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visuvius
Sep 24, 2007
sta da moor
Background Info: The wife and I are expecting a kid early next year so its time to start looking at new cars. I currently drive a 93 MR2 (awesome) and she's in a 2012 Scion xB. I would basically be fine continuing to drive the MR2 even though it gives me occasional issues if it weren't for the kid. I won't be selling the MR2 which brings up a whole other issue of how the hell I'm going to park it at my condo. My daily commute to work and back is only about 15 miles but hers is about 50 or so.

Proposed Budget: $25,000 - $30,000 with $10,000 down

New or Used: Open to either

Body Style: 4 door

What aspects are most important to you? Performance (fun to drive), Mileage, Build Quality (no cheap feeling knobs), Reliability

I really like Toyota's and they're pretty much all I've ever driven but I'm open to going with another Japanese brand, particularly Subaru. There aren't really any American cars that interest me aside from maybe a couple Fords and the Malibu. My initial interest list consists of the new Mazda 6, Mazda Speed3, Toyota Hybrid XL(E), Suburu WRX and WRX Wagon. I'd like an STI but I think that might be over my budget. I plan on going by a Honda dealership to see whats up but I can't say there is anything there that interests me besides the CRZ which is a 2 door. I really like G35's but only the coupe and I feel like pulling a kid in and out of that might be a pain in the rear end.

General questions:

How are used Subaru's?
Is it possible to find a decent 2 or 3 year old 330i or G35 in my price range? What type of mileage should I be looking at?
Any other cars I should be considering?
Are car seats and coupes doable?

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visuvius
Sep 24, 2007
sta da moor

nm posted:

Check out a 2010 Infiniti M35. They're surprisingly fun to drive and the fuel economy isn't that much worse than a G35, though better looking than the G37 sedann and a hell of a lot bigger. Build quality and interior quality is heads and shoulders above the G too. Should be able to get one in your price range easy and if you stop carting about MPG, probably the V8 too. I can vouch for V6 reliability as amazing, but I don't know the V8 that well.

Subarus are fine though there are some piston issues with the turbos. Also, the fuel economy sucks hard.

Modern toyotas are snoozemobiles.

That said, you have a fun car already. You might just want to buy one that does the job you want here and keep the MR2 for fun.

What kind of mechanical issues and costs can I expect with a 5-6 year old Infiniti? Like is there some $3,000ish service luxury cars require at around 75,000 miles or are they basically like Toyotas and Hondas where they'll run like champs?

Did not know Subaru's got poo poo gas mileage.

Modern Toyotas ARE totally snoozemobiles but unfortunately they're so God drat logical. Everything in my larger family (very practical immigrants) needs to be done with some grand consultation so everyone is basically like, "just get a Camry." Really, they want me to get a Sonata. My brother in law works for Hyundai and can get a new Sonata for some ridiculous price but damnit if that car is not a black hole of driving joy. He used to work for Mazda so I'm going to find out if he's got the hook up on the new 6.

visuvius
Sep 24, 2007
sta da moor
Thoughts on the new Mercedes CLA 250? Most reviews I've read have been generally positive. 208 hp isn't a lot but the rest of the car is kind of awesome.

I'm in the market for a luxurish sedan and this has caught my eye. I looked at a bunch of stuff yesterday and nothing has me as excited as the Mercedes at this point. The new IS250 which I was most excited about is nice but in my opinion overpriced and its kind of tight. The G37 was a nice car but the sedan is kind of boring. The Audi and BMWs I would want are out of my budget.

The CLA 250 is supposed to be $30K plus $2k for the sports package I want. Under $35K is my budget to which I'll contribute $15-$18k down so it works out in that department. I'm planning on setting up a test drive for when my local dealer gets them in on the 20th.

visuvius
Sep 24, 2007
sta da moor
Set up a test drive of the CLA 250 for Saturday. I'm really curious to see first hand what the fit and finish is like on a $33K Mercedes. I heard some dudes in Northern California are trying to get a group buy or something going and have been offered like 6% off invoice which I'd like to see if they can match. I won't be buying until Decemberish so hopefully the initial heat will die down.

visuvius
Sep 24, 2007
sta da moor

skipdogg posted:

Do you have a trip report on your test drive? What did you think?

