Chevrolet Cruze Prices Paid and Buying Experiences

benrey23 · September 2011

Lets see the Cruze is nbr 1 in sales the last 4 months. 5 Star Safety rating. Great customer reviews. Hard to keep in stock. Yet you are worried you could get a better deal. First GM only allows dealers to sell below supplier price when newer model years are out. Anyone who got a price below supplier and were not a supplier we either lying, it was a 2011 when 2012 came out, or the dealer is risking getting fined if GM audits them. What good is the supplier price if given to anyone. Why any dealer would sell less than supplier PP price is crazy for the Cruze. It sells to well. When a dealer sells a legit supplier they get a small allowance from GM to compensate some of what they lose. On a Cruze we are talking about 100-150. So the PP or supplier price is good. I would worry more about the finance department than the sale price. Often I find my managers give on price and place it in the back end.

puffin1 · September 2011

How do you get Pandora radio in a Cruise ,through Onstar?I pay $36..00 for it on my computer.(no commercials.
Thanks
Puffin

fushigi · September 2011

Well, an easy way to get Pandora would be to stream it through a smartphone via USB or Bluetooth. That works with most smartphones & most modern cars.

puffin1 · September 2011

thanks, but you are using data aren't you and listening to Pandora is using alot of minutes right?I have bluetooth but a tracfone.

fushigi · September 2011

Yes, Pandora would be using data, which, depending on your cell provider & plan, may translate to minutes/added cost.

From what I see at http://www.onstar.com/web/portal/home I don't see OnStar offering Pandora or any other entertainment services at the moment.

I would also suggest, if you already own the music you want to play, copy the MP3 files to a USB drive. Those are cheap & high capacity nowadays.

puffin1 · September 2011

Domo, how is Cruze out selling Focus and what
Cruze has dual pipes?I can't find it on the LTZ. The Cruise has a torsion beam(right)?I should think a person would want a multi link, such as the Focus has.
Did you happen to see the ten cars America won't see such as the new Astra?
I put together a Focus SEL with the 302A package, moonroof,Candy Apple Red and the winter PKG, six speed auto tranny and the price was 24,550 alot of money w/o sync. The Focus HB must be over priced.Add 2k more for HB.No way is a Focus worth that.

drvette · September 2011

Check carefully the TCO before purchase.

Japanese cars typically cost much more to maintain, Alternator, Water Pump, Brakes etc than GM vehicles, even Fords TCO is higher than GM. I've wrenched cars for over four decades, and yes Japanese cars Do break, though a "little" less than American or Korean cars.

Hyundai compared to GM's , what a hoot, you'll need that extra warranty, OH, gee, the "Bumper to Bumper" warranty doesn't cover, rusted out gas tanks and brakes.

Honda Timing Belt warning;
These engines are a "Zero Interference" engine, when the timing belt breaks, R&R the engine @ $3500 min. You MUST change the timing belt exactly when Honda says, or before.

Check here with Gates for "Interference Engine Application"
http://www.gates.com/part_locator/index.cfm?location_id=3598

The Cruze 1.8l is a "Interference Engine" don't know about the Eco engine.

Hope this helps
DrVette

chuck1919 · September 2011

People could care less what suspension a car has. The Volkswagen Jetta has been in the top 10 or so sellers and the rear suspension took a giant leap backwards compared to the previous model.

People test drive, look and the interior and the trunk and then make a buying decision. I have yet to see one person crawl under a car and look at the suspension, or even turn to that page in a brochure.

Kirstie_H · October 2011

A reporter seeks to interview California residents who are currently considering a new Chevy sedan (Cruze, Malibu, Sonic) or who recently bought one. Please email pr@edmunds.com by Friday, October 14, 2011 and indicate your city of residence, your daytime phone number, the Chevy sedan of interest and the car model you currently drive

steven39 · October 2011

went with a friend of mine today to look at a 2012 chevy cruze 1lt with auto tranny.msrp was $20,450.00...he offered 18,500.00 and the dealer accepted plus TTT.is this a good price??

puffin1 · October 2011

Yes, I think it's a good price OTD.What did you get, any options and was it in his inventory?

steven39 · October 2011

he purchased 2012 chevy cruze 1Lt with standard features and the auto tranny and no additional options.price as indicated above was $18,500.00 plus TTT.dealer had many cruze's in stock on the lot.apparently cruze sales have died down quite a bit since the new elantra has become very popular so there are good deals to be had on the cruze.we test drove a basic cruze ls non-turbo model and the car was very lethargic and couldn't get out of it's own way.turbo is the only way to go.

puffin1 · October 2011

Well, I think he did well. I notice the Cruise has an iron built motor with a timing chain that's a plus too.

