What kind of car do you drive and why

[Highlander]

1998 Honda Accord.  Considered a big car in the UK.   

[LindseyLohan]

why do you hate america?

GIT R DUN!

You need to check out the Honda Fit. Wait for the '09. Way functional car...

But it's like a fat chick. Alot of fun but you don't want your friends to see you on one...

[LindseyLohan]

that didn't copy the right post, I was comparing to the yaris...

[KCMax]

I bought a car since this thread was last active. It was the first car I ever bought myself. I thought it would be a pretty bad experience - it was at the first dealership I went to. I wanted a Prius and the guy knew nothing about the car. After a test drive, I told him what I wanted to pay for it, a fair price considering what others were selling a similar car for. He went on the internet and looked it up himself and said "if you can get that deal, you should go there." So I did.

The next week I went to Olathe Toyota. It was near closing time. I told the salesman I wanted a 2007 Prius at X price like I saw online. He said okay. He offered about a $1000 under bluebook value for my car. I got him up $500. Within half an hour, I had a car. It was pretty painfree.

That was a few months ago. I friggin love my car. With my driving habits, I fill up about once a month. EAT IT SAUDI ARABIA!!!!

[AJoD]

Any input on "the car buying experience" would be great.  I haven't bought a new car in ten years.

One piece of advice that I think is the best I've ever given on car buying:

Walk off the lot before you buy.

We negotiated for a while with some guy when we bought our 2003 Honda CR-V (about 2 years ago).  Too expensive, left the lot, bought another one at a different place, probably higher than what we wanted, but really wanted to be done with the process.  Had a message on our machine when we got home with a much lower price on the first one.  I'm sure the guy we eventually bought from would have gone down too.

Spend some time with the guy and car you want, show your interest, and then leave.

[BurningMustard]

I'm pretty much limited to getting a FWD or AWD. That's the consequence of living with snow and ice storms.  The Passat was looking like the potential new ride but I sat in it and didn't get the wow factor like the IS 250. 

Did you check the Audi, little more wow than the Passat, and a little less $ than MB or BMW.

[chrizow]

i am not sure that walking off the lot is necessary.  just figure out for yourself the price you want to pay for the car.  assuming it is reasonable based on your internet research, someone is going to sell you the car for that.  i told the VW dealer "i will give you X for this car."  it was a fair price for both of us.  he said "i accept."  and that was it. 

  The Passat was looking like the potential new ride but I sat in it and didn't get the wow factor like the IS 250. 

did you sit in a v6, with the awesome sewn leather seats?  obv. different strokes, but i thought the finish on the top-tier passat was far greater than that on the IS250.  i have a silver with black leather, which looks nice with all the brushed aluminim on the inside.  i didnt really like the Passats with the beige interior, which clashed with the aluminum. 

[KCMax]

i am not sure that walking off the lot is necessary.  just figure out for yourself the price you want to pay for the car.  assuming it is reasonable based on your internet research, someone is going to sell you the car for that.  i told the VW dealer "i will give you X for this car."  it was a fair price for both of us.  he said "i accept."  and that was it. 

I agree. They can look up on the net what other dealers are selling it for. They know you'll walk off the lot if they aren't at least close to that deal.

[heatherkay]

1998 Honda Accord.  Considered a big car in the UK.   :) 

That's funny.  I spent a summer in Spain doing field work.  After a couple of months, I remember walking out of a restaurant and thinking "wow, that's a big car."  Then I looked at it and realized it was an Accord.  It looked enormous compared to all the little roller skate cars I had been seeing every day.  Seriously, the Accord looked like a Town Car or something.

[AJoD]

I agree. They can look up on the net what other dealers are selling it for. They know you'll walk off the lot if they aren't at least close to that deal.

May be different for a new or used, I guess, I'm thinking about used cars.  There are a lot of variables in used cars that you can't measure just looking at it online.

[LindseyLohan]

New car dealerships make an average of 3% margin on the new cars they sell. This goes up a little when you tack on the options and look at the luxury models, but an average is 3%. SUV's were the real money makers for the dealerships, but now they can't sell them.

The new car dealerships make money with their service departments. They want you coming back to them after they sell the car. That's why you see these huge service departments being built...

Used cars have a lot more wiggle room in them.

It's definately a buyers market, but on a new fuel efficient vehicle there won't be much bartering. Go looking for a bargain on a Prius, or small Honda. The slightly used ones don't depreciate. The car dealerships can't keep them on the lot. I don't blame them. I wouldn't barter either.

[shinatoo]

I'm pretty much limited to getting a FWD or AWD. That's the consequence of living with snow and ice storms.. 

