Why not just wait for the BMW M5 Touring? Coming soon to Canada. It’s only like $140k.
Because he’s not an asshole
I drive a BMW. This checks out.
Upgraded from the Mini?
You got it Pontiac.
That’s what I should get. A nice Pontiac.
Go with the Aztec. A car ahead of its time.
I’ll add that to my short list alongside the PT cruiser. With whatever trim level comes with the faux wood panels.
I always love going by houses, with $100 / $200k in cars in the driveway, so they can put $10k worth of junk in the garage.
I always love going by houses, with $100 / $200k in cars in the driveway, so they can put $10k worth of junk in the garage.
Well, the $10k of junk in the garage isn’t movable like the $100k in the driveway.
That and keeping the thing in the driveway also screams “Hey, look at me!â€
That is the explanation I have heard yet.
I like it and understand it.
2 words for you…
Toyota land cruiser (math isn’t my strong suit).
Think about it. Will you think about it?
Enough said
Up in the great white north that sounds like it’ll be hard (perhaps impossible) to buy. I talked with the manager of the Richmond Toyota dealer as we wanted to see about the Landcruiser. He said the problem is they can sell most Toyotas in the US for the same number as in Canada (eg. CAD 100,000 price here is USD 100,000 down there) - so a 30% premium on Canada. Which makes it very hard to bring those that will only see smaller sales numbers up here, such as the Landcruiser.
Why not just wait for the BMW M5 Touring? Coming soon to Canada. It’s only like $140k.
Only the price of 7 compact cars
I hear what you are saying about the minivan, but one more thought. sliding doors. dual sliding doors that work from the key fob. You will never need to worry about your kids kicking open a door and dinging the car parked next to you. Also much easier to load kids and stuff when both the doors can be opened just before you get there. Plus, the basic value that you can upgrade a trim level or two from the comparable SUV in the same brand.
As for SUV, I just shopped last year. A horrible time to be buying but had no choice.
For me the final contenders in our final ranking.
Subaru Outback: The Forrester is nice in many ways, but way to slow, no highway speed to attempt to pass a car, I kind of felt like Fred Flintstone needing to use my feet to get the car going. The Outback basically has the same amount of cargo room as Forrester, is very nice, but just a bit too small for our purposes.
The Kia Telluride: As other have mentioned this vehicle checks a lot of boxes. Two negatives: 1) Price/availability. I think you already mentioned this for you as well. 2) Kia has really yet to show they can create reliable vehicles for 250,000 miles. We keep our cars along time. (Although the ‘sister car’ is true - we just did not like the Hyundai Palisades in any way. this quickly was a no-go after a test drive.)
Toyota Highlander. a great choice. For us. the hybrid option just does not seem to pay off in a reasonable time frame. also considered about what happens up over 200,00 miles. The styling of the Highlander in the rear is not much greater than a wagon. But, reliability is stellar, there are enough used on the market to find something that should fit your needs.
Honda Pilot (the passport was very close - but somehow worse gas milage than the Pilot and 6 inches less rear cargo area ended its campaign.) this was our choice. Highly recommend the Touring trim level - or above to Elite. Be forewarned, once you drive that trim level it is hard to go back to the EX-L. The cabin noise and how it drives down the road is incredibly different at this trim level. The other major factor is how the AWD system works on the Honda compared to most other brands - but only true for passport/pilot/ridgeline - not the CRV. Most other AWD systems brake the slipping wheel(s) to allow that wheel to try and get better traction. The Honda system actually works in the opposite and provides more power to the other non-slipping wheels. They tweaked the system from their Acura sport vehicles that use that system to provide wheel torque through turns to keep high speed performance. With dedicated Winter tires to swap on during that time of year, this gets me most places I need to get to worry free. The Pilot is still a ‘car’ and is not a 4-wheel drive - it’s no 4runner, land rover, Jeep for sure. But it also drives like a car - my wife loves how the Pilot handles – and has all the modern bells and whistles for folks who spend nearly the entire time on roads and good roads.
For us, the Mazda was too small, a non-starter. But has great reviews and most stated it was the most to drive. If that size works for you, I’d really look at replacing your current Mazda with another.
Best advice: get out and drive each one. Bring your wife, have her drive each one. Don’t just trust marketing and reviews. It’s still pretty much a seller’s market. Once you see/drive something you like, buy it on the spot and don’t expect much of a deal/negotiation. Best of luck.
Why not just wait for the BMW M5 Touring? Coming soon to Canada. It’s only like $140k.
Because he’s not an asshole
I drive a BMW. This checks out.
