A couple random things I’ve learned (not endorsing any of these sites):
-Rough / damaged leather can often be repaired without replacing the leather. Fibrenew is one such place that offers this service.
-If you want leather, you’re often forced to upgrade to a package with a bunch of overpriced bullshit you don’t want. It’s possible you can get replacement leather for significantly less from a place like Katzkin, who actually supplies a ton of OEM leather to manufacturers. In fact, you should be able to request the install at the dealer.
-If you’re buying used–even CPO–definitely check the tire treads and brake pads. Pretty significant $$ if you have to replace those right away. Also, when you buy tires, always check the date to make sure they haven’t been sitting in a warehouse for five years. Tires dry rot, so you want the freshest ones you can get. It’s at the end of the DOT code:
The vehicles I buy tend to have gone through auction at some point. That’s just normal for the price point I buy at. Sometimes they are trade-ins that are too old to be CPO or will sell at price point lower than what the dealer usually sells.
The majority of used cars have gone through an auction. Once shouldn’t be a big deal. Multiple times is more of a red flag. A lot of times, being auctioned the first time just means the dealer doesn’t think he can sell it very quickly and will try to auction it rather than having it sit on the lot for a while.
Consider the scenario where you trade in a Ford for a Toyota. The Toyota dealership isn’t going to sell a CPO Ford. There’s a decent chance that car goes to auction, where it might get bought by a Ford dealer who can CPO it. The Toyota dealer might keep it if he can flip it right away with minimal work.
From playing poker with used car dealers, I get the sense that certain dealers are just complete scum who will try to take you for every penny and some dealers are much more honest. I have a sense of who in my area has a good reputation and those are the dealers I would go to first. This might not matter as much if you are being a new car in terms of them hiding problems, but prices are converging as people become savvier about doing their research on the internet, and customer service and honor are becoming more of a differentiating factor.
I think you are correct, it’s just that an absolute gem used car should be the least likely to go to auction. So the heuristic that is probably correct is that used cars that are *not* auction cars are higher quality on average. Probably not a bad rule to use when paying premiums for CPO. Also agree about the dealerships.
I should have been more clear that I wasn’t advocating against car insurance, I was talking about stuff like extended warranties, extra insurance, insurance on a rental car, etc… I currently have a decent amount of car insurance, even though I could pretty easily handle taking a total loss on my car and replacing it. My loss tolerance may also be higher than the average person, given that I play poker for a living.
I plan on carrying a fair amount of car insurance 1-2 more years, then dropping it down to liability and taking the risk myself.
I downsized from an Impala to a Mazda 6 with my last purchase and reduced my carbon footprint. One of the biggest reasons I went smaller, if I’m being honest, was for easier city driving and parallel parking.
It sounds like we are looking at similar type vehicles. After a few days of looking around online, I think we are leaning towards a Toyota Highlander at the moment.
Yeah we have one SUV/large vehicle for practicality - we drive 2 hours to my in-laws somewhat regularly with a child and a dog. We try to make sure our other vehicle is fuel efficient, currently have something that gets ~30mpg and probably going to go hybrid for our next one. My wife recently changed jobs from a 45 minute commute to about 10 so that should help more than anything.
I’ve been driving a Gen 2 Prius for the past ten years or so (I know y’all are shocked). It’s been astonishingly worry-free and great for long road trips that I frequently take. I’m at 150,000 miles, still runs fine. Thinking of buying the new 4WD Prius that Toyota is releasing; the roads here are not great in winter. A part of me wants to buy a mid-life crisis sports car, but I have been loving the reliability of the Prius so far.
What I really want is some kind of hybrid roadster like the Honda CR-Z but no one is really making those. I’ll probably just get the AWD Prius and splurge on an aftermarket sound system like I did with my current car.
My wife’s last two vehicles have been Kia and they were both great. When it’s my time a decked out Stinger might get me off my Infinity kick, it’s a hot car. If you can deal with driving a Kia I think they are the best value out there.
I’m totally onboard with getting an electric self-driving SUV when they finally come out with those. Until then, I’m gonna keep driving my gas-guzzler, although to be fair my 2016 Honda Pilot gets the same mileage my first car, a sedan (‘92 Camry) did.
I can’t remember but do you have a bunch of kids and cargo to transport in awful weather? Because most people who do aren’t driving the Toyota Prius. And yet, somewhat suspiciously, the magic market hasn’t swooped in to offer this large demographic a high-VORP Captain Planetmobile alternative to their giant SUV. I’m not gonna blame people trying to make it easier on their families in this rigged ass country we live in.
