Buying a vehicle

[Aero]

So Im in the market to buy a new car or truck. But I'm torn between 2 things. Personally I would like to get a car more than a truck; but I don't know many people with trucks and was thinking the utility of having one may outweigh the attractiveness of having my dream car.

Shit like moving furniture/camping/towing I don't see me doing too often; but when I would need to do shit like that I know Id appreciate the truck more than a car.

If you're wondering what the vehicles are; Car: 2007 Mazda RX-8 @ $22,000 CAD (A steal)
Truck: Not too sure on; probably a 2006-10 Dodge RAM 1500/2500 series; which ever I can find around $20,000 CAD.

Any advice/experiences people have Id appreciate to know. Hell; suggest a nicer truck/car if you know one(Keep in mind Im not too willing to go over 25k for one; 20k or less ideally.) Also any tips from buying from a dealership; the car would be a private sale, but Ive never bought from a dealership which is where Id likely get the truck.

[Isiolia]

Could always split the difference and get a car with a decent amount of storage space, like a WRX wagon or Mazdaspeed 3 (which are only the hatch if I recall).

Probably wouldn't be often that you'd need more space than that, and you could always rent a truck or van at that point.

[Diabolic Peach]

Or you could buy the car, get better gas milage, save the money that you would be spending on the gas for the truck and rent a truck for the weekend/week to move, camp, ect ect. In the long run you get the car of your dreams and more money in your pocket. Not to mention the car is cheaper over all to insure as well.

[Darus Grey]

If you aren't hauling something productive about 180-200 days of the year, a truck is a complete waste of money, both in terms of higher vehicle cost and significantly lower fuel economy.

Do the math, you could literally rent a truck 100 days a year cheaper than owning one vs a more efficient car(and you can get very efficient hatchback/stationwagon style vehicles if you still want a fair chunk of storage).



Edit:

Or you could buy the car, get better gas milage, save the money that you would be spending on the gas for the truck and rent a truck for the weekend/week to move, camp, ect ect. In the long run you get the car of your dreams and more money in your pocket. Not to mention the car is cheaper over all to insure as well.

Gah, beaten.

P.S. I think I'm in love.

[Eliseos]

Car: 2007 Mazda RX-8 @ $22,000 CAD (A steal)

Just a word of caution from someone who used to work at a Mazda dealership: those things are fucking awful in the snow. I bought a 2010 Mazda 3 last year with most of the bells and whistles and I love it. I leased it but the car was valued at $21k US. Handles great in rough weather too.

[Jojothemidget]

Not to mention you will be "that guy" every single time time your friends move/make plans/tow shit if you get the truck.

[Quixon]

First of all look up the fair market value of the car on Edmunds.com

Once you have that, use the information to negotiate with the dealership. You'll know as the price gets closer to the Fair Market Value, it will be tougher to get any additional money off the ticket price of the car.


Looking at Edmunds website, 22 Grand for an 07' RX-8 looks a bit high. I used 20K for the mileage, and added every option possible, Outstanding Condition and I came up with a True Market Value of $21.8 @ Dealership, Private Part at $18.4.


As far as choices go...

I wouldn't be caught dead driving a truck..... ever, so my opinion is a bit biased. The RX-8 is a fantastic car though. Mazda, as a company, has been a pleasure to deal with as well. Dealerships will obviously vary by area.

I sold my s2000 last year and swapped over to an 07' Miata + a New Jeep Wrangler. Got rid of the S2000 since there wasn't much more I could do to it. Needed another convertible and the BMW Z4 looks like a giant dick.... so I went with the Miata lol.


Similar or cheaper priced cars to also look at?

-Nissan 350Z
-Mazdaspeed 3
-2006 Lancer Evo.
-Early Model Subaru WRX STI


Regardless of if it's a Private Party or Dealership Sale...... get a car fax report, and have it looked over by a trusted mechanic. If an accident occurred, and was not turned in to insurance.... the car fax might not have record of it. That's why I always recommend bringing the car to a trusted mechanic.

If you have time you can bring it to an auto-detailing guy as well. They can pick out a re-sprayed, or previously damaged+repaired, vehicle very quickly.


Here's some other general tips for car buying:

http://www.edmunds.com/car-advice.html

[Isiolia]

Just a word of caution from someone who used to work at a Mazda dealership: those things are fucking awful in the snow. I bought a 2010 Mazda 3 last year with most of the bells and whistles and I love it. I leased it but the car was valued at $21k US. Handles great in rough weather too.

Well, most anything is crap in snow without proper tires. Or are RX-8s bad even if you put all season or snow/ice tires on 'em? Second set of wheels/tires for winter use is pretty much a given for areas with a lot of snow.

