Background: 3 people in household, me and my parents. I will be moving out (hopefuly) next school year (will be starting 3rd year @ a uni) and I won't need a car because I'll be living downtown chicago (read: no parking / decent enough public transport system). Currently we have 2008 Nissan Rogue (just shy of 7k mi at this point) and 2002 Daewoo Leganza (~75k mi). I share the Rogue with my mom, but I am the primary driver (read: 3k of those miles was a road trip to florida, and i put on about 70% of the remaining miles on it). My dad drives the Daewoo (as an A-B appliance to work and back at around 30mi / day).
Case Scenarios:
(a) Give Rogue to dad, trade Daewoo for something with a bit more spunk for my mom to drive, and me occasionally "borrow"
(b) Replace Daewoo with another A-B appliance.
looking pretty much exclusively at sub-compacts for 2 reasons:
-- low initial cost of ownership
-- generally better fuel economy
In the "SpunK" category we are considering:
--ForTwo (already test drove it, love it, want it...only problem is even if we order know it won't arrive until after our target time, which is still fine, assuming the Daewoo doesn't die)
-- VW Rabbit 2-dr -- fair price, lots of stuff for the $ (but is on the north end of all the cars on this list), built in germany. On the flip side, the 2.5L 170hp engine is same displacement and hp output as the Rogue (except VW has 5-cyl mated to 6sp auto vs Rogue 4-cyl + CVT). As a result, the fuel economy is the same (give or take a mile) to the Rogue..that is larger and heavier than the bunny
in the "appliance" cateogry:
-- Hyundai Accent 2-door -- I like how the Rio5 (same car pretty much) looks more, but 5-door hatch is pointless, also the Hyundai does come up as a better value. Safety isn't the greatest (despite 6 air bags), fairly cheap. 1.4L + 4sp Auto does not inspire much fun.
-- Toyota Yaris 3-door --- cheapest of the lot, about as fun as a bag of rice, exterior is pretty ok looking, interior is
Out of the Running:
-Cobalt (2 and 4 door) -- Ugly, drives poorly, kinda expensive actually.
-Versa (5door SL CVT) -- Big interior and drives fine, not exactly the best built quality (assembled in Mexico), interior is lacking even if it is choke full of bluetooth, inteligent key, etc.
-Fit -- Interior felt cheap and lacking relative to Versa, generally not a huge honda fan, also would cost as much as the Rabbit for much less car.
So there's my problem. With the economy the way it is, it is time to be practical and the cheapest choice would be to get a Yaris (my dad is a Toyota fan, had a 1991 Corolla he ran into the ground before getting the Daewoo) and let him run it into the ground. In the meantime, I'll simply enjoy my Rogue. However, the "human element" says why spend $13-4k on something that has no soul...drop an extra $2k but get something which has more personality than a brick wall.
Anyway...just wanted to put this out there. Will most likely go test drive one of the cars that is on the list that I didn't drive yet (but had exposure to via auto shows or friends)... aka Yaris Rabbit or Accent...most likely the Yaris b/c the toyota dealer is closer to my house than the other 2 (Hyundai being substantialy far away).
44 views and no replies....hope people aren't scared away by the really long initial post.
Anyway, I have an update.
Just returned from the Hyundai dealer, went with my dad. We test drove a 3-door Accent SE Auto + Sunroof Package. While there we also looked at the Elantra (waiting for the Touring to launch soon) , Sonata (Accord clone anyone?) and Genesis (was nice!). Also, unlike what I said in my initial post, my dad is not a fan of the Yaris...haha, I guess that eliminates one option of the list (its ok, I think its ugly anyway).
The Drive : Take any (sub)compact, stick in a 1.4L + 4-sp auto...and that is exactly how the Accent drives. Absolutely 0 things to get excited about, yet still fairly decent for what I got out of it on the test loop (included both City and Hwy roads). Gets up to speed fairly decent (about on par with Versa, despite the Versa's bigger enigne) and feels planted @ highway speeds (took it as high as 65mph). Little rough over the bumps (and railroad tracks) but that just comes standard with a short wheelbase and small wheels (15")...I thought for what it is, it took the bumps quite well.
The Car (Outside): Again, it was the 3-door SE + sunroof in silver. They had a green on the lot too, I really wanted to see a Mellow Yellow so a bit dissapointed there, but in whatever color the car looks pretty sleek. From the front its pretty standard issue, from the back it actually has a character....not much else to discuss so lets continue...
The Car (Inside): Pretty good visibility all around the car, room in the front was substantial, felt bigger than some of the other cars of the same type. The back seat is for vertically challanged people only and only for short trips....it is nothing more than a legroom issue, because the seat itself was fairly comfortable. The material quality was mixed. All the knobs and switches felt solid, didn't flex or crack in my man claws... center console well executed. Everything labeled clearly for easy operation during motion. The door was a bit different, it was hard plastic but the window and power mirror switches were solid and precise. Mixed feeling about the door.... but overall a very competitive interior (better than Yaris hand down, gives the Versa and Fit a run for their money).
here is what you might be interested in,
how does the accent measure up to the fortwo:
They perform about the same, actually accent a bit more peppy, but the 4-sp slushbox has little on the smart's 5-sp auto-stick. In cloth passion trim (to keep things fair)... the smart takes a different approach to hide the cheapness, putting fabric on the dash over the hard plastic adds a degree of refinement, and i think smart does it very well, even if some of the knobs feel less than sturdy in my man hands. What the smart has is soul and better mpg, what the accent has is a back seat, slightly more trunk space and a more "practical" approach to basic A-B transportation. In other words...mixed feelings. Part of my says accent is a smart choice, but the other part of me says "get a smart"...just because.
Background: 3 people in household, me and my parents. I will be moving out (hopefuly) next school year (will be starting 3rd year @ a uni) and I won't need a car because I'll be living downtown chicago (read: no parking / decent enough public transport system). Currently we have 2008 Nissan Rogue (just shy of 7k mi at this point) and 2002 Daewoo Leganza (~75k mi). I share the Rogue with my mom, but I am the primary driver (read: 3k of those miles was a road trip to florida, and i put on about 70% of the remaining miles on it). My dad drives the Daewoo (as an A-B appliance to work and back at around 30mi / day).
Case Scenarios:
(a) Give Rogue to dad, trade Daewoo for something with a bit more spunk for my mom to drive, and me occasionally "borrow"
(b) Replace Daewoo with another A-B appliance.
looking pretty much exclusively at sub-compacts for 2 reasons:
-- low initial cost of ownership
-- generally better fuel economy
In the "SpunK" category we are considering:
--ForTwo (already test drove it, love it, want it...only problem is even if we order know it won't arrive until after our target time, which is still fine, assuming the Daewoo doesn't die)
-- VW Rabbit 2-dr -- fair price, lots of stuff for the $ (but is on the north end of all the cars on this list), built in germany. On the flip side, the 2.5L 170hp engine is same displacement and hp output as the Rogue (except VW has 5-cyl mated to 6sp auto vs Rogue 4-cyl + CVT). As a result, the fuel economy is the same (give or take a mile) to the Rogue..that is larger and heavier than the bunny
in the "appliance" cateogry:
-- Hyundai Accent 2-door -- I like how the Rio5 (same car pretty much) looks more, but 5-door hatch is pointless, also the Hyundai does come up as a better value. Safety isn't the greatest (despite 6 air bags), fairly cheap. 1.4L + 4sp Auto does not inspire much fun.
-- Toyota Yaris 3-door --- cheapest of the lot, about as fun as a bag of rice, exterior is pretty ok looking, interior is
Out of the Running:
-Cobalt (2 and 4 door) -- Ugly, drives poorly, kinda expensive actually.
-Versa (5door SL CVT) -- Big interior and drives fine, not exactly the best built quality (assembled in Mexico), interior is lacking even if it is choke full of bluetooth, inteligent key, etc.
-Fit -- Interior felt cheap and lacking relative to Versa, generally not a huge honda fan, also would cost as much as the Rabbit for much less car.
So there's my problem. With the economy the way it is, it is time to be practical and the cheapest choice would be to get a Yaris (my dad is a Toyota fan, had a 1991 Corolla he ran into the ground before getting the Daewoo) and let him run it into the ground. In the meantime, I'll simply enjoy my Rogue. However, the "human element" says why spend $13-4k on something that has no soul...drop an extra $2k but get something which has more personality than a brick wall.
