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thoughts on my car options? (updated! purchased car)

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I bought my A4 right before winter last year. We had a pretty rough winter. Honestly, AWD didn't do anything for me compared to driving my corolla. If anything the A4's rear wheel focus made it more difficult to drive.

Now what AWD does do in my car is help me do is corner like a monster and get off the line nice and quick. I'm a big fan of how the car takes on ramps.
 
any thoughts on the Buick Encore? I'm surprised that I'd literally never heard of it before today, but saw it listed at #2 on a list of 2014's best compact SUV's

edit: 15 minutes of research suggests that it's probably a bit out of my 25k buy/300 leased price range unless I wanted to go with a stripped down, basic model.
 
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What about the new Jeep Cherokee?

Reviews are pretty good, and there are usually really good incentives to knock the price down. A 9sp automatic mated to the V-6 would be a pretty sweet ride.
 
Have you considered the CR-V ? I would definitely make your car shopping list as follows:

1. Subaru (insert model)
2. Honda CR-V
3. Mazda CX-5

And yes, I do think AWD + Snows + Clearance is worth every penny. Last winter my RAV4 was a joy to drive in the worst of conditions.

Good luck.
 
loki8481 said:
my town isn't bad when it comes to plowing (notwithstanding asshole neighbors who toss the snow from their sidewalk onto whatever stranger's car is closest), but the two towns surrounding me (which I have to drive through to reach several major highways) are notoriously bad... I got stuck a couple times last winter where I had to get out and shovel out the snow around my tires. hoping that AWD and a higher ride will prevent that (also looking to the higher ride for water issues too... lots of areas that I drive through prone to minor flash flooding -- eg: water up to my ankle/lower calf)

so, AWD is pretty high on my list though I supposed I'd consider another car if it presented itself and was otherwise my ideal. the list isn't the end-all/be-all, but more or less what I've narrowed down to after a few months of research.
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I get that. For what it's worth, I was in Edison for a winter (visiting a friend for awhile) and her complex was awful about plowing. I could totally understand wanting a AWD car for that crap.

I'd expand and look at some other brand's crossovers. I am not enthralled with Suburu's interiors, but I am more about comfort than performance in a car I buy to drive daily.

MiataNC said:
What about the new Jeep Cherokee?

Reviews are pretty good, and there are usually really good incentives to knock the price down. A 9sp automatic mated to the V-6 would be a pretty sweet ride.
Click to expand...
This is something I was going to suggest earlier, but I can't get around the looks. Looks are a big deal for the cars I buy (literally, the number one criteria is that I like how it looks, followed by comfort driving, and finally performance). The Cherokee can be lease for pretty low amount and looks to be a good car, except for looking kind of silly.
 
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thanks for all the help!

I think I'm 99% narrowed down to the Subaru XV Crosstrek limited, and buying instead of leasing (more money in the short term but less in the long-term... and with Subaru's reputation, I feel comfortable buying a car and expecting it to last another 10+ years). I really like the Mazda CX5, but to option it up to a Crosstrek I think puts it a bit out of my price range if I'm going to buy instead of lease.

took a quick look at Jeeps, but was a bit turned off by the MPG.

hopefully pictures to come in a couple weeks :thumbsup: thinking about going to a dealership that I don't want to buy from for a test drive and a quote on Monday, and then taking that quote to the dealership I actually want to buy from on the weekend to see if they can match it even though they don't currently have the trim/color I want in stock.

the stupid hybrid is still tempting me, if only because 90% of my driving on a daily basis is under 20 mph when it would be running on electric.
 
NutBucket said:
Don't pay over invoice!
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how reliable is TrueCar? I got a quotes from a local dealership (using a burner spam email account and a fake phone #) that are 2k under invoice for a hybrid and 1k under for a regular.

I was pricing it out last night and assuming I'm using my bank's 2.5 interest rate for a standard model or Subaru financing's special 0.9% rate for a hybrid, the difference between the two after a 5-year loan would be about $100.
 
