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Buying a new car--HELP!

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anon_6hv78pr714xta

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So I'm going to Yellowstone this summer. Had my car checked out. Mechanic says my engine is cracking and will die soon and I should sell the car immediately. I had planned on driving it into the ground, get at least 200k on it, but its at 120k and it has to go.

Given the price of used cars in general, everyone tells me to buy new. So I'm looking to lease a new SUV (most likely a Pilot, Telluride, or Highlander). Just got back from a dealership where they lied several times so I left. How do I do this without getting screwed and without sitting around all day at a dealership battling bait-and-switch? Any help or advice appreciated.
 
So I'm going to Yellowstone this summer. Had my car checked out. Mechanic says my engine is cracking and will die soon and I should sell the car immediately. I had planned on driving it into the ground, get at least 200k on it, but its at 120k and it has to go.

Given the price of used cars in general, everyone tells me to buy new. So I'm looking to lease a new SUV (most likely a Pilot, Telluride, or Highlander). Just got back from a dealership where they lied several times so I left. How do I do this without getting screwed and without sitting around all day at a dealership battling bait-and-switch? Any help or advice appreciated.
Is the state you live in "open carry". Can't hurt.
 
I am a bit partial to the Honda Pilot, having a 2003 model (bought new) with 367,000 miles on it. Indestructable.

You could look for a used one with service records, to avoid the expense. There's no reason that, if you found one with say 80K miles on it, you wouldn't be able to drive it for another decade.
 
Leasing is for suckers. And yes, you're going to get shafted. It's a terrible time to be shopping for a vehicle. The new car lots are empty. Used car prices are through the roof. You're screwed.

And don't buy some stodgy SUV or CUV. Boring. Buy something cool.
 
So I'm going to Yellowstone this summer. Had my car checked out. Mechanic says my engine is cracking and will die soon and I should sell the car immediately. I had planned on driving it into the ground, get at least 200k on it, but its at 120k and it has to go.

Given the price of used cars in general, everyone tells me to buy new. So I'm looking to lease a new SUV (most likely a Pilot, Telluride, or Highlander). Just got back from a dealership where they lied several times so I left. How do I do this without getting screwed and without sitting around all day at a dealership battling bait-and-switch? Any help or advice appreciated.
First of all, you might get a second opinion. I have never heard of an engine "cracking." Vehicle pricing can be found from Edmunds (edmunds.com) and Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com). Also, check what's available for purchase on Autotrader.com, which I have used for purchase of several used cars, including my sturdy 2001 RAV4. which now has roughly 210K miles on it. Another idea to think about is renting a car for your trip and dealing with your current vehicle after you return. In any event, I wish you well.
 
So I'm going to Yellowstone this summer. Had my car checked out. Mechanic says my engine is cracking and will die soon and I should sell the car immediately. I had planned on driving it into the ground, get at least 200k on it, but its at 120k and it has to go.

First of all, you might get a second opinion. I have never heard of an engine "cracking."

No kidding. WTF is a "cracking" engine?

And even if the engine is shot, with car prices as outrageous as they are, maybe think about replacing the engine. Do the cost/benefit -- spending $10K to get another 100,000 miles out of an otherwise solid car might be the smart approach.
 
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No kidding. WTF is a "cracking" engine?

And even if the engine is shot, with car prices as outrageous as they are, maybe think about replacing the engine. Do the cost/benefit -- spending $10K to get another $100,000 out of an otherwise solid car might be the smart approach.
Maybe a cracked block? I've started paying more attention to maintenance as a result of the crazy car market. Maybe it settles in a couple of years.
 
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Maybe a cracked block? I've started paying more attention to maintenance as a result of the crazy car market. Maybe it settles in a couple of years.
Perhaps. But nowadays that would be vanishingly rare. Even back in the stone age when I was in the business, the only time you saw cracked blocks was from severe overheating or freezing. They just don't crack out of the blue.
 
