Looking for a used (or brand new) car.

[imported_Lothar]

Conditions:
1.) $15-20k budget (If I find one for $16k, I'll take it!)
2.) Needs to be certified and have reasonable warranty/miles on it.
3.) Comfort/style, needs to be roomy.
4.) Reliability
5.) Auto
6.) Sedan (4 door). I hate 2 door cars in general with the rolling back of front seats to let people get in/out.
7.) Needs to be near book value as I don't like to overpay for material things.
8.) I don't care much about color, but I hate red and white. Green is meh. Tan is boring but it's better than the 3 former colors. Black? Well...what can I say about black?. I'll take almost any shade of blue, silver/gray, black.
9.) I don't care about useless things like built-in navigation. I already have my GPS for that.

I don't need the latest or the greatest.
My current car is a '97 Honda Accord wagon. My brother is finishing school and I'll give him my current car as his graduation present. I've had zero issues with my car and will probably be buying a certified used Accord that still has good warranty on it.

I'm browsing Honda dealer websites near my zipcode(21117) right now.
It seems none of the dealers have brand new '07 Accords. I'll leave in a few hours to go see whats on the lot of the nearest dealer.

 

[angry hampster]

Certified is a marketing ploy.

 

[imported_Lothar]

Originally posted by: angry hampster
Certified is a marketing ploy.

Really?

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: Lothar

Originally posted by: angry hampster
Certified is a marketing ploy.

Really?

Well, to be fair, some CPO programs offer extended warranties, but it's usually the more lux marquees like Lexus, BMW, Audi, and so on. You just have to ask for the details. All lightly used 1-2 year old cars should be in decent shape as long as they haven't been in any accidents and have a clean service history. So IMHO the only advantage of a 'CPO' is what that entails in terms of warranty. Most cars that are just 'used' at the dealer only give you the remainder of the factory warranty, unless you specifically get a concession for more, which is possible by good haggling and a dealer willing to work with you.

All that said, G35 Sedans are probably the single biggest bargain in this segment :

'05 G35, Leather, Sunroof, 3.5L V6, 21k miles, $15.9k

Compare to a 2005 Camry V6 or Accord V6, and you pay a pretty similar price, but don't get the same amount of car. If you search, you can find '06s and '07s for similar pricing, with probably slightly more miles (~30k or so).

EDIT : Like this : '06 G35 Sedan 6MT ~300hp, 34k miles, $16.9k

 

[imported_Lothar]

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: Lothar

Originally posted by: angry hampster
Certified is a marketing ploy.

Really?

Well, to be fair, some CPO programs offer extended warranties, but it's usually the more lux marquees like Lexus, BMW, Audi, and so on. You just have to ask for the details. All lightly used 1-2 year old cars should be in decent shape as long as they haven't been in any accidents and have a clean service history. So IMHO the only advantage of a 'CPO' is what that entails in terms of warranty. Most cars that are just 'used' at the dealer only give you the remainder of the factory warranty, unless you specifically get a concession for more, which is possible by good haggling and a dealer willing to work with you.

All that said, G35 Sedans are probably the single biggest bargain in this segment :

'05 G35, Leather, Sunroof, 3.5L V6, 21k miles, $15.9k

Compare to a 2005 Camry V6 or Accord V6, and you pay a pretty similar price, but don't get the same amount of car. If you search, you can find '06s and '07s for similar pricing, with probably slightly more miles (~30k or so).

EDIT : Like this : '06 G35 Sedan 6MT ~300hp, 34k miles, $16.9k

I don't care about extended warranties unless they're free. I've never paid for extended warranty for any product.

In searching for "certified" Hondas, I see 7 years/100,000 miles (which I'm assuming is the standard manufacturers warranty?)
So for certified cars you get the remainder of the standard warranty, but for a normal used car, you don't get any? Am I wrong in my assumption?
Also, if by "certified" they mean one of the experts fully inspect the cars and everything is guaranteed to be working fine that's okay too because I have little experience regarding cars and such.

Infiniti? I'm not ready to pay an arm and a leg for insurance costs.
I also want a car that's easy/inexpensive to maintain. Toyotas and Hondas win in this regard.

 

[SithSolo1]

Originally posted by: Lothar
Infiniti? I'm not ready to pay an arm and a leg for insurance costs.
I also want a car that's easy/inexpensive to maintain. Toyotas and Hondas win in this regard.

An Infiniti shouldn't cost much more insurance wise and you can have them serviced at any Nissan dealership if you want to keep costs down.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: Lothar

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: Lothar

Originally posted by: angry hampster
Certified is a marketing ploy.

Really?

Well, to be fair, some CPO programs offer extended warranties, but it's usually the more lux marquees like Lexus, BMW, Audi, and so on. You just have to ask for the details. All lightly used 1-2 year old cars should be in decent shape as long as they haven't been in any accidents and have a clean service history. So IMHO the only advantage of a 'CPO' is what that entails in terms of warranty. Most cars that are just 'used' at the dealer only give you the remainder of the factory warranty, unless you specifically get a concession for more, which is possible by good haggling and a dealer willing to work with you.

All that said, G35 Sedans are probably the single biggest bargain in this segment :

'05 G35, Leather, Sunroof, 3.5L V6, 21k miles, $15.9k

Compare to a 2005 Camry V6 or Accord V6, and you pay a pretty similar price, but don't get the same amount of car. If you search, you can find '06s and '07s for similar pricing, with probably slightly more miles (~30k or so).

EDIT : Like this : '06 G35 Sedan 6MT ~300hp, 34k miles, $16.9k

I don't care about extended warranties unless they're free. I've never paid for extended warranty for any product.

In searching for "certified" Hondas, I see 7 years/100,000 miles (which I'm assuming is the standard manufacturers warranty?)
So for certified cars you get the remainder of the standard warranty, but for a normal used car, you don't get any? Am I wrong in my assumption?
Also, if by "certified" they mean one of the experts fully inspect the cars and everything is guaranteed to be working fine that's okay too because I have little experience regarding cars and such.

Infiniti? I'm not ready to pay an arm and a leg for insurance costs.
I also want a car that's easy/inexpensive to maintain. Toyotas and Hondas win in this regard.

Infiniti is Nissan, and maintenance shouldn't be any more than a Honda or Toyota for most things. Obviously buying larger tires and brakes will cost more. Insurance should be cheap, get a free quote online, G35 might even cost less to insure than an Accord (Hondas are a little pricier to insure due to them being a historically high theft target). The VQ35 powerplant in the G35 has also been used in various forms in the 350Z, Maxima, Altima, Murano, and so forth, with a high reliability.

I guess I explained the warranty thing wrong. The bottom line is you have to ask what the details of the warranty are.

All cars come with a factory/manufacturer warranty when new. This warranty is not always transferable, although it often is. What 'CPO' usually, but not always implies is that there is a new warranty from the time you get the car. The car may have 22k miles on it, but with a CPO program, you may get a 5-year/50k warranty, or what have you, from that point, meaning you get coverage until the car has 72k miles on it. But again, it all varies dramatically from brand to brand, dealer to dealer. Most 'used', but not 'CPO' vehicles from the dealer, you just get the remainder of the factory warranty, unless such warranty is not transferable.

 

[JulesMaximus]

CPO=New to you=used

 

[imported_Lothar]

Originally posted by: Arkaign
I guess I explained the warranty thing wrong. The bottom line is you have to ask what the details of the warranty are.

All cars come with a factory/manufacturer warranty when new. This warranty is not always transferable, although it often is. What 'CPO' usually, but not always implies is that there is a new warranty from the time you get the car. The car may have 22k miles on it, but with a CPO program, you may get a 5-year/50k warranty, or what have you, from that point, meaning you get coverage until the car has 72k miles on it. But again, it all varies dramatically from brand to brand, dealer to dealer. Most 'used', but not 'CPO' vehicles from the dealer, you just get the remainder of the factory warranty, unless such warranty is not transferable.

So the 150 point test (or whatever else they do) to mark the car "certified" are nothing but scams?
Besides extended warranty(which I don't waste my time on), what other benefits does buying a "certified" car have? If that's about it then I won't waste my time on them then.

