[maddy42]

This may be a long story of me but it has been a very winding path. Plenty of decisions, counter decisions, good thoughts, bad thoughts, Smiles, Sadness and frustration. I hope you are willing to take this in good jest and am open to your comments or criticism. This is my story on buying a car.

I was born into a family where my Dad loved vehicles but was always a very sensible buyer. Always believed in using a product till it lasts and thus we have vehicles which are old in a lot of peoples eyes but in our eyes these are our babies and they will last. Changing vehicles frequently is scorned at and thats the only reason we have not sold a vehicle in the last 17 years.

This thing has been deeply ingrained in me which helped retain our MM540 at home when people were asking it for 90000 for a good condition vehicle with just 95000 kms on it.

While doing my Mechanical Engineering in bangalore i was given the trusted 96 Esteem as the ride (For my Internship) and thus had some fun in this car in and around bangalore. Trips to Savandurga, devarayandurga and Nandi hills became common. Ooty was just a couple of hours away and Mysore was for lunch. These were the wonderful years of my life and i will always cherish those.

Then came reality. Got a job in an Unknown land(PUNE). Didnt know anyone there except a friend, so packed my bags and moved in. Was unsure on how long i would be there and thus didnt get a ride. Mom was against a Bike. Dad wanted me to buy a CT100(this coz the carpenter claimed it gave 100kmpl!!). So better sense prevailed and i managed for 3 months in my training period in Share autos became my ride and the PMT buses were my life line to venture into the city!
(Source Google)

Moved to Mumbai and the need for a car vanished. Train was Ideal and i was too scared to Ride. In between i spent some time looking for a RX. Either the bikes were junk or too expensive which made me scrap the decision. I still waited. In hope that some day i will own something of my own! Didnt know this wait would take ages! But guess Mehnath ka Fal meeta hota hai does apply

[maddy42]

Job got boring. I didnt like what i was doing. I had always watched this one video which made me want to come to the US.

Cannonball Run USA - YouTube

I joined T-bhp and a lot of working hours was spent on this website. I drooled over everyones cars. I just loved it. My love for cars increased but buying was out of the question while working in Mumbai and i had promised myself and Mom that i would study further.

So GRE and Toefl it was and gave it to get a decent score. Applied to 6 Universities for my Masters in Engg Management. 3 Universities were a dream and 3 were reaity . Scores were good so got into 3 of them with one Dream.

Chose on coming to this Private school. School was filled with N number of good cars. Our dean drove a porsche and there was a student who did come by a Maserati. No kidding. But lived like a Grad student. Walked or Bus to college. Tried cycling but realised i was too lazy with all the smoking taking its toll.

Finally whiled away 1.5 yrs of college by maintaining my calm for a car. Rented some for trips here and there and made the full use of them. Resolve for buying one ASAP became stronger. Graduation came and went and hunt for the job happened. Touch wood things came through and was able to land myself an opportunity.

[maddy42]

I got a job but lived walking distance from my work place. So depended on my friend for a car. She had a 2005 elantra. But then weekends were a bore. All clubs or decently interesting place was far away. I used to attend car shows and all had to be done by borrowing my friends ride or getting a ride.

This got me thinking of seriously buying a car. SO research started. Lease vs Buy vs Second hand(Dealer owned) vs Second hand(Pvt seller)

Few of my constraints:

• Credit History was absent(Lived in college without a credit card)
  
• Credit(Loan) was needed for the full payment
  
• Car really needed to be fun to drive and be a looker(Toyota went out of the window on this)

Now the research aspect:

Lease: Typical lease is a 3 year one where you pay 55% of the Car value over 3 years with an option of buying the car at the end of the deal.

Pros:
Ability to go for the luxury segment(BMW, Merc etc)
You could drive a car every 3 years

Cons:
A good credit history is Priority
You would need to take full coverage and cannot survive with a Liabilty insurance(This can be in the Pros section as this is important)
You may not get a good deal at the end of 3 yrs to buy it plus you have lived with the car for 3 years so you may be out of the honeymoon period
Limited miles(this can be increased with a good negotiation with the dealership)

Second Hand(Pvt Seller): One of the widest markets and the craziest ones too. I live in Arizona which has a website called AZIndia - Home which connects the Indian community. So you would find cars which we prefer and used by others from India.

Pros:
Wide variety
Price varies from really cheap(Some as low as $500 but dont touch them with a bargepole too) to some expensive ones

Cons:
Phoenix is the Car Theft capital of US!
You really would need to travel and plan to look at the cars(Time is money at times)
Market research needs to be ready
Some owners can be shady and how much ever you check the history sometimes things will go wrong

Second Hand(Dealer): One of the chosen route by some to reduce the nuisance of going for a deal with an unknown seller.

Pros:
Credit is available
Selection at one spot is endless
Cars usually are clean and also they are checked before given to you

Cons:
Dealership margins are higher
Tax and title costs about 14% which can be a lot once over the 10k mark
Cars are higher priced due to this(Check KBB values for dealership)

New Car: My favorite option. Once of the most widely chosen one.

Pros:
Widest selection
Widest range
Credit available
You will really be a kid in a candy store

Cons:
Confusion is endless
Negotiation should be as good as like a fish vendor
You should know what you want before you enter a dealership as the salesmen are Vultures!


Now coming to choices when i started off:

Mazda Miata 99(Used 6k with 50000 miles on it)
Honda Accord 05
Honda Civics 07

[maddy42]

First stop: Cars.com.

This site is pretty well reviewed and has some decent deals at dealerships posted here. Its basically a better version of craigslist.

My criteria was FUN to drive.
Mazda Miata and Honda Accord from 05(v6) caught my eye and off i shot mails to the dealership through this site.

One thing i learnt is car salesmen always call back faster than your friends!! Am serious! Got a call within 5 mins of sending an intention of interest.

Car no1: Mazda Miata
Saw this 99 model with 55000 miles and single owner and a clean record. Read all about Miatas and for people who have played the game NFS you know how this car is! One of the most sold convertibles in the world and the whole reviews online just says one thing! AWESOME.

Went to the dealer with my friend. First look at the car and i was not impressed. Friend hated it. It just didnt look great. So hoped in for a drive and was i impressed. It is one of the most fun to drive cars which i have driven. Light weight and nimble. Gear shift was a bit tough.

Pros:
Fun to drive
Good price point

Cons:
Bland Interiors
VERY LOW SPACE(This killed it)
Not feasible as the only car

Car no2: 05 Honda Accord V6
This car has always been on my wishlist. Well positioned as higher than the economy segment, great interiors, tremondous feel on the road and V6!

Saw 2 cars in this segment. One with high miles in a 10k range and one more with 70000 miles in the 12k range. Would have bought any of this if the reason of no credit history and low down payment came to bite me.

Car no3: Hyundai Elantra2012
This car was given as an option by the dealer where i went to see the Accord. Its a nice car but low power, very sluggish accelaration played against it as the fun to drive doesnt come here. Also accords interiors were better!
The negotiations were going on in the background when all of a sudden there was a Old Hero Re Entry!!!

Hynudai Genesis 2012(My Babe)

[esteem_lover]

Looks absolutely stunning maddy. Some inside pics would be nice. What was the deal for this ?

[Vik0728]

Woah maddy42 did I just read "Hynudai Genesis 2012(My Babe)" at the end of your post mite ??

DROOOOL DROOOOOOOL DROOOOOOOL........Please Continue......

[arvi86]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Hynudai Genesis 2012(My Babe)

Wow! That's a beauty you have got yourself there. I have always loved the design of the Genesis Coupe and it is really a game-changer for Hyundai. To be frank, I was really waiting for someone to post an ownership review of either the Genesis Sedan or Coupe and here it comes. Glued to this thread!

By the way, one photo of the Genesis Coupe is hardly enough for us to feast. Please post more and more exterior and interior shots of the car.

[ninjatalli]

Lovely narration - and a fabulous picture in the last page; already subscribed myself to this thread. 3 months of travel in share autos & PMT buses and you don't have a single picture? Which year is this are you talking about?

OT : My friend in US got a Camry real cheap - from another colleague who was coming back to India and was selling his 2 year old car. You would have had a better network considering the time spent there - nothing of that sort worked out for you?

[maddy42]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Looks absolutely stunning maddy. Some inside pics would be nice. What was the deal for this ?

Thank you. Details coming up. In simple terms no deal

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Woah maddy42 did I just read "Hynudai Genesis 2012(My Babe)" at the end of your post mite ??

DROOOOL DROOOOOOOL DROOOOOOOL........Please Continue......

Originally Posted by arvi86

Wow!
By the way, one photo of the Genesis Coupe is hardly enough for us to feast. Please post more and more exterior and interior shots of the car.

Thank You. More pics will come up

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Lovely narration - and a fabulous picture in the last page; already subscribed myself to this thread. 3 months of travel in share autos & PMT buses and you don't have a single picture? Which year is this are you talking about?

OT : My friend in US got a Camry real cheap - from another colleague who was coming back to India and was selling his 2 year old car. You would have had a better network considering the time spent there - nothing of that sort worked out for you?

Well vehicle in my network didnt satisfy what i wanted. The year in pune was 07 and in mumbai till 09. This time got me on Tbhp but i still dont know why but i havent bought a camera. Love it when someone else takes shots and i use my phone for the same.

[maddy42]

One last visit which i had to was a Honda Dealership. No offence to anyone but on Customer service perspective i would rate them a -5. First i arrive to be made to wait 30 mins and later the guy doesnt know which car is in the shop and which is not in.

I was in for a 05 accord and this was a 4cyl. The car was not available. He then goes on to push a 07 civic. We went round the entire dealership in a car trying to find this elusive civic and were not successful. Finally to make things worse this is the deal he gave.

Car list price: 12,500
Honda maintenance check: 1000
Tax and title: 2000
Interest on a loan: 2000

A car for 17000! This was a freaking money dump and worse is he claimed it to be a valuable investment! I just told him this "I will buy a 5000 worth car, in 2 years even if i junk it i will loose 5000, on this car am loosing 5000 as soon as i drive out of here, i should be insane to make this deal"

Walked out, was flustered, frustrated. I truely agree to the fact of buying a car is a Pain in the A%^ process. But guess its just a matter of time.

Best part is coming up.(Immediately)

[maddy42]

Weekend came close. Halloween time. I had been aggresively looking or close to a week. My number was with a number of folks but no one was even calling up which is usually a bad sign. So to take a break and relax i decided on going for a paddle boarding class which i had enrolled for. Rented a chevy cruze and went to this lake for some classes.

Looks fun but its tough! Sorry for dragging but my sincere hope is hope i am getting across what i was going through during this time.


The lake which was where i did this(Some views)

[_raVan_]

You have terrific writing skills. Inspired from the Yeti in here?

Congratulations on your buy. It looks very classy and the color is spot on. Those are 17" rims? Do post the remainder of the thread soon!

[maddy42]

After falling in the water a couple of times and now totally refreshed i got back home, made some eggs for breakfast and then decided plan of action

Plan 1: Call the salesman in the Hyundai dealership who was supposed to try for an elantra for me

Plan 2: Call up my friends Mechanic (Mike)who was a pretty good guy, ask him if he could help out.

Plan1: Called the salesman and spoke to his boss who said he would look into doing something and will call back in 20 mins.

But now i have the car only for two days and moved fast and called up Mike or Plan 2.

Plan 2: Mike is one favorite mechanic amongst Indians. Very fair and honest guy who calls a spade as it is. Had called him before looking at a car and he is always willing to help. So gave him a call and told him my situation.