[Quixon]

FYI if you are looking into any form of Sports Car.... budget in at least $600 additional for Snow Tires.


The RX-8's are crap in the snow, as is any Rear Wheel Drive sports car really. Once you throw quality snow tires on you should be good to go.

My miata only weighs about 1500 pounds, and with Bridgestone Blizzaks and a couple 50# bags of sand in the trunk.... I own the winter time. Sometimes I gotta drive it to work in the snow if the Fiance steals my Jeep.

[Linliel]

Just a word of caution from someone who used to work at a Mazda dealership: those things are fucking awful in the snow. I bought a 2010 Mazda 3 last year with most of the bells and whistles and I love it. I leased it but the car was valued at $21k US. Handles great in rough weather too.

Agreed, Mazda 3s are seriously awesome. I had one (a 2004 "Maxx Sport") for 5 years and really regretfully sold it when I moved to Europe. I loved that little car <3

[*Shinzon*]

If you are seriously considering a truck and want something that will be decent on fuel mileage your best bet is to consider a Ford. Ford offers the Eco-tech twin turbo v6 on select models and while it'll use premium gas, the turbo will use less gas than a conventional v8.

Also, since you are concerned with praticality I would not advise considering a car that is a daily driver without AWD. Audi A3 TDIs start at about 23-25k and are AWD and will save you money on gas and save the planet if you're into that sort of thing. Otherwise consider any model Subaru for cheaper awd alternatives.

[Eliseos]

Well, most anything is crap in snow without proper tires. Or are RX-8s bad even if you put all season or snow/ice tires on 'em? Second set of wheels/tires for winter use is pretty much a given for areas with a lot of snow.

They were so bad we usually had to tow them around the lot, even with snow amounting up to only 3 inches. Most of them had all-season tires on too. Whenever we had to plow the lot it usually took us at least an hour just dealing with the RX-8s and the miatas, which we usually had 3-4 of each in stock. Maybe I'm biased but they were just terrible in the snow.

[Therin]

I'm no expert on Mazdas but $22k sounds outrageous for an '07 RX-8, unless it has less than 10,000 miles or something.

[Quixon]

Miata's and Rx-8's come with summer performance tires, which actually suck pretty badly performance wise. As a daily driver tire they are fine. They should be Bridgestone Potenza's.

Also, 3" of snow is quite a bit to be driving through on the road for any vehicle. If there is 3" of snow on the road around here, no one is driving except for plow trucks. We get a very large amount of snowfall here in the winter as well. The roads are always plowed during the week though, so you very rarely encounter that much snow on the actual road surface.

The difference between a quality snow tire, like the Blizzaks, and an "all-season" tire are huge, let alone the difference between a snow tire and a high performance summer tire.

You don't NEED all wheel drive in the snow. The benefit to the all wheel drive is getting the car rolling in the snow. If you are experienced driving in the snow already, you will be fine with snow tires on the RX-8.

[tyven]

you should get an altima

[Shalyn]

Agreeing with the car instead of truck since you can just rent one when needed... Just an FYI if you're in Ontario (I'm sure there are equivalents in other provinces), and you can thank the free calendar my work supplied me, but make sure that you buy from a dealer who is licensed by OMVIC.

[Dainslaif]

A car is best for the mileage reasons, but a truck comes in handy if you ever plan to move or carry large stuff in general.

Since snow has been mentioned an awful lot, I'd strongly recommend a Subaru. AWD comes standard and it's a massive help if that's a concern at all.

[MarkM.]

Something that wasn't mentioned, that a lot of pepole aren't aware of, is some insurances have a car buying service. They negotiate the price, tell you where to go, you show up, and sign paper work. I have USAA insurance, they negotiated the price on a car I bought in November, $15 over invoice. Might check to see if your insurance has something similar, makes the process a whole lot easier and less stressful.

[Diabolic Peach]

Something that wasn't mentioned, that a lot of pepole aren't aware of, is some insurances have a car buying service. They negotiate the price, tell you where to go, you show up, and sign paper work. I have USAA insurance, they negotiated the price on a car I bought in November, $15 over invoice. Might check to see if your insurance has something similar, makes the process a whole lot easier and less stressful.

I use USAA as well, for the last 15 years, I guess I really should have looked into that before buying my car in 05... would have saved me a lot of money. :/ Damn 20/20 sight. I'll make sure to use it next time.

[Caiyuo]

Not to mention you will be "that guy" every single time time your friends move/make plans/tow shit if you get the truck.

Thaaaaat and the posts about simply renting when you're in need instead of buying are spot on. It seems super common that someone's always trying to think "what if ONE DAY I need to move something..." and try to reason out why buying a truck would be a good idea and the idea of rental never comes to mind.