New vehicle...

[TeamSelig]

I've seen a few threads on here before for buying a new car. It's been a while, so I thought it would be fine to make another.

I'm thinking about trading in our piece of junk and buying a new vehicle. I think I want a nice truck, under these conditions:

* Needs to sit 3 at least (baby on the way) but I'd rather seat 4 mini.
* Decent gas mileage (15+)
* 4WD (prefer)
* Not very costly (under 20k)
* New, relatively new

However, I don't have a dire need to pull or haul anything (aside from furniture,etc.)

I've done a little research so far, but I was wondering if someone here had any suggestions.

[Highlifeman21]

I've seen a few threads on here before for buying a new car. It's been a while, so I thought it would be fine to make another.

I'm thinking about trading in our piece of junk and buying a new vehicle. I think I want a nice truck, under these conditions:

* Needs to sit 3 at least (baby on the way) but I'd rather seat 4 mini.
* Decent gas mileage (15+)
* 4WD (prefer)
* Not very costly (under 20k)
* New, relatively new

However, I don't have a dire need to pull or haul anything (aside from furniture,etc.)

I've done a little research so far, but I was wondering if someone here had any suggestions.

New Trucks

Make	Model		Trim	MSRP		MPG	4WD
GMC	Canyon		SLE-2	$20,640		19	Yes
Chevy	Colorado	LT2	$20,510		19	Yes

New Cars

Make	Model		Trim	MSRP		MPG	AWD
Dodge	Caliber		R/T	$20,495		22	Yes
Nissan	Rogue		S	$20,450		23	Yes

New Vehicles

Make		Model		Trim		MSRP		MPG	Drive
Kia		Sorento		Base		$20.995		18	2WD
Hyundai		Tucson		SE		$20,995		22	2WD
Honda		CR-V		LX		$20,700		23	2WD
Chevy		Malibu		Maxx LT	        $20,575		23	2WD
VW		Beetle		SE		$20,440		23	2WD
GMC		Canyon		SLT		$20,390		20	2WD
Saturn		AURA		XE		$20,345		24	2WD
Ford		Escape		XLS		$20,120		24	FWD
Toyota		Camry		CE		$19,620		25	FWD
Honda		Accord		VP		$19,425		28	FWD
Saturn		VUE		2.2L		$19,250		24	FWD
Chrysler	PT Cruiser	Touring		$18,930		21	FWD
Chrylser	Sebring		LX		$18,690		24	FWD

Lemme know if any of those help your search.

[TeamSelig]

Actually I've looked at a Chevy Colorado, and I really - really like it. With the extra seats (crew cab) & 4WD, it pushes the price up to about 26k, which is alot.

Just checked out the GMC Canyon, looks like the same deal. Hmm..

[Highlifeman21]

I looks to me that the Colorado and the Canyon are the same truck, just different GM families.

They look to get decent MPG for 4WD trucks.

[BoydsOfSummer]

cars.com

You can do some decent research there.

Buy the Chrysler 300 Touring Edition so I can envy you. I like the Jeep Liberty for some reason also. And I'm not a fan of the SUV types.

[WVRedsFan]

I've seen a few threads on here before for buying a new car. It's been a while, so I thought it would be fine to make another.

I'm thinking about trading in our piece of junk and buying a new vehicle. I think I want a nice truck, under these conditions:

* Needs to sit 3 at least (baby on the way) but I'd rather seat 4 mini.
* Decent gas mileage (15+)
* 4WD (prefer)
* Not very costly (under 20k)
* New, relatively new

However, I don't have a dire need to pull or haul anything (aside from furniture,etc.)

I've done a little research so far, but I was wondering if someone here had any suggestions.

Andy:

Look at the new Nissan Rogue. Just what you need. plenty of room and AWD. $21, 315 nicely loaded. The Kia Sportage. You ahve to start small and move up.

[Ltlabner]

Toyota's Rav4 is pretty nice. It's a smaller SUV, but with the seats folded forward the cargo capacity is enourmus. Should be able to haul most furniture execpt couches and big dressers, etc.

I have the 6cyc and average 25-26mpg on the highway and 21-24mpg around town. It's also 4x4. The sticker was $25kish. With trade and a little cash you can get closer to your target price.

They also have 4cyclinder 4x4's so you'll likely get better MPG and lower cost.

Other than that, read the other threads about buying cars and you'll get tons of good advice.

[LoganBuck]

Check out the Buick Rendezvous. They can be very reasonably priced used. AWD not 4WD.

[nate]

I spent a morning reading the info at carbuyingtips.com and found it infinitely helpful on the haggling / where to shop aspect.

