Buying a compact car ... if you're interested

[dud]

My wife needs a new car. We've test driven five (5) cars in the compact class ranging in price from about $14K up to about $19K. We can afford a much more expensive car but we see no point going overboard as the vehicle will depreciate about 20% as we drive off the lot.

If you too are looking for a car in this class please read on and add you 2 cents ...

The five cars chosen for scrutiny were the Hyundai Elantra and Sonata, Mazda 3. Nissan Sentra and Honda Civic. For those who would ask why the Toyota Corolla was not considered ... believe me, it was. The problem we had with the Corolla was it is a highly outdated design that is highly overpriced for what you get. After a ten minute visit to a local dealership we walked, without even test driving it. Here is my personal findings of each vehicle including prices quoted:

Elantra - OK car with reasonable comfort and performance(5 speed). Bland styling both inside and out. The dealer gave us a key to the car (and a Sonata also) without asking for ID or anything (they seem to be very motivated to sell). Was quoted a price on a MT of $15K OTD.

Sonata - Slightly better than above with more room and comfort. Better styling and a more attractive car (IMHO) than above. Was quoted $16K OTD for a GLS MT.

Mazda 3 (Sport i) - The "dark horse" of the lot. An incredible value for the money. The local dealership is getting rid of all '07 units by lowering the price to $11,995. For a MT this car has plenty of pick-up (2.0 liter ... 2.3 would be better). Styling and comfort is about average (IMHO) of the group. The bottom line is that I was quoted $less than $14K OTD for this car.

Nissan Sentra - Redesigned for '07 so that it is considerably larger than the '06 model. Nice interior with probably the best dash of the lot. Performance is lackluster and vanilla. Was quoted about $16,400 OTD for the S model.

Honda Civic - Most expensive car in group (LX). Nice styling both inside and out but redesigned dash is a bit weird and hard to get used to (IMHO). Comfort and performance above average. The car drives very nicely. No current incentives and dealers are VERY difficult to negotiate with. Was quoted as high as $19K for a base LX model (yeah right!).


Before I give my bottom line I must say that I live in Florida. The reasons I say that is that in this state we pay at least 6% sales tax AND (get this) it seems that everyone pays a huge bogus "dealer fee" of at least $500! It makes no sense to me to pay the dealer to buy a car from him! Rant over ...

The bottom line is that my choice is the Mazda 3 (hands down). It is a nice enough car to get around town and go from point A to B and the price is definitely right. Unfortunately, I make the money ... and the wife spends it. What this means is that you can throw the Mazda 3 out-the-window. She likes it but not as much as the Civic. So there lies the problem, getting a good deal from a dealer who is raping you for a large dealer fee (pure profit) and is not very negotiable. I informed my wife that the price difference could end up being $3 - $5K, depending upon my success at negotiating with the dealer.

Wish me luck ...

 

[SearchMaster]

Okay, Good Luck!

Thanks for the information. I will likely be looking in that segment within a year or two (depending on how long the Max holds out). I really just need a very economical commuter car as I drive almost 100 miles per day round trip. I haven't driven anything yet though, because I think the Max would get her feelings hurt and commit suicide. Performance is virtually a non-issue, I'm older than most here and I've been there, done that.

As for the Hyundai dealer being loose with the keys...probably just a "I trust you so you'll trust me" thing.

There are soooooooo many choices in the $15K-$25K range that it's impossible (for me) to choose. It doesn't help that I have no real "musts" either, other than I need it to get better mileage than my Max (who is holding her own at 26-27mpg per tank).

 

[Fenixgoon]

a friend of mine has a mazda 3. i've never been in one before, and was surprised by it. good pickup, good interior space and styling (for that small a car). i didn't like the instrument cluster, but i wasn't driving

 

[ponyo]

Given your OTD pricing scenario, Mazda 3 is the no brainer pick. Pricing is very important in this segment and to pay $3- 5K more (25-42%) more for compact car is insane.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: dud

She likes it but not as much as the Civic.

One of my buddies is a car fan, he told me the secret to buying cars for his wife...

"I pick the car, she gets to pick the color."

:laugh:

 

[senseamp]

I would pick the Mazda3 over the Civic even at same price. If the price you are claiming is true, I'd get it without even looking at anything else. Go get it. Make sure it's not "one at this price, and it's always sold out" loss leader price.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Mazda 3 and Civic are both nice cars, but standard safety equipment is the biggest difference between the two. Once you price the Mazda 3 with side airbags and curtains (standard on Civic) the price will be much closer to the Civic.

EDIT >> It also appears that ABS is standard on the Civic but optional on the Mazda 3. While the vehicle may cost more, insurance could be cheap enough to negate that extra cost.

 

[NTB]

Originally posted by: AnonymouseUser
EDIT >> It also appears that ABS is standard on the Civic but optional on the Mazda 3. While the vehicle may cost more, insurance could be cheap enough to negate that extra cost.

Depends on what trim level you get. Optional on the i's, standard on the S's (Along with the 2.3L engine and a 5-speed, if you go with an auto.)

Just bought an i-Sport a few months ago, and I love it

Nathan

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: AnonymouseUser
Mazda 3 and Civic are both nice cars, but standard safety equipment is the biggest difference between the two. Once you price the Mazda 3 with side airbags and curtains (standard on Civic) the price will be much closer to the Civic.

EDIT >> It also appears that ABS is standard on the Civic but optional on the Mazda 3. While the vehicle may cost more, insurance could be cheap enough to negate that extra cost.

The "side airbag/ABS" package on the Mazda is about $300.

And, ya, I'm loving our new Mazda3. Can't get over the amazing steering feel. I'm driving my dad's Infiniti last weekend and missing my car.

 

[PG]

Why not check out the Fit?
Should be cheaper than a Civic and lots of people really like them. The hatch could help haul large things better than a Civic too.

 

[senseamp]

Fit is a sub-compact, not compact car.

 

[Sunrise089]

Dealer fees are BS, no need to pay.

That said, great price on the 3, even if it's an i model with a 5-speed (more fun anyways) with no options. You should get that.

As far as the Fit goes, for what it's worth (not much) I would pick it in a heartbeat over any of the OP's other (non-3) options.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor

Originally posted by: AnonymouseUser
Mazda 3 and Civic are both nice cars, but standard safety equipment is the biggest difference between the two. Once you price the Mazda 3 with side airbags and curtains (standard on Civic) the price will be much closer to the Civic.

EDIT >> It also appears that ABS is standard on the Civic but optional on the Mazda 3. While the vehicle may cost more, insurance could be cheap enough to negate that extra cost.

The "side airbag/ABS" package on the Mazda is about $300.

And, ya, I'm loving our new Mazda3. Can't get over the amazing steering feel. I'm driving my dad's Infiniti last weekend and missing my car.

You are correct that the option is cheap, but you likely won't find a Mazda 3 with that option for the price the OP was quoted ($14K out the door). If you can then by all means get it. It's also worth noting that he said the Civic was priced "as high as" $19K, not "as low as".

 

[dud]

AnonymouseUser,

you are correct. It is getting close to the end of the model year and Mazda has already started changing over to their '08 models (and charging full MSRP for them).

As for your comment about the Civic being priced "as high as" ... I received one quote for $19K for an LX while many people in other parts of the country are paying that for a top-of-the-line EX. If I were to have paid that I would have given the dealer the following profit: $700 over invoice + $600 dealer fee + $509 (3% holdback on base MSRP) = $1,809 or 9.5% of sales price. This is as much as 3 times more profit than "normal" for a car.

I'm planning on requesting quotes from a number of dealers in my area on Wednesday but not the dealer that I intend to walk-in this weekend. I hope to get some pretty good quotes and use them (and my knowledge of their true invoice price) to get a better deal. That insane (and barely legal) dealer fee is a deal killer though ...

 

[NutBucket]

Even in SoCal you can easily get a Civic LX sedan for about 17k before TTL. Don't pay that extra crap. Buy out of state if you have to.

 

[vi edit]

No Rabbit?

 

[Riverhound777]

Mazda 3 is a great choice, but I really recommend you get the side curtain airbag package if you go with the i. Without it, the 3 gets bad safty ratings, excellent with them. It really should come standard.

 

[sandorski]

My Bros Mazda 3 is a sweet little car. Styling is great, fit/finish is great, Power/Acceleration is impressive(I think he got the Sport Package).

 

[PingSpike]

We ended up buying an elantra last year. The dealership experience for us was similar, they just gave us some keys. The car was pretty roomy and had way more standard stuff then the others in our price range, but the warrentee was the real kicker to me.

The toyota dealership jerked us around. He started right in acting like they were running out of cars ("I don't know if we have any of those left right now") and he wouldn't even go get one from "out back" (?) until I told him we had 5K to put down. After waiting 5 minutes for the car, we just left. I figured if they didn't want to sell a car then there was no reason for me to try and buy one! Its not like there weren't plenty of others for sale.

 

[SJP0tato]

I went through the same ordeal a few months back with around the same price range and around the same car choices.

The one I (we) settled on was the Nissan Versa. It has lots of room, is powerful enough to not trip over it's own feet (wheels?) and still be economical, and is priced very affordably (can get the full SL package for the entry level price of the Sentra in most cases if you're interested in goodies).

If you're able to check one out at your nearest Nissan dealership, I'd highly recommend it. We've had ours about 3 months now and 4000 miles later, and are still very happy with our choice.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

When I was with my cousin, we got them to knock a $700 dealer fee type thing off.

 

[Arkaign]

The Fit is really a contender in this range, so long as you're not looking for a rice rocket. Fuel economy is outstanding, and the car is strangely roomy. I'm 6'3" 225lbs, and it 'fit' easily when I test drove one last fall. Really a nice car, just wish they made enough of them, apparently they sell out very fast/don't import many over here.

 

[dawheat]

Personally I liked the Civic over the Mazda 3 as my highway commuter car.

07' LX Coupe with manual: 15,340

I think I was offered an EX coupe with manual for ~16,850.

I'm hugely surprised that you can't find a better deal on the Civic - they're selling well, but not amazingly, and only with pretty good discounts.

I always thought Norcal had some of the most expensive car prices, and I was still able to get a good deal with some research and negotiation.

 

[Nyati13]

You can get a Subaru Impreza for under 19K (but not too much under 19K ) Plus baseline Subaru's come with ABS, airbags, power winders n such standard.

 

[ajskydiver]

Don't forget to consider two additional items when buying new:

1. Insurance cost -- can vary quite a bit between two similar cars -- get quotes BEFORE you buy anything. Saving a few thousand up front can be quickly eaten up with higher premiums over several years.

2. Depreciation -- not a consideration if you're truly going to keep the car for many years. However, if you may sell it in 3-5 years, depreciation should be considered. A new 15K Hyundai vs a new 18K Honda is equalized when you see that in 1 or two years, the Hyundai has significantly more depreciation and that 3K difference is minimized by the depreciation hit.