Bob

That's true, except higher end cars...but the real saving is in the insurance.

And on a side note, another thing against leases for anyone who lives in a ding happy state if the small print doesn't take small dings into consideration, which some do but many don't and this can be a very expensive end of lease fee.

jmood

For 2014 Toyota Corolla in the cheaper zip code (I got quoted for 2 zip codes) it is $971 for 6 months and for a 2012 Toyota Corolla it is $921. This is with Geico.
That would be a $100 a year saving for a 2 year old car. Not sure if that is considered a real savings. I wouldn't think so.

Any particular insurer recos?

Bob

Ask around....who I use won't help you.

As for getting quotes, you are speaking to people right? Not using the online tool? That won't give you a real number because it won't take into account credit history or US driving history and tends to be basic coverage.

jmood

I think I was told earlier in this thread to stay away from Hyundai. What is your opinion on that/them?
Cheaper for me would be better. You could say that I am broke. But I have excellent credit so theoretically I could get anything. I am trying to rationalize with myself so that I don't end up spending more than I need to while also remaining a certain level of comfort for the daily 3hrs of driving.

Re subcompact: Would it be correct to say that the smaller the car the noisier it is (engine and wind noise)? I would really like a as quiet a car as possible. Noise fatigues me greatly.

I am off to Honda dealer now.

Owen778

I figure you get what you pay for. I test-drove a Hyundai Elantra. The car felt OK, but the interior was obviously cheaper than its competitors. Hyundais have had decent reviews in the motor press recently too.

That said, if I was driving three hours a day, I would spend enough to buy a car that provides both comfort and reliability. I'd concentrate on the Honda Civic and Ford Focus. I like the Civic as a sedan but the Focus as a hatchback, but that's personal preference. If you're happy with a smaller car, look at the Honda Fit or Ford Fiesta instead.

Some reviews:
2014 Honda Civic Sedan Review, Pricing & Pictures | Edmunds.com
2014 Ford Focus Hatchback Review, Pricing & Pictures | Edmunds.com

Pulaski

If you try to trade a Hyundai in say three years you'll get shafted- Korean cars depreciate rapidly. If you want to run it into the ground, you will probably find that it's life is years shorter than a Honda or Toyota too.

Larger is going to be quieter under almost all circumstances. If you need to save money/ go cheaper than a new car I would point you to 2-3 year old Accord for comfort/ quietness, combined with fuel efficiency. I think a Fusion of the same age would be every bit as good, and cheaper TO BUY, but not quite as economical.

Going down in size to a Civic or Focus would save on both outlay and fuel, but would be noisier. Where the comfort-cost balance point is will have to be your call.

scrubbedexpat091

We have a Mazda sub-compact and do highway driving as well as in town, and its very quiet, unless the window is down, I can't even hear the engine, and there is no wind noise on the highway with the windows up.

Can't say how other sub-compacts are though and no idea how it compares to other cars, but its the quietest car I have been in...Its a couple years old, bought used, so not the most recent model.

Bob

They're great if you're planning on keeping the car till you scrap it or hand it on to your kids.

Not great if you plan on trading it in in a few years time as they depreciate pretty harshly.

Partly why they have such good warranties.

jmood

OK, thanks.

So I have some questions re the Honda. I've been to a dealer. The experience was good. They said they strictly abolished commissions and they have a single price, which is their best price. The sales guy was very laid back. I test drove the Civic and the Accord and for the price difference of $1900 between them, and with gas usage being slightly favorable (as opposed to worse because of larger size) Accord, I chose the Accord as it seemed slightly quieter/more comfortable.

The Honda Accord Sedan price was $21,132 (before fees & options) which I was told was below the Kelly Blue Book price. Now that I'm home I am looking up the price on Kelly BB and Edmunds and the problem I have right now is that I can't find n exact match for the type of Sedan. On my price quote it says:
Accord Sedan CR2FEEW 4dr LX AT

On KBB.com there is an LX Automatic CVT with sport and a LX Manual 6-Spd ( I am writing exactly as it appears on KBB pricing) I am pretty sure my model has no -sport-things- and it isn't manual either. But then there is no other LX on KBB

On Edmunds.com there is LX 4dr Sedan (2.4L 4cyl 6M) and LX 4dr Sedan (2.4L 4cyl CVT) So my description fits neither.