Upgraded from the Mini?
You got it Pontiac.
That’s what I should get. A nice Pontiac.
Go with the Aztec. A car ahead of its time.
Aztec had the highest owner ratings of its time. It still is a pretty decent car if you can find someone who will sell there, most owners will not part with them if they still have them. And yeah pull one up next to todays SUV’s and well it fits right in. Even had the camping tent option done 10x better than elon’s bad attempt on the cybertruck.
The body cladding was horrible but without that it wouldn’t look out of place today.
The body cladding was horrible but without that it wouldn’t look out of place today.
And is good enough for this guy. Count me in.
My wife drives a 2023 Acura MDX and it’s been flawless. Easily the nicest car I’ve ever driven. It’s a 3 row and we regularly hall around our 3 grandkids. It’s fun to drive. More sporty than I would have thought. Quiet. Plenty of power. Gas mileage isn’t great (20ish around town; a bit more on the highway) but the comfort and performance make up for it. It’s essentially a fancy Pilot with a bit better handling and lux. We also tested a Pilot and my wife was underwhelmed. She drove an RDX prior and so was biased towards Acura, but this vehicle has been superlative. Great in the snow (we live in CO). She’s considering the ZDX when her lease is up. She’s definitely an Acura fan now and I suspect will be for the foreseeable future.
We drove all of the usual suspects before landing on the MDX … Highlander, Telluride, Grand Cherokee, Tahoe, etc etc. The MDX was the far and away her top choice (obviously). As a bit of a dirt bag who has an illogical dislike of anything that resembles “luxuryâ€, I liked the 4Runner we drove better for all the reasons she didn’t (and I drive a decade old F150 so my opinion on cars is suspect) … rough ride, noisy, cramped, ancient tech. It’s got all of the tech as other vehicles in the price range. It’s quite fun to drive despite being a mid size SUV.
10/10. I love her MDX, even if it makes me a bit uncomfortable to drive (because I’m the aforementioned dirtbag). Although I do enjoy the askance glances I get when I drive it and get out of it wearing an Iron Maiden t shirt and all tatted up.
The body cladding was horrible but without that it wouldn’t look out of place today.
Buick sold a plastic-minimum version (less plastic for naughts GM)
.
The body cladding was horrible but without that it wouldn’t look out of place today.
Tesla and Aztec have a resemblance…
Just replying to last to say holy hell, I hate car shopping, and I despise car salespeople with a passion.
I don’t think you become a car salesperson if you’re not, at some deep level, an awful, deeply flawed human being. Something is just broken inside of them.
The only folks more despicable are the people the salespeople pass you off to who try to sneak in dozens of extra fees and upsell you.
This whole process is insane.
Just replying to last to say holy hell, I hate car shopping, and I despise car salespeople with a passion.
I don’t think you become a car salesperson if you’re not, at some deep level, an awful, deeply flawed human being. Something is just broken inside of them.
The only folks more despicable are the people the salespeople pass you off to who try to sneak in dozens of extra fees and upsell you.
This whole process is insane.
I do too, but was lucky to find a really good broker for my current purchase.
Painless process, saved me $5k off MSRP without needing to go through the haggle dance, and delivery/financing etc is done through a local(ish) dealer exactly the same as if I was a direct customer of theirs. They’ve called me a couple of times (once to confirm contact info, and again yesterday to tell me the car had landed on US soil and would be at their showroom sometime between now and 2 weeks from now) and it’s like a whole different world - no high pressure sales tactics, no sliminess… just feels like the way a vehicle purchase should be.
I went to another local Toyota dealer to check out and test drive the same model but a couple of years older, and the salesman I dealt with there seemed a ot more decent than a lot I’ve dealt with in the past, which admittedly isn’t many. No real sales pressure, very personable, and didn’t try to pull the finance shadiness so many do.
Just replying to last to say holy hell, I hate car shopping, and I despise car salespeople with a passion.
I don’t think you become a car salesperson if you’re not, at some deep level, an awful, deeply flawed human being. Something is just broken inside of them.
The only folks more despicable are the people the salespeople pass you off to who try to sneak in dozens of extra fees and upsell you.
This whole process is insane.
I sold cars for a while - after I moved back from Germany. I am not, at a deep level, an awful deeply flawed human being. Most of my colleagues were not either. Most were very well-intentioned people with various education levels and factors that led them to car sales for a while. With only a high school diploma, you can make very decent money - usually even more than management.
Are there some that are not so nice to deal with? Yeah, sure there are.
But, if that is how you are approaching each and every interaction, you are setting the tone for your interaction - not the salesperson.
