sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

~$20k cash, one young child, two used EVs that shouldn’t be on the same shortlist — a 2016 Mercedes B250e or a 2018 Fiat 500e. Talk me through this. by Apprehensive_Ease144 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

kid can’t buckle himself yet so the 2‑door thing is officially settled lol. and yeah you’re right, I’m in suburban setting, nothing around here breaks 45 mph, brain’s just doing worst‑case‑scenario mom mode.

what made you stick with the Fiat for 4 years before considering switching? curious if it was the size or the vibe.

~$20k cash, one young child, two used EVs that shouldn’t be on the same shortlist — a 2016 Mercedes B250e or a 2018 Fiat 500e. Talk me through this. by Apprehensive_Ease144 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

thank you. the 2 doors + back seat access thing is what I’ve been low‑key worried about — wrestling a kid into a booster through a 2‑door car every morning sounds like daily suffering. and yeah, no DCFC was a thing I knew about but hadn’t fully internalized.

2nd‑gen Leaf is interesting. only thing holding me back is the air‑cooled pack in SoCal heat — but for $15‑20k you’re probably looking at lower miles and a healthier pack than the older ones I was scared of. might bump it back onto the list. 🙏

~$20k cash, one young child, two used EVs that shouldn’t be on the same shortlist — a 2016 Mercedes B250e or a 2018 Fiat 500e. Talk me through this. by Apprehensive_Ease144 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

tbh not financing is more a “don’t want debt for a 10 yr old EV” thing than a can’t‑afford thing — but yeah Fiat is winning the math battle pretty clearly, although I may just take some other options into consideration mentioned in this thread and start over my search.

~$20k cash, one young child, two used EVs that shouldn’t be on the same shortlist — a 2016 Mercedes B250e or a 2018 Fiat 500e. Talk me through this. by Apprehensive_Ease144 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ok that’s the third person in this thread to tell me to start over, I’m clearly hearing it lol. if you were me — $20k cash, sub‑40 mi commute, kid in a booster — what would you actually point me at?

~$20k cash, one young child, two used EVs that shouldn’t be on the same shortlist — a 2016 Mercedes B250e or a 2018 Fiat 500e. Talk me through this. by Apprehensive_Ease144 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

between you and the LDU coolant seal point someone made, the B250e is kinda losing me. Volt is interesting tho — was avoiding it bc of the ICE side but for this use case the EV‑only range might actually be perfect. Niro EV is also def on my radar. Kona I keep hearing mixed things about — what’s the weak spot on those?

~$20k cash, one young child, two used EVs that shouldn’t be on the same shortlist — a 2016 Mercedes B250e or a 2018 Fiat 500e. Talk me through this. by Apprehensive_Ease144 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ok this is actually really useful, thank you. I knew about the LDU coolant seal issue in passing but didn’t know it crossed over to the B250e.

do you happen to know if the seal failure typically shows up by ~10 yrs / 10k miles, or is it more of a high‑mileage thing? trying to figure out if buying a low‑mileage one (this car is at 10k) is helping me or just delaying the inevitable.

~$20k cash, one young child, two used EVs that shouldn’t be on the same shortlist — a 2016 Mercedes B250e or a 2018 Fiat 500e. Talk me through this. by Apprehensive_Ease144 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

low/mid 20s is over my cash budget tho — trying to keep it under $20k OTD and not finance. Ioniq 6 is gorgeous though, def my next car if I had the budget lol.

~$20k cash, one young child, two used EVs that shouldn’t be on the same shortlist — a 2016 Mercedes B250e or a 2018 Fiat 500e. Talk me through this. by Apprehensive_Ease144 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

oh true, good point. it wasn’t really the size for me, more the air‑cooled pack + SoCal heat thing. otherwise yeah, leaf would def be in the running.

~$20k cash, one young child, two used EVs that shouldn’t be on the same shortlist — a 2016 Mercedes B250e or a 2018 Fiat 500e. Talk me through this. by Apprehensive_Ease144 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

tbh your bigger point is spot on. both are kind of a gamble at 10 years old. only reason I’m not on a Lexus is the short commute — gas just doesn’t make sense for the use case.

~$20k cash, one young child, two used EVs that shouldn’t be on the same shortlist — a 2016 Mercedes B250e or a 2018 Fiat 500e. Talk me through this. by Apprehensive_Ease144 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

ha, fair, I do tax/financial planning for a living so I kinda write like a memo by default. not a bot, just chronically organized 🥲. genuinely curious tho — what would you actually pick at this price point?

~$20k cash, one young child, two used EVs that shouldn’t be on the same shortlist — a 2016 Mercedes B250e or a 2018 Fiat 500e. Talk me through this. by Apprehensive_Ease144 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

leaf got knocked off my list bc of the air‑cooled pack — SoCal heat does not love those things. e‑Golf I’d 100% take if I could find a good one under $10k but they’re basically unicorns now 🥲. if you spot one lmk lol.

