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Comments
Brenda
WE ARE IMMEDIATELY LOOKING TO INTERVIEW STUDENTS
16-23 YEARS OF AGE WHO HAVE SURVIVED (OR MAY STILL BE IN REHABILITATION FROM) A MAJOR CAR CRASH.
We are not looking to sensationalize bad drivers; we want to point out that wrong choices are often made behind the wheel due to inexperience or youthful feelings of invulnerability.
Possible causes of the crash could have been:
· distraction from the road such as cell phone use, changing CDs, putting on makeup, fooling around with group of friends, etc.
· falling asleep behind the wheel
· too much partying
· speeding
· racing with another car
· angry frustration or road rage
· or if your car crash injury could have been avoided if a seat belt had been worn!
*If any of the above applies to you or someone you know, please contact
ROSEMARY KALIKOW, Producer, Court TV (212) 973-8940, or
Email: kalikowr@mail.courttv.com
Thanks as always,
Jonathan Welsh
Katkison
The New York Times is interested in hearing people's reactions to the special car rental deals currently in effect. You can now borrow a car for as low as $9.99/day from Enterprise or $20/day from Hertz, and you can get a Ford Ranger at $19.99/day or $99.99/week from Budget. How does that fit into your travel plans? Or, does it inspire you to rent a vehicle locally for personal use?
Thanks for coming back to me at jfallon@edmunds.com with your comments, phone number, and city and state of residence by Wednesday, October 17 if you'd like to participate.
Very best always,
Jeannine Fallon
PR Director
Edmunds.com
jfallon@edmunds.com
That interestes me. I rent vehicles fairly often and have cut back the amount of rentals I use, because most of the rental agencies started cutting their mileage allowed.
Proud to buy a car that is not only made in America, but maintains profits within this country. Ahh! How Politically Incorrect is that!
Why I bought a full sized (non-conversion) van:
Chevy Express 1500 Passenger Van (base w/ 1SC package)
1. Bigger interior space than SUV
2. Better gas mileage than SUV with comparable interior space (there isn't one, nope, not even the Toyota Land Cruiser - joke)
3. Not what everyone else buys, but sold enough in commercial applications to ensure that repair/maintenance will be cheap and easy to come by.
4. Ability to remove rear 2 seats for a massive 270 cubic feet of cargo space.
5. It's better than a pickup, because *my* "tonnaeu cover* is air conditioned, and if I need, I can put the 2 rear benches back in.
6. Insane number of engine choices and configurations.
7. The "sin bin" may (again) be the wave of the future?
8. No interest in little sports sedans that my friends have to cram into, no matter how great the handling might be.
9. Conversion is possible in the future, if I desire it.
10. Cheaper by far than any big honking SUV, sports sedan, or other poseur-mobile. Not being popular has its benefits, it seems.
My buying experience was Difficult, to say the least.
Few dealerships even offer a base, non-conversion van. Fewer still offer one that isn't a white, windowless "commercial" van.
When the dealers I went to (Both GMC and Chevy) didn't have base vans, some asked me about getting a Chevy Tahoe ---- with prices waaay up in the 30Ks. Not gonna happen...
In the end, I found ONE Pewter Metallic with the 5.0 liter V8 where I live, and I jumped on it with GM's 0% interest, and my company's GMS discount program.
In the end, I am a happy camper, with this fun to drive- look down on others as you drive the big rig - feeling. No problems, though I mistook the clutch fan for high revving at first - my bad. The vehicle has a whopping 31 gallon gas tank that I have only had to fill once (was filled initially by dealer) and I have driven 700+ miles so far. A good vehicle, and none of my friends recognize it or know it. What a GOOD feeling it is to not be yet another sheep, following the "trenzzz".
The Suzuki was....O.K.....but the engine sounded like a tornado at 70mph, revving waaay up at 4000 rpms, and none of my friends appreciated the cramped (even with the sedan) ride. Overall, I realized fast that my hobbies and lifestyle could not be supported by a little economy car. No gripes against Suzuki, but I don't live in Japan anymore, and I now recognize that fact in my big American house and Big American needs.
