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Old     (eubanks01)      Join Date: Jun 2001       08-20-2016, 4:33 PM Reply   
Any suggestions on new cars? Here is my criteria:

$35K
Prefer new
4 door sedan
Daily driver with decent gas mileage
Leather and decent tech upgrades
Tend to keep cars for 10+years
Inexpensive maintenance

Thoughts? I think the BMW and Lexus options will push me in the $40K+ range and I have heard more expensive to maintain. We have liked the new Accords (EX-L or Touring). Other options in that price range?
Old     (Ttime41)      Join Date: Nov 2011       08-20-2016, 7:17 PM Reply   
Have you looked at the Mazda 6? I've got a CX-3 (wanted a hatchback), but have been in the 6 and was very impressed. Tech in the upper trims is on par with just about everything you'd find in a luxury car, and as with pretty much all Mazdas, it's definitely a driver's car. With that said I've heard a lot of great things about the Accord too. If that were the class of car I was looking at, those two would be at the top of my list. Happy hunting!
Old     (pesos)      Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Texas       08-20-2016, 8:26 PM Reply   
Plus you can get a manual on the 6.
Old     (patrick232)      Join Date: Aug 2008       08-21-2016, 6:48 AM Reply   
Check out the Chevy SS sedan the 2016's new can be had for less than $40k. Only two things that might not check the boxes, upper teens / low 20's for mpg. No adaptive cruise. I picked o new 2015 up in April of 2016 for under $35k.
Best car I have owned and the wife and I have had plenty of cars and trucks.
Old     (Froggy)      Join Date: Nov 2013       08-21-2016, 10:15 AM Reply   
Anything built by Honda or Toyota will serve you well.
Old     (sidekicknicholas)      Join Date: Mar 2007       08-21-2016, 12:18 PM Reply   
Might be a bit in left field of the other responses but I absolutely LOVE my Chevy Volt as a commuter.... and the new one has only gotten better.

Perks of my Volt:
M-F I use zero gas. My round trip commute is 35 miles, so I do that 100% on battery. Summer I usually get 50+ miles on a charge, spring fall ~42 miles, and winter about 30-35 depending how hard I blast the heater. When I am on gas I get about 55mpg in the city, 48 highway, and about 40 if I'm at 80 on the interstate.

Maintenance - 60k miles in and almost none. I go 2 years between oil changes since the gas engine almost never runs, brakes last forever because of the re-gen braking, and there is very little stress on the engine since it only runs two rpms unlike most cars

Tech is good, very user friendly

Charging has raised my electric bill by ~$15/mo @ $.105/kw

HOV / Car pool lane access

Fun to drive under 40 mph ... electric motor means instant torque (it has 300 ft. lbs) and the battery weight being low makes it handle like a go-kart.

$7500+ return from the tax credit

ZERO volts to this point have reported range loss - so keeping it 10+ years means you should be okay there (and I believe that is their battery warranty length).


CONS -

Kinda small .... I'm 6' and sitting behind me while I'm in my normal position is tight.

First gen are wonky looking, new ones look nice

Diesel trucks feel it necessary to roll coal on you


.... I would take a peak one.

Other option I just leased my wife a 2016 Chevy Malibu - 15k miles/yr for 24 months and I am paying $81/mo... with $0 down. I had never leased before but for $80 it was hard to say no... and Chevy picks up the first years worth of maintenance.