Sandman6472 · October 2011

So he got the 1LT with the turbo then...correct? A bit leary of turbo's and their upkeep, so we'd never buy one of them. I'm still pushing for the Elantra when the time comes. Especially with the longer Hyundai warranty...it's a winner in my book. And I think the public agrees with me on this point, as they sell out almost immediately once they hit the dealers lots, at least down here in South Florida they do. And I've seen more and more of them on the streets lately!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

steven39 · November 2011

incase anyone is interested...i went to my selling dealer yesterday where i purchased my 2012 elantra a few month's ago to have the first oil change..while i was waiting for the car i noticed that they had about 10 new elantra's on the lot in different styles and colors.i guess the hoopla is dying down now because the dealers inventory of elantra's are comeing up..they had a sky-blue elantra with the beige interior that looks really nice.

puffin1 · November 2011

I thought the Elantra didn't have a good color selection. Thanks Puffin;

P.S. the 2dr cpe looks nice, if I could get it in candy apple red. :shades:

garv214 · November 2011

I just purchased a 2011 Cruze Eco in the SF Bay Area. I test drove the Cruze LS, the ECO, the Sonic, a Toyota Prius, and a Ford Focus Hatchback before settling on the Cruze ECO. The Sonic was a hoot to drive (with the 1.4 litre), but was a bit tight in the rear seat. The Cruze just felt a lot more "adult" in comparison. The Focus was a nice car too, but mine had a mechanical issue during the test drive (every salesman's nightmare I suspect...). I had read a user review that griped about the interior door pull (to open the doors), my god they were absolutley flimsy feeling... I am sure that the Ford engineers would assure me that they will last, but sheesh, spend the extra 10 cents and get the sturdy plastic...

2011 Cruze ECO
Connectivity + Cruise
Fog lights
Cargo net
Spare Tire and Jack

MSRP + Dest $20,090 (plus the price of the spare tire)
Negotiated Price $18,900
TTL + Doc $ 1,860
OTD Price b/f rebates $20,760
GM Rebate ($500)
GM Card Rebate ($2,660)
Final OTD price $17,600

On the drive home I averaged 45.5 mpg (25 miles of mostly freeway driving). I am very happy with my car!

drvette · November 2011

Please double check the mpg via gal/mi driven vs the onboard computer.

Many Cruze owners report significant differences, like the computer being optimistic !

drvette · November 2011

I would like to ask all Cruz owners to report if THEIR onboard computer shows overly optimistic MPG figures.

Several owners report this issue, if this is indeed a reality, we need to raise the flag and force GM to correct their CAFE ratings for this vehicle.

Most Sincerely
DrVette

drvette · November 2011

According to the Gates application website, one of the Cruze engines is an "interference engine"

This means when the Timing Belt breaks, you destroy the engine..

The 1.8L engine is,
and according to Gates the 1.4L [I thought is was a 1.6L?] is NOT
This indicates it has a timing "CHAIN" and not a BELT !

The wording "interference engine" will be in RED , here's the link.

http://www.gates.com/part_locator/index.cfm?location_id=3598

puffin1 · November 2011

Thanx, Doc. I went to the link you provided and saw the red ink.I still like how the Cruise handles better than a Focus.
I've had it with planned obsolesence though . I get the chain. :shades:

steven39 · November 2011

my local chevy dealer is advertising down here in south fla on their website 2012 chevy cruze LS with the conectivity package and auto tranny for $16,500.00 plus TTT...msrp is $18,740.00.....

garv214 · November 2011

Oh I am very aware of the optimistic nature of the computer generated mpg LOL... I hadn't noted (or reset) my trip odometer so I don't know how many miles I actually travelled on my first tank of gas. I am on my second tank now (about half a tank gone so far). I drove the family up to the wine country (Sonoma CA) and averaged ~40-41 mpg round trip (including going through downtown SF both ways). I will likely fill it up this weekend, so I will have a much better idea of how optimistic my computer is. I had a Mazdaspeed 3 prior to this car and the computer was off by about 2-3 mpg (~10%). I generally use the computer as a relative gauge to my mileage and actual "pen and paper" for my real MPG.

My "normal" commute is about 2/3rds City and 1/3rd Hwy, so I am targeting 33 mpg-ish as my goal.

elias · November 2011

Dr Vette, the EPA tests are not fooled by the dashboard mpg display.
My Cruze's dashboard average-mpg display seems to be within 1mpg.
Your dealer may be able to recalibrate yours.
(If not, maybe take note of how inaccurate it is and subtract the proper percentage - you will probably find that it is a fixed percentage.)

garv214 · November 2011

Well I just filled up. Now it was not at the same gas station, so there are bound to be some minor fluctuations, but I travelled 333 miles on 9.0 gallons of gas 37.0 mpg. The computer stated 40.1 mpg, so it is off roughly 3 mpg on my car (which has been my experience with out Lexus and my previous Mazda). I do add about 4/10ths of a gallon after the initial shutoff... I wonder if this confuses the computer at all...

My driving had a lot more freeway driving than normal so I expect my average mpg will be a bit lower going forward.

I love my car. I cannot wait to take it on a longer road trip to see how close I can get it to 50 mpg :shades:

elias · November 2011

adding gas after the initial shutoff can wreck parts of the evap system, which could significantly reduce gas mileage. there will be no confusing the dashboard mpg function about that - instead, the OBD function may throw an error code after enough miles/tanks without evap/gas-vapor-recovery system functioning properly.

A manual way to know vapor-recovery system can be functioning properly is when you open the cap when tank is fairly full and hear whoosh of air. Whoosh = good. When tank is nearly empty it might not whoosh as much , or at all, however.

if plenty of gas in tank and it's been sealed for a while especially with some temperature changes (especially temperature increases), THEN
if no whoosh, that means no positive pressure in the tank, and evap system cannot function in that case. If yes whoosh, the vapor-recovery system can work if the charcoal canister hasn't already been wrecked by being flooded with gas too many times.

drvette · November 2011

For "true" accurate mileage distance readings, travel an interstate highway for 10 miles while setting the trip meter at the start.

On one of my vehicles, the "indicated" distance was 10.3 mi though only 10 actual miles traveled.

So I subtract 3% from the miles traveled "prior" to figuring mpg figures.

I travel from Ga to Colorado rather often and use a 100 mile run to get a super accurate figure, just FYI

It seems as if most vehicles are a bit optimistic on the odometer, trip meter and computer, even on new tires of correct size ? Go figure.

drvette · November 2011

I agree this can flood the charcoal canister with fuel which will be sucked into the engine.

However if All things are working correctly, the O2 sensor should read this and lean the mixture accordingly. [After the engine is in "Closed-Loop" mode,
[proper eng temp and O2 sensor fired off]

garv214 · November 2011

For "true" accurate mileage distance readings, travel an interstate highway for 10 miles while setting the trip meter at the start

I like your idea. How were you able to test the "true" mileage vs the odometer? Did you use a GPS, Mile markers...?

For what it is worth, I just filled my second tank almost all city driving (170 miles city, 10 miles of highway), and I averaged 29.9...the computer estimated 30.1. The gallons used on the computer was exactly what I put in the tank...so I guess the rest is just rounding.

Happy Thanksgiving to All in the Forum!

kyfdx · November 2011

That's a huge variance for an odometer..... are you riding on the stock size tires? Speedometer variances are common, but odometers are usually within 1%..

I'd be really ticked if my car read 51,500 miles, when I'd only driven 50,000.

drvette · November 2011

I use mile markers not GPS, don't have one at this time.

On my many trips to Colorado from GA, I often check the odometer for a 100 mile run.

drvette · November 2011

Forgot to mention that a Computer Trip indicated 30.1 vs an actual 29.9 is what I'd call "accurate, enough anyway.

drvette · November 2011

I do run stock diameter tires, yet take into consideration that the true dia when new vs nearly worn out may be substantial especially with large SUV/Pu tires.

In the past dealers offered speedometer "pinion gears" of different sizes to correct speedo/odometer errors.

Even in the days of the 700R4 with the electronic speedo, the gear sets were available, as in the case of my "91 Caprice.

As I understand it, some vehicles must be "calibrated" via a plug-in laptop module to correct speedo errors, as in pickup trucks with non-standard tires. These can cause in addition to ECM confusion, Braking Problems, besides speedo errors

kyfdx · November 2011

Yeah... old Ford Econlines had a plastic odometer gear.... if you were running off, you just changed from 16 grooves to 17.... (or something like that)..

Most odometers I've had have been dead on.... mile markers, gps, whatever..... The speedometers and on-board mileage computers are another matter...

elias · November 2011

speedo gears.
(new edmunds forum idea: name a random car part and i'll have a specific story about it.)

there were two speedo gears on the pre-electronic-dashboard cars and they had to be matched. one gear at speedo head and one in/on transmission.

in an ongoing zeries of Z28s, my 89 iroc (5 manual gears, 2 catalytic converters) arrived from factory with mismatched gears such that speedo registered nearly 1.7x actual speed.
it took months to fix. GM shop tried 3 times and randomized the speedo ratio each time.
they couldn't get it right - kept ordering/installing the wrong gear.
in the end, the GM shop sent the car to local speedshop which certified cop car speedos with custom speedo gears, which they did for my 'z' . Also GM extended the warranty by 2k odometer miles.

along the way i learned to know my speed via rpm/gear/SOTP as well as learning to divide by 1.7 all the more more quickly. a state police officer helped provide incentive for such education and also provided a genuine belly-laugh and a citation for 70 in a 55 when i told him of the broken factory speedo and pointed at the stack of GM paperwork about it.

