Car Shopping
The thing I hate about buying anything that costs more than an electric can opener these days is that EVERYTHING requires research. Otherwise, you get a cell phone that does everything but make phone calls, computer motherboards that are marked down for a reason, and cars that are only nice on the outside.
I probably should have been blogging about this as I went along, but I'm telling you, I would come home on break, and start clicking boxes on the internet. Get home that evening, the same, for hours. My meals were one handed snacks that I could read for while the next site popped up. This had been going on since January, only because there are several aspects to car shopping that you have to check out.
Since I am going to break this up, let me say that Edmunds.com is a lifesaver. They have everything and more. The first step I would recommend is for you to think about exactly what you want in a car. Not type, style, make, model or color. Just the general specifications that are important to you.
For example, I wanted something that I fit into. I had spent 16 years in something similar to a Geo Metro. Very reliable, but this time, I wanted something that did not let me knuckles drag the ground while I drove. So, it had to have room, be high up, get decent mileage, be reliable, have electric everything, and be comfortable. I started by talking to people about it. Early on, I listed off my specifications and my friend said that she got the Hyundai Santa Fe for all of those reasons. Okay, I had a starting point. Everything from there on out was a comparison and contrast to a Hyundai Santa Fe. She also told me that starting in '07, they took all of the reported problems from years previous, and FIXED them. Good. They are a company that takes pride in their product.
My next step would be a new car expo at the convention center downtown, where I would not be able to test drive anything, but I would be able to sit inside the cars, and ask questions about them. The nice part about this was that nobody there was actually trying to sell me anything [re: make a commission off of me].
I probably should have been blogging about this as I went along, but I'm telling you, I would come home on break, and start clicking boxes on the internet. Get home that evening, the same, for hours. My meals were one handed snacks that I could read for while the next site popped up. This had been going on since January, only because there are several aspects to car shopping that you have to check out.
Since I am going to break this up, let me say that Edmunds.com is a lifesaver. They have everything and more. The first step I would recommend is for you to think about exactly what you want in a car. Not type, style, make, model or color. Just the general specifications that are important to you.
For example, I wanted something that I fit into. I had spent 16 years in something similar to a Geo Metro. Very reliable, but this time, I wanted something that did not let me knuckles drag the ground while I drove. So, it had to have room, be high up, get decent mileage, be reliable, have electric everything, and be comfortable. I started by talking to people about it. Early on, I listed off my specifications and my friend said that she got the Hyundai Santa Fe for all of those reasons. Okay, I had a starting point. Everything from there on out was a comparison and contrast to a Hyundai Santa Fe. She also told me that starting in '07, they took all of the reported problems from years previous, and FIXED them. Good. They are a company that takes pride in their product.
My next step would be a new car expo at the convention center downtown, where I would not be able to test drive anything, but I would be able to sit inside the cars, and ask questions about them. The nice part about this was that nobody there was actually trying to sell me anything [re: make a commission off of me].
Labels: car shopping
posted by Very Anonymous Mike at 3:42 PM
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