Buying a new car (1 Viewer)

I think this is the year to replace my 2004 Honda Accord. I bought it new, Fall of 2003. It has 165,000 miles and has seen me through a new house, a new wife, a new job, and a new house in a new state. It's done well. And with a Crutchfield aftermarket iPhone adapter, it's worked adequately with my smartphones.


I've maintained it well and it runs well. But upkeep costs are starting to grow, as they do with older cars. But new cars have the features I want, in particular smartphone integration and support for both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The the advanced safety features are attractive as I'm driving in the sometimes crazy DC region, and the drives back to Indiana for holidays just never get any shorter.


I could wait another year. Or two. Still, Fall of 2015 feels like it might be the right time.


(I started this conversation in Ron's thread about his new Lincoln. I'm un-hijacking his thread )


My frontrunner is the 2016 Honda Accord EX-L with Navisense.


Other options include:
Hyundai Sonata

VW Passat

Ford Fusion


I haven't started test-driving yet. I'm waiting for 2016 models to arrive at dealers.


The two parts that I don't look forward to are: Salespeople and price negotiation. I'm technologically-minded introvert, and dealing with cars salesmen is rarely enjoyable. And I lack the 'haggle' gene, and loathe the pricing process. I've never leased, but I need to consider how that works today. I'm not sure I want to drive this car for a decade, given the significant changes coming to car electronics and engines in the next ten years.


Thoughts? Experiences?

Back in 2013, I bought a 2012 Ford Focus and it's served me very well. If you're not anticipating going another decade with this new car, you might want to consider a "new" used car like that, so you don't pay the thousands that come off the price the moment you drive a new car off the lot. And the nice thing with used cars is that you can shop around online until you find one with the features you want at a price you'd be happy with. Then you walk into the dealership with a printout of the listing from the website. That takes the haggling right out of the equation, since you're starting at a price you can live with.

Do not lease a Korean car. Horrid resale, reflected in the laughable lease terms. It isn't exactly Kia/Hyundai's fault...except the "well only Mitsubishi would give me a loan" buyers have to go somewhere...

VW are easy to maintain(including the diesels) as long as it is not "under the hood". Check parts at your local parts store and your jaw will drop when you see how cheap calipers, rotors, pads, suspension links etc are. If...you can wrench yourself. If not, "if it wasn't made here, it takes us 5 hours to do a 60 minute job" sets in...

Hyundai falls victim to expensive parts. I priced an alternator that I did myself and laughed out loud. Priced like it was gold.

Surprised Altima/Maxima aren't on your radar. If you like to drive...they should be.

Adam Lenhardt said:

Back in 2013, I bought a 2012 Ford Focus and it's served me very well. If you're not anticipating going another decade with this new car, you might want to consider a "new" used car like that, so you don't pay the thousands that come off the price the moment you drive a new car off the lot. And the nice thing with used cars is that you can shop around online until you find one with the features you want at a price you'd be happy with. Then you walk into the dealership with a printout of the listing from the website. That takes the haggling right out of the equation, since you're starting at a price you can live with.

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Aside from my own idiosyncracy of buying brand-new, when I do buy, I'm specifically interested in the new iPhone / android integration. That's not available in 2015 Honda. Might be available in VW and Hyundai.

schan1269 said:

Surprised Altima/Maxima aren't on your radar. If you like to drive...they should be.

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Nissan Altima has gotten bad reviews for serious transmission problems in the current model. It's off my list. (It was on my list last December, and then I started reading about this problem.)

DaveF said:

Nissan Altima has gotten bad reviews for serious transmission problems in the current model. It's off my list. (It was on my list last December, and then I started reading about this problem.)

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The CVT problems were 2012/13.

Jatco is 49% Nissan.

The same CVT in the Altima crapped out in Land Rovers, Jaguars, Honda...

Jatco have been universally fine since 2014. Pretty sure the CVT in my Forester is a Jatco.

Jatco blamed the failures on "American driving habits".

(addendum to CVT failure...

Nissan failures were limited, almost exclusively, to...

1. 3.5 engines
2. Owners that NEVER changed the fluid. CVT, no matter what car, you must, without question, change the trans fluid as prescribed in the manual. Or...suffer a dead trans at 100k

At Subaru...the "warranty required" trans service is $600 complete with filter. $330 as a 65% change leaving the filter. You can ignore the filter every other change.

And, none of the CVT are "back yard mechanic" serviceable.)

The Altima overall has had below average reliability compared to other brands; it's fallen off my list since I last looked at cars. I might look at the Maxima, but it starts at the very top of my budget.

Keep in mind, an "all new" Altima/Maxima emerged for 2016(hasn't hit the entire US yet).

If you get a CVT, which is likely, be prepared for it to be a snorefest from the drivers seat(I still hate how the Forester moves).

I ended up selling our 2010 Forester and keeping the 06. Bought the 10 "cheap" and not loaded(she wanted new "quick" like, that day. She doesn't like auto climate. Chose the only Forester that had the sunroof...but no auto-climate. They had 1).

