Yet another car buying thread!

[Knavish]

Hi all,

I'm shopping for a "new" car. I've decided to limit my budget to under $35K and I'm trying to decide what to get. I'd like something a bit sporty and a good deal. It needs to have room for a car seat in the back. I'm mostly leaning toward a GTI right now, but I've been considering all sorts of different things:

• 2016 VW GTI - I'd get it with the 6MT, Performance Pack, and Driver Assistance Package. This puts it into the low $30k range, and I don't expect very good deals where I live. Somewhat worried about VW reliability...
• 2016 Acura TLX - Nice car that I'd be happy to drive, but it is a big sedan. I currently drive a big sedan and want something different. On the bright side, the sales guys were willing to take $3-4K off over the phone before I even walked in the door.
• 2016 Lincoln MKZ - (lol) Just for the heck of it I cross-shopped this with the Acura. I'd probably take a few digits off the average age of Lincoln owners if I got one. At the dealer they were asking WAY too much money ($40K without too many options) and wanted to play games negotiating, so I walked out.
• 2016 Chevy Volt - I like this car and would get it pretty much loaded, but it's pretty expensive even after the tax credit (~$30K). It's also a bit small. I could (sometimes) charge for free at work.
• ~2013 Nissan Leaf - These are so cheap it's tempting to buy one for ~$12K and just try it for a couple years. Just about anything I buy new would probably depreciate by $8-10K in two years, so even if the used Leaf continued to lose tons of value it would not be a bigger loss than a new car.
• 2015ish Audi A4 or BMW 328 - These are in the low $30K range. I don't know if I want to deal with expensive maintenance / service on these cars, but I could get CPO and not worry about it for ~5 yrs. I care 0% about driving a car with a luxury label, but I think these have some decent driving characteristics.

Well hopefully no one is too bored reading over my list Maybe it helped me a bit typing this out. I'll let you know what my final decision is within about a month! Any comments or discussion welcome.

 

[herm0016]

We have a gen 1 Volt a LOVE it. in the Gen 1, most people get around 40 miles electric, in the summer i avg around 47 miles and in the winter close to 30. the heat really drains the battery. The car is smooth, quiet, and drives great. very low center of gravity. We have snow tires for the CO winter and it does very well. No problems driving 80 mph up the rockies to Vail from Boulder. There is so much miss information about them out there. The center stack works great and we have not had any problems with the car. we have put about 30k miles on it in the last year and a half and avg around 200 mpg in our normal commuting. It costs us about a dollar to go 40 miles. We also took the car on a 4000 mile road trip and returned about 40 mpg over the 4k miles. You can fit a single vanity cabinet, or all the parts for a 6x5 fence gate, and even an 8 foot 2in steel fence post inside with the hatch closed. it is plenty of space for 2 people, 2 50lb dogs and gear for a weekend.

on the battery: there are volts with over 200k miles and no discernible battery degradation. The batteries in these cars are amazing. each cell is temperature controlled and you only use about 60% of the total capacity. Ours has close to 50k on it total, mostly electric and has no range loss.

gen 2 should be even better.

 

[zerocool84]

I've never been a fan of GTI because they don't offer enough performance for the cost. I think the 2015 BMW might be the best option

 

[SearchMaster]

I've never been a fan of GTI because they don't offer enough performance for the cost. I think the 2015 BMW might be the best option

The latest gen performs pretty well. And a stage 1 tune puts it over 300hp, which is very impressive.

OP, I think you need to decide if you're looking for performance, economy, or luxury/status. If it's economy, then you're down to the Leaf or Volt. The only reason to consider the Leaf at all is for economy. You won't find a cheaper cost-per-mile, but you won't enjoy the ride very much. The Volt's are great cars, good blend of tech and luxury (esp. if you get the maxed out version). You said status was unimportant so I'd (personally) choose the Acura over the Audi and BMW, but the 328 would be a close second. The MKZ is ugly to me but if you find it appealing, it's a good value.

 

[Knavish]

I've never been a fan of GTI because they don't offer enough performance for the cost. I think the 2015 BMW might be the best option

The current GTI and 328 have very similar 0-60 times and reviews both say positive things about their handling. I'd say they are priced in a similar manner given the (larger, luxury brand) 328 is about $10K / 30% more expensive than the (smaller, VW) GTI.

I'm looking at the 328 because it looks like a year old model with ~10K miles depreciates by $10-15K, bringing their prices into the low 30s range. (Or maybe the ads on CarGurus are deceptive(?)

 

[tsupersonic]

The current GTI and 328 have very similar 0-60 times and reviews both say positive things about their handling. I'd say they are priced in a similar manner given the (larger, luxury brand) 328 is about $10K / 30% more expensive than the (smaller, VW) GTI.

I'm looking at the 328 because it looks like a year old model with ~10K miles depreciates by $10-15K, bringing their prices into the low 30s range. (Or maybe the ads on CarGurus are deceptive(?)

They may be similar on paper, but don't let the BMW fool you. They are underrated from the factory, and the 328i can do 60 MPH in low to mid 5's. Not only that, the 328i feels way faster than a GTI. Also, not sure if you have driven the A4, but the gold standard for "compact" luxury sedans in terms of driving dynamics is still the 3 series. The A4 is also getting refreshed for MY2017.

Your choices are all over the place. Narrow down on what you really want...

 

[Knavish]

They may be similar on paper, but don't let the BMW fool you. They are underrated from the factory, and the 328i can do 60 MPH in low to mid 5's. Not only that, the 328i feels way faster than a GTI. Also, not sure if you have driven the A4, but the gold standard for "compact" luxury sedans in terms of driving dynamics is still the 3 series. The A4 is also getting refreshed for MY2017.

Your choices are all over the place. Narrow down on what you really want...

Lol you are completely right -- I'm all over the place trying to make a decision! I have driven both the A4 and A3 but not the BMW. Maybe I can do something about that this afternoon.

 

[Aharami]

Since you're considering the GTI, how come you haven't looked at the Focus ST? Or a 2016 WRX?

 

[slashbinslashbash]

Or how about the Fusion? Same platform as MKZ, cheaper and better looking IMO, especially with certain packages and paint colors. I've always loved them when I got one as a rental.

 

[Tweak155]

Or how about the Fusion? Same platform as MKZ, cheaper and better looking IMO, especially with certain packages and paint colors. I've always loved them when I got one as a rental.

I was going to mention that if you're not in a hurry, Fusion Sport is supposed to be near $35k and should make for a fun ride (in theory).

 

[Zor Prime]

Budget $35k ... Civic. No, really. The new Civic is pretty kickass and I haven't ever wanted one before. Sometime later this year you should be able to score a 6speed, 2.0L turbocharged Type-R boasting/boosting approx. 300HP which will 1) hold value or even profit off it down the road depending on how much you trash it, and 2) won't leave you stranded when you do decide to use it.

The Type-R probably will be around $35k. Downside, you can't buy it -- just yet. Oh, and thieves is a downside I guess. People will want to steal it.

EDIT: Nevermind, you'd have to settle for an Si this year, possibly.

The neat thing about it is that a Type-R hasn't been sold in the states for quite some time. The current, last-generation Civic Type-R in Europe has the front wheel drive record for lapping the 'Ring and there will only be improvements. Nice, right?

 

[Bubbleawsome]

I would recommend a BMW 328i as the more "luxury" option, but look at subarus. They've got nice cars. I'm personally in love with the BRZ. (The BRZ is also made by Toyota and Scion.)

 

[core2slow]

If i'm not getting a proper sports car/luxury sporty car, i'd go for the most fuel efficient/low-maintenance car there is. There's no point to driving another expensive, meaningless derivatives if all you're going for is the badge.

So in that regards, i would swing either way between the volt and the leaf. Really depends on your financial, but a used Leaf for $10-15k hit the spot for me.

 

[Subyman]

Didn't know GTI were that expensive now. I'd definitely do the BMW over the VW. I test drove a GTI and owned a Jetta (not the brand new one.) Jetta was a serviceable car, but I never looked forward to driving it. The BMW is always a treat to drive. On the lower end of the price ladder I'd do the BMW over Mercedes. If you were looking higher up like the 5 or E series, I'd recommend the Mercedes. The 3 series is a very solid car and they have very, very few reliability issues.