Last edited by sidekicknicholas; 08-21-2016 at 12:23 PM.
Old     (eubanks01)      Join Date: Jun 2001       08-21-2016, 6:13 PM Reply   
Thanks for the tips so far. I hadn't thought about a Mazda but sounds like it's worth a look. Also, I had thought about a Prius/Volt but the size concerns me as I will drag around my two kids in the car from time to time. I may also give this car to my daughter in 7-8 years FWIW.
Old     (shawndoggy)      Join Date: Nov 2009       08-22-2016, 5:28 AM Reply   
If you are gonna give it to your daughter then I second the Mazda6 in manual trim -- driving a stick is a dying art and we may be the last generation to pass it along to our kids. I already know way too many 20-30 somethings who won't go near a manual.
Old     (patrick232)      Join Date: Aug 2008       08-22-2016, 6:28 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by shawndoggy View Post
If you are gonna give it to your daughter then I second the Mazda6 in manual trim -- driving a stick is a dying art and we may be the last generation to pass it along to our kids. I already know way too many 20-30 somethings who won't go near a manual.
This is true and it will be one way not to have other kids drive their. Our 16 year old son is currently driving a 2016 Cruze ECO manual. As musch as we didn't want to buy a new car for a 16 year old, I spent about 4 or 5 days at the dealer only auction trying to buy a used one, then we ended up with a GM lease of $30 a month for this car. You can't buy a used car and maintain if for under $1,000 for 2 years.
Old     (NoCO570)      Join Date: Mar 2016       08-22-2016, 7:03 AM Reply   
Nick, how did you get that lease deal on the Malibu? That seems crazy low
Old     (patrick232)      Join Date: Aug 2008       08-22-2016, 7:41 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoCO570 View Post
Nick, how did you get that lease deal on the Malibu? That seems crazy low
On the Cruze it was a zero out of pocket on a car that had bonus cash, competitor lease cash, GM CC money. Not sure if Nick's was close to this type of deal.
Old     (sidekicknicholas)      Join Date: Mar 2007       08-22-2016, 12:09 PM Reply   
^ Pretty much.

It was bonus tag bonus cash + 8% off MSRP from dealer + random rebates + GM CC money + Volt owner incentive (vs. competitor lease cash) .... MSRP was like $24k, by the time I had all my rebates and discounts I was at like $16k ... residual value was real close to that.
Old     (eubanks01)      Join Date: Jun 2001       08-22-2016, 3:46 PM Reply   
Sounds like I have to get a professionally installed charging station if I want to charge in under 13 hours. How much does that cost? Never thought seriously about an electric car but it is an interesting thought.
Old     (eubanks01)      Join Date: Jun 2001       08-22-2016, 5:55 PM Reply   
Also, what are you guys seeing from savings for electric or hybrid plug-ins? From looking at an egallon calculator for my state it looks like I'm cutting my "useage" bill in half. I guess I would just expect significantly more savings to give up my gasser options and power!
Old     (sidekicknicholas)      Join Date: Mar 2007       08-23-2016, 5:43 AM Reply   
Quote:
Sounds like I have to get a professionally installed charging station if I want to charge in under 13 hours. How much does that cost? Never thought seriously about an electric car but it is an interesting thought.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but you would just need a 240v outlet to get the faster charging and make sure whatever breaker its on at your panel is sized correctly. I just use the 110v standard charger without issue. I get home from work at 5/5:30 ish, plug in, and by 7:30/8 am I'm fully charged.

Quote:
Also, what are you guys seeing from savings for electric or hybrid plug-ins? From looking at an egallon calculator for my state it looks like I'm cutting my "useage" bill in half. I guess I would just expect significantly more savings to give up my gasser options and power
I've never used the Egallon calculator but I figured based on my charging costs / miles I drive (for work only) I drive about 55 miles for every $1 I spend on electricity by the following give or take math.

I drive ~38 miles a day for work including going out for lunch, assume 23 work day a month = 874 miles / month
Electric bill went up ~$16/mo vs. prior year after I added the Volt

875 miles / $16 = 54.68 miles/$ .... this doesn't include wear and tear because that would be the same (ish) on a similar car.

So if at the Volt vs. even something like a Prius, its still better.

875 miles / 52 mpg (Prius) = 16.8 gals / month
Reg gas in WI right now = 2.30/gal .... so $38.7/mo.
875 miles / $38 = 23 miles / $ .... the volt is over double that.

.... obvious big shifts in this would be if you have way higher gas or electric costs, or you couldn't do your commute 100% on battery.
Old     (eubanks01)      Join Date: