Shopping for a car

I had my furnace serviced this morning and was telling the mechanic about the car. His advice - take it to a non-dealer garage.

There's a used car dealership about 6 miles away, but they don't have much in the way of compact sedans - only a Ford Focus that's almost as old as my car and a icky green color. They don't service them or give much in the way of a warranty.
https://www.keymotors.net/details/used-2007-ford-focus/119939389
 
debodun said:
Click to expand...
I was just gonna say the same thing.
Debā€™s got manual brakes.
debodun said:
I had my furnace serviced this morning and was telling the mechanic about the car. His advice - take it to a non-dealer garage.
Click to expand...
Thatā€™s a good idea.
debodun said:
There's a used car dealership about 6 miles away, but they don't have much in the way of compact sedans - only a Ford Focus that's almost as old as my car and a icky green color.
Click to expand...
A 2007 is the best car you could find there?

debodun said:
They don't service them or give much in the way of a warranty.
https://www.keymotors.net/details/used-2007-ford-focus/119939389
Click to expand...
Even more of a reason to walk away.
The oldest car you should be looking at is 4 or 5 years old.

You are a classic example of penny wise , pound foolish.
 
Oh good. I thought you were actually considering that 21 year old car for $4,400.
Iā€™m glad you arenā€™t considering it.
Luckily youā€™re not in a hurry to get another car. See if you can get a trade in for your old car.
 
debodun said:
Checked it out on several used car websites. As soon as I enter 2002 for the car's age, the page stops responding.
Click to expand...
When you do finally get a ā€˜new to you car,ā€™ ask the dealership what theyā€™d be willing to give you for it. Itā€™s still worth something.
How many miles does it have on it?
 
Things that also don't work on my car - air conditioner, door chime and dashboard lights. The lights aren't a huge issue to me since I rarely, if ever, drive at night. The AC is only a concern in really hot or rainy weather. With the door chime, I just have to try to remember to shut off the headlights if I've had occasion to turn them on as in rainy weather.
 
The brakes aren't bad - yet. They still work. It's the condition of the brake lines that's being called into question.

What I've spent on it so far this year (not counting fuel) :

$21.00 - state safety inspection
$228.96 - new battery
$146.52 - oil change with new air filter
$607.20 - insurance

total - $1003.68
 
Last edited:
OK, you live in NY. Things are more expensive in NY. But 146.$ for an oil change? I don't pay that much for 8 quarts of synthetic in my truck!

Evidently the car is passing inspections so that means issues are not that serious. Brake lines are not that big of a deal to replace. I would worry more about all of the electrical issues you're having in the front end.
 
It used to be that dealerships had sales quotas for the month. Youā€™ve only got a couple of days to deal with an anxious salesman. If you found something you liked, you might be able to negotiate some things thrown in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top