Iselin, New Jersey

Reasonable drivers in New Jersey -- now that's something to look forward to! There were way too many weird ones in Dallas. (Also, way too much weird street design. You never knew which side of the freeway the next exit would be.)

0 Replies

Thomas wrote:

I'm a car bigot, so I'll probably stick with products from Southern Germany (and their branches in the Southern States). The most likely candidates right now are 5-to-6-year-old specimens of the BMW 3 series, the Mercedes C-class, or Audi A4.

Then go directly to the dealerships, you not only get a good deal on
a used car but they also might give you an extended warranty (I know that MB does).

Thomas wrote:

I Are the expensive companies providing improvements in service that are worth the increase in cost? To take just the two US insurers I've heard of yet, would the upgrade from the AAA policy (cheap) to a Geico policy (expensive) be worth it in your opinion?

Usually, more expensive companies do provide a better service in case
you have an accident, or speeding tickets. Like Chai said, I also would
choose AAA, especially since you have to pay a higher premium at the
beginning, due to no driving history.

0 Replies

Getting a AAA roadside assistance card is different than full insurance - the high end roadside assistance card ($85.00 a year here) means that if you break down in the bank parking lot and your car repair service is within x miles, they will tow you as part of the service. (I was very glad I had that about a year ago...)

On the insurances, I've never had either AAA or Geico and can't say...

0 Replies

2 things you may (or may not) find different in New Jersey as far as driving.....Circles and jug handles.

Circles are self explanatory, remember though there's an inner an outter lane around the circles, if you enter a circle and aren't getting off at the next turn off (ususally about 5 or so on a circle) for Pete's sake get into the inner lane until right before you need to get off. The worse that's gonna happen is you'll need to circle around again.

In fact, that was a major source of entertainment for my generation when piling in a car to drive around...seeing how many times you could just drive aimlessly round and round...hey, something to do. Rolling Eyes

In many places, you can't make a left when that's the direction you want to go. You take the jug handle to the right, and it swings you around so you're heading in the right direction.

We never circled jug handles.

0 Replies

ossobuco wrote:

Getting a AAA roadside assistance card is different than full insurance - the high end roadside assistance card ($85.00 a year here) means that if you break down in the bank parking lot and your car repair service is within x miles, they will tow you as part of the service. (I was very glad I had that about a year ago...)

On the insurances, I've never had either AAA or Geico and can't say...

Yeah, we cross posted, I was talking about roadside assistance, not insurance.

0 Replies

CalamityJane wrote:

Like Chai said, I also would
choose AAA, especially since you have to pay a higher premium at the
beginning, due to no driving history.

This theme is repeating itself quite often lately. No credit history, no driving history .... It's almost like a Western, where I'm the Mysterious Stranger Without a History (MSWH) riding into town. That's okay -- MSWHs usually turn out to be nice guys who save the whole Western. But it feels funny.

0 Replies

Right, it's tough as a foreigner to create a credit history, as virtually no one
wants to be the first to give you access to a credit card until you established yourself.

If you open an account with Bank of America it's fairly easy though. Have
your salary direct deposited into your account and within a few months
BofA will give you a credit card. From then on you can build up your credit
history. Buy something that you'll pay back in installments (furniture etc.)
and make sure you're current with your payments.

As for the driving history - your premium should go down considerably
after one year; just make sure you won't get any speeding tickets.

0 Replies

NJ Motor Vehicle insurance requirements: http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Vehicle/InsuranceRequirements.htm

NJ is a no-fault state; you must be insured if you want to drive there.

0 Replies

Thomas wrote:

I'm a car bigot, so I'll probably stick with products from Southern Germany (and their branches in the Southern States). The most likely candidates right now are 5-to-6-year-old specimens of the BMW 3 series, the Mercedes C-class, or Audi A4.

..... I find it interesting that the cheapest and the dearest policies differ by a factor of two. Are the expensive companies providing improvements in service that are worth the increase in cost? To take just the two US insurers I've heard of yet, would the upgrade from the AAA policy (cheap) to a Geico policy (expensive) be worth it in your opinion?

Used, out of warranty, MBs & BMWs are very expensive to maintain and command a fairly high price on the market. You may find you get more for your money with something else.

The cheapest insurance policies are designed for those who are looking for the cheapest way possible to satisfy state minimum requirements for driving. They are probably OK on serious liability issues, but expect a hassle on minor claims. An alternative is to go with a reputable company but accept a higher deductable (say $1000) on collision claims. This will reduce the premium, and given, the proclivity of insurers to raise premiums after a claim, may end up costing you very little in the long run.

0 Replies

Thomas wrote:

CalamityJane wrote:
Like Chai said, I also would
choose AAA, especially since you have to pay a higher premium at the
beginning, due to no driving history.

This theme is repeating itself quite often lately. No credit history, no driving history .... It's almost like a Western, where I'm the Mysterious Stranger Without a History (MSWH) riding into town. That's okay -- MSWHs usually turn out to be nice guys who save the whole Western. But it feels funny.

