Ok guys here's the deal. I'm 18 years old and just about to graduate highschool. I get a new car to go off to college with, and my dad wants to get me something like an Impala, or a Malibu. BUT I WANT A BOX!!! Can ne one help me with some convincing ideas i can use on him to get me in a box. He and I test drove one and he didn't sound too thrilled about the idea once we were done with it. The thing is he's willing to spend around 10K, and the cheapest i've found is about $12500 for a used. So i need to do about $2500 worth of convincing!!! PLEASE HELP!

You can earn about $4000 prior to collage over the summer. You just need to find a job that will pay the extra hoof for it.

Leverage: Best of the boxes in Car and Driver in Feb. Tell him that you want to look at other cars, but don't want to make a decision until you have your summer funds saved up.

why on earth would any parent want a malibu or impala for their kid. weird. horrible cars those are.

buy it yourself... brand new... i do... i pay for the payments insurance and gas... you just needa get yourself a goo djob like me... im 18 an dstill in HS aswell...

its totaly possible you just needa work at it!

Ok guys here's the deal. I'm 18 years old and just about to graduate highschool. I get a new car to go off to college with, and my dad wants to get me something like an Impala, or a Malibu. BUT I WANT A BOX!!! Can ne one help me with some convincing ideas i can use on him to get me in a box. He and I test drove one and he didn't sound too thrilled about the idea once we were done with it. The thing is he's willing to spend around 10K, and the cheapest i've found is about $12500 for a used. So i need to do about $2500 worth of convincing!!! PLEASE HELP!

Cost my dear friend, cost:

With an xB, lower depreciation rates will more than cover the extra money paid. THe second a Malibu or Impala leaves a dealer lot, a huge amount of money is lost, as the value plummets.

Furthermore, decreased fuel costs will add up over time, reducing the amount paid.

Insurance. . . insurance on the box is rediculously low. . .

All in all, I believe that you will net more money in your (his) pocket with an xB than the cars listed. Nothing speaks to parents money than saving money. Spend a few dollars now, and save a whole lot later. . . it's common sense.

And on the practical side, you will be able to move your stuff when going to college, and moving in and out of different apartments. You can haul a rediculous amount of cargo, vs very little with those (and most any) sedan. Don't forget that the rear seat of an xB is also very spacious. I've found the xB to be more comfortable than many sedans twice its size.

Check out the posts on carsurvey.org, and be sure to look at reliability ratings everywhere.

I have a good friend who was willed an '03 Malibu when her grandmother passed away, fully paid for. About six months after owning it and several problems later, she traded it in on a Honda Accord, and is happier making payments on it than going to the service department at GM. Whatever you do, do not buy a Chevy Malibu.

The Impalas are decent cars, but the cost of insurance and gas will hurt you alone.

The xB has been produced & sold in Japan since the late 90s, and came to the US in '03 with any bugs/problems exterminated. It is 100% Japanese, and one of the most reliable cars on the road today. Not to mention, I average 33 mpg. Those of us who bought ours in '03 and early '04 had actually GAINED $300 in value by the time KBB came out with info on it 'cause it was in such demand. How many cars can say that!?

I personally plan on keeping my xB through college, and at least over 200k miles.

One word---------TOYOTA!!!!!!!!!!! :bow:

Leverage: Best of the boxes in Car and Driver in Feb. Tell him that you want to look at other cars, but don't want to make a decision until you have your summer funds saved up.

Available online:
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=10524
http://www.caranddriver.com/assets/image/2006/Q1/14200611381.jpg

djct_watt has a great list of talking points. I would just add two other points.

1. The VSC is a feature you can't underestimate. I don't know where you live, but if its anywhere that has snow or ice, this is a feature that is worth its weight in gold. I've taken one of these cars to an ice covered parking lot and tried to get it sideways. I hit the throttle, jammed the steering wheel right and then left and I could not get it to loose control. Its a remarkable feature and one that a father will instantly be able to see the value in.

2. Space. You've got space for your school crap. Dad's also understand the importance of this. He'll understand it better after a semester or two when you can't stash all the furniture you are stealing from him into the trunk of the Malibu.

OK here's another reason besides the ones given already. I work in a shop where most of the cars we service are american or japanese. The cars I see the most by manufacturer/problems. Not including trucks.

1. '94-2001 Dalmier-Chrysler, and any subsidary. . ie. Chyrsler, Dodge, Plymouth
2. '89-2004 General Motors. Cadillac, Chevy, Pontiac, Buick
3. '86-2000 Ford Motor Company
4. '90-2000 Kia & Hyundai
5. '89-98 Nissan & Mazda
6. '89-05 Toyota & Honda

Mind you we do not service european cars, and the list is done by actual repairs not maintenance. . .ie. oil changes, timing belts, belts. . .etc. Also note that the neighborhood I work in, people mostly buy domestic and Japanese.

Let me just tell you about some wonderful repairs we have done on Chevy Malibus and Impalas in the last few months.

