Don't Let Car Buying Scare You-You're In Charge

How many people have ever wondered if buying a new car is as horrible and treacherous an experience as many say it is? Probably a lot. After roughly two months of watching videos from car dealers, former and current car salesman, so called car buying experts, and reading hundreds of comments from car buyers, former and current car salesman, etc., I felt I was more than well informed to take the dive.

So on November 30, 2018, after 16 years of driving a 2003 Dodge Neon XST, it was finally time to buy another car. I purchased my Neon new the last day of September 2002. It's was a great looking car. Now when I bought it, I didn't have a computer nor did I have any information, tips, or secrets about buying a car. So I'm sure the Dodge dealership made a lot of money on me. But that was when I was 46 years old. I'm now 62, a lot more informed (thanks to the internet), so I predicted the process would be a lot different. And it was. Sort off.

I've been seeing some Chevrolet Cruzes around, and boy did I fall in love with that car. I've been partial to Chevrolet's going back to the early 70's. So I did a ton of research on the 2019 Cruze on Edmunds, NADA (National Automobile Dealers Association), Consumer Reports, KBB (Kelly Blue Book), True Car, etc. Yet while the Cruze never ranked higher than it's competitors Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3, and Hyundai Elantra in terms of features, mileage, comfort and so on, it had one thing that I liked a lot. Looks. To me it was without question the best looking of the bunch.

Another plus about the 2019 Cruze was the transmission. It still had the reliable 6 speed automatic transmission. That was important and here's why. According to Carfax, more manufacturers are putting CVT (continuous variable transmission) transmissions in their cars. A conventional automatic transmission uses a series of gears to send the engine’s power to the wheels. But a CVT has no gears at all. Instead, it uses a pair of variable-width pulleys that are connected by a belt. This allows a CVT to deliver strong and seamless acceleration. Automakers are using CVTs for several reasons. A CVT can get maximum power out of a small engine for quicker and more responsive acceleration. That’s why you’ll most often find CVTs used in vehicles having four-cylinder engines. But some drivers find the sensation of continuous acceleration without shift points to be unnerving. Another common complaint is that a CVT sometimes tends to make a vehicle seem excessively loud or harsh. That’s because it forces the engine to run at high rpm (revolutions per minute) as the vehicle gets up to speed. Lots of mechanics on YouTube videos are not fans of CVT transmissions. If you are thinking of buying a new car it would be smart to know what kind of transmission will be in the car you might buy.

But the downside to a CVT transmission is its expensive to repair or replace. Search the website Car Complaints dot com and you’ll find a number of common issues with CVTs. These include overheating, slipping, jerking, shuddering and a sudden loss of acceleration. As with any transmission, there are some cases where a CVT has failed altogether. The CVT belt, in particular, can be subject to excessive wear and stretching. In some extreme cases, owners filed lawsuits against automakers because of poor and unreliable CVT performance.

So my research discovered the 2019 Honda Civic has a CVT transmission, the 2019 Toyota Corolla offers both manual and CVT transmission, the 2019 Mazda 3 offers both a manual or 6 speed automatic, and the 2019 Hyundai Elantra offers both manual and CVT transmission.

Another thing I did was monitor the 2018 Cruze inventory of 3 Chevrolet dealerships close to me starting in October. It's common knowledge that the previous models are always discounted when the new models get ready to show up at the dealerships. However the weird thing was the 2018 Cruze was selling slow at the 3 dealerships, and week after week no one had any 2019 models. October quickly left and November arrived. Still no 2019 Cruzes. Finally one dealership had some new Cruzes. But I decided to wait a little while longer.

Now if it's been a while or if you've never bought a new car, here's what routinely happens as soon as you pull up on the lot. A salesman will almost always quickly greet you. Even if you don't see them outside, they are watching inside. After finding out if you have a specific car in mind, their conversation will quickly turn to these questions. Are you going to trade in your car? How will you be paying for the car? Salesman will practically be foaming at the mouth at your answers. A trade in is always where they screw customers over royally, plus financing is another huge opportunity to rip the customer off. Also, pay attention how quickly the salesperson offers you a test drive. They know everyone will be in love once inside a new car.

To be continued....