- Happy Express Owner
Please post here and/or send your response to jfallon@edmunds.com by Monday, October 29 for inclusion in a Chicago Tribune article.
Thanks as always for your time!
2) Utility. Not necessarily an SUV, but whatever the car's purpose it should do the job properly, beit Sports Car, SUV, Van, Roadster, etc. I can't stand 90% of the SUVs out there cause they are all curvy and not very good for hauling boxes and other assorted items in the back. When I showed up to the Dodge dealer with 2 17" monitor boxes he looked at me like I was crazy when i tried to fit them in the back of the durango.
3) Safety- Real safety items such as real world stats on # of crashes etc. Not theoretical rollovers, or 5mph crashes into things that don't exist in the real world, or biased automotive press tests. Cold hard factual real world stats.
4) Price- Value more specifically. For instance I bought a trooper for $25,500 fully loaded. No other SUV can come close to the features + size + reliability for even $30K out the door price.
-mike
mike@iace.com
2) Resale value. Is it a better buy new or Used? I just bought a 99 Jaguar used (for myself.. I am a dealer) as I saved over $40,000! Meanwhile, another family member just bought a new Mercedes CLK Cabriolet on my reccomendation new. There's no real savings there going used. People just dont look at that factor enough. "Ooh, I can get a Taurus cheaper than an Accord" Meanwhile, it'd be cheaper to drive a Mercedes CLK for 3 years!
3) Comfort
4) Styling.
5) Reliability
Bill
Please send your response to jfallon@edmunds.com.
;^)
1. Fun to drive. Doesn't have to be a rocket in a straight line, but balanced performance in an entertaining package is an absolute must.
2. Utility. It must meet my needs. By that I mean at least decent payload, towing, passenger space, cargo space, etc.
3. Reliability. Must be better than average, at least. I'd like a 5+ year warranty to go with it, too.
4. Value. At any price level, a good value. I'd be in the $20k to $30k price range, but for that much I pretty much want it loaded.
Specific things I'd like include traction and stability control, a wagon bodystyle, a manual tranny, 4 channel ABS, and AWD.
-juice
And, I've connected with pf_flyer to thank him for being so thorough in helping me get the word out about our search - we don't expect any more deja vus like that again!
But, its tough to put some of those in order because there aren't many I'd compromise on. If it was lacking in any of the areas, I wouldn't buy it. So, really, I guess they are all equally important when you get right down to it. Yes, performance is what I look at first, but if its butt ugly, then I'm not buying it, no matter how fast it is.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
I guess that means that my needs are first, as in size and/or volume, followed by number of doors, functionality and comfort. I also want a fun driving experience, but since it has to meet my needs first, I guess that follows, along with economy and style.
That all said, the whole package must fit into my price range. If you look at it one way, the price is the most limiting criterion. I think, like almost everybody else, cost is really #1. But once you have a laundry list of cars that fit within your budget, the other criteria float to the top.
PF Flyer
Host
Pickups & News & Views Message Boards
Also, most cars with good resale cost more to begin with, so the actual amount of depreciation can be about the same. For example, a Sonata can't match the resale value of an Accord, but it costs so much less to begin with that a lease payment is most likely still lower.
-juice
Say you can buy a 2002 Sonata GLS V6 with cloth and no roof for like $16,500.
An Accord LX will be like $18-19K or so I assume..
The Sonata will drop over $5,000 in the first year.
(01 Sonatas are barely breaking $10-11K at the auctions)
Bill
Hyundai does not transfer the 10/100k warranty to the 2nd buyer, so that probably hurts resale. But if you keep your car forever that and the resale price won't matter to you.
-juice
-mike
Prioritizing the next few are tough, as I keep changing my mind:
2) Price, or at least price range. This is not the biggest factor, but, if I have a max limit of 25k I'm comfortable spending on a car, it narrows the field. The car does have to have "value"..
3) Reliability... helps narrow the range down more (e.g., after a bad experience with Chrysler, I'll never buy another).