1. Tail lights. The cars don't use normal sockets. It's like a circuit board that has socket on it. So if one bulb goes out and takes the socket with it you need to buy a new circuit board. This mainly happens do to a bad design and failure on the part of the actual seal that keeps the moisture out.I think the part runs about 65-100 bucks dealer only. I've seen about 5-7 cars in the last year with this problem. Mostly from the years of 1998 to 2002.
2. I am not sure if this is an isolated incident. But in the past four months, I've had 3-4 Malibu's with start up issues. Where it was like the starter had gone bad. Funny thing is all the cars with this issue were made in the last 3 years ranging from 2001-05.
3. The 3100 series engine from GM tends to have problem with the water pump. I think within the first 5-6 years of owning the car I can almost tell you the water pump will go bad. Not so much on the 3400 series engines but I have seen it happen.
4. The ignition systems have problems also. Newer GM cars use DIS (Distributorless Ignition System) Basically there is no more Dist cap and Rotor. The CEL will come up with a misfire code, but when I see this on any GM I warn the customer about also having to replace the Ignition coil packs or Module if there are any problems after a ignition tune up is done. I'd say in the last year on GM 3100 and 3400 series engines we have done roughly about 10 ignition coil packs and/or ignition modules.

Those are probably the biggest things that stick out in my mind. I am very opinionated and I have tried to just tell you what I see in my shop. General concensus from most of my customers though is that the quality/dependability of Domestic cars aren't what they used to be. If given a choice most of them would end up with a Toyota or Honda.

In the end the choice is still yours. If you need more information hit some GM forums and see what posts are looked at or what posts come up alot.

Just to let you know Japanese cars have their flaws also. For example, Rear main seals go bad all the time on Toyotas and Hondas. Since this is the seal between the engine and transmission you usually have to move the trans a little to get to the seal. Our shop charges about $500-600 depending on the car. Messed up thing is that it is all labor time. The part usually costs between 15-50 dollars.
Oil leaks seem to be the main problem with Japanese cars, due to the way the engine is designed. Since the xB has a timing chain, oil changes are extremely important.
I've said too much already and I know someone is going to flame me, so take what information you can and we'll see you in a xB soon. . . :lalala:

OH yeah one more thing, if I ever see a domestic car with over 180k miles I'm am very suprised and have to show all the techs. I have about 3 customers with original engines and transmission with over 200k miles. Mind you these people are also the same customers who are in here everyother day with something for us to check out. . .hahaha but hey whatever works right.

If he's only willing to spend $10,000, what year of car did he want to get you? The other cars are priced thousands more than the xb new. Do your homework on www.edmunds.com, they list this car as a "consumer most wanted" and "lowest true cost to own" http://www.edmunds.com/new/2005/scion/xb/index.html
Does your Dad read Consumer Reports: They give their approval in the Aug 2004 issue for a good car to buy. Also check out:
http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/08/pf/autos/cr_auto_reliability/
I found an xb for $12,800, I found it on the internet, as they are impossible to find in this area for a reasonable price. Most used cost more than new in this area :nope:
I was short $2,000, put it on credit and am paying less than $100 per month.
I love a debate, and this is the best that I could do from personal experience. Good luck!
p.s. The Toyota has the best predicatability for being the best car to own: staying out of repair shops. Gotta Love it!

I really recomend going onto the internet, pulling up a car review page, open up 3+ diff windows of reviews of the cars you are looking at...the xB will fare MUCH better...that impressed my mom enough to co-sign with me....and she hates me :P

Just look at resale the xB is the way to go.

But if he is going to make you get a American car you better lease so you can get out of it without being upside down.

i find that the impala has tons of power i enjoyed driving that car but that was about 2 years before i gotten my car and it was rental and had the smaller engine

if you can find a used impala cop car with the spot lights still on it

WOW!, you guys have no idea how much this has helped. im printing these posts as we speak and am gonna go talk to him immidiatly. Thank you guys so much! i will definatly keep you guys updated!!!!!!!!! WAHOO

As the parent of a 21-year old son, my concerns would be:

1) That the car not be overpowered. Give a kid a powerful car and he'll get into trouble with it. Nobody ever accused an xB of being fast.

2) That the car be reliable. Toyota's reliability vs GM's is a known quantity.

3) That the car be less likely to get into an accident. Electronic Stability Control is one of the great safety advances of the 21st century, and the xB has it. This cannot be over-emphasized.

4) That the car provide adequate protection if it does get into an accident. The xB did well (not stellar, but adequate) in crash tests.

5) That the car be economical to own and operate. The xB is a fuel miser, and over the four years of college is extremely likely to need no more than routine maintenance.

6) That the car be cheap to insure. Your Dad should check with his insurance company for a comparison.

Having said that, let me also say you should be very grateful your dad is buying you a car. When my son left, he got the '91 Mazda minivan, and WE got the new car!

