Car shopping with your wife

[groovlstk]

My wife and I have been shopping for a new car for the last month. During my single days I loved car shopping but I wasn't looking forward to doing it this year since I knew I had to compromise, as my wife and I share a car. Goodbye manual transmission, goodbye sport suspension! But man, what a blast we've had. My wife has absolute disdain for bullsh*t artists so you can imagine what the poor salesmen we've met have had to endure. One guy at an Audi dealership kept trying to get her to sit in an A4 to experience the "fine leather seats" when all she wanted to know was "how much?" Big mistake. The funniest thing is that after awhile the salesmen get off their scripts and don't know what to say, so they start casting these "please help me!" glances at me and I just shrug my shoulders as if to say "give her what she wants, it works for me!"

On a side note, one of the cars we were interested in was the Pontiac G8 GT. It's the first American car (or American via Australia) that truly excited me since the 69 Firebird w/a RAM AIR 400 engine that my older sis owned (and sold, despite my pleading to wait two years until I had a driver's license and means to buy it from her). When we went to our local GM dealership to look at the G8, the salesman knew absolutely nothing about the car. The idiot insisted the car was FWD and went into BS mode telling me about how he passed dozens of disabled BMWs going up hills during a snowstorm. I figured I would do my own research, work through out all the options I wanted, give him a list and then let him work on price. He should at least be able to handle that. But that was two weeks ago, the bozo never phoned me to follow up. No wonder our auto industry is such a mess, all these fine vehicles being hawked by guys who couldn't handle a newspaper route...

[GoodOlBoy]

I was told by somebody/somewhere, that "real" New Yorkers don't have cars or a drivers license. 


GOB

[Misha]

My wife and I have been shopping for a new car for the last month.

Fortunately, my wife already knows what she wants: a Subaru Impreza. We have a great dealership: the salespeople aren't your typical high pressure, somewhat sleazy, salespeople and I trust the guys in the shop.

[groovlstk]

I was told by somebody/somewhere, that "real" New Yorkers don't have cars or a drivers license. 


GOB

We're not really NYers - we live on the Joisy side of the Hudson where there's room to park, but what you say is true for most people who live in Manhattan and the tonier parts of Brooklyn. Most Manhattan people aren't "real" NYers though, but transplants from the midwest or LA. One of my buddies pays more to keep his car in a garage in Manhattan than he and his wife pay for renting their apt. (his wife has lived in a rent controlled studio for the last 15 yrs., but still...).

[Bruce]

If you are seriously looking at American cars look at the Dodge Challenger     You will not be disappointed.   By the way, get the six speed - that way only you can drive it!   Don't worry, she will learn real fast if you get the Challenger..................

[Daveman]

Groov, I can just imagine your "no nonsense" wife running circles around these sales guys.  I swear too these ladies are Master (mistress?) Hagglers.  Turn her completely loose and there's a good chance they'll be paying you to take the car and the wife off the lot.  I had the misconception that I was a stern negotiator until I witnessed them in action. 

The G8 is a rockin' ride for sure.  There seems to be a blossoming supply of aftermarket custom body and engine parts also (if you're into that kind of thing).

Good luck with it!

[kievstar]

Make sure you never buy a car manufactured on Monday, Friday, 2 and 1 day before a Holiday, or 2nd or 3rd shift.  Does not matter if foreign or domestic it will have higher quality problems.  Best to buy Tuesday or Wednesday morning assembled cars.  Actually Tuesday morning can be bad if a big football or soccer game is played Monday night.  Go Wednesday morning for Assembly.

Regarding car salesmen.  There is to many dealers in the USA even before the drop in cars and 90% of them are idiots.  But these idiots make a bundle on selling the used cars they get on the trade in for new car.  They love the trade in.

Do not buy a Pontiac.  Does not hold its value and terrible in a car crash.  It will out perform a BMW in snowy weather as BMW is the worst car on the road for bad weather.  BMW's actually have many of the same parts in a Pontiac.  BMW is all about the name unless you get the 7 series. 

[Gator]

Groov,

Regardless of the "wheels" you choose, I strongly suggest that you add the GPS option. 

My wife has a good sense of direction (unlike many RW I met) and she can read maps (unlike almost all RW I met).  Nevertheless, she would have gotten lost several times without her GPS.

[GoodOlBoy]

Groov,

Regardless of the "wheels" you choose, I strongly suggest that you add the GPS option. 

Ditto.

I bought one for my wife last year (Tom Tom 700 series).

She absolutely loves this thing. As a matter of fact my wife loves anything high tech.

Anyway, she NEVER gets lost in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale now.

The upside of this is I don't get as many phone calls as I use to from Marina saying: "Where am I?" 

The downside is, I don't get as many phone calls. 


GOB

[groovlstk]

Absolutely agree w/Gator and GOB. We've been using a portable GPS on our current car and it's a lifesaver. But in some ways I wish my wife had not become so dependent on it - she can find her way around town but outside of a few miles' radius, she's completely dependent on the GPS because she was never forced to commit the location of various roads and highways to memory. I thought this would be corrected with time (and maybe it still will) but in some ways I wish she had started driving w/out the GPS and learned the basics of our highway system.

[groovlstk]

If you are seriously looking at American cars look at the Dodge Challenger     You will not be disappointed.   By the way, get the six speed - that way only you can drive it!   Don't worry, she will learn real fast if you get the Challenger..................