4) Safety... further helps me decide, along with:
5) Styling. This really isn't the least important thing - I won't buy a car that I don't like the looks of (why I will never buy an Impala, despite its safety and value - it's just too ugly for my taste). Sometimes my heart overrules my head, and this trumps the other ones (i.e. I currently drive an Aurora, which I've loved since I first saw one. They're not the safest (3-star), or most reliable (thank god for extended warranties), but, to my taste, it's one of the best-looking cars GM's ever designed. It has all of the features I want, too :-)
6) Performance/handling. Also, not at the bottom of the list - if a vehicle doesn't have the HP, or it handles like a truck (OK, I'm showing my Car Guy colors here, no SUV's for me), I'm not going to buy it.
7) Comfort/features. If I can help it (afford it), I will never buy a car without leather seats again. Ditto for ABS, traction control, keyless remote entry, etc.
8) Monthly payment... this is related to price, obviously, but I've already set a range in #2 above. The actual amount of the monthly payment will of course depend upon any financing deals or rebates ongoing, and how much I'm willing to put down.
I bank at a credit union and get pre-approved there at an excellent rate, before going to dealers to look for a car. I do give them the option to beat my credit union's rate - most won't even try when I tell them what it is. I've always thought it foolish to try to get financing through the dealer - after all, when you buy a house, unless it's a land contract, you generally don't try to get financing from the seller or seller's realtor, do you? I see too many people negotiate good prices on cars, only to give it all back (and more) in the financing.
9) Fuel economy. I am a bad American, used to our cheap (compared to the rest of the world) gas prices. I live 6.5 miles from work, with about a 10-minute commute (1 stop sign, 2 stoplights, little traffic, 45 mph speed limit), and maybe drive 100 miles every other weekend to visit family. This averages 10k miles/year. For my purposes, fuel economy is not that high a priority. If I commuted 100 miles each day, it'd be way up there.
10) Resale value. I have generally always bought used (15-30k miles), finance for 3-4 years, and sell after 5 years of ownership (before the mileage gets much above 80k/before the car needs much in repairs or maintenance). I've only bought one new car in my life, and that's only because my wife's mother works for GM and we got the discount. Otherwise, let someone else take the tremendous hit when driving it off the lot...
If I put more stock in resale, I'd never have bought a car from a company that's going out of business. If I can help it, I don't ever intend to sell the Aurora, though :-)
Value again plays into the equation - because GM had announced 3 months earlier that Olds was history, I was able to pick up my loaded (every option) '98 Aurora (27k mi) for $17k - when it stickered for over $40k new. Other than a water pump (still under warranty), it's been the dream car I've lusted after for years...
Hope this helps,
--Robert
-mike
If and when that condition is satisfied (or in an ideal world where it wouldn't matter), the other things that are important to us include:
1. Safety. We live in the northeast, with all of its attendant weather conditions. We also live in a college town with a lot of young, inexperienced, unpredictable drivers. Some are just learning to drive, some think they are F1 drivers. (Beyond that, I happen to think the driving skills, attitudes, and attentiveness of the vast majority of all the people beyond the wheel on the nation's roads are woefully lacking.) We are also expecting our first child, so we are obsessing about safety at the moment. But to me, safety doesn't JUST mean things like crash test results, ABS, air bags, daytime running lights, and the usual litany of actual "safety" features. Things like emergency handling (acceleration, braking, steering--things most people might put under the heading of "performance and handling"), visibility, and so on are part of my overall consideration of what I call "safety".
2) Reliability. I want a vehicle I can expect to count on day in and day out, year in and year out. It's as simple as that.
3) Comfort/features. I'm not overly impressed by the total NUMBER of features, but I AM impressed but thoughtful industrial design. Is a feature useful? Does it do what it is supposed to when it's supposed to do it? Are the controls thoughtfully designed and placed? Is the vehicle comfortable to drive or to ride in for both short errand-running kinds of trips as well as longer drives? I would also include "fit and finish" under this heading. Is the vehicle well-made? Does it feel solid? Is it free of squeaks and rattles?
4) Fuel Economy. Too bad it has to come behind so many other considerations, but for me it does. Nevertheless, I would prefer to be able to drive a vehicle which meets all my other criteria and gets good mileage, too.
