Polling the People: The Path To My First Car, Part 5

With my car buying research verging on the fanatical, I had become more equipped with information on what to look for and what to watch out for.

As I've previously written, it's a major expenditure, and careful study must be put into it. I cannot be any more specific or redundant than that. I'm glad I hadn't given in to peer pressure into buying a car ASAP.

It’s been quite a path keeping the search ball rolling. I have endured sleepless days [I work nights], missed exercise routines, slept on the couch, taken swift showers, subsisted on quick-cook food and the always reliable Oriental delivery, and fallen behind on literary and academic readings.

If you're a new car buyer like I am, or have a car and want to brush-up on your auto intelligence, here are a few sites that may come in handy.

An investigative report at edmunds.com uncovers the tricks of the trade with a journalist going as an undercover car salesman.

MsMoney.com, a personal finance web site primarily for women and families, offers a helpful guide to buying a car.

User-friendly cost calculators and interesting articles about auto finance and insurance are available at Bankrate, Inc., an aggregator of financial rate information.

At this point, some friends have actually advised me to postpone buying a car because of rising fuel prices. Demand for hybrids has risen. As for Toyota's Prius, there's a shortage of supply as production is at a halt.

A certified '07 Prius I was eyeing online for about a month priced at $28,500 (options and accessories included) at a certain dealer lot is not anymore listed. A similar unit, albeit on a different lot this time, is selling at $29,991. Are hybrid price tags marking-up all of a sudden due to high demand? Is there still a good deal I can look forward to?

The argument between financing and leasing a car is, for me, a no-brainer. Cars are usually leased for the first three years and that is the same amount of time it will incur the most depreciation. Needless to say, the lessee will bear this brunt.

I'm not as status-conscious as to need a new car every three years and subject myself a slave to the vicious cycle of car leasing. Financial common sense tells me to shun lease and go for buy. What do you think?

One factor I plan to consider is a broker, the type that works for the consumer. Have you heard of this? The broker works to get the buyer a better deal than what the dealer offers. Of course, you'll have to pay the broker for the service. I've read about people saving hundreds of dollars, with 15 to 30% of the savings going to the broker. A 70% savings isn't bad at all, right?

I'm not considering a used Prius from a private party because the inherent risk is just too high to take on, so the deliberation now is between a brand new 2008 Toyota Prius and a certified pre-owned 2007 Toyota Prius.

According to NADA Guides and AutoTrader.com, the MSRP (Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price) for a brand new '08 base model is around $22,875; for a CPO '07 is about $22,175.

Basically, a certified pre-owned vehicle is a used car that has been certified in good condition and is being sold by a dealer or automaker with factory-backed warranty. Toyota vehicles in Toyota dealer lots undergo a 160-point inspection.

I haven't quite finished researching. Can you spare your two cents worth?

Which one do you think outperforms the other in terms of depreciation, fuel cost, sales tax, interest, insurance, maintenance and overall cost-to-own?

Confirm your choice by pressing the "Vote" button.

You can also elaborate on your answer by leaving a comment.

Thanks in advance!

Greenie & Techie: The Path To My First Car, Part 4

Way before gasoline price reached almost $4, I’ve been reading about alternative auto energy and am now strongly considering a hybrid.

My reasons: [1] It will allow maximum fuel economy with its impressive MPG rate, specially with current skyrocketing fuel prices. [2] It will help reduce my carbon footprint. And [3] it, in its own small way, will help curtail dependence on foreign oil. The only self-serving reason for a hybrid purchase is [4] I’m curious and excited to have a techie car.

The Internet is a massively useful research tool. I cannot imagine how we survived without it at the advent of the GenX years. It has made my car shopping very informative, although quite cumbersome as well with all the knowledge out there.

A hybrid car is highly expensive to buy compared to regular fuel cars, but you will get your money’s worth vis-a-vis fuel economy after at least two to three years. Its resale value also holds its own against less expensive non-hybrid cars. A Consumer Reports investigation sheds light on this.

It will do little, if at all, to curb global warming unless industry-driven economies make vital changes in their practices, but at least, in its own way, it makes a difference by emitting less carbon waste. More important than the immediate realization of a predicted change it will cause is the timeless principle it stands for.

Despite the steep sticker price and subsequent monthly financing and interest expense, the over-all cost to own and maintain a hybrid is a winner as interestingly estimated in a Yahoo! Green article.

