r/carbuying

First time buying a car since i was in my early 20s and wasn't paying too much attention to what was going on. Been looking at a 25 Impreza at a nearby dealer.

My understanding is that MSRP is the price that Subaru tells dealers "hey we recommend you sell it at this price."

I looked online at several places namely the official Subaru website. And I've seen that the MSRP is about $25k assuming no optional packages. ​

I have a dealer telling me that MSRP is $33k. I don't know where they are getting that number from. I don't know if I'm just an idiot that doesn't know what MSRP actually means, or if I was being miseld, or maybe both.

Does MSRP fluctuate that much? I understand MARKET range would fluctuate, but MSRP? Idk. I'm just trying to figure this out.

EDIT: Now that we're on packages though. The only package listed for '25 subaru imoreza sport is OP 23 which the car I was looking at definitely did not have.

I'm looking at the website now and I'm seeing that the exact value he was referencing is listed as the "market" price not the MSRP (which is what he was calling it). Are these the same thing? 

Now that I think about what he was saying was the MSRP they were selling it for 7k below that  which is odd to me. Why would you sell a vehicle for THAT much lower than what you're claiming your MSRP is?

Im ready to get a new car, i have my bank loan and im about to get my car insurance and I have a good amount to put as down payment now the question is should I go in or email them? I know they dont have the car color i want so Im leaning towards the email, in the email I will include the car and the color of it and also about my bank loan and that if they can get it for me I am ready to go in and get the ball rolling. My question is am I putting too much in my email or should I just go in?

As the title says, I need some help deciding if I should keep my current car, or get a new one.

In 2022, I needed a car because my other stopped running - this was the time used cars were skyrocketing in price due to no new car inventory. So… I ended up agreeing to buying a 2015 Honda CRV for around $22,000 (with interest).

I have been paying $353 a month since, and still owe $7440 on my loan. My car currently has 243,000km. I have had zero maintenance issues with it, never requiring any extra servicing.

My question is… do I continue to pay off the loan and drive this car into the ground, or do I finance a new(er) car for the same or small amount more (nothing more than $22,000)

I am only really interested in reliable cars, but ones that also have more upgrades and less wear and tear than my current vehicle. I have seen multiple Honda civics newer than 2020 for under my budget, and to me it would make more sense to finance a newer car if the payment is going to remain the same.

I have not brought my car in to be appraised for trade in value but I believe I would probably get $7000ish from a dealership.

Please help!

Batshit insane price on a 2005 Honda CR-V, but it’s in a color I like and it’s in good condition. How do I get her to a more reasonable price? Car is worth around 4-5, she wants double.

Marketplace Link

I have a Subaru Outback 2015 that I'm planning to trade in. I dropped a box in my garage on the car about a year ago which resulted in a pretty large dent on the fender. When the dent happened a paint chip about 2 inches long came off as well (this spot has since rusted).

Everything else on the car is just normal wear and tear.

I currently have a Carvana appraisal for 8k with damage noted. And a few sight unseen initial dealer appraisals for 7k. However, I have the ability to order the panel and replace it myself for about $250.

Just trying to see if that's worth the time / effort or if I just trade it as is?

Prob a dumb question, so bear with me. Sure, I could prob just call my bank, but I’d like to hear from the folks here first; sometimes it helps to have an idea before going in. I’m testing the waters for a new to me car as a third vehicle between my partner and I. Not a daily. Most of the better finance rates are through FCUs, but they generally won’t cut a check for a car more than 8 or so years old. I have excellent credit and a long history.

Let’s say I find a car we like, used, at a dealer. The dealer will offer financing terms that typically aren’t ideal, but at least they’ll allow you to finance an older car.

Let’s say I accept those terms. Would a FCU then allow me to refinance that loan with their, typically better, terms, after some time? Will they still turn their noses up since it’s a vehicle that might be older than 8 or so years? Any tips/insight here are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hyundai's 10-year warranty or a Toyota Camry's super reliability? I know they're different cars, but I can get them for the same price, and I just want a reliable daily driver. My Nissan Rogue was a total lemon.

I live in houston and my cousin is in Las vegas. My cousin wants to buy my friend’s car from texas. He is planning to ship the car to vegas after he buys it.

How are the insurance and car registration handled in his case?

He also plans to take a loan when buying this car. How would that work in this scenario?

So my 2013 hyundai tuscon which I had 250k miles was wrecked by semitruck.

I am trying to decide between New Mazda, Honda CRV or Rav4. Gas or hybrid? I do live out on Texas country roads noy always the smoothest.

