car shopping for son
- Thread starter jstert
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Originally Posted by macarose
Carmax is insanely overpriced. They generally specialize in sub-prime credit consumers and have a financing arm of their own that manages the risk of handling higher default rates.
Carvana runs an excellent operation. I buy plenty of vehicles from both companies and don't get me wrong. Carmax also does a great job. They just have a different market focus although you will see the two of them compete quite a bit against each other on the wholesale side.
I have my own car buying service as well with over 2,000 followers on Facebook. My name is Steven Lang and if you google my name or type 'long-term reliability' you'll know a healthy bit about my daily work.
Here's my site. If it's a 2015 or newer vehicle I can usually find a healthy variety of vehicles without much of a problem, including all the vehicles you mentioned. At the moment I'm buying a small army of Elantras, Souls and Kia Fortes for a rideshare company here in Atlanta that received a $200,000 SBA loan. Most of my customers are commercial, but I do plenty of consumer purchases so long as that customer knows exactly what they want.
Q: What's the deal with the BMW 4-series? Are they just not popping up in sufficient numbers or do you lump them in with the 3-series?
Carmax is insanely overpriced. They generally specialize in sub-prime credit consumers and have a financing arm of their own that manages the risk of handling higher default rates.
Carvana runs an excellent operation. I buy plenty of vehicles from both companies and don't get me wrong. Carmax also does a great job. They just have a different market focus although you will see the two of them compete quite a bit against each other on the wholesale side.
I have my own car buying service as well with over 2,000 followers on Facebook. My name is Steven Lang and if you google my name or type 'long-term reliability' you'll know a healthy bit about my daily work.
Here's my site. If it's a 2015 or newer vehicle I can usually find a healthy variety of vehicles without much of a problem, including all the vehicles you mentioned. At the moment I'm buying a small army of Elantras, Souls and Kia Fortes for a rideshare company here in Atlanta that received a $200,000 SBA loan. Most of my customers are commercial, but I do plenty of consumer purchases so long as that customer knows exactly what they want.
Q: What's the deal with the BMW 4-series? Are they just not popping up in sufficient numbers or do you lump them in with the 3-series?
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Originally Posted by sloinker
Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by PimTac
sloinker said:
Originally Posted by Chris142
The kia and hyundai have had too many problems lately. Scratch them off your list.
I agree. I have a 2.0L Soul, no problems so far at 35K, but reading Soul Forum, many many 2.0 and 1.6L Kia/Hundai motors have had issues and recalls. Even new 2020's are having lots of transmission problems. Go with any other make...........
The kia and hyundai have had too many problems lately. Scratch them off your list.
I agree. I have a 2.0L Soul, no problems so far at 35K, but reading Soul Forum, many many 2.0 and 1.6L Kia/Hundai motors have had issues and recalls. Even new 2020's are having lots of transmission problems. Go with any other make...........
Mazda anything.
The answer is, let him pick out his own car. If whatever you buy doesn't meet his requirements or is a lemon, he will then possibly blame you. Buying used vehicles is a crap shoot.
thanks to everyone who offered car focused suggestions and to mr. lang for mentioning his carbuying service. especially appreciate the headsup on hyundai/kia problems although i've read some happy reviews here of the elantra. as i mentioned my son will decide and buy in may, not me, and he asked his dad for long distance food for thought as he cannot now research in person or on the internet, given his location and what he is doing. cheers all.
Here's something you may not expect.
The Hyundai Elantra and Kia Forte models that do not come with direct injection or CVT transmissions perform exceptionally well. In fact, our data is showing that those versions are outperforming the Toyota Corolla. The only exception is that the non-CVT L versions of the Corolla from 2014 to 2016 are leading the pack. However that distance isn't worth the stiff $2500 to $3500 premium over a better equipped Hyundai/Kia.
The Hyundai Elantra and Kia Forte models that do not come with direct injection or CVT transmissions perform exceptionally well. In fact, our data is showing that those versions are outperforming the Toyota Corolla. The only exception is that the non-CVT L versions of the Corolla from 2014 to 2016 are leading the pack. However that distance isn't worth the stiff $2500 to $3500 premium over a better equipped Hyundai/Kia.
Originally Posted by macarose
Here's something you may not expect.
The Hyundai Elantra and Kia Forte models that do not come with direct injection or CVT transmissions perform exceptionally well. In fact, our data is showing that those versions are outperforming the Toyota Corolla. The only exception is that the non-CVT L versions of the Corolla from 2014 to 2016 are leading the pack. However that distance isn't worth the stiff $2500 to $3500 premium over a better equipped Hyundai/Kia.
Originally Posted by macarose
Here's something you may not expect.
The Hyundai Elantra and Kia Forte models that do not come with direct injection or CVT transmissions perform exceptionally well. In fact, our data is showing that those versions are outperforming the Toyota Corolla. The only exception is that the non-CVT L versions of the Corolla from 2014 to 2016 are leading the pack. However that distance isn't worth the stiff $2500 to $3500 premium over a better equipped Hyundai/Kia.
thanks very much mr. lang. i looked at your fb page although im not an fb'er. i may reach out to you off bitog. cheers.
