Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

jpp75

@stickguy said:
Base corolla? But that is a sedan. Sonic, or whatever the mini Chevy is these days?

I was parking the other night at dinner and saw a lady getting out of the mini Chevy. Her friend who was meeting her asked what the hell she was driving and if it was even a real car, turns out it was a rental and they were out of midsize cars and the Sonic (I think?) was all they had left on the lot.

qbrozen

Sonic also has manual windows. Have to step up to the $18k model otherwise... and then you are paying $18k for a Sonic. My cousin has one. I am not impressed.

Corolla is obviously out. Not only is it not a hatch, but I can't even fit in one. I tried.

jpp75

@qbrozen said:
Sonic also has manual windows. Have to step up to the $18k model otherwise... and then you are paying $18k for a Sonic. My cousin has one. I am not impressed.

Corolla is obviously out. Not only is it not a hatch, but I can't even fit in one. I tried.

And you shouldn't be impressed with the Sonic. It's competent, but why would you "want" one?

suydam

That Mazda 6 wagon looks identical to the '04 I had, except mine was automatic. Great car. Not so great on gas. Mine was also blue with light gray leather. Even had seat heaters.

qbrozen

Elantra GT COULD be on the list. Current incentives bring a 2014 down under $16k. So it will depend on where they sit come the holidays. I'm trying to think more along the lines of 2015 models at this point, though.

jayrider

@qbrozen said:
Elantra GT COULD be on the list. Current incentives bring a 2014 down under $16k. So it will depend on where they sit come the holidays. I'm trying to think more along the lines of 2015 models at this point, though.

I posted a price of 14500 for a 2014 Ford Fiesta Titanium here in St. Louis. Has a lot plus a stick. Nice leather interior. You probably saw it -- it seems competitive in that price range.

tommister2

@xwesx said:
I solved that problem by opening a second policy with a different company. Kinda works well to swap cars back and forth depending on which is the better savings, too, without the hassle of the company then bugging me for a year afterward as they do when you ask for a competitive quote.

Wow, good idea! I might just park a car for a while if I buy a Mustang, but if I do need 2 policies in the future I might try this.

I found a Mustang about an hour away with a decent price so I'm going to check it out tonight.

qbrozen

@jayrider said:
I posted a price of 14500 for a 2014 Ford Fiesta Titanium here in St. Louis. Has a lot plus a stick. Nice leather interior. You probably saw it -- it seems competitive in that price range.

Yeah, I saw that. Just can't do anything right now. I suppose I'd have to jump at the price, although I'd rather not black/black, and would rather not have leather (I also think that price probably takes into account incentives I don't qualify for). I still haven't driven one. Only test drive thus far was the mazda. Looks like I'll have to wait till November to test anything else.

kyfdx

Isn't there something cheaper than the Sonic? Spark?

stever

Versa I think.

suydam

Kia Forte 5?

stever

Heh, the Soul and the Rio are cheaper than the Forte5 - you have caviar tastes.

There's 39 cars on the market currently under $15k per the Edmunds Car Finder.

js06gv

And strangely enough the Spark has standard power windows for 13K when the larger Sonic doesn't. How about a manual Accent? Same as Kia?

rae52

Mitsubishi Mirage 2014/15

roadburner

kyfdx said:

Geez... maybe just go over there and answer the poor guy's question? Everyone in CCBA will eventually die, and we need new members to stick around...

That's what happened when the kid with $10,000 to spend asked about a sports car. A few Grim Reapers jumped in and told him to buy a used Camry or Buick. Boring is as boring does, I suppose...

roadburner

kyfdx said:

Isn't there something cheaper than the Sonic? Spark?

Walking. And infinitely preferable...

Michaell

q - as the owner (well, leasee) of an Elantra GT I recommend one.

Mine is a base model but has XM, Bluetooth (phone and audio), PW and heated cloth seats.

There are only two things I'm not thrilled with - and you won't have to deal with one of them.

The auto tranny hunts around a it, and the trip computer is about 2-3 MPG optimistic. Today I filled it up - computer said 35, my calcs showed 33.

Neither are a deal breaker, just wanted you to know.

Sandman6472

Have Sonic's and Spark's at work and prefer the Spark for some strange reason. Most customers seem to agree also. But definitely prefer the Impala and the Captiva. Turns out we have a rent to buy plan at Hertz I never knew about and wish I had because I really like those Captiva's for some strange reason. Drove a beautiful charcoal over dark gray last week, a LTZ model and a red over gray LT model the other day which were very nice. A shame Chevy doesn't sell these in the states and not sure I would've bought what I bought if I had known about the Hertz program to be honest. Looks wise, I prefer the Captiva but mileage is better in the Tuscon as is the seating position...so guess I got what I was supposed to get. And even though the Captiva has a slightly larger engine, the Tuscon just drives so much better, a very effortless ride. So, all is good and hey, I can always drive Captiva's at work!

The Sandman

tommister2

Mustang deal done - 2014 Mustang GT, Ruby Red with charcoal interior. I pick it up Saturday. Happy happy

stever

First ticket Sunday?

Oh wait, you'll have to break it in a few hundred miles first I guess. Congrats!

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

I'm the one with the Volvo on the block. Just washed/waxed/detailed interior this afternoon. Looks much, much better. Only a couple of the touch up places didn't come out good (I think I missed one with the smooth out sponge!). but for an old car, pretty minor and overall looks very nice. So, tomorrow hopefully the sun comes out, so we can get some pictures and I can get an ad out on CL. Then we see what happens.

Only among this group would someone call a 2007 an "old car". LOL.

tommister2

stever said:

First ticket Sunday?

Oh wait, you'll have to break it in a few hundred miles first I guess. Congrats!

Boy I hope not. The wife did say we have to be careful.

nyccarguy

@qbrozen‌

"Elantra GT COULD be on the list"

Nice! You'll have to shop at all those store THAT ADVERTISE ON THE RADIO claiming to be THE LARGEST HYUNDAI DEALER IN THE WORLD, THE LARGEST DEALER IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY... (Brad Benson Hyundai, Lester Glen Hyundai, & Sansone's Route 1 Hyundai) and report back!

stever

Cruise control has saved my bacon several times.

Poetic justice will result in your wife getting the first speeding ticket.

qbrozen

Forte5 = too expensive

Rio5 = manual windows

Soul = doesn't hit my mileage requirement

Mitsu & Spark = seriously?



tom - congrats! stick or auto? Base model?



Elantra GT will stay on the list, which is just 4 cars at this point. My latest thought is that maybe I can find a store who is affiliated with a Nissan store and get them to work something out with the Leaf. No idea if that's possible, but worth a shot. My Ford dealer has a Nissan affiliate, and I'm taking the Mustang for service next Tues, so I'll talk to them and maybe drive a Fiesta at that time. My Nissan dealer has both Honda and Hyundai affiliates, so that might get me a chance to check out a Fit and Elantra GT.


Speaking of a Rio5, oddly enough, I came across a used 2013 SX with power everything and nav with a manual transmission. No idea why I can't configure a 2014 that way. I guess they changed their thinking?

jayrider

qbrozen said:

Forte5 = too expensive

Rio5 = manual windows

Soul = doesn't hit my mileage requirement

Mitsu & Spark = seriously?



tom - congrats! stick or auto? Base model?



My Nissan dealer has both Honda and Hyundai affiliates, so that might get me a chance to check out a Fit and Elantra GT.

I traded my 09 Murano to a Toyota dealer with a year left on the lease. Got a great trade-in [I think] but Muranos were hot then. Don't know if the same is true on the Leaf, but you can trade it in -- Nissan leases allow that.

qbrozen

According to my lease, Nissan does not allow you to terminate early or transfer it, and the trade-in value is way way below what is left on the lease. They would, however, allow early termination if trading on another Nissan. I just wonder if another dealer who has a Nissan dealership in the network can work it out.

I found the almost perfect 2015 Fiesta, and it belongs to my dealer. Not sure if they have it on their exact lot, though. Magnetic grey with the 1.0 turbo manual and comfort package. To be exactly perfect, it would need the light interior, but it has black. With the $1250 incentives on the '15 vs the $2250 on the '14, the newer one is obviously the better buy.

