Thursday, December 31, 2009

Used Car Shopping, Day One

I went shopping for a car for the first time ever today!  (OK, the first time ever to buy a car for me, but it's still exciting).  I took my little brother along with me; he trained to be a mechanic for a while, and cars are his hobby.  I tested, in order:

An 07 Honda Element -  verdict: If I want to drive something that feels like a big, stiff, bumpy truck, I'll get a Dodge Dually and have something that can do real work.

An 08 Honda Accord - verdict: virtuous, but boring.  It had a pretty low trim level though; I might look for something higher.

An 08 Acura TSX - verdict: good.  Smooth ride, seat and steering wheel fit well, headroom felt a little cramped, but my 6'1' brother fit just fine, so it's a feeling, not a reality.

An 05 Acura RSX  - verdict: better.  The best fit I drove all say in terms of seat and steering wheel.  A bit more road noise than the TSX, but the model I was driving was kind of a junker; I'm looking forward to finding one that has been better maintained.

An 08 Honda S2000 - verdict: a poorly maintained death trap, but cute.  The one I tested was red, with some of the body panels replaced with a black racing material.  The seat belt warning dinged at me for my entire test drive, which was quite amusing.  According to my little brother, all signs pointed to the previous owner having left it out in the rain with the top down.

An 06 Infinity G35 - verdict: drove nicely, and decent comfort level.  Liked the Acuras better, but want to take a longer look at their model lines, depending on pricing.

Shopping for a new car sure is fun!  Especially since I plan to have my cousin (who used to sell cars and mobile homes) do all the negotiation. 

2 comments:

  1. Wow. You've got great taste!!

    RSX's are my favourite! I love them. And an Infinity is just plain nice. :)

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  2. I hope you tag along for the negotiations. I'm a firm believer that negotiating well is one of the most important skills to learn, especially if you want to enjoy a simple life. I've posted about this topic often and will do so again.

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