Congratulations on your new-to-you car! I’m sure you got a great deal, which always sweetens the experience.

We bought a new Odyssey in 1999 when DS#2 came along and loved it. In 2016 we decided that instead of a new, functioning transmission we would get a new car. We bought a lease return, so it was a 2012, and loved that until a couple of years ago. With the kids gone, we got a CRV, lease return again,and honestly I’m not thrilled. I love the backup camera and the safety feature that kept me from merging into a lane where I wouldn’t be typing right now if I had merged. But I sure do miss all the cupholders, and the huge cargo space of the minivan. It is certainly easier to park, though.

I love that you had a Mustang! I always wanted one! My college graduation present in 1980 was a Mercury Capri, so basically the same car, I guess. That was a great little car.

Congrats on the new-to-you car! I swear by Hondas and Acuras. The MDX should give you plenty of storage. I have my eye on the RDX and also a Lexus small suv.

Ive always bought slightly used cars. Great savings.

Im on the fence about getting a new car now or wait a while. Yesterday I thought my old Honda Accord had a big problem, only to discover a branch stuck under it and dragging on the ground!

The whole process of car buying is a nightmare and with upcoming additional costs, Im dreading it even more.

Enjoy your new ride.

Ruby, yes about the buttons and knobs! I could change stations and bass/treble, blance and fade, and AC, and more, without looking. Not so now. Why do they want to divert my eyes from the road? and yet, there are some things that can’t be done while the car is in Drive, not even by the passenger. Also, no cd player. I’m not about to burn all my music and books onto a thumb drive, then have to scroll through to find what I want to listen to WHILE DRIVING.

My car is 7 years old and I keep thinking I want a new one, but my mechanic says a lot of people are complaining about the bigger screen on the dashboard. I should just go take a look but really I’m in no rush especially because I do LOVE my car — and I’d get the same model again. (It’s a BMW X1, the fanciest car I’ve ever had, and my favorite.)

Congrats!

I agree about screen controls not being a good thing. That is one change in the newer MDX vs my old one. The frequently used controls have been moved off the screen and back to buttons - big improvement. It does have a bigger touchscreen and built-in Google maps and I love that. I never cared for the way Apple Carplay did maps in my old car. We used to use a CD player but have converted entirely to A'zon Music - millions of songs, anytime, anywhere run off the iphone. DH is the audiophile and had the new car audio figured out before we pulled out of the lot.

My mechanic says to keep my 2010 Accord as long as possible. It has no technology. I do wish I had a backup camera. I dont care about yhe rest of it. Google Maps on my phone works perfectly well.

How fun! Congratulations on your ”new” car. I love a low mileage used car. I’m still in love with my 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee that I bought that way in 2020. I am thinking it might be time soon though. It’s just so awesome on unpaved roads and in bad weather, and it has a full size spare! All things which have been very handy multiple times.

I believe I heard on the news this week that the average cost of a new car in US is $70K.

Really?

ETA I just searched online. Closer to $50K.

Congratulations on your new car! To me, 4000 miles is still ’new’. I bought a couple of what they called ’dealer demo models’ a couple of times, both with between 4– 6k miles. I was looking for another of the same last year and ended up with a new one because they didn’t even have any of those any longer. I still got a great deal on new vs a chance at any of the previous year models. Weird how that worked out but happy that it did as I love it.

Sueb, i had the X1 and it was a little small for me, but I’m taller than you, esp in the torso, so it makes a big difference to me in the X3. DD hax had an MDX and now on her second RDX (DGD bought her old RDX). I love it too but it is also more for a shorter prrson to drive imo.

Congratulation on the new vehicle! The owner's manual being its size intimidates me. I'm still driving a 2012 Toyota SUV with 190k. I do not want gadgets or new technology--mine has a backup mirror, the beeping when I'm getting too close, cruise control safety, etc. That's all I need. I think I, as a driver, would be more of a hazard in a new car than in my current one.

It's hasn't needed any major repairs other than routine maintenance. Apart from road trips, I don't drive that much, as I mostly work from home in an area that has plenty of shopping within 5 minutes. It will probably rust out before it dies.

I cringe at the thought of car shopping. A few friends have recently bought new luxury vehicles, and they've been in the shop more than they've been in their garages. One drove around for several days with a rear passenger indoor light on because she and her DH couldn't figure out how to turn it off. That is my nightmare. I'd end up in a puddle on the street. I do not have good coping skills when it comes to learning new vehicle features.

