Buying a car

[Lincoln]

60 bucks every few days cause of mileage and premium gas +expensive insurance over cheap ass insurance, 40$ every 10-15 days? Lol alright.

Im not goin to blow my load on an rx8 considering I still got college and books and all det to pay

[pawe]

Rofl cuz I see all these college kids driving flashy cars huh?

Forget the flashy cars! Yeah, the comfort and driving experience is noticeable but unless you DIY the parts and maintenance, the ownership costs will get you.

I drive a Mercedes C230 and a Lexus IS right now and oil change alone is already $180-210 every 5k miles. Tune up (service b) is $600 every 15k miles, Brake pads and rotors will cost $700 in parts + $450-600 labor at around 25k miles. Parts are 2-3 times more expensive and labor is $95/hour.
Premium gas too, the merc goes 27mpg, lexus has 22 mpg mixed driving.

Im 30, clean driving record, parks in a gated community, with college grad and bundle discounts; Insurance for the merc is $120/mo; insurance for the lexus is $135/mo.

Id just get a Ford focus or an Accord.

[silverblk mystix]

Forget the flashy cars! Yeah, the comfort and driving experience is noticeable but unless you DIY the parts and maintenance, the ownership costs will get you.

I drive a Mercedes C230 and a Lexus IS right now and oil change alone is already $180-210 every 5k miles. Tune up (service b) is $600 every 15k miles, Brake pads and rotors will cost $700 in parts + $450-600 labor at around 25k miles. Parts are 2-3 times more expensive and labor is $95/hour.
Premium gas too, the merc goes 27mpg, lexus has 22 mpg mixed driving.

Im 30, clean driving record, parks in a gated community, with college grad and bundle discounts; Insurance for the merc is $120/mo; insurance for the lexus is $135/mo.

Id just get a Ford focus or an Accord.

You do know that you can get service somewhere besides the dealer,right?

Once the Mercedes and Lexus complimentary services run out...nothing is stopping you from finding cheaper service places...after all the Lexus is a Toyota engine and will be fine with a generic oil change...and the Mercedes engines have been around forever and everyone has parts and everyone can do the required services for a fraction of what you are paying. So-called luxury carmakers are capitalizing on the nameplate...but an engine won't know the difference if Joe the local monkey-wrench is doing the service.

Unless, you just like paying as much as possible.

[ElNono]

Forget the flashy cars! Yeah, the comfort and driving experience is noticeable but unless you DIY the parts and maintenance, the ownership costs will get you.

I drive a Mercedes C230 and a Lexus IS right now and oil change alone is already $180-210 every 5k miles. Tune up (service b) is $600 every 15k miles, Brake pads and rotors will cost $700 in parts + $450-600 labor at around 25k miles. Parts are 2-3 times more expensive and labor is $95/hour.
Premium gas too, the merc goes 27mpg, lexus has 22 mpg mixed driving.

Im 30, clean driving record, parks in a gated community, with college grad and bundle discounts; Insurance for the merc is $120/mo; insurance for the lexus is $135/mo.

Id just get a Ford focus or an Accord.

Where the are you buying your Lexus parts from?

I drive an '06 RX330, 50K miles, rotors are fine. Just changed the front brake pads ($50 for the whole front kit from lexuspartseast.com), and rebuilt one of the calipers ($40 for the kit from same place). All Toyota original parts.

Oil change *at the dealer* was $70, including free car wash.

It's not the car, it's you that's getting raped and taking it.

[Wild Cobra]

I have to keep stopping myself from leasing a nice sports car that I Really shouldn't waste money on. I know it's stupid and vain, but honestly, I'm 23, making decent money, in 2-4 years it will be time to settle down and start a family, so why not enjoy life to the fullest right now?

Anyway know any good deals on nice BMW's? I really know jack about cars so I need advice tbh.

Leasing is a bad idea.

[pawe]

You do know that you can get service somewhere besides the dealer,right?

Once the Mercedes and Lexus complimentary services run out...nothing is stopping you from finding cheaper service places...after all the Lexus is a Toyota engine and will be fine with a generic oil change...and the Mercedes engines have been around forever and everyone has parts and everyone can do the required services for a fraction of what you are paying. So-called luxury carmakers are capitalizing on the nameplate...but an engine won't know the difference if Joe the local monkey-wrench is doing the service.

Unless, you just like paying as much as possible.

I only take my car to the dealership for the service B so my complimentary roadside assistance and free towing wont get disqualified..that's like $75 off my insurance.
Indy mechanics still charge $75-80/hour.

Where the are you buying your Lexus parts from?

I drive an '06 RX330, 50K miles, rotors are fine. Just changed the front brake pads ($50 for the whole front kit from lexuspartseast.com), and rebuilt one of the calipers ($40 for the kit from same place). All Toyota original parts.

Oil change *at the dealer* was $70, including free car wash.

It's not the car, it's you that's getting raped and taking it.

Im asian, of course I DIY almost everything.
Haven't replaced the lexus brakes yet since I only have 6k miles on it. I will get parts from the suggestions of the forum members at club lexus since forums know where the cheaper parts are.

