Calling Los Angeles-based car shoppers: Have you recently traded in (or plan to trade in) a car with negative equity (i.e. the amount you owe on your auto loan is greater than the car's value)? A reporter would like to speak with you; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 11/6 for details.

New Acura MDX or Used Toyota Sequoia?

baseballmom97baseballmom97 Member Posts: 101
edited April 2014 in Acura
I'm trying to decide between buying my '04 Sequoia at lease end in one month for $24,200 or a new MDX?

The upside to the MDX is that we can keep it for at least 8 years and that it will hopefully get better gas mileage than the Sequoia. We would probably only keep the Sequoia for 3 more years. The downside to the MDX is that it is in the ballpark of $15,000 more than the used Sequoia. The other downside is that it requires premium gas -- this is surprising to me.

Also, we have a '99 Acura RL in great condition with 93K to trade in -- if we buy a new MDX, how likely is it that the dealer will give us a good trade-in price for the RL?

We can definitely afford the MDX but my husband absolutely hates to spend money on a depreciating asset and would rather invest the money. I think if you buy a new Acura, you can keep it problem-free for several years...

I know finances are a subjective and personal issue, but with the above scenario, what makes more financial sense??

Comments

  • gene00gene00 Member Posts: 115
    We bought a new 07 MDX, which is truly a great car. However, I sometimes regret not trying harder to find a used '05 MDX for ~$15k less. If we keep the car until it dies, we'd be better off having purchased the used model, but that rarely happens, at least for me. Theoretically, the resale value of the new model should far outstrip the old.

    We have new twins, and the 07 MDX seems about as safe as a car can get, this was a factor, along with the 'niceness' of the MDX, the DVD-Audio (which, I come to find out, has few titles and most are out of print - why they chose it over SACD I have no idea), and the other tech package options.

    The Sequoia feels huge to me, I'm sure you're used to it by now, but the MDX is the most fun-to-drive & sporty SUV I have ever driven, and I drove them all. It would definitely be a step up in driving experience.

    It's a bad economic decision to pay $1 more than you have to to get the functionality that you need. But one must splurge on occasions to keep life fun - only you can decide if this is where you want your splurge money to go.
  • apacinoapacino Member Posts: 1
    We're expecting our 3rd child and would like to know how difficult is it to constantly access the 3rd row? The other two are 3 and 1. We like the MDX over the sequoia, but feel the sequoia will give us the room we need. The sequoia scares us with the V8 engine.
  • sanjaysdcasanjaysdca Member Posts: 269
    The back seat in 2007+ MDX is not that easy to get in or out.

    Only passenger side second row seat folds down. If there is a need to use third row on regular basis I would not recommend MDX. I would look at Highlander or a Minivan.

    However you cannot beat the drive of MDX. Great vehicle
  • baseballmom97baseballmom97 Member Posts: 101
    I totally agree about the limited access to the 3rd row in the MDX. My husband has an MDX but we have 2 kids and rarely use the third row. I would never purchase this for daily use with small kids. I have a GMC Acadia and I love it -- it has so much more room than the MDX and even the cargo room is much more spacious. The 3rd row is much easier to access as well.
  • mjfloyd1mjfloyd1 Member Posts: 3,572
    I'd go over to the Real World Trade-In Values area on edmunds forums and put in the details on your Sequoia and see what it is really worth at auction before I decided. It seems like a lot for an 04 but I don't know if it's a limited or what options it has or how good or bad of shape it is in. Give the member Volvomax all the details, mileage, accidents, etc and he'll give you a realistic value. Once you get a realistic number, you may be able to negotiate a better buy price with Toyota, as these have dropped quite a bit in value. ( I got $14,000 for my 05 MDX with 54,000 miles, new tires in pretty good shape). I honestly don't know if Toyota will work with you on the buy price though, but it's worth a shot.

    I had an 05 MDX and had the torque converter replaced at 49000 miles under warranty. I just traded it on an 08 MDX and the new one in my opinion is much nicer.

    Also, I believe that Acura recommends (not requires) premium in the MDX, but it will do OK with lesser grades (unless the motor pings or knocks- then you need to use a higher grade) - we used regular on the 05 and also on the 08 with no problems. You do get less horsepower with the lower grades, but 300 horsepower is more that we really need. The acura place that we bought our MDX from only puts in mid grade fuel.

    Hope that helps,
    Mark
This discussion has been closed.