Forums >Off the Beaten Path>Should I get a car/which car?
Ok, Cars. 2013 Nissan Pathfinder. (I am as partial about my car as the person is above about his). Dual moonroof and biiig panoramic glass roof thingy in the back... Even folks in the third row can get a sunburn on a long trip.
PS. Has nothing to do with car choice, but never drive a car through a 'photostop' traffic camera at a red light if they have those in your city. You'll get a pic in the mail like this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/105722247@N08/10320348963/lightbox/
I mean the ticket is only 50 bucks and does not go down as a moving violation, but if the vehicle is registered in your WIFE's name vice yours, and she is a driver of over 20 years who had never gotten a ticket, she will be PISSED!
Edited, my pic link doesn't work. Oh well, just imagine a vehicle blowing through a red light and making a right turn without coming anywhere even close to a full stop... :-)
The Plan '15 → /// "Run Hard, Live Easy." ∞
Subaru Impreza 5-door
Scion xb
The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
2014 Goals:
Stay healthy
Enjoy life
ultramarathon/triathlete
What's the budget, OP (apologies if you've covered this, I haven't read all the responses)?
Budget is probably $25-$30k. I don't plan to take a loan and don't see a reason to lease and pay interest.
HTFU? Why not!
USATF Coach
Empire Tri Club CoachGatorade Endurance Team
At least check what the dealership is offering for rates. Some dealerships still have 0% interest. We ended up taking a loan because the interest rate on the loan was lower than on our savings account.
Audi s4 avant
I recently rented a manual Audi A3 wagon. A bit liked a VW GTI but more expensive. That car was faaasssst. My wife did not like me leaving tired marks after every red light turned green, while the kids were in the backseat.
Oh, and sadly, I'll have to get an automatic. My wife can't drive stick. Actually, I take that back, maybe I can use that as a reason to drive exclusively (which I do anyway), and teach her (she needs to have that skill). I did kind of teach her after a beer mile 2 years ago. I was running it, she was not, so she got stuck driving home after and didn't know how to drive stick. I shifted while she steared and worked the pedals. It worked well except on one hill. I wasn't going to be that asshat driving after all that beer and in such a short period of time!
not bad for mile 25
PS. Has nothing to do with car choice, but never drive a car through a 'photostop' traffic camera at a red light if they have those in your city. You'll get a pic in the mail like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/105722247@N08/10320348963/lightbox/ I mean the ticket is only 50 bucks and does not go down as a moving violation, but if the vehicle is registered in your WIFE's name vice yours, and she is a driver of over 20 years who had never gotten a ticket, she will be PISSED! Edited, my pic link doesn't work. Oh well, just imagine a vehicle blowing through a red light and making a right turn without coming anywhere even close to a full stop... :-)
The link works. The 100K sticker on the car is pretty incriminating!
Joggaholic
Once I got a loan via Mazda's finance department at the suggestion of the salesperson as follows:
1) Take the loan and get like an additional ~$1000 discount (I forgot the exact amount) on the final negotiated price of the car
2) Pay 3 months of loan payments with interest
3) Pay off the rest of the loan on the 4th month
The only reason to wait a few months was to keep the sales guy from getting into trouble (?)
Ostrich runner
I'd check out the Fiesta ST if you want small, practical, and sporty. Not sure if they have an automatic for that though. With the TDI Golf, the auto is better than the stick - it has stalling issues with the manual, and the auto is a double clutch system that will be much better, especially considering urban use.
http://www.runningahead.com/groups/Indy/forum
an amazing likeness
I'd check out the Fiesta ST
Worst.
Transmission.
Ever.
Of any current, modern car.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
Lol, originally that SUV was my wife's car, but I like the way it drives so much, I took it over and put that sticker on it. She got a steel license plate frame for me that says "Run Forest Run". Appropriate I think. :-) Granted I spent my first 40 years saying "no" to any bumper stickers or words on license plate frames.
Also, to the above poster concerning "loans", I too had most of the amt needed to buy the car saved up previous to buying it. The dealership gave me a superb deal if I did the loan through their bank, so I did that. About 2 weeks later, we had my wife's bank (Navy Federal Credit Union) take over the loan, as they had an offer where they would give her $300.00 cash to move the loan. W e did that, and then approximately 8 days later when the $300.00 posted and knocked down the amount owed, we paid the remainder of the loan in full.
Some banks offer decent amounts of money to take another banks loan, so if you find a bank that will do that without penalties for early payment, you can work the amount owed down a little bit that way as well. I have heard there are some banks out there that will pay up to 600.00 to take a loan?
-- It almost felt like stealing in a way because I know it wasn't the intent of their program for us to pay the whole loan off a week after, but...... Just some ideas on looking for banks that will pay to take a loan, especially if you plan to pay it off in full very soon.
.
I recently rented a manual Audi A3 wagon. A bit liked a VW GTI but more expensive. That car was faaasssst. My wife did not like me leaving tired marks after every red light turned green, while the kids were in the backseat. Oh, and sadly, I'll have to get an automatic. My wife can't drive stick. Actually, I take that back, maybe I can use that as a reason to drive exclusively (which I do anyway), and teach her (she needs to have that skill). I did kind of teach her after a beer mile 2 years ago. I was running it, she was not, so she got stuck driving home after and didn't know how to drive stick. I shifted while she steared and worked the pedals. It worked well except on one hill. I wasn't going to be that asshat driving after all that beer and in such a short period of time!
My wife refuses to learn to drive my Subaru. I told her one day I'm liable to break my foot on one of our hikes and she'll be pressed into duty. Still refuses to budge. Like a child that won't open her mouth for her veggies! I kinda went against her will in getting the manual ..
rectumdamnnearkilledem
In our house I am the one who refuses to buy automagic -- it really narrows down potential car selections. When I drive my DH's auto Rav4 I pretty much sit on my right hand and my left foot is forever twitching.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
I have the same problem. I haven't owned a stick for my personal car since I traded in the Subaru I was driving when I got married. I did buy a used truck for my business that had a stick. I sold it when I closed the business down, but I wish I had kept it a couple more years to teach my daughter how to drive stick on it.