Buying a car?

[Belexus75]

Most reliable brands according to consumer reports

https://www.consumerreports.org/cars...s-a6159221985/

yeah i dont trust any survey lists at all...i can also tell you that i know many people that have problems with lots of cars listed ahead of Toyota maybe with exception of Subaru. Lexus which is 5th on this list is basically more expensive toyota.

[Invictus]

Lexus is also now owned by Toyota. Their reliability has gone up, it's like a more expensive but more luxurious Toyota lol

[Belexus75]

Lexus is also now owned by Toyota. Their reliability has gone up, it's like a more expensive but more luxurious Toyota lol

i said exactly that:P

[doulos]

Most reliable brands according to consumer reports

https://www.consumerreports.org/cars...s-a6159221985/

Kia running with the big boys these days despite being so inexpensive.

[Invictus]

Kia running with the big boys these days despite being so inexpensive.

If you want durability, wouldn’t get a Kia.
There are a few decent models though.
I could see it possibly being in 5th spot.

Kia more expensive than Toyota...
Well if you compare MSRP Kia Sportage is $1000 cheaper than the Rav4, but not sure what kind of markups Kia usually try and do.
Rav4 more HP and better fuel economy. Probably cheaper insurance too (idk what insurance would look like for Kia).
Kia does offer a better base warranty.

[Belexus75]

If you want durability, wouldn’t get a Kia.
There are a few decent models though.
I could see it possibly being in 5th spot.

Kia more expensive than Toyota...
Well if you compare MSRP Kia is $1000 cheaper than the Rav4, but not sure what kind of markups Kia usually try and do.
Rav4 more HP and better fuel economy. Probably cheaper insurance too (idk what insurance would look like for Kia).
Kia does offer a better base warranty.

yeah ....obviously there are luxury brands but for most parts...you not saving any significant money by buying bit less reputable brand, not at all. In fact you probably loosing money long term due to more repairs.

[doulos]

yeah ....obviously there are luxury brands but for most parts...you not saving any significant money by buying bit less reputable brand, not at all. In fact you probably loosing money long term due to more repairs.

The point is that Kia is no longer a less reputable brand and has not been for some time. I've been extremely happy with my Kias. I do understand though that everyone has certain preferences in what they are looking for in vehicles and "boring vehicle that is inexpensive, safe, and reliable" certainly doesn't get a lot of heart rates up, but it's the exact sweet spot for me.

[Invictus]

The point is that Kia is no longer a less reputable brand and has not been for some time. I've been extremely happy with my Kias. I do understand though that everyone has certain preferences in what they are looking for in vehicles and "boring vehicle that is inexpensive, safe, and reliable" certainly doesn't get a lot of heart rates up, but it's the exact sweet spot for me.

I would say most Toyota's are pretty "boring vehicle that is inexpensive, safe, and reliable"

I've never driven a Kia Sportage, but from name alone I would think it was more fun then my Corolla Cross lol
I guess thinking about it it's lower hp makes it more sluggish than the Rav4 - so maybe not.
Seltos looks a lot like the Corolla Cross. It's also offered in FWD too (which I wanted to avoid the AWD).

I think we can all agree - avoid a Jeep!

[Invictus]

I would break it down like this.

For small SUV's category leaders:
Off-road / Utility: Subaru Crosstrek
Reliability / Fuel consumption / Low price: Toyota Corolla Cross / Rav4
Performance/Sportiness: Mazda CX-30 / CX-5
Honda CR-V is pretty good all around and they hold their value really well too.

[butch]

I would break it down like this.

For small SUV's category leaders:
Off-road / Utility: Subaru Crosstrek
Reliability / Fuel consumption / Low price: Toyota Corolla Cross / Rav4
Performance/Sportiness: Mazda CX-30 / CX-5
Honda CR-V is pretty good all around and they hold their value really well too.

the L15 engine in the non hybrid CRV's from 2017 to present has issues so I'd advise to go with a RAV or if you prefer to stay with Honda , a slightly lower end HRV .

Joe average non hybrid CRV owners wont know about oil dilution and issues this can cause down the road , injector replacement / some reporting head gaskets needing replacement at relatively low miles for a Honda . These direct injection turbo charged engines are putting out some great gas mileage numbers to satisfy the benchmarks required for fuel efficiency but they are breaking down early compared to the almost bulletproof K24 engines in previous generations of crv's / accords.

If anyones interested in non hybrid CRV's I'd suggest negotiating a good price for the 8 year 200 km extended warranty

[2014olympicgold]

I went from a 2014 RAM to a 2018 A4 1.5yrs ago and I love it. The process of buying it then was real easy and I was able to get in on a real good finance rate, and cashed in on overpriced truck returns. I was able to get a real good return price and able to talk them down a lot, but looking back getting something that runs on premium gas....maybe not the best choice.

