New Car - VW or Hyundai (2 Viewers)

[Gator Shawn]

Final question for this morning before my work day begins in earnest, there's a local chain of used car dealers that offer low prices. The reason why is that they buy cars from auction which have been through collisions and while they don't advertise it* they don't appear to try to hide that fact. They openly post the carfax report on the site along with a link to pull the actual accident report.

There are some exceptional deals. For example:

2012 Accord EX 38K Miles

Carfax Report:

Shows that in 2012 it was in a wreck and damaged.

10/20/2012 New Jersey

Damage Report Accident reported

Involving front impact

with another motor vehicle

Front area primarily damaged

Vehicle towed

Would this scare you completely away? I mean I've had cars repaired after accidents and didn't throw them in the garbage. I mean even if there was frame damage, if the insurance company didn't total it and spent the money repairing it, it could represent a very good deal right?

* I stand corrected, they put it right in the listing.

Up to your personal risk tolerance but I would avoid any car that has been in an accident.

Do not buy a vehicle that was in an accident. The car probably was put together fine and will not have issues. However, there is a chance that it was not put together exactly right or something was missed that will fail while you own it. You do not have to take that risk.

There has to be a savings point where the risk is tolerable though.

 

[Gator Shawn]

Funny how we normally start off with a long list of possible vehicles to purchase but then how quickly we eliminate vehicles once we are in them due to looks, ride, price, or comfort.

Absolutely. I mean my wife hates the looks of the C-Max and I love it. We have yet to sit in any of these.

We might add a few to the list, I like the Elantra and the Elantra GT. I'm preferable to a hatchback or compact SUV. I really like the Subaru Crosstrek as well, it's priced well but slightly below the rating threshold. I'm sure when and if we check out the Outback we'll give it a try to.

 

[[icon]]

Funny how we normally start off with a long list of possible vehicles to purchase but then how quickly we eliminate vehicles once we are in them due to looks, ride, price, or comfort.

BINGO.

Get your list together then go sit in them... drive them. You can study reliability/satisfaction numbers until you're blue in the face, but there is no substitute for seat-time. The wheat rapidly separates itself from the chaff at that point.

 

[fightingillini]

I also settled in on a Hyundai Sonata, but then I test drove a used Genesis and ended up buying that instead for just a couple grand more than the base Sonata (and a couple grand less than the base Sonata Turbo). Very nice car, and definitely recommend taking a look if you are investigating Sonatas.

I absolutely LOVE my Genesis. Just put some new Bridgestone Serenity W-rated Touring Tires on it and they are a huge improvement over the Pirelli P Zero Nero that I had on there (quieter, better ride). Four buddies have driven it and two are now looking for one. My pop, who drives a LS430 was shocked after an afternoon behind the wheel.

Drove it 6hrs round trip to Nashville last weekend and will be driving it 12hrs round trip to New Orleans this weekend. So much fun to drive. Love that I can hit 130mph on open stretches and the car feels like it's just getting settled in. Don't even get me started on the sound system...

The Genesis pretty much put the Acura RL (which I own and love) out of business and really hurt the sales of the Infiniti M series.....pretty much since it has all the cool standard features, nice ride, and can be up to 15K cheaper than the Acura or Infiniti.

Hyundai is really moving up the ranks. The Sonata is one of the most popular cars out there. My in-laws have a Sonata Hybrid and love it.

I would pick a Hyundai over a VW any time. If I want German, I need to put the premium down and buy a BMW, Mercedes or Audi.

 

[irish eyes]

Anyone have or owned Hyundai veloster? I never really knew about these but saw sharp looking one the other day. Stopped by dealer and they had a couple in a gray matter finish that was really sharp.

 

[Gator Shawn]

As I research these cars, it's been 7 years since I've looked at new cars, I am finding alot have these Infotainment systems which seem to be in between a regular radio and the fancy navigation systems. If I understand it correct, most of them use an app on your smartphone to leverage the very powerful navigation and media streaming capability of your phone but display it all on the screen in the car. Does that sound about right?

 

[Gator Shawn]

I think we're going with the Prius V Three. But the Nissan Rogue SV is still in the mix. Got rained out of test driving this past weekend, so doing that this upcoming Saturday.

 

[17seconds]

Have a Jetta TDI and it kills. 45mpg on the highway, Diesel is $1 cheaper than regular.

Get a real car, not a glorified golf cart. #### Prius

 

[17seconds]

About to buy a RAV4 myself tho

 

[Gator Shawn]

Have a Jetta TDI and it kills. 45mpg on the highway, Diesel is $1 cheaper than regular.

Get a real car, not a glorified golf cart. #### Prius

That's why I want the Prius V because they seem to be so polarizing. Bottom line though is for $23K right now I get 42 combined, 70 cubic feet of storage space, and one of the better navigation + mobile apps integration infotainment systems on the market on one of the most reliable powertrains period, much less a hybrid.

 

[BowieMercs]

Have a Jetta TDI and it kills. 45mpg on the highway, Diesel is $1 cheaper than regular.

Get a real car, not a glorified golf cart. #### Prius

In my world diesel is still $0.20-$0.30 MORE than regular.

Does your TDI use DEF? If so, what do you pay for it & how much do you use?

 

[eoMMan]

I put together a spreadsheet to compare all of the models I'm looking at. Quite the list... My wife hates spending money, so I need to make this as methodical as possible. Bottom line is, we're not buying a new car because I want to, we're buying it because my car was totaled.