Low mileage used is the way to go if you can find one. We've managed that a few times and probably won't consider new again going forward.

Your 24 cars made my eyes pop but then I started thinking.... DH owned 10 vehicles before we were married (his grandfather was in the business) beginning at age 15, he was 24 when we got married. I owned 3 before we married, including a '67 Mustang bought used in 1980 - the floor boards were so rusted out the carpet was the only thing between back seat passengers and the road and their feet would get wet if it was raining! That segued into an'80 Mustang. Since then I've only owned 7 cars! I'm a cheap date ;-) and DH has only owned 4 trucks since we're married - he's a cheaper date!

Great! For me, comfort is key. We leased a Ford Escape twice until they changed it, so I bought my current one.

Now, I have to see if I can remember all our cars!

Congratulations 🙂

Bought my first ever new car in April - and paid cash, so no car payments - which is also a first 😀

Glad you like it 3katz!! Petalique, there is quite a range of car prices. I do not enjoy buying a car. i guess i should say I dont enjoy that chunk of money. I like a nice car but dependability is priority. I want a car that lasts. I also prefer a sedan, mid-size. My hubby has a larger vehicle. I’ve been driving Toyotas for many years. (Tina Marie)

@DLM2000-GW - DH had a 66 Mustang that he sold to buy my engagement ring. I count it among the 24. It was not a good car for MN winter. We had the same floor rust problem only snow came up under the carpet instead of rain. I don’t think he was terribly disappointed to sell it though it was looked great on the surface.

Congrats on your new to you car!

FWIW, when I bought my new car two years ago, I found a guy (in England, no less) that does YT videos for MB. Since then, he has added other manufacturers..

I also found several YT vidoes on various subjects done at dealerships. It was easy to watch on my phone, in the car, to adjust settings and learn new things.

I think I have had only 7 cars??

I’ve had 7, not counting the two family cars I shared with my brother. Although when he got a car, I had exclusive use of the cute little Datsun.

Capri, Accord, Odyssey, Civic, Odyssey, Lexus, CRV. The outlier, the Lexus, was my dad’s. The title transferred to me when he died, and we drove it for a year or two, in addition to a few years we housed and used it before Dad died. Ooh, that was a nice ride. It was 20 years old, smooth ride, and heavenly with heated seats. When we were shopping for the current car, I told DH I must have heated seats. Love them.

Congratulations on your new vehicle. I'm selling my 2015 Lincoln this week. I bought a new Lexus small SUV.

I’ve owned four cars in 45 years. My current car is a 2012.

Congratulations on your new to you car! Sounds like a great deal.

I had two 66 mustangs bought from the same guy in 1986 or so. A convertible which didn't run and was in terrible shape and a hardtop which was my daily driver for a year or so. Never got around to restoring the convertible. The same guy called me a year later and convinced me to sell them both back to him!

I had Hondas for years including an Odyssey van we bought on while on vacation in Vermont. A 2008 'truck style' Ford Escape hybrid. Finally bought a Mazda CX30. Love all the safety features! My DH has a big SUV for when we need it. I love my little car.

Congratulations 3katz!

On Wednesday I bought a car all by myself for the first time in 80 years. Now I'm officially a grown up. I got a 2026 CR-V Sport Hybrid L in white. No one can explain to me why white costs more money, but it does. I mean, it's plain white. Anyway, I had a 2004 CR-V that served me well. No bells and whistles, but this car makes up for it. I'm not a fan of new-car smell, so I've got bags of lavender and rosemary in the back seat to hasten its departure.

PS, forgot to tell you congrats of your new wheels!

Well I didn't count my grandma's Chevy Impala that we inherited when she quit driving since we didn't buy it. We were living large when we first got married - DH still in college. We had an apartment in an old house in Duluth, MN that came with a garage. Kept the 73 Mustang stored in the garage during the winter and drove the Impala - until DH rear ended someone and most of the rusted chassis fell off in the street. No wonder car insurance is expensive for young men under age 25.

Congrats on the new car, 3katz!

My sister has a relatively new Aviator. The dealership has classes in the evening on all of the features!

My current car was bought used. It had 262 miles on it. A woman who was accustomed to driving a Lexus IS, was convinced by her family to buy an RX. She drove it for 2 weeks, hated it, and traded it in. The salesman was a friend and knew I was looking.

Just counted the number of cars I’ve owned - 11. Did not include DH’s or DD’s (that I bought but she drove).

