Owning your first car in the U.S.

[anitacastillo 0]

I found 21st Century insurance much cheaper than Geico. Even when I had to add my immigrant husband.

OP - I think Toyotas are great. Check out Craigslit.

-- Ann (also from Bay Area)

[natty bumppo 297]

owning the car ... it's easy

tell the USC SO I want it and put my name on the car.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

VWs have probably one of the lowest reliability ratings of all imports.

[scotty 0]

Hi, since I've been here nearly 3 years now I have bought 1 new truck-wife totalled it- then bought a used one and also bought her a used one 2006 both of them and ford

anyway just suffice to say never ever pay the sticker price on any car, over say 10 grand who are looking to get at least 2 grand off, obviously the higher price of car the more you can haggle thus the more you can get off,they will tell you I have to speak to the manager come back and offer you a poultry couple a hundred off it, just walk away and mention you are looking at other cars the same, go back a couple of times each time he will take a few dollars off, whatever you do don't sound as if you have fallen in love with the particular car,even play 2 garages against each other, it can be quite a waiting game if you want your car at the right price but it's worth it in the end.Most comments above are all correct and valid oh and also they should do a carfax for you no problem.

Regards David

I don't see anything wrong with VWs either.. We are a VW and Honda family and haven't had any problems with either

[Paul 0]

200 bucks for an inspection? Yikes

$200 is a lot for that. When I first got here someone recommended a mechanic and he looked it over for free.

Find yourself a good mechanic here if you haven't got one already:

http://www.cartalk.com/content/mechx/find.html

If you are even remotely near having enough cash to buy new then you should consider that- dealers are desperate to sell since the Cash for Clunkers scheme ended. A friend bought a brand new Honda Civic the other week for $16,000 (and it wasn't a manual with no radio or anything like that).

If you really want to avoid haggling don't forget the Carmax chain of used car dealers who make a point of having a very open price policy. They are a bit more expensive as a consequence but quite trustworthy. We bought our most recent car from Craigslist but that's probably the most risky. Best bet is probably buying used from a major new-car dealer. Just research the price and be prepared to walk away if they won't give you the deal you want- there are always more cars out there! My wife bought her first car here from a dealer and they kept us there for hours negotiating the price, I wish we'd just said 'thanks but no thanks' and left sooner.

[jjbandero 39]

Hello all,

After more than 3 years in the States, i decided to start investigating purchasing a car. Even tho I'm not sure how to pay for it .

Would anybody be so kind to share his/her experience with buying his/her first car here?

I'm thinking of going for an used car. I've read a lot about it already, and i just wished there was a magic ball telling me which salesman/vendor/dealer is honest, if there is such thing!

I have a harder time tho with finding some good info re: car insurance. I checked a few websites, and the only way I can get an idea of the costs, is by requesting a quote. And for that I need to give them all my info, which i don't want to do at this time. Besides, i don't have a car yet, so what would they be quoting on?

Anyway, I know there are a lot of unknowns, but basically what I'm looking for is to have an idea of how much insurance costs per month.

I'm also wonder how the process works. How can you have the car checked by an independent mechanic? You take it for a test drive, and go to the mechanic's shop, or what?

All stories welcome

Hi There,

I went through the same process about 3 years ago with my car and I used this website for tips Link, it gives you quite a bit of information and options.

When I first got insurance, I was able to provide my clean driving record from the Australian equivalent of the DMV and also a letter from my previous insurance company stating I've not had a claim to the insurance broker here and they were able to apply the 'good driver' discount. Depending on your profession, some insurance companies offer members of professional organizations e.g. CPAs, engineers additional discounts, it doesn't hurt to ask. Also I found it easy to switch insurance companies, just keep looking for new deals. Of course if you already have say housing insurance, usually when you bundle it, most insurance companies will offer a discount.

Cheers

[kaus&Sanu 0]

Hi,

We did buy a used vehicle in June.

We decided to go with a car dealer. Here is our experience (this is in Florida)

- Took the vehicle for a couple of test drives.

- Negotiated a price. Now they did reduce the price a bit, for that reduction we had to forgo the 6 month warranty they were offering originally.

- They registered the vehicle for us, we paid them for it when we picked the registration up.

- Check the vehicle Carfax report - sometimes a dealer will offer to get you the full report at no cost to you - worth asking for, however it only covers things that are reported - so don't rely on it to say the vehicle is ok to purchase.

They had done an inspection on the vehicle and were happy to share that information with us. We organized to pick it up and take it for an independant inspection. I think it is a wise idea. Just let them know up front that before you buy any vehicle you are going to have an independant inspection.

That all checked out - we bought the vehicle.

As for insurance, we transferred it when we got the new truck - however I hear what you are saying. What I did, when I was shopping around for insurance was to call a few agencies and say - we are thinking of buying a - whatever - can you give me an estimate of what the insurance will be on that. I want x coverage - I know there are other factors but if you can give me a rough estimate it will help me decide whether I want to even buy that truck.

I really only called Geico and Allstate - for us Allstate was about 1/3 cheaper - so we went with them.

My personal advice - no matter how good the deal - walk away from it and think about it - at least - overnight.

Good luck

Dont trust carfax. I can site many instances where i've gone out to look at cars with clean carfax reports and they werent.

Go to

www.kbb.com, and www.thinkbank.com click on auto loans and they have a good tool there as well.. the blackbook.. and it will also give you your interested cars actual worth.

it's easy to look over a car, do some research. I'll post more pointers once i get some time at work.

