Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 32

Thread: New car time!

  1. #1
    Senior Member Tradd's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    The Suburban Midwest
    Posts
    7,421

    New car time!

    I was advised late last week at work that I'm receiving a $1K "appreciation bonus." I was stunned. This is on top of the $4K raise I received in April for becoming the supervising broker for my office.

    My current car is a 2005 Focus I bought new in February 2005. It's got about 101K miles on it. I am very, very tired of it, plus it needs some work. It's also a 2 door hatchback and I want a 4 door. People simply aren't willing to ride with me at all since they'd have to crawl into the back seat.

    I will get a new Focus sedan. I popped by a local dealership today after looking online. They have a 2014 bright blue Focus 4 door sedan. I've always bought blue cars. This car is my favorite blue. It even has heated side mirrors. I'd love that! I hate it when the side mirrors get all snow/ice crusted when you're driving and you have to deal with it, open window at a light to brush the driver's side one off, or stop somewhere. Heated seats, too. It's a bit fancier than I'd normally have chosen, but I've always driven the most basic cars, so this will be nice to have.

  2. #2
    Simpler at Fifty
    Guest
    Sounds like a nice car. I always bought red or maroon cars but the last couple have been blue. Congrats on the promotion too Tradd.

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    4,460
    Whoo - Hoo! How fun to get a big raise and then a bonus and find a car you like (and one with heated seats and mirror - fancy!). I had a 2003 Focus sedan with a PZEV enhgine for awhile. Drove it to a bit over 150,000 miles and it ran fine the whole time. Definetly bigger than the 2 doors too so I think you'll like it a lot.

    I'm looking for a new vehicle myself and need one asap as the 14 year old truck, while running fine, just isn't trustworthy on long trips anymore. I have no idea what I want but am (unfortunately) leaning towards a mid-size SUV or mini van as I want something I can haul my camping gear and bike and trailer in (and the dog too) and that I can sleep in if needed. Might get a Dodge Journey with a 4 cylinder engine ($16K new) as it's bigger than most small SUV's but gets better gas mileage (but still crappy). I rented on (with a V-6) for a month last fall and it worked really well for me. Or maybe a Dodge Caravan as it is much bigger but more expensive and even worse fuel mileage because it has a V-6.. But plan to do a lot of "touring" on my bicycle so will help with reducing fuel costs. Sigh.. really don't want to buy anything gas I had planned to do "car-free" travel when I though my sister could watch the dog long term. But that's isn't going to happen now and will be taking the dog with me so I really need a new/newer vehicle to right now.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Tradd's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    The Suburban Midwest
    Posts
    7,421
    There are several incentives right now. I should qualify for the 0% financing, as I did when I got pre-approved with Ford Credit in the fall.

    Even though this is what I consider a "fancy" car, it's still only about $23K. A few thousand more isn't going to break me. I'm just going to trade in my old Focus. It's kind of beat up, but I don't feel comfortable selling on Craigslist, for example. I know too many people who've had weird experiences. Safer to just trade it in. Anything I get for it will be good.

    Another reason I wanted to get a new car now is that I'm going to take a few road trips later this year, including down to Louisiana later this year, and I want a car I can trust for the long trip.

    I'd really have preferred to get an SUV, but the Focus is so much more fuel efficient, costs less, etc.

  5. #5
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Eastern Massachusetts
    Posts
    8,140
    Tradd: Congratulations on the promotion, raise, & bonus! Just as a point of comparison, we bought a 2014 Focus sedan in January. It is decidedly "non-fancy," in basic black but has everything we want or need. We ended up paying $15,496.20, which includes some dealer rebates, our 6.25% MA sales tax, all those goofy little fees they add in, and our trade in (which was only $200, but we were just glad we didn't have to pay someone to tow it away). There are a lot of numbers on our paperwork, but that is the bottom line of what we paid. The paperwork indicates that the sales price was $14,152 and it was an "internet special." We did not finance it (well we did technically finance, but only for a month to get a $500 rebate, and then we paid it off). They had a green Focus that I liked, but I figured I'll take the good deal on the car and I can always buy a sweater in that shade of green if I want to (and goodness knows I don't need another sweater!) The price you are quoting might include a lot of extras that we don't have. I'm just offering this as a point of comparison for a very basic Focus. One odd thing about our car is that it has power windows in front and crank windows in the back. We had never heard of such a thing. Good luck with whatever you decide!