Which one do you think CR2FEEW 4dr LX AT is?

I ended up spending 3 hours there so by the time I left at 7pm I didn't feel like driving to a Ford dealer. At this point it's only the Ford remaining that I haven't tried.

I asked about whether their prices were different say 3 weeks ago or whether they would change for Labor day. The answer was no. And that the price would only change if they got a further rebate from the manufacturer.

EDIT: Having made the comments about the single ow price guarantee - now I've done the Edmunds price guarantee thing and got 3 online quotes, one of them from the same dealer I visited. They are all $20200 - 20300 range. I was told $21,132. Having said that these online quotes say Accord LX . My dealer paper says Sedan CR2FEEW 4dr LX AT. Not sure if there is any difference ??????

Pulaski

The AT is automatic, aka CVT. 6-speed = Manual.

Find another Honda dealer and see if they give you the same price. If they do, tell them you'll buy from them for $x less than the first dealer offered, say $1,000 less, and see if they bite. You have nothing to lose.

jmood

Hi Pulaski, please see this edit I did above (probably at the same time as you posted):

EDIT: Having made the comments about the single ow price guarantee - now I've done the Edmunds price guarantee thing and got 3 online quotes, one of them from the same dealer I visited. They are all $20200 - 20300 range. I was told $21,132. Having said that these online quotes say Accord LX . My dealer paper says Sedan CR2FEEW 4dr LX AT. Not sure if there is any difference ??????

So then what should I do re the price?

jmood

Re the abbreviation - so then what does the CR2FEEW stand for in the description I have of Sedan CR2FEEW 4dr LX AT
Neither Edmunds nor KB nor the Honda official site have that.


One more question: When you get a price quote from a specific dealer on the Edmunds web site it seems to be for a particular car as the VIN number is given. This means it is a certain colour. Can I expect them to sell me any of the other standard colours for that model, at that offered price?
Edit: Scratch that. I played around on Edmunds. You can choose to see the stock of the particular dealer. When I selected the colour and interior cloth colour I wanted (silver/beige) the price came out exactly as I had been given. But this is confusing too. Why would silver be 1000$s more expensive than the red or the black or the blue? These are "standard " colours supposedly.


And one more one more question : I was told that the interest rates are fixed and dependent on which tier you fall into, tier one being the best credit rating, best risk etc and I was based on the credit check they did. This rate is 4%. They told me the zero % interest offers mean a fee is being charged and so the interest is indirectly collected. However on Edmunds there seem to be 0.9% finance offers. Thoughts?

Pulaski

Metallic paint is more expensive, also some colours are more "desirable". In the US approximately 20% of cars are black, 20% white, and 20% silver, most of the rest are some shade of red or blue. Green cars never sell well, and are usually sold at a discount.

Bob

Some colours are easier to sell than others and resell than others.

Some colours attract a cop more than others.

jmood

None of the colours on offer were attractive to me. i shove the silver because it wasn't a flat white. And I went for the white or silver because they weren't dark, thinking dark = hotter inside in the summer. Is that real? Is there several degrees C difference in inside temp in summer in dark vs light cars?

If not, I'd rather spend the $1000 on accesories for the car or keep it.

Also, any comments on CR2FEEW

Any comments on the 4% interest I was offered vs the 0.9% that Edmunds is listing (w/o details thought, I asked for the 0.9% offer's detail online and got nothing)

Aaand one more thing: The vibration on the gas pedal. The Accord had it too (but much slighter than the Jetta). Sales guy didn't know about it (he actually said it;s normal as they are connected to engine) I pressed him on it and he's going to ask the Service Dept about it tomorrow. But really, a brand new car, with vibration on the gas pedal (and slighter still it was there on the brake pedal as well)????