The Car Thread

[beekay414]

I'm just trying to find a beater car with decent gas mileage to drive to work and, woof, are cars overpriced right now. I drive a '02 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a V8 engine so driving 30 miles each day for work is less than ideal on gas consumption. Yet, with the prices of cars right now, it makes less sense to buy a different car just to pay $50 less a month in gas.

[Matts4313]

29 minutes ago, beekay414 said:

I'm just trying to find a beater car with decent gas mileage to drive to work and, woof, are cars overpriced right now. I drive a '02 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a V8 engine so driving 30 miles each day for work is less than ideal on gas consumption. Yet, with the prices of cars right now, it makes less sense to buy a different car just to pay $50 less a month in gas.

Yeah, buying a car right now is ridiculous. The literal only reason I am doing it is because someone is dumb enough to give me more than I bought my last vehicle for. That and I was able to get the new vehicle at invoice so I dont have to deal with crazy mark ups. 

[beekay414]

13 minutes ago, Matts4313 said:

Yeah, buying a car right now is ridiculous. The literal only reason I am doing it is because someone is dumb enough to give me more than I bought my last vehicle for. That and I was able to get the new vehicle at invoice so I dont have to deal with crazy mark ups. 

Yeah, I'm just trying to get like an early to mid-2000s Civic or Cobalt and the markups are stupid. I do know that Hondas hold their value but I'm not paying nearly $5000 for a car with 230,000 miles on it lol.

Found a beat to **** 2009 Cobalt for like $500 but the dealer fee was $399 so, with taxes and title, I'd be paying over a grand for a car that's not worth anywhere near it.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

really the only way buying a car makes sense now is if you have a trade in that’s equally ridiculously overvalued.

Getting a high trade in value and buying a brand that doesn’t typically discount much, like Toyota for example, can be a good buy now.

Buying used with no trade in is worst case scenario rn.

[Dome]

57 minutes ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

really the only way buying a car makes sense now is if you have a trade in that’s equally ridiculously overvalued.

Getting a high trade in value and buying a brand that doesn’t typically discount much, like Toyota for example, can be a good buy now.

Buying used with no trade in is worst case scenario rn.

My buddy just traded in his wife’s 3 year old GMC Terrain for $24k and put it towards a new Tacoma 😅 

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

35 minutes ago, Dome said:

My buddy just traded in his wife’s 3 year old GMC Terrain for $24k and put it towards a new Tacoma 😅 

Smart man.  That Tacoma will hold its value like nothing else.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

I love my Ram, but I’m super intrigued by the new Tundra if the rumors floating around come to fruition.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

I just had the truck detailed professionally for the first time and dear god that’s the best $250 I’ve spent in a good while.  It’s like a brand new vehicle.

[Tugboat]

On 8/23/2021 at 2:29 PM, MrDrew said:

Sometimes demonstration is the answer. Go look at both a van and a mid-size crossover. Put something bigger in the back with the 3rd row up, go sit in that 3rd row, fold the seats up and look at the space. The difference is pretty amazing in a van's favor. SUVs are the fallback option for people that won't admit they need a van, and they don't do anything as well.

The stigma of a van is usually the problem. Nobody wants to be a "soccer mom", but if you look at kids' soccer games, vans aren't the option anymore. It's a sea of the same crossovers, but with different badging.

If I still had to haul multiple kids everywhere, I'd go with a Toyota Sienna. Reliable, hybrid, AWD, 36 MPG, and a lot of features. The Kia Telluride/Hyundai Palisade might be a good crossover option, but they're selling for up to $80k right now, and MSRP is around $35-$50, depending on options.

This is really what it's all about.  It drives me insane, trying to wrap my head around why people have these bizarre stigmas around Station Wagons or Minivans, but in the same stroke...will line up to pay exorbitant prices for a generic crossover SUV with essentially the same underpinnings and capabilities.  If not less capability.

The insane herd mentality, of being "cool" by buying what everyone else buys.  It just reminds me of like 6th grade.  Gotta have that specific brand school binder like all the cool kids, or you're a loser.  If you don't have the right hip shoes that year, you're a dork.  etc.  But on a colossal consumer scale, involving masses of debt and tens of thousands of dollars of financing, on a vehicle you have to live with every day.  And ostensibly, grown *** adults.  Juvenile Consumerism on Xanax.  Hilarious and gross.

