How to narrow down car selection

[Blondebaerde]

Originally Posted by keraT

For most car enthusiast, this is easy. You guys/girls know what car you like, have been eyeing it for long time, know the ins-out & when it is time to buy you are ready to go. For novices like me, who find all cars to look alike, who can't tell the difference between car until I see the brand logo, who view car as necessary, especially living in Midwest.


When it comes to car shopping, how do I narrow down to just few brands? What questions should I ask myself? At this point, I am ready to walk a sales parking lot & test drive anything that looks interesting but that isn't efficient.


Obviously when shopping, cost is on top of the list. But once one narrows down on cost, what's the next question I should ask myself?

Cost is not "obviously" -anything. Some pay whatever it takes for whatever works best. A very few can buy exotics for hundreds of thousands, even fewer the million-dollar cars. That's the continuum, somewhere between maybe $15K and $1.5M.

I had a not-to-exceed budget that was pretty high, some years back, for my second (extra) car, but knew I wanted a sports coupe. Preferably, AWD given that I'm staying in Seattle until further notice and winter weather can vary from warm and sunny to six inches of snow. In the same ten day period. I've seen it happen. So, these were my constraints:

- Budget
- Desired style
- Usability for my particulars, mentioned above

In the end, I boiled it down to about five year-ranges and models. First available would win the blue ribbon. Sure enough, mere weeks later a certain used 911 Turbo appeared that fit my particulars. I bought it without hesitation after a thorough inspection.

Other constraints people use:

- New or used
- Mileage
- Warranty
- Quality (via an objective standard like Consumer Reports)
- Residual and depreciation rate
- Emotion, how it makes you feel
- Towing capacity
- Passenger hauling

Most any of the above could be isolated as the *only* constraint, which could lead to amusing decisions like the following:

- Budget (only): absolutely rock-bottom least expensive no-option car out there. Probably a stripped down Chevrolet two door.

- Style (only): Aston Martin DB9, Maserati Granturismo, Porsche 911, anything designed at Ferrari!

- Quality (only): most any Toyota, Honda, Lexus.

- Towing capacity (only): giant 1-ton, four door pickup w/diesel

- Passenger hauling (only): any giant SUV, like the Lincoln Navigator if they still exist.

If all cars looked alike to me, and I was so passionless, I would (personally) determine my maximum monthly payment. Then, walk into any given Toyota or Honda dealer, and walk out a few hours later with keys to whatever seemed most interesting on the showroom floor or back lot. That would be at the same time total joie de vive, and equally total indifference. Good luck with that.

[keraT]

Thanks everyone, after some searching I have decided to stick with Toyota for search. I saw Chrysler, Lincoln, Nissan and figure I had my eye on Toyota from start. Stick to first choose.

But I am still debating on Corolla. Camry, RAV4. I know they are all different and initially I ruled out Corolla but I test drove a corolla S model and realize it's not as horrible as I remember. Maybe S is better than L model. The cost is great and it meets need. I also am falling more & more love with RAV4 but not sure if the added cost is worth it, just to look "cool"/trendy. I thought Camry is happy middle but the 2 I test drove was almost perfect but always missing something to stop me from paying up. One (LE model)I didn't like the color inside & it was too comfortable for my liking) the other (SE model) drove good but the radio sound bothered me (too staticky, I know silly reason but it kept me from committing.

[bmwguydc]

The RAV will be easier with children if you plan to keep it as a primary vehicle with a young family. The hatch will be easier for the stroller and associated gear, but you could always buy a Corolla for now and then upgrade to a RAV at the appropriate time, since a Corolla has good retained value.