(no subject)
Feb. 13th, 2009 10:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I hate cars.
Anyone know of a cheapish reliable car for sale? Wagon or hatchback that can fit an upright bass strongly prefered...
Used car dealer recommendations also hereby solicited.
/me sighs heavily and heads towards craigslist
(Silver lining? Now we can get a car that fits my wife as well as my bass for gigs...
And we were considering buying this year anyway but it appears that our hand has been forced.)
Anyone know of a cheapish reliable car for sale? Wagon or hatchback that can fit an upright bass strongly prefered...
Used car dealer recommendations also hereby solicited.
/me sighs heavily and heads towards craigslist
(Silver lining? Now we can get a car that fits my wife as well as my bass for gigs...
And we were considering buying this year anyway but it appears that our hand has been forced.)
that sucks.
Date: 2009-02-13 03:23 pm (UTC)What happened to the small green?
Re: that sucks.
Date: 2009-02-13 03:24 pm (UTC)Re: that sucks.
Date: 2009-02-13 03:26 pm (UTC)Better to find out now than later, I guess. Also, it looks like there's a CarMax in Hartford if you want a ride down there. They usually have a wider selection price-wise.
Re: that sucks.
Date: 2009-02-13 03:56 pm (UTC)Re: that sucks.
Date: 2009-02-13 04:28 pm (UTC)Re: that sucks.
Date: 2009-02-14 02:30 pm (UTC)Wherever you go shopping, I learned the hard way that it's a good idea to find out whether that dealer lets you take it to a mechanic for inspection before purchase, or whether you need to look around for a mechanic that will drive out to the dealer and do the inspection on-site. The latter do exist, but if you don't know that you need one before you get to the dealer, you have to rely on the dealer's recommendation of which one to contact. (In this case I just did an independent-mechanic inspection during the five-day return window, but I would've felt a lot more comfortable doing it before I signed anything.) You probably already know this stuff, but I didn't, so FWIW...
Re: that sucks.
Date: 2009-02-13 03:50 pm (UTC)Re: that sucks.
Date: 2009-02-13 03:55 pm (UTC)Apparently the mounts for this particular model are a bit pricey, and it's a '93 so it ain't really worth what it would cost to fix. :-/
no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 03:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 03:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 03:32 pm (UTC)If you don't drive a lot, MPG won't matter much, and you can get an *incredible* deal on SUVs right now.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 03:35 pm (UTC)And I don't want to own an SUV frankly. heh.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 03:50 pm (UTC)what makes you say I can? and have any tips on it?
I've never done this before. heh.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 03:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 03:56 pm (UTC)^_^
no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 04:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 04:16 pm (UTC)do onto them before they do onto you.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 06:19 pm (UTC)* Car prices are generally negotiable, and in tough times they are even more so. This has been just about the worst 3 months ever for car sales. New-car sales joints are still trying to move '08s; repos and job losses mean there's a glut of used machines on the market, and nobody wants to buy unless they're sure they're going to keep a job. And they're not sure -- hence Hyundai's new campaign, offering to buy the car back if you lose your job.
* On haggling in general: (See NYTimes this week... even department stores are apparently open to haggling).
* If you're going used, you can use CarFax or whatever to get a history of that specific vehicle so you know it's not a lemon.
* If you can avoid it, don't finance. Or get 3rd party financing from a bank rather than from the dealership -- at the very least, at the financing stage of negotiations, you can show them the bank's rate and make them beat it.
* It will take at least twice as long as you think it should, so be patient. They want you to get impatient and just get it over with and overpay.
* If you get a "certified-pre-owned" vehicle, make sure that both the dealer and the manufacturer are backing the guarantee and the certification, not just the dealer.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 07:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 03:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 03:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 04:13 pm (UTC)We still love our 2005 Scion XBs, but the room in back is more cubic than long- would have to measure to see about the bass. Mileage about 30-34 for the 2005, new ones are less (bigger engine and body, grr). I used to have a subaru legacy wagon and it was The Thing in terms of form factor- BIG cargo space! Old Saab hatchbacks don't suck either, and are sturdy as hell. Al over at ABJ Auto in Somerville sometimes has one to sell at a reasonable price, or knows someone who is selling. Lastly, my parents have a Kia minivan for transporting their large dog, and they've found it very reliable. You can always run around with the back seats removed for scads of cargo space!
no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 04:15 pm (UTC)I thought Saabs were a bit expensive on the maintenance side... no? That would definitely be an option if I have a wrong impression about that...
no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 04:35 pm (UTC)The Saabs I had were cheap to buy ($5k) and ran very well but eventually (after several years of owning them in New England and *cough* driving the way I do) they started needing frequent small repairs. While the engine and drive train were still in excellent shape, it would have to go in occasionally for headlights, door locks, axles, all those little moving parts that start to fare less well in an old car in this climate. ABJ kept the costs pretty low, (they give you a choice of fixing things top-notch dealer spec, or cheap and kludgy but safe) but living where i do i could no longer drop it off there and bicycle home, so each small fix ate a whole workday.
I must say having the new XB has been a relief in terms of NO time and money spent for repairs. I never had a new car before!
no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 06:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 06:43 pm (UTC)There's a couple out there for under $10k at MA dealers, do a cars.com or vehix.com search for used xB's in xxx miles of your zipcode.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 04:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 05:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-14 03:07 pm (UTC)Also, make sure if you're going with someone (like, say, your wife) you've pre-agreed on things so the dealer can't get you going one way and the other person another way. You might be surprised how often this happens.