Other gas alternatives are promising but disadvantageous at this point. Biodiesel, made from vegetable oil, burns cleaner but costs more than petro diesel. It is only available in the Midwest.

Hydrogen fuel cell, with zero or almost zero harmful emission, is still in embryonic stage and experts estimate it will not see market light until 20 years later.

Ethanol has a similar story to biodiesel. It's made from corn and available only in the Midwest, and it also produces less carbon emission but costs more than today’s gasoline. This Guide to Driving Green by Consumer Reports works as an umbrella page with many links to interesting topics.

After many days of scanning paper trails, reading article after article, comparing cars online, jotting down notes, and sneaking into various chat rooms of car aficionados - I’ve finally made a choice.

Subaru does not have a hybrid sedan so that leaves me with only Toyota’s Camry and Prius. The Prius is less pricey and delivers more MPG than the Camry. The Prius is also a car built with “hybrid” in the forefront of its concept agendum. Nissan has the Altima Hybrid which returns 32 MPG overall, but there is no data for owner cost and satisfaction and predicted reliability being relatively new. The company's overall reliability, though, ranges from average to below average.

And so the chosen one... ladies and gentelmen... is a sparkling Prius!

Thumbnails of more Prius videos will appear after playing the above video. They range from straightforwardly informative to truly inspirational to outrageously funny.

Okay. I now know what I'm going to get so I'm almost there. Say, how good a deal could it be to buy a second hand over a brand new? What about finance over lease? That only means one thing - back to research.

Elimination: The Path To My First Car, Part 3

When searching to buy a car, the earlier you start to gather information, the better. It’s a MAJOR DECISION and it helps to get all the data you need to make a sensible purchase at the right time. Careful research ought to be put into it so as to come up with the best purchase. We all have different reasons for buying a car. In the end, whichever car we choose to buy is an individual decision.

Ever since I started search for my definitive car, there has been a deluge of facts and opinions for my brain to process. A strike on a searchbox reveals a galaxy of information. A visit to a site opens up to constellations of details and related particulars. A click on a link or tab reveals several other sublinks. My head spins and sputters with all the data fighting for a space in my brain for absorption.

I’m a first-time car buyer and I don’t know much about cars. Being anal-retentive, I feel like reading each and every information there is on any source about cars. Of course that’ll take forever so I’m teaching myself to sift through as I go along. I realize I should’ve started earlier, like maybe a year prior. My target was to have a car by end of May but...Didn’t happen.

Having narrowed my requisite to a gay-friendly sedan, the other factors to consider are price, reliability and value for money. My paper research tools are Consumer Reports magazine and the LA Times. For electronic, I frequent the Kelly Blue Book, NADA Guides and Edmunds web sites, with supplement from the three powerhouse search engines: Google, MSN and Yahoo!.

I decided to shell out only between $25,000 to $30,000 for my first car. With that range Audi, BMW and Mercedes Benz are out of the picture.

The A4 3.2 starts at $36,300 and delivers 23 mpg. Although it returned excellent crash test results, the car has only average predicted reliability and owner cost.

The 328i starts at $32,4000, has above average predicted reliability, gives 23 mpg, and returned excellent crash test results. Owner cost, though, is below average, despite the company's offer of zero maintenance cost up to 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The C300 automatic Sport Sedan starts at $35,715 with 21 mpg that can be delivered by either premium fuel or E85 ethanol. This model is new so no safety tests have been conducted and no data is available regarding reliability. But the company’s overall reliability based on several sedan and SUV models has been disappointingly worst. Owner cost is below average.

Impressively and quite aptly living up to its name, Subaru’s 4-door Impreza WRX starts at $24,350 already with keyless entry system, engine immobilizer, antitheft system and Vehicle Dynamics Control. It delivers 25 mpg on premium unleaded gasoline, has above average reliability, and excellent crash protection and owner cost.

Finally, Toyota. The optimized Corolla XRS is $22,654 with fuel economy up to 30mpg and excellent reliability and owner cost. The base Camry LE starts at $21,080, gives 23 mpg and has above average reliability and owner cost. Its hybrid version with similar reliability starts at $29,720 and delivers up to 34 mpg. The Prius gives out the best fuel economy in the industry at 44 mpg. The base edition starts at $23,780. It has excellent reliability, excellent owner cost, and impressive crash test results.

Now this leaves me with only Subaru Impreza and three Toyotas to choose from. Interestingly, Consumer Reports recently released road test videos of 6 sedans, which include the Impreza and Corolla. Click on the link and see for yourself.