The immediate future of fuel saving is hybrid. EV isn't there yet for a full flip over, especially in North America (Europe, the infrastructure is there and it's the time there to change over). However, EV is there for a 2nd car in my opinion (but I don't like the thought it's a green thumb move). I think if you get a car now that you will have 5-7yrs, the next vehicle might very well be an EV, so make this purchase based off that. If you buy a car that you plan on replacing in 4yrs, I don't know if the EV will lineup properly, but if you get something that can go 7yrs, it could line up real nice.

When getting a new car though, remember, everything that's taxable is negotiable. Don't pay sticker price, and don't accept "This is the best price I can do", ask for free oil changes. Actually negotiate the car price heavy, when they try and rope in extended warranty, stop that and go back to the car price only. Negotiate that all the way down, then move onto any extras like warranty, wear parts warranty (brakes/oil changes), tires, crap like that. If you negotiate the price of that stuff together the dealer tends to come ahead, separate those in discussion.

[Invictus]

When getting a new car though, remember, everything that's taxable is negotiable. Don't pay sticker price, and don't accept "This is the best price I can do", ask for free oil changes. Actually negotiate the car price heavy, when they try and rope in extended warranty, stop that and go back to the car price only. Negotiate that all the way down, then move onto any extras like warranty, wear parts warranty (brakes/oil changes), tires, crap like that. If you negotiate the price of that stuff together the dealer tends to come ahead, separate those in discussion.

(For new vehicles)
This isn't entirely true right now. Because of the shortage some dealers have more power and are more bold in saying take it or leave it and if you live in a small town there's really not many other options if you want a specific brand.
The only dealer addon price they had for me was a $499 Ride Green thing that they would not remove. I was given the take it or leave as that was pretty much how they made their profit on the vehicle.

If you are paying cash, don't tell them that! Say you are financing, might be able to get the price knocked down a bit because of that. I know with Toyota there is no extra charge to paying off your finance contract early, so can just do that.

[2014olympicgold]

This isn't entirely true right now. Because of the shortage some dealers have more power and are more bold in saying take it or leave it and if you live in a small town there's really not many other options if you want a specific brand.
The only dealer addon price they had for me was a $499 Ride Green thing that they would not remove. I was given the take it or leave as that was mostly their profit on the vehicle.

If you are paying cash, don't tell them that! Say you are financing, might be able to get the price knocked down a bit because of that. I know with Toyota there is no extra charge to paying off your finance contract early, so can just do that.

I was told this twice when I contacted about a vehicle, so if you're lucky and in no rush getting a new car, you can wait it out a bit. I saw online that a car on the lot costs the dealer like $400/day after the 2nd week or something nuts (just based on insurance, taking up space). So if you can express this it's not hard to push the price further down. However, it is about supply and demand, so for me in the GTA(Ontario) there's a billion dealers within a 20min drive. It's easy to just go "ok we'll I'll go next door".

[Invictus]

I was told this twice when I contacted about a vehicle, so if you're lucky and in no rush getting a new car, you can wait it out a bit. I saw online that a car on the lot costs the dealer like $400/day after the 2nd week or something nuts (just based on insurance, taking up space). So if you can express this it's not hard to push the price further down. However, it is about supply and demand, so for me in the GTA(Ontario) there's a billion dealers within a 20min drive. It's easy to just go "ok we'll I'll go next door".

Yup that's the big difference right there.

They barely keep cars on the lot here...
Being in the North the nearest other Toyota dealership was several hours away, and I called them and for them to get the vehicle I wanted it would be a 3-6 month wait (instead of the 2-3 weeks). So whatever $500 is not much. I ended up getting their 40 month Extended Care Package for ~$1500 which they removed that $500 Ride Green because of that. With the ECP I get the first 6 services done for free at the dealership, ~$1000 value that's only going to go up from here! So that works out. My car requires 0W-8 oil which I can't find to purchase and is rather expensive, so Toyota can deal with that (as they should have that). I've also never done brake fluid change so that will get done too at the last paid for service.

[2014olympicgold]

Yup that's the big difference right there.

They barely keep cars on the lot here...
Being in the North the nearest other Toyota dealership was several hours away, and I called them and for them to get the vehicle I wanted it would be a 3-6 month wait (instead of the 2-3 weeks). So whatever $500 is not much. I ended up getting their 40 month Extended Care Package for ~$1500 which they removed that $500 Ride Green because of that. With the ECP I get the first 6 services done for free at the dealership, ~$1000 value that's only going to go up from here! So that works out. My car requires 0W-8 oil which I can't find to purchase and is rather expensive, so Toyota can deal with that (as they should have that). I've also never done brake fluid change so that will get done too at the last paid for service.

Oil changes are also crazy priced at shops now, so $1,000 for that ends up not being a whole lot. The 0W-8 oil is getting real popular because hybrids are used more and more, so the stock is low. But it should eventually catch up (or else lol).

One of the funnier exchanges I had at the Audi dealership where I got my car was they "give" you a gift after purchase and I wanted a watch and they told me they couldn't do that, it was way too much ($300?) and I then pointed at espresso cups and asked for 2 sets (4total) of them and they said no problem. The cups had a sticker price of $95/set. Couldn't understand that the "way too much" but whatever lol.