Cars, too many of them

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Cars, too many of them
Al-Basha
03/08/01 at 20:35:41
[slm]

well im in dilemma here, there's like so many cars out there that I don't know which one to get. I was looking at cars.com today and I got dizzy after 10 minutes.

So i've decided to ask my fellow madina bro's and sisters what good cars are out there.

Keep in mind a couple of things insha Allah:

A) The car should be roomy, IE for tall people.
B) I'm not looking for a super powerful car, but id rather not have it stall on me in the middle of the highway
C) Safety
D) How often it needs to be repaired etc?
E) I don't want any special rims or headlights, or any gangster rapper style cars or stuff like this. IE if the car belongs to a college/hs student i probably wouldn't like it. I'm kinda old school ;)

Okay, so gimme your advice insha Allah.
Think Zesty!
Nazia
03/08/01 at 21:21:49
slm,

Whats your price range? Do you want old/new?

I'm going to pretend you want a new car for under 20k, ok?


(My fav!)

VW Jetta!!! (in silver)
Masha'Allah...this is one stylin car.

For a shell, you'll be looking at about $16-$17k
Moderately equipped will have you hugging $20k

If the Jetta ain't quite your style, you could always go for the dependable, commendable Mitsibushi Galant, which will also run you close to $20k.

Buuut, if you're going to spend $20k, why not shell out another couple of grand and go for the new Maximas? ;)

oorr...if you're going to shell out $25-$30K, spend a lil more and you're looking at the BMW 323i. One word: TIGHT

Ok ok...getting a little carried away. Lets stick to my original under $20k plan.

There's always the
Accord LX, and Mazda 626, both comfortably equipped at around the aforementioned price...ooor the Toyota Camry (blah).

See, even though you don't want a smashy, flashy, ghetto, rimmed up, lowered, hydrolic pumpin hooptie...you still don't want to tattoo
"B-L-A-N-D" across your foreheard do you?? Nooo.
So lets step away from the Corolla/Camry family.

Let's look at cars under $15k.

Honda Civic
Mazda Protege
Toyota Corolla (blah)
Mitsibushi Mirage (blah)


Anyways, My top pick?

VW JETTA..hands down.

Why?
-German Engineering
-Incredible good looks
-Dependable
-Incredible good looks

Aiight, take care,
Wassalam,
Nazia

Re: Cars, too many of them
bhaloo
03/09/01 at 00:01:00
slm

In terms of safety, reliability, Honda and Toyota blow away everyone completely.  Its not even close.  All companies use Toyota as the benchmark for excellence and design their cars to try and meet the high standards of Toyota.  I've talked to people that have worked in the auto industry.  And you simply need to pickup a consumer reports buying guide and look at reliability and you will see that Toyota and Honda are near perfect, whereas other cars are way down there.  VW Jetta, hahahahahahahahahahahhaha.  :) :) :)

Hondas have incredibly high resale value and its because they really control inventory, so its hard to get a good deal on them.  Toyota wants to be the number one seller in America and their dealerships are always overstocked so you can always get a good deal.  When I say good deal, I'm talking about buying the car at below the cost the dealer pays for the car.  Usually these are called come-on ads, where you go to the dealership at 7am in the morning at buy the one car they advertised at like $3,000 below their cost.  As a prime example, a Toyota Camry, brand new, I've seen for $14,500 and it was fairly easy to get one for about $15,500.  This is a car with a sticker price of $18 or $19,000.  This car has a bigger engine then the Jetta, is bigger inside, is the most reliable car out there.  Look at the Jetta's electrical, cooling, and hardware problems (consumer reports mentions this).  

The corolla isn't bad either, a new one is like 11k or 12k, but its a bit smaller.  

I'm literally a car salesman's worst nightmare.  I don't negotiate, its against my policy, hahahahahaha.  You either meet my price (which is below their cost) or I am walking.  Of course they always hate me and end up wasting their time, and to save myself time, I just look for the come on ads in the paper and just go for those.  This car buying business I take very seriously and look at what's the best bang for the buck and what's reliable.  

Check out the Kelley Blue Book page, it has the invoice prices of new cars with options, and what used cars also sell for.  
http://www.kbb.com

Also, never buy a used Honda Civic, because usually people love to modify them and try to get the most out of them adding illegal components to them, there's webpages on this stuff.

As for a BMW 325i, hahahah, ok, maybe the handling is aaaiiitte and acceleration but that car is tiny.  I am 6 feet tall, and when I sat in the front seat, I put the chair all the way back, and my knees were up against the dashboard.

Yeah you can spend a fortune if you are into *cute* cars like the Jetta or other similar cars, but go with something practical.  And also if you don't care about the color of the car you can save more, maybe $600.  Ask the dealer what new car he has sitting on the lot for more then 3 months (when it gets beyond 3 months, they get worried cause they are losing money and want to just dump the car) usually those cars are in colors people don't like so you can get those at great prices.  

I heard from one car salesman that when negotiating for prices they charge women and foreigners more.  I've witnessed this myself when I saw a salesman talk to a lady that was interested in one car and tell her that a certain car was on special and one of a kind and that price was fixed.  From research I knew that the price of that car was $6,000 above the dealer's cost.  (The dealership had added all this junk to the car, a skirt, spoiler, chrome wheels, tinted windows, etc. and really jacked up the price).

If you are concerned about reliability, price, and practical I can help you, but if you are concerned about is the car "cute" I can't help you.  :)  

I've blabbed a lot now, and will talk about it some more after you give some feedback.  
Re: Cars, too many of them
Al-Basha
03/09/01 at 01:35:37
[slm]

Thanks for the advice everyone :)

Well Nazia see the thing is I'm on a limited budget and I don't want a flashy car, I mean I don't really care if it is bland or not hehe, I'm not into cars persay. If it's a good reliable car, than alhamdulilah I'm sold.

Bhaloo, so you are saying stick with toyota? Masha Allah since you are a tall bro, I'm like 6'4 so I imagine you know what I go through when I get into small cars. So which toyota will i fit in? Also I heard some bad things about VW. Honda is nice, i drive my Dad's honda CRV but it is very underpowered, its hard to accelerate quickly on the highway with it. I mean overall it is a good car, but if I'm going to spend that kind of $$$ I'd rather buy something more powerful than it.

Keep in mind, I want something which has low cost repair. Mazda's are good and so are Misitubishi's but I heard the cost of the parts are sky high. So in answer to your question Bhaloo, I am not concerned with the "cutsey" style cars. Cute cars end up putting a dent in pocket book, nooooooo thank you :) I think I will stick with the reliable safe cars.

Yes, I know that sounds very undaring and very boring. But believe me I am not boring I'm just not in cars like a lot of people are :) And I don't really care if someone at the masjid says "Ah man bro Yusuf your car is so bland", this is a hunk of metal not a horse. Heh you know if this was a horse I was buying then I would make a big deal about it :)
Re: Cars, too many of them
Magableh
03/09/01 at 01:58:48
Brother Yusuf,

Assalamu alaikum wa ramatullahi wa barakatuhu

Bhaloo says Honda, and I agree. I have a '99 Honda Accord. It's roomy, not too flashy. Mine is fully loaded, with tinted windows-$24,000 (probably paid too much being a female :))  

As for repairs...I have almost 45,000 miles (travelling too much) and aside from replacing the brakes once, and the normal services, I have had zero problems. Just don't get a white one...ugh...have to wash it too many times :)

This probably wasn't much help. But seriously, either Honda (#1 choice) or Toyota will be your best choices for a good, *reliable*, not so flashy car!

Wa'assalam
Serena
Re: Cars, too many of them
meraj
03/09/01 at 02:28:33
slm,

crv's arent exactly known as being the vehicle of choice for road warriors ;-D ... go with a nice V6 accord... more power, and less maintainance since the engine wont have to work as hard :)
Re: Cars, too many of them
BrKhalid
03/09/01 at 10:26:35
Aslaamu Alaikum ;-)

If you were in the UK, I'd say bear in mind fuel economy but seeing as petrol is so cheap over there I guess it isn't an issue.

Anyways I have a Honda engine in my car and alhamdulillah have never had any problem with it so from the reliability standpoint it gets my thumbs up.

[quote]And I don't really care if someone at the masjid says "Ah man bro Yusuf your car is so bland", this is a hunk of metal not a horse[/quote]

Always wanted to ask you Cali guys how you get to the Masjid. Is there such a thing as public transport out there?

