New Car Shopping

[Robroy]

At the risk of piling on . . . . that is blatantly false.

Actually, standards for SUV's have improved since I last read up on it. However, as I pointed out in a previous post, it's complicated.

There are a lot of one car accidents now, thanks to cell phones and texting. I'd rather be in a car that's not likely to roll over.

My information may be dated.

 

[fingerguy]

Actually, no. I meant to say one million. The reason for the number, though, is that I LOVE to drive, have driven for a living and do a 155 mile daily commute now. And if you add motorcycle miles it bumps it up another 90k or so.

My miles are peanuts compared to what a long haul trucker does over the course of a career.

I've owned over 30 cars in my adult life and driven in every state but five on the east coast. Now that I'm in KY I'll hit them soon.

I've watched a lot of accidents right before my eyes. I even saw a head on between an SUV and a Ford Focus about 12 years ago where the guy in the Focus was definitely dazed, but other than that he was unharmed. meanwhile, the woman was unaffected, except one of her legs was crushed.

I'm sure standards have changed somewhat (traction control is better than it used to be), but the standards for SUV's used to be the same as for pickup trucks.

Blah blah blah. I am a field tech that covers from NYC to Massachusetts and we are based out of CT. So don't try to do a how much I drive comparison. Lastly, no matter what you drive, hell could be the safest car in the world but if you are not paying attention, if you are an idiot, no matter how much safety crap you put on a car or whatever, in the end it's the driver. Till cars drive themselves, it's the driver!!!

 

[Robroy]

Electronic stability control and TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) exist now primarily due to two things.

1. The Suzuki Samurai. Nothing much to say except it was very "tippy".
2. Defective and underinflated Firestone tires on Gen 1 Ford Explorers.

ESC has saved my bacon at least once. I was driving through an intersection and another car blew through a stop sign, almost t-boning me. I had to make a VERY abrupt evasive maneuver and I could feel the car taking over some of the braking etc. to prevent a rollover.

To the OP: Carefully weigh the value of systems like Adaptive Cruise Control, Frontal Collision Avoidance, etc. I'm 100% convinced of their worth and wouldn't buy any new car without that stuff. But it's not free.

EDIT: Also, do you have any emotional attachment to driving and your vehicle? If not, most anything will probably serve you well. But if the driving experience is important to you, well, all I can say is at least test drive a Sportwagen or Alltrack.

One day I turned off the traction control in my FR-S. I learned that a lot of my newfound driving prowess was due to the traction control being on. I can't control WHICH wheels brake like a computer can.

 

[Robroy]

Blah blah blah. I am a field tech that covers from NYC to Massachusetts and we are based out of CT. So don't try to do a how much I drive comparison. Lastly, no matter what you drive, hell could be the safest car in the world but if you are not paying attention, if you are an idiot, no matter how much safety crap you put on a car or whatever, in the end it's the driver. Till cars drive themselves, it's the driver!!!

Nothing to disagree with there except the part about "it's the driver", at least within the context of this thread. No matter what car the op picks, the driver will be the OP. So what we are discussing is the difference in cars, not drivers.

 

[twocargar]

To the OP: Carefully weigh the value of systems like Adaptive Cruise Control, Frontal Collision Avoidance, etc. I'm 100% convinced of their worth and wouldn't buy any new car without that stuff. But it's not free.

EDIT: Also, do you have any emotional attachment to driving and your vehicle? If not, most anything will probably serve you well. But if the driving experience is important to you, well, all I can say is at least test drive a Sportwagen or Alltrack.

The Mazda 6 I drove was the first car I had experienced with all those new safety features and all of the cars I have considered (Hyundai, Toyota, Honda) have had those on there. I also like that in most of the different models I've driven, you can turn those things off or turn down the sensitivity if you want to. Thanks for bringing that up.