When I buy...I buy loaded. The 06 is loaded minus leather(which Subaru leather then...sucked). The 15 has leather(almost as nice as AUDI had, and almost as soft as what I used to redo my Taurus SHO in) and everything checked...minus turbo.

Here is where the CVT pays off.

The 06/10 Forester returned 30mpg at no faster than 62(2500rpm).

The 15 runs 80mph and still isn't turning 2000rpm...while netting 30mpg.

In a nutshell, while she is in Spain, the only reason for me to drive the 15 is if I'm going more than 30 miles from home...on the expressway. Cause it sucks tooling around stop and go traffic.

The point of the journey is mostly to arrive, for me, when it comes to cars. I want a car to feel good. But I'm not one of the guys buying a Mini to have a fun car to drive. Nor do I think real driving requires a Manual transmission; I left behind manual with prejudice in 2004. But I can tell the difference between an Accord and a Camry and prefer a tighter experience to a floatier one. Though the BMW X3 was verging on too stiff for my taste, after driving on the freeway.


The 2015 Maxima has attractive features. I considered it back in 2003 as well. But it's a step above what I plan to buy. The Altima...if the 2016 model is obviously better than peers, I'll consider it. But there are sufficient cars to consider that I'm not too concerned about it one way or the other.

I always buy American. Can't go wrong with Buick, I'm on my third in a row, currently have a fully equipped Verano, great mileage at 30 mpg, incredible pickup, lots of safety features including backup camera, Onstar. 30 grand minus incentives.

davidHartzog said:

I always buy American. Can't go wrong with Buick, I'm on my third in a row, currently have a fully equipped Verano, great mileage at 30 mpg, incredible pickup, lots of safety features including backup camera, Onstar. 30 grand minus incentives.

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Is the Verano* the same as as Malibu or Impala? I forget.

The newer Malibu and Impala(like Verano and whatever the other Buick is) are nothing like the stodgy sofas on wheels a decade ago.

Surprised they aren't included. Even though the Malibu lives on mainly for the folks that "won't buy a Ford"...

I still can't believe Dodge/Chrysler hasn't brought over their mid size FIAT. Supposedly...it is good(the Dart is quite nice). The Charger/Challenger is still based on 2002 Mercedes E class...

*Verano is the Cruze. Buick is getting lots of miles out of it and the Encore.

davidHartzog said:

I always buy American. Can't go wrong with Buick, I'm on my third in a row, currently have a fully equipped Verano, great mileage at 30 mpg, incredible pickup, lots of safety features including backup camera, Onstar. 30 grand minus incentives.

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I had a Buick Regal two weeks ago as a rental. The Regal was an a good cars in many ways. But it had three weaknesses for me: stepping on the gas to deal with L.A. traffic the car would take a moment to consider what I was asking and whether it was feeling up to it; badly designed touch-sensitive AC controls (it took several attempts before it would register a tap); and it didn't work well with my iPhone.



Overall, I've ruled out GM and Chevy cars based on rentals the past five years. I'm consistently disappointed when I get one as for business travel. (In contrast, I'm always happy to get a Ford Fusion as a rental.)

DaveF said:

But I can tell the difference between an Accord and a Camry and prefer a tighter experience to a floatier one.

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In that case you might consider the Mazda6 too. Your 1993 Escort was basically a rebadged Mazda Protégé and you were happy with that car......I had a 1993 Escort LX-E with the Mazda DOHC 1.8l as used in the Miata.

Dennis Nicholls said:

In that case you might consider the Mazda6 too. Your 1993 Escort was basically a rebadged Mazda Protégé and you were happy with that car......I had a 1993 Escort LX-E with the Mazda DOHC 1.8l as used in the Miata.

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That's the car I'm forgetting: Mazda6. It was my second choice to my Accord when I was shopping in '03. And the 6 has gotten good reviews recently too.

I've been driving Hondas since 1997 (a Civic and two CRV's). I don't think you can go wrong with them, and their reliability and durability is top notch. My father is still driving the 1997 Civic.

Honda Accord


Toyota Camry


Subaru Legacy

What's the budget??

I'd love to snag one of these 2nd hand to avoid all the initial depreciation.


http://www.carmax.com/enus/view-car/default.html?id=11772014&AVi=0&No=0&Rp=R&D=50&zip=74133&N=4294963097&Q=048f7fbb-588a-40ec-a44e-c1c9028b65d3&Ep=search:results:results%20page


KIA Cadenza

Definitely look at late-model used cars. I saved 25% off original sticker on a car that was 1 year old and had 14,000 miles.


The Accord and Mazda6 seem to come out on top of all the recent midsize tests I've seen. I had a 2003 Mazda6 for 10 years and loved it. The later generation was Camry-ized, but the new ones seem to have rediscovered the "Zoom-Zoom" (aside from not having a V6 or turbo option).

Mazdas in a good year are a Japanese BMW - of the 2002ti era.


I can't let this thread pass without my $2,600 used beater 1996 Miata making a showing. it's amazing how durable these cars are. I've had to do lots of deferred maintenance on it but the "bones" of the car were solid when I got it in 2011.