1) Need a car
2) Credit also should be provided.

Mike works at this Hyundai dealership called Larry Miller Hyundai. They have Dodge, and Toyota dealerships too. Anyways i did mention that I didnt mind considering a New Car if things fell in place. So off i go to meet him. He introduces me to this lady Mrika, eastern eurpoean lady who has daughters my age.
She is nice takes me to her desk where she has like Salesperson of the year for the past 8 months. I know i am in good hands. She goes on to take my details and asked what i was looking for.

Thought for a second and blurted out "Genesis 2.0" as this was the max i could go to. She didnt look surprised and stuff!

Few stuff which is looked for:
1) Pay stubs
2) If your a recent college grad then your degree certificate(The more reputed the college the better) Snobbish is the BEST!
3) SSN No
4) How much down your willing to go.

She handed these details to a finance person and came out to check the car out. So off we went out with multiple keys in hand. There were 3 Genesis lined up. I couldnt believe it. 2 days back people were giving me bull stories and now here i am about to test drive without any hiccups! Was i dreaming??

In front of me stood 3 colors: Black, Silver and Grey.

Silver was sober, Black in AZ would be a maintenance nightmare due to the dust. So Grey it was.

Car was the 2.0T without the premium pack(No leathers and electronic seats). Leather wasnt high up on my list due to the heat.

ENtered the car, This was my second time driving a genesis so i wasnt surprised a bit. Nicely done job. Nice sound from the exhaust and gorgeous to look at.

Test drive: Please note. This was just a drive and negotiations havent started. So off we went in a car which had just 12 miles on it. This was the least mileage in any car which i drove. Went fro a longish drive of 16 miles and the car felt good. Nothing to complain so got back to see if the deal could happen.

Back at the showroom it was lunch time. ALl had eaten stuff while i was hungry. But i didnt wanna budge, so got a coke and then the Mrika appeared asking more information.

One advice: Be ready for giving the same info again and again and also be ready to have your best foot forward as negotiation is a pain.

She came back and My O My, she had a sheet with various numbers. Are you kidding me. I have never been shown this with all my visits and here it is. SO got into negotiating a price. I was alone and so did my best and got a price which i felt was fair.

So here i was, looking for a car for which was almost 5 times from the price i started. A million questions running in my head

1) Can i afford it(I ran the number and it said yes if some cuts are made)
2) Should i ask my parents(No point as dad will advice me to not go for it)
3) Is it feasible if i move to a snow place(Well chain tires and sand bag in truck will do)
4) Its a coupe(I am not a bus service so people can ride in their car if its uncomfy to sit in the back)
5)Mileage is low(I dont drive to work, so weekend toy)
6) Its new so i will loose on depreciation(Headache will be saved for a in warranty car and all this while in life i wanted something good and i waited, when the time comes i should do something for myself)

With these queries answered(In my head) i went ahead and accepted the offer. Car was for 26k + tax and title. Would have been better off if i paid all in cash as the interest is killing.

Now the wait for the paperwork and handing the keys was on. Returned my rental and the sales lady came picked me up from there. Finished off paper work by 6.30 and then Mrika explained all the features in the car and synced my phone to the cars bluetooth. After a glad thanks and a million $ smile on my face i was off for the slowest and longest drive of my life.

From the dealership to back home. Stopped at the market to get Indian sweets and called all my friends and surprised them with what i had. Only one of them knew what was up.

Some shots of the car which was taken on delivery night.

[maddy42]

More pics of the car

First two are taken by my friend who is agups on the forum




On a recent trip to tuscon




The second set of day light pictures from my phone camera

[esteem_lover]

Fantastic maddy, a great buy. Only 12 miles on the odo ? 30k is like 15L and we cannot even dream of a car like this for that price. Enjoy her. She looks gorgeous from side on and from the rear and very Hyundai from the front. I hope you have wonderful moments with this car.