5) Price range. I'm prepared to pay somewhat of a premium for all of the things I have listed thus far, but I haven't won the Powerball, so a vehicle has to be within the realm of reason in terms of price.
6) Durability/resale. I expect to keep a vehicle for at least 5 years when I buy it. Presuming I have taken reasonable care of it, I also expect it to have decent resale value when I finally decide to sell it.
Next query - calling all Web-savvy dealers! A journalist at Automotive News is looking to talk with you about how you protect your Web site from hackers and viruses. Any takers? Please post here at Talk to the Press or write me directly at jfallon@edmunds.com. Thanks!
The next few are about equally important:
2. Price (under 25K). montly payments under $400. With all other things equal, manufacturer's low APR financing may sway me.
3. Value. Everyone understands it differently. For example: One can buy a smaller car or a trim with less powerful engine but with sunroof, alloys, leather, multi-cd changer, premium sound system etc. to me, it's not a good value. I'd rather have a bigger vehicle or trim equipped with more powerful engine, ABS, power windows/locks, 1 cd player than a v-4 with leather, sunroof, multi-cd changer and alloys.
3. Image/style. Sometimes you just see a car and you fall in love with it, despite all practical considerations. On the contrary, I could not bring myself to buy a minivan although it would have made perfect sense because we often haul 2 large dogs, gear, etc. I just resent that 'soccer mom' image that comes with a minivan.
4. Reliability... Sure, there are some cars that reported to be super-reliable, but they are either generally overpriced, or if the price is OK, they tend have poor feature content. Also, there is a luck of the draw, you may get a reliable car from 'unreliable' brand and vice versa. Some manufacturers just seem to rest on their reliability laurels. So I choose middle ground between reported reliability and value.
5. safety - kind of ties with value/features - i'd rather have an ABS than sunroof for the same price..
6. Comfort/features. If I can help it, I will never buy a car without power windows/locks, AC,
ABS, auto transmission, keyless entry. These are must-haves.
Not very important are:
8. Fuel economy. I will not go into either extreme (drive 3-cyl Geo Metro w/stick or drive Ford Expedition). Good fuel economy to me is in 24-27 mpg level(highway). Many v-6 are rated at that or better.
9. Resale value. Obviously, there are some exceptions either way, but generally as a rule the cars that have better resale value cost more upfront. I tend to keep my vehicles until they are so old that resale value is a moot point.
-mike
All automotive shoppers today know there are some great 0% financing deals...but many don't realize not everyone qualifies, and not every vehicle is eligible. Did you walk into a dealership prepared to take advantage of 0% financing, only to walk out frustrated or disappointed? If so, the NY Times wants to talk with you! Please post here or respond directly to jfallon@edmunds.com.
Buyers should check the current state of their credit reports before heading down to a car dealership. This will avoid unecessary embarrasement when the Finance Manager is going over your credit report just to find out that you have enough dings in your credit report to terminate the sale.
Knowledge is power. A complete and up-to-date credit report can be obtained from the 3 main credit bureaus, typically for $8 per copy (But this varies on some states):
* Equifax
* Experian
* TransUnion
Before heading out to "car Shopping" make sure before hand that the vehicle(s) you are interested in are covered under current special financing problems. Some models are while other models or brands are not. This is up to the manufacturer to decide, how, when and where.
Sites such as Edmunds and the manufacturers websites can easily provide this information to avoid dissapointments at the dealer's negotiation table.
Consumers that experience frustration in these two areas is simply because they did not take the time to research the current shape of their credit reports and did not do enough research on the cars they are looking for.
In the other hand, some dealers are forcing customers to pay sticker MSRP prices in exchange for the special financing rates. That's a crooked practice of some selling outlets. Consumers can still negotiate their best price and get the special rate (If they qualify for it)at the same time. If a dealer tells you that you have to pay MSRP to get the 0% finance rate, LEAVE THAT STORE AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN.
This kind of ongoing rip-offs are truly FRUSTRATING experiences while the other two can easily be sort out by consumers by taking time to do their research before spending time for nothing at a dealership.
That said, the query remains open to anyone who was taken off guard by the small print.
Did the automaker incentives draw you to the SUV, or did the lower fuel prices register in your mind and lead you to this decision? Maybe it was the enhanced capabilities like all-wheel-drive appealing more than usual, as we all are extra focused on safety these days.
Please post here and/or send your input to jfallon@edmunds.com.
-mike
Have you or a friend bought a Honda S2000, Chrysler Sebring or Corvette in the past few weeks? If so, The Wall Street Journal would like to talk briefly with about the purchase. Please respond by Friday, November 9 to jfallon@edmunds.com.
Since you didn't get any takers from auto dealers, as an automotive technical information website owner, I rely heavily on the server I use. The company I deal with as a server makes backup copies twice a day and make sure their up to date on the current protection. Changing passwords every so often and all that is a must. That isn't saying I don't worry about it, I continually make back up copies of the site and pray I never need them. Ha ha.
-mike
Diversions
Flashy, Glitzy Cars Top Lists
As People Seek New Vehicles
By SHOLNN FREEMAN and KAREN LUNDEGAARD
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Eleen and Merlin Reusser just lost $20,000 in the stock market and think their portfolio will slip even more. So what are the retirees from Boise, Idaho, doing? Buying a new Ford Mustang convertible (bright red) with a license plate that reads "ME N POPS."
Ms. Reusser says the couple can afford the five years of payments -- and besides, they really wanted it. "We've drooled over the picture of this in magazines."
Just how are Americans dealing with economic downturn, high unemployment, terrorism and war? They're buying brand new cars -- 1.73 million of them in October, the most ever in a single month. At that rate, one in every 10 Americans would be driving off the lot in one within a year. But take a look at what's selling: While there's been a slight uptick in the economy models that usually do well in a downturn, the biggest sellers have flash, glitz and price tags that seem surprisingly out of step with the times. (Think high-end trucks, gas-guzzling SUVs and muscle cars.) The biggest gainer of all? A convertible -- Chrysler's Sebring, whose sales have almost tripled since last October.
Corvette sales up 63%? A list of cars that are going fast.
Much of this boom, of course, has been driven by the industry's well-publicized financing plans. But good deals are only part of the picture. Indeed, some of the industry's hot sellers weren't even marked down. Instead, many buyers say they're motivated by everything from confidence that the economy will bounce back, to a patriotic impulse to buy American. And then there's the "seize-the-day" factor, with people suddenly deciding life's too short to hold off on the car of their dreams.
"Sept. 11 may have made us all feel a little more mortal," says Jay Shoemaker, a San Francisco businessman whose wife is a flight attendant for United. He just traded his five-month-old old Mercedes for a fancier Benz that cost almost $100,000. Oh, and he's also shopping for a used Porsche. Says Mr. Shoemaker, chief executive of director Francis Ford Coppola's businesses: "There's only so long you can defer your gratification."
Ford Mustang
This is hardly how buyers behaved during past downturns. During the great gas crisis of the mid-1970s, American consumers shifted to fuel-efficient compacts. In the 1991-92 slowdown, they bought fewer cars because of the sluggish economy and war in the Persian Gulf. But this time around, auto makers are hoping to prop up the market just long enough for the economy to regain steam. So they've rolled out one of the industry's most extreme sales strategies: 0% financing, a plan that lets buyers pay the vehicle price in installments, with no interest. Industry veterans say they can't remember the last time Detroit offered 0% deals this widely.
The deals are giving cars like the Chevrolet Corvette a big boost. General Motors rarely discounts this ultra-macho coupe, so when the company included it in its new financing deals last month, sales jumped more than 60%. "If you weren't going to buy a Corvette in October," said GM sales analyst Paul Ballew, "I don't know when you were going to buy one."
SUV Backlash?