[quote]Why?
-German Engineering
-Incredible good looks
-Dependable
-Incredible good looks [/quote]


And I thought we were meant to look beyond beauty when making important life decisions ;)

[quote]Mine is fully loaded, with tinted windows-$24,000 (probably paid too much being a female )   [/quote]


Its reassuring to know that car salesman try to rip you off whichever side of the Atlantic you are ;-)
Re: Cars, too many of them
princess
03/09/01 at 10:31:54
as'salaamualikum :)

i can't believe no 1 suggested my car! (not really mine..but 1 day inshAllah ;)) the DODGE RAM :) i'm in love with this truck :) [sigh] gosh..:) 1 day inshAllah :)

(ok..enough day dreaming...:))

i think u should getta toy too (toyota :)) since u're a tall boy, u'd fit into a camry better then the corolla..although i like the corolla better :) my brother got 1 about a yr ago..it's great :) vroom vroom ;)

if u're looking on the internet, try: http://www.autotrader.com :) i like their commercials :) ma'salaam ;-D
Re: Cars, too many of them
bhaloo
03/09/01 at 10:49:22
slm

6'4", mashallah, that would definitely eliminate any of the smaller cars like corolla and civic.  I would recommend either the Toyota Camry or Honda Accord, whichever you can get a better deal on, chances are though, that you will be able to get a good deal on a Camry.  The Accord used to be a much smaller car then then the Camry, but then they increased its size, the Camry grew as well in the inside.  The Camry might be slightly bigger on the inside, I am not sure (consumer reports has the exact numbers), but I have sat in one and the Camry and I didn't notice any difference.

People are recommending the V6 here, and yeah the V6 is nice on the Accord and Camry, but its also a bit more, and its very hard to find those on special.

For those people looking to buy a new Honda, what I recommend doing is going on the internet to a site like www.kbb.com and go to the buy a car option.  I forget who they use, autobytel? ???  But what you do is tell them what kind of car you want and then they will find the closest dealer near you and he'll email you back their fleet price for that car with the options and color you want.  When the car arrives in the showroom he calls you to pick it up.  Its very simple and you don't waste time with the car price haggling.  I ONLY recommend this on Hondas, because Hondas are very good about controlling inventory and they usually don't have excess cars and harder to negotiate on prices.  When I tried it for a Toyota, the price that came back was like $3,000 more then what I could easily get a Toyota for.  The fleet price is usually the invoice price plus $500 to $700.  Some dealerships also have special incentives from the manufacture themselves, like 2 or 3% holdbacks, be sure and check for this, because that effectively means their actual cost is 2% to 3% below invoice.

As a good initial research project, you should test drive the various cars you are interested in, or even better yet, rent the car for a weekend.  Enterprise Rental car company has discounted weekend rates.  That way you can use and abuse the car for the weekend and see if it lives up to your standards.  I think a Camry is $25 on the weekend, and $40 during the week, you can check with them.  
Re: Cars, too many of them
Saleema
03/09/01 at 12:44:16
Assalam ualykum,

I bought a Honda Accord just over a month ago. I got a $1,000 discount because they wanted the model to be out on the road so otherscan see it! 0.9% APR only. and if you pay your payments on time then of course no interest. got a good deal.  :)

wassalam,
Saleema
Re: Cars, too many of them
bhaloo
03/09/01 at 12:55:22
slm8br>
Saleema I don't understand?  You said .9 APR.  That means you are paying .9% in interest.  No interest would be 0 APR.  
Re: Cars, too many of them
Saleema
03/09/01 at 14:31:32
That is if I don't make my payment by a certain date then I have to pay .9% interest. but i plan on paying all my payments by that date.

Wassalam,
Saleema
Re: Cars, too many of them
meraj
03/09/01 at 18:56:38
slm,

well yeah of course V6's are gonna cost more, but it has 2 main advantages if you plann on keeping the car for a long time:

1) less maintainance for wear and tear cause the engine wont have to work as hard to pull the car
2) more power can come in handy in some cases, like on the interstate or in inclement weather
3) and besides that, its just more fun to drive a V6 ;-D

the only thing about honda made cars is that although they have less maintainance, when they do require it, they tend to cost more than toyotas... but if what you're lookinn for is a well built car, then hondas are good :)

ma'salaam,

:) meraj 'road warrior' dude
Re: Cars, too many of them
Al-Basha
03/09/01 at 23:28:42
[slm]

So basically I should get a camry? You know i've ridden in one of those before and they weren't that comfortable. My uncle has one with leather seats masha Allah and I didn't think the comfort level was that great, i actually felt very cramped.