 

[marko138]

I just bought a new (used) car 3 weeks ago. I absolutely HATE buying cars. I don't enjoy any aspect of it. But it's a necessary evil. At any rate, I was searching far and wide for the used vehicle I wanted with the options and miles I wanted. Found a couple. Ended up finding one at an independent dealer about an hour or so from my home. We did all of the negotiating over email and phone, my trade number included. I showed up, test drove the vehicle. A couple of minor details needed taken care of so it would be a couple days before I could take delivery (including me forgetting my auto draft as my dog had died the night before, I had a lot on my mind that morning leaving the house).

Anyway, when I went back two days later to pick up the vehicle the salesman had everything typed up and waiting for my signature. I was in and out of the dealer in less than 15 minutes. It was the easiest vehicle purchase I've ever made. I got what I feel was a good price on the car and a good price on my trade, and above all else I didn't have to sit in the dealer for hours on end.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I've bought two new vehicles in my lifetime. The first one was almost necessary, because Thais don't do the maintenance on their vehicles & I was living in the Land of Smiles at the time.
I like my newish vehicle, but in retrospect I wish I'd bought used & saved a bundle.

Another thing I did that I regret was pay for the extended warranty, which I've never used after 3 years.

 

[Robroy]

I've bought two new vehicles in my lifetime. The first one was almost necessary, because Thais don't do the maintenance on their vehicles & I was living in the Land of Smiles at the time.
I like my newish vehicle, but in retrospect I wish I'd bought used & saved a bundle.

Another thing I did that I regret was pay for the extended warranty, which I've never used after 3 years.

Heh. I've bought one extended warranty. Never again. Live and learn.

 

[Robroy]

Relevant:
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[fretter]

You might want to consider a gently used RAV4 Limited with a V6 and a "J" (Japan) VIN number. Some of the specs are comparable to a Porsche 968. It also has no problems in blizzards, when tractor trailers are turning sideways on the interstate. The seating position is a little short, like a truck, but you get used to it, and the driving experience more than makes up for it.

 

[fingerguy]

Speaking of not safe, imagine getting into an accident with this?

 

[MrLenny1]

2016 CRV 33 mpg with CVT transmission.

 

[Robroy]

I have to confess that my whole life I've never considered safety when buying a car until fairly recently. Two things changed that. First is watching people drive off the road while texting and watching those dash cam videos of people doing it all over the world. Second was when I rented a hummer H2 and it constantly felt like it wanted to roll.

But being a two seater sports car type, the latter is a pet peeve of mine and easily avoided by not driving an SUV. The former is something I can only pray about.

 

[Alkali Ike]

I'm not a fan of extended warranties. But here's a little story.

I bought a new clothes dryer about five years ago. Declined the extended warranty. A month ago the front panel Power button broke. Physically broke. I spent an hour unsuccessfully trying to take apart the front panel to get to the button. Finally called a repairman. The repair estimate to fix it was $530. I am not making that up.

Now I use the eraser end of a pencil to push the switch that turns the dryer on and off (power button removed).

As far as new cars, the factory warranties are pretty strong. But they don't cover electronics beyond the basic warranty. These cars are full of electronics and computer modules. If at 5 years your ABS module fails, you are facing a very steep repair bill. A replacement computer module of any kind can easily cost north of $1000 and that's not including labor.

Extended warranty is like insurance. You may never use it, but you'll be real glad you have it if something does break after the new car warranty runs out.

 

[Robroy]

Extended warranty is like insurance. You may never use it, but you'll be real glad you have it if something does break after the new car warranty runs out.

Yep. In the end that is what it is. BTW, I've saved over $50,000 after tax since January 1st of 2014. That was the day I cancelled all health insurance.

 

[hbarcat]

Actually, standards for SUV's have improved since I last read up on it. However, as I pointed out in a previous post, it's complicated.

There are a lot of one car accidents now, thanks to cell phones and texting. I'd rather be in a car that's not likely to roll over.

My information may be dated.

The Suzuki Samurai was sold in the U.S. from 1985 - 1995. In 1998, Consumer Reports ran an article condemning the vehicle as being unsafe and prone to rollovers.

