My son wants to buy a car Today.

My son is in his mid 30s and is not so much a 'car guy'. His 2005 Corolla was  rear ended yesterday. The damage was minor, but it was a 'trigger' to upgrade to a newer car.

He sent me links - using a Capitol One car search - to about a dozen cars he's thinking of. I'm planting trees (Fig and Dogwood) and changing spark plugs and front brakes on a Boxster this morning and can't chase every link he sends me. He has the day off and wants to buy right Now. Help!

1) I told him to slow down. Showing up at a used car dealer "prequalified" and "need a car today" would be a salesmen's dream and his nightmare.

2) He has done no research, but thinks he likes VW Passats because he had an '04 and Honda Civics because they are reliable and we have a long history of Hondas in the family. Other than that, he's not sure what he wants other than a good reliable car for a family of 4.

3) I didn't expect this. He called this morning during breakfast and asked if I could drive over an hour to Tulsa this morning and help him find a car. Love to, but I already have plans.

4) Capitol One finance? I suggested checking a Credit Union.

So... Seeing his examples, I'm thinking 2013 to 2017. Up to $16,000 (but $7,000 is a lot better IMHO). 4 Doors, Automatic, reliable, no big maintenance needs, Passats, Civics, and he linked a 2013 Volt which I have absolutely no opinion on.

What would GRM do? Miata is not the answer (unless he finds a pair). What is the go-to family 4-door. Years or models to avoid? What about similar Korean cars - Kia/Hyundai are they worth looking at? Mazda? All my (dozen) cars are over 10 years old and bought with cash.

He owned a B5 Passat and that caused him to want another one?? Does not compute 

On a more serious note, Capitol One has the loan on my FRS. They had the best rate when I shopped (better than my credit union) and I have nothing bad to say about them.

AAZCD said:

1) I told him to slow down. Showing up at a used car dealer "prequalified" and "need a car today" would be a salesmen's dream and his nightmare.

So much this!

Look before you leap, and all that.

No reason to think Capital One wouldn't be a good financing option, but shop that too.

1988RedT2 said:

AAZCD said:

1) I told him to slow down. Showing up at a used car dealer "prequalified" and "need a car today" would be a salesmen's dream and his nightmare.

So much this!

Look before you leap, and all that.

No reason to think Capital One wouldn't be a good financing option, but shop that too.

Not really. You don't HAVE to take the deal that they try to stick you with. "If your friend tells you to jump off a bridge, would you?"

It seems the pretty obvious answer is newest/nicest Civic/Accord/Camry/etc, he can find and move on with life.

Is there a Carmax in Tulsa. They seem to offer a better car buying experience for shoppers just like him. 

The Mazda6 of that generation is extremely highly rated for reliability as are the Hyundai Sonatas.

Same with the Hondas and Toyotas of the small/mid size segments.

Have him go grab ths months Consumer Reports off the magazine rack. The current issue is all about used cars, so if he just need bulletproof commuter that would be a good place to start.

I'll echo that he needs to slow down before he gets stuck.

Optimas/Sonata's in that price range will be lower miles, more factory warranty etc. I would recommend one of the pedestrian models (non-turbo) for his needs. Lowest mileage, newest you can find in price range. IT'll be a great car for a long time. 

Furious_E said:

He owned a B5 Passat and that caused him to want another one?? Does not compute 

On a more serious note, Capitol One has the loan on my FRS. They had the best rate when I shopped (better than my credit union) and I have nothing bad to say about them.

Capital one has been almost a full 1% cheaper on rate for the last couple cars I have helped people get. They are nice to deal with as well. But local credit union is still the best shot at a lower rate. 

I know where he can probably get a new style beetle cheap.

Biturbo

If he has a place to plug it in regularly, that 2013 Volt could be ideal. They seem to be very reliable and would out fuel economy the Civic and Corolla by a wide margin.

He Just called again. His fiance (pretty much wife for a couple years already) chimed in and they are most likely going for this:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/767223553/overview/

2016 Civic LX, under 30K miles, ~$15,500. I think he's doing pretty well with it, but still needs to see it in person. It is being delivered to the dealer later today, so that will slow him down a bit.

