For those that read my earlier rant i went threw an entire slew of vehicles and positive & negatives for each. Well now i have narrowed it down to two vehicles and i need some of your opinions. My choice is between:
1) 08 Hyundai Sonata Limited V6 with a Sunroof.
Pros: 0% financing for 72 months + $500 cash back (awesome deal btw). The Sonata power was pretty good for what it is. I was pretty impressed with the highway merging capabilities. It definitly beat the fusion's V6 engine. Its pretty much loaded with everything like climate control (love this feature), heated seats, leather, heated mirrors. Very roomy & very comfortable. Warranty of course. Regular fuel. Payment is going to be REALLY low at only about $330 a month. From what ive read on forums pretty reliable ( i think hyundai has came a long ways since the old days).
cons: more plane looking. I don't think the look is that bad but it doesn't stand out either with either the exterior or interior style. Resale value kind of sucks (probably wont' matter if you keep it long term). Handling was a little soft but not to bad (not nearly as bad as a camry).
Summary: this car for the price is an outstanding value. I got, i think about the cheapest price i can get for it. I called a couple dealerships in the surrounding areas (up to 2 hours away) and asked if they could beat the deal my local dealership was giving me. I asked to talk directly to the sales manager and told him i didn't want to mess with haggling. Everyone one said no and one went further to say if i could get he car for this price then i should jump at it. The handling is not as good as my other pick but i wouldn't say its bad either (hey im used to a big 4x4 truck so anything is great at this point). EPA is 19/28. Consumer reports didn't seem to get that good of gas mileage in theirs (it wasn't that bad though) but people on the forums are reporting 30 if you keep it between 65-70 on the highway. I definitly think this is the most practical out of my choices.
2) 08 Mazda Speed3
Pros: VERY VERY FAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Almost scary fast i thought. You can go from 60 to 90 in no time flat. I think it looks pretty good. Here is a couple pictures:
http://www.motorportal.com/Maz...DASPEED3_front34_1.jpg
http://www.motorportal.com/Maz...DASPEED3_front34_3.jpg
Has Xenon lights which i think is very cool.
Low profile 18in summer tires when you want performance.
Cons: Not a bad interest rate on this one but a lot worse than the other one 5.9% for either 60 or 72 months.
Low profile 18in profile tires for winter. I will almost certainly have to buy snow tires/rimes which is going to set me back another $1,200 and i will need these immediately.
According to consumer reports the speed3 got a little better gas mileage than the sonata but you had to put premium in it so they year cost was about the same on fuel. I have no idea where they came up with the MPG ratings on the highway that they got. I got a long term test drive of this car and i drove it for 100 miles. I put Shell 93 premium in it and babied it (65-70) on the interstate with very slow acceleration and didn't get anywhere near their number of (32). Yes the car engine wasn't broke in yet but the car they hadn't should have been either. I best i could get was 27.7.
Insurance Rates are high
Things were a little cramped inside (not that bad but not NEARLY as comfortable or roomy as the sonata). I am on the tall side at 6'2'' and mazda did a crappy job of designing their center console which hits my leg.
This thing is so fast & fun to drive that its probably going to get me in trouble. This car was made to be driven hard and its REALLY REALLY hard to keep your foot off the petal. Its probably going to be ticket city.
It did have climate control but it didn't seem to work nearly as good as the hyundai system.
You could definitly feel every bump.
Oil is going to going to be a lot harder to change myself and more expensive. It takes 6 quates and i would only use a full synthetic in a car like this (i will change it myself).
Summary: ok i am able to get this car for a good price for what it is ($200 under invoice which i don't see many people getting). Like i said above its SOO fun to drive. It corners so well and when you turn the wheel there is no lag at all in where you going. THe steering wheel is a little stiff but i think thats how its supposed to feel.
Ok believe it or not i am starting to steer towards the sonata. I think maybe the speed is an impractical car. Sure its fun to drive, very fast, and i just love driving it but i think in a year maybe its just going to be another car. Also i'll probably have 3 tickets by then. Also the turbo/high compression thing has me concerned to. Sure i understand the engine should be built to withstand these higher pressures that the engine will generate but higher rpms and and higher compression values mean more wear no matter how much you reinforce an engine. If i want to keep a car long term this probably wouldn't be the best of choices. Also the financing is also helping me also. 0% for 72 months + 500 cash back is just an awesome deal no matter how you cut it. The speed is also a limited production vehicle: 5000 per year for 2 years for a grand total of only 10,000 cars in the US. I imagine this will make parts harder to find and more expensive. I was curious and went into chevy dealership what the gas mileage was on vette. Guess what is almost exactly what the speed was. I was surprised at this. It also really sucks that i have to go and spend $1200 on snow tires & rimes for this thing almost immediately when i get it. Also because i have to pay 5.9% on the loan then i will end up paying another $2000 for the car in the end. Are you guys in agreement with me that the mazdaspeed3 is a little impractical?
thanks,
ncage
1) 08 Hyundai Sonata Limited V6 with a Sunroof.
Pros: 0% financing for 72 months + $500 cash back (awesome deal btw). The Sonata power was pretty good for what it is. I was pretty impressed with the highway merging capabilities. It definitly beat the fusion's V6 engine. Its pretty much loaded with everything like climate control (love this feature), heated seats, leather, heated mirrors. Very roomy & very comfortable. Warranty of course. Regular fuel. Payment is going to be REALLY low at only about $330 a month. From what ive read on forums pretty reliable ( i think hyundai has came a long ways since the old days).
cons: more plane looking. I don't think the look is that bad but it doesn't stand out either with either the exterior or interior style. Resale value kind of sucks (probably wont' matter if you keep it long term). Handling was a little soft but not to bad (not nearly as bad as a camry).
Summary: this car for the price is an outstanding value. I got, i think about the cheapest price i can get for it. I called a couple dealerships in the surrounding areas (up to 2 hours away) and asked if they could beat the deal my local dealership was giving me. I asked to talk directly to the sales manager and told him i didn't want to mess with haggling. Everyone one said no and one went further to say if i could get he car for this price then i should jump at it. The handling is not as good as my other pick but i wouldn't say its bad either (hey im used to a big 4x4 truck so anything is great at this point). EPA is 19/28. Consumer reports didn't seem to get that good of gas mileage in theirs (it wasn't that bad though) but people on the forums are reporting 30 if you keep it between 65-70 on the highway. I definitly think this is the most practical out of my choices.
2) 08 Mazda Speed3
Pros: VERY VERY FAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Almost scary fast i thought. You can go from 60 to 90 in no time flat. I think it looks pretty good. Here is a couple pictures:
http://www.motorportal.com/Maz...DASPEED3_front34_1.jpg
http://www.motorportal.com/Maz...DASPEED3_front34_3.jpg
Has Xenon lights which i think is very cool.
Low profile 18in summer tires when you want performance.
Cons: Not a bad interest rate on this one but a lot worse than the other one 5.9% for either 60 or 72 months.
Low profile 18in profile tires for winter. I will almost certainly have to buy snow tires/rimes which is going to set me back another $1,200 and i will need these immediately.
According to consumer reports the speed3 got a little better gas mileage than the sonata but you had to put premium in it so they year cost was about the same on fuel. I have no idea where they came up with the MPG ratings on the highway that they got. I got a long term test drive of this car and i drove it for 100 miles. I put Shell 93 premium in it and babied it (65-70) on the interstate with very slow acceleration and didn't get anywhere near their number of (32). Yes the car engine wasn't broke in yet but the car they hadn't should have been either. I best i could get was 27.7.
Insurance Rates are high
Things were a little cramped inside (not that bad but not NEARLY as comfortable or roomy as the sonata). I am on the tall side at 6'2'' and mazda did a crappy job of designing their center console which hits my leg.
This thing is so fast & fun to drive that its probably going to get me in trouble. This car was made to be driven hard and its REALLY REALLY hard to keep your foot off the petal. Its probably going to be ticket city.
It did have climate control but it didn't seem to work nearly as good as the hyundai system.
You could definitly feel every bump.
Oil is going to going to be a lot harder to change myself and more expensive. It takes 6 quates and i would only use a full synthetic in a car like this (i will change it myself).
Summary: ok i am able to get this car for a good price for what it is ($200 under invoice which i don't see many people getting). Like i said above its SOO fun to drive. It corners so well and when you turn the wheel there is no lag at all in where you going. THe steering wheel is a little stiff but i think thats how its supposed to feel.
Ok believe it or not i am starting to steer towards the sonata. I think maybe the speed is an impractical car. Sure its fun to drive, very fast, and i just love driving it but i think in a year maybe its just going to be another car. Also i'll probably have 3 tickets by then. Also the turbo/high compression thing has me concerned to. Sure i understand the engine should be built to withstand these higher pressures that the engine will generate but higher rpms and and higher compression values mean more wear no matter how much you reinforce an engine. If i want to keep a car long term this probably wouldn't be the best of choices. Also the financing is also helping me also. 0% for 72 months + 500 cash back is just an awesome deal no matter how you cut it. The speed is also a limited production vehicle: 5000 per year for 2 years for a grand total of only 10,000 cars in the US. I imagine this will make parts harder to find and more expensive. I was curious and went into chevy dealership what the gas mileage was on vette. Guess what is almost exactly what the speed was. I was surprised at this. It also really sucks that i have to go and spend $1200 on snow tires & rimes for this thing almost immediately when i get it. Also because i have to pay 5.9% on the loan then i will end up paying another $2000 for the car in the end. Are you guys in agreement with me that the mazdaspeed3 is a little impractical?
thanks,
ncage
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