FYI Penfed has 0.49 on their car buying service right now.

Cheaper than both of those (though it eliminates the hybrid incentive...).

[EDIT]Looks like I lied, it's now 0% for 36.[/EDIT]

Viper GTS
 
Never take the dealer promotional financing. As long as you have good credit they can get very close to whatever the best commercial rates are.

I don't know how good Truecar is anymore since they "sold out" to dealerships a couple of years ago. But $2k under invoice certainly sounds good. I'll have to do some digging on NASIOC and see what people are paying.
 
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Claudius-07 said:
If AWD/4WD is in your books, and you are looking at Subaru's or the Mazda small SUV, have you considered the Mitsubishi models perchance? My wife was in a similar situation, wanted a small SUV or a crossover -- I wanted 4WD for the insane weather we get up here in Canada at times. We looked at Subaru's as my dad has always owned one, we looked at the Mazda CX-5 as she liked the look of it.... we looked at many more... yada yada. We were not even looking at the Mitsubishi models as Mitsubishi just has such a small market share, many don't even know them unless you are talking about their EVO line. Anyhow we tried out the RVR (What you folks in the US call the Outlander Sport), and she got the GT model with the panoramic roof and she could not be happier -- BTW the BEST headlights you will EVER have... period and a fantastic REAL AWD/4WD system that all the SUV's dont really have.

Anyhow I liked it a lot and when my turn comes which will be next year I will be getting the new Outlander.

Again just a thought if you really want an smallish SUV... good gas mileage, fantastic 4WD system and oh yeah great warranty. Also for us the financing options were very aggressive. Again this is up in Canada.

PS: The RVR-Outlander Sport has the rear view camera and fantastic turning circle and outstanding brakes, from my observation and comparing to many other models.
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I asked a couple at a local restaurant about their Outlander Sport a few months ago (saw them get out of it). The guy said they were very happy with it - it was a 2011 and they already had almost a 100K miles on it with nothing but regular maintenance. I own a 2011 Lancer - that's the reason I asked them about their Mitsu. Mine's a "garage queen" with less than 15,000 miles so I can't gauge the long term quality by it.
 
loki, have you been inside a Subaru? Unless something has changed, it left a lot to be desired the last time I was looking at them (~3 years ago).
 
test drive-apalooza today... went to Subaru, Mazda, and Jeep dealerships.

I really, really liked driving the Crosstrek. didn't notice the CVT at all and the noise/performance on a highway felt perfectly adequate (I took it up to about 65-70 mph and passed a couple cars just to get a feel). the car felt compact in a good way, as a lifetime sedan driver who hates driving my parents SUV/truck because they're so big. purposefully drove through a few potholes too to test the suspension.

test drove an CX-5 as well, and while the driving definitely felt a lot more powerful, I hated the visibility compared to the Crosstrek. rear window felt super shitty, I feel like it would be awful to parallel park. as someone whose daily driving is 90% sub-20 mph city driving, I'm not sure the "fun to drive" factor adds up to the several thousand $$ price increase. the sales guy was also kind of a douche.

also walked through a Jeep dealership, but nothing really stood out to me.

only real question now is Limited vs Hybrid. I don't care much about the hybrid technology/gas savings, but I did really like the unique Plasma Green color... hybrid also comes standard with LED taillights, side mirror blinkers, and push button start (but would be a downgrade from leather to cloth)

my biggest worry with the hybrid is possible increased repair costs, though.
 
NutBucket said:
Never take the dealer promotional financing. As long as you have good credit they can get very close to whatever the best commercial rates are.

I don't know how good Truecar is anymore since they "sold out" to dealerships a couple of years ago. But $2k under invoice certainly sounds good. I'll have to do some digging on NASIOC and see what people are paying.
Click to expand...

Not always a never.

BMW sometimes gives rebates that are tied to using their financing. If you were going to pay off anyway you can finance for say 3-4 months and pay off and get a rebate.
 
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