Chevrolet Corvette
In fact, some buyers are using this as an opportunity to buy cars they never could have afforded otherwise. "We'd always wanted a Suburban," says James Day of Maryland, who just bought one of the $36,000 Chevy SUVs. With cheap financing plus an end-of-the-year sale price, he's spending little more each month for his new Suburban than for the 1999 Pontiac Trans Am he traded for it. Still, Mr. Day worries a bit about paying for such an expensive vehicle: His telecommunications company has been laying employees off for three quarters running. Another worry is fuel prices. While gas is relatively cheap now, a period of unrest in the Middle East has never been a comfortable time to own a gas-guzzler.
Ironically, though, that's what's selling more than anything else right now. Remember the mounting SUV backlash? Well, forget it: Sales actually doubled from last October for some popular sport-utility vehicles, while others gained nearly as much. It's easy to see why, with Americans worried more about safety and security, and also planning more road trips instead of flights.
Cadillac Escalade
Trucks fared even better, particularly in Texas, where Ford dealerships pushed the 0% deals especially hard, with some staying open until midnight. The upshot: Ford sold 102,000 F-series pickups in October, the first time a pickup truck has passed the 100,000-a-month mark. The deals were so good, in fact, that Ford's pickups were the biggest-selling vehicle of any kind for the month.
But even some cars that weren't discounted sold well. Subaru and Honda, neither of which offered major new deals following Sept. 11, saw double-digit sales gains in October. Some high-priced models were hot as well. Sales of BMW's 5-series, which goes for about $50,000, were up more than 20%. In fact, sales manager Louis Smith says most BMW buyers at his Midwestern Auto Group in Dublin, Ohio, are not only paying full price, but asking for models loaded with luxury features. "We're a bit shocked at how well things are going," he says.
Chrysler Sebring
And then there are the convertibles. Jeffrey May had been looking for a car to replace his old Pontiac Bonneville, but he put it off after the attacks. "It was a little bit of mourning, a little bit depression," says the Bethesda, Md., accountant. "The mood just wasn't there." So when he went shopping again, he found a little something to lift the clouds -- a new Chrysler Sebring convertible. Another big gainer was the new Lexus SC drop-top. "It's still selling even though it's getting colder outside," says Bob Campbell of McGrath Lexus in Chicago.
Sober Approach
Some buyers are taking a more sober approach. John McCurdy Jr. spent months before Sept. 11 shopping for what his nine-year-old son called "cool" pickup/SUV hybrids like Ford's SportTrac and Chevy's Avalanche. But come October, he reversed course. "Events like these make you realize that your family is No. 1 and that perhaps you should have a vehicle that's a little more protective," says the 52-year-old photographer. He ended up paying a premium for a Subaru with all-wheel-drive, extra airbags and better gas mileage than trucks. "I know that gas is pretty cheap now, but I don't expect that to last. All we need is to make one Arab country mad at us."
Toyota Prius
Of course, because so many buyers have already signed on the dotted line, auto makers will have to come up with a plan to bring still more of them into showrooms. Detroit's Big Three complain that financing deals are draining their bottom lines, and that they'll last only a few more weeks. But Ford and GM both sa
But Ford and GM both say discounts are likely to continue in a different form. And Chrysler is already offering buyers a free seven-year, or 100,000-mile, warranty that covers the engine and transmission. In touting the warranty, the company has made some not-so-subtle references to Sept. 11, suggesting its plan will give buyers "peace of mind."
"We're trying to get people back focusing on the benefits of the product rather than the size of the deal," says Chrysler marketing chief James Schroer.
Ford F-Series
Some experts expect the no-interest financing deals will be extended or resumed. "Anyone who buys a car after these deals go is making a mistake," says David Healy, an analyst at Burnham Securities. "They'll be back."
But Kristine Arndt says she didn't want to wait. The telecommunications manager had wanted a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV for years -- but put it off because she lived in the Southwest, where wet-weather traction wasn't an issue, and because her then-husband objected. But her resolve grew after she moved to Denver last year, and slid through the Colorado winter in her Chevy Impala. As soon as she found a good deal on a Tahoe, she says, "there was no reason not to do it."
No reason, indeed. Now divorced, she picked one up last Saturday. "Now if I want it," she says, "I can just get it."
-- Jonathan Welsh and Daniel Costello contributed to this article.