Here's something you may not expect.
The Hyundai Elantra and Kia Forte models that do not come with direct injection or CVT transmissions perform exceptionally well. In fact, our data is showing that those versions are outperforming the Toyota Corolla. The only exception is that the non-CVT L versions of the Corolla from 2014 to 2016 are leading the pack. However that distance isn't worth the stiff $2500 to $3500 premium over a better equipped Hyundai/Kia.
Originally Posted by macarose
Here's something you may not expect.
The Hyundai Elantra and Kia Forte models that do not come with direct injection or CVT transmissions perform exceptionally well. In fact, our data is showing that those versions are outperforming the Toyota Corolla. The only exception is that the non-CVT L versions of the Corolla from 2014 to 2016 are leading the pack. However that distance isn't worth the stiff $2500 to $3500 premium over a better equipped Hyundai/Kia.
thanks very much mr. lang. i looked at your fb page although im not an fb'er. i may reach out to you off bitog. cheers.
This is bigger than choosing the vehicle, and you have a great opportunity here. So, here's the deal - as his dad, he's asking you to help him make a good choice, but he is young, and part of his uncertainty is that he doesn't have enough experience to know by what factors he needs to evaluate. So, this is less about choosing the material item and more about learning how to think, and you know more than you know - so how do you help him learn what you know?
- how long will his commute be?
- what will his $ tolerance be for fuel costs?
- does he like small and zippy, or will the commute in small and zippy stress him out from bigger vehicles that don't respect following distance, bright headlights, etc.?
- would he rather have a larger vehicle for comfort?
- children planned in 4 years?
- does he live in an area where AWD is truly good to have, or is FWD adequate? (in my northeast experience, AWD only goes as well as the FWD in front of you)
- what are his values as far as his vehicle expenditures, debt tolerance, reliability, image?
- what worked for you at his age?
btw - most pilots I've known have preferred smaller vehicles, especially earlier in their careers, and they tended to look around and wander in their lane. a smaller car or midsize car leaves a bit more room for that. I don't know if that's a normal thing, but I do know from the few hours put in, flying a plane requires one to let it drift a bit and not micro-correct like we do for lane control. maybe it's a thing?
-m
- how long will his commute be?
- what will his $ tolerance be for fuel costs?
- does he like small and zippy, or will the commute in small and zippy stress him out from bigger vehicles that don't respect following distance, bright headlights, etc.?
- would he rather have a larger vehicle for comfort?
- children planned in 4 years?
- does he live in an area where AWD is truly good to have, or is FWD adequate? (in my northeast experience, AWD only goes as well as the FWD in front of you)
- what are his values as far as his vehicle expenditures, debt tolerance, reliability, image?
- what worked for you at his age?
btw - most pilots I've known have preferred smaller vehicles, especially earlier in their careers, and they tended to look around and wander in their lane. a smaller car or midsize car leaves a bit more room for that. I don't know if that's a normal thing, but I do know from the few hours put in, flying a plane requires one to let it drift a bit and not micro-correct like we do for lane control. maybe it's a thing?
-m
thanks meep, all useful questions to ponder. maybe a ten mile commute, unsure yet as it will be new location up north. kids...not there yet. awd is covered by their subaru outback, wife works remotely from home. he is an engineer as well as a pilot, but less mechanically inclined than me, if that makes sense (those of us who grew up with 1960s and 70s used cars had to become so inclined). frugal, but their incomes are very good. you are correct about pilots on the road, so i've noticed driving with my son. his first thought was a honda accord sport, mine was a mazda 3. the other possibilities i threw in after lots of just sitting at the carmax-provided automobile show. what did i drive at his age? a toyota corona hooptie in okinawa, japan.
just make sure its a Toyota and you cant go wrong
Originally Posted by macarose
We don't have enough data samples to make a qualified judgment. We typically wait for at least 400 vehicles to enter the database before we publicize them.
What does your data say about the LF Sonata (2015-2017) versus the Gen 7 Camry (same years)?
We don't have enough data samples to make a qualified judgment. We typically wait for at least 400 vehicles to enter the database before we publicize them.
What does your data say about the LF Sonata (2015-2017) versus the Gen 7 Camry (same years)?
fast forward and my son just picked up a cpo 2019 mazda3, preferred (midlevel) trim, cherry red, fwd sedan, with just 3k miles on it. onboard computer logged 44mpg on his 2hr mostly highway drive home. his driving impressions reported over bluetooth were happy: it is smooth, certainly fast enough and very quiet, matching his former mb c250.
does anyone here have any suggestions for its continuing good service, beyond following the owner’s manual? he intends to do dealer servive, though the nearest is an hour away. thanks in advance.
does anyone here have any suggestions for its continuing good service, beyond following the owner’s manual? he intends to do dealer servive, though the nearest is an hour away. thanks in advance.