For 80% of the last 22 years I have driven nothing but the rear wheel drive cars. As have the majority of Americans over the last 80 years. I don't see why this is suddenly such an issue, or such a huge production trend. Not to mention the repair cost on front wheel drive cars is typically much higher than rear. And it's much more likely that you will be driving on a wet road at high speed then on a icy one at low, which makes rear wheel drive much more desirable.

Front wheel drive Impala?!?!?

[loftguy]

I'm a Volvo guy.  Driven them since the early 80's.  The old rear wheel boxes were great, but after my last one bit the dust, I reluctantly made the move into an AWD.  I'm now so glad I did. The difference is so great that the experience is improved at least 50%, in all weather and road conditions and at all speeds that I can now recall.

It cost me 2mpg. (22urban/28hwy) Far less than I anticipated.

[shinatoo]

Yeah, all wheel drive is great. FWD is fine if you drive like you're a 60 year old woman. But anything that should have any kind of power, or is any fun to drive should be RWD.

[supastudio]

did you sit in a v6, with the awesome sewn leather seats?  obv. different strokes, but i thought the finish on the top-tier passat was far greater than that on the IS250.  i have a silver with black leather, which looks nice with all the brushed aluminim on the inside.  i didnt really like the Passats with the beige interior, which clashed with the aluminum. 

Unfortunately, I sat in a beige interior.  I did like the driver side glove compartment and the manual sun shades in the rear windows.  I really dig those little bells and whistles on cars.  I should go back to the dealership and check them out again.

For 80% of the last 22 years I have driven nothing but the rear wheel drive cars. As have the majority of Americans over the last 80 years. I don't see why this is suddenly such an issue, or such a huge production trend. Not to mention the repair cost on front wheel drive cars is typically much higher than rear. And it's much more likely that you will be driving on a wet road at high speed then on a icy one at low, which makes rear wheel drive much more desirable.

I live at a bottom of a hill and I watch my neighbors with RWD cars fail at driving to the top numerous times.  Some of them just leave their cars on top of the hill now.  Believe me, I would love to get the IS 250 RWD. It would save me a bunch of money, but the piece of mind I get with an AWD car is worth the extra bucks. 

Yeah, all wheel drive is great. FWD is fine if you drive like you're a 60 year old woman. But anything that should have any kind of power, or is any fun to drive should be RWD.

I'm not an aggressive driver to begin with, but I do enjoy the occasional Sunday leisure drive.  I've actually been co-pilot (navigator) on a couple rally races (legal), and if I was the actual driver, forget about it! We would have been in last place!

[shinatoo]

Thats cool. My self expression shouldn't be construed as criticism. I was just painting pictures not throwing stones.

[midtown]

I drive a 2001 Honda Civic.  I prefer basic transportation generally, and it was the right intersection of price and fuel efficiency for me.

[butter_breath]

my civic gets 40 mpg, my toyota get 34mpg..my acura get 29 mpg with factory 260 horsepower plus 45 more with mods.

[staubio]

i used to drive a 1999 Honda Civic EX and it was a dream.  

i sold it with 86K miles on it, then bought....my grandma's 1999 Honda Civic EX, with 34K miles on it.

i will drive it forever.

LIES!

[staubio]

Still have it. Just hit 175k, so I guess I'm putting on more miles than I thought. About 5k a year, but that includes trips home and a couple of road trips.

Great blast from the past!

Oh crap, it is the end of the forum as we know it. Talking cars on the urban development website.

In terms of your bike needs, cknab, I can't say enough about a roof rack. Much easier than trying to load in and out bikes and you never worry about the bikes shifting or getting scratched like you do with other types of racks.

Contrary to popular belief, I own a car. I sort of informally run a car-share and loan it to friends so that they can live car free normally and not buy cars and contribute those 30 barrels. I always worry more about the total number of cars rather than the number of miles. Obviously making those cars takes a ton of resources and they have to be disposed of somewhere when they die. Anyway, it makes sense for me to keep the car because I own a parking spot, which came with the place.

My car is a 1994 Honda Civic EX. I've owned it for 7 years. I'd say my car is about in the realm of Fang's -- it gets only a couple of thousand miles a year. Unfortunately, there are no alternative transportation options for me to visit my family in Nebraska, so I basically just use it to make that trip a couple of times a year, haul recycling to the recycling center and pick up bulk items -- or loan it to friends.

It is a great car. I've done very little to it. New plugs and wires, timing belt, etc, and I'm at 160K.

A good friend of mine once said that a car is a tool, just like a hammer, and you wouldn't make payments on a hammer if it didn't pound nails any more effectively. I realize that cars are fun and are deeply ingrained in our culture but it is sad we get so worked up about a tool that gets us from point A to point B.

That said, I love your car, Roanoker.