Buying my first car - need some advice

proud owner of a recently purchased Nissan Altima.

Bought an 08 with less than 10k miles on it, fully loaded (leather, XM radio, navigation, and back-up camera) for 24k from a CarMax type dealership. It's a 4-cylinder and have routinely gotten near 500 miles to the tank. Haven't filled up in two weeks. Filled up a grand total of three times in a month and I drive quite a bit.

Family member has an 07 Maxima and has had nothing wrong with it in 24k miles.

One of the main selling points with a Nissan (Altima and Maxima 07 and newer) is the smart key. Do not have to dig your keys out to get in or start the car. Very convenient.

 

Saying that you someone hasn't had problems with a new car in 24,000 miles isn't exactly high praise these days.

Unless you've got a lemon or don't change the oil, it's around 100,000-120,000 miles that you start separating the good cars from the blah cars these days.

 

have you looked at the accord?

 

Used Honda Accord.

Or, do some serious homework on Consumer Reports, and beat the shit out of a dealer on an 08 model they used for errands, etc.

 

yup.

 

Right now I'm leaning toward a Honda, and probably a Civic since they're cheaper and get slightly better gas mileage than the Accord. I'll consider the Subaru more seriously if I decide to stay in a wintry climate since they handle well with the AWD.

My rental car is an '08 Nissan Altima with the smart key. I've only driven it a couple times so far, and I like it, but I'm still getting used to a car that's larger and roomier than the Grand-Am I've driven since I got a license.

As for my health, my neck feels exponentially better today so that's a good sign. Now I'm just waiting to hear exactly how much I'll get from the insurance company for my FUBAR'd GA.

Thanks so much for the help so far and keep it coming.

 

Manufacturer holdback cash is a term you'll want to learn. It's money they pay the dealer when the dealer sells the car. Make sure they deduct that price.

CR has new and used car buying guides. Buy the appropriate one, study it, and take that information into the dealership with you. I know it's cliche, but the one with the most information wins. Every. Single. Time.

We got lucky and found a 2008 Accord in Montgomery (100 miles away) that was defective from the factory and drastically reduced. I got them to e-mail me an offer, and I used that against the dealer I went through and got a car that listed for $29,900 for $20,500.

Look for something like that. I know that's one-in-a-million, but stuff like that's out there.

 

if you're talking only a couple of miles per gallon, take the extra room.

 

My father went through this earlier this year when his Toyota Camry fell off the lift at the local shop. The Camry he had was a 1998 and was still going strong. He said he was confident the car would have lasted about five more years if it hadn't fallen off the lift.

He drove several Camrys and Honda Accords. He said the Camrys had a lot of plastic parts on the interior and seemed to him to be shoddily constructed. He went for the Honda.

 

According to the new car buying guide I purchased on CR, Camry's have begun to have more reliability problems and, thus, lower ratings.

 

Absolutely check www.edmunds.com. It'll tell you what the dealer pays for the car, among other valuable information.

Sticker price on a car is like Scott Boras saying Manny Ramirez will get six years. It's amusing but not really relevant once you have the scouting report.

 

Toyota has been doing a lot of cost cutting in recent years, and the quality has suffered.