Turbo buys a new car - Decision made!

  • Thread starter Thread starter CodeRedR51
  • 74 comments
  • 3,963 views
When searching by max price set you limit higher and allow for a few overpriced cars.New car dealers will always mark at full retail + on used inventory.Without access to the Black Book for pricing I would use http://www.nadaguides.com/ and work up in price from clean trade value or your loan officer might help you out.
 
R1600Turbo
So my question for everyone is: Would you spend $15k on a used GTi with 60k miles plus with probably little to no warranty, or would you buy the nice new Fiesta with practically no miles and a 5 year powertrain warranty? Decisions, decisions.
Click to expand...

Honestly I'd be very careful, I wouldn't say that VW's are downright unreliable, but they are "fragile". Meaning if you get one that was driven hard or wasn't maintained properly, they can be quite problematic. I'd definitely ask for full service history, check the CarFax, ask the dealer if they knew the previous owner, etc.

A good alternative to a GTi would be a Mazda 3 GT.

I've had one of these and they're great fun. 170hp, one of the best manual transmissions you can find in a mainstream car, great suspension setup, much nicer interior then in a VW imo. And they're bulletproof reliable so you don't even have to worry about the warranty really.

Here's one near you: http://www.moremazda.com/used-Phoenix-2011-Mazda-Mazda3-s+Grand+Touring-JM1BL1M60B1391488
 
That one is tempting, just one problem is that I've never been a fan of the styling on those. Especially the front. The Mazdaspeeds are a little better though.
 
You're probably better off getting a new or certified pre-owned car from a dealer since warranties are handy to have. Also, I assume Ford still does their maintenance plans, the one of my Focus takes care of everything (oil changes, brakes, etc.) up to 100,000 miles. The standard is 50,000 but with some negotiating you can probably get more out of them.
 
IforceV8
http://www.scioncertified.com/inven...=25&VehicleCategory=&action=quicksearch#page2
Click to expand...
The looks have grown on me, but I never really considered owning one. I will put it on my list though.
Joey D
You're probably better off getting a new or certified pre-owned car from a dealer since warranties are handy to have. Also, I assume Ford still does their maintenance plans, the one of my Focus takes care of everything (oil changes, brakes, etc.) up to 100,000 miles. The standard is 50,000 but with some negotiating you can probably get more out of them.
Click to expand...
What do you think would be a fair price on the 1.0L Fiesta? I think the sticker on the car I drove was $18,300.
Capt Air
Yeah, I looked up the price. I was wrong for fitting the loan, I edited my post with a CRZ though.
Click to expand...
Nah, not really a fan. Maybe if it had a K20. :p
 
R1600Turbo
What do you think would be a fair price on the 1.0L Fiesta? I think the sticker on the car I drove was $18,300.
Click to expand...

$18,300 seems high, I built a similar speced one using my home zip code and it was about $1,000 cheaper. I bet you could get it for $17,000

You could ask the salesman if there's anyway you can swing Ford Friendly and Family pricing (Either A-Z or X plan). Typically they can do something for you if you seem interested in buying that car.
 
Joey D
$18,300 seems high, I built a similar speced one using my home zip code and it was about $1,000 cheaper. I bet you could get it for $17,000

You could ask the salesman if there's anyway you can swing Ford Friendly and Family pricing (Either A-Z or X plan). Typically they can do something for you if you seem interested in buying that car.
Click to expand...
I'll be sure to ask. Test drove another one that had all black interior yesterday. This one didn't have the heated seats, but it did have a $395 blue paint option. I'd really like to get the dark gray one with black interior. Didn't see one there though.

Next weekend I'm going to hit a ton of dealers to look at some used cars, then make a decision.
 
I'm starting to wonder if I should even bother spending all day looking for used cars, or if I should just jump on the Fiesta. Acquiring a car is always nice, looking for them is not so fun.
 
Don't rush, or you may end up with a case of buyers remorse.

Drive many different makes and models, you'll be happier in the end.
 
R1600Turbo
I'm starting to wonder if I should even bother spending all day looking for used cars, or if I should just jump on the Fiesta. Acquiring a car is always nice, looking for them is not so fun.
Click to expand...
My view is slightly different:

Idle car hunting: Great
Searching and test driving: Great
Buying: Horrific
Owning: Great

If I could get from step 2 to step 4 without going through step 3, life would be perfect.
Mikeybc
Don't rush, or you may end up with a case of buyers remorse.

Drive many different makes and models, you'll be happier in the end.
Click to expand...
Agree with this. Much as though car-buying is a bit of a pain, it's even more so when you rush into something and end up unhappy with it.

That said, Turbo can't go too far wrong with the Fiesta. It's a pretty damn good car.
 
Well the buying part shouldn't be too bad since the loan is already approved. Just need to print out the paperwork and complete it before I go, everything else is out of my hands.

As far as the Fiesta goes, I really want the Storm Gray color with all black interior, which is nonexistent in my area it seems. Found one in California but would rather not have to pay the sales tax separately.
 
Dealer not willing to get it for you ? When we bought a Pontiac G6 a few years ago we told the dealer exactly what colour and options we wanted, they found the car we wanted at another dealer around 600 miles away, they got it for us. Just had to wait a few more days.
 
Last edited:
If the dealer wants to make a sale bad enough, they'll get the car for you, if they won't go to another Ford dealer and see if they will. I'm not sure how many Ford dealers are in your area, but I'm guessing you have to have at least 2 or 3.
 
IS300
Subaru Legacy
Mazdaspeed3
HHR SS panel van (why the hell not)
EDIT: just read the posts: wouldn't go with the golf because of reliability issues (I don't really trust VW) though after MK4 they got better. I also wouldn't get a new car because you'll take quite a depreciation hit.
You can probably get a 330i E46 as well but again might be on the expensive side maintenance wise
 
Last edited:
Mikeybc
Dealer not willing to get it for you ? When we bought a Pontiac G6 a few years ago we told the dealer exactly what colour and options we wanted, they found the car we wanted at another dealer around 600 miles away, they got it for us. Just had to wait a few more days.
Click to expand...
Joey D
If the dealer wants to make a sale bad enough, they'll get the car for you, if they won't go to another Ford dealer and see if they will. I'm not sure how many Ford dealers are in your area, but I'm guessing you have to have at least 2 or 3.
Click to expand...
I just said that because I hit every website for every dealer in the area (10 dealers at least :p) and none of them had an Ecoboost in that color. Hell most of them didn't even have any one liters on their site at all. But the closest dealer (literally right down the street) found one 100 miles away (Storm gray, black interior, no options) and they can get it here before the weekend which is the soonest I can actually sit down and go through the process.
motortrend
IS300
Subaru Legacy
Mazdaspeed3
HHR SS panel van (why the hell not)
Click to expand...
IS300 might work but it would have to be a 2005 model. Looked for Mazdaspeeds, none around at dealers. Legacy is too big for me and no thanks to anything GM.
 
Gonna make an oddball suggestion, but what about a Volvo S60? Craptastic resale values mean that it's quite easy to get a clean example with low mileage for $15k, but the hard part is actually finding one with the 5-Speed.

37b833fba2cdbf17a370fc2c000608bcx.jpg
 
Speed is a no-go, I need $17,500 out the door and they don't have enough margin in it to get it below that with tax, title, etc.
 
R1600Turbo
Speed is a no-go, I need $17,500 out the door and they don't have enough margin in it to get it below that with tax, title, etc.
Click to expand...
That sucks, it was a 2010 though, if you keep looking I'm pretty sure you can get an older one for that price
 
Back