About that car-buying thing
Nov. 8th, 2013 06:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
drwexI 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.
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.