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This is probably the worst time in at least a decade to be car shopping - demand is a lot higher than supply. Dealers have little or nothing to sell so they're actually combing past sales records attempting to buy back cars they sold a year or two ago to try to have something to sell clients. A guy I know sold his year old vehicle back to the Honda dealer for the same amount he paid for it - when does that ever happen? I've got to believe that there will be a lot of quality issues on cars built in the last 6-9 months once they actually find computer chips to put in them so they can be sold. I was figuring on trading in my truck this summer but I'm going to hang onto it for another year now.
 
What does everyone think of the upcoming Ford Maverick? I've been looking for a cheap smallish truck for a while and can't justify dropping 35-40k on a Tacoma, Ridgeline, or Ranger.
 
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Agree with the poster who suggested you rent one for a trip. Even with reliable iron under my ass, any trip that required more than a tank of gas each way I just plunked down a few hundred dollars and rented one. You only need to be sitting on the roadside waiting for a tow truck a thousand miles from home "once" to come to that conclusion.
 
Around 1992, my wife and I rented a car for our trip to Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, Jackson Hole, Cody etc. We put 6000 miles on it during the two weeks, no joke. We had unlimited mileage.

I know rentals are expensive currently, but I suggest you consider it.
 
What does everyone think of the upcoming Ford Maverick? I've been looking for a cheap smallish truck for a while and can't justify dropping 35-40k on a Tacoma, Ridgeline, or Ranger.
for $19k i thought the pics online look great. brilliant idea imo.
 
Land Rovers are a hot mess. But yes, people will buy them for the same reason people will buy jaguars. And I'd buy a Jaguar F-Type roadster in a hot minute, trouble be damned.
yup. they will go through anything! - leaking oil all the way....
 
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Land Rovers are a hot mess. But yes, people will buy them for the same reason people will buy jaguars. And I'd buy a Jaguar F-Type roadster in a hot minute, trouble be damned.
Trump voters seem to love them which makes sense.

Porsche Cayenne or rent. Problem solved
 
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It looks like I'm going to get a 2021 Honda Pilot. For those who might go through this in the future, I can only recommend trying to do absolutely everything online. I have yet to find a useful, honest sales person.
 
It looks like I'm going to get a 2021 Honda Pilot. For those who might go through this in the future, I can only recommend trying to do absolutely everything online. I have yet to find a useful, honest sales person.
Might not get the very best deal on Carvana, but it can’t be beat.

I’ll gladly pay another 2K to not walk into a dealer and have to interact with some moronic car salesman. I’m in sales so I have sympathy for the stressors of their gig, but these people are just so so dumb.
 
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Agree with the poster who suggested you rent one for a trip. Even with reliable iron under my ass, any trip that required more than a tank of gas each way I just plunked down a few hundred dollars and rented one. You only need to be sitting on the roadside waiting for a tow truck a thousand miles from home "once" to come to that conclusion.
Yep. Had a fuel pump go out on one trip. After that and a few near misses hitting deer, I always rent now. Being far from home waiting on a tow, killing part of a day, and having to trust a mechanic you don't know really sucks.
 
What does everyone think of the upcoming Ford Maverick? I've been looking for a cheap smallish truck for a while and can't justify dropping 35-40k on a Tacoma, Ridgeline, or Ranger.

how did the Maverick go from being a car to a truck?

quite a bit of surgery needed there.
 
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So I'm going to Yellowstone this summer. Had my car checked out. Mechanic says my engine is cracking and will die soon and I should sell the car immediately. I had planned on driving it into the ground, get at least 200k on it, but its at 120k and it has to go.

Given the price of used cars in general, everyone tells me to buy new. So I'm looking to lease a new SUV (most likely a Pilot, Telluride, or Highlander). Just got back from a dealership where they lied several times so I left. How do I do this without getting screwed and without sitting around all day at a dealership battling bait-and-switch? Any help or advice appreciated.
My recommendation is that you buy a used Chrysler Town & Country or Dodge Grand Caravan. If you buy one of those, you should be able to get 220,000 or more miles on it before needing to replace it again. I bought a new Town & Country at the end of 2005 and it lasted approximately 10 years. It had about 225,000 miles on it when I replaced it with a used Grand Caravan. I now have had my Dodge for about five years and it has approximately 210,000 miles on it. My goal is to keep it until it becomes unreliable. Of course, I'm driving less miles because I'm semi-retired.

