Cliffs:
Don't think I'm happy with any car on the market today for any amount of money. Don't think I'll ever be happy until they have autonomous cars. Looking at a 2015 Forester Touring vs a used 2012-2014 Volvo XC60 AWD with blind spot indicator package. Gut tells me that if we go Volvo, I'll drive it until its wheels fall off because its so much more expensive. Also tells me that if we go Forester, I'll want to trade it in in 5yrs time for something more polished. (Anticipating a significant salary bump since I'll be done training by then). Not sure if buying new and trading in early is dumber than buying premium used and keeping it for longer. Cost is a bigger deal because we're thinking about having kids soonish.
More details:
Looking at a 2015 Forester Touring (~29k) and a used 2012-2014 Volvo XC60 AWD (~32-38k). Already ran quotes by insurance. Roughly $30-50 more per year to insure a Volvo. Already have financing approved for 25k @ ~2% x60m. Have 15k set aside for this thing too.
Currently have a 2002 Camry LE. Tires should be replaced very soon. Don't feel like dropping $800 in a car worth $4-5k. Also, the road noise at highway speeds drives me up the wall.
Forester Pros
- Cheaper
- AWD standard
- Blind spot visibility is superior because of the huge windows
Forester Cons:
- Seems almost as noisy as my Camry. The 13 year old one.
- Center armrest is too small for my dog and the armrest storage might be too small for me. My dog likes to sit on the armrest in my Camry. (Yeah, I know it's not the safest, but my dog is awesome, that's what she likes, and when she's in the car, I drive like an 80yr old. To be fair, she's only riding when we're going to the dog park, groomer, or vet.
- I thought EyeSight would be awesome. The only useful thing for me is auto braking at 25mph to a stop. I couldn't trigger lane departure until I was already half in the next lane, and it didn't work at all with white lines on gray concrete pavement (maybe it was too sunny?). Automatic cruise control sounds nice; but if I leave that to the car, highway driving will be even more boring.
- Cheaper to purchase and repair. Slightly cheaper to insure. Slightly cheaper fuel. But overall cheaper in every measurable way. Including the feel of the car.
- Dash layout is awful. Backup cam is tiny. Was thinking about OEM Nav, but the screen is flush with the dash so it's completely washed out by the sun half the time. And with the big windows, it'll be washed out more than your average car.
Volvo Pros:
- Quiet. I like that. Made me happy.
- Fit and finish inside is nice. Almost too nice.
- Dash layout makes sense. The screen is inset in a cowl and is easily seen under the same sun conditions where the Forester bombed out.
- Original warranty is transferrable
Volvo Cons:
- Passenger side blindspot is huge. I'm 5'6". When I knew an Accord was pulling up on my right, I was only able to see 1-2" of roofline. Tried adjusting seat height, made minimal difference. Not quite sure I'm ready to trust the blind spot warning systems entirely, since I like to see stuff directly.
- Cost. Initial outlay may be almost 10k more than the Subaru. As far as I'm concerned, the insurance and fuel difference is almost negligible, but they are more expensive. Any repairs, which should be more likely in a used car, will cost more.
- Feels like its financially irresponsible to take a full loan/tap almost all of the earmarked savings for a car when I admittedly don't like to drive anyway.
- Feels like too nice of a car for me. I'm 30 and still in training.
Things I'm trying to balance:
- Thinking about having a kid in the next year, so safety is a priority. The small frontal offset seems to be where everyone struggles, it also seems like its the most likely thing to happen after a head-on/T-bone.
- Driveway is pretty narrow. Camry is 70.7" wide. At the chokepoint, there's about 4-6" clearance between my side mirrors and the house/neighbor's fence.
- I would prefer a slightly shorter car. Camry is 189" long. Makes parallel parking a PITA sometimes.
- Need AWD so that at least one of our cars can handle the occasional dicey road conditions on the way to/from daycare
- Would prefer a nicely insulated cabin because my Camry's noise has been irritating me for the past 4yrs. Hushed well enough to accept calls over bluetooth and not have road noise drown me out.
- *Really* want dual zone automatic climate control. Wife and I consistently like different temperatures when we run errands together.
- Want smooth riding (i.e. not sporty) suspension if a kid is asleep
Things people tend to care about that I don't care about:
- MPG. I live close to work to avoid long commutes. I don't think I drive more than 2-3k miles/yr
- Leather, heated seats, moonroof, speaker system, pedals, "sport-like" feel.
- New car smell. I tolerate the new car smell.