Just picked up our new silver LX from Mirak Hyundai in Arlington, MA this week. We have been eyeing the Santa Fe for more than a year, but have waited while I read every possible review, crash test, and recall report (on other vehicles). With winter approaching (supposed to be a good one this year) and an impending drive to VA for Thanksgiving, we decided "now or never." We gave a hard look to the Liberty (which I really liked) and the Forrester. We kicked the tires on all of these at the car show here in Boston last week, but decided to only test drive the Forrester - the Liberty just felt too truck-like for my 5'2" wife. We drove the Forrester on Sunday and I was very impressed with the car-like handling. I thought it would be the better car for my wife whipping around the city. The other pluses for the Forrester: Subaru quality, years of AWD experience, and the only similar crash-test ratings (to the Santa Fe). I also loved the visibility and the glass - a view that felt much safer.
So we moved up the road to the Hyundai dealership in Arlington with the Forrester the one to beat (we had previously driven the Santa Fe twice in the past year). We gave it a good test drive this time, with my wife also getting behind the wheel. I think we both sensed some Serendipity this time - they had a fully loaded silver LX on the lot, precisely the vehicle we would want. My main concern had been visibility - with less glass and the flared hood, I was concerned about more "spatial relationship" problems, but my wife drove it and felt comfortable. In driving it felt smooth and solid and I liked playing with the shiftronic, so the Santa Fe moved into the "lead" again (with of course the main benefits being getting leather, and all the trimmings for less $ than the Forrester).
Now for some background - we are now three-time Hyundai owners. My wife had a '93 Sonata from college that I inherited in marriage. When looking for a car two years ago, we did not set out looking for a Hyundai. I really did not care much for the car, but the economics (we bought an Elantra wagon) were hard to argue against. And, I realized, they are building better and better cars, and the Sonata (built at a time of lower quality) had not had a significant problem at all through 70K miles; the main problem to me had been the quality of construction and fit (it rattled a lot).
So we put only 22K miles on the Elantra in 2 + years, and were generally happy with it – not so much that’d we consider ourselves “loyal” Hyundai drivers yet, but we were at least used to being Hyundai owners. The only problem was a recall part - I believe the power transmission fluid line. My other beefs – the car got TERIBLE mileage. I should have had it looked at, but was too lazy. Our hunch in looking at an SUV was that we might get a better trade-in value from a Hyundai dealer. Not sure if that was the case or not, but they offered us $1000 over blue book trade-in value - and the car had a big dent and scrapes in the rear passenger-side door (the result of some, uh, spatial relationship problems my wife had had with a few poles). All-in-all, with that and some service needed (alignment, etc) we were probably looking at sinking a $1000 into it before winter, so trading up was a relief.
So we returned to the dealer on Monday and put a deal together quickly. I think they were pretty straightforward on the price - our biggest break came on the trade-in, so I had no complaints. We picked the car up Tuesday, and off we went.
We have only 70 miles on the car so far (all in hard city driving), but we are absolutely thrilled with it. Time will tell, of course on reliability and quality, but it is a dream to drive, and it has exceeded our expectations. My wife loves driving it and actually feels much safer. Again, we love it. With each Hyundai we've had, it's clear they've made strides with fit, finish, and - let's be honest - the automatic transmissions (the Elantra never felt quite “right”). This is a great car.
I've had a few snickers from friends whom I've told we bought another Hyundai. But I don't care -I'm not a "car" person. A car will never say much about who I am, but I feel smart driving this. I really don’t think you can go wrong in the compact SUV class. This seems like almost a “golden age” of cars, with so many companies making good cars. I’m sure we would have been happy with the Forrester, but the Santa Fe makes us almost giddy. To paraphrase one review I found – if you like the looks of the Santa Fe (and many understandably don’t) you don’t even need to consider the competitors.
One last thing - we've already had one of those "Santa Fe moments" other drivers have reported. A man stopped my wife as she was plugging her meter in the South End. He marveled over the car and actually asked if he could sit in it.
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Please respond to jfallon@edmunds.com by Friday, November 16 with your story.
Happy Thanksgiving, all!
-mike
-juice