New Car For the Wife

Ronnie Godfrey

Ronnie Godfrey

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Oct 1, 2017
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100
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Longview, TX
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Ronnie Godfrey
She’s finally worn me down. After 4 years of driving her 2012 Malibu with a salvage title (rebuilt car after a tree fell on it—she bought it before I met her) and her bugging me for 8 months about getting a new car, I’ve agreed that it’s time for a new ride. We found a 2013 Highlander that we like, and they’re willing to give us $2500 for the Malibu, which has 104,000 miles. While mechanically sound, it’s seen better days in the looks department, and recently has developed a slow oil leak. We’ve got a baby on the way, so ease of use with car seats, etc. is a concern.

Two questions:
1. Any PIREPS on the Highlanders?
2. Do you think the trade offer is better than selling outright? Keep in mind the salvage title.
 
If its only a slow oil leak, just buy your oil at Walmart and put the car on the 'continuous replacement' plan ;-)

Just two thoughts on your questions:
- Highlanders have a near fanatic following. They seem to last.
- You can maybe get a couple bucks more by selling it yourself, but it comes with the risk of the buyer pestering you forever about the oil leak, the salvage title, the fact that he didn't know that the car murdered a tree etc. What part of 'as is where is' did you not understand ?
 
The trade-in offer seems a tad on the low side, but with a salvage title, you’re lucky if the dealer will even take it, so it might not be a bad deal. Have you done any KBB research on it?
 
The highlanders are a nice vehicle,the ride seems a little stiff to me. They do hold their value. Get the car fax.
 
use Www.car-part.com to evaluate cost and availability of major items such as engine, transmission, driveshaft, a/c compressor, primary engine brain, and more. Then ch CK other sources for how much time to remove and replace these items. Apply labor rate of $95-120 per hour for the mechanic depending on region. Idea is to see how much a major repair is gonna cost ya should that happen early in ownership.

There are many sites in the net that evaluate the model and can provide intel on what has been common repairs and how the driving public thinks of the car after a year or two of useable.

Unless you have the free financial liquidity to replace the vehicle with cash should a major accident happen, maintain full coverage on it at all times. Many times a year I buy a car from someone whose story is they had liability only, are unable to afford the same level of car they are selling me, and must go backwards in car value.

And if you are financing the Highlander, okay... but have a family budget meeting to figure out what frills can be done without so that you can accelerate the car debt elimination.

Also add a line to the budget to save $75-100 a month for Highlander repairs. My first paragraph was a big hint that when the Highlander breaks, it breaks expensive. Having already saved cash for the repair is a responsible thing to do. And if it never breaks expensive, the you have that extra safety cushion for something else that could break expensive.
 
My wife’s is a 2003 model; ie 9 years older - and we have no plans to replace it!
Is it giving trouble? Most oil leaks are not fatal; they are nuisance leaks.

I think the first 5 years of a car’s life is the most expensive. 5-10 years; you are breaking even. If you can keep it past 10 years w/o major repairs, you are ‘making money’ off it!

Of course, if one’s wife says “I am getting a new car”, we all know the above is irrelevant!
 
My sister in law has a Highlander. Loves it. I do not know the year. Most expensive thing that I have heard them talk about in the maintenance department : somehow the sunroof glass actually came out/flew off the car. Smashed into bits on the shoulder.

That one turned expensive fast.

My wife is currently driving a twice totaled Jetta TDI (deer around here lose their minds when the rut is on) and in spite of the fact that I did the repairs on the second wreck and I'm not a body man, and certainly not a painter, I can't talk her into buying a new car. She's too tight. Thinks that if she can't get something substantially better for <$5k, then what's the bother.
 
For a salvage, I'd probably just trade it in, for what you might save its just not worth the hassle, if it wasn't salvage I'd say private party.

I'd also check out subarus, much more car for the money, highlander is kinda just a Camry with a big body.
 
FWIW, the trade in lowers the sales price, which lowers your sales tax. Actually, looks like it would be worth about $125.
 
Thanks for all the advice so far. Unfortunately KBB doesn’t value cars with salvage titles, so I had to kinda guess. If it had clear title it’d be $5500 for it so I’d have asked $3000 from a private buyer and probably taken $2500 anyway. I hate the idea of a car payment but we’ve been without one for a while, and it’s not going to kill our budget or anything. I do want to check out the Subaru as I think they make a great car, also.
 