Don't think I'm happy with any car on the market today for any amount of money. Don't think I'll ever be happy until they have autonomous cars. Looking at a 2015 Forester Touring vs a used 2012-2014 Volvo XC60 AWD with blind spot indicator package. Gut tells me that if we go Volvo, I'll drive it until its wheels fall off because its so much more expensive. Also tells me that if we go Forester, I'll want to trade it in in 5yrs time for something more polished. (Anticipating a significant salary bump since I'll be done training by then). Not sure if buying new and trading in early is dumber than buying premium used and keeping it for longer. Cost is a bigger deal because we're thinking about having kids soonish.
More details:
Looking at a 2015 Forester Touring (~29k) and a used 2012-2014 Volvo XC60 AWD (~32-38k). Already ran quotes by insurance. Roughly $30-50 more per year to insure a Volvo. Already have financing approved for 25k @ ~2% x60m. Have 15k set aside for this thing too.
Currently have a 2002 Camry LE. Tires should be replaced very soon. Don't feel like dropping $800 in a car worth $4-5k. Also, the road noise at highway speeds drives me up the wall.
Forester Pros
- Cheaper
- AWD standard
- Blind spot visibility is superior because of the huge windows
Forester Cons:
- Seems almost as noisy as my Camry. The 13 year old one.
- Center armrest is too small for my dog and the armrest storage might be too small for me. My dog likes to sit on the armrest in my Camry. (Yeah, I know it's not the safest, but my dog is awesome, that's what she likes, and when she's in the car, I drive like an 80yr old. To be fair, she's only riding when we're going to the dog park, groomer, or vet.
- I thought EyeSight would be awesome. The only useful thing for me is auto braking at 25mph to a stop. I couldn't trigger lane departure until I was already half in the next lane, and it didn't work at all with white lines on gray concrete pavement (maybe it was too sunny?). Automatic cruise control sounds nice; but if I leave that to the car, highway driving will be even more boring.
- Cheaper to purchase and repair. Slightly cheaper to insure. Slightly cheaper fuel. But overall cheaper in every measurable way. Including the feel of the car.
- Dash layout is awful. Backup cam is tiny. Was thinking about OEM Nav, but the screen is flush with the dash so it's completely washed out by the sun half the time. And with the big windows, it'll be washed out more than your average car.
Volvo Pros:
- Quiet. I like that. Made me happy.
- Fit and finish inside is nice. Almost too nice.
- Dash layout makes sense. The screen is inset in a cowl and is easily seen under the same sun conditions where the Forester bombed out.
- Original warranty is transferrable
Volvo Cons:
- Passenger side blindspot is huge. I'm 5'6". When I knew an Accord was pulling up on my right, I was only able to see 1-2" of roofline. Tried adjusting seat height, made minimal difference. Not quite sure I'm ready to trust the blind spot warning systems entirely, since I like to see stuff directly.
- Cost. Initial outlay may be almost 10k more than the Subaru. As far as I'm concerned, the insurance and fuel difference is almost negligible, but they are more expensive. Any repairs, which should be more likely in a used car, will cost more.
- Feels like its financially irresponsible to take a full loan/tap almost all of the earmarked savings for a car when I admittedly don't like to drive anyway.
- Feels like too nice of a car for me. I'm 30 and still in training.
Things I'm trying to balance:
- Thinking about having a kid in the next year, so safety is a priority. The small frontal offset seems to be where everyone struggles, it also seems like its the most likely thing to happen after a head-on/T-bone.
- Driveway is pretty narrow. Camry is 70.7" wide. At the chokepoint, there's about 4-6" clearance between my side mirrors and the house/neighbor's fence.
- I would prefer a slightly shorter car. Camry is 189" long. Makes parallel parking a PITA sometimes.
- Need AWD so that at least one of our cars can handle the occasional dicey road conditions on the way to/from daycare
- Would prefer a nicely insulated cabin because my Camry's noise has been irritating me for the past 4yrs. Hushed well enough to accept calls over bluetooth and not have road noise drown me out.
- *Really* want dual zone automatic climate control. Wife and I consistently like different temperatures when we run errands together.
- Want smooth riding (i.e. not sporty) suspension if a kid is asleep
Things people tend to care about that I don't care about:
- MPG. I live close to work to avoid long commutes. I don't think I drive more than 2-3k miles/yr
- Leather, heated seats, moonroof, speaker system, pedals, "sport-like" feel.
- New car smell. I tolerate the new car smell.
Why would a set of tires for a Camry cost $800?
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