What do you look for when buying a car?

What are 4 important features you would look for when buying a car?

Step 1 List them:
       1
       2
       3
       4

Step 2 Go to this site and find out what Chinese guys   look for:

http://enovatechina.com/blog/what-do-urban-chinese-youth-want-from-a-car/

Step 3  
 

Step 1 List them: In Canada
       1 reputation - is it a good company
       2 purpose - kids, long distance, cargo
       3 bells and whistles
       4 size of car/engine


Step 1 List them: In China
       1 is it a real car or a knockoff (fake company)
       2 purpose - travel or to sell it and make money
       3 bells and whistles - does it have any features?
       4 does it have an engine


I do like Feature 4: Multi-function steering wheel. The other three  (maybe sunroof)

New or secondhand? If secondhand:

1. Who's owned it previously? Boy racer or grandma?
2. Will it be cheap or expensive to get it fixed? Better to get a relatively new cheap car than an older luxury one.
3. Will it be big enough for my needs, but no bigger.
4. Is it a nice-looking shape?

Me in Oz (when I FINALLY get one!)

1. Auto. Sorry, won't be touching those manual boxes (stick gear to you Nth Americans!)
2. Running costs & initial price- fuel, parts availability, even rego which depends on engine size
3. General functions- steering wheel (adjustable? I am short!), central locking, power steering, CD player?
4. Bush bashing ability- My brother & other family live way out where dirt roads are normal, so good suspension is a MUST and non-blowout tyres!

Falcon or Commodore.

Commodore ....Holden ...... brings back memories!

The first Holden I had was an EH stationwagon. A mattress in the back and 5 kids could sleep on overnight trips. It was used as a hearse by local Maori on 3 occasions and never failed to deliver even if it was 2 inches short of a coffin and the occupants last trip was made on the diagonal.

I discovered a fault in the first Commodore I owned on the drive home from the dealers. It should be noted that every car I have owned has been second hand and this one was great until I hit a steep hill, where it became obvious that the automatic transmission was 'slipping' - big time!.

A quick check of the warranty showed the car was not covered for normal wear and tear but they would replace faulty parts. I took it for a run down a steep hill and at 80kph I managed to get it into 1st gear using brute force. It did not like this! A call to the dealer and I had a new auto transmission fitted for free.

     

XW, what can I add? 

Buy a car in China? who in his right mind would? You are aware, aren't you, that ability to drive is inversly proportional to the cost of the vehicle? That owning a big, flash ride doesn't say "cool guy!", it's more like wearing a sign that says "clueless dickhead"? Assuming though, for the sake of the fantasy, that a near-normal person like myself would find utility meeting opportunity, what would I look for? Hmmmm...

1) Does this vehicle suit my present and immediately forseeable needs? Will it get myself and my belongings from point A to point B with a minimum of difficulty? Note that in previous incarnations, latefordinner has owned an itsy-bitsy Hyundai Pony (got me to work and back, and to the lumber or hardware store on days off), a Jeep Cherokee Limited Edition (carried everything a family needed including the dog, and towed a trailer as well), a Dodge Omni (my father's; I drove it for a few years after he died), A Honda Quaalude Prelude, and a Ford Fairmont. Each of these in its time reflected the needs of me and my family. For the forseeable future, I don't anticipate owning a brush-beating 4 wheel drive monster. I live in the city. (But secretly, that's what I'd like to have. The Jeep was fun.  )
2) After a cursory cost-benefit analysis, is this a reasonable solution to my transportation needs? Will the insurance, maintenance, licencing, parking and fuel burn a hole in my pocket? Here, I'm closer to owning a vehicle than many FTs. My brother-in-law works for FAW in Changchun, and he can get me a reasonably priced car if I want. Tempting, but the difficulties of driving, both in my city (Dalian) and in China in general, so far outweigh the possible advantages of owning. But when they start to approach, if not converge, it is the smaller, less fashionable cars that make the most sense. The VW Jetta, the Acura whatever. Typical taxi material.
3) Stick-shift or automatic? To my way of thinking, manual transmission is the only way to go. My Little Pony was a cheap, rust-bucket of loose screws and bolts, but it had the sweetest little gear-box this side of formula racing. If a company that was new at the time could put such a sweet transmission into a cheap economy car, what can't they do now? Besides, if I'm driving, I want to be the driver, not a passenger.
4) After the above, you can see how I feel about bells and whistles. sun-roofs and hands-free communication consoles and factory detailing don't impress me much. I'm still very leary of electric door-locks, for example. I've seen too many fail, so that the doors no longer opened at all. Nothing says "too stupid to look over his shoulder" better than a radar that beeps as you approach something behind you. But something to play music would be nice. A CD player would just be yesterday, but an attachment that allowed me to plug in my MP3 (or whatever) would be nice. Then, hitting the open highway, I could roll down the window, let the wind blow back my hair (both of them) and crank up the Springsteen.

For the US, I'd want a Lincoln Towncar (had to settle for a Cadillac STS instead - wonder if my ex sold it yet ).

For China, something like a light tank of an armored personnel carrier.  I definitely don't ming bai Chinese driving styles, so would want to wrap myself in several tons of high quality steel to improve my chances of surviving. 

Our current vehicle kind of landed in our laps.  My hubby put the word out that he was looking and an acquaintance who was upgrading offered us his.  We got something comfy for a good price and it gets us from A to Z.  It's got a sunroof and my hubby has figured out how to hook up the MP4, but it is lacking in proper cup holders. 

it gets us from A to Z

You guys have got the right idea. Way back I bought what turned out to be a reasonable car for what turned out to be the wrong reason - actually, it would be the wrong reason at any time.

We had stopped at traffic lights on a family day out and, with nothing else to do, I looked across the intersection at a car sales. The colour and finish of one car caught my eye so a u-turn later we were in the yard.

I had no real intention of buying a car but as soon as I sat in the seat I considered the possibility. When the salesman mentioned it had an 8-track stereo  I was hooked.

We did the paper work the next day and I drove home listening to one of the 3 tapes that came with the car. Great!

Some time after I decided it was time to buy some new tapes. It was then I discovered that 8-track tapes were not available for sale in NZ. 

   

<Apologies folks, but I'm getting  . So sue me.>

XW, that sounds like my younger brother. Part of the reason why he got his first car is that it had a music system and an 8 track. The bigger reason, (go figure) is that it was a sweet little sports car. Datsun 240Z, which became the Nissan 280 or something. Yes, he got it for all the wrong reasons, but I swear it was the best first car any of my family, friends or acquaintances ever had. Shanghai yuppies with too much money have no idea what cool is.

<Apologies folks, but I'm getting    So sue me.>

I do not think it is 'off topic' because what we look for is based not only  on experiences of the past but also the experiences of others.

My fathers advice on buying a car? 'You may as well dig a hole in the ground and start throwing your money into it.'

I think he had it right but that did not solve the problem of getting us from A to B.

3 years with a 2002 model Toyota (Vios) and I am happy with it. I make money on the mileage when I drive it to and from work and it is pretty economical when I am touring. Seats 4 laowei or 6 chinese comfortably. Bought it for 90K RMB with about 50K Kilometers on it and have put almost 40K on it with nothing but oil and other regular maintenance items. One small fender bender which was the other guys fault and his insurance covered everything. Car in and out of body shop in less than 24 hours. I drive in Dongguan which is a very heavy traffic area and growing fast. 

It has basic air, auto, DVD, Mp3, sunroof. I would not bother with sunroof if I was buying new but it came with it used. I have driven in Canada, most everywhere in US and all over Mexico. For the most part I find the pedestrians more problems than the other drivers. Of course a youth filled with semi-pro stock car racing and ice racing in Canada has probably helped a little. easier to drive in China than Mexico in the 70s. 

I remember when the ex and I vacationed in Cuba about a thousand years ago, Castro's beard was only partly white and the cigar was longer. Actually, it was mid '80s.

One day we rented motorcycles - very cool? Nope, they only had mopeds

Another day we wanted to drive a distance up a resort mountain. We wanted to rent a fancy car but ended up with a Lada! That's right, since Cuba and USSR were still amigos, Cuba had friggen Ladas! (The only car at the time worse than the Yugo    )

Options included: a radio, a spare tire, tire repair gear, windshield wiper fluid, 

I asked to check if it had an engine    The ex thought I was kidding!