It's that time again....wish me luck, guys.
 

Well, it's that time again. I help a lot of people shop for and get new ( and used ) vehicles...but this is a special one. A friend of mine...a dear lady who knows very little ( next to nothing ) about cars had her 32-year old VW Beetle ( yes, one of the old air-cooled ones) totalled the other day on the snow when somebody slid into her rear end and pushed the front into a bus. The bus company sent her a letter and said the bus was damaged, but that's a matter being handled by the police report ( which, of course, blamed the guy who rear-ended her ), her insurance, and that person's insurance. So that will not be a significant matter...she has no liability at all.

What DOES matter, of course, is that she's without a car now, for the first time in 32 years (she kept that Beetle a LONG time, with 100,000 original miles). Even aside from the accident damage, the car was not worth trying to repair...too much rust all underneath and in the body. So she was crying :cry: ...time to say good-bye to it. After all, it was like family to her.
Anyhow, not surprisingly, it was totalled and she settled for and accepted a check for it......not a huge amount, of course, for a totalled car that old ( that guy's insurance company may have lucked out there ).

So, obviously, it's time for some serious car-shopping. She knows next to nothing about cars, and just wants a dependable, well-made and well-backed economy car that, like the old Beetle, will be cheap, to buy and cheap to run. Of course, the days of rear air-cooled engine cars are gone, but there are several good, entry-level econoboxes available today. Used cars, of course, in general, cost less than new ones, but I think we ( maybe) can get her into a brand-new one for the same or slightly more money.....and IMO a new car is usually better than a used one.
I did some hunting on dealer web sites and found a couple of new 3-door Hyundai Accents in the color she wanted, with 4-speed automatic (she doesn't want a stick in this D.C-area traffic ), A/C, and stereo for no-haggle Internet prices in the low 12's. Even with tax, tag, and title, it will probably be 13K or less...just about as cheap as you will get an automatic, A/C car nowadays.
Unfortunately, she is very income-limited right now, having been unemployed a little while...but her boyfriend may be able to help out a little ( they have been together decades....they're not likely to break up anytime soon ), and the dealership told me ( I have dealt with them before ...they know me ) that they can go out as long as 6 years on the financing to keep the monthly payments down.
The Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio have become two of my strongly recommended cars for people who have very little to spend on a new car, for reasons which we have discussed at length here in CAR CHAT. In addition, the 5-year/60,000 mile bumper-to-bumper / roadside assistance and 10 year/100,000 mile drivetrain warranties are powerful selling points.....especially for her long-term peace-of mind ( she obviously keeps her cars a long time ). Hyundai's newest vehicles have become, in many ways, the equals or near-equals of Toyotas and Hondas in quality.....at a lower price. I think the Accent, at this dealership, is the ideal car for her. Having had an air-cooled car for over 30 years, she will need to learn about anti-freeze, radiators, thermostats, etc..... and the need to change anti-freeze every 15,000-30,000 miles.
The new Beetle, of course, would be attractive to her from a nostalgic point of view, but it is also water-cooled and FWD like the Accent, less reliable mechanically than an Accent, and costs more.....probably out of her price range. She really doesn't care much about her next car except that she can afford it, it's backed well, cheap to run, and has warranty protection. I think the 3-door Accent is the way to go, especially at this dealership with its heavily discounted, no-haggle Internet prices...and she hasn't bought a car since the 1970's, and has no idea how to bargain.

So, I'm going to meet with her and her boyfriend at the dealership next week....probably Tuesday. I've got a couple of cars for her....so I'll inspect them and test-drive them to insure no defects......and try to help them through the deal ( they will probably both be nervous..it's been a long time for them ). So wish us luck, guys....and keep your fingers crossed. I don't publicize every new car I look at for people or every time we go shopping, but this is a special case for a special person...under less-than-ideal circumstances. Maybe, with luck, we'll get her into a brand-new car.:)

Good luck and thanks for helping her out!

You seem like a really nice guy, nicer than me, haha. Is a new Hyundai really that much better of a deal than a slightly used Corolla or Civic (or maybe even a used Accent?)? It seems to me like the price of a car drops so much when you drive it off the lot, a 1 or 2 year old car would be the best deal

You know a lot more about buying cars than I do though, and I guess Hyundai/Kia's huge warranty is very attractive

100,000 original miles in 32 years, that's even less mileage per year than my SC :D

Good luck with your shopping :) :thumbup:

After 32 yrs in an old Beetle, ANYTHING is going to seem like a space ship in comparison. :p

If money's tight (what has she done with all the money she didn't spend on new cars for the past 32 years!?), I'd definitely recommend she gets a used car instead of a new one.

While the old Beetle was literally a pile of junk, a death trap, and THE most polluting car on the planet, there's no need or good reason in my view for her to go to the cheapest new econobox to replace it. She could get a 3 year old Civic for example, for less than a new Hyundai accent, and it would be a better car, likely more reliable, and much more comfortable. Or another option would be a Mazda 3.

I like most people to get new cars but in her case I'd recommend used.

Good luck - but you don't need luck because you have skills!
:)

Thanks for the suggestions.
Bit has a point.....There is some merit to the used-car-vs.-new car question for low-income people, but don't forget that financing on a new car is usually cheaper than on a used one ( often by several pecentage points), especially for short-term deals, and a new Hyundai is unsurpassed in warranty coverage. She also wants as simple a car as possible ( with automatic) , with minimal maintenance. She would probably even do without A/C, but automatics are difficult to find without A/C in this area, and, because of the low markup, often sell for virtually as much as cars that DO have it.

I'm also concerned about her ability to pay the VA personal property tax on new cars every year, though it is Federally deductable, and you get part of that money back. (And low-income people may be able to get part of that waived )
Well, we'll see how things go. If worse comes to worse, we'll just look at something cheaper....perhaps a used Corolla or Civic as bit suggested.

She'd be a lot more comfy (not to mention safer) in a 1-2yo 4cyl. Accord or Camry than a new Accent.

WE discussed that...she doesn't want a car that big. She is used to a Beetle-sized car. New Accents also come with multiple and side air bags, even in the base versions.

Why not just gen the new beetle?

Too expensive, the electronics on it are complex and maintenance issues, although IMO newer VWs are almost as reliable as our Toyota and Lexus cars...

Not only that, but with the FWD liquid-cooled engine, it is nothing like the original car, except for the shape of the body.

Well, thanks for the input guys....the deal was successful yesterday afternoon. Marianne and her boyfriend settled on a new Accent. $12,600, out the door, period...tax, tags, everything.
The car seems every bit as well-built as an entry-level Toyota/Scion or Honda, except that the one we drove had a slight shimmy in the front brake rotors.....they will machine the crud off of them and then even deliver the car to her house...she doesn't have to go back. ( I might re-check it to make sure they did the rotors correctly and didn't mess the alignment up in the process)

IMO the price is phenominal for a car with automatic, A/C, front and side airbags, ABS, and a nice stereo/CD, and two-tone interior. The buttons and switches all work with a feeling of fluid precision and quality. Of course, you roll up your own windows, lock your own doors, and adjust your own mirrors, but she didn't want a lot of power accessories.

I won't go into any more details about it because I have already done a formal review of the new Accent last year....and an Accent-Rio comparison.

Not sure why you asked for input as you'd already made up your mind. :)

But congrats to your friend.

Heh, just hope the warranty never ever ever runs out....

when it does, parts are hard to find, and repairs are typically expensive....

not to mention people don't like to work on them because of their "weird" repair issues... not that they are entirely different than all of your mainstream cars, but they definitely utilize some odd ways of doing things (abs like sensor on the R/F axle is the speedo input on some) just weird to me...

for the same price, she could have gotten a Yaris, or a one year old corolla still under warranty... both way better choices than an accent / rio... My mom actually bought a Kia Sorrento (my parents needed a smallish SUV on top of the full size truck and sedan they have) and she enjoys driving it - it drives good, and has had little problems with it, but it's also the nicest, most expensive car they build, and in 100k miles and 20-30 more years, which car do you think will be around still, the toyota or the hyundai / kia?