My new car...another long story!

[PHXLavaVibe]

Okay, so unfortunately I had to trade in my Toyota Highlander. The car gods must have been angry with me...either that or they agreed with my wife that we were spending way too much on gas for my daily commute. Anyway, about two weeks ago I had an oil change done at Jiffy Lube. Everything had been running great with my highlander and I never once had any problems (Mechanically) with it. The service manager at Jiffy Lube informed me that they had ran a battery check and that it tested quite low. He suggested that we get it replaced soon and that we should still have a warrenty on it seeing how it was only 2 years old. I told him I would look into it and they finished servicing my car.Two days later we were going to leave the house for some grocery shopping and my Highlander wouldn't start. The radio and lights worked perfectly fine so I knew it wasn't the battery. I tried and tried several times to start it but all I got was a loud clicking noise. After cursing and screaming and beating the hell out of the stearing wheel a few times I finally got it started. We drove down the street to our local auto parts store in hopes of getting the free electrical check they advertise. I kept the car running in fear that I would not be able to start it up again, go inside and ask the clerk for the free electrical check...only to be told that they rented out the diagnostic machine and that I would have to drive another 5 miles to their nearest store. I drive to the second location and again I run inside leaving the car running. They were able to run a couple tests and I was informed that my battery was low and that all it needed was a charge. However, they did tell me that my Alternator was bad and that it was unable to charge the battery. Keep in mind here that I was in between paydays and completely broke.I went back inside the parts store (car still running) and the clerk looked up the price for a new Alternator for my Highlander. My jaw hit the floor and I nearly passed out when he showed me two different units ranging from about $200 - $400. Here I am with my wife and daughter sitting in the car waiting to go spend our last $20 on some necessities and now it looks as if I am going to have to pull nearly $400 out of thin air.So, I go back to the car inform my wife of the details of our situation and we both decided it was time to make a change. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the warrenty on my Highlander had expired about 500 miles ago...so any expenses would be out of pocket. We drove another 20 miles to the Toyota dealership. Nervously I park and shut of the car for the first time. I quickly try to start it again before any salesman approach and surprisingly it started. Although I could tell it was a very rough start and would probably be it's last without a new alternator. We had previously driven to this exact same dealership about two weeks earlier to look into possibly trading in our Highlander for something a bit more fuel friendly. I absolutley loved my Highlander and at that time I couldn't imagine trading it in for anything without it being an absolute necessity, but I had to please my wife and at least look like I was willing to trade it in. Back then we didn't see anything used that remotely interested us so I was more than happy to be taking my Highlander back home.This visit however was a completely different story and the more we thought about it the more it became an absolute necessity to get a new car. We were very lucky in the fact that we had previously spoken with the manager and a really good salesman. They had already tested out our Highlander at the last visit and didn't see any reason to test it again...awesome!!! We met up with the same salesman and he immediately started showing us some of their recent trade-ins. We didn't say a word to anyone at the dealership about the troubles we had experienced that day, so for all they knew we were eager to shop and spend some money! We test drove a couple cars and amazingly we found a car that fit us perfectly. It was a 2010 Toyota Corolla LE with barely 6K miles on it. Practically brand new. We decided to press our luck and go for it. After a couple rounds of negotiations we ended up driving home in our new car a couple hours later. The price tag for the Corolla was around $17,000. our pay off amount for our Highlander was almost $19,000 and they gave us $14,500 in trade in value. We have a bit of negative equity now but at least I have a dependable vehicle again.I was amazed that we were able to qualify for a newer vehicle seeing how we went in with zero down. We were also able to add on some incredible warranties, a much better interest rate and our monthly payment was reduced by nearly $100. The best part...other than having a new car...is the 5-year bumper to bumper no maintenance extended warranty which in fact covers all maintenance and parts including oil changes, batteries, brakes and etc. for the life of our auto loan.I haven't had much of a chance to take pictures of the new car but I did manage to take a fuzzy picture with my phone as you can see below. If anyone would like details and specs of the Corolla let me know and I will write up another post on it.

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[A Psycho Martyr]

Congratulations man. Glad that worked out for you and your family.I recently experienced something similar. My wife and I went to shop for a 2010 Civic for her and she found THE ONE (right color, mileage, options, etc...) and we traded in her 2003 Grand Prix. The next week when she went back to the dealer to get an extra key made, the salesperson told her that her transmission was going out and that we were extremely lucky to have got 3k out of it with 87k miles.lolsilly car salesmen So we lucked up and saved ourselves a LOT of money and a headache, and she now drives a 2010 Civic. I'd say WIN

[Salsa Guy]

So going deeper in debt fixed the issue? Ofcourse I'm talking about our goverment

[jake75]

Quote, originally posted by Salsa Guy »So going deeper in debt fixed the issue? Of course I'm talking about our govermentTo each his own, but owing about $21,500 on a 2010 Corolla would make me nervous. Wonder what interest rate that upside down loan had to carry to cover that risk. For a 2010 Corolla that will very soon be 2 years model years old $17,000 seems like a lot even with only 6,000 miles. Dealers are notorious for padding the price of the car being purchased and the trade-in that seems to make customers feel better even though the end cost to trade is the same Replacing that alternator is a $250 expense for a dealer so he won't be crying very hard about that.

[TONY TAT2]

Congrats on the new ride

[lovemyraffe]

Congrats on the new ride!

[vit]

Doesn't sound right. 17k for a used Corolla LE? I helped my parents buy one new and it was less.

[jkm311]

Glad you and your family feel more secure, for sure. That being said...I know the ink is dry on this deal, but I'm with some of the others... too much $. I would expect a *new* Corolla (LE, at that) to cost 17k. Not a year old with 6k. However, it's nice to see oil changes and whatnot are covered. You could argue $25 oil changes every couple months x XX months...May the mileage gods bless you with 200k when it's all said and done.

[jimincalif]

Glad it worked out for you. Although the numbers are a bit scary it sounds like it makes sense this time. If you were down to your last $20, then cutting the payment $100/mo is a good thing.Some suggestions:1. Start banking the $100 per month you are now saving each month in a lower car payment. With a wife and daughter, you never want to be down to your last $20 again. You'll still have more money left each month since you'll be spending less on gas, so take this opportunity to save something.2. Take really good care of that Corolla and drive it for 10+ years. Once paid off, start banking the car payment. You never want to buy a car with a negative equity loan again. Next time you'll have cash to put down.Of course free advice is worth just what you pay for it, right? Good luck.

[Salsa Guy]

^X2 For what you paid and owed I'm not sure you'll ever re-coup a fuel savings. Sure your payments were cut your gas cost go down but you are deeper in debt. Good luck none the less.For future information those Electrical testers they clamp on the battery to test it and the Alternator aren't really accurate. They do a fair job on the battery (perhaps 85% right) but suck on the Alternator (at best 50% right). A bad battery, corroded connections and etc, can cause a false bad Alternator. Also Heat is harder on the battery than cold. So you'll tend to see batteries fail more during the summer.

[jimincalif]

Agreed re those testers. I used to have a Lexus ES300, the battery died and I was right next to a Sears so I got a new one from them. As part of their replacement process they supposedly tested the charging system and told me the alternator was bad. I thanked them, paid for the battery and went home. With the engine running and all lights, AC, radio etc. turned on full blast my multimeter showed something like 13.4 volts at the battery, so alternator was clearly working. Drove the car another 8 years and never did have to replace the alternator.

[star_deceiver]

Congrats on the new car!!!

[djkeev]

So you needed a $400 alternator, you did not have the money, so you went and spent $17,000 on a car instead?!!?!?Hmmmmmm.......................In my house we would say you had "car fever" and were looking for a reason to get a different set of wheels.It's an affliction that I, my father and my youngest daughter have.Enjoy it, it's yours now and for a long time to come.Dave

[Speedqueen]

Cool, enjoy.

[jake75]

Several fiscal conservatives here (including me) have been a little shocked in regard to PHXLavaVibe's recent car swap. I have to remind myself, and be grateful, that I have never been in a situation where I was between paychecks with a wife, child and only $20 to my name. He must have something going for him if he can get a $21,000 loan on a car with a loan value that is probably about $14,000. While the government somehow let my Fortune 50 company employer of 25 years screw me and others similarly situated out of our pension, wemade it to retirement with no debt and live reasonably well on Soc. Sec., some part time work and investments. These are the toughest times I have ever seen - though I think my dad saw worse during the depression. In the early 30's he and my mother were making together $24 a week. That's still only $401 adjusted for 2011 dollars. But in 1933 there were no air conditioning, cable tv, cell phone bills, etc. etc. A restaurant meal was a rare treat.

[Salsa Guy]

I own rental property and it surprises me when my tenants drive new and nicer cars than mine. When interviewing I ask (when then have good credit) "Why don't you buy your own home?" They normally reply "I don't have the down payment". My thoughts are get rid of the New Lexus and buy a older Toyota. Thank you for paying for my invest!

[PHXLavaVibe]

Ummm yeah, thanks guys...I think I will just go back to lurking silently from now on.Just a quick word here though:It is extremily rare that I have to worry about my financial situation. This whole trading the Highlander in for the Corolla was a fluke and came in the worst of times but it seems now in order to save face that I must explain my self a little more than I intended to. As I mentioned in my original post I was down to my last $20...unfortunately I had just used a huge chunk of my savings to pay yet another $3800 medical bill for my 3yr old little girl who has been in and out of the hospital for the last six months due to a major GI abnormality. We have another visit comming up on the 18th too. Add the $800 vet bill (two days prior to the trade in) for having my two dogs checked out...One had a severe allergic reaction to being stung by a hornet, and the other (my new puppy) needed his first round of shots and apparently now also needs to have surgery to correct an umbilical hernia. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but my wife is a stay at home mom, so I am the only one bringing in money at the moment. I think I am doing a pretty darn good job of taking care of my family, pets, responsibilities and my finances under the circumstances. I do have an excellent credit rating and I plan to keep it that way. If it wasn't for the fact that we just recently paid off and closed out most of our credit cards, I wouldn't have needed to take such drastic measures. I don't know anyone who could have loaned us the money needed to replace the alternator and I sure as hell can't depend on family to help when needed. So yeah, under the circumstances we had to make a decision and although it probably wasn't the best of choices, it seems to be working out. Oh, and I woke up this morning to 4 wet steaming piles of puppy poo on my bed...inches away from my face. What a great way to start the week!

[star_deceiver]

Well, you got the car you wanted for a fair price (not the greatest but you didn't get ripped off either, IMO).Until people have to live a week or so in your shoes they'll never understand the complexities and thought process that goes into a decision such as this.So while everyone else is concerned with your finances and debt and such, there's one thing I need from you....... PICS!!!!!

[Salsa Guy]

Sorry for raining on your parade. It's a fine car and I'm sure it will serve you well. Like I said before you can't trust those clamp-on battery/alternator testers. Willing to bet it was your battery that was bad.Anyway goodluck cleaning doggy poo and with the new car.

[jake75]

Add my prayers for your 3 year old daughter - and my for your stay at home wife/mother. And don't lurk silently - there are a lot of people here who care. Let us know how she is doing.

[journeyforce]

I would not lose sleep over some of the responses, in the end even though you owe more and had to roll negative equity into the new loan. You are happy with this car and will save money on both the gas and payments over the years.About 6 years ago I was in your shoes also, I had a Honda Accord that I still owed $6000 on and the Alt died taking out the battery. The alt and Battery would have cost about $600 at that dealer while i was there they also told me I should have my timing belt replaced because it was time to do so in both years and mileage, that would have been another $700 and that is a service that is not skipped on(pistons and valves could meet in a close personal way)I had almost no money, I was in a low paying job at the time. I traded it in to the dealer for a 2005 Focus. I got $4000 for the Honda and rolled the other $2000 I owed into the new loan. So I wound up paying $11,000 on a 4 year old Focus that should have been $8000 or $9000 tops. My loan was a 4 year loan. The positives was the car only had 22,998 miles on it where my Accord had much more. My payments were lower then the Accord and the insurance was cheaper and it was a bit more gas friendly. I was in a bind, i could not afford the $1500 they quoted me out of pocket at that minute. it bothered me about 2 days till I added up all the pluses and realized that even though I owed more now i was better off because of lower gas costs, lower insurance rate and lower payments. Plus I lot a lower mileage car. I also figured that the Accord would start to nickle and dime me.Well 6 months later things changed I got a better job and a minor financial windfall and I paid off that 4 year loan in 1 year and 9 months. The car gave me several years of great service(including mastering the blizzard of 2010 )So I would not worry about it, some times peace of mind is worth more then money. You have a new car and a reliable one at that. The parts should be cheap and if you worked on your Vibe you know how easy it is to work on a Corolla. Put that $100 you save each payment into a bank account and go forwardEnjoy your car

[WhiteLightning]

Congrats on the Corolla! I'd looked at Corollas (among many, many other cars) when I was shopping for a "new" car. IMO the price seems high but after dealing with Toyota's used car lot here in Cookeville, TN I can say that sounds about right. I test drove an '09 Matrix with all the bells and whistles. It was past the original factory warranty (about 40k) and they told me after tax, etc. it would be like $18k.I told them my price range was more along $10k, $12k max and they showed me a 2008 Corolla with nearly 200k miles for $10,900! I know Toyotas have a good reliability streak but that seemed a bit high for a "well broken in" Corolla. Luckily, my Vibe was $13,500 and still had plenty of warranty left to spare. It's all in what you want and what YOU think it's worth. I say, great choice. You've got a car that will last you forever. A friend of mine has a '98 that just rolled over 300k miles and still runs like a dream. Plus, to the other posters, the new Corolla LE's I looked at on the local lot (about 8 months ago) started out at $18,900ish. The Cor