Bruce, the Challenger is one of the first cars I looked at. The salesman at the dealership we went to wouldn't let me drive a hemi unless I agreed to buy the car. They can kiss my precious pink popka if they think I'm going to drop that much $ on a car w/out driving it. I guess Dodge is making so much $$ these days that they can afford to turn customers away.

[Simoni]

We bought a car about 8 months ago.  Did a lot of research, and did a number of test drives.

Marina really wanted a "green car," and this was before the big jump in gas prices.

So we got the toyota camry hybred.   She loves it, and we are clicking away at near 40 on the highway and almost that good in town, since the battery kicks in at low speeds.

It's beautiful, and we MUST clean it every week!  She even keeps spray wash in the trunk and cleans the mirrors and windshield. frequently.

Boy was it a bad scene when we got that first scratch!  We were at a rest stop by the bay when a big sucker SUV opened his door and smashed the driver's side mirror.   We chased after the idiot, and lucky for him did not catch him. He just sped up when he saw us.

He had a NoObama sticker on his bumper.  If she could have voted, that would have been a one vote swing!

[Vaughn]

The upside of this is I don't get as many phone calls as I use to from Marina saying: "Where am I?

LOL. When the city closed a freeway exit one evening, my honey placed a frantic call. She ended up
on the fringe of downtown, citing Davidson and McDowell Streets. Trouble was, as I learned, those
two don't intersect.

she's completely dependent on the GPS because she was never forced to commit the location of various roads and highways to memory.

My wife's exclusively dependent on memory - if she has not traveled there before, it's unreachable. We used to
do "dry runs" on Sundays, and she'd memorize landmarks. Recently a GPS was hinted at, and you've all reminded
me how valuable an addition it would be.

She bought a new 2007 Toyota Scion tc3 and to date is scratchless - and ticket-free. Knock on wood. 

[groovlstk]

My wife's exclusively dependent on memory - if she has not traveled there before, it's unreachable. We used to
do "dry runs" on Sundays, and she'd memorize landmarks. Recently a GPS was hinted at, and you've all reminded
me how valuable an addition it would be.

I think your wife has the perfect base and a GPS would give her (and you) peace of mind when traveling off the beaten path. Having a GPS without that base seems to me like skipping an important step. Being too dependent on it is probably not so good.

[groovlstk]

It will out perform a BMW in snowy weather as BMW is the worst car on the road for bad weather.  BMW's actually have many of the same parts in a Pontiac.  BMW is all about the name unless you get the 7 series. 

Any car with fat performance tires is a mess in the snow. I currently own an Audi Quattro, and even with full time 4WD it's a sled in the snow until I swap out the stock performance tires for snow tires.

[mark2353]

Guys FYI,
Last year I was changing jobs and one of the companies that I visited made the "gyros"  yes! for the European/Japanese cars. This is how the BMW/MB.. can control the rate of turn. In reality the car is calculating the turn and applying the brakes as sees fix. It is a hidden function. This is not to be mistaken with the anti skid braking system. American cars will be required to have this system by 2013? Hope this bit of info helps in the decision.
Also the Port of LA is using 140 acres to park imported vehicles due to lack of sales. They do not know what to do? These are MB/toyota and a few others that I do not recall. It was in mcneil lerr report the other night.
thanks, now I will have to marry a RW hate buying cars due to the BS. Although my lexus was fairly clean.
good luck
mark

[groovlstk]

Here's what we ended up with.

No yet a day in our possession, less than 50 miles on the odometer, and already we're giving it a mudbath:

http://home.comcast.net/~marka136/infiniti2.jpg

[Misha]

Here's what we ended up with.

No yet a day in our possession, less than 50 miles on the odometer, and already we're giving it a mudbath:

http://home.comcast.net/~marka136/infiniti2.jpg

Nice car! I do envy you though at the moment for living in a part of the world where your wife can be outside wearing a t-shirt and shorts in early February and not having to wade through snow and slush 

[Vaughn]

Very nice indeed.....  automatic ?

[Daveman]

Here's what we ended up with.

No yet a day in our possession, less than 50 miles on the odometer, and already we're giving it a mudbath:

http://home.comcast.net/~marka136/infiniti2.jpg

Modern, sleek, aerodynamic, highly fashionable, and gorgeous.  That car is purdy cool too. 

(oh come on, y'all knew someone had to say it).

[groovlstk]

Misha, we had a very unseasonable thaw today, it was 60 degrees today and all the snow and ice melted (which is where all that mud came from!)

Vaughn, don't rub it in    We had to compromise by getting an automatic. It has a sport mode with these little paddle shifters on the steering wheel but I haven't experimented with it yet.

[Vaughn]

Groov, I'm with you. We have 3 automatics in the driveway, all of which were driven at one time
or another by my wife or stepdaughter. I ended up with one of them, too.

It's a beautiful automobile. Looks like the Palisades area to me, and a very happy wife !!

[Simoni]

We had to compromise by getting an automatic. It has a sport mode with these little paddle shifters on the steering wheel but I haven't experimented with it yet.

An automatic is NOT a compromise as she learns to drive it!  Believe me, that takes time and you'll be glad she is not rolling backwards on hills; no clutch is a good thing!  :-)

[Vinnvinny]

I always think that choosing a car with a manual gearbox is akin to choosing one with windy-up windows and a starting handle. It’s just plain stupid and unnecessary. 

[GoodOlBoy]

Groovlstk, my wife showed me this video last night about women drivers and for some reason I thought about you and your new car!  :hairraising:

Enjoy! 




GOB