AAA CAR DOCTOR JOHN PAUL 2/16/2001

February Chat Car Shopping

John Paul
The Car Doctor is In

Herb
I am in the market for a new car and have noticed the prices of the car i am interested in have come down 2500 in the last couple weeks. Is this due to the holiday sales? And should I act now, I prefer to wait til after the winter weather has gone, but price is more important.

John Paul
There are a few incentives and that may be the case. check the actual value on the net and see how good a deal it really is

Alcott 88
I am about to pick up a 1999 Passat tomorrow morning. I haven't signed anything yet, can I still negotiate the price at this point?

John Paul
you can always negotiate price up until the time you sign something. but keep in mind you need to be prepared to walk away if the deal doesn't happen. Once you sign a contract you are locked in

Ralph
To follow up on your answer to Herb, how do I "check the actual value on the net"?

John Paul
Ralph, go to any one of the commercial sites including cars.com edmunds, autosite and kelly blue book (kbb.com) keep in mind all these guides are just estimates and actual condition can effect the price

VW girl
I just traded in a Golf for a Jetta, and was told that VW's are holding their value pretty well - is that true?

John Paul
VW girl, In the last few years VW has fix alot of their quality problems. since then volkswagens have been keeping their value. In many cases buying a new VW is a better deal than buying used

Volvo Guy
Hi, John Paul, I plan on trading in my 1993 Volvo 240 Classic wagon for a new Volvo wagon. Is there a better time to buy the Volvo wagon with rebates, specials, end of month sales, etc..

John Paul
Volvo Guy, It is always a good time to buy a car. You may do better at the end of the model year than today. But like VW's Volvo's hold thier value

DH
I've checked my trade-in value on the internet. How reliable/accurate is it? In other words, how close should I expect a dealer to come to it?

John Paul
DH, keep in mind it is only a guide and milage and condition will change the price. You should expect some price between wholesale and loan value

Leslie
My fiancee currently has a 1998 Plymouth Neon that he would love to get rid of, but he still owes $6,500.00 on it. How do we make sure that we get a good price for it when we trade it in?

John Paul
Leslie, the trade in price on the neon is close to what you owe. In this case you may want to sell the car yourself---you could ask close to $8000.

Georgetta
I received a booklet from The Registry of Motor Vehicles titled "Car Smart". It is a great guide to help buy, lease and even repair one's car. You can request it on their website. What other websites are avilable for such info?

John Paul
Georgetta, the carsmart book is one of the best.I was with the folks from Cambridge Consumers last night who put the guide out. You can get much of this information online from Cambridge consumers web site. I haven't seen anything that is this complete and handles all the needs of the Massachusetts consumer

Paul
The Car Smart guide can be found at: http://www.massconsumers.org/carsmart/

John Paul
Paul, thanks

Crittah
what SUV shuld I buy?

John Paul
crittah, you may not need an SUV at all. My group The New England Motor Press Association recently nominated the following SUV's as best Ford Escape, Acura MDX and Toyota's new Sequoia. The over all winner was the Audi allroad a vehicle that can be the best of all worlds

Moderator
Crittah, you can read that article about the Best Winter Vehicles here

Jen
Is it true that Honda dealers do not haggle on the price because the car sells itself?

John Paul
Jen, you can haggle but some very popular models such as the mini-van are in such short supply that it is not uncommon to pay retail or sticker price. Other models you can haggle -- good luck

Ringo
I am thinking about purchasing a used base model Saab (either 97-98), but I've heard mixed reviews. Some owners swear by the cars, and some of them just swear at them. Do you have any insight on depreciation, resale value, and reliability? And what's up with the big discounts on new models. I've seen $7,000 discounts on 9-3 Models?

John Paul
Ringo, Saab's although fun, safe cars are fairly high maintenence vehicles. If I had to chose between the two swedes I would look toward Volvo.

New Mom
John Paul, can you tell me what you know about the safest cars? I was considering a Dodge Stratus until I learned they're not all that safe. I've heard good things about Toyota Camrys -- what do you suggest?

John Paul
new mom, I am with you I prefer the camry over the Dodge. although the Status is much improved, the Camry although a little bland, is very reliable.

GoRedSox
what is your opinion on buy vs. lease?

John Paul
goredsox, Unless you can deduct your expenses I would always lean toward buying. Leasing isn't always the good deal it looks like

Kenny
How effective is contraction control versus just front wheel drive? I am considering a VW Jetta 1.8T which includes traction control and a Honda Accord 4cyl that does not have it. Are there any real benefits to traction control especially for here in New England? Thank you.

John Paul
Kenny, traction control adds an extra safety benefit over FWD, but really only in snow and ice. remember FWD, AWD or four wheel drive only helps driving, stopping (where most crashes happen)they are all the same. The real question might be which car do you like best? Although the Jetta is okay, i prefer the accord---it just is a step above all the way around

amelmug
In your opinion, what's the most reliable and safest car to drive?

John Paul
amelmug, the car that you can handle, see out of and be comfortable in is the safest. for pure safety Volvo, and Mercedes Benz builds alot of safety into their vehicles

Cathy
I'm looking into the new Ford Escape, overall, what do you think?

John Paul
Cathy, I like the Escape and its twin the Tribute alot. My only complaint is there is a certain amount of overall road noise on the highway

John Paul
If you can't wait until our chat next month, feel free to email your questions to -- jpaul@aaasne.com