My 16 y/o daughter started her senior year of HS this week and the situation is a mess.
Long story short, she's being told to zoom some classes in her car which she doesn't have so it's off to the dealerships this weekend.
I'm a Mazda fanboy but they're really struggling with inventory so can anybody that has recently been new Japanese car shopping share their experience.
Thank you in advance for any guidance.
Look outside our state. That is my advice before and during and after pandemic. Not only you can find inventory there are deals that are MUCH cheaper than CA.
I picked up new 2021 tacoma 3k undrer msrp 8 states away, when local dealers have no inventory and wanted 4-7k over msrp for cars they have.
I picked up a 2021 HE LC 200 17 states away - $800 under msrp when local dealers want 10k over msrp
I am looking for a 2022 IS500 and will also be getting it out of state minute it's available
good luck.
Out of state searching and smaller dealers are probably the best avenues to go.
RX Reven' said:My 16 y/o daughter started her senior year of HS this week and the situation is a mess.
Long story short, she's being told to zoom some classes in her car which she doesn't have so it's off to the dealerships this weekend.
I'm a Mazda fanboy but they're really struggling with inventory so can anybody that has recently been new Japanese car shopping share their experience.
Thank you in advance for any guidance.
Wait a second...TOLD to Zoom classes in Her CAR?
The presupposes that she has both the computer and a car. Are these state laws that all HS kids own a car?
And why does she have to be in a car to Zoom? Her hours or a Coffee shop might be a better place to study.
I have this mental image of all the kids and staff sitting in their cars in the school lot and doing school on line. This makes me think that Californians might be even weirder than I had thought by an order of magnitude. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I want more about the long story. Why is a car necessary for a zoom call? My kitchen table works totally fine for zoom.
Nobody has any inventory and cars are showing up already bought and paid for. It doesn't matter what make or model.
NOHOME said:RX Reven' said:My 16 y/o daughter started her senior year of HS this week and the situation is a mess.
Long story short, she's being told to zoom some classes in her car which she doesn't have so it's off to the dealerships this weekend.
I'm a Mazda fanboy but they're really struggling with inventory so can anybody that has recently been new Japanese car shopping share their experience.
Thank you in advance for any guidance.
Wait a second...TOLD to Zoom classes in Her CAR?
The presupposes that she has both the computer and a car. Are these state laws that all HS kids own a car?
And why does she have to be in a car to Zoom? Her hours or a Coffee shop might be a better place to study.
I have this mental image of all the kids and staff sitting in their cars in the school lot and doing school on line. This makes me think that Californians might be even weirder than I had thought by an order of magnitude. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I was wondering the same thing. This makes no sense.
NOHOME said:This makes me think that Californians might be even weirder than I had thought by an order of magnitude. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Don't believe everything you read...
The idea of a 16 year old new driver trying to participate in a Zoom meeting, even audio-only, while operating a vehicle should probably not seem like a good idea to anyone. That's not what they meant when they whispered "zoom-zoom".
Put me down for "there's got to be more to this story", but inventory of sedans seems to be kinda okay around where I live, just going by what I see on the lots.
I was totally confused and thought he was looking to buy in Japan for a true JDM experience.
Hive,
She's taking an extension class for Advanced Placement English through a local Junior College.
The plan was for the AP kids be together in a classroom and Zoom the sessions being broadcasted from the local JC but on day #1 of the semester it was announced that, for whatever reason, no teacher was available and so no classroom would be made available.
So, she now has mandated in-person classes sandwiched around the Zoom class making it necessary to be on campus (there's only few minute interval between classes) but the school won't allow the kids to use the cafeteria, library, etc.
To complicate matters, she had knee surgery two weeks ago today, is on crutches, and it rained in Southern California yesterday causing her to fall to the ground three times while trying to Zoom on her phone while standing outside in the rain...sniff, there must be a lot of dust in this room.
RX Reven' said:Hive,
She's taking an extension class for Advanced Placement English through a local Junior College.
The plan was for the AP kids be together in a classroom and Zoom the sessions being broadcasted from the local JC but on day #1 of the semester it was announced that, for whatever reason, no teacher was available and so no classroom would be made available.
So, she now has mandated in-person classes sandwiched around the Zoom class making it necessary to be on campus (there's only few minute interval between classes) but the school won't allow the kids to use the cafeteria, library, etc.
To complicate matters, she had knee surgery two weeks ago today, is on crutches, and it rained in Southern California yesterday causing her to fall to the ground three times while trying to Zoom on her phone while standing outside in the rain...sniff, there must be a lot of dust in this room.
Dang dude, that's bizarre crazy world stuff. They have to be on campus, but can't use any campus facilities?
OK so step back. She doesn't need a car, she needs a mobile office. Don't think new Toyota and all of that expense. Think mid 90's LS400 with crazy rear seat room and she can be comfy back there. Maybe a first gen Hyundai Genesis or even better, Equus. Something you can be super comfy in, have a lot of stuff, and actually relax a bit.
What a weird situation. I'm sorry.
The long story makes way more sense.
My hats off to you, dad, for raising a daughter doing ap classes and being so dedicated as to do them in the rain on crutches.
I k ow im on the opposite side of the country, but the dealers in my podunk town are ok with cars and out of trucks.
What about used instead? Better availability and pricing? Or is new just a requirement, no discussion?
Either way, keep being awesome dad.
Hi mr2s2000elise,
Great suggestion!
I didn't get any vacation this year so I'm itching for a road trip and my wife is scouring the country as I type this looking for what we want.
Honestly, I bought my CX-3 two years ago thinking I'd drive it around until now and give it to my daughter but the little scamp really punches above its weight so I'm in no hurry to let it go.
It's just a FWD, 2.0L, 6 speed auto but it's nice looking, fun to drive, and does everything I need...I still park it at the very end of lots and it doesn't have a single scratch or ding on it.
Anyway, my daughter prefers the mica blue color (mine is snowflake white) so we're trying to chase a new one down for her now but all we're finding is AWD, base models.
Option B is to find a CX-30 Touring, preferred equipment package in Soul Red for me and stick to the original plan of giving her my CX-3.
Do I need to know anything about buying a new car out of state (they're all 50 state compliant now; right?)...just take it to the DMV and pay the tax or is there more to it.
Thank you in advance of any guidance you can provide.
Hi dusterbd13-michael,
I wouldn't rule out a used car but the case against it is:
1. I keep hearing that used car prices are highly inflated due to people snatching them up in an effort to avoid public transit.
2. I've been very satisfied in terms of total cost / enjoyment over the years by buying modest new cars, taking good care of them, and keeping them a fairly long time - say 250K miles.
3. She's a great student with lots of options so whatever we get her may well wind up 1,000's of miles away from dad's garage next year.
Basically, if we go the used car route, my 2 year old CX-3 with known perfect history seems to make the most sense except that means that I'd have to give it up I'm perfectly happy with it.
I'm open to whatever but a new CX-3 for her or a new CX-30 for me is our current line of thinking. Having said that, I've never bought a new car that wasn't a Mazda, no regrets but admittedly, I may be arbitrarily limiting my options.
The only hard requirement is reliability...I'm an engineer and I get super pi$$ed when something isn't well built.
There are no new Honda Accords around here.
There's really no inventory to speak of. We're selling everything we get before it even hits the lot.
RX Reven' said:Hi mr2s2000elise,
Great suggestion!
I didn't get any vacation this year so I'm itching for a road trip and my wife is scouring the country as I type this looking for what we want.
Do I need to know anything about buying a new car out of state (they're all 50 state compliant now; right?)...just take it to the DMV and pay the tax or is there more to it.
Thank you in advance of any guidance you can provide.
I have been buying new cars out of state since 2007. They have been all 50 state compliant. 99% of the time I road trip it. But since Covid, 11 cars purchased (3 new), and all I have had them trucked to my driveway. The 3 new, even with shipping of ($700, 1100 900) - came out THOUSANDS cheaper than buying from Cali Cartels.
IF CA REGISTRATION:
IF SD/MT REGISTRATION like us tax dodgers:
PM me if you need further help, I buy 2-3 new cars a year out of state. Thanks
Good on AP. I took 14 AP classes, saved me lots of time at UNI. Good luck to the girl
I work at an Acura dealership.
We have NO cars in the showroom.
The rear parking lot is practically empty.
Woody (Forum Supportum) said:There are no new Honda Accords around here.
That's so wild. Tons of cars at the Honda dealer up the street from me. 30075.
14 AP classes?!? Damn.
I bought my last vehicle out of state, while I was still active duty. No sales tax saved thousands, and buying from Idaho worked out well.
Talk to us about the MT registration- theoretically of course.
I find 14 (45awd) new CX-3s in fwd trim in the US, only 2 in blue:
$21140 Michigan
$21740 Florida
If you decide to go for other colors, prices drop into the 20Ks.
Anything against AWD other than price? Might be wise to include those as the price difference is not significant based on how long you mention keeping cars.
I bought a few cars out of state. Two from Virginia, both those dealers collected Florida taxes and transferred my tags. I did not have to do anything.
Another car bought in California, they shipped it and did not collect taxes. I paid them in Florida once the car was here. If I had picked it up in California I would have had to pay California taxes and then use that as credit in Florida.
In reply to RX Reven' :
Honestly it sounds like the school is failing her by not providing a teacher and/or facilities. An AP class really doesn't mean that much in the grand scheme of her education, I would seriously look into switching classes to one with a teacher, even if it's "lessor".
You need to form a Montana LLC, maintain a mailing address in Montana, and register the car in the name of your Montana company. There are companies in Montana that will do it all for you for a couple thousand and rent you a mailing address for a few bucks a month.
You will also need to get insurance and not all insurance companies will insure a vehicle registered to a Montana shell company.
Slippery said:What about one of these?:
That C-HR is already gone. As far as other places most dealers are showing "in transit" vehicles online. If they have photos of new cars, and the one you see doesn't have them, it's probably not there.
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