the chevy cruze surely has no speedo gears whatsoever.

but apparently does have a steering wheel & electric steering mechanism, also with way fewer gears than a 1980s steering wheel/rack.

previously someone had mentioned/theorized that one could swap an LTZ/whatever steering wheel onto an LS to provide CRUISE-CONTROL with no other mods required. anyone tried this or got any more info on it?

puffin1 · November 2011

What model has dual pipes, I can't find it on here?
TY Puffin

elias · November 2011

i don't think any cruze has dual pipes - nor speedo gears.
(previous post went on about speedo gears from a 1989 GM car with dual cats, so probably didn't belong in a cruze forum at all!)

steven39 · November 2011

i think the cruze LTZ model might have dual pipes,not sure though.

drvette · December 2011

USAA United Services Automobile Association offers deep discounts on GM Vehicles

You will need your DD214 Number and join up at USAA.com
www.dd214.com

https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/why_choose_usaa_eligibility_main
www.usaa.com
800-531-6597
800-531-8722

I only wish my years of recovering crashed V-22 Osprey's and others counted as "Military Service" however the USAF CAP is NOT covered, boo hoo for me..

Good Luck
DrVette

drvette · December 2011

That's a good grand cheaper than NW Ga or Chattanooga pricing.

drvette · December 2011

The Atlanta area, is the ABSOLUTE worst area in the SE USA to buy a GM..

They attempt to get yoiu to accept a $500~ "discount" because of the limited availability of the Cruze. BULL SH**

The Cruze is in Full production, check out these dealer inventories,

Quote,

Your Search Returned the Following,
"www.cars.com
1313 New 2012 Chevrolet Cruze models within 150 miles of your ZIP, 3016*

autotrader.com found 1580 within 200 miles of my Zip here in NW Ga

Real Low inventory there Guys,, uh-huh, Yeah, Right.

I wanted a Cruze bad, but the run-around, back-room snickers, insulting offers and in general insults to my intelligence has me wadding my money back up into a CD and back to the bank.

steven39 · December 2011

Not sure what it's like in the atlanta area as far as the cruze inventory goes but down here in south fla they have plenty.i was at maroone chevrolet in pemb pines flordia a few days ago looking at malibus and cruze's and must have counted atleast 30 cruze's on the lot in different colors and models.no shortage down here.

elias · December 2011

a more important metric to see the supply vs demand for a car is not the raw inventory number but the avg # of days each vehicle stays on the lot. for example, there may be 1313 cars within 100 miles that match what you want, but they could all be in-process of being sold to 1313 people each of whom has put down a deposit.

whatever. what's to argue about? get the best bargain you can, of course.

Kirstie_H · January 2012

A reporter is looking to interview midsize or small car owners who recently switched from Honda or Toyota to Chrysler, Ford or GM. Email pr@edmunds.com no later than Thursday, January 5, 2012 with your daytime contact information and a few words about your decision and your experience so far.

jamtracy · January 2012

Lots of inventory in NORCAL from what I could see.
Picked this gem up the other day.
MSRP: 20905
PRICE: 19798

Came with convenience package of remote start and power driver seat.
So far so good with the car. Roomy, comfortable and quiet.

Used a $2000 topped up rebate for having a GM card plus $500 for owning another GM vehicle. Not a bad deal at all.

tesalin · January 2012

How do you get the GM card rebate? Is it just the 5% cash back on the card for buying a GM vehicle? Or is it $2000 on top of the 5% on the card?

Kirstie_H · January 2012

Are you a 20-something who recently bought a new car or who is right now in the market for a new car? A reporter is looking to talk with young Americans to see what they are looking for in their next new vehicle. Please contact pr@edmunds.com with contact information and a brief description of your experience by Friday, January 20, 2012.

jamtracy · January 2012

I've only been a GM card holder for a few months. A couple of weeks ago I got a post card in the mail saying they topped me up to 2K until 2/29/12. I read some people got 3K. Don't know if it is from status or regional for the variance. All I know is an extra 2K off a cruze is a pretty good deal in itself. Throw in USAA on top of the deal you make with the salesman and it makes for a pretty good savings.

Kirstie_H · January 2012

If you recently considered a hybrid but decided on a fuel-efficient non-hybrid instead, please email pr@edmunds.com by Friday, February 3, 2011 to share your story.
Please include your daytime contact information and a few words about the decision you made.

budman21 · February 2012

MSRP 20200 (Base 1LT Automatic)
-700 Negotiated reduction
-750 USAA discount
-3000 Topped off GM Earnings (allowance limits waived until 2/29!)
-1800 (24 month Ally lease incentive)
=$13950 Final Price for lease

1% lease factor and 60% Residual value left me with a $93/month payment after paying $1020 for lease fee, tax, title, tags...:-)

Chevrolet Cruze Prices Paid and Buying Experiences

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