Help Me Decide on a Car (Update: Car Purchased)

[PhoKingGuy]

The general consensus within the VW/Audi community is that the price jump from the GTI to the A3 is usually not worth it, unless you can score a deal somehow.

 

[PricklyPete]

Test drive some subies.

Yeah the WRX should be substantially faster than the A4, but it has less on the lux end.

The only current Subie that I like is the WRX...and the wife does not...so no go on those unfortunately. I'm generally a fan...just not liking the new Legacy/Outback...not interested in the Forester.

 

[PricklyPete]

If you are back to sedans, have you looked at the Passat CC? They are sharp looking cars. Interior materials are excellent and I'd much rather take my chances with the VAG V6 engines than their turbo's.

I would definitely be tempted...but I already tried to get my wife to test drive the Passat CC when we were at the dealership and she immediately said no. I brought it up again when we were looking at the A4 and she said she doesn't like the rear end...which I kind of agree with her on...so I stopped bringing it up. You win some, you lose some. My problem is that for my wife, the look of the car is #1...it's only like 3rd or 4th on my list.

 

[PricklyPete]

The general consensus within the VW/Audi community is that the price jump from the GTI to the A3 is usually not worth it, unless you can score a deal somehow.

Yeah...and I have to say I thought the GTI road better than the A3...but that could have been the roads as I said. The only real advantage I can see with the A3 is the ability to get Quattro if that is what you are wanting.

 

[PricklyPete]

By the way, thanks guys for all the suggestions and comments...they are definitely helping me think through the purchase. I'm excited to do some more test driving.

 

[Fenixgoon]

any interest in a pontiac G8? it's a pretty big sedan, admittedly bigger than anything on your list. the G8 is just a rebadged holden commodore (best selling sedan in aussie-land). The V6 version has good power, and the G8GT has a stupidly powerful 360hp V8 with cylinder deactivation. GT's can be had for ~25k.

The vehicle is no longer in production, which is a bit (possibly large) downside. Anyway, glad to see you are trying out a variety of vehicles. It will definitely help narrow down exactly what you want 🙂

 

[Malak]

I checked out a Fusion Sport AWD today, not a bad car. Did you also check out the Ford Taurus? Same price point, same options, different style. Keyless start was really the only difference I saw. I did not like the styling nearly as much as the Fusion though. Both can come in AWD, but I liked the Fusion Sport more. I like the interior of an Audi much more, and I'm sure the Audi drives better, but you also pay more. Like I said, you might check out some used A4's.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Yeah...and I have to say I thought the GTI road better than the A3...but that could have been the roads as I said. The only real advantage I can see with the A3 is the ability to get Quattro if that is what you are wanting.

The A3 has stiffer springs, but I think the GTI is fine as it is. Its a good balance of sport/every day tolerance. I drove from OC to Sacramento in it and was not fatigued at all.

The A4 is a nice ride, though im partial to the BMW. Depends on what she likes though

 

[PricklyPete]

any interest in a pontiac G8? it's a pretty big sedan, admittedly bigger than anything on your list. the G8 is just a rebadged holden commodore (best selling sedan in aussie-land). The V6 version has good power, and the G8GT has a stupidly powerful 360hp V8 with cylinder deactivation. GT's can be had for ~25k.

The vehicle is no longer in production, which is a bit (possibly large) downside. Anyway, glad to see you are trying out a variety of vehicles. It will definitely help narrow down exactly what you want 🙂

I love the G8...and I do want to test drive one...but my wife is not a fan. I still want to get her to test drive one. Maybe we'll add that to the list on Friday if we have time and we can find one nearby.

 

[yh125d]

Yeah...and I have to say I thought the GTI road better than the A3...but that could have been the roads as I said. The only real advantage I can see with the A3 is the ability to get Quattro if that is what you are wanting.