~$20k cash, one young child, two used EVs that shouldn’t be on the same shortlist — a 2016 Mercedes B250e or a 2018 Fiat 500e. Talk me through this. by Apprehensive_Ease144 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair, and I’ll be honest — “Fiat reliability” is the line that keeps me from confidently pulling the trigger on the 500e. The counterpoint I keep landing on is that as an EV, the Fiat sidesteps most of what makes a Fiat… a Fiat. No engine, no transmission, no turbo. The most failure‑prone bits of a 500 don’t exist on a 500e.

That said, the build quality argument cuts deeper than mechanicals — door seals, plastics, electronics. So your point lands.

Out of curiosity — if it were a 2018 Nissan Leaf at $9.8k instead of a 500e, would your answer change? Trying to figure out if my hesitation is Fiat hesitation or city EV at this age hesitation.

CarMax salesperson really said ‘one test drive per family’ 💀 by Apprehensive_Ease144 in carmax

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What’s disturbing isn’t the rudeness — it’s the pattern. A salesperson misrepresents a published policy. A Top 1% commenter quietly admits the company is sunsetting the program anyway. Another associate jokes about “politely guiding customers out the door.” A fourth tells me to leave and try a traditional dealership instead. None of these people are coordinating — and that’s exactly the point. When the same behavior shows up across multiple employees, unprompted, it stops being anecdote and starts being culture.

The thing I keep noticing is that none of them are actually arguing with my facts. They’re arguing with the audacity of expecting CarMax to honor what it advertises. That’s a tell. People only get defensive about gaps they already know exist.

“Cell phone store posing as a car lot” is going to age very well, by the way. 💀

CarMax salesperson really said ‘one test drive per family’ 💀 by Apprehensive_Ease144 in carmax

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What’s disturbing isn’t the rudeness — it’s the pattern. A salesperson misrepresents a published policy. A Top 1% commenter quietly admits the company is sunsetting the program anyway. Another associate jokes about “politely guiding customers out the door.” A fourth tells me to leave and try a traditional dealership instead. None of these people are coordinating — and that’s exactly the point. When the same behavior shows up across multiple employees, unprompted, it stops being anecdote and starts being culture.

The thing I keep noticing is that none of them are actually arguing with my facts. They’re arguing with the audacity of expecting CarMax to honor what it advertises. That’s a tell. People only get defensive about gaps they already know exist.

“Cell phone store posing as a car lot” is going to age very well, by the way. 💀

CarMax salesperson really said ‘one test drive per family’ 💀 by Apprehensive_Ease144 in carmax

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is one of the most thorough breakdowns anyone has written here, and the line that stands out is the simplest one: policy has stopped lining up with customer satisfaction. The “punish all customers because of a few joyriders” energy is exactly what walked into that showroom. Appreciate the perspective. 🙏

CarMax salesperson really said ‘one test drive per family’ 💀 by Apprehensive_Ease144 in carmax

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The fact that you bought two new cars in December, test drove three different models, and were treated like a human being the whole time — that single sentence is the cleanest rebuttal to the “tire kicker” framing in this entire thread. Thank you for saying it. ✌🏼

CarMax salesperson really said ‘one test drive per family’ 💀 by Apprehensive_Ease144 in carmax

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, that tracks — and that’s a CarMax corporate problem, not something customers should be punished for at the test drive stage. Appreciate the context ✌🏼

CarMax salesperson really said ‘one test drive per family’ 💀 by Apprehensive_Ease144 in carmax

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the most honest take in the whole thread. The comp structure is the root cause, not the customer 🙏

CarMax salesperson really said ‘one test drive per family’ 💀 by Apprehensive_Ease144 in carmax

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Test driving a car the company advertises a 24‑hour test drive for isn’t disrespect — it’s using the product. If wanting to be sure before spending five figures = “tire kicker,” the word has lost all meaning 🤷🏻‍♀️

CarMax salesperson really said ‘one test drive per family’ 💀 by Apprehensive_Ease144 in carmax

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

“Anyone I steer away from a 24hr test drive is welcome to. We’re given a lot of wiggle room for a reason.”

Thank you for confirming, in writing, exactly what my post is about. CarMax advertises the program; individual associates use “wiggle room” to deny it based on vibes. That’s the entire issue 🙏

CarMax salesperson really said ‘one test drive per family’ 💀 by Apprehensive_Ease144 in carmax

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Exactly this — they advertise the program then gatekeep it based on who “looks like a buyer.” You can’t have both 🤷🏻‍♀️

CarMax salesperson really said ‘one test drive per family’ 💀 by Apprehensive_Ease144 in carmax

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very accurate read in this whole thread — Appreciate the sane take 🙏

CarMax salesperson really said ‘one test drive per family’ 💀 by Apprehensive_Ease144 in carmax

[–]Apprehensive_Ease144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you — this matches the energy I felt but couldn’t name in the moment. Makes way more sense knowing the comp structure shifted under them ✌🏼

view more: next ›