I noticed that nearly every Honda dealership has a slightly different approach - most of them seem to have adopted the old Saturn approach of no hassle/haggle. But, that was not true of the last Honda dealership that I visited and purchased. They were still old-school four-square sales technique.
You do want to play close attention to the finance folks as you close your deal. They can be motivated by incentives, some from the dealer, some from banks. Best to ask questions, know current financing rates, read items carefully before signing. Walk away from a deal if it changes between the sales agent and the finance agent, etc.
I highly suggest everyone visit dealerships more often - long before they are actually in need of a car. Drive cars more often to know the market. Learn from each interaction. begin to dispel the myth that every salesperson is the negative stereotype you described. I seldom buy new cars. So, driving the cars when they are new, a year or two before I plan to purchase, I have a good understanding of the used market. I make my point very clear to the sales agent - they have a job to do - but I also don’t want them to take up too much of their time on me when they could be trying to make an actual sale.
Just replying to last to say holy hell, I hate car shopping, and I despise car salespeople with a passion.
I don’t think you become a car salesperson if you’re not, at some deep level, an awful, deeply flawed human being. Something is just broken inside of them.
The only folks more despicable are the people the salespeople pass you off to who try to sneak in dozens of extra fees and upsell you.
This whole process is insane.
I sold cars for a while - after I moved back from Germany. I am not, at a deep level, an awful deeply flawed human being. Most of my colleagues were not either. Most were very well-intentioned people with various education levels and factors that led them to car sales for a while. With only a high school diploma, you can make very decent money - usually even more than management.
Are there some that are not so nice to deal with? Yeah, sure there are.
But, if that is how you are approaching each and every interaction, you are setting the tone for your interaction - not the salesperson.
I noticed that nearly every Honda dealership has a slightly different approach - most of them seem to have adopted the old Saturn approach of no hassle/haggle. But, that was not true of the last Honda dealership that I visited and purchased. They were still old-school four-square sales technique.
You do want to play close attention to the finance folks as you close your deal. They can be motivated by incentives, some from the dealer, some from banks. Best to ask questions, know current financing rates, read items carefully before signing. Walk away from a deal if it changes between the sales agent and the finance agent, etc.
I highly suggest everyone visit dealerships more often - long before they are actually in need of a car. Drive cars more often to know the market. Learn from each interaction. begin to dispel the myth that every salesperson is the negative stereotype you described. I seldom buy new cars. So, driving the cars when they are new, a year or two before I plan to purchase, I have a good understanding of the used market. I make my point very clear to the sales agent - they have a job to do - but I also don’t want them to take up too much of their time on me when they could be trying to make an actual sale.
Yeah, glad you typed all that.
Just think working retail sucks… I think we almost all can agree… Now work retail where ever person coming in thinks they know more than you, thinks your overcharging and making thousands off them, wants to buy your product for less than it cost you.
With the internet, its much easier to buy a car now. I have a broker for my leases so thats really easy. But for buying, just send a bunch of emails to dealers, with what I want, and what I will pay, and wait for responses. Now I live in SE Detroit. You name the brand, I probably have 2 or 3 dealerships for them with in 15 min drive. an hour drive, and well I got a whole lot of dealer options.
Just replying to last to say holy hell, I hate car shopping, and I despise car salespeople with a passion.
I don’t think you become a car salesperson if you’re not, at some deep level, an awful, deeply flawed human being. Something is just broken inside of them.
The only folks more despicable are the people the salespeople pass you off to who try to sneak in dozens of extra fees and upsell you.
This whole process is insane.
Agreed.
I have a nissan pathfinder, 110k miles. Had some transmission issues this past winter, 2017 still had a cvt with some design flaws/quirks/features. I was beyond miles where nissan would replace cvt for free.
Fortunately, cheapish service. Btw, pathfinder drives like a minivan. And an awd minivan would fit my uses better, tbh. I fit a hardshell sup inside. I bet you could fit bikes inside and keep wheels on, in a minivan.
While it was in the shop, test drove outback and forester. Did not get time to test others.
Living in a rural area, this is one downside.
last time I bought a car, I had a rental from insurance for a few weeks, and time between jobs to shop around.
Just replying to last to say holy hell, I hate car shopping, and I despise car salespeople with a passion.
I don’t think you become a car salesperson if you’re not, at some deep level, an awful, deeply flawed human being. Something is just broken inside of them.
The only folks more despicable are the people the salespeople pass you off to who try to sneak in dozens of extra fees and upsell you.
This whole process is insane.
thats why you go with telsa gaving no comission based dealerships