Why would you want to lease or purchase an expensive, fancy vehicle? My recommendation is you buy a used minivan for less than $15,000.00

You don't need to respond to this question, but do you still have a mortgage on your home? If you do, definitely spend less on a vehicle and use the additional money to either put toward your mortgage or have improvements done to your home.

A house will increase in value after you purchase it, but not a vehicle.
 
Yep. Had a fuel pump go out on one trip. After that and a few near misses hitting deer, I always rent now. Being far from home waiting on a tow, killing part of a day, and having to trust a mechanic you don't know really sucks.

We had major engine failure once in an Explorer on the way to the Outer Banks. In West Virginia. Major engine overheating, cracked the block. Had to tow the bastard to a Ford dealership. Terrible way to have to make decisions. Rented another vehicle for the week and had them replace the engine. (Used engine, $6K.) Rental was $2k. So the whole mess added $8K onto the cost of the week. Picked up the Explorer on the way home a week later.
 
My recommendation is that you buy a used Chrysler Town & Country or Dodge Grand Caravan. If you buy one of those, you should be able to get 220,000 or more miles on it before needing to replace it again. I bought a new Town & Country at the end of 2005 and it lasted approximately 10 years. It had about 225,000 miles on it when I replaced it with a used Grand Caravan. I now have had my Dodge for about five years and it has approximately 210,000 miles on it. My goal is to keep it until it becomes unreliable. Of course, I'm driving less miles because I'm semi-retired.

Why would you want to lease or purchase an expensive, fancy vehicle? My recommendation is you buy a used minivan for less than $15,000.00

You don't need to respond to this question, but do you still have a mortgage on your home? If you do, definitely spend less on a vehicle and use the additional money to either put toward your mortgage or have improvements done to your home.

A house will increase in value after you purchase it, but not a vehicle.
The woman and I bought a 2013 Dodge Journey used in the fall of 13. It had 13,000 miles on it. It has 261,000 miles on it now and it’s still plugging along. It’s a little rough around the edges but it’s still reliable.

I told her 2 years ago we need to start planning on replacing it and we’ve been saving ever since. We were able to save enough to buy the Toyota on our terms because of how reliable the Journey has been.

It’s been a great car.
 
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Land Rovers are a hot mess. But yes, people will buy them for the same reason people will buy jaguars. And I'd buy a Jaguar F-Type roadster in a hot minute, trouble be damned.
You know why Brits drink warm beer?

They have Lucas refrigerators.
 
Around 1992, my wife and I rented a car for our trip to Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, Jackson Hole, Cody etc. We put 6000 miles on it during the two weeks, no joke. We had unlimited mileage.

I know rentals are expensive currently, but I suggest you consider it.
I just got home from this trip two days ago. We flew into Rapid City, rented a car and flew out of Salt Lake City. Hard to even rent a car now, but we reserved months ago. This was a trip postponed from last year.
 
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Perhaps. But nowadays that would be vanishingly rare. Even back in the stone age when I was in the business, the only time you saw cracked blocks was from severe overheating or freezing. They just don't crack out of the blue.
No disrespect, but this is not necessarily true. Castings do crack, sometimes out of the blue, but usually excessive heat is involved. There is a long list of potential underlying conditions that can contribute to loss of coolant, abnormal combustion, etc. that can cause this.

BradStevens, get more details & I‘m sure if it’s obviously bs we can help you ask the right questions & objections. Most are on the up& up, but there are many shady shops out there...
 
We had major engine failure once in an Explorer on the way to the Outer Banks. In West Virginia. Major engine overheating, cracked the block. Had to tow the bastard to a Ford dealership. Terrible way to have to make decisions. Rented another vehicle for the week and had them replace the engine. (Used engine, $6K.) Rental was $2k. So the whole mess added $8K onto the cost of the week. Picked up the Explorer on the way home a week later.
You was robbed.
 
Out of curiosity, are those both Chrysler products, which have reliability issues?
Land Rover is not a Chrysler product. The Jeep is. I haven’t stayed as current lately on Rover products or Jaguar since Ford split from them, but typically Rover has utilized some variant of Ford engines in most of their stuff...
 
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