[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Guys, a friend of mine is looking into buying this car:
http://www.autotrader.com/dealers/dd...1&cardist=5596

What do you think would be the right price for this? edmunds.com lists the price of similar car in "clean" condition at 12,765. kbb.com gives a quote in the 13000s. Do you think 12K all-in would be ok price? My friend doesnt haggle well.

Considering Fusion has a newer design out now, wont it impact the resale value a couple of yrs down?

How much does the dealer charge extra in NH for tax and DMV? In CA its approximately 11% of the value(includes tax + DMV Fee)

BTW any folks in Boston Area?

[ToroRosso]

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

Considering Fusion has a newer design out now, wont it impact the resale value a couple of yrs down?

KW, It hasnt been impacted at all.. Eitherways, a 2010 model in 2 years time would have an appreciable depreciation amounting to the timeline..

On otherhand, My colleague is selling his "Red" CBR 600RR

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

Hey can you PM me the details? incase you are not buying

Heh, i jumped the gun and bought the Grey/Black one.
I will check and get the details and send them across to you..

Model Year - 2009
Mileage - 8800
Modification - None
Color - Red
Price - Will get back, he is expecting 6-7.

[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by ToroRosso

KW, It hasnt been impacted at all.. Eitherways, a 2010 model in 2 years time would have an appreciable depreciation amounting to the timeline..

On otherhand, My colleague is selling his "Red" CBR 600RR

Hey can you PM me the details? incase you are not buying

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by ToroRosso

Fusion has got fanstastic resale value, i dont think he will get this for 12K OTD.
The dealer may go down 500$ tops.

If he manages to get the car for 13K OTD, its a very good deal.

IMHO, Fusion is the best car in the segment hands down. Especially the V6 version.

This one is an I4 though. and dealer lists it at 12.5K

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

How much does the dealer charge extra in NH for tax and DMV?

Not sure. My friend is in North Carolina.

[ToroRosso]

Originally Posted by amitoj

This one is an I4 though. and dealer lists it at 12.5K

I can vouch for the I4. Superb drivability and good mileage.
I was hunting for a Fusion and I couldnt find one in my budget (I was looking for under 40k miles car).

Fusion enjoys a superb resale value and i havent come across a single dealer so far who reduces less than 500 from the listed price.

If he gets the car for 13K OTD, its a very good price.

Also, there are Fusions around that has clocked 150k+ and Still going extremely strong.

I would rate the Fusion to be at par if not more reliable than the Comparable Japs -

I found the Fusion superior to my Mazda in terms of handling and Driving dynamics/drivability and not to mention Fusion gives a much better gas mileage.(Though both Fusion and Mazda 6 has the same engine block)

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by ToroRosso

I can vouch for the I4. Superb drivability and good mileage.
I was hunting for a Fusion and I couldnt find one in my budget (I was looking for under 40k miles car).

Just sat in a friends rental - a Fusion Titanium - he drives a 2007 Accord usually and found this car a monster. He had no clue on how to use most of the features. He was having a lot of trouble with the keyless entry and go, could not locate the parking brakes, didn't know how to use the navigation software etc. etc. So apart from being a rather good looking car, for a lot of the midsize sedan shoppers the new Fusion has a lot of tech built into it also. Not sure how much of tech was on board the 2007/8 Fusions.

[maddy42]

Small review on the rental which we had taken a week back. Wanted a 6-7 seater and what my rental ended up giving was a Ford Flex when i expected a GMC big A$$ truck :(.

Ford Flex: What can i say about the car. Designed by someone who is in 1-2nd grade or someone who wanted to pull his managers leg, but the manager went ahead and approved his design.

How many of us here have driven a boat? A small tug in the steering swerves the boat in one direction taking all its passengers in the same direction. The ford flex is similar.
The person sitting on the last row seats was thrown around and if someone is carrying and in the last row she would have thrown up all over the place. Like literally! You need to stop being anything remotely sporty with this car while driving. Do not attempt any high speed turns as i am sure you will get through but then your last row passenger literally gets thrown off.

Its not spacious at all. The last row is for kids. The center row is ok but some more bit of cushioning would be great. The central console was so loaded that you really needed to know how to fly a boeing 787 to get an understanding of how to get the rear passengers to get some cool air from the AC.

This car was loaded with all possible features. 7 inch screen, rear camera, sexy looking instrument console, electronic seats and a decent music system. But the ride quality was pathetic.

Over all would i rent this again? NO, never!

Bad one Avis. I expect better next time. If you ever get a good offer for this car just RUN! You will hate it. Looks more like a car used to carry a coffin.

[bala80]

I'm from NC, and I recently picked up my 2nd car, a 2010 VW Jetta SE, done 49K miles for 13K. This was a fully loaded model with 2.5 I5, 170 bhp, 10 speaker music system, leatherette seats, sunroof, heated seats etc. The original quote from the dealer was around 14 change and we were able to get it down to 13k.

I feel its a fantastic value in the used car department, considering the old jetta is still rated highly over the new one in terms of overall quality. And there is plenty to be had around this price range in NC. Reliability isnt such a suspect on these models.

Fusion isnt a bad car either...its all personal choice at the end of the day. However I'd be wary of the I4 though.

Edit - Maddy42 - My colleagues call the ford flex a "mortuary truck" - I couldn't agree better. By the way, I recently rented an mazda6 I4 on my trip to Arizona and liked the car - except the fact that it was a way under-powered for the awesome Arizona highways. I had the privilege to drive on some of the best highways in the country. Simply superb.

Originally Posted by amitoj

This one is an I4 though. and dealer lists it at 12.5K

Not sure. My friend is in North Carolina.