Carfax is reliable - it's the people who fail to report who are not.

Carfax is not reliable because it's dependent on someone actually taking the time to report it. Which many times does not occur. Hence, it is not reliable...

[kaus&Sanu 0]

Some DIY checks...

When the engine is cold:

Check your coolant, make sure it is a Greenish color (for standard type anti-freeze), and goldish (for Dex-cool/5year coolants). Make sure you have nothing reddish color fluid floating (that means tranny fluid is in there and you have a leak in the trans-cooler).

Check oil color and level and rub some of it on between your fingers to feel for shavings.

Start the engine, and look at the exhaust, is it blue? (this means burning oil) Smell like rotten eggs (burning antifreeze with your gas).

Push each corner of the car down, how many bounces does it take before settling? 1 -2, it's okay, more... this means bad dampener.

When driving it, weave side to side... does it settle okay, suspension feel tight?

Brake fluid level, this will typically tell you how much pad you have left (if it has not been topped off).

Heavy vibration when in reverse or drive? Possibly loose exhaust headers.

Accelerate and check for hesitation if present, could be vacuum leak, or blow by. Have a mechanic check it out.

Pull the PVC out and shake it, can you hear the ball in there move? This is good, if it doesnt move, either to much oil or some serious oil problems.

When idling, look at the engine, is it smooth? or does it shake a lot? it should be smooth, could be signs of slight vacuum leak.

That's just some basic stuff...

Let me know if you want more technical, if you can handle technical, grab a vacuum guage and tap into one of the vacuum lines.. you should get a consistent vacuum the needle should not bounce around, if it does, it means you may have some bad piston rings... etc...

Also, look at the tires, they should be wearing equally on each tire, not one side of the tire wearing more than the right side of the tire, this could mean some camber/caster allignment issues.

Edited November 2, 2009 by kaus&Sanu

[Nikita2Charles 32]

One of the expensive purchase we had to make, here what i did.

Passing Smog in California can be really expensive, so 1st thing after a test drive we asked the owner if we can have the car check my our mechanic, Took the car there for the examination, they lift it up, noticed some oil leak on the oil pan, the mechanic determine it was coming from the oil switch.

2) The Condenser for the AC had a hole

3) Ran a trial Smog Test to make sure it will pass Smog, I learned the hard way dealers have places where any car can pass smog and get a certificate but 2 years later when you have to do an Smog only check up, you can be in for some serious $$$

Best advice

Take it the mechanic, it cost us $60, but that's the best money I've ever spend. We've had the car for the past 5 years now, Nissan Maxima 98, we never had any major problem.

[Clownies 2]

wow plenty of good tips here...

Does anyone have experience with buying from rental car agency? I've read some good things about it, and bad things as well.

In my opinion, I think the rental agencies don't want people to have bad experience with their cars. If they sell a lemon, it will be bad publicity for them. It's in their interest to sell good cars. Enterprise, for one, even offer powertrain warranty, which i find interesting.

Keep in mind, I'm not looking for a whistle and bells car. I do not intend to use it for commuting. I'll use it as a "getaway" car, for occasional trips in the weekend, or major grocery shopping. So i don't need one of those flashy cars we see on tv..

[Paul 0]

wow plenty of good tips here...

Does anyone have experience with buying from rental car agency? I've read some good things about it, and bad things as well.

In my opinion, I think the rental agencies don't want people to have bad experience with their cars. If they sell a lemon, it will be bad publicity for them. It's in their interest to sell good cars. Enterprise, for one, even offer powertrain warranty, which i find interesting.

Keep in mind, I'm not looking for a whistle and bells car. I do not intend to use it for commuting. I'll use it as a "getaway" car, for occasional trips in the weekend, or major grocery shopping. So i don't need one of those flashy cars we see on tv..

I don't have direct experience to offer- just an opinion- I would never buy an ex-rental car, just because people tend to drive them quite badly since they don't have to take responsibility for problems they might cause! The best used car has one owner who really looked after it and drove it carefully. That's my opinion, anyway. Rental companies are also buying cars with limited lifespans since the lifecycle for a rental is quite short (like Chrysler Sebrings etc which are very poorly rated and wouldn't be good long-term bets).

[Clownies 2]

wow plenty of good tips here...

Does anyone have experience with buying from rental car agency? I've read some good things about it, and bad things as well.

In my opinion, I think the rental agencies don't want people to have bad experience with their cars. If they sell a lemon, it will be bad publicity for them. It's in their interest to sell good cars. Enterprise, for one, even offer powertrain warranty, which i find interesting.

Keep in mind, I'm not looking for a whistle and bells car. I do not intend to use it for commuting. I'll use it as a "getaway" car, for occasional trips in the weekend, or major grocery shopping. So i don't need one of those flashy cars we see on tv..

I don't have direct experience to offer- just an opinion- I would never buy an ex-rental car, just because people tend to drive them quite badly since they don't have to take responsibility for problems they might cause! The best used car has one owner who really looked after it and drove it carefully. That's my opinion, anyway. Rental companies are also buying cars with limited lifespans since the lifecycle for a rental is quite short (like Chrysler Sebrings etc which are very poorly rated and wouldn't be good long-term bets).

yeah, that's a comment I've read a lot "people tend to drive them quite badly". However, I'm not sure if this is based on facts. Seriously, i don't think most people take their rental for a joyride in the everglades. A few maybe. College kids perhaps.

I know I treat my rental as if it were mine!

But yes, something to take into consideration. Thanks for your opinion.