You've said it yourself - this is your wifes car. If it's really *her* car, it shouldn't matter one damn bit what you like. It's her car. Let her get what she wants (husbandly input being making sure she chooses something practical/economical/reliable/within budget)

 

[PricklyPete]

I checked out a Fusion Sport AWD today, not a bad car. Did you also check out the Ford Taurus? Same price point, same options, different style. Keyless start was really the only difference I saw. I did not like the styling nearly as much as the Fusion though. Both can come in AWD, but I liked the Fusion Sport more. I like the interior of an Audi much more, and I'm sure the Audi drives better, but you also pay more. Like I said, you might check out some used A4's.

We did not test drive the Taurus as neither of us liked the looks of the Taurus. I'm not denying thought that a new Taurus SHO would be a BEAST of a car...but we just aren't on board with the styling. I really, really don't like the back end of the new Taurus.

The Fusion really is a good car...and if I wanted to save some money, I'd definitely be happy with one...but while we like the look more than the Taurus...we're not really digging it enough to buy. I hate it, because I really feel like Ford is putting out a great car there and would love to support it....but I just can't see spending that much on something neither of us really like the look of.

 

[PricklyPete]

You've said it yourself - this is your wifes car. If it's really *her* car, it shouldn't matter one damn bit what you like. It's her car. Let her get what she wants (husbandly input being making sure she chooses something practical/economical/reliable/within budget)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. She is fine with me being the decision maker with regard to cars...she just wants veto power on her car (or features...which is why we're not getting a manual transmission as sad as that is to me). It works the opposite with a lot of our other purchases... no one's being forced anything. That is why I've already said the WRX, A4 Avant, CTS, and most likely the G8 are not options...because she doesn't want them.

 

[PricklyPete]

If you are back to sedans, have you looked at the Passat CC? They are sharp looking cars. Interior materials are excellent and I'd much rather take my chances with the VAG V6 engines than their turbo's.

I just went and priced a Passat CC with the VR6. They start at $39K!!!! Are they kidding. You can get a Quattro Premium Plus A4 for that money...and the performance is nearly the same. Unless I was in love with the looks, I couldn't spend that money on the CC.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

I just went and priced a Passat CC with the VR6. They start at $39K!!!! Are they kidding. You can get a Quattro Premium Plus A4 for that money...and the performance is nearly the same. Unless I was in love with the looks, I couldn't spend that money on the CC.

The sticker is a lot, but they haggle down pretty well

 

[zmatt]

The sticker is a lot, but they haggle down pretty well

How much do they haggle down? $39k is a lot. You pushing sports car territory.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

How much do they haggle down? $39k is a lot. You pushing sports car territory.

Ill agree its a lot, but its basically the same content and feature-wise as a decently loaded 5 series, so its a "poor mans" version of that. The VR6 models don't sell nearly as well as the 2.0t Sport model

 

[zmatt]

I would rather get the VR6 than the 2.0T. It has more headroom for upgrades.

 

[JulesMaximus]

We have a 2007 Infiniti M35. You will be able to find a used one in your price-range. Its worth a test drive while you're checking out the G.

And it is much larger than any of the cars the OP is considering. Honestly, this would be on my list if I were shopping for cars in the OP's price range.

Good suggestion!

I'm curious, has anyone recommended the Lexus IS350? We love ours.

BTW-I know a guy who recently bought a brand new 335i Coupe for $42k...since you're getting close to that price anyway. 😉

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I think your just shopping brand names. It sounds like you can't reasonably afford a real luxury car so your getting the very low end models of Audi, BMW, etc.. Get a car you can afford. I know your to uppity to consider a boring dependable cheap to maintain Honda or Toyota so get your stripped down Audi you can't afford and put the repair bills on credit cards. The money will magically fall from the sky soon.

 

[GoatMonkey]

You should look at the VW CC also. It's has a regular automatic. The 7 speed DSG is Europe only in those.

Make sure you look at the Subaru WRX and Legacy also. They should be pretty good with an automatic.

Maybe check out the Mazda 6 if you've already looked at a Fusion. And Nissan Altima is not too bad except for the stupid CVT.

EDIT: I saw the other pages of the message now. New message boards...