 

On 8/23/2021 at 4:21 PM, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

I did exactly this.

The reality of the situation is this.  If you have 2 plus kids, and plan to keep this vehicle for 8-12 years, you have 2 options.  Full size SUV (Tahoe, expedition, etc) or minivan.

The large 3 row SUV’s are nice. Some are fairly roomy, but you’re gonna run out of space. Almost universally, with the 3rd row in use the storage space in the back is next to nothing.  Like, the trunk of a Corolla is larger.

I ended up buying a Honda Odyssey and drove it for about 8 months. It was boring, ugly, emasculating, etc lol.

It was also roomy, comfortable, easy to drive, decent gas mileage (25ish iirc), etc.

I’d have love a suburban, but at the time was not in a place financially to swing 60-80k on a vehicle.

 

I feel like that number should really be set at 3+ rather than 2+.  Reading earlier posts, i hesitate to mention it...but realistically, 2 kids seems extremely doable with a normal *** small car.  I grew up with in an extremely numerically typical nuclear family of 4, with like tiny 80s and 90s VW Jettas, and a 90s Toyota pickup with those back seats that were meant more for medium sized pets.  Did all the things.  Went on regular trips 1500kms+ annually.  Hockey practices, football games, all the other sports and activities, camping regularly.  I mean, i distinctly recall it being cramped...but also, not really that big of a deal?  You only really need so much space, and so much stuff.

 

I think more people ought to ascribe that Marie Kondo "does it spark joy?" question, to their automobiles.  If it doesn't, it's not good, and you should get rid of it imo.  But also, maybe extend it to ask if its lack of size is somehow inhibiting joy by restricting you from doing something.  If not, i'd say it's plenty sized.

 

When it comes to 3+ kids though.  Yikes.  There's some sort of exponential multiplier there i think.  It's not just going from 2 to 3.  It seems like everything in the world is designed to make it more difficult.  You have to make the jump from "normal nuclear family" to a different tier.  But anyone i've ever known in that tier, has been happiest with a good ol' miniature van.  They just work.  And if someone thinks they're "less cool" than a boring *** SUV, they're an idiot, so who cares?

[Matts4313]

12 hours ago, Dome said:

My buddy just traded in his wife’s 3 year old GMC Terrain for $24k and put it towards a new Tacoma 😅 

Being in the same boat, I almost did this as well. Im a bit worried that Tacoma is going to get knocked a pegged with the reintroduction of mid/compact trucks by Ford, Ram, Jeep, Hyndai, Kia and others. All of them are undercutting Toyota in just about every way - cost, technology, engine, capability. Toyota still has brand recognition, but thats really it. Not even more reliable (second least reliable truck in 2021 according to US News).

 

The current Tacoma needs a redesign. IMO. Tho I do love it. I think Back to the Future made everyone 30 or older in love with the damn truck.

Edited August 30, 2021 by Matts4313

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

22 minutes ago, Matts4313 said:

Being in the same boat, I almost did this as well. Im a bit worried that Tacoma is going to get knocked a pegged with the reintroduction of mid/compact trucks by Ford, Ram, Jeep, Hyndai, Kia and others. All of them are undercutting Toyota in just about every way - cost, technology, engine, capability. Toyota still has brand recognition, but thats really it. Not even more reliable (second least reliable truck in 2021 according to US News).

 

The current Tacoma needs a redesign. IMO. Tho I do love it. I think Back to the Future made everyone 30 or older in love with the damn truck.

I know those ratings all have their methodology, and it’s hard to knock it with anecdotes, but man, there are a lot of Tacomas that just seem to run forever. Maybe they have small issues here and there that knock them down the rankings, but the power trains are proven reliable and exceptionally durable.

I just wonder how those places weight issues?  Like, having a piece of plastic molding that comes loose and needs repaired isn’t the same as a transmission slipping gears.

