Is now the time to jump on buying a new car?

[jourdo]

We are kind of at that in between stage of life. The kids are still small, but they will be reaching that point where their friends will be coming over to the house more often. We'll have to run children from point A to point B, etc.

I've been looking at some of the new car deals out there and they are smoking hot!

Do we need a bigger car right now? No. Will we need one in the next few years? Most likely. Will the deals still be as good then as they are now? Who knows?

So here is the "what would you do?" question... Would you jump on a deal now, even if the time is a little earlier than you plan? OR do you take your chances that the auto industry will still be desperate for your business a year or two down the road?

What does the Cybertron.ca brain trust think?

[Protoman]

During the PEAK of the "recession", cars were as cheap as ever.

What I suggest if it's possible, go to the states to buy your car and bring it back, it's A LOT cheaper (sometimes savings as much as 10,000 bucks), all you have to do get it inspected and your good to go.

Also how many kids are we talking, cause even your basic Civic is good for a family of 4

[jourdo]

During the PEAK of the "recession", cars were as cheap as ever.

What I suggest if it's possible, go to the states to buy your car and bring it back, it's A LOT cheaper (sometimes savings as much as 10,000 bucks), all you have to do get it inspected and your good to go.

Also how many kids are we talking, cause even your basic Civic is good for a family of 4

My father in law just got a new truck and priced it out in the States and it ended up being more expensive than up here.

We've got the basic Civic which serves the jourdo clan of 4 quite nicely. But that is it. We cannot fit another booster seat in the back. We are thinking about the additional one or two kids who might be leeching off of us from time to time, and who we might need to haul around with us.

[astrana]

well, also what if one of your kids got into sports... or a family camping trip.. maybe a per dog, If it's me, I would consider an SUV or Minivan.

check out toyota sienna. it is a minivan, but got a tint of luxury looks into it. a nice 7 passanger vehicle. i am not sure if it comes with DVD players or not. very nice vehicle.

SUV wise i would say ford escape, my friend got one last year and they freaking loves it. apparently pretty good on gas as well.

really depends on your budget.

[Nocturn]

Shoulda got the BOGO in Cochrane while you had the chance mate :p

[Super_Megatron]

Wait and buy a Toyota or Honda coming off a lease, much cheaper and will last longer than other vehicles.

[Covain]

Wait and buy a Toyota or Honda coming off a lease, much cheaper and will last longer than other vehicles.

You want to do some careful number crunching for new and used with the interest rates lately. We were looking at a 2009 Mazda 5 but ended up with a 2010 Mazda 3 (for the Zoom Zoom ;)) and with the ineterest rates really low and the dealers making really good deals it turned out to be a really good buy. When we looked at new compared to used with the current rates, the monthly payment for a $15000 used car roughly equalled that of a $20000 new. If you are looking at a 'reliable' used car (Toyota, Honda, Mazda) then a $15000 used has quite a few km's and is a few years old. We found that the best value for our purchase was to get a new one with a lower interest rate and plan to "drive it til its dead" which with luck, should be at least 7-8 years without any major problems.

[devilsknight]

Simply put. Yes. Now is an awesome time to buy a new car. It was a little better back during the peak as someone else mentioned...but if I had a job right now 100% i'd have a 2nd car on my driveway !

My dad recently wanted a new car and couldn't pass up on a 2009 Volvo V70. They had a fully loaded one for $62,000 drove away in it laughing for $39,000.

[bluefrenzy]

Your kids would want you to drive that Audi R8. Heck I want you to drive the R8 so I can ride shotgun.

The I don't know if you are a minivan type guy but the Nissan Quest is pretty pimp for a kid mover. The Mazda CX7 or 9 are also quite roomy and handy.

[jourdo]

Your kids would want you to drive that Audi R8. Heck I want you to drive the R8 so I can ride shotgun.

The I don't know if you are a minivan type guy but the Nissan Quest is pretty pimp for a kid mover. The Mazda CX7 or 9 are also quite roomy and handy.

Wifey and I have talked many times about the minivan issue. No matter how much sense the vehicle makes... I cannot drive a minivan. I don't know why... but I can't.

We are zeroing in on a Honda CRV. Depends exactly what the pricing comes in at. We'll see after talking to the sales guy.

[Jefro]

What I suggest if it's possible, go to the states to buy your car and bring it back, it's A LOT cheaper (sometimes savings as much as 10,000 bucks), all you have to do get it inspected and your good to go.

While this is partially true I know someone who was in the market for a new BMW and found out it was a lot cheaper for him to goto the States, purchase it and then just bring it home.

So while it would have been cheaper the second he brought it home to Canada the warranty would go void.

Now I'm not sure if this applies to all car manufactures but I know it does apply to BMW.

[Team Jetfire]

I love our Minivan, but for some reason car makers are moving away from them...

Currently we drive a 2003 Chevy Voyager, which we got on a REALLY good deal from a Lease back and a 2008 Chevy Aveo.

The Van is great for longer family outings as it has the space expected from a van, but also a DVD player for the kids.
The Car is great for small city jumps and suits me just fine...

If we had out choice I would get a Honda or Toyota van...they just last longer imo.

As for the timing...well a lot of vehicals, new or used are priced to sell so there is a good chance that you can get a great deal on the Vehical right now, but I think that you may be safe for a year as we are not out of the recesion water quite yet...

oh and embrace the minivan driver in you...it is not as bad as you think ;)

[BadJeff]

Bite the bullet and get yourself a huge minivan. trust me, it'll grow on you quickly and then you'll never know how you lived without it.
Now is the time to buy, dealers are hungry and the prices have bottomed out. I'd recommend looking at new due to the pricing frenzy as all the stuff like lease returns had been financed back in the peak of the market. Used vehicle prices will come down to reflect this change but not for a few years.
We sold our CRV for an awd extended van and thought it was the best move. At this point, I don't see any benefit from buying in the US. Too much bs to bring them across especially if you need speedo replacements and stuff like that. Warranty issues can be a pig as well if you ever had problems.
We just did a road trip to Kelowna with the two little ones. We never could have hauled all that baby stuff in anything smaller. Couldn't have done it in our CRV, would have needed a roof top carrier or trailer..

[chans formers]

check out t+t honda.when i got my new civic si a few months ago,i got it at 0.09%financing and because i had another honda registered under my name at the time,they took off another 1000.00 off the price for the "loyalty program".(i was in the same boat as you right after tfcon09 and wifey wanted to start planning for the lil one coming,so no more hatchback ricerocket,hello 4 door:(:D)

[BeeBoy29]

i saw a chrysler town and country van with a built in router
and some swivel and go seats and a small table to boot, man can they cram technology into these vans or wat lol