HOWEVER, looking at used prices, those damned things depreciate relatively steeply in the first 2 years. I'd be buying it for $16k and after just 2 years and 20k miles, it would be worth about $10k. Meanwhile, a Honda Fit or Elantra would lose about $4k and a mazda2 about $3k. Something to think about.

stickguy

wait, already planning to unload it in 2 years? I am shocked I tell you, shocked.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

HOWEVER, looking at used prices, those damned things depreciate relatively steeply in the first 2 years. I'd be buying it for $16k and after just 2 years and 20k miles, it would be worth about $10k. Meanwhile, a Honda Fit or Elantra would lose about $4k and a mazda2 about $3k. Something to think about.

That they do! My car's MSRP was $22K (here, which includes winterization; more like $21.3K standard) new, and I paid $16K for it, from a dealership, a year later. Now, a little over two years later, it has lost another $5K in practical value (~12K retail, 11K private party, 9K trade).

stickguy

Looks like a lot in % terms, but in real dollars, it would have to. Why pay $2k less than new for a 2-3 YO one?

3 years depreciation on a BMW is going to be more like 15-20k, right?

ab348

@stickguy - Shhhh, stop making sense.

stickguy

Don't worry. Doesn't happen that often.

nyccarguy

@qbrozen‌

That's why you want an inexpensive car, not a cheap car. Have you looked at how much used FITs go for? You could pay sticker for a Fit LX & probably sell it 2 years later for $2K less:)

breld

Wife and I had a similar discussion just yesterday, where we acknowledged with our buying habits, we should stop focusing too much on the cost of the car, and focus more on the expected depreciation. That holds true for anyone I suppose, but if you only plan on keeping the car for a relatively short time...

That discussion was in the context of that 60k miles ZHP convertible I was looking at. It's more than I want to spend at the moment for a fun car, but my wife pointed out that the depreciation would probably be very little on something like that if I could buy it right. So she gave me the go ahead on it - unfortunately, someone already had put a deposit on it. :@

breld

nyccarguy said:

@qbrozen‌

That's why you want an inexpensive car, not a cheap car. Have you looked at how much used FITs go for? You could pay sticker for a Fit LX & probably sell it 2 years later for $2K less:)

Yeah - used Fits are priced crazy high. I think CR-Vs are the same way. Definitely worth it to buy new on those. But something like the Hyundai or Fiesta? You could save thousands and still have some warranty left, especially on the Hyundai.

So 4 on the list currently? Fit, Elantra GT, Fiesta...what's the fourth? I forget.

breld

Nevermind, I just remembered the fourth - Mazda2.

How about a real dark horse - a Veloster? Little light on power, but probably about the same as something like the Mazda2 and Fiesta. The main drawback for us was the blind spot, but that was also keeping in mind a young driver. We got ours in the $16k's new, and that was with an automatic.

qbrozen

mazda2 was the fourth. The current deal makes it the smartest buy, I think. But I believe it is the "least car" of the bunch. The price reflects that. $12k vs $16k for any of the others.

I find the Fiesta appealing still mostly due to the equipment. I pinged my dealer about a test drive and here is the response I got.

Hello Robert,

Thank you for your vehicle request. Please review below the Window-Sticker and Price Quote for one particular 2015 Ford Fiesta SE I have in transit. I do have several Fiesta models available with different options, colors and equipment. The vehicle below can be a starting point.

How does the vehicle below sound?

TOTAL MSRP
$17,705.00


OUR SELLING PRICE (Prior to rebates)
$17,414.00


LESS CASH BACK**
($750.00)


OUR INTERNET SAVINGS COUPON
($250.00)
__________

YOUR PRICE: $16,414.00

Are you currently leasing a vehicle? If so, you may qualify for an additional $1,000 incentive. Please call me today for the details.

Now, I don't know about the $1k incentive. It is $500 according to the Ford website. But that price is already $472 lower than truecar is showing me. I'm impressed. The car in question is the same I quoted before (1.0, stick, comfort pack, magnetic grey).

tommister2

qbrozen said:

tom - congrats! stick or auto? Base model?

