Pulaski

I understand, the pressure can be unpleasant, but go prepared, even expecting, to tell them to "shove it!" Ask if the dealer has any women sales staff too, most dealers do these days because they know how much women hate dealing with pushy salesmen.

Bob

Do it all online then....find what you want, get them to price it, forward details to other dealers.

Call the top couple that you like and say this is the deals I've got and what I want and have the car ready at x time and I'll sign or I leave for the next one.

As it's the end of the month, you'll get less faff as they want to hit sales targets and just get the car off the lot.

jmood

So this end of the month business. Is it better to do it now (end of month) rather than to wait for labor Day deals?

Regarding women salesperson, I once had to deal with a woman sales rep at a gym (NYSC). She wa so pushy with gimmicks and tactics (take it or lose it type) I literally said you this is hardsell it is nasty and I won't deal with you (I very very rarely almost never confront people )and walked off. I went in again and signed up with a male.

jmood

But to find/know what I want I may have to spend many days renting them all and it;s not easy to get all the makes in the rental companies. I am (will) substituting you guys' advice a bit for the in-person experience

Nutmegger

They will be doing Labor Day deals all this weekend.

Bob

You know what kind of cars you want already. It's a case of sorting the deal and the money and a final test run because even if you went to the dealers now, you aren't going to learn anything that you won't from the five mins around the block they'll give you.

Get it all squared in advance, take it for a spin and yes you'll take it or walk away.

jmood

But I don't know which car I want already!
I know how IDEALLY I'd want it to be (quiet, efficient A/C that is also quiet and doesn't blow in your face, gas efficient, good handling, seat belt position adjustable, and as cheap as possible for all of this)

And your point re not learning anything in a 5 min test drive - exactly.

And between now and the w/e I likely won't get a chance to rent a Honda and a Mazda and maybe one other make.

So then what?

And then I have the question of whether to buy new, used or to lease

Is there an emoticon for head about to explode?

Bob

That's going to really boil down to budget and mileage.

Sounds like you'll be driving a lot, so that'll rule the lease out.

So do you want to spend a lot up front and not worry about it, or spend less now and face potential further costs down the road, though might depend on your state lemon laws.

As for the car itself, well, read the reviews, they'll tell you the info you want.

jmood

[QUOTE=Bob;11382815]

I don't understand. State lemon laws?

jmood

What about this vibration thing? Is it a fault or is it something that happens with come brands/models?

Pulaski

Vibrations are never good in a car. A test drive in another car of the same type would tell you if it is normal for that vehicle.

If a new car is "bad", has multiple problems and they cannot be fixed within a short time the buyer can, under certain circumstances, declare it a "lemon" and demand a full refund.

Bob

And depending on the state, second hand too....which is why it's worth finding out what the lemon laws are.

In MA, they're actually pretty decent for anything with less than 65K on the clock including warranty laws....so you've got a few weeks of bombing the car around to see if the tranny drops out on you or what not if you buy from a dealer.

jmood

State in which the merchant who sells the car is located?

I will be insuring it in NY State but will probably buy in NJ State

Owen778

Let me tell you something: When I arrived in the US two years ago, I'd last driven on a UK provisional license, about 17 years before. I'd taken my UK test once, and failed. Since then, I've driven about 10,000 miles in our Mazda CX-9 (an SUV), which I used as my commuter vehicle for a while, something I don't recommend. A year ago, I bought a Ford Fusion for commuting, and I've put 15,000 miles on that. As long as you drive sensibly and defensively, driving in the US is fine, if occasionally stressful.

While this is a big decision, the cars you have on your shortlist are all good cars. Some are better than others, you could buy any of them now and be happy.

Bear in mind that buying second-hand doesn't get you much of a price reduction in the US, so if you need to go second-hand to be cheaper, you'll be buying a pretty old car.

These seem to be your options:
_________Small sedan___Mid-sized sedan
_________or hatchback
Honda____Civic_________Accord
Mazda____3____________6
Ford______Focus________Fusion
VW_______Jetta/Golf_____Passat

If you need cheaper than that, consider Hyundai (Elantra or Sonata), or drop down to the subcompact class (Honda Fit, Mazda 2, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Accent).

I would stop messing around with car rentals. You can try out cars for free by taking test drives at the car dealerships. These are often located together along the major highways. Just go there and try out several cars in turn. Don't test-drive all eight listed above, pick a category of the two so you only have three or four to test. Be flexible.

Bob

It's where you buy it that counts when looking at lemon laws and warranties.