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Author Topic: 2005 Chevy Equinox  (Read 13013 times)

micah

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2005 Chevy Equinox
« on: July 12, 2010, 11:36:26 PM »
So my wife and I are thinking about buying a used car:
http://www.mitchellvw.com/VehicleDetails/710916693 (edit: updated link)

My wife checked it out today and I think I'm going back with her tomorrow to give my opinion.
Kelly Blue Book and NADA price it at around $14,000 but apparently this dealership is selling it for $11,763 (I don't know if that's a good thing or not.)  It has a clean title and 3 previous owners. The first was a lease, and the last guy, who traded it in at this dealership said he just wanted to "switch to a more fuel efficent diesel car since his girlfriend lives further away and he drives a lot."

concerns: it has over 67k miles on it already and is 5 years old and I'm looking at a 3 year loan.  I don't mind being a little upside down on the loan, but I don't want the thing to up and die on me with a year of payments left.  Also, the car I'd be trading in is literally only a month and a half away from being paid off; so instead of increasing our income we'd be continuing to make car payments for another 3 years.

pros: We'd be replacing my 6 year old elantra which has over 93k miles on it and needs new tires, breaks, and belts (edit: and is due for re-registration and emissions testing in September). I also wouldn't mind getting rid of that elantra as I don't neccessarily feel secure driving my daughter to daycare and back every day in it.  This "new" used car would go to my wife and I would inherit her 2006 Tucson for the daily commute so we'd have 2 mid-sized suv's for baby transport.  Also, it would make my wife happy (which is weighted fairly high in the list of pros and cons.) 

The sensible answer is to pass for now and bank the money I'll be saving starting in October when my other car is paid off.   But if the deal seems fair and the risks aren't to bad, then perhaps the "sensible" answer is not neccessarily the "best" answer.

Your thoughts on the two issues at hand:
1) does the car as posted (without actual pictures) seem like a good deal?
2) should I take on a new loan just as the old one is almost paid off?
« Last Edit: July 13, 2010, 10:49:21 AM by micah »
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micah

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Re: 2005 Chevy Equinox
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2010, 03:54:13 AM »
I see your point; on the other hand though:
I average less than 24mpg in the elantra (combined city/highway) anyway and I doubt that elantra will last 3 whole years and will need to be replaced either way.

(not disagreeing with you, just adding a counter point. thanks for the advice)
« Last Edit: July 13, 2010, 09:01:46 AM by micah »
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ober

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Re: 2005 Chevy Equinox
« Reply #2 on: July 13, 2010, 08:43:56 AM »
67K miles and 3 owners?  That seems fishy to me.  Either the car is a curse or people just don't like it.  Stay away and bank the money.
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KnuckleBuckett

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Re: 2005 Chevy Equinox
« Reply #3 on: July 13, 2010, 09:32:56 AM »
Agree with Obes.
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micah

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Re: 2005 Chevy Equinox
« Reply #4 on: July 13, 2010, 10:54:17 AM »
I updated the link to the car, it now includes actual pictures
http://www.mitchellvw.com/VehicleDetails/710916693  and it includes a link to the car fax report.

While it had 3 "owners" it only had two drivers.  The middle one was a flip and only owned it for 9 days before auctioning it off.  The second driver (who just sold it to this dealership on May 22) bought it as a "GM Certified Used Vehicle" and drove it around Connecticut for 2-1/2 years.

I'm not as worried about the multiple driver thing having read that.

But I do  totally agree with you guys that it'd be smarter to bank the money.... but I don't know, it looks so shinny.
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charlie

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Re: 2005 Chevy Equinox
« Reply #5 on: July 13, 2010, 10:58:47 AM »
The Elantra only has 93k on it? I'd say it has as good of a chance of lasting the three years as this used car you don't know much about. Have you checked the reliability on your model? A coworker of mine had one and raved about how long it was lasting for him. Then again micah had to junk his for $100 at 115k. We have a Kia and even though it needs new things sometimes it's still chugging along with over 135,000 miles.

But of course, if safety is your concern then there's not much you can do about that. I do try to avoid bringing the kids in my Kia although a lot of that is because it's been almost two years since the repairs I posted this thread were suggested and I haven't done any of the things suggested by the shop. It seems you're thinking more about vehicle size, though. Do you really think it's that big of a difference? Is the trip to the daycare on the highway? Does it get dangerous because of the weather or something?

Wait, this is micah, not axon. Damn you guys and your similar avatars. So micah, I guess you already know about the Elantra you junked for $100. Never mind on that. Doh!

