Vehicles: anyone else trying to purchase one šŸš— šŸ›»??

justdoit19

justdoit19

Proud parent of an ANG, USNA X2, and a MidSib
5-Year Member
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Apr 9, 2017
Messages
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Wow, voyaging into this experience is sure different these days. Our soon to commission Firstie is being gifted mine. So we are in need (and it would have been him, if we werenā€™t gifting mine).

Iā€™m not overstating the challenges in buying a car these days!! There are some used out there but they are as expensive as a new one (close enough anyhow, that one says ā€˜why buy used when I can get newā€™). But, try and find a new one!! At least the one what we are in the market for.

BTWā€¦one can sell their own back to the dealer for a nice profit, in the right situation. My son was contacted and is doing this! And purchasing a new one, same scenario.

Yet another thing the pandemic has affected. After hours and days searching, our new truck is scheduled to begin production 1/22, eta about a month later. IF the trains run on time. IF there is a trucking company available.

Toyota as a company isnā€™t even accepting customer ordered builds. This is one allotted to our local dealer. Sticker priceā€¦..the finagling piece GONE. Their vehicles are sold before even arriving. Website listings say ā€˜may be in transitā€™ on their inventories.

What a crazy world we are living inā€¦. and NOT a good time to need to purchase a car. Most commissioning probaby already have a vehicle, if notā€¦.could be a challenge!
 
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In 2019 we picked up a used car with 13,000 miles on it. Pretty much new but not. It now has 40,000 miles on it and according to KBB it has gone up in value. Totally crazy market.
 
We've been thinking and planning to get a car in the next 1-2 years. We've had friends find cars through car max before and then travel to go pick them up in different states, this was before covid. I would have never thought of it, but perhaps that would give you more options. I've never used caravana either, was wondering if anyone has ever used them? We've always gone to a dealer, but wondering about these other options that are available these days?
 
We bought a used car last summer and the market was quite crazy. We live in a place where people will travel out of state to buy a vehicle and we would have had no problem doing so in order to get what we wanted. Ended up getting exactly what we wanted from Carvana and the shipping cost was about $400. We keep our vehicles until the wheels fall off, so the amortization of that shipping cost over time is nothing to us. Dealing with Carvana was interesting. In the end everything worked out and we got a clean, practically new looking vehicle that we love. But they just grew too fast and it was obvious that they could not hire and train people fast enough. Hopefully that has improved.
 
2025 hopeful said:
We've been thinking and planning to get a car in the next 1-2 years. We've had friends find cars through car max before and then travel to go pick them up in different states, this was before covid. I would have never thought of it, but perhaps that would give you more options. I've never used caravana either, was wondering if anyone has ever used them? We've always gone to a dealer, but wondering about these other options that are available these days?
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Carmax has been good to us. And yes very familiar with them. They donā€™t haggle (even in normal times), but their prices are fair. They make their money in VOLUME. And their nationwide network canā€™t be matched. And delivery.

Even if not buying from them, itā€™s a pleasant experience/way to drive different vehicles to ā€˜try them onā€™. Without pressure. To figure out what you want. Our 2nd vehicle, and our youngsters cars are from there. So yes, very familiar and highly recommend our local place at least!

BUTā€¦.as I said originally, ALL used ones have a super high mark up now bc of sully and demand. At least what we are in the market for. So, why buy used, when for about the same price, you can get new? And Iā€™m talking a few years old even. 20k miles or more in it. Unless the car is needed NOW (not our situation).

Itā€™s a weird, counterintuitive way of car buying šŸ¤Ŗ
 
Probably still better to sell your used car on your own. DD sold her Jeep Wrangler, manual transmission. Jeeps with manual transmissions are hard to find now and in high demand when they come on the market. She actually sold it for more than she bought it six years ago.
Some dealers saw it and called her making low ball offers. ā€œYou know, it has a manual transmission and those arenā€™t worth as much.ā€ šŸ™„ Yeahā€¦ did I mention I hate buying cars for reasons such as this? Fortunately, DD and DS purchased their ā€œLTā€ cars before the market got crazy.
 
My son bought a used car before the market exploded.

My brother was talking about trading in his infinity 6 months ago. They offered like 10k for a trade in. He decided not to buy a new one.

Four months later the trade in value went up to 13k.
 
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You guys are depressing me. We would like to retire our 2006 Toyota Sienna with 225,000 miles and get a new Rav4. I don't really want to just "bite the bullet", but I'm not sure how long we can wait.
 
I thought caravana sold new and used cars. I see now that they sell just used cars.

We, somehow, have become Toyota loyal customers. We buy Toyotas and it lasts forever, eventually it gets to the point after 15 years that I'm tired of the car and just hope that it will break down to give me a valid reason to get a new one.

I keep seeing those Toyota commercials that says to order directly on their website. I guess you get exactly what you want, I wonder how that works out in the end and how long you actually have to wait?
 
There's a 2000 Toyota Camry in our driveway that still runs like a champ and doesn't burn a drop of oil. I cannot say the same about each of our German cars, but the Camry doesn't have heated seats and steering wheels. ;)
 
In a real ā€œfirst world dilemmaā€ perspective, the Chevrolet dealer where we get our low-mileage and pristinely maintained 2014 Night Race Blue Corvette (return of the Stingray marque) serviced, has been sending us letters and calling us with higher and higher all-cash offers, enough to pay for a few of the luxury cruises we are fond of, if we could ever take them again. We confer and decline, noting we enjoy the car as a mutual pleasure, and when we no longer do, will make an appropriate decision. Other family vehicles are sensible, high mpg, drive-into-ground choices. With heated seats.
 
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justdoit19 said:
Wow, voyaging into this experience is sure different these days. Our soon to commission Firstie is being gifted mine. So we are in need (and it would have been him, if we werenā€™t gifting mine).

Iā€™m not overstating the challenges in buying a car these days!! There are some used out there but they are as expensive as a new one (close enough anyhow, that one says ā€˜why buy used when I can get newā€™). But, try and find a new one!! At least the one what we are in the market for.

BTWā€¦one can sell their own back to the dealer for a nice profit, in the right situation. My son was contacted and is doing this! And purchasing a new one, same scenario.

Yet another thing the pandemic has affected. After hours and days searching, our new truck is scheduled to begin production 1/22, eta about a month later. IF the trains run on time. IF there is a trucking company available.

Toyota as a company isnā€™t even accepting customer ordered builds. This is one allotted to our local dealer. Sticker priceā€¦..the finagling piece GONE. Their vehicles are sold before even arriving. Website listings say ā€˜may be in transitā€™ on their inventories.

What a crazy world we are living inā€¦. and NOT a good time to need to purchase a car. Most commissioning probaby already have a vehicle, if notā€¦.could be a challenge!
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I can confirm as I had exactly the same discovery in the greater Chicago area last June.

After 35 years with a company car, I retired and had to actually buy a vehicle. Used cars were impossible to find and more expensive than new. New car lots were nearly empty and there were months long waiting lists (prepaid by the way). I wanted a Camry but may have taken just about anything I could get. I was willing to travel nearly anywhere and was using CarMax's search engine to find something I could have shipped in or travel to. You would be amazed at lack of inventory and high prices (supply/demand). Got lucky when the Toyota dealer got an unclaimed 2022 Camry in and I got the first call. After a career in sales, I feel I can sniff out the tactics but when warned that if I didn't take it the car would be gone by the afternoon I believed them. No choice on color, options, or trim model - it was truly the only one on the lot. Bought it and paid full sticker price - something I hadn't previously done in my entire lifetime having purchased (or assisted) many family members in the process.

The good news (like some posters above) is that we hold our cars forever. DW's car is a 2004 and running fine (Chicago weather and salt has made the body more rust than finished paint but no safety issues). I am sure the neighborhood Karen's cringe seeing it in the driveway but too bad.
 
I'm thinking of replacing my 2005 Nissan Frontier with a new low priced Ford Maverick if I can find one. Creature comforts will be kept to a minimum to reduce cost. If I can find one I expect to pay 23-24K for it.

OTOH I'm no youngster and I wonder if my Frontier can still outlast me.
 
Following the business model of Tesla, major car makers like Ford are beginning to see the worth of build-to-order manufacturing, in lieu of building a bunch of cars in certain colors with certain features (based on what they think people will buy) and letting them sit in a lot (sometimes for months), waiting for someone to buy them.

When they all start doing this, overhead will go down and they'll make more money. That may translate into lower car prices, but I wouldn't count on it.
 
I've learned that buying cars are one of the fastest ways to reduce wealth over time. We have a 2005 Volvo Turbo Wagon and it's still running good-takes about $1.5K/year in repairs/maint. Purchases a new F150 4WD in 2018, gave my 2013 Honda Pilot 4WD to my MIDN who loves it. Planning on replacing the Volvo with new car in a year or two. We save in advance and pay cash (actually get the dealer loan and pay it off immediately (as there is usually some sort of fake incentive to finance through them). Lots of predatory practices by Dealers-buyer beware.
 
kinnem said:
I'm thinking of replacing my 2005 Nissan Frontier with a new low priced Ford Maverick if I can find one. Creature comforts will be kept to a minimum to reduce cost. If I can find one I expect to pay 23-24K for it.

OTOH I'm no youngster and I wonder if my Frontier can still outlast me.
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I had to look that one up. I hadn't heard of the Maverick coming out.
 
ProudDad17 said:
I had to look that one up. I hadn't heard of the Maverick coming out.
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The ā€œMaverickā€ does not exactly evoke thoughts of high quality. For those of you not old enough to remember, the Maverick was one of Fordā€™s first ā€œeconomyā€ cars (after the Falcon I guess) to come out after the oil embargo and spike in gas prices. I would pick another name for a new model. But maybe very few remember the Maverick (Or have a different opinion of the Maverick than I do)

P.S. - At least the Maverick was better than the Futura.
 
The new Maverick (left) looks like what the new Ranger (right) should have been. Why they have both is beyond my understanding.

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The Maverick is smaller and more car-like (unibody, not body on frame.) And that Ranger is almost the same size as an F-150 from not that many years ago. I'm looking for a truck and was hoping the Maverick would work for me, but at 6'4" a big part of getting rid of my car was getting to sit up more and have some room. My DD killed the old 2006 Sienna a couple years ago and I've been crammed into a Hyundai Elantra since then. My hips are killing me. That said, I'm really, really cheap and I'm holding out for fall when the used car market might collapse a bit.

EDIT: If I were smaller I'd be on that Maverick in a minute: cheap, truck enough for my needs, and not bad looking.
 
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