since that day.

 

[flyersfan4706]

LOL

 

[Eddie_Shack]

Also, I think I have made up my mind on like a 2011/2012 Ford Escape XLT. It's pretty much all I need. Decent MPG for an SUV, roomy, bells and whistles, American. 2-3 more months. Can't wait to get a new vehicle.

For the record, the new Escapes have had a recall issue with the gas lines. My guess is at this point, if you are buying it from a dealership, it will be fixed. But they did just drastically change the design of the Escape, so there may be a few bugs to work out in the newer models.

That said, a few years ago my wife totaled out our '01 Escape, but that baby had 220,000 miles on it and pretty much ran like it was brand spanking new. Engine ran beautifully, didn't burn any oil, nothing. Transmission shifted smoothly, that car seriously drive and felt like it was right off the lot. Considering the mileage on it when it was totaled, and the condition it was it, it probably could have gone to 400,000. Last year I bought her a "new" '01 Escape, and it's running great too. I think the old owner might have been a little harder on it because I had to put a little money into it, but overall it's a great great car. Seriously can't go wrong with an Escape.

 

[Bizzle McDizzle]

So... did you get your red ATM card or what?

 

[Eddie_Shack]

So... did you get your red ATM card or what?

It was more brown and red when I got done with that manager.

 

[pixburgher66]

And they last forever. I saw an article in a VW magazine one time that a guy who had a 1986 Jetta Diesel was approaching 800,000 miles. All he's had to replace are brakes, tires and a muffler... I'm probably going to buy the Daughter one here soon.

It's the perfect young woman car...honestly.

 

[DevilishWon]

Pretty much agree about the Dodge thing. I mean, this is the "if I have a ton of money and feel the need to spend it" car...not the "I'm an adult with responsibilities car." Which will probably be a Jetta...because they're cheap and hipster.

Hipster circa 2009.....

 

[Eddie_Shack]

Yeah, all the cool hipsters now drive vintage 1980's Volvo wagons. Psshhh...

 

[pixburgher66]

Yeah, all the cool hipsters now drive vintage 1980's Volvo wagons. Psshhh...

Hipsters couldn't drive used cars...then someone would've done it first.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

Hipsters couldn't drive used cars...then someone would've done it first.

No, see it's retro, which makes it cool AGAIN. Like "vintage" shirts, etc. Here, this will explain.

 

[DevilishWon]

No, see it's retro, which makes it cool AGAIN. Like "vintage" shirts, etc. Here, this will explain.

Well documented, thank you.

 

[forty_three]

Can I afford a Lexus, mercedes, etc? Yes.
Will I pay that for a CAR? Oh hell no.

Heated leather, All Wheel Drive, stupid features you never knew you couldn't live without...

DO IT

Seriously, unless buying the car will cost more per month than you house or health benefits, treat yourself.

My car has those flappy paddle shifters on the steering wheel. Completely unnecessary. But I cuss every time I try to drive my wife's car and they aren't there. I used to think of them as just transportation, but I do so loves my car.

 

[Bizzle McDizzle]

Heated leather, All Wheel Drive, stupid features you never knew you couldn't live without...

DO IT

Seriously, unless buying the car will cost more per month than you house or health benefits, treat yourself.

I can get all that on a CRV though, and save $20 grand for something important.
Like 'lil Bizz's college fund. Or beer.