The American mass media ran with the story and soon reports were everywhere claiming all SUV's were death traps because of inevitable rollover accidents.

The whole thing was a myth. The Suzuki Samurai was only slightly more likely to roll over than typical sedans but this was because it was an extremely light car, designed primarily for off-road use and not highway driving.

Suzuki sued Consumer Reports for libel which paid them an undisclosed amount in settlement.

In the midst of the hype, one of the major network news organizations was caught rigging a test of a popular American SUV by disconnecting suspension components, loading weights into the vehicle to make it top heavy, and using a remote controlled robot mechanism to spin the steering wheel back and forth from lock to lock at superhuman speed while the vehicle was traveling down the test track. Of course it rolled over, but the journalists reported the result as if this was a common occurrence in everyday driving.

 

[Robroy]

The Suzuki Samurai was sold in the U.S. from 1985 - 1995. In 1998, Consumer Reports ran an article condemning the vehicle as being unsafe and prone to rollovers.

The American mass media ran with the story and soon reports were everywhere claiming all SUV's were death traps because of inevitable rollover accidents.

The whole thing was a myth. The Suzuki Samurai was only slightly more likely to roll over than typical sedans but this was because it was an extremely light car, designed primarily for off-road use and not highway driving.

Suzuki sued Consumer Reports for libel which paid them an undisclosed amount in settlement.

One of the major network news organizations was caught rigging a test of a popular American SUV by disconnecting suspension components, loading weights into the vehicle to make it top heavy, and using a remote controlled robot mechanism to spin the steering wheel back and forth from lock to lock at superhuman speed while the vehicle was speeding down the test track. Of course it rolled over, but the journalists reported the result as if this was a common occurrence in everyday driving.

HAH! You must be my clone.

I had a friend that owned that Samurai. You are right. You also point out why I don't trust the MSM. There is so much fraud in the mainstream media it is comical. I've not had TV since 1997 and get all my news off the internet. My buddies and me on another site have had multiple threads about that very issue you mentioned. How about the one where one of the big three news organizations tipped over a pickup truck to show how sparks could ignite the gas tank, except the attached a bottle rocket to ensure it ignited.

But still, just as that gas tank really was dangerous, SuV's are terrible at tipping over. And the stickier the tires, the better the chances of tipping. But no, they are not as bad as the Samurai.

It's actually pretty amazing just how tippy they all are compared to "normal" cars. It is a center of gravity and traction thing.

 

[Robroy]

Extended warranty is like insurance. You may never use it, but you'll be real glad you have it if something does break after the new car warranty runs out.

I confess that one of the reasons I don't bother with extended warranties is because even if I do need to use it, it is an incredible hassle and might not even cover the particular problem anyway. Part of it is rooted in valuing my time as much as my money. Sometimes jumping through all the hoops is so frustrating and time consuming that it is worth it to just either do the work yourself or pay to have it done. Interestingly, the former can bring a great deal of satisfaction. I've fixed my HVAC system twice. Saved a ton.

 

[blastoff99]

Hysterically phrased? I'm seeing some projection here.

Not at all. A sweeping generalization ('SUVs are dangerous'), followed by a dubious 'fact' ('They flip over a LOT') including all caps, followed by an attempt to shut down logic in advance ('I know, it's exactly the opposite of what you'd think') is a pretty decent example of slightly hysterically phrased.

In your subsequent posts you:

a) Say that there are certain types of accidents you'd rather be in in an SUV than a car, thus undermining your blanket 'SUVs are dangerous' statement;

b) Rely on personal experience as your 'proof;'

c) State that you've driven what's a pretty amazing number of miles without an significant accident, then retract that and cut it in half, blaming it on 'meant to say;'

d) Admit that things have changed since you were well-informed but want to hide behind 'it's complicated.' Yes, of course it's complicated! Who knew that car safety could be so complicated? But sure, let's all talk out of our elbows about it.

So, to your accusation of projection... nah.

 

[kesslari]

Subaru WRX?