For a salvage title vehicle, I would take the KBB “Poor” condition value and reduce another 20 - 30%. I agree with others that a dealer is lucky that they’ll take it on trade as your vehicle will almost certainly go to auction or just be wholesaled to someone who will take it across the border for sale.

Subarus are nice vehicles too. But the Highlander has a strong following (as also mentioned above) and the dealer network is more numerous to support the vehicle if needed.
 
Zeldman said:
Hmmm.... never thought about getting a new car for my wife. I didn't think they would take her in for trade....
Click to expand...

I prefer to buy my cars outright, but prefer a low mileage lease on my women ;)
 
Ronnie Godfrey said:
Two questions:
1. Any PIREPS on the Highlanders?
2. Do you think the trade offer is better than selling outright? Keep in mind the salvage title.
Click to expand...
We looked at the Highlander but decided to get a Hyundai Santa Fe. It was a better value (more options for the price) and had a longer warranty. If you're not sold on the Highlander you might check out the Santa Fe
 
Highlanders are good vehicles, and a salvage title on a trade is the kiss of death! Even an old beater, when one comes up at the auction, you can watch the people run in the opposite direction. $2-3000 for the Malibu is about right. I wouldn't try to sell it yourself unless you know someone and make them sign about the oil leak and the title. People are crazy even over $3000 cars!!
 
N747JB said:
People are crazy even over $3000 cars!!
Click to expand...

The sad thing is, people who buy $3k cars often don't have a pot to pee in and can't afford to make a mistake on something that's a big expense for them. That said, a salvaged vehicle that was properly repaired *might* be a really good deal for them.
 
Zeldman said:
Hmmm.... never thought about getting a new car for my wife. I didn't think they would take her in for trade....
Click to expand...

They won't. Tried too. Then she said take him instead, they said NFW, and the price went up. So we left without a car.
 
My wife drives a 2016 Highlander. It's probably the best car we've ever owned. That says a lot since my wife's last car was a 2008 Mercedes sedan.

The Highlander is very comfortable, gets pretty decent mileage (around 26MPG on trips),will carry a load, & it's great on snowy roads.

I drive a 2013 Ford Explorer which I've had since it was new. It has also been a great car. But..when I get in my wife's Highlander my Explorer feels like a tank.

We almost bought a new Lexus SUV but after seeing the sticker price & driving the two we decided the Highlander was a far better value & drove about the same. The Lexus just had a bunch of fancy options that we wouldn't really miss & nicer leather.

I'd highly recommend a Highlander.
 
kyleb said:
The sad thing is, people who buy $3k cars often don't have a pot to pee in and can't afford to make a mistake on something that's a big expense for them. That said, a salvaged vehicle that was properly repaired *might* be a really good deal for them.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't say that, some folks just get the allure of a 30k vehicle if it's going into a mission where it's going to get beat on.

Where I live the idiotic government has a fetish with salt in the winter, I have 6 vehicles, once of which is a 5-6k Subaru Forester which is actually in very nice shape,it's all I drive in the winter.

I get a kick out of many folks who make considerably less than me yet plunge themselves into 30k, after interest 40k worth of debt on a brand spanking new ride and drive it over salt every winter, park it around the college kids to get door dings, and don't wash it weekly to help knock the salt off, to me that's living like you can burn 40k like its nothing even though you probably don't even clear 30k a year.

Wouldn't paint with such a poorly thought out brush.
 
kyleb said:
The sad thing is, people who buy $3k cars often don't have a pot to pee in and can't afford to make a mistake on something that's a big expense for them. That said, a salvaged vehicle that was properly repaired *might* be a really good deal for them.
Click to expand...

Two years ago I bought a '11 Subaru Legacy in Anchorage with a salvage title. Drove it all summer in Homer, then drove it back to Gallup with a side trip to Billings, Montana. 4004 miles total trip. It has been a great little car.
 
My mom has a 17 Highlander and loves it. Not sure how much they have in common with the previous gen
 
My wife has a 15 Highlander and it's a great car. I bought a Grand Cherokee a year later and the Highlander is better in just about every way. Roomier, better ride, larger cargo area. This is a small thing, but I really like the tray that sits below the dashboard, for putting phones or whatever. My Cherokee gets a bit better mileage since it's the diesel version, but that's about the only thing that is an improvement over the Highlander.
 
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