[DexterMorgan]

Hi guys, could you please suggest me few respectable,economical and trust worthy after market alloy brands. I am looking to upsize and upgrade tires of my Jetta SE.

Currently it is on OEM 16 inch steel rims. I am willing to go for 17 inch.

What is the approx price range i should be looking at with complete installation? Also, what do i do with current wheels and rims, do they buy them back here?

Edit: Please also suggest options for after market music system upgrade. Nothing high end but should have all the features like navigation, bluetooth streaming etc.

Thanks!

[Gandhi]

A mini photologue of my visit to Point Reyes National Seashore couple weeks back. It's a majestic place - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...hotologue.html

[fine69]

My sister is in Allentown, Pennysylvania from the last 2 weeks and now plans on buying a certified used car for around 18-20k. She'd be there for at least a year along with my brother-in-law and 2 yr old niece.

She sent me an email stating that people there say that one shouldn't buy any car more than the KBB pricing - http://www.kbb.com/

Questions -
1. She plans on buying an SUV, are SUVs cheaper when compared to Sedans?
2. Any advantage of buying an SUV over a Sedan?
3. Is KBB the right benchmark for certified used car's prices?
4. Any reliable brands? Should I ask her to look out for service centers nearby and then choose the same brand's vehicle?
5. What should be the year of manufacture beyond which she shouldn't consider buying any vehicle? Should she also consider not going beyond certain no. of miles that vehicle has run?

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by fine69

Questions -
1. She plans on buying an SUV, are SUVs cheaper when compared to Sedans?
2. Any advantage of buying an SUV over a Sedan?
3. Is KBB the right benchmark for certified used car's prices?
4. Any reliable brands? Should I ask her to look out for service centers nearby and then choose the same brand's vehicle?
5. What should be the year of manufacture beyond which she shouldn't consider buying any vehicle? Should she also consider not going beyond certain no. of miles that vehicle has run?

1. No
2. Less tiring to drive one, especially if you have long driving distances, more space and utility if you have kids on child seats in the back. Easier ingress - egress out of the car
3. KBB is a good starting point. However, don't forget to negotiate.
4. Most brands are equally reliable nowadays. With the plan being to get a certified car, and a 20k budget, she certainly can get a not so old car for that money. Japanese brands are well regarded for reliability, though I would say the others are also very improved.
5. Given her budget, I don't think she will have to go older than 2009 and 50k miles - if the choice of car is entry level crossover/SUV (that includes, CR-V, RAV4, Rogue, Escape, Forester etc.).

[kraft.wagen]

My thoughts
1. SUVs are not necessarily cheaper, but you can get SUVs at the same price of cars, since there are abundant choices of SUVs, like
Small Suv's(Ford Escape, Toyota Rav4, Honda CRV, VW Tiguan) price begin from $16k
Midsize Suv's(Jeep Patriot, Mazda CX9, GMC Terrain, Toyota Highlander, Ford Explorer) price begin from $22k
Large Suv's(Nissan Armada, Ford Expedition) price begin from $29k
And Crossovers (Toyota Venza, Ford Edge) priced around price begin from $27k
3. KBB and NADA are book values that is used as a benchmark, but you must remember, when buying from a dealer there is an additional 8-11% approx extra for taxes and DMV. These prices are not included in KBB values.

Considering that they want to use the car for a year or so, I'd suggest sticking to a newer model so that it will be easier to re-sell. For eg you can look for a 2011 > Ford Escape or CRV with under 15-20k miles for the budget.

Infact I was looking at some Venza/Edge, 2010 and higher models with under 30-35k miles for 20-22k in California.

Originally Posted by fine69

My sister is in Allentown, Pennysylvania from the last 2 weeks and now plans on buying a certified used car for around 18-20k. She'd be there for at least a year along with my brother-in-law and 2 yr old niece.

She sent me an email stating that people there say that one shouldn't buy any car more than the KBB pricing - http://www.kbb.com/

Questions -
1. She plans on buying an SUV, are SUVs cheaper when compared to Sedans?
2. Any advantage of buying an SUV over a Sedan?
3. Is KBB the right benchmark for certified used car's prices?
4. Any reliable brands? Should I ask her to look out for service centers nearby and then choose the same brand's vehicle?
5. What should be the year of manufacture beyond which she shouldn't consider buying any vehicle? Should she also consider not going beyond certain no. of miles that vehicle has run?

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

Considering that they want to use the car for a year or so, I'd suggest sticking to a newer model so that it will be easier to re-sell. For eg you can look for a 2011 > Ford Escape or CRV with under 15-20k miles for the budget.

Infact I was looking at some Venza/Edge, 2010 and higher models with under 30-35k miles for 20-22k in California.

Going by what I hear from you and couple of other friends, cars are cheaper to buy in California. Some of the price quotes he received on cars are at least 5-10% cheaper than any prices in the north east, for example.
For Allentown, PA - you can look up zipcode and search on autotrader.com or so - just to get a sense of what you can look for at the stated budget point.

I did a quick search for you - take a look at this - under 60k miles certified SUVs for a 25 mile radius in Allentown, PA - http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...rch=true&Log=0

[kraft.wagen]

May be its cheaper in CA, but then I'm sure you can get a Edge or RAV4 or CRV with less than 30k miles for 20k budget . May be a 4WD will be a tough find, but 2WD for sure.

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

Going by what I hear from you and couple of other friends, cars are cheaper to buy in California. Some of the price quotes he received on cars are at least 5-10% cheaper than any prices in the north east, for example.
For Allentown, PA - you can look up zipcode and search on autotrader.com or so - just to get a sense of what you can look for at the stated budget point.

I did a quick search for you - take a look at this - under 60k miles certified SUVs for a 25 mile radius in Allentown, PA - http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...rch=true&Log=0