Honest car dealers in or near A.A County

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  • Collector98

    Active Member
    Jan 18, 2015
    271
    Well, after looking all of yesterday and today, we were about to buy a car at Bob Bell in Glen Burnie for about $6,300, but after the fees they charge, tax, tag, and title, the car right around $7,300. They refused to negotiate on the price, even a dollar, so we immediately got up and walked away. It's absolutely ridiculous that they try to screw people over like that. This is just a little heads up if anyone was thinking about going there anytime soon
     

    Collector98

    Active Member
    Jan 18, 2015
    271
    Anything that cheap from a dealer is likely to be more trouble than it's worth.

    If I were looking for cheap basic transportation and not caring what anyone thought about the car, I would be looking at a Chevy Malibu.

    There is literally nothing on that car that is not a straight off the shelf GM product that has been proven over and over again.

    https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for...eCode1=CHEV&modelCode1=MALI&clickType=listing

    JBA has a reputation for being pretty straight forward as far as dealerships go and that $10k car has a TON of negotiation in that price built in.
    I've heard good things about the Malibu, so I'll definitely keep that in mind. Thanks for the recommendation!
     

    Norton

    NRA Endowment Member, Rifleman
    Staff member
    Admin
    Moderator
    May 22, 2005
    122,856
    Those Malibus are all over Autotrader.

    Hell, there's a 2018 with 35k miles on it for $16k. Know that's outside of your stated price range, but that is a hell of a deal on a car that has at least a decade of life left in it.
     

    Norton

    NRA Endowment Member, Rifleman
    Staff member
    Admin
    Moderator
    May 22, 2005
    122,856
    I've heard good things about the Malibu, so I'll definitely keep that in mind. Thanks for the recommendation!

    It's a box with wheels, but they are generally comfortable and reliable.

    I would personally look at the 6 cylinder in the previous generation because that GM 3.6 has been used over, and over, and over in a wide range of applications and the bugs have been worked out.

    The current generation is limited to the 2.0 turbo as far as I know.
     

    Darkemp

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 18, 2009
    7,808
    Marylandistan
    She doesn't want to keep running her credit check with loan applications. It will ding her credit, especially since she has very limited credit history. I would have recommended my BIL but his cheapest is between 9k and 10k. If she has 7k, see what carmax has available for under 5k. She wants to have some in the bank incase it needs repairs. Again, I suggest a low mileage Honda accord or civic. Maybe from early 2000's. Heck I've got an 07 with only 120k miles on it. No its not for sale, I'm running it until it dies.

    ^ This. Find an older Civic, they run for a stupid long time. My BIL just got rid of the ‘93 that he got from his sister about 10yrs ago. She got the car new originally, it had just over 300K miles and was done in by a tree that fell on it to damage the windshield frame enough to make it not worth repairing further.

    I sold him my wife’s old car I was selling anyway- 2014 Chevy Spark. Those little things are tanks too- Korean made global platform that ran over 40mpg. Only negative on that model is extremely high insurance cost (high fatality rate).
     

    Darkemp

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 18, 2009
    7,808
    Marylandistan
    It's a box with wheels, but they are generally comfortable and reliable.

    I would personally look at the 6 cylinder in the previous generation because that GM 3.6 has been used over, and over, and over in a wide range of applications and the bugs have been worked out.

    The current generation is limited to the 2.0 turbo as far as I know.

    Or an Impala with the 3800 V6. Those things were tanks too with a little more room.
     

    TheBert

    The Member
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 10, 2013
    7,687
    Gaithersburg, Maryland
    Well, after looking all of yesterday and today, we were about to buy a car at Bob Bell in Glen Burnie for about $6,300, but after the fees they charge, tax, tag, and title, the car right around $7,300. They refused to negotiate on the price, even a dollar, so we immediately got up and walked away. It's absolutely ridiculous that they try to screw people over like that. This is just a little heads up if anyone was thinking about going there anytime soon


    I bought a used mustang a few years ago from bob bell ford. It was a great experience. Negotiation on the cars price was difficult. Got a loan through them and overall it was a pleasant experience. I would deal with them again.
     

    Norton

    NRA Endowment Member, Rifleman
    Staff member
    Admin
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    May 22, 2005
    122,856
    Or an Impala with the 3800 V6. Those things were tanks too with a little more room.

