About that car-buying thing

[drwex]

I can't imagine many people are that interested in this, but

I'm pretty well settled on getting the Jetta TDI, though still having trepidations.

Consumer Reports was very down on the Honda models, basically calling them inferior to the Toyota models in pretty much every respect. That plus my annoyance at the Honda dealer guy made it easy to cut that out of my list. That leaves me deciding between a Toyota Prius V and the Jetta. C.R. did not note the kinds of mechanical/repair problems with current-model Jettas that some people had mentioned with earlier models.

Getting a diesel is a little worrisome. I've noticed that none of the stations I normally frequent offer diesel. It means finding new stations and figuring out where I can hit them on my usual routes or where I have to have new routes. Maybe I'll just get a 1-gallon jerrycan and carry that in case of emergencies. I am seriously looking forward to having a 500+ mile-per-tank range.

My biggest problems with the Prius are the hood design and the pick-up. The hood on the Prius is designed so that it's completely out of sight. When I test-drove it I was nervous because I couldn't tell where my nose was. I've realized that Pygment's car has the same design and I wonder if that's part of what I don't like but never realized. I like the Prius interior better, except it doesn't have heated seats. Heated seats in the Jetta are standard I believe.

The other thing is the acceleration. The Jetta has a relatively tiny engine, but it's designed by Germans who drive on the f'ing autobahn and it has torque out the wazoo. It accelerates. The Prius... um... doesn't. Be patient; it'll get here eventually. The Jetta has a manual transmission. You drive the car, not just make polite requests that the car takes its time fulfilling. (This is one reason I wanted a Tesla - the thing is engineered to perform.)

Part of me feels utterly stereotypical making a decision based on something like "which car would you enjoy driving more"? The other part of me is like, "fuck that - if you're going to spend THAT much money at least get something you'll enjoy." The Prius would be about 5% less sticker cost and has somewhat better financing available.

I kept my current car for a bit over 8 years; I see no reason I won't keep another car that long. Amortizing the price difference over that time means I'm getting a lot of enjoyment for relatively low $/hour.

I did look into 2013 models and if price was the deciding factor I'd probably get the 2013 Prius V, which is a few k less than the 2014s. In the Jetta the only 2013 options are automatic transmission which (a) see above and (b) costs more base price so the extra cost more or less cancels out the savings of getting a prior-year model. So, yeah, I'm going to take a financial hit buying new, but if I can keep the car for 5 years then it essentially evens out and by 7-8 years the difference is entirely gone.

Or so I tell myself so I can justify the very large amount of debt I think I'm going to accrue tomorrow.

On the plus side I have a firm number offer from Dealer 1 in hand right now, so when I walk into Dealer 2 tomorrow if he can't beat it then I go back to Dealer 1.

Comments

[tigira.livejournal.com]

Another thing to consider with a diesel is the cold - will you be able to plug in a block heater? Or have diesel engines been engineered now to not need that?

[(Anonymous)]

Not an issue - I've had mine through 3 NH winters with nary a sputter in the cold.

[chhotii.livejournal.com]

There's a glow plug. Turn the key half-way, until some indicator on the dash goes out. (Might take up to a few seconds in cold weather.) Then turn the key all the way. It works. (It gets really cold in Germany, so they figured this out.)

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

I have had to go through the "wait for glow plug light to go out" cycle twice, when I was driving a diesel in Afghanistan in the winter.

Even with that, it was very sluggish for about five minutes or so.

[vibrantabyss.livejournal.com]

I will say I adore the TDI that I often get to use. the heated seats are awesome, to the point where that will be a must-have the next time I change cars.

Also, the honda's have some really stupid design decisions. Glad professionals have the same opinion.

[ahf.livejournal.com]

In comparing VW dealers, some are much better than others (see my Black Cloud experience of bad dealer) Price being equal, go with the one that offers better service perks, like a free loaner rather than shuttle service, on line appointment scheduling and such.

[sweetmmeblue.livejournal.com]

What dealer did you use so we can avoid them?

[ahf.livejournal.com]

Fortunately the one I used is out of business (Belmont VW) Boston VW is our current preferred, though we use Kelly in a pinch.

[sariel-t.livejournal.com]

pebble.

[quietann.livejournal.com]

I'm listening.

I made a similar decision last fall: chose the Subaru Impreza over the Prius V, because the Subaru was just more fun to drive. Overall I'm happy with the decision.

[davidfcooper.livejournal.com]

Friends of ours recently bought a Ford C-Max hybrid and are pleased with it. Fords generally don't earn high CR ratings, but this is a new model and may not yet have been rated.

[chhotii.livejournal.com]

Paying you back for advice in the form of advice here :)

Dude, get the Jetta. Never mind my earlier concerns about maintenance. If CR's stats don't show a reliability problem, could be that my VW is an outlier, or that VW has cleaned up their act.

The TDI does vroom-vroom, yeah. Awesome fun to drive. Having a car that "takes its time fulfilling" your "polite requests" would drive me bug-fucking nuts. Pardon me while I (in my imagination) run away from the Toyota dealer screaming. Also, hoods designed so that you can't see where the car ends? Who thought that was a good idea??? Ugh.

Admittedly having to find filling stations has occasionally been a small inconvenience. I don't know which way you have to go to get to work. You should scout around and try to find a couple of stations.

[drwex]

Ha, thanks. Your comment gave me a good laugh, which I needed.

[tshuma]

If you have a smartphone, there is an app that I use since owning the Jetta TDI that has come in very handy: GasBuddy. Looks like they have both Android and iOS versions. It automatically loads up in List and Gasoline station form, but it has a Diesel and Map section that makes road trips much easier, and it would probably be useful just to install long enough to find the diesel stations around your usual paths.

We're still delighted with our Jetta TDI. We added a couple of aftermarket modifications -- the under seat drawers in the front of the cab, we asked the dealer to program the car to not honk when we lock it up, and we got them to program in the ability to roll windows down or up from the key fob buttons. Also, B managed to tinker with the head restraints in the back seat so that they'll come all the way out, which allows us to make the amazing back seat of flattening even flatter, for more cargo storage.

[drwex]

Thanks, I found the app. Can you find a pointer for the under-seat drawers so I can check those out?

[minkrose]

I have nothing useful to add (if we do anything, it would be getting RID of our car, though there's many good reasons not to do that just yet).

BUT -- I am amused at how different our car requirements are! I had a (relatively) mild panic attack while driving a Camaro at a "drive lots of cars for fun" sales-type event. Turns out, fast cars are REALLY not my thing. So, the Prius "getting there eventually" is exactly what I'm looking for, haha.

I think the most important thing is to know what you want -- and it sounds like you do! It is interesting to read about the process, since it'll be awhile before we buy anything and the options are incredibly different than they were 5 years ago.

[drwex]

Interesting. takes all kinds, I expect. Thanks for reading and commenting.

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

I drove an (automatic) VW Golf a la zipcar the other day and was reminded how fucking much I have enjoyed driving every single VW I've ever driven. If I were in the market for a car, it would almost without a doubt be a Golf TDI. Uh. Assuming I could afford a car. Which I cannot.

Enjoy!

[taura-g.livejournal.com]

I hope everything goes well for you today.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

I am seriously looking forward to having a 500+ mile-per-tank range.

This is one of the primary reasons I would get a diesel.

it has torque out the wazoo.

This is one of the others. Diesels are really known for their torque.

Best of luck!