Edit:
Quote from: micah on July 13, 2010, 10:54:17 AM
But I do  totally agree with you guys that it'd be smarter to bank the money.... but I don't know, it looks so shinny.

I think this settles it. If you think it looks so shiny, then it's not a good idea. ;)
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KnuckleBuckett

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Re: 2005 Chevy Equinox
« Reply #6 on: July 13, 2010, 11:38:55 AM »
93k isn't bad.  You are halfway through it.
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micah

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Re: 2005 Chevy Equinox
« Reply #7 on: July 14, 2010, 01:19:20 PM »
well, much to all your dismay, I did what I knew I would end up doing regardless of your well-weighted and trusted opinions...

I test drove it yesterday and its nice.  Nothing super fancy and shows the wear of a 5+ year old car with so many miles on it.  But my wife really likes it and I really really want to get rid of my Elantra (that was originally my wifes car).  They offered the online KBB value for my trade-in, which shocked me because my car is a POS with several areas of body damage, at least one reported accident on my carfax report and some (never reported)-water damage.

My third hurdle, beyond the decision to buy at all and the desire to not buy a crappy car, was to get a reasonable interest rate.  We are a 'fair' credit family and our current auto loan rates are at an embarrassing 10.99%.  I would have refused to buy if we couldn't do better then that.  Instead we got 7.99%!!  (the national average for 3-year used car loan is around 6.5%) so I signed off.

So yup.   There you have it.  I still agree that it would have been smarter to bank the money and drive my Elantra until it dies - but the reality is, sadly, it's not like that money would have gone into savings.  It would have just become part of our monthly spending elsewhere and when the time DID come to buy a new car we would have nothing to trade in and no monthly funds available to pay for a new loan.  I know that sounds like a dumb justification but, its the truth.
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Re: 2005 Chevy Equinox
« Reply #8 on: July 14, 2010, 01:28:54 PM »
Honesty, I like it.  Is it bad that I was mad that our interest rate on our recent used car was a little under that and I was pissed?
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micah

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Re: 2005 Chevy Equinox
« Reply #9 on: July 14, 2010, 01:51:39 PM »
Quote from: ober on July 14, 2010, 01:28:54 PM
Honesty, I like it.  Is it bad that I was mad that our interest rate on our recent used car was a little under that and I was pissed?
not at all. I have no delusions about my credit worthiness (despite having 5 years now of no missed credit card payments and never missing an auto loan or rent payment).  And I know that the deal I got is nothing that a normal person would be excited about.  I'd love to be one of those people who qualified for those low interest deals always advertised... but they always have that damn little asterisk* that doesn't apply to me.


*to well qualified buys
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KnuckleBuckett

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Re: 2005 Chevy Equinox
« Reply #10 on: July 14, 2010, 06:27:52 PM »
Holy shit.  I just looked up used car loans with the bank I use.  3%.

WTF??
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micah

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Re: 2005 Chevy Equinox
« Reply #11 on: July 14, 2010, 06:45:55 PM »
apparently its a good time to refinance.

I'm thinking, once I'm set up with this new loan I might ask them if they want to refinance my other car. I still owe 10,000+ and have 3 years of payment left.  I could save $20+ a month and several hundred dollars over the next few years.
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KnuckleBuckett

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Re: 2005 Chevy Equinox
« Reply #12 on: July 14, 2010, 06:57:24 PM »
Barring any major incidents, both of our vehicles will be paid off by this time next year.  With roughly 10 years left in each.  We will keep making "payments" to a high interest account so that (hopefully) the next two are cash only.  We have edged closer every time.  It would be a welcome change.
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micah

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Re: 2005 Chevy Equinox
« Reply #13 on: July 17, 2010, 11:09:23 PM »
so we picked it up today. I drove it about 100 miles around the greater Hartford area as we ran errands during the afternoon and then went out in the evening.  Even drove it through a Thunderstorm.  It seems to run fine so far.  I don't think we got a raw deal or anything so thats good.  We have to take it back though later in the week to get detailed (they hadn't done that for us yet) and also, they ordered a part for the door hinge because it makes a weird clicking noise every time you open/close the drivers door.  Not much else to complain about - other then a clicking noise from the turn signal lever when its engaged and you turn  the wheel (even slightly.)  It works find and disengages properly after you've completed the turn but its a weird sound.  Not sure if its worth complaining about. (We have a 60-day warranty which may or may not include that sort of thing)

My wife's happy and I'm feeling confident about the decision to buy.
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micah

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Re: 2005 Chevy Equinox
« Reply #14 on: July 18, 2010, 09:22:38 AM »
very original  :rolleyes:
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