    Yup. If you just don't care about what other people think, there is some real value in boring GM sedans like these. Totally off the shelf and proven parts, with no "innovation" that leaves the owner paying the R+D for the manufacturer to figure stuff out after the car is on the road.

    There's a reason old men buy those cars....not because they love them, but because a car is nothing more than transportation and they don't want the expense of fixing stuff.

    I would totally buy an Impala or Malibu for a banging around town car.

    The new style on the Buick Regal GS is fantastic if you like sedans. They could have really knocked it out of the park with this car, but of course only got 75% of the way there because they play things too safe.

    Those cars depreciate like a stone and you can end up with a damned nice car at a fraction of the new cost after three years and they have zero miles on them because they are driven by old men.

    Slap a mild tune on that 3.6l V6 and you have a passably fun and comfortable car. It's no BMW, Lexus or Benz in any way, but again passable.
     

    Norton

    NRA Endowment Member, Rifleman
    Staff member
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    May 22, 2005
    122,856
    As a for instance on one that I would pass on:

    https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHisto...uszTzmqhMCPdj-GOCdv7WAKt0rx3Unc?cs:o='carfax'

    Looking at the ad, a decent deal.

    But the CarFax raises some concerns. VWs are all about the service interval and who is doing the service. They are not plug and play cars that you can just drive without taking care of them.

    Owner #1 was excellent. Good intervals and done at the dealer (ouch on the cost, though).

    Owner #2 - servicing a VW at Pep Boys and then it completely drops off.

    Unless something is just missing here, I wouldn't even look at this car because it's heading for major engine issues if it hasn't been properly maintained.

    After owning 2 German cars, I've had my fill of their finicky needs.
     

    Darkemp

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 18, 2009
    7,808
    Marylandistan
    I think this is the non-turbo inline 4.

    https://www.jbachevrolet.com/Vehicl...-Malibu-LT_with_1LT-Glen_Burnie-MD/4618331913

    You aren't going anywhere in a hurry, but at $8k and a respectable CarFax for a 10 year old car, it might do it.

    A lot of off fleet cars out there also- Ford’s, Chevy’s, even Subaru’s (my company uses Subaru’s) that you know the maintenance history- fleet companies are pretty stern when it comes to intervals.

    While I might not ever buy one as they aren’t that enjoyable to drive- I will say Subaru’s are the best snow and rain vehicle I’ve ever driven. Not much fun, but they do start and run darn near forever even with minimal maintenance. I’ve put 80K miles on a 2018 Forester I was given new in less than 2yrs and can’t even seem to wear out the tires or brakes yet.
     

    Collector98

    Active Member
    Jan 18, 2015
    271
    This is a lot of great info and I can't thank guys enough! I'll try to keep you guys posted as to what she gets!
     

    Pinnacle

    Firearm Licensing (MD, FL, AZ)
    Aug 11, 2020
    154
    She has an account with Navy Federal through me, but she just got her first credit card earlier this year and they already disapproved her for a small loan, but maybe we'll try again

    I am a fan of having multiple bank relationships. There are many other credit unions you can join and they won't have the 'monthly fee' attached to a basic savings or checking account. Credit unions > Big banks in my opinion. Creating different banking relationships allows you to have access to different rates and terms for a variety of credit products and services. Truth is some credit unions are also a lot pickier than others when it comes to terms. Either way, there is nothing wrong with opening those accounts and developing those relationships. A bank loan will always be better than dealer loan. My last two truck loans were with Point Breeze Credit Union and it was easy peasy.
     

    cantstop

    Pentultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 10, 2012
    8,161
    MD
    I know that this is a month old thread. The Malibu stuff peaked my interest.

    A few years ago, my car dealer buddy told me GM was making* him buy 12 Malibus one month. He honestly hates the Malibu (yes, it is a good car). He looks at those as lost sales. He doesn't make any profit on them**. (There are so many to be had, he can't charge a $1 over Fitzmall).

    * He has to sell a bunch of low profit cars from GM to qualify for extra allocations on high demand (high profit) cars and trucks.

    ** Not making profit means he's selling them at a price that covers his daily operations (payroll, rent, taxes). This is what some dealers call $100 over invoice. He doesn't lose money on these cars. Those cars need to be sold to a customer that otherwise might have been up-sold to a more profitable car.
     

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