There are often deals with large downpayments, or security deposits and/or cash incentives for late models with 36 to 48 months.

They recently introduced FinancingBusters.com also. There are some great deals there also.

For both sites, it’s best to sort the results by “Effective Payment” to flush out the best deals.

BTW: Great site – very usefull, insightful and motivational!

My next car will be a Mazeratti.. I am saving for it, and hopefully interest rates would pick up so I could reach my goal earlier ;-)

Our other car is 8 years old (PT Cruiser) and we may just replace it with a RAV4 as well – but may try to go to the Highlander because our 2nd child is due in a couple of weeks.

Love MDJ – very closely related to my life path / goals / thinking – in fact I worked in high-tech for 9 years in Ottawa before moving to PEI!

I’ve currently got a newer (2007) Impreza and while it works great for current purposes, I think it would be tight for a family with kids. When we have kids, we’ll be upgrading to one of the bigger models.

Subaru is definitely among the contenders, which Subaru model would you recommend?

As for the used car search, the RAV4 is decent but I find it painfully boring :). Definitely check out a used Subaru- I’m currently on Subaru number 2 and 3 and have found them to be unbeatable in terms of reliability, finish, and performance.

I’d steer clear of dealers for a used car- they offer very little other than inflated prices. Some of the CPO programs are attractive, but not at the premium they charge for the certification. Depending on how ‘new’ of a used car you’re considering, also look at buying new- some of the current deals are quite incredible.

My Dodge is 14 years old, and still going strong. I spend about $1000 in repairs annually, and a few dollars in routine maintenance. A friend just sold his 2001 B3000 Mazda, because of the costs to maintain it – 3 years in St. John’s probably did it in, and 5 years in Calgary probably prolonged it’s life a bit.

Like income & taxes — vehicle longevity varies between provinces.

DAvid

Thanks!

Resale value tends to be higher as well.

Congrats on another step in the right direction toward your goals this month.

You continue to suprise/motivate me with the amount of savings you can generate in a month. You must have a great handle and discipline on your personal budget.

We make all of our retirement contributions via payroll deduction so we always get the long term savings part of our budget right but the short term can fluctuate a lot from month to month (up or down $1000s) depending on how well we manage our spending.

Melanie, thanks for the link and tips!

Sampson, thanks for the link! I would consider the states, but travel from NL is quite a ways!

Sif, thanks for the tip about CarCostCanada. I’m actually a member and it’s quite insightful the marginal profit that dealerships make.

Sam, the gains include contributions, savings and investment gains.

I am hooked to this site like a drug addict. Good? Bad? Don’t know but that is how it is. Smile.

I had a question on your YTD Gain/Loss. I am presuming the new money that you add to your portfolio is also considered when you report the net YTD Gain/Loss on the net worth – right? It is not necessarily that your investments alone have appreciated over 14% YTD. If yes, I need to kick myself since my investment portfolio shows half year return of only 6.58% (I use MS Money to track it).

Before I kick myself hard, can you please clarify? Thanking you in advance.

If you’re looking for a new car, try the following website:
Carcostcanada.com.

It’s a $39.95 membership, but they provide invoice prices for any vehicle as well as dealer incentives. You get 5 uses (complete pricing and details). They also provide a local dealership that already knows the price and point of contact for you. No haggling over the price, just the lowest the dealership can provide. I’ve used it twice and saved a minimum of $3000 per use.

Best of luck with the care hunting!

We bought a new CUV last year (ended up with the Nissan Rogue), and having test driven virtually every car in the class, I don’t know that recommendations are all that useful – it really comes done to some minutia that are personal taste (like interiors, wind and road noise etc). AWD is not necessary, just get a good set of snow tirers. Also in the class, don’t forget the Mitsubishi Outlander. Also, Hyundai’s are great value.

You may seriously consider buying in the States, even though the exchange isn’t what it was a year ago. The differences in pricing are still worthwhile. Since its a used car, the transfer of title and registration are very easy to do. You’ll get more value from a private sale, just make sure you check the CarFax and get it thoroughly, thoroughly inspected by a close, trusted mechanic. I would also browse online car forums when you get close to finalizing your decision since some model years have very specific sets of problems.

Check out this site too. Loads of ‘reliability’ data.

http://www.truedelta.com/

My family has only owned Nissans, probably because we’ve never had a single problem with any vehicle we’ve bought from them. I’ve got a 94 Maxima that’s never had a single repair, but two paint jobs because it’s been driven into the ground. (and into a tree, and into another car…)

I agree with you on one front, go with Honda or Toyota..great cars..someone mentioned subaru, its a hit and miss. Also, expensive to fix.