These are the models I think fit the bill for us (>30 MPG HWY, 15-25K, High US News, Edmunds, etc ratings.) Although we need to carry 4 bikes around and possibly Kayaks so something with a built-in receiver and roof racks is optimal, but that's all available aftermarket regardless:

C-Max Hybrid

Escape

Accord Hybrid

Accord LX

Civic Hybrid

CR-V LX

Sonata 1.6T Eco

Sante Fe Sport

CX5

Mazda6

Altima SV

Rogue SV

Outback

Forester Prius V - Three

Golf Sportwagen TDI S

I like the value on the Rogue, Altima and the Sonata, but it was weird, before I did this list, I had almost forgotten that Nissan existed.

you can immediately cross off any US cars on your list. that is if you want them to last beyond a few years. If you're carrying 4 bikes and a kayak then you can't go with a gd prius. So it's either the golf or outback. personally i'd go with the outback. you'll have it forever, it can handle the stuff you want to carry around with no problem, and it actually rides pretty well

Do Subarus still carry the lesbian wearing flannell stereotype?

 

[Gator Shawn]

I put together a spreadsheet to compare all of the models I'm looking at. Quite the list... My wife hates spending money, so I need to make this as methodical as possible. Bottom line is, we're not buying a new car because I want to, we're buying it because my car was totaled.

These are the models I think fit the bill for us (>30 MPG HWY, 15-25K, High US News, Edmunds, etc ratings.) Although we need to carry 4 bikes around and possibly Kayaks so something with a built-in receiver and roof racks is optimal, but that's all available aftermarket regardless:

C-Max Hybrid

Escape

Accord Hybrid

Accord LX

Civic Hybrid

CR-V LX

Sonata 1.6T Eco

Sante Fe Sport

CX5

Mazda6

Altima SV

Rogue SV

Outback

Forester Prius V - Three

Golf Sportwagen TDI S

I like the value on the Rogue, Altima and the Sonata, but it was weird, before I did this list, I had almost forgotten that Nissan existed.

you can immediately cross off any US cars on your list. that is if you want them to last beyond a few years. If you're carrying 4 bikes and a kayak then you can't go with a gd prius.

Nonsense. Look at this guy

I've already vetted the Prius v (you might want to be sure you know the difference between the v and the other models) to carry the load. Our 4 bikes weigh 110lbs. We would never carry Kayaks and bikes at the same time like the nutjob in the picture above.

As for the US versus foreign car, that's such a load of horse####. While it may be generally true that some foreign brands have a better track record than US brands, these days it's down to individual models. There isn't a single car on my short list with a bad track record for reliability.

As for the Outback, it's more than I want to spend to get the level of equipment I want, but we are going to see that and the Forester this weekend.

 

[17seconds]

I put together a spreadsheet to compare all of the models I'm looking at. Quite the list... My wife hates spending money, so I need to make this as methodical as possible. Bottom line is, we're not buying a new car because I want to, we're buying it because my car was totaled.

These are the models I think fit the bill for us (>30 MPG HWY, 15-25K, High US News, Edmunds, etc ratings.) Although we need to carry 4 bikes around and possibly Kayaks so something with a built-in receiver and roof racks is optimal, but that's all available aftermarket regardless:

C-Max Hybrid

Escape

Accord Hybrid

Accord LX

Civic Hybrid

CR-V LX

Sonata 1.6T Eco

Sante Fe Sport

CX5

Mazda6

Altima SV

Rogue SV

Outback

Forester Prius V - Three

Golf Sportwagen TDI S

I like the value on the Rogue, Altima and the Sonata, but it was weird, before I did this list, I had almost forgotten that Nissan existed.

you can immediately cross off any US cars on your list. that is if you want them to last beyond a few years. If you're carrying 4 bikes and a kayak then you can't go with a gd prius. So it's either the golf or outback. personally i'd go with the outback. you'll have it forever, it can handle the stuff you want to carry around with no problem, and it actually rides pretty well

Do Subarus still carry the lesbian wearing flannell stereotype?

Seems not. The Outback is more like a regular crossover now so different types of people are buying it

 

[17seconds]

Have a Jetta TDI and it kills. 45mpg on the highway, Diesel is $1 cheaper than regular.

Get a real car, not a glorified golf cart. #### Prius

In my world diesel is still $0.20-$0.30 MORE than regular.

Does your TDI use DEF? If so, what do you pay for it & how much do you use?

No DEF

I filled up at $2.69/gal last night. Regular gas has plummeted down to about $3 in the last week but it was $4.19.

I could see getting a Prius for the cargo space, but if you drive a lot of freeway a diesel car is much better.

 

[Gator Shawn]

Okay, my wife finally opened up, she had been sitting on the sidelines gathering information, instead of the bullrush approach I was in. She's liking the Prius v but really has her heart set on a Subaru, so off this weekend to try the Forester and Outback. Crosstrek look a little too small, our neighbor has one.

Anyway, I have a question that maybe you guys can weigh in on.

One of the things steering me towards models was the availability and capability of the infotainment system. I prefer waze and google maps to any factory navigation system. Many models that I'm looking at have mobile app integration. Some select few allow google search and navigation using google maps. My preference is to plug my phone to the usb charger/input, put it in the glove box or cubby and not use it again while driving. Which means I like things like voice Siri or Ask Google passthrough. Google or Bing Searches instead of the crappy POI database. That's available along with all of the other bluetooth pairing standards on many of the cars I've targeted (that's not a coincidence) but it's typically only available at the highest trim levels or part of expensive packages.

I've been considering buying the lowest trim that meets my needs otherwise and adding an aftermarket head unit that supports Android Auto or CarPlay. Sounds like it would solve my problem and cost less overall, but might be a major headache as well.

Is this just penny wise pound foolish or is the tech too new for anyone but early adopters?