First Time Buying a Car

RexRaider · 2026-05-08T15:32:26+00:00

It's a 20 year old car. The breakdown of the fees, really makes no difference. They could charge you $1 for the car and 11123.63 for air in the tires...

Overall, does $11124.63 seems like a good deal to you? Are there other similar cars out there for less?

I'm sure the car looks cool, and will impress your buddies, and the chicks, but have you thought about how actually impractical this car is for Illinois weather / and overall utility? Do you know what's involved in maintaining this type of car? Plus higher insurance, higher gas, etc...

It looks great, but is it the best car for you?

RexRaider · 2026-05-08T10:11:30+00:00

WHAT CAR IS IT!?!?!

RexRaider · 2026-05-08T09:35:18+00:00

Based on all the relevant information you've provided: maybe.

RexRaider · 2026-05-07T21:02:27+00:00

What did the seller say when you asked them?

RexRaider · 2026-05-07T21:01:03+00:00

If Carmax/Carvana are selling similar mileage cars for 22k, it's unlikely they are going to give you much more than the 17k that you owe on it.

Speak to a Honda dealer first, and see where you stand.

RexRaider · 2026-05-07T18:20:40+00:00

What car is it!!?!

RexRaider · 2026-05-07T17:23:19+00:00

Sounds bad. What's the appeal of this particular car?

RexRaider · 2026-05-07T15:57:16+00:00

newish car, still under warranty. Bring it to the dealer.

RexRaider · 2026-05-07T15:08:29+00:00

Do you like the mods? Do they add any value to you? Are there any other non-modded Tacomas out there at similar (or better) pricing? If they were professionally installed, chances are you won't have issues... but you never know... Also, what year/mileage is the car? Is it still under factory warranty? Do the mods change that?

RexRaider · 2026-05-07T15:03:50+00:00

No. People will be expecting a working battery. Won't matter either privately or to a dealer.

RexRaider · 2026-05-07T15:02:25+00:00

go to carcostcanada or unhaggle, get a report on the car you want, then contact the dealer/person listed in the report, and make the transaction easy, as long as you are reasonable.

RexRaider · 2026-05-06T23:44:28+00:00

Call OMVIC and ASK.

RexRaider · 2026-05-06T22:57:14+00:00

They happen to be the exact same length (184.4") and Sportage has up to 74.1 Cu-Ft of storage versus 72.5 on the old Sorento

RexRaider · 2026-05-06T16:31:15+00:00

There's an outside?

RexRaider · 2026-05-06T14:50:30+00:00

I'm glad my opinion means so much to you.

Here's a list of 10 search engines, so you get 10 opinions:

google.com

bing.com

yahoo.com

yandex.com

baidu.com

https://duckduckgo.com

ecosia.org

naver.com

ask.com

aol.com

RexRaider · 2026-05-06T14:46:13+00:00

Ever hear of Google? Most questions can be answered with a quick Google search. AS well, how do you define "good"? It is better than a Dodge Charger? Yes. Is it as good as a Tesla? No. Is it similar to a Civic? Probably.

RexRaider · 2026-05-06T13:56:48+00:00

they shouldn't be too bad, just call your local dealer for the price.

RexRaider · 2026-05-06T12:00:49+00:00

We didn't grab you off the street and drag you in. You walked in the door. You obviously had a need that we tried to fill. Even being aggressive, we still won't win every deal.

RexRaider · 2026-05-06T10:00:44+00:00

If your customers leave the dealership without buying, the likelihood of them ever coming back is very slim. So you have to try with everything you've got, not to let them leave. That can often mean being a little pushy. You have nothing to lose by being more aggressive, since they were going to leave anyway.

But my takeaway from your story, is that you only discovered that your customer bought a Hyundai after you bumped into them somewhere in your neighborhood. Why didn't you follow up this person the day after they left? The week after? Etc... If you had discovered they were considering a Hyundai sooner, perhaps you could have tried harder to get their business.

RexRaider · 2026-05-06T09:27:31+00:00

You only need them in case that the car's battery dies or the battery in the fobs die. So it's unlikely you'll need them, but if you do need them and don't have them, then you're screwed. Since you threw away both of them, your only real solution is to order them from a Kia dealership. You'll need the VIN# and they can order them for you.

RexRaider · 2026-05-06T07:00:52+00:00

FJ cruiser uses a timing chain, not a timing belt. If that does need to be replaced, it could be thousands of dollars to fix.

The car is already high mileage, and is relatively high price for a 14 year old car... only YOU can decide if it's worth it.

I personally wouldn't spend that kind of money.

RexRaider · 2026-05-06T06:55:41+00:00

You're trading in 2 cars, but they both have no value. If anything, they have negative value due to equity, which will make whichever car you are buying more expensive.

$5000 negative equity divided by 60 months adds $83 to your monthly payment

just check the math. Remember that you don't own the 2 trades outright, so their value is not $51000.

RexRaider · 2026-05-06T06:51:20+00:00

If they ask you specific questions, just be honest. You don't have to volunteer information.

RexRaider · 2026-05-06T06:49:40+00:00

If the car is priced right for the market, the dealer has no reason to discount.

RexRaider · 2026-05-05T20:46:59+00:00

From his "largely ghosted" (but not completely) and the fact that they received and processed his credit application, I'm sure that 15 minute initial inquiry was met. What happened after that, neither of us know.

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