I did the brakes for the merc and the cross drilled rotors plus ceramic brake pads and brake sensors still cost me $600 including the tools used for the job vs probably $200 for the hondas/toyotas.


* My point here is even entry level "flashy" cars will cost big money specially if you are still in college. It's just not worth it to spend this much for a car when you are still in debt.

[ElNono]

Im asian, of course I DIY almost everything.
Haven't replaced the lexus brakes yet since I only have 6k miles on it. I will get parts from the suggestions of the forum members at club lexus since forums know where the cheaper parts are.

I did the brakes for the merc and the cross drilled rotors plus ceramic brake pads and brake sensors still cost me $600 including the tools used for the job vs probably $200 for the hondas/toyotas.

Merc will rip you off, but they'll last you. I still have an '88 300E with 152,000 miles on it that refuses to die. It's just not worth putting money into it for even basic stuff at this point.

Lexus uses mostly Toyota parts, so it is cheaper. Most of my RX330 parts are the same as the Highlanders (except for the luxury stuff).

tbh, sometimes paying a little more for reliability is worth it. That's why I think his Corolla pickup is a sound decision.

[Lincoln]

Pawe I was being sarcastic tbh, that called me out on drivin a car that'll make me look like a so I just basically told him that most college kids can't maintain a sports car lol.

[ElNono]

Lincoln,

[Jt.ONE]

american cars are tbh

anything honda/toyota have long lives if kept healthy

[Lincoln]

american cars are tbh

anything honda/toyota have long lives if kept healthy

Tbh parents saidthe same exact thing then proceed to try and get me a black mustang convertible lol

[Axe Murderer]

hows South Oklahoma?

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

hows South Oklahoma?

South Oklahoma?!?!?!?!?!?!?!


More like Northwest Gulf of Mexico I saidddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

[4>0rings]

Damn a 'rolla? Really? Cool I guess if you consider cars as only transportation from point A to B. Could never own a boring car.

[Lincoln]

4 0, what u got imo

[Wild Cobra]

Merc will rip you off, but they'll last you. I still have an '88 300E with 152,000 miles on it that refuses to die. It's just not worth putting money into it for even basic stuff at this point.

When I lived in Gaertingen, Germany, my next door neighbor worked at the the nearby Mercedes plant. He was disgusted with how their quality control started going down. This was in '88 he started saying this. That would be for the '89 models.

[pawe]

When I lived in Gaertingen, Germany, my next door neighbor worked at the the nearby Mercedes plant. He was disgusted with how their quality control started going down. This was in '88 he started saying this. That would be for the '89 models.

They dont build tank-like cars anymore like they used to. Probably because its also harder to make a machine with hundreds of electronics to be as reliable as the simpler older models.

But the newer models that just came out, the ones with the led lights on the lower bumpers, the engineers this time made sure merc reliability will be recognized again.

[4>0rings]

4 0, what u got imo

A modified Mustang.

[ElNono]

When I lived in Gaertingen, Germany, my next door neighbor worked at the the nearby Mercedes plant. He was disgusted with how their quality control started going down. This was in '88 he started saying this. That would be for the '89 models.

Agree with that and one other reason why I didn't go back to them.

That said, it's tough to build heavy cars like that anymore with the requirements in gas mileage, etc.

[mingus]

just got a nissan 370z 1 week ago. i'm very happy with it so far.

[mingus]

I have to keep stopping myself from leasing a nice sports car that I Really shouldn't waste money on. I know it's stupid and vain, but honestly, I'm 23, making decent money, in 2-4 years it will be time to settle down and start a family, so why not enjoy life to the fullest right now?

Anyway know any good deals on nice BMW's? I really know jack about cars so I need advice tbh.

this site helped me pick out a car. check it out:

http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com...ucks/rankings/

[RandomGuy]

So I need a car for college which starts tomo IMO. Looking for a car to buy this week. I was looking around at the used car lots and I found a Mazda rx8 2005-2009 for pretty cheap. My budget is 10-15k

Is this a good car tho? Not really looking for haulin a lot of around so I went the route of a smaller car. Fun to drive, like the suicide door and 6 speed manual.

Never bought a car before tho, checked the blue book value and it seemed fair.

Go for something small, cheap and reliable. Always consider the cost of ownership, as others have pointed out. Insurance, gas, maintenance, start to add up.

Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus come immediately to mind, or even the compact versions of those cars, the Yaris and Fiesta, which are new cars within your stated budget.

That said, if all you are doing is some city driving, get something a bit older.

Always count on gas never getting much cheaper than it is now, and probably getting a good deal more expensive in the next 5 years. Remember that we are competing with tens of thousands of new drivers every week for the same gallon of gasoline/oil, who are buying their first cars, and that is running up demand at a fast pace.

[Lincoln]

Got a corolla tbh lol

[DPG21920]

Nice choice sons. Btw I think the car actually looks good. It's not amazing but much cooler than they used to be.

[DPG21920]

Leasing is a bad idea.

That's not true.