Well, this country is in quite a bit of trouble. No pressure, MSWH, but we have quite high expectations from you.

0 Replies

georgeob1 wrote:

Used, out of warranty, MBs & BMWs are very expensive to maintain and command a fairly high price on the market. You may find you get more for your money with something else.

Plus, if you get a BMW or Mercedes, you will need to budget for a monthly mechanic's bill.

http://img447.imageshack.us/img447/2018/lmao1qo.gif

0 Replies

Baloney, Tico!

0 Replies

Thomas wrote:

Reasonable drivers in New Jersey -- now that's something to look forward to! There were way too many weird ones in Dallas. (Also, way too much weird street design. You never knew which side of the freeway the next exit would be.)

Laughing..........exactly, Thomas. And the drivers are never, no way courteous....look out, you may get shot by a man in a business suit and a Mercedes with a shot gun. Always expect the worst.

Bernie will be round shortly to offer advise on cars. I got insurance on our new car from the company I've always worked with, Amica. They're dependable and competitive cost wise. But that's all I know about such things. I don't like to worry my pretty little brain about such trifles.

And Tico, I think you're wrong about the BMW. Ours is wonderful and it gets top ratings. I'm sold for good.

0 Replies

I think the smoker is referring to what it costs to repair a beemer here if you have troubles.

America is different from Germany, and even Cali.

If you are to buy a BMW, or Mercedes, you want to get one that is not going to need repairs. Dealer service is required in most places, and the rate is high.

I am definitely not a 3 series fan...

0 Replies

Thomas, I admittedly came in late. How long are you staying, and have you considered a lease until you have your feet under you?

RH

0 Replies

thomas

German and Japanese cars tend to retain value, so are relatively more costly. Of course, they retain their value, usually, for good reasons. But another factor is that some cars have good years and bad years, Audi and Jetta, for example.

I don't buy a car without refering to Consumer Reports (at least). They've built up a huge data base over the years and you can get good probability and pricing data from them.

The following are the vehicles they recommend as reliable at the 14,000 to 16,000 range (they have some American cars listed in this category but I refuse to include them as a matter of anti-American-hating consistency.
Acura RL--1992
Acura RSX--'02
Honda Accord (4 cyl)--'03
Honda Accord (6 cyl)--02
Honda Civic--'04
Honda CRV--'02
Honda Element--'03
Honda Prelude--'01
Hyundai Santa Fe--'03
Infiniti I30--'01
Infiniti QX--'00
Kia Amata--'04
Lexus ES--'00
Lexus GS--'98
Lexus RX--'99
Mazda B Series (2 wh dr)--'05
mazda Millenia--'02
Mazda MX5 Miata--'02, '03
mazda Tribute--'03
Mitsubishi Galant--'04
Mitsubishi Outlander--'04
Nissan Altima (4 cyl)--'03
Nissan Altima (6 cyl)--'02
Nissan Frontier (v6)--'02 truck
Nissan Maxima--'02
Nissan Pathfinder--'01
Nissan Xterra--'02
Subaru Baja--'03 truck
Subaru Forester--'02
subaru Impreza--'04
Subaru Legacy--'01
Toyota 4Runner (6cyl)--'01
*Avalon--'01
*camry (4cyl)--'03
*camry solara (4cyl)--'02 4 seat convertible
*camry solara (V6)--'01 4 seat convertible
Celica--'02,'03
*Corolla--'05
*Highlander (4cyl)--'01
*Matrix--'04
*MR2--'02
*Prius--'02
*RAV4--'01, '02
*Sienna--'02
*Tacoma (4cyl)--'03,'05 truck
*Tacoma (v6)--'01 truck
*Tundra (v6)--'02 truck
*Tundra (v8)--'00 truck

Red = suv
blue = two seat sports car except the two solaras

As for the 3 series or the audi a4 ( I love both these cars but dependability has been iffy) they suggest you want to avoid the following years:

BMW 3--4
a4--'98 through '02

Your best bets are with the listed japanese cars, particularly the Toyotas.

0 Replies

There are some good lease deals available. We needed a car out here and leased a new 3 series coupe partly because BMW covers maintenance costs (I think they are alone in that).

By the way, for you people slagging the 3 Series, bite you tongues. I come from a sportscar nutty family (my older brother is 64 and still races) and I've driven a lot of nice cars but this one tops them all.

0 Replies

I'd stick to the German cars too, Thomas, whereas I am more partial
to MB's due to the excellent service.

blatham, with a lease you need a good credit history which Thomas doesn't have yet, so he'll probably have a hard time finding a dealer who is
willing to lease him a car.

0 Replies

Well, lots of wonderful pre-owned autos out there too. Lola's previous car was a C Series AMG with the 5.5 litre engine. Damned fast piece of machinery.

0 Replies

With Thomas's budget, and taste, pre-owned would seem the only option.

0 Replies

Iselin, New Jersey

Related Topics

Quick Links

My Account

able2know