The shortest time-owned was probably my Jaguar convertible. Loved it, but the maintenance was a PITA. The a/c broke every summer that I owned it. As soon as it was out of warranty, I sold it.

The longest time-owned is probably the current one. Lexus RX 350. It is 10 years old. I am happy with it and as long as it is reliable and everything works (especially the a/c), I’m planning to continue to drive it. Although, I would like to have a bigger screen and all-around cameras.

I hate buying a car. I always feel like I’m being taken advantage of.

Congrats! I love used cars…only had one new and didn’t get any special tingle driving it off the lot.

Last one was a rush purchase (insurance totaled the old one). 2016 purchased in 2022 totally tricked out. Best part was it had only 15k miles! Didn’t even try to bargain that one down after the sales rep hid it until we could get there.

I have to say this car buying experience wasn't as bad as I expected. I hate that whole salesperson/sales manager routine which of course they used. After my first in person visit I just did everything by email. I did some research of the value of my trade and the value of the new used car. Of course they low balled me on the trade. I told the guy via email I would buy the car this week if I got X dollars for my trade. Then I got a call and an email and a text telling me the sales manager wanted to talk to me. I called him the next day and he just asked me how I came up with the number and then said we had a deal. He didn't try to stick me with any add-ons at that time but boy do they put the full court press on when you go to sign the paper work. I asked the woman going through that pitch if she really had to continue when I had absolutely no intention of buying any of that stuff. Yes she did so she blathered on for 20 minutes and then we did the deal at the agreed upon price.

The best car buying experience we ever had was ordering a Tesla online - no muss, no fuss, no sales pressure. And they delivered the car to our house.

I tend to keep a car about 6-7yrs (in my post-kid years). I've owned 10 that were only mine. DH still has not driven, and does not want to drive, my newest which is 2yo.

My worst buying experience was when we had our last baby (1988) and I need a car that would hold three car seats in the backseat. I did not want a van. She was 2 weeks old, it took WAY to long and I had to nurse in a bathroom stall. At least it was clean.

The best experience was my newest purchase. I was visiting DD and went "just to see" inventory, to compare the 2025 to the newer 2026 (which I do not like the changes).. Paperwork did not take very long and when my sales person saw my bday was the next day, she added several things to my gift box, and comped my lunch from their onsite lounge area.

bbtx, your comment of buying your car with 262 miles on it-reminded me of when my mom (she's passed now and this was back in the day) got a brand new Infiniti SUV-she had it for about two weeks and decided to sell it due to the technology was hard for her to understand and put an ad in the newspaper that included "For Sale: Too much car for an old woman!" I think she got a Lexus after that-which was easier for her. She was probably in her 60's at the time-never even had a computer.

I've been thinking about a new suv. I have to have brown/espresso colored interior-which isn't always easy to find. I've narrowed it down to about three models. I still like my suv now-so in no hurry, but it's time. I seem to always want/get a new car this time of year-I wonder why that is?

After driving two Honda Odysseys in a row, I got a Pilot, thinking that would feel somehow ”cooler” and smaller-ish than the van. I found it hard to drive, something about my height vs the front of the car…I hated it every day. That was the only time I got rid of a car in less than 3 years; I think it was around 1-1/2 years, and I traded it for an Acura MDX, which was still big enough for the family but felt easier to drive.

All this chatting about cars is making me want to ”just look” at a dealer….

Congratulations on the new ride! Sounds perfect! Love that you got a deal and still got exactly what you wanted!

We purchased a NEW 2025 Truck for DH in October last year. It was a nightmare.

We saw the vehicle online. Already was discounted $6K. We walked in said we're paying cash, we want THAT vehicle in your lot. Gave them the VIN #.

*The salesman looked at me, said he WAS NOT putting MY name on the title, I could do that later if I wanted to. I told him I was NOT buying a vehicle without MY name on the title! He should have ASKED US what names to put on the title...not TELL US!!!!!!!! I was livid!

* Then he said the truck was parked 4 deep we'd have to come back later in the week to pick it up. We signed the paperwork, left a check, paid in full.

* Came to pick it up, they'd lost one of the keys. Said come back next Thursday, the key guy would be there.

*Came back, key guy was out of blanks. Said come back next week.

*Came back, program was down.

*Called the manager to complain, she said this must be YOUR key sitting on my desk. It's been here for 3 weeks!

*Came back, picked up the key.

*Next week got a call from the dealer....said we hadn't filled out ALL the paperwork, we couldn't get the title.

* Came back....filled out more paperwork. Got the title the following week.

WHEW!

Took it on it's maiden voyage, had 90miles on it...went through a construction zone, rock hit the windshield....cracked it ALL the way across! They didn't have windshields in stock ...yet. Waited 3 months. Free glass on our policy....had to take it to two places. One to install it, to the dealer to calibrate it. Got the truck back...the tail light was broken. No one would fess up to breaking it. Got a quote for $800. I had a zero deductible for comp.....put in a claim.

OMG Nicole! What an ordeal!

Speaking of rare interior colors - they had a couple new vehicles on the showroom floor with RED interiors. I'm not a big red fan so I wasn't longing for one but it did look kind of nice with the white car. Didn't look so great with the bright royal blue one - in my opinion.

Nicole, holy smokes!

Sueb, we looked at Pilot when we looked at the CRV, and we finally determined that it was a composite of the Odyssey and the CRV, but not in ways that suited our needs. So we got the CRV. I have to say, it’s the first car I haven’t liked. It is generally sufficient for our needs but the driver/passenger experience is not pleasant for this driver/passenger. It does, however, have cute wheels. They look like Charles Schulz-drawn daisies.

Bunny, congratulations on your purchase! Good for you!

I went with a friend (as a cheerleader and hand-holder) when she bought her new Honda CRV. She had to have a car. Someone had hit her and totaled her old car, so she pretty much had to buy what was on the lot.

Every car in the model she wanted had a back interior with ORANGE stitching. She hated it. I hated it. But she was pretty much stuck with it. I told her if it were my car, I’d get a fabric pen and paint the stitching black but I’d probably get tired of doing it about half-way through and quit. We concluded that she was just going to have to get happy with the orange. She loves her car and no longer ”sees” the orange stitching. But who thought orange stitching on black leather was a good look?

That's my car's interior. I love orange and am thrilled with the orange stitching. Different strokes.

p.s. I'm glad your friend loves her car.

The fact that they ONLY have black interiors on nearly all cars I've looked at is part of the reason I haven't bought a newer one. I cannot and will not buy a black interior in Texas. I had one - only one. I could get past the stitching and just learn not t see it, but not possible with the black.

@lascatx, I’m with you - no black interiors. I’d roast in the summer if I had a black interior, not to mention blistering the backs of my legs when I wear shorts! My friend obviously has a higher tolerance for discomfort than I do.

Lasca, my Datsun had a black VINYL interior in Texas. My next couple of cars had grey cloth interior which I liked. The current one has grey seats but the carpet and other surfaces are black and I do not like it at all. It's hot, but also all my skin condition shows up on it. I hate that (and I don't hate very many things).

Congrats, 3katz! You might want to look at an extended warranty for used vehicles through Acura but you can buy that before the 36K bumper to bumper is up. Shop around because you can negotiate on the price. My closest dealer wanted to charge me almost $3,400 and I wound up getting it from another Subaru dealer for something like $1900.

My cars
1977 Cutlass coupe
1987 Chevy Cavalier
1994 Mustang GT Convertible (still have it)
2003 Subaru Forester
2010 Subaru Outback
2021 Subaru Outback current vehicle. It wasn’t that bad of an experience. I found it a Jeep dealer. Someone traded it in for larger Jeep. I wound up doing my own financing.

DH has had 3 Honda Accords since I’ve known him. He likes his Hondas.

@gsciencechick - never had an extended warranty and never needed one. The only car I‘ve had with serious problems was an Audi I purchased new. I dumped it before the regular warranty was up. We’ve had very few cars that weren’t either Toyota or Honda brands. Up to 154K miles with nothing but regular maintenance for any of them.

Loving your red Mustang convertible, @gsciencechick! Cool wheels!

Yes but if anything goes wrong with the electronics/screens or driving assist technological it is $$$$. I normally would not buy either but I have a big infotainment screen and then the Subaru Eyesight I felt it was justified over the much lower tech I had in my 2010. it kind of is like having an insurance policy.

Thanks, bbstx! That photo was from the July 4 parade with the mustang club. We had our annual show a few weeks ago. It rained Friday and early morning Saturday so that lessened our turnout this year even though the weather cleared and turned out to be a nice day. Some people do not bring their cars out in the rain.

Love the Mustangs!! I’m comfortable with self insuring. The dealers always use the electronics scare tactics. I buy a reliable brand and take my chances.