You already ruled out almost everything I suggested already. Still check out the Mazda 6, I don't think anyone mentioned that one. I would probably go with the TSX V6 out of the cars you listed. Of course, I drive a 2006 TL, so I already made a similar choice. I think you should be looking at slightly used cars too. Let someone else eat the initial depreciation.

 

[zoiks]

So did you test out the G37 on Friday? Infiniti sure knows how to properly blend in sport performance and luxury.

 

[Q]

How was the CTS? G37?

 

[PricklyPete]

I think your just shopping brand names. It sounds like you can't reasonably afford a real luxury car so your getting the very low end models of Audi, BMW, etc.. Get a car you can afford. I know your to uppity to consider a boring dependable cheap to maintain Honda or Toyota so get your stripped down Audi you can't afford and put the repair bills on credit cards. The money will magically fall from the sky soon.

Ok dude..whatever makes you feel better. I'm glad you "magically" know so much about my finances based off of my car preferences. You win!

 

[PricklyPete]

So did you test out the G37 on Friday? Infiniti sure knows how to properly blend in sport performance and luxury.

How was the CTS? G37?

We went out and test drove the CTS, G37(x), and IS350. Overall thoughts were all of them are fantastic as expected. Here are my individual thoughts:

CTS: Really felt big. Both on the outside and insdie. I have to say I was really impressed with the car. The interior was very nice. My wife was not huge on the exterior look, but she did like the interior. She still was hung up on the whole "my grandma drove a Cadillac" deal, so we moved on. Car drove very nicely and the automatic was good.

Lexus IS350: We both really like the exterior of this car...one of the sportiest of the group that we've looked at. I know some reviewers have written how the car has too much electric nannies that when you push it intrude too much, but we did not notice them at all during the test drive. The Engine was fantastic, had a lot of grunt to it and again, the automatic was fine. I have to say the interior was a little disappointing after just stepping out of the Cadillac. It wasn't that the materials weren't nice, but the overall design/ambiance was just a little disappointing compared to the Cadillac...and it definitely had what seemed like the least space...maybe the BMW had less...but the IS seemed the smallest.

G37(X): We went ahead and test drove two G37's, one with rear wheel drive and one with all wheel drive. We were pleasantly impressed with both cars. I was actually quite surprised how little the all wheel drive system penalized the car. Infiniti definitely has done a fantastic job with this car. Again, Infiniti (like Acura) really put a lot of extra "electronic" features in the car that you didn't get in the German cars without crazy expensive option packages...so that was really nice. The power in the engine was intoxicating as well...really impressed with this car. The interior was very nice with lots of features...wasn't quite as elegant as the Audi or Cadillac interiors...but still very nice. Of the two variants, we settled that we would go with the G37X

So after Friday night, we were pretty set on either the Audi A4 Quattro or the Infiniti G37X. Both of the models we had looked at had a $39K sticker price on them, so price wasn't really an issue. The Infiniti definitely had more of the "electronic" features in that price tag though. Even just small things like memory seating/steering column, etc. We decided to go test drive the A4 once again in the morning with having just test drove the G37X the night before, we wanted a direct comparison.

We really liked both cars, so it was tough, but after talking through it, we decided we liked the A4 just a bit more. I really loved the engine of the G37X, but both of us enjoyed the way the A4 felt to drive, the interior of the A4, and the extra fuel economy of the A4. In the end this would be my wife's car, and she didn't care that the G37 was more powerful, the Audi was plenty powerful for her.

So we bought a Black on Black Audi A4 Premium Plus with the upgraded Bang and Olufson stereo and dark walnut trim. Now having owned it for a couple of days, we couldn't be happier with the car. It has been raining the last couple of days, but I will post pictures of the car once it is sunny/cleaned up (hopefully tomorrow).

Thanks for all the input everyone.

 

[PricklyPete]

Oh yeah, on a side note, we did go back to the VW dealership for one last look at the GTI and found out that they were adding a $2700 markup on top of the MSRP. I'm sure we could have shopped around to find a better deal...but that turned us off pretty quickly especially with all the deals out there on the so similar A3.