New car advice

[vikramaditya]

I'm looking at a 2008 Saturn (Opel) Astra 4-door after reading favourable reviews. I know the model has been very popular in the civilised world for a few years, but it's new here in the USA. Can anyone give me a reliability report?

http://www.edmunds.com/pictures/VEHICLE/2008/Saturn/2008.saturn.astra.20142846-396x249.jpg

[bsharp]

Wait 6 months to a year before buying.

Buying a brand new car is the 2nd worst financial decision anyone can make (having kids is the first, though some would argue). Sign the papers, drive it off the lot, and BAM! You lose thousands in resale value.

Get it slightly used and save money.

[Dragonbite]

Wait 6 months to a year before buying.

Buying a brand new car is the 2nd worst financial decision anyone can make (having kids is the first, though some would argue). Sign the papers, drive it off the lot, and BAM! You lose thousands in resale value.

Get it slightly used and save money.

I got a 1 year old, off of a lease Pontiac Sunfire Convertible for about $5-6,000 off new list price.

Check out the incentives, though. Right now they may be more willing to make a deal than ever before depending on your local economy.

[will1911a1]

I'm in the car business and I can tell you that it is definitely smarter to buy used.

[gn2]

The car that it's based on is from a maker which here in the UK has a reputation for being very unreliable.
I wouldn't touch one.

Get a Toyota or a Honda, they're far more reliable.

[cevans]

I'm in the car business and I can tell you that it is definitely smarter to buy used.

If one isn't concerned with the price or resale value, and isn't taking out a loan, but is quite concerned about time and complications, is buying a new car still a bad idea?

That said, I doubt many people are in such a situation.

[will1911a1]

If one isn't concerned with the price or resale value, and isn't taking out a loan, but is quite concerned about time and complications, is buying a new car still a bad idea?

That said, I doubt many people are in such a situation.

If money isn't a concern then do what you want, it won't matter to you one way or the other it sounds like. If I personally were in the market for another vehicle I would buy used.

[will1911a1]

Get a Toyota or a Honda, they're far more reliable.

Honda and Toyota retain more of their value over time as well which means a lot if you happen to be in an accident and still owe money on your car.

[gn2]

If one isn't concerned with the price or resale value, and isn't taking out a loan, but is quite concerned about time and complications, is buying a new car still a bad idea?


Yes if you have to wait for delivery.

If a used car is in the shop, usually it's available immediately.

I bought a used car with a visa card once and drove away in it inside thirty minutes of first seeing the car.

[issih]

This here:

http://www.topgear.com/content/carsurvey/2006/vauxhall/astra-new/

is sort of the uk equivalent of JD power customer satisfaction surveys, and that is the uk version of the car you are talking about.

127th out of 152 is not exactly stellar :s

Having said that, my mum's old astra was very reliable for many years, so you never really know, not the same model though, previous generation.

[gn2]

This here:

http://www.topgear.com/content/carsurvey/2006/vauxhall/astra-new/

is sort of the uk equivalent of JD power customer satisfaction surveys, and that is the uk version of the car you are talking about.

127th out of 152 is not exactly stellar :s

Having said that, my mum's old astra was very reliable for many years, so you never really know, not the same model though, previous generation.

The model in your link is the same one as the picture in the original post....
Which tends to back up my earlier assertion that they have a name for unreliability.

[Thelasko]

There is only one opinion that I care about when I buy a car. It's Consumer Report's. (http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/new-cars/index.htm) Yeah, you have to pay for it, but that's because it's their only source of revenue. They don't have advertisements in their magazines or on their website (other than their own) to remain unbiased.

If you cant afford it, you might be able to find the April car issue at your local library.

[Thelasko]

If one isn't concerned with the price or resale value, and isn't taking out a loan, but is quite concerned about time and complications, is buying a new car still a bad idea?

That said, I doubt many people are in such a situation.

Having recently purchased a car, I did quite a bit of homework on this topic. Here's my conclusion:


Cars known for dependability don't depreciate. A two year old Camry or Corolla is only 10% less than a new one. You might as well just buy the new one because it's easier to finance. You will probably make up the difference with a better interest rate.

Cars known to be unreliable depreciate rapidly. You can buy a two year old car that has a reputation for being unreliable for 50% of it's value when it was new. I see no reason to buy this car, EVER!

It's usually better to buy a new car that has a reputation for being reliable.

Don't confuse new car, with a newly designed car. Newly designed cars are a different sort of risk. Toyota has a pretty good reputation with newly designed cars, but has fumbled recently. GM has a reputation for releasing newly designed vehicles that are full of bugs. Edit: You are usually better off with a car that has been on the market for a few years so you are sure the bugs are worked out, and there is reliability data on it.

[Thelasko]

A useful article (http://consumerist.com/5069813/consumer-reports-10-car-shopping-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them)for someone in your situation.

[issih]

I meant that my mothers astra was a previous generation model. Obviously the car in my link is the one the OP is considering, that was why I posted it :)

[mips]

The car that it's based on is from a maker which here in the UK has a reputation for being very unreliable.
I wouldn't touch one.


+1 I would not touch an Opel with a ten foot barge pole.

People I know that owned Opels swear they will never buy one again.

[gaspard.leon]

meh

Opel == GM == Fail

I know nothing of the car...
this is my personal opinion... offered free of charge.

:)
G

[gn2]

People I know that owned Opels swear they will never buy one again.

Me too.
Before I met my wife she had a Vauxhall (Opel) Tigra.
The head gasket failed with less than 30,000 miles just after the warranty expired.

A friend at work bought a Vauxhall (Opel) Vectra diesel and it lasted a month before it stopped working, requiring a very expensive repair to the fuel injection.
It had less than 30,000 miles as well.

[Thelasko]

Me too.
Before I met my wife she had a Vauxhall (Opel) Tigra.
The head gasket failed with less than 30,000 miles just after the warranty expired.

GM vehicles now come with a 5 year 100,000 mile warranty in the US. The question you have to ask is, will GM still be in business (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/business/26jane.html?_r=1&oref=slogin) in 5 years?

[vikramaditya]

The question you have to ask is, will GM still be in business (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/business/26jane.html?_r=1&oref=slogin) in 5 years?
Point worthy of rumination, for sure. Thanks to everybody for your kind & useful input :) The USA Astra has apparently not sold in sufficient numbers to generate a clear reliability index. I don't know where JD Powers got the data for their pathetic rating, but I definitely do not want to tempt fate. Too bad, because it's such a sweet looking ride in comparison to everything else in its class.

[syms]

This opel looks horribly and sh****, it looks just like a simple bubble car, nothink exciting. I strongly reccomend to you this car:
http://www.mustang-blogs.com/wp-content/photos/48/i/1972mach1-380x380o.jpg
Its very nice Ford Mustang which is maded in 1972, and its much cheaper than your opel. And remeber - Old cars are good cars! Old cars have much better quality and they are much more reliable than new ones.

[vikramaditya]

I believe that's a Shelby GT, is it not? Typical of American muscle-cars during that period, all brawn and no brains. Overall build quality was mediocre and erratic at best. Strictly an enthusiast's car these days.