 

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

2 hours ago, Tugboat said:

This is really what it's all about.  It drives me insane, trying to wrap my head around why people have these bizarre stigmas around Station Wagons or Minivans, but in the same stroke...will line up to pay exorbitant prices for a generic crossover SUV with essentially the same underpinnings and capabilities.  If not less capability.

The insane herd mentality, of being "cool" by buying what everyone else buys.  It just reminds me of like 6th grade.  Gotta have that specific brand school binder like all the cool kids, or you're a loser.  If you don't have the right hip shoes that year, you're a dork.  etc.  But on a colossal consumer scale, involving masses of debt and tens of thousands of dollars of financing, on a vehicle you have to live with every day.  And ostensibly, grown *** adults.  Juvenile Consumerism on Xanax.  Hilarious and gross.

 

 

I feel like that number should really be set at 3+ rather than 2+.  Reading earlier posts, i hesitate to mention it...but realistically, 2 kids seems extremely doable with a normal *** small car.  I grew up with in an extremely numerically typical nuclear family of 4, with like tiny 80s and 90s VW Jettas, and a 90s Toyota pickup with those back seats that were meant more for medium sized pets.  Did all the things.  Went on regular trips 1500kms+ annually.  Hockey practices, football games, all the other sports and activities, camping regularly.  I mean, i distinctly recall it being cramped...but also, not really that big of a deal?  You only really need so much space, and so much stuff.

 

I think more people ought to ascribe that Marie Kondo "does it spark joy?" question, to their automobiles.  If it doesn't, it's not good, and you should get rid of it imo.  But also, maybe extend it to ask if its lack of size is somehow inhibiting joy by restricting you from doing something.  If not, i'd say it's plenty sized.

 

When it comes to 3+ kids though.  Yikes.  There's some sort of exponential multiplier there i think.  It's not just going from 2 to 3.  It seems like everything in the world is designed to make it more difficult.  You have to make the jump from "normal nuclear family" to a different tier.  But anyone i've ever known in that tier, has been happiest with a good ol' miniature van.  They just work.  And if someone thinks they're "less cool" than a boring *** SUV, they're an idiot, so who cares?

Yeah in my head I meant 3+ but I typed 2+.  2 kids any vehicle is more or less doable.  3?  Like you said exponential multiplier lol.

[Matts4313]

3 minutes ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

I know those ratings all have their methodology, and it’s hard to knock it with anecdotes, but man, there are a lot of Tacomas that just seem to run forever. Maybe they have small issues here and there that knock them down the rankings, but the power trains are proven reliable and exceptionally durable.

I just wonder how those places weight issues?  Like, having a piece of plastic molding that comes loose and needs repaired isn’t the same as a transmission slipping gears.

 

In the truck world, it seems like all of them "run for ever" nowadays. Tacomas are just really old from a current design stand point. It feels like there hasnt been any major changes in 15 years, even though I know for sure they have tweaked things. ITs just a really dated product, imo, even if it is the most pretty of the compact vehicles. 

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

13 minutes ago, Matts4313 said:

In the truck world, it seems like all of them "run for ever" nowadays. Tacomas are just really old from a current design stand point. It feels like there hasnt been any major changes in 15 years, even though I know for sure they have tweaked things. ITs just a really dated product, imo, even if it is the most pretty of the compact vehicles. 

That’s not just the Tacoma, but Toyotas in general.

The 4Runner has a 5 speed transmission from like 2003.  The Tundra has more or less remained unchanged for 14 years. The Sequoia the same.

That’s part of why they last so long and are generally reliable.  They are by far the slowest manufacturer to bring new tech to the market, but when they do it typically works.

I just wish they’d work a little faster lol.  I’d love a Tundra, but I’m not going to buy a new vehicle with 2010ish tech and a 6 speed transmission in 2021. 13mpg combined is simply not acceptable now when the competition gives you 5+ mpg with similar performance.

[Matts4313]

Damn. The Maverick I ordered was delayed. They are saying it could be 6 months. 

Here is my fall back:

https://www.jeep.com/hostd/windowsticker/getWindowStickerPdf.do?_ga=2.238790016.1801063266.1630343596-431636698.1630343596&vin=1C6HJTAG9ML534591

 

I think @ET80 mentioned he liked those.