RichC

If all else fails, ask him to give you 5,000 for a down payment, and put the other 5,000 in a special checking account which you will use only to make payments on the car, make yourself a few grand over the next few working summers, and you've got yourself an xb.

If your dad doesn't like that idea, sell whatever stupid a$s car he gets you, get yourself in a car you wan't to be driving.

Alright i got an answer. Let me first off again say how happy i was with all the responses, you guys have no idea how much it help... THIS SITE ROCKS! OK ne ways. so i talked tohim and showed him this posting with all the responses and i the answer i got was... if we can fined a used one with relativly low milage and a warrenty.... The problem is i frickin live in Mandan, North Dakota....a town of less than 20,000. I have only seen 1 at a dealership and its new, so the salesman said he would call us if they get any used ones come through, but i highly doubt that would happen, does anybody have ne suggestions???????/

ebay has lots of listings, mostly from used car dealers. some have warantees, but you are unlikely to ever need it

...does anybody have ne suggestions???????/

Roooaaaadddddtrrriiiip! Also check AutoTrader.com, and Cars.com. You may find a used one near you. And they have 3yr/36k mi. warranties, and 60k mi. powertrain so anything less will have a warranty. But like it was said before, you're not likely to need it...

Keep us updated. . .

Good luck. Whatever you get, hopefully you will be happy. It's better to get a car that you don't particularly love, rather than no car at all. But hopefully things work out where all parties involved come out happy.

ya, and keep in mind, most of the used xB's i've seen are selling for MORE than sticker, so the best value is still to buy new. You could either do a road trip, or have a dealer order you one. The only way I could think of an xB selling for under 10 is if it were titled 'SALVAGE'. You have to look really close, becasuse when ppl sell these types of cars, they repair them first, so that they look roadworthy. AFAIK, most states will NEVER title them, however.

road trip? Here in denver, there are at least two stealerships that have several xBx on the ground. One of them has a solar yellow, and one of them has 9 boxes.

[quote anybody have ne suggestions???????/[/quote]

I found mine on e-bay and had to do a road trip.

Used xB's are relatively rare, especially in areas where they aren't sold in great numbers (me stating the obvious, duh). Their rarity will boost the price.

Toyotas hold their value very well, and Scions seem to be following that tradition. Given that the oldest Scions are only 3 years old (and most are newer than that), you will be hard pressed to find one that's a lot cheaper than a new one, unless it's high mileage or has something wrong with it.

On the other hand, new ones are an unusual value for all of the above reasons. Plus, when the current design is retired, their scarcity will likely inflate their resale value (assuming you keep it in good shape).

Scrape up the $5k somehow and buy a new one. Four years from now, if you want to sell it, it'll be worth a lot. Spend $10k on a used Chevy instead and in four years you'll have beans.

RichC

You definitely need to use the security and safety features to your advantage.
I don't recall each one but when a salesman was telling me about what
safety features and security features it had it was definitely a selling point.

Now, lissen here, son, and lissen up real good. This here site is all family-orientated and such, and we ain gon have no talk a no 'masterdabatin' goin on here. No sir.

Folks just aint gonna stand fer it.

ok heres the current situation..... after talking to my dad and going on some websites that you guys listed, we found one bout 400 miles away in a different state in which we are in contact with the dealer. My dad has a car dealer friend about 100 miles away from that one that we found, so he is also talking to the dealer to see what we can do about it. I'll for sure keep an update about it... Thanks for all the help!

That is SOME dad you got there - you know that, right???

ok heres the current situation..... after talking to my dad and going on some websites that you guys listed, we found one bout 400 miles away in a different state in which we are in contact with the dealer. My dad has a car dealer friend about 100 miles away from that one that we found, so he is also talking to the dealer to see what we can do about it. I'll for sure keep an update about it... Thanks for all the help!

That's awesome man. If you're 400 miles away from a dealer, you obviously are not near me, but if you want some help traking something down or have a question on the process, call me at the number listed below or e-mail me at sclifford@kjscion.com

Man Brucker3, that is seriously awesome. My car for college was only $500 and a newspaper. Cherish the moment.

alright sounds great cliffy, thanks alot all

update?

Also remember that if scion stops making the xb this year, then the one you want may be hard to come by. This was the excuse i used in july 05 to get mine.

But there is a price some cars like nissan 350 z depriciate very little. My neighbors has depreciated somewhere around 200$ But on www.KBB.com My xb for a private party sale was only worth 11,000 and trade in low 10,000$ with only 10,000 miles, so the scion does depreciate quickly.

Also hit up your parents on saftey I was in one when it hit a parked excursion at 45 mph and did 9,000$ in damage to the xb whoch was totaled. The three of us in the car got out and ended up having to run a mile to get home and call a tow truck. Luckily not my car :nails:
Im not sure what the impala is rated at but ive personally tested the passenger side of the xb in a frontal crash and it is a very safe car.

Good luck with the future purchase.

Ps. donate a kidney you only need one