Thanks for the feedback on Capitol One. I passed it on.

Plug-in would probably be an issue with the Volt.

I'll pass on about the Sonata/Optima. Sounds like a good option if the Honda doesn't quite fit.

Malibu w/2.5L engine.

I'd steer him towards a newer Corolla. Perfect appliance for a non car person..

If he's in the "gotta get it now" mentality, Carmax is probably the best bet.  They don't have the typical car dealer mentality and if he's coming in pre-qualified, it's even easier.  Have him go ahead and see if Carmax can beat the rate, it's free and worth a look.  Plus, Carmax has a bunch of cars for him to look through (again, with little to no pressure) to decide what he wants.

I'd echo the Toyota/Honda option as they are the standard for appliance cars, but don't count out the Korea's as they've really come up in quality.  They're the easy button.

For a buyer like him, buying a car should be equivalent of going to the local big box store to buy a washing machine and Carmax pretty much gives that experience.

-Rob

A newish 30K mile Civic like he plans to look at will be a great appliance. 

AAZCD said:

He Just called again. His fiance (pretty much wife for a couple years already) chimed in and they are most likely going for this:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/767223553/overview/

2016 Civic LX, under 30K miles, ~$15,500. I think he's doing pretty well with it, but still needs to see it in person. It is being delivered to the dealer later today, so that will slow him down a bit.

Thanks for the feedback on Capitol One. I passed it on.

Plug-in would probably be an issue with the Volt.

I'll pass on about the Sonata/Optima. Sounds like a good option if the Honda doesn't quite fit.

Nothing against Civics, but for that much, why go used.  You can get a new Focus with bumper to bumper warranty, and probably some really good Ford Financing for that much?

Having said that, I'd be in the 'don't even think of buying a car today' category.  Most of my car buying takes a minimum of 6 months to plan before even looking.  Yeah, that's not usual, but any purchase over a couple of hundred we have an unwritten waiting period.  Never ever shop and buy in one day for anything other than life's necessities.  

As for the financing thing, every time I've bought a new car, I tell the dealer I'll let them finance me. 

Then when we settle on a price, I make sure to tell them, "I already know I'm approved at X rate by my bank, so I know you can match that or I'll use them for financing."

That Civic looks like a perfectly good choice.  That's a reasonable price and the car should give them years of trouble free service.  The only reservation I have is the color.  Being non-car people they may be frustrated with how hard it is to keep a black car looking nice.  On the other hand being non-car people they may not care.

Civic is a great car, can't go wrong.  Bang for the buck, he'll get a MUCH better value with the Hyundai Elantra.  A base model of similar age/mileage is probably under $10k easily and a loaded top trim will still come in under $15k.  Reliable, very roomy, economical.  I had one for a few years and thought it was a great point A to point B car.

He sounds like a Prius guy. 

Lots of good advice here. Obviously, the biturbo comment was a joke (good one, too).

a lot of what was said can be summed up as:

"Buy in haste, repent at leisure."

John Welsh said:

Is there a Carmax in Tulsa. They seem to offer a better car buying experience for shoppers just like him. 

At a Carmax he will probably not get the lowest number, but he will get a solid car at a solid price, and won't get raked by an opportunistic salesperson.  And their inventory tends to run pretty deep in the type of car he's looking for, so he'll have options to immediately compare.

In reply to Klayfish :

Hyundai Elantra. I had forgot about that car. They make them much better now. I had a 2000 model, probably around 2007. I loaned it to my son for a 1,500 mile road trip and the alternator gave out in the middle of Arkansas. He made it to an exit on I-40, then had it towed to a dealership in Russellville. I think the total bill came to about $750 and he drove away with the oil filler cap off. A couple exits later after he saw smoke coming from under the hood. He found a Walmart to top off the oil and fashioned a cap out of duct tape. Maybe that's why he didn't seem interested when I mentioned Hyundai - Not that it reflects on their current line-up.

M56 fly to NC and drive home for under 18k. He sounds like it just hasn't realized how much he wants a 450hp V8.