[Cyclone792]

I bought a new vehicle last October and had pretty good success getting a good deal from the dealer. Granted, I was buying a 2007 end of model year so that helped quite a bit, but one thing that did work against me was low supply; there were only three vehicles remaining in the region with the exact make/model/trim that I wanted.

Anyhow, I split up the new car search into two main categories, 1) determining exactly what I want first without discussing price whatsoever with any dealer, and then 2) haggling the price only after I determined exactly what I wanted.

I went with the strategy of not telling the dealer what my price range was while I was still researching different make/model vehicles. I knew all along what my price range was, I can read all the MSRPs, read all the available options, pinpoint additional options that I'd want, and then determine myself the likely cost and if it was in my range. Of course, I had financing lined up at a bank and didn't have to deal with dealer financing so that did work in my favor too.

If a dealer was trying to talk up a car out of my price range, I simply told him I wasn't interested in that specific model and moved on to something else without offering up a reason. If he asks why you don't like that model, just say you're not fond of the body style or something along those lines. Dealers will try to get you to talk in terms of payments and how much of a monthly payment you can afford; you don't want any of this. If you tell them you're not sure if you can afford a specific vehicle, they're liable to tell you they can help make you afford it. You don't want any of this either; only you know about your finances, not the dealer.

Once I determined exactly what vehicle I wanted - make/model/trim - it's important to do some research and determine what a good/fair price was for that car. This is where's it important to research invoice pricing, ad fees, etc. You then want to figure out the absolute highest price you will pay for the car. If nobody beats the price, walk away ... and you have to be willing to walk away.

Finally, it was time to start making the dealers work against each other. I called up every dealer in the area, including a few out of town dealers, and asked what available vehicles in the make/model/trim they had and what was their bottom line price. No screwing around ... I will be buying a car, this is what I'm buying, what's your best price. In my experience, the dealers on the phone knew I was pretty serious with how I presented that info to them, especially since I immediately told them the exact vehicle I wanted. Even if dealers do not have your specific car, they can oftentimes trade with other dealers and acquire the car. Still find out their best price even if they have to acquire the car in a trade. And while I really didn't want to drive out of town for a car, I told myself I was willing to do it if an out of town dealer blew me away with an offer. More importantly, I got more price offers from those dealers too. The price offer is the ammo to take to a local dealer to get them to drop their price.

After round one, see what the best price offered was and call them all back up again. Tell them another dealer is offering the car at x price, and ask if they can beat that. Some will beat it, some won't beat it.

My goal was to get $3,500 off the sticker price, and after three rounds of haggling I eventually got around $4,200 or so off the sticker price. What is a bit funny is the dealer I ultimately bought the car from only wanted to take around $1,500 off the sticker during round one of haggling. Round two of haggling got another $700 off sticker ($2,200 total). Round three took off another $2,000 (for $4,200 total), and then they told me that's as far as they can go. But fortunately they crossed the $3,500 threshold I was seeking, and they did beat every other dealer's offer. That night I went down and bought the car.

Now the above is just a rough guide of what I did - there were a few more specifics. It's also what only worked for me; that strategy may or may work for yourself and others. But in the end I got the car I wanted for around $700 less than I was willing to pay so it worked out well for me.

[LoganBuck]

Strategy that ALWAYS works. Pick a nasty cold day, dress very warmly, underarmor, polartec etc. Pull into the lot with a price in mind. Salesman comes out, with jacket he just grabbed to talk to you. Make him stand there in the lot, and haggle with him there, pretend to be really interested in looking at the car at the same time. They will break after 10 minutes. If he needs to talk to someone inside, tell him you will wait for him outside.

This also works with traveling salesmen on dairy farms.

[TeamSelig]

I was dead set on getting crew cab (back seat in the truck), but I went to check out some today... there really isn't that much more room than extended cab, and I could use the extra money off.

Anyone know of a good site for truck "reviews"? Maybe comparing costs, durability, etc.? Can't seem to find it anywhere.

[terminator]

Just keep in mind that you'll need to get a child seat in your vehicle and they are supposed to go in the back seat . . . and *must* be rear-facing for the first year. I think Ohio requires the use of child seats for kids under four years or under 40 pounds. You'll need to be sure they'll fit in the vehicle.

Also keep in mind what it would be like trying to fit two car seats in your vehicle . . . and what it will be like to reach in and put a 10-35 pound kid in the seat. IOW, trucks aren't the best kid vehicles IMHO, although those extended cabs might not be so bad. but it still seems like it would be a pain to lift them up and into the truck.

[TeamSelig]

What do you guys think of the 2004 Nissan Titan? The dealership here has one for about $20k with 45k miles on it. Not sure if I want a used one, but it looks nice.

[paintmered]

How long can you wait before you buy your new vehicle? Interest rates will continue to nosedive for at least the next quarter or two.

Lower interest rate = lower monthly payment.