It's a base GT stick. It does have the technology package which includes a power seat. I do like most of the features that the GT Premium adds but in the end I decided not to spend the extra money. This will be an extra vehicle for the wife and I to enjoy and the base GT has everything we need.

jayrider

qbrozen said:

mazda2 was the fourth. The current deal makes it the smartest buy, I think. But I believe it is the "least car" of the bunch. The price reflects that. $12k vs $16k for any of the others.

I find the Fiesta appealing still mostly due to the equipment. I pinged my dealer about a test drive and here is the response I got.

Hello Robert,

Thank you for your vehicle request. Please review below the Window-Sticker and Price Quote for one particular 2015 Ford Fiesta SE I have in transit. I do have several Fiesta models available with different options, colors and equipment. The vehicle below can be a starting point.

How does the vehicle below sound?

TOTAL MSRP
$17,705.00


OUR SELLING PRICE (Prior to rebates)
$17,414.00


LESS CASH BACK**
($750.00)


OUR INTERNET SAVINGS COUPON
($250.00)
__________

YOUR PRICE: $16,414.00

Are you currently leasing a vehicle? If so, you may qualify for an additional $1,000 incentive. Please call me today for the details.

Now, I don't know about the $1k incentive. It is $500 according to the Ford website. But that price is already $472 lower than truecar is showing me. I'm impressed. The car in question is the same I quoted before (1.0, stick, comfort pack, magnetic grey).

That is a great price based on my local ads. Once you test drive it, you'll know if it's for you. Have fun --- free coffee and bathroom access.

iluvmysephia1

Regarding the ghastly mileage on the Kia Soul, I have a 2011 Soul with the 5-speed stick and I'm getting 31 mpg city and 35 mpg highway. That's with the 2.0L 4-cyl., 5-speed. And yes, it has power windows!

nyccarguy

Tom

Congrats on the punch! GT w/ a stick! Nice ride!

ab348

@qbrozen - I just read in Automotive News that Mazda is introducing the new Mazda2 this week in Japan and it will be here sometime next year. Looks quite different from the current model. So the current model is the last of the line, which may be why they are so inexpensive as they want them gone. Just FYI.

stickguy

looks like a 3 hatch that they left in the dryer too long.

iluvmysephia1

I like that new Mazda 2. If it was out on July 1st when the Lancer GTS lost its engine I would've took a test drive and possibly pulled the trigger. A neighbor is selling her '11 Mazda 2 and it's all right but doesn't quite meet the design of the new 2.

OTOH I think I prefer the Kia Soul and would've probably still bought the Soul.

roadburner

nyccarguy said:

Tom

Congrats on the punch! GT w/ a stick! Nice ride!

Ditto!!!

oldfarmer50

breld said:

Just browsing for some manual fun:

Sort of tempted to go look at this:

Mazda6 wagon

Don't see too many of these anymore:

MS Protege

But holy curb rash Batman! And that front bumper needs to be put on a bit better than that.

I like the Protege speed (didn't know they made them that far back) but a lot of money for a lot of miles.

oldfarmer50

rae52 said:

Mitsubishi Mirage 2014/15

Saw one yesterday. Can you say "bicycle tires"?

oldfarmer50

tommister2 said:

Mustang deal done - 2014 Mustang GT, Ruby Red with charcoal interior. I pick it up Saturday. Happy happy

Excellent! What kind of numbers are we talking about?

oldfarmer50

iluvmysephia1 said:

I like that new Mazda 2. If it was out on July 1st when the Lancer GTS lost its engine I would've took a test drive and possibly pulled the trigger. A neighbor is selling her '11 Mazda 2 and it's all right but doesn't quite meet the design of the new 2.

OTOH I think I prefer the Kia Soul and would've probably still bought the Soul.

The Lancer blew a motor? Yikes!

qbrozen

iluvmysephia1 said:

Regarding the ghastly mileage on the Kia Soul, I have a 2011 Soul with the 5-speed stick and I'm getting 31 mpg city and 35 mpg highway. That's with the 2.0L 4-cyl., 5-speed. And yes, it has power windows!

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, I can't go by that, though. I have to trust that what I typically get compared to EPA holds true for all vehicles, which would put me at about 28-29 average in that car. But, even sadder still is that they don't offer a manual with the bigger engine.