Need some car buying advice for all you car peeps

Well my mom is concidering buying a 2003 buick Rendezvous with leather heated seats, mp3 stereo, tv/dvd player, on-star, satelite and all those goodies. The car has 30,000 miles and they want $17,900 for it. What do you think, good deal or bad deal? I think it's pretty damn good, but i told her if she does buy it she should go to her mechanic to check on the car so that way if there are major problems and it's alemon she can easily return it.

Well, I'm not a car guy, but my mom just bought a 2006 Corolla (new from factory w/11 miles on it) and had it out the door for $17,500.

GM is the devil in my book (based on numerous personal experiences, not fanboy-ism) so anything beyond them paying YOU for the car is a bad deal in my book. I'm pretty sure you can get a 10 year old Lexus for less than that and it'll basically run like a swiss watch for decades beyond anything GM has manufactured. No offense, but like I alluded to before, I've given GM plenty of opportunities to prove themselves to me and they've done just the opposite time and time again.

I've had 3 GM vehicles, with great experiences.

1989 Buick Century - Sold it to a family friend when I left for college. As far as I know, it's still running.

1998 Chevy Lumina - Ran perfect until I totalled it in a freeway wreck.

2004 Chevy Malibu - Just got it last fall, love it.

I only paid $9000 for the Malibu (I have a friend who does wholesale vehicle sales -- buys from rental car companies, then sells for a profit).

[quote09bcae25d4="CollidgeGraduit"]I've had 3 GM vehicles, with great experiences.

1989 Buick Century - Sold it to a family friend when I left for college. As far as I know, it's still running.

1998 Chevy Lumina - Ran perfect until I totalled it in a freeway wreck.

2004 Chevy Malibu - Just got it last fall, love it.

I only paid $9000 for the Malibu (I have a friend who does wholesale vehicle sales -- buys from rental car companies, then sells for a profit).[/quote09bcae25d4]

shock CG the coincidences are erie.... 2 years ago I bought a 98 Chevy Lumina. Loved it, dark blue exterior with leather interior, moonroof. Had it for about 4 months until my husband (then fiance) wrecked it when he fell asleep at the wheel...

So about 2 weeks ago we just bought another car - a 97 Chevy Lumina lol I'm not letting him near it.

Ok, just by GUESSING what's included, I did a kelly blue book pricing for a private seller, and they are PROBABLY charging too much, by around $3k.

Try it yourself

www.kbb.com

go to www.kbb.com (kelleybluebook) and find the value of it there its pretty easy i would do it for you but u were a lil vauge on the details of the car

[quote4e36d00125="tramahound"]GM is the devil in my book (based on numerous personal experiences, not fanboy-ism) so anything beyond them paying YOU for the car is a bad deal in my book. I'm pretty sure you can get a 10 year old Lexus for less than that and it'll basically run like a swiss watch for decades beyond anything GM has manufactured. No offense, but like I alluded to before, I've given GM plenty of opportunities to prove themselves to me and they've done just the opposite time and time again.[/quote4e36d00125]

unfortunately lexus is not the company they used to be. check out the newest of the car magazines for details on the 2007 models. as for gm, i always get a discount and have never had a problem
always check kbb
if you can get a new car for the same price as a used, ask yourself if
a) I really need the features/brand name of the used car?
b) want to inherit someone else's problems

beware that warranties on older cars may NOT cover emissions problems
used are fine, just know what you are getting. i would NEVER buy from a private seller unless I knew them well. I would always buy from large dealerships.

is it being purchased from a dealership? If so, just make sure it isn't a "Lemon" sent in from another state or something, and request a CarFax report, because they should get you one for free...

If Private Party, look for records of matinense, and try to find out as much as you can from the pervious owner about why they are getting rid of it and what problems it has had )

I stand corrected.[=http//www.jdpa.com/news/releases/pressrelease.asp?ID=2005069]I stand corrected. Like I said though, my family and I have had bad experiences with GM vehicles so naturally I've built up an aversion to them. My mom ended up buying an Infiniti I35 after her Cadillac's engine "rotted out" according to the mechanic. She still wants to get a Cadillac though despite never having any problems with the I35.