How would one know if a factory warranty isn't transferrable?
I'd like to know so I won't waste my time looking at such cars.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: Lothar

Originally posted by: Arkaign
I guess I explained the warranty thing wrong. The bottom line is you have to ask what the details of the warranty are.

All cars come with a factory/manufacturer warranty when new. This warranty is not always transferable, although it often is. What 'CPO' usually, but not always implies is that there is a new warranty from the time you get the car. The car may have 22k miles on it, but with a CPO program, you may get a 5-year/50k warranty, or what have you, from that point, meaning you get coverage until the car has 72k miles on it. But again, it all varies dramatically from brand to brand, dealer to dealer. Most 'used', but not 'CPO' vehicles from the dealer, you just get the remainder of the factory warranty, unless such warranty is not transferable.

So the 150 point test (or whatever else they do) to mark the car "certified" are nothing but scams?
Besides extended warranty(which I don't waste my time on), what other benefits does buying a "certified" car have? If that's about it then I won't waste my time on them then.

How would one know if a factory warranty isn't transferrable?
I'd like to know so I won't waste my time looking at such cars.

Well, to know the details, you have to ask, as not all dealers/manufacturers have the same policies.

As far as the 'XXX point test', one would fairly expect any used car of recent make (0-3 years old for sure) to have been pretty well looked over at trade-in, and for all major items to be working properly. It's not so much a scam, but it might be an exaggeration in terms of importance as far as marketing goes. A 2006 CPO Accord versus a regular 2006 used Accord from a dealer, I wouldn't expect the CPO to be any different 999 times out of 1000.

A CPO with a new CPO warranty (IE, you get 50k or 75k of fresh warranty coverage) isn't a bad deal, so long as it's not much if any more expensive than a non-CPO car. And cars with transferable factory warranty with very low miles, I wouldn't really bother with CPO at all unless it's a freebie.

 

[Arkaign]

Looking at the Honda site, it appears that instead of offering a new warranty from that particular mileage, they extend the factory coverage to 100k miles. In that case, buying a CPO with 10k miles, you'd get 90k of additional coverage, and buying another CPO with 40k miles, you'd get 60k of additional coverage.

Infiniti's program looks pretty much identical, with roadside assistance and so forth.

 

[imported_Lothar]

Okay, now that the "certified" myth has been busted, what about the Carfax "1-owner" thing?
How does the '05 G35 infiniti compare to an '07 Accord? It seems you can get them for almost the same prices.

 

[vi edit]

An Accord is simply a midsize FWD family sedan.
A G35 is an entry level luxury/ RWD sports sedan.

The Accord will be more fuel efficeint, cheaper to repair, offer more room for passengers and luggage, and have a much lower ownership cost at the cost of performance and luxury items.

If you aren't used to driving RWD in poor conditions then the G35 probably isn't for you. If you don't care about HP ratings, oversteer, and torque steer, then the G35 probably isn't for you.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: Lothar
Okay, now that the "certified" myth has been busted, what about the Carfax "1-owner" thing?
How does the '05 G35 infiniti compare to an '07 Accord? It seems you can get them for almost the same prices.

A G35 is a step above the Accord, particularly in driving dynamics. Interior in the G35 isn't as nice as BMW, Lexus, Audi, or Acura, but better than Honda/Toyota. Audio systems are excellent, seats are comfortable, interior noise is low.

From Edmunds.com and FuelEconomy.gov :

2005 G35 Sedan
3.5L VQ35 Motor, 298HP, 260TQ (for the 6MT, the auto is tuned lower, around 280hp for 2005 IIRC, earlier years 260hp)
16MPG City, 23MPG Highway
FR Layout, 3512lbs

2007 Accord Sedan V6
3.0L V6 Motor, 244HP, 211TQ
18MPG City, 26MPG Highway
FF Layout, 3413lbs

2007 Accord Sedan I4
2.4L I4 Motor, 166HP, 160TQ
21MPG City, 31MPG Highway
FF Layout, 3197lbs

Obviously looking at the power and RWD, the G35 is going to be a lot more interesting to drive than the V6 accord, and considerably more rewarding than the 4-cyl Accord. The Accords are nice, safe, comfortable cars though. Honda's competition for the G35 is the Acura TL, which has around the same power, but is FWD, better interior but slightly less performance.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: vi edit
An Accord is simply a midsize FWD family sedan.
A G35 is an entry level luxury/ RWD sports sedan.

The Accord will be more fuel efficeint, cheaper to repair, offer more room for passengers and luggage, and have a much lower ownership cost at the cost of performance and luxury items.

If you aren't used to driving RWD in poor conditions then the G35 probably isn't for you. If you don't care about HP ratings, oversteer, and torque steer, then the G35 probably isn't for you.

Fuel economy is very close looking at the V6 versions, interior space and luggage capacity is also very similar comparing '07 Accord to '05 G35 Sedan. That gen Accord wasn't as huge as the new one. As for cost of ownership, that shouldn't be considerably different either.

Brakes and tires will be a bit more on a G35, but there isn't a whole lot else to worry about. The motor is the same VQ setup that is in a half-dozen or more Nissan vehicles, and you don't have to worry about changing the timing belt (has chain rated for life of motor), which is so crucial in Hondas. Plugs and wires will be the same. Things like alternators, starters, radiators should also be similarly priced.

 

[Gibson486]

brand new 07??? I did not know any place still had new 07's on the lot.

Anyways...

if your budget is up to 20K, why not just try and get a new one? You'll probably end up with a lower intrest rate too. People have been buying news ones for around the mid 17's last month...and that is w/o a customer rebate.

 

[imported_Lothar]

Originally posted by: vi edit
An Accord is simply a midsize FWD family sedan.
A G35 is an entry level luxury/ RWD sports sedan.

The Accord will be more fuel efficeint, cheaper to repair, offer more room for passengers and luggage, and have a much lower ownership cost at the cost of performance and luxury items.

If you aren't used to driving RWD in poor conditions then the G35 probably isn't for you. If you don't care about HP ratings, oversteer, and torque steer, then the G35 probably isn't for you.

That's exactly what I want (without any compromise if possible).

I live in Maryland. No earthquakes, tornadoes, mud slides, hurricaines, or blizzards. At most we get like maybe 2-3 snow storms a year and they're pretty good at clearing the roads here. I would think with a luxury car, I wouldn't want to drive under adverse conditions. No need to scratch the paint or get mud all over the tires.😛
I do like the AWD capability though.

I don't think I care enough about any of those things to even know what they mean.
I also don't care about something as insignificant as fuel efficiency either. If I did, I would be buying a Prius or an '80's Civic. 😉

 

[vi edit]

There's more to a vehicle than paper stats. Real world economy between the two is quite different. I don't think I've read of a single G35 owner that has got over 25MPG on the highway, and they recommend premium.

The honda takes regular and is right around 30MPG by many owner accounts (assuming he doesn't go for a 4 cyl which is even better).

And when sitting in the two, the measurements don't mean a lot. It's all about how they are designed. Taller people can just fit in an accord better than a G35 backseat.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: Lothar

Originally posted by: Arkaign
I guess I explained the warranty thing wrong. The bottom line is you have to ask what the details of the warranty are.

All cars come with a factory/manufacturer warranty when new. This warranty is not always transferable, although it often is. What 'CPO' usually, but not always implies is that there is a new warranty from the time you get the car. The car may have 22k miles on it, but with a CPO program, you may get a 5-year/50k warranty, or what have you, from that point, meaning you get coverage until the car has 72k miles on it. But again, it all varies dramatically from brand to brand, dealer to dealer. Most 'used', but not 'CPO' vehicles from the dealer, you just get the remainder of the factory warranty, unless such warranty is not transferable.

So the 150 point test (or whatever else they do) to mark the car "certified" are nothing but scams?
Besides extended warranty(which I don't waste my time on), what other benefits does buying a "certified" car have? If that's about it then I won't waste my time on them then.

How would one know if a factory warranty isn't transferrable?
I'd like to know so I won't waste my time looking at such cars.

they can be. I have heard stories about people buying certified used cars only to find out that they were in accidents (not totaled, though). You'f think that a certified used car would be accident free.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: vi edit
There's more to a vehicle than paper stats. Real world economy between the two is quite different. I don't think I've read of a single G35 owner that has got over 25MPG on the highway, and they recommend premium.

The honda takes regular and is right around 30MPG by many owner accounts (assuming he doesn't go for a 4 cyl which is even better).

And when sitting in the two, the measurements don't mean a lot. It's all about how they are designed. Taller people can just fit in an accord better than a G35 backseat.

I was going by the revised numbers on Fueleconomy.gov, which are supposed to be more accurate than previous numbers. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see good highway fuel economy for the V6 Manual Accord, but the Auto probably runs about what fueleconomy.gov says it does.

I'm 6'3" ~225lbs and I fit in the backseat of both the Accord and G35 Sedan with ease. Maybe you're thinking of the G35 Coupe?

Nobody is saying that the Accord isn't a nice car, but someone thinking about spending that kind of money on a sedan owes it to himself to give both a shot and see how they feel to him. There's definitely a fun factor to a RWD car in the 300hp range that a V6 FWD Accord can't match, let alone the relatively anemic (but very functional / practical) I4 Accord.

 

[imported_Lothar]

Originally posted by: Gibson486
brand new 07??? I did not know any place still had new 07's on the lot.

Anyways...

if your budget is up to 20K, why not just try and get a new one? You'll probably end up with a lower intrest rate too. People have been buying news ones for around the mid 17's last month...and that is w/o a customer rebate.

Which is why I'm going to the dealership now to see if they still have them on the lots.
The rear of the recent Accords looks kinda weird.

I'll see what financing they have to offer. PenFed has 3.99% for up to 60 months.
If I can get a brand new Accord ('08-'09) for the same price range as you're mentioning, I'll prefer to get that than getting a used car.

Not to mentiion the tax deduction to go with it.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: Lothar

Originally posted by: vi edit
An Accord is simply a midsize FWD family sedan.
A G35 is an entry level luxury/ RWD sports sedan.

The Accord will be more fuel efficeint, cheaper to repair, offer more room for passengers and luggage, and have a much lower ownership cost at the cost of performance and luxury items.

If you aren't used to driving RWD in poor conditions then the G35 probably isn't for you. If you don't care about HP ratings, oversteer, and torque steer, then the G35 probably isn't for you.

That's exactly what I want (without any compromise if possible).

I live in Maryland. No earthquakes, tornadoes, mud slides, hurricaines, or blizzards. At most we get like maybe 2-3 snow storms a year and they're pretty good at clearing the roads here. I would think with a luxury car, I wouldn't want to drive under adverse conditions. No need to scratch the paint or get mud all over the tires.😛
I do like the AWD capability though.

I don't think I care enough about any of those things to even know what they mean.
I also don't care about something as insignificant as fuel efficiency either. If I did, I would be buying a Prius or an '80's Civic. 😉

You owe it to yourself to drive both. There's simply no other way to responsibly do this. Be sure and tell each dealer that you're cross-shopping, as they will likely break out the best deals to try to snag you.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: Lothar

Originally posted by: Gibson486
brand new 07??? I did not know any place still had new 07's on the lot.

Anyways...

if your budget is up to 20K, why not just try and get a new one? You'll probably end up with a lower intrest rate too. People have been buying news ones for around the mid 17's last month...and that is w/o a customer rebate.

Which is why I'm going to the dealership now to see if they still have them on the lots.
The rear of the recent Accords looks kinda weird.

I'll see what financing they have to offer. PenFed has 3.99% for up to 60 months.
If I can get a brand new Accord ('08-'09) for the same price range as you're mentioning, I'll prefer to get that than getting a used car.

Not to mentiion the tax deduction to go with it.

That's a very good point. Be aware that the 4-cyl Accords are pretty sluggish, particularly if you get an automatic. The low interest loan and high fuel economy may be worth it though.

V6 Accords are a lot more $$$.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: angry hampster
Certified is a marketing ploy.

Sort of, a lot of time it comes with warranty and cheap financing though. W/o either one of those it's a ploy.

For example, BMW CPO cars do run specials with 0% / 1.9% financing.

 

[imported_Lothar]

http://www.odonnellhonda.com/

I'm going there now.