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Car problems
TOK:
--- Quote from: Stingray on March 17, 2005, 02:42:59 pm ---
--- Quote from: ChadTower on March 17, 2005, 11:05:31 am ---No one in New England gets 200,000 out of a car. They rot out way before they fail.
--- End quote ---
Statements like that sure do make me glad I live in the middle of the continent where rust is almost non-exisitant.
-S
--- End quote ---
Well, they're definitely not true. My neice and her husband live in New Hampshire and have a 89 Ford pickup that's a daily driver with around 200,000 on it. I think the key is that they don't "hate" cars, so it gets the salt sprayed off at the car wash every week or so during the winter, and has also had the oil changed and little problems fixed before they become big ones.
Some cars will last longer than others, but you're not going to get long service out of any brand if you don't take care of it. It's kind of funny that Subaru came up because that'd be one of the brands I wouldn't buy used based on the demographic that buys them... people that see cars as an appliance. They aren't loved or maintained, and the only car Subaru makes that even appears to have a soul is the WRX.
My pick for a new "appliance" car would be the Toyota Camry. It's a couple thousand more than a Hyundai, but you're going to get sick of driving a cheap car that reminds you it's cheap every time you sit in it. Only the powertrain is warranted for 100,000 miles. Everything else is 5/60, and believe me the seats are going to be jabbing your ass and killing your back, and things are going to be breaking off in your hands by the time it's paid off.
ChadTower:
--- Quote from: TOK on March 18, 2005, 11:16:36 am ---Well, they're definitely not true. My neice and her husband live in New Hampshire and have a 89 Ford pickup that's a daily driver with around 200,000 on it.
--- End quote ---
There are exceptions to every general rule, but for the most part a vehicle simply rusts out faster here. You're not going to buy a truck with 120k miles on it and get another 100k out of it. Not in Massachusetts. No amount of washing/spraying/rinsing is going to help you when every spot you park on is covered in salt as are the roads. The amount of roadsalt in noncoastal MA is astounding.
Everything else on the Hyundais are 5/60 but that's a hell of a lot longer than the 30 days on a used car.
TOK:
I'm not suggesting that you not buy a new car, in fact I buy new ones because I know I'll keep them. If you plan on keeping it for a few years after it's paid off, I suggest spending a little more and get something thats really well built instead of something that got a reputation for being poorly built and combated that with a long warranty. It's still not a great car, Hyundai is just willing to eat more warranty work because they got a well deserved bad reputation and it was really starting to hurt sales. They've made progress in quality control, but are still nowhere close to Honda and Toyota which aren't THAT much more money if you spread the payments out over 60 months.
I have a 99 Toyota Tacoma that I bought new and paid off last November. That truck has needed *nothing* except for normal wear and tear stuff like tires and brakes. Not one mechanical issue with it. It's a 4x4 and it is maintained, but definitely not babied. I'm pretty confident that I'll get another 5 years out of it, and still be able to sell it and make back more of the difference than I would have saved if I had bought something like a Tuscon. Maybe it's me, but I always wind up disappointed when I shop for the bottom line instead of quality.
ChadTower:
Yeah... half of what we want is the peace of mind that comes with that warranty... but your point makes sense and I'm considering it.
The issue we have with bottom line over quality is that we manage our finances so as to keep our monthly output as low as we can without sacrificing TOO much. It may be that we're willing to go down from a Honda to a Hyundai in order to accomplish that. I'll have to take a look at the raw numbers. We likely will have to take a $1-2k loss on the Subaru in the process too.
ChadTower:
Okay... I've done some research, talked with the wife.
It looks like we want to trade the Subaru in on a Hyundai Elantra 5D automatic.
Anyone have any opinions/advice? I've never bought a NEW car before.