 

[coxmaster]

Budget $35k ... Civic. No, really. The new Civic is pretty kickass and I haven't ever wanted one before. Sometime later this year you should be able to score a 6speed, 2.0L turbocharged Type-R boasting/boosting approx. 300HP which will 1) hold value or even profit off it down the road depending on how much you trash it, and 2) won't leave you stranded when you do decide to use it.

The Type-R probably will be around $35k. Downside, you can't buy it -- just yet. Oh, and thieves is a downside I guess. People will want to steal it.

EDIT: Nevermind, you'd have to settle for an Si this year, possibly.

The neat thing about it is that a Type-R hasn't been sold in the states for quite some time. The current, last-generation Civic Type-R in Europe has the front wheel drive record for lapping the 'Ring and there will only be improvements. Nice, right?

They aren't bringing the Type-R to the US....

 

[Bubbleawsome]

They aren't bringing the Type-R to the US....

They are in 2018!

 

[leper84]

Focus RS is right at 35K. Its got awd.. for safety.

 

[herm0016]

If i'm not getting a proper sports car/luxury sporty car, i'd go for the most fuel efficient/low-maintenance car there is. There's no point to driving another expensive, meaningless derivatives if all you're going for is the badge.

So in that regards, i would swing either way between the volt and the leaf. Really depends on your financial, but a used Leaf for $10-15k hit the spot for me.

and the range you need. Remember, the volt will still go 300 to 400 miles if you use a little gas. I saw a leaf being towed because it ran out of juice a few days ago.

 

[core2slow]

and the range you need. Remember, the volt will still go 300 to 400 miles if you use a little gas. I saw a leaf being towed because it ran out of juice a few days ago.

I'll just chalk that up to careless drivers being careless. Not the car's fault.

Besides, 300-400mi is the typical range for most compact economies. I would even wager it's a better price-value proposition to get something like a prius/prius C for $10k less (from the OP's ~$35k price range) with a 450-500mi range and just as roomy (if not bigger) than the volt/leaf. Around town i love taking the RS5 but for trips, my 2014 prius does all the heavy lifting. I recently went on a week's vacation going from Socal > Vegas > Utah > Arizona > Grand Canyon > home...and during that time i filled up maybe 3 times in the prius.

 

[Knavish]

Since you're considering the GTI, how come you haven't looked at the Focus ST? Or a 2016 WRX?

While I haven't test driven either of these models, the summary of most reviews / comparisons are that the ST and WRX are a bit rough around the edges. Great track cars, but potentially a bit uncomfortable as a daily driver.

Next time I go car shopping I think I will look at the WRX. The ST seems to have horrendous reliability rankings from two different sources.

EDIT: Nevermind, you'd have to settle for an Si this year, possibly.

I'd love to check out the new Si, but I think it's at least 9-12 months out. There has not been a single peep about an updated SI from Honda yet.

Focus RS is right at 35K. Its got awd.. for safety.

The RS would be pretty cool, but #1 I'm sure around here it will be in the $40K range for months and #2 I bet it is even more of a harsh ride than a ST. I just checked and it's not listed on the X-plan site yet. I'll keep my eyes open and see if it appears within my purchase window.

If i'm not getting a proper sports car/luxury sporty car, i'd go for the most fuel efficient/low-maintenance car there is. ... the volt ...

I do think the 2016 Volt is appealing, but it still seems like a trade off between a sporty (e.g. manual transmission ~6 sec 0-60) car and a normal driving car with a high-tech drivetrain. I'd save a few $100 per year on gas, but that hardly matters. Overall buying the Volt would just be for the satisfaction of having a really cool (& reliable) powertrain. It's a very personal choice, but I'm not sure hi-tech beats out a traditional turbo 4 for me...

 

[Topweasel]

About the ride on the RS. I expect it to be harsher than ST. Now I am not a major complainer and on most roads my ST feels fine. On certain parts of the highway in my Fusion I had before it, it would vibrate a bit because of how it was cut, in the Focus ST, it practically bucks like a bronco. The ST is probably the best of the idea, its a performance hatch, but with enough civility to be a DD. The RS is probably going to be only civil enough that in pinch you can drive it around town and not feel embarrassed but I don't think its going to be a great DD for a majority of enthusiasts.