Maybe I should just get a truck hehe, like the one Princess was talking about.
VW JETTA!!
Nazia
03/10/01 at 00:05:51
slm,

How about a Nissan Altima? Pretty roomy, very dependable, and very safe, Alhamdulillah.  My brother got into a REALLY bad wreck (car flipped over and everything) and alhamdulillah he walked out without a scratch. (The car died, but we like to think of her as a martyr of sorts.)

After all my advice...you're BACK at the Camry.):(
jk.  How about a Dodge Intrepid?  You can usually get a good deal on American cars.  We had a Dodge Caravan for 13 years and she served us well Alhamdulillah.  We drove her till the bitter end.
Or how about an SUV?  Those are big.  And you could get a used Nissan Pathfinder, or Toyota 4runner for an ok deal I imagine?  My mother drives a BUICK Regal...and since you don't mind playing the part of a 45 year older father of three, with a white picket fence...a Buick might be right up your alley :) V6, 3.8 litre engine, 200hpr, 16 valves, circa 25mpg.. She rides fast and smooth.. And we got her fully loaded (leather/cd/powere everything--no sunroof) for under $20k.(I think maybe $17-$18k back in 96-new) Anyways, its really roomy.  This is our second Buick... (don't ask--my father needs to be on one of their commericals) but despite all of our grunting and growling over these car choices...the buicks have endured...I can't remember anyone complaining. Alhamdulillah.

I'm still voting for the Jetta though :)
Good luck. Take Care,
Wassalamu Alaikum,
Nazia
Re: VW JETTA!!
Al-Basha
03/10/01 at 00:20:19
[slm]
[quote]
How about a Nissan Altima?
[/quote]

yeah i was thinking about that today, i saw one on the road and thought hmm maybe i can fit into that.

[quote]
and since you don't mind playing the part of a 45 year older father of three, with a white picket fence...
[/quote]

okay so is this an insult or a compliment :) One person once told me "Yusuf stop acting like the 40 year old guy you are SO wanting to be." I never said I wanted to be a 40 year old. I don't have any kids and I'm not even married!

Subhana Allah, how easily the original topic of the thread has changed :)
Re: Cars, too many of them
meraj
03/10/01 at 00:28:46
slm,

wow... props to nazia... she really knows her stuff :)

(im not implying that sisters do know anything about cars, im just sayin that shes done her homework :) , aiight? coo...)

as far as comfort and smoothness, american cars are generally known for that... others like honda and toyota are known for reliability and sturdyness... but these qualities can be mutually inclusive... you just have to find that happy medium somewhere :)

ma'salaam :)

:) meraj 'monkey wrench' dude
Re: Cars, too many of them
bhaloo
03/10/01 at 09:05:04
slm

Let me clarify what reliable is for a car, going 120,000+ miles with no problems.  American cars start to have problems after about 70,000 miles.  My Uncle only buys Buicks and those cars are total junk, they have so many problems (at least the ones he has bought).  He always gets Buick for some reason, that I don't understand.  Check the repair history for those cars mentioned in consumer reports to confirm this, they are really good about showing what problems cars have.  But as sister Nazia said they do come with a lot of options as default.  I just checked the pricing on a Buick Regail, the sticker price is $23,600.  (Base model).  I guess prices have gone up.


I don't know what the people at Nissan were thinking when they came out with the Altima and Maxima.  First off the Altima is in what class?  It is bigger then a civic and corolla but smaller then an accord and a camry (although its fairly close in price to a camry).  A Maxima is bigger then a camry and accord but is more money too.  They really lost out on the market, they should have designed cars that compete directly with honda and toyota.  Al-Basha forget the Altima its too small for you.

The dodge intrepid cab forward design isn't bad and its more reliable then other dodge cars.

I still think a v6 isn't worth it. You end up paying about $3,000 to $4,000 more. You get 30% less fuel economy then a 4 cylinder.  And to say it lasts longer then a v4, well im not sure it would really matter.  My father had a 4 cyclinder Camry a long time ago, it had over 100,000 miles on it and no problems, engine sounded great.   Who keeps a car for 10 years these days?

I want to hear about trucks, vroom, vroom, I don't know much about them and I hear American truck makers are better then the japanese ones.  7 litre and 8 litre engines....drooolllll..... Al-Basha the nice thing about a truck is its high off the ground and at night your lights will annoy people.  ;)  Plus they seem like they would be pretty safe cars, especially in accidents, squashing small cars.    So what are the different kinds of trucks out there?

Or better yet, why not kill 2 birds with 1 stone.  Get a motorbike and join brothers Daud and Zubaid in the first motorbike Muslim club.
Re: Cars, too many of them
Nazia
03/10/01 at 12:05:10
[slm]

So one thing is for sure: br. bhaloo and I don't see eye to eye on cars :)  Actually, yeah, I should have pointed out, we got a good deal on our Regal cos my father had a $3k discount (GM cardholder), plus factory rebate, plus his mad bargaining skills :)  I just asked my dad about their reliability and he said they were just as good as our Japs.  Though the alternator had to be changed on the Regal recently..and its only 4 years old.  But overall, if you really want some bang for your buck, American cars are the way to go.  Oh, but about the Intrepid--Chrysler's are typically the highest priced American cars..so that's kind of weak.

Oh yeah, you didn't say anything about the SUV's.  They have the height etc of some trucks, but the comfort/room of vans/cars!  We just got a Nissan Pathfinder SE--V6, 240hp, 3.5 litre engine, 18-23 mpg--better for hwy driving. Its big, but not TOO big (ie-Excursion, suburban big.) Though a friend of my dad's got a top of the line Expedition--which is HUGE--for like $2k more than the Pathfinder.  So you can prob get a better deal, once again on the americans.

But they're a lot of fun to drive!

Going back to the cars, you could always get a manual and save yourself a couple of grand. I am a firm believer that all males should be able to drive stick. :)

and oh yeah..

[quote]Or better yet, why not kill 2 birds with 1 stone.  Get a motorbike and join brothers Daud and Zubaid in the first motorbike Muslim club. [/quote]

What did I say about encouraging him??
:)

Take Care, Good luck--Wassalam,
Nazia Abbas
Re: Cars, too many of them
bhaloo
03/10/01 at 15:34:37
slm

A nissan pathfinder is nice, but isn't that a bit pricy?  I haven't checked prices on them in a while.  Interestingly enough Toyota came out with 2 new SUVs, the Highlander and Sequoia.  The Highlander is based on that Lexus RX-300 (bubble shaped SUV, blah) but looks like an SUV.  The Sequoia has a 4.7 liter V8 (same as the $55,000 Landcruiser) and seats 8.  They have priced it at around $35,000.  It should be interesting to see how it does in the market and probably will hurt Landcruiser sales.  I have test driven an Explorer and an Expedition before.  The Explorer didn't feel like a car and felt a little awkward for me.  It has the same typical Ford ergonomics that all fords have for the last decade or so and maybe longer.  The Expedition is just an Explorer that is 13" longer (said the salesman) and that was really awkard driving.  Maybe a Suburban drives better? ???

There is a reason why Expeditions and Explorers are pretty cheap now.  Two words for you people: Firestone Tires.  heheheheh.  ;)  I guess they haven't deteremined the cause yet, weather its the car or tires. ???
Re: Cars, too many of them
Al-Basha
03/10/01 at 16:40:13
[slm]

I don't fit into the new Nissan Exterra's. The headroom is terrible. Same thing goes for a pathfinder.

I want to steer away from SUV's mainly because they aren't very fuel economic. Although I don't like the body of the new maxima, I've been told it is very very comfortable. I'll try that out sometime insha Allah.

I think I am steering towards this:

Either a toyota camry or nissan maxima

we'll see insha Allah :)

thanks for the advice everyone
Re: Cars, too many of them
bhaloo
03/10/01 at 21:33:28
slm

You didn't like the bike idea? ;)  

The nice thing about a Maxima is that Nissan sales are down so they are probably willing to negotiate.  The car has awesome power.  You know the Infinity I30 is just a more luxorious version of the Maxima.
Re: Cars, too many of them
Mona
03/10/01 at 22:02:19
assalamu alaikum,

My younger bro drives a nissan maxima, it is awesome masha'Allah. Well, compared to my beat up & ancient mazda protegé, that is!

wassalam


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