Plus, if you pay in cash they'll usually knock some off of the final bill. At least that's what mine always did. He passed a few years ago. Great guy.
Car buying advice
- Thread starter CycloneRulzzz
- Start date
Honda or Toyota, they will cost a little more upfront, but are well worth the price difference. We have a Toyota Camry, 105,000 miles on it and our mechanic said it just getting broken in. Our other vehicle is a Toyota Grand Highlander, best vehicle we have ever owned. You just can't go wrong with Toyota.
A central Iowa dealership charges you $500 more if you dont finance it with them.
Except when you’re signing up for his course, then he wants a credit card
This is the dumbest practice there is, but this is true. there are multiple dealers that do this actually
We rented a Grand Highlander for two weeks on vacation. If we were in the market for a new vehicle, that trip would have sold us on it.
I've got a 4Runner that's 9 years old and 130k on the clock. Besides the battle damage that comes with kids sports, it's still in great shape. My plan is to have it end up being the car the kids drive when they get that age, so 5 more years.
I'd echo the advice for getting a Consumer Reports subscription, especially if you're buying used. They should highlight any discovered issues with a particular make and model. And never buy the first model year of a refresh.
Anymore if you have the cash, you are better off financing it through the dealership, then pay the entire vehicle off when the first payment is due. Many times they will lower the price if you tell them you want to finance, compared to purchasing a new vehicle outright. Just make sure there is no penalty for paying the vehicle off early and get that in writing.
Negotiate the price of the vehicle with the sales person, not what payment you can afford. Don't be afraid to walk out the door if you don't like the deal. Plug in some numbers to see what you can afford on your own.
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Toyota hit a home run on the Grand Highlander, we got ours in 2023, it's a 2024 model, so it's three years old, 53K miles and runs better than ever. Being the first year of the vehicle we did have a few recalls, the roof curtain airbags had to be replaced, only had one key fob for about 9 months till we got the 2nd. But overall Toyota has been great about the recalls. I took it in for a tire rotation this past week, and outside of the tires being wore, and a cabin air filter needs replaced, they thought it was in great shape. We have the hybrid max version, and it does fly down the road, only complaint would be that I wish it got a little better gas mileage, we average around 25/26 miles per gallon.
Live dangerous, get a VW or a Jeep.
I was talking more about repairs. Paying the guy at my local shop in cash usually resulted in him knocking a little off the final bill vs. if I'd used a card.
Very true, you never what to go back to the dealership for any maintenance on a new vehicle that is not covered under warranty. Always going to be cheaper at the local shop than the dealership on about anything.
FYI, many libraries provide free digital access to Consumer Reports and other popular publications such as the NYT.
For you Rulzzz a conversion van may be best to handle all the women you pick up. Can entertain anywhere.
I've had the complete opposite experience with Hyundai. Wife has had a Hyundai for her last three vehicles (Elantra then Santa Fe then Palisade). They've been extremely reliable with no issues. Traded in the Santa Fe last year for a 2026 Palisade. Santa Fe had a little over 110k miles at the time.
