Members IRG Posted May 9, 2013 Members Share Posted May 9, 2013 So yeah, I have one month to go on my Camry lease. Time for something new, but modest. The Camry has been a fine car, cost me nothing other than the pretty low payments ($240 with nothing down, taxes included), all maintenance was free. Just gas. Maybe another one? No incentive from Toyota to keep me as a customer which I find a bit odd, but whatever. I have some equity in this lease too, hopefully. It only has 25k miles on it. I kinda want a new Subaru Forester, with the CVT. Nothing fancy, just the base model, about all I can afford at this point. I like the awd feature, especially in upstate NY weathers. And having a wagon would be good for both hauling the dog and maybe even gear eventually. The new CVT get's pretty decent gas mileage finally. Anything else I should consider? CRV, RAV4 are on my list, but most of them are too pricey I think. I'd buy used, but I'm really leary about having any car repairs, been burned before. And unless the car is $12k or less, a used car will cost me more in payments than a new lease (if negotiated correctly, as I do). And once I pay off a used car loan, there really isn't much equity left, especially with the winters we have here. And it's nice to have the peace of mind of a new car knowing everything is under warranty. Other vehicles you'd consider in the $20-23k range? It's always fun to see what people suggest. I saw a new Tesla Model S the other day, absolutely beautiful car, and they get almost 100mpg as they're electric, but at $70k+, it's more that outside my range of considering Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zappa74 Posted May 10, 2013 Members Share Posted May 10, 2013 Little SUVs are no good. Particularly the RAV4... I have experience with one. I'd get a new Accord. Honda makes a the best 4s, and the new ones have a CVT like you're interested in. What's cool about the Honda CVT is that when you're just driving around town, it mimics a 6 speed auto with programed gear ratios. It has shift points. Seems weird, but it takes away the odd elastic feel of a CVT. However, when you really get on the throttle (like 80%), it does the typical CVT thing and holds the rev where you make maximum power. It's pretty smart. They're good. Lots of room and they drive well. I drove one recently (a coupe) to get a free Target gift card and I was pretty impressed by it. Much nicer than a Camry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zappa74 Posted May 10, 2013 Members Share Posted May 10, 2013 That said, if you do want more room with all wheel drive- Subaru is usually a good call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IRG Posted May 10, 2013 Author Members Share Posted May 10, 2013 Zappa74 wrote: Little SUVs are no good. Particularly the RAV4... I have experience with one.I'd get a new Accord. Honda makes a the best 4s, and the new ones have a CVT like you're interested in. What's cool about the Honda CVT is that when you're just driving around town, it mimics a 6 speed auto with programed gear ratios. It has shift points. Seems weird, but it takes away the odd elastic feel of a CVT. However, when you really get on the throttle (like 80%), it does the typical CVT thing and holds the rev where you make maximum power. It's pretty smart.They're good. Lots of room and they drive well. I drove one recently (a coupe) to get a free Target gift card and I was pretty impressed by it. Much nicer than a Camry. I actually test drove a new Accord recently, and I came away very impressed. Almost got a speeding ticket during the test drive It's on my list, a little outside my price point, but I can probably get them down a bit. The Sport model looks really nice. And I agree, they're better than the newer Camry. The Camry's are getting a total redesign in 2 years apparently. The new Civics for 2013 are pretty nice too. As far as the RAV4 goes, the new ones are pretty nice, just a bit pricey. The Forester is like the quintessential car in this town, or rusted Volvo's. My commute to work is 5 miles, top speed is 45 mph. You get the picture. High speed highways are not exisitent here. But I can use my own car for business travel, which I do sometimes, then I get 55 cents/mile which is nice. As far as a sedan goes, the Accord is probably my #1. But I wouldn't get any equity in trading in my Camry, because they're different dealers, which sucks. Honda is the only independent dealer in my town, all the other car dealers are owned by one family. But I'm looking at a couple of dealers that own both Toyota and Subaru/etc. to see if I can trade in my Camry and get the equity into something else. I really don't like much else by Toyota right now. The new Avalon's are nice, but too pricey for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members echodeluxe Posted May 10, 2013 Members Share Posted May 10, 2013 Don't get 4wheel drive unless you absolutely need it. Just more stuff to break and fix. Expensive fixes too. If you don't live in a rural area without paved roads, it's just silly. That said, CRV is awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IRG Posted May 10, 2013 Author Members Share Posted May 10, 2013 echodeluxe wrote:Don't get 4wheel drive unless you absolutely need it. Just more stuff to break and fix. Expensive fixes too. If you don't live in a rural area without paved roads, it's just silly. That said, CRV is awesome. We get a lot of snow here, so it is worth it, for 4-5 months of the year. Also, whatever I get will be under warranty, so no expensive fixes. I had an older Ford Explorer once, it was awesome in snow, I could pass anyone stuck in it. The expensive fixes weren't the drive train, but the brakes and brake lines all rusted out on my, and were a constant pain in the ass. We get a lot of salt on our roads, so cars here wear out faster, hence my aversion to buying used. Plus, used cars are commanding money close to a new car, the financing costs more too. Hurricane Sandy has made the used car market pretty hot apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TomCTC Posted May 10, 2013 Members Share Posted May 10, 2013 Get something with the highest MPG you can find that's within your budget. Hybrid/FlexFuel/Otherwise, it's the smartest thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IRG Posted May 11, 2013 Author Members Share Posted May 11, 2013 Test drove the Forester today, nice car. Not a real looker, but the new CVT made it move nicely, and it's pretty big inside. Good fuel mileage too for an awd vehicle. I should check out a Prius too, just for the fuel economy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TomCTC Posted May 11, 2013 Members Share Posted May 11, 2013 Check out the Honda Insight as well, IRG. Great mileage and a pretty intuitive driving setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zappa74 Posted May 11, 2013 Members Share Posted May 11, 2013 Irg, your commute is 5 miles. Who gives a rotten {censored} about gas mileage when you practically don't drive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members duncan Posted May 11, 2013 Members Share Posted May 11, 2013 Mazda3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IRG Posted May 11, 2013 Author Members Share Posted May 11, 2013 duncan wrote:Mazda3 I like the Mazda3 series a lot. Would consider, but no local dealer. Not the biggest deal, but any warranty work becomes a pain. But I should check them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ollenorin Posted May 12, 2013 Members Share Posted May 12, 2013 Avoid prius !!! Soundlevel inside that tin can of a car is absurd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IRG Posted May 12, 2013 Author Members Share Posted May 12, 2013 ollenorin wrote:Avoid prius !!! Soundlevel inside that tin can of a car is absurd Even current models? I've never driven one before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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