The lady called me day of and said they had sold both the 250s they'd received and so I couldn't actually test drive the drat thing. I had an appointment at another dealership that I cancelled because I figured one test drive was enough. Anyhow, I did see it in person and it is pretty awesome -- way more aggressive looking in person than in pictures, at least to me. As the reviews have said, the back is indeed pretty tight which is something I'm a little worried about considering I'll be pulling a kid in and out of there. It didn't really feel cheap to me or anything. I'm still weighing my options but its definitely still in the running, really nice looking in person.

visuvius
Sep 24, 2007
sta da moor
Anyone have thoughts on the 2013/2014 Honda Accords? I'm trying to decide between that, a Mazda 626 and a CLA250. The CLA I want is about $35K before tax and license and with just the sports package so no fancy poo poo inside. I got a truecar quote for a 2013 Accord EXL V6 for $26,615. For that price I basically get leather seats and the HondaLink infotainment package or whatever it is. Anyone have experience using the Honda Aha system?

visuvius
Sep 24, 2007
sta da moor
Haha yeah I totally meant 6 when I said 626 earlier, which I'm over at this point anyway.

With the CLA, I really do like the look of it, especially with the sport package. I liked the interior but the back was really tight. I suppose it's not really worth spending $35k on a car because I like the front end so the one is basically out too.

Juando I would totally appreciate that run down. A infotainment system is actually one of the main features I'm looking at with some of these and the Accord caught my attention because it comes standard with one. After seeing youtube videos of different systems, most of them seem clunky as poo poo besides the one in the Tesla.

I guess I should post my situation. I'm looking for a new car and I was pretty dead set on either getting he new CLA or just a beater. I've since changed my mind and I'm looking for other options.

- Budget of up to $36k with a $24k down payment.
- Looking to buy new or used
- Looking for a sedan
- 20 mile daily commute plus we're having a kid and will probably use this car on the weekends.
- I enjoy the driving experience so I want something that is fun to drive with a nice interior. I hate big rear end buttons. As mentioned, I'd like gadgetry like pandora streaming and web searches though I don't care about nav.

Anyone actually bought a car using a Truecar quote? Not like, "I went down there and had my local dealership kind of match it" but like they scanned the code and you walk out with a car?

Also, thoughts on the Infiniti Q50?

visuvius fucked around with this message at 09:25 on Oct 19, 2013

visuvius
Sep 24, 2007
sta da moor

Juando290 posted:

I will have to do the video tomorrow. We were surprisingly busy for a Sunday. I was showing vehicles pretty much from open to just after closing.

Hey dude, don't worry about it. I just drove home a 2013 EX-L V6 and got it for under the truecar low price so I guess I'll see first hand how Aha works.

visuvius
Sep 24, 2007
sta da moor
Thanks for the video man, that Voice help thing is handy.

What are your thoughts on Aha? Have you used it at all? I'm hoping they update it to have more useful poo poo than just Pandora.

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visuvius
Sep 24, 2007
sta da moor

crimedog posted:

In going to pull the trigger on a car today. Anything I should keep in mind? Should I get floor mats from the dealer?

There's no limit on Doc fees in Indiana :what:. I just don't want to get f'd.

Have you looked at the Truecar quotes in your area? When I was looking for my Accord a couple weeks ago it was really helpful in finding a price that I wanted to start at. I ended up getting it for less than the lowest Truecar invoice even but it was helpful in starting the process.

Actually the way it worked for me is I went to a Honda dealership near my parents place and once the dude realized we were looking for 13's and had a Truecar price from a dealer 50 miles away that was way lower than what he wanted to deal with he brought in his "closer" to show us how their dealers only had like 8 2013 Accords across the country and not the one I wanted and blah blah blah. Basically the guy didn't want to deal with us but he did manage to show us some kind of screen showing all the local dealers with 2013 Accords. While he was dicking around back in his loving glass situation room I took a picture of his screen dealer search and thats how I ended up finding my particular car. It was at a dealer 90 miles away in really lovely area but I got a pretty insane price. Dude on the Accord forums was saying he payed $800 less than my EX-L but with the 4 cylinder instead of the V6 I got.

Anmyhow sorry this was probably rambling but try Truecar.

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