I have mixed reviews on CVT transmission of CRV and its motor, I don't know enough about the reliability of Toyota New all hybrid line up, I knew 2 people who had transmission issues with their Mazda Cx5.

All I want is a good gas mileage, cold AC and heated seats. I am in decision fatigue from over researching. My high-end to spend top of 34k.

Only other car brand I kind of looked at was Nissan. I feel like I lucked out with my hyundia because I know other folks around me it was more problematic.

Thank you for any direction.

I’m trying to decide between a 2019 Honda CR-V and a 2021 Hyundai Tucson. I know the Honda is a reliable car but it has almost 90,000 miles on it already. The Tucson has all the bells and whistles and has about 40,000 miles. When I wrecked my car, my rental was a 2024 Tucson and I loved it but I worry about the reliability. Help!

N Line package with manual transmission. 95,000 miles. What would you expect to pay because I look at blue book and that doesn’t look like reality to me. I’m thinking I need a truck so the Elantra has to go but Blue Book says like WOW too much. Even at 95,000 miles and a manual. So what is your expectation

I hate car shopping.

I finally found a car that I love on Friday - Toyota RAV4. We went back and forth, and at the end of the day, I was happy with the deal and put down a $1,000 deposit to hold the car. We did not have time to do financing and paperwork on Friday night.

Over the weekend, the price of the vehicle dropped $1,000 on their website. I assume this is some sort of automatic website update.

Am I wrong to ask them to honor the new website price?

** I have not signed any paperwork yet and they did not send me home with a copy of what we negotiated (although I have a picture of it.). They verbally told me the $1,000 deposit was refundable.

Edit to add:

I should have mentioned I negotiated about $4k extra on my trade, so I don’t think the original deal was bad. I’m just wanting to get opinions on whether renegotiating is a thing people do. I have only done this a couple times in my life.

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had a good youtube video/ online forum where they explain the process of buying a car through a dealership. I’m 24F and I recently found out my car needs some very expensive repairs so it’s best to invest in another reliable one instead. The dealership scares me because of all the horrible stories i’ve heard of people getting f’d over and getting into bad deals that costs them more money than needed. I want to be informed as much as I can so I can detect if they’re trying to scam me or not, or if the car ill be buying is good (currently looking at a qualified pre owned 2020 honda crv Ex awd with 65k miles and around $23000. I got prequalified by my bank for 23k and my dad is helping me with a down payment of 5k). I have downloaded Cargurus since it tells me if the price is good or too high but even then I am so confused and it’s very overwhelming.

Thank you.

Does re-financing a car after 1 year to get lower interest actually is a thing or it something the dealers are gonna say to make you buy the car??

My son found a 2015 RAM truck he wants to purchase for around 20K; the seller is asking that he just pay off existing loan in this amount and then the title will be put in my sons name. I’ve never purchased a car this way and it seems fishy to me. Is this a possible scam?

I am trying to buy my first car. I found a used 2009 Mercedes for $6999. The pre purchase inspection went well and the out the door price I received went from $9400 to $8000. My bank won’t approve my financing application due to lack of credit history. (Perfect payment history but few months short of a year of history). I’d like to finance to get some good credit history and up my credit score while also retaining my savings but..

I could very well pay off this car in full but I don’t want to deplete my savings by 80%. I’m still living at home in a sense and pay minimal for rent. My car insurance quotes are high, to be expected. Getting quotes from $280 and higher. (I am currently looking for a broker to figure out a good deal here)

The dealership had one option for me to finance. One bank only, one plan term only. Because of the year of the car and my wanting to put $4500 down the financing was something like $210/mo for 27 months at 12.99% APR. sales dude said I could not put more down, that they were “working with me by letting me put $4500 down because they can’t finance that little… you don’t really see financing under $7k..” I’m attempting to see about financing with Capital One.

With my income I decided I didn’t want to HAVE to afford more than $400/mo on a payments and insurance. I’m wondering, would it be worth paying the car in full and only worrying about the insurance and maintenance costs? Is this even a good deal- are they BSing me with the “you can’t put more down”?

TLDR; finance car ($8000) with $4500 down at $210/mo for 27mo at 12.99% APR or buy in full (depleting savings by 80%- but still sort of living at home)?

I have been driving my old car for about 15 years now. Still runs fine, has some minor problems, does not have modern car features like navigation system, rear view, connecting to internet. Think it's finally time to buy a car with modern-day features, and I can fully pay the car without any loans or interests.

Question is, are we at a tech/advancement point where we likely won't see a lot quality of life features in the future?

Hi, I saw a 2019 Honda Accord LX with 158,000 miles for about $13k. And i saw a 2018 Accord Sport 170k miles for $14k. Are these a good deal?