Anyway...just wanted to put this out there. Will most likely go test drive one of the cars that is on the list that I didn't drive yet (but had exposure to via auto shows or friends)... aka Yaris Rabbit or Accent...most likely the Yaris b/c the toyota dealer is closer to my house than the other 2 (Hyundai being substantialy far away).
I don't like when people assumed that just because something is from certain place doesn't have quality, many good quality cars are assembled in Mexico, the list is too long to write it down.
I don't think your current Daewoo or the Hyundais you are looking are best built quality either.
I don't like when people assumed that just because something is from certain place doesn't have quality, many good quality cars are assembled in Mexico, the list is too long to write it down.
I don't think your current Daewoo or the Hyundais you are looking are best built quality either.
From my experience....most mexican assembled cars have been sub-par. The 2001-2005 VW Jetta and Golf were very problematic. Among all the Nissan factories...the one in Mexico isn't the greatest, at least the Versas and Sentras coming out of there are sub par to the Altimas coming out of Tennesee or the Rogues and 350Zs coming from Japan. (Before the Japan-assembled Rogue, I had a TN-assembled Altima). So yeah, my claim is justified. I am not saying all mexican products are bad, but as far as quality of Nissan products goes, the ones leaving the mexican plant are of lesser quality standards than those coming from other Nissan assembly plants.
Daewoo-- paid $10k for it (new, only 136 mi) , weren't expecting any mirracles.
Hyundai-- as of 2006+ model years they are doing very well for quality studies.
Last edited by orangecones3; 10-23-2008 at 01:18 PM.
orangecones3 - Keep the cars you have and take the $15,000 you were intending to spend and buy short term certificated of deposit. You'll make money. The smart isn't going to provide enough comfort or savings in fuel economy to justify your trade. Use what you need of the 15K for repairs on which ever car you had decided to replace and relax knowing you made the right decision.
orangecones3 - Keep the cars you have and take the $15,000 you were intending to spend and buy short term certificated of deposit. You'll make money. The smart isn't going to provide enough comfort or savings in fuel economy to justify your trade. Use what you need of the 15K for repairs on which ever car you had decided to replace and relax knowing you made the right decision.
WoW! Dave Ramsey - is that you?
Seriously orangecones3 ask yourself do you really NEED a NEW car? How about a late model used? If you feel the need for a later model car for reliability issues, a good later model used Civic or Corolla might just fit the bill. A Smart might not be the most practical choice for your particular scenario. Give it up for getting rid of the Daewoo for any amount of money over $1k, sad to say it - but it is true.
Haha....mis-understanding scenario much? Here is a more basic outline.
1. No replacement is actually to be done another year, maybe longer, depends on how long the Daewoo lasts (currently 75k mi...I'll give it 100k tops).
2. Already have 1 big, new, reliable car for long trips, IKEA, etc...the 08 Rogue
3. Daewoo replacement needs to be small fuel efficient something, 95% of the time having only the driver in it and a little bit of cargo, and 5% + 1 other person. This works because for cases when we do need something bigger...we have the Rogue.
Financially... yeah, you're right about the Daewoo maybe getting $1k for trade, that is why the big idea is to run it til it run no more, or needs a repair that will cost more than the car is worth (we stopped trying to fix a leaky a/c unit b/c a fix costs $300 and only resolves the problem for about 2 weeks). Again, my estimate lifespan for that car is maybe another year, 2 tops (summer 2010 is the cut-off i think).
Don't have $15k to invest or put on a CD.... all spare coin goes to pay off the Rogue faster (~4% interest on that sucker).
I say go for the Yaris 3dr. I bought one back in March. Ride is decent, has enough power, get 38-41mpg, comfortable seats, good stereo and, its a Toyota. Also, believe it or not, I still smile when I see it. The style of the Yaris is what drew me to it. I paid $12,500 for it and the smart will become a step-brother to it. Cant see getting rid of it. The Yaris is basically a third generation Tercel and I know several people who have over 200K on them with no problems.
Well - with the scenario recap I'd say Yaris too. Good little cars with a bit of character - not as much as a Smart but reliable, parts easily obtainable (I know you wish you could say the same for the Daewoo) and excellent MPGs.
CUBE - I said it before buddy, it's spooky how we think along the same lines at times.
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