  6. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    4,460
    $23K does seem high to me compared to what you can get a new Focus sedan for out here. Probably around $16K or so for one with a/c, auto and power. But those extra bells and whistles Tradd is getting probably do add on quite a bit.

    I plan to get something white - although I like dark red as my Focus was - but white seems to be the most visual. My truck (Ford Ranger extra cab) is such a dark blue you can't even find it when parked. Jokingly call it the "stealth" truck because it seems to almost disappear when on asphalt or in shade. The Journeys I've been looking at for $16K have pretty much everything you could ask for (power, a/c. auto. cruise control. remote keyless entry and start, etc...) and are discounted by the dealer from their MSRP of about $23K to $16K. The ones with V-6 and things like tinted windows and roof racks are about $20 - $25K. I've also been looking at the Mazda 5's - a sort of mini-mini van - but it's a bit small for my needs. Also, for a 4 cylinder, it get crappy gas mileage. Also looked at Jeep Patriots with 4 cylinders. Bigger than the Mazda 5, bit smaller than the Journey but better gas mileage then both. You can get them basic for $13K for a new 2014 but higher priced with auto, power and a/c. I still look at the Hertz used car website a lot and they have pretty goo deals for low mileage used cars. Here's some of the Journeys I've been looking at. They also have Patriots and Caravans too. The Patriots that are for sale thru Hertz (used) are all 4 cylinder 4 x 4 if you need that (I don't in Calif) but might be something you'd be interested in snowy Il. Tradd.

    http://www.hbchryslerdodgejeepram.co...=internetPrice asc&

  7. #7
    Senior Member Tradd's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    The Suburban Midwest
    Posts
    7,421
    Quote Originally Posted by rosarugosa View Post
    Tradd: Congratulations on the promotion, raise, & bonus! Just as a point of comparison, we bought a 2014 Focus sedan in January. It is decidedly "non-fancy," in basic black but has everything we want or need. We ended up paying $15,496.20, which includes some dealer rebates, our 6.25% MA sales tax, all those goofy little fees they add in, and our trade in (which was only $200, but we were just glad we didn't have to pay someone to tow it away). There are a lot of numbers on our paperwork, but that is the bottom line of what we paid. The paperwork indicates that the sales price was $14,152 and it was an "internet special." We did not finance it (well we did technically finance, but only for a month to get a $500 rebate, and then we paid it off). They had a green Focus that I liked, but I figured I'll take the good deal on the car and I can always buy a sweater in that shade of green if I want to (and goodness knows I don't need another sweater!) The price you are quoting might include a lot of extras that we don't have. I'm just offering this as a point of comparison for a very basic Focus. One odd thing about our car is that it has power windows in front and crank windows in the back. We had never heard of such a thing. Good luck with whatever you decide!
    Rosa, this does have a lot of extras - like an automatic transmission. I'd never heard of the heated mirrors, but after this winter and spending a lot of time driving in snow, that would be very nice to have.

    There are a couple of other ones I'm looking at. I'm not stuck on the blue, but it would be nice. There's a dark gray one with the winter package that's a bit over $20K.

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    4,460
    Tradd - You might want to check out Hertz used cars. I just looked at 2013 Focuses and one's that had around 20,000 miles on the (and all the bells and whistles) go for around $14K and are still under factory warranty as well as Hertz's one year warranty. They even had blue ones! Just google Hertz car sales for you area

    Here's some of the ones available in my area - tons of them! Not blue but red, white and gray - and many more too: https://www.hertzcarsales.com/vehicle/details/14254676 https://www.hertzcarsales.com/vehicle/details/14295848 https://www.hertzcarsales.com/vehicle/details/14266582

  9. #9
    Senior Member Tradd's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    The Suburban Midwest
    Posts
    7,421
    Spartana, I don't buy used cars. Period.

    I am selling off the .380 pistol I don't shoot anymore (since I got my 9mm), as well as 1200 rounds of .380 ammo, on a local firearms forum. Ammo is mostly taken, already. More down payment $$.

  10. #10
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Eastern Massachusetts
    Posts
    8,140
    Our car has auto trans, A/C, CD player, MP-3 port and rear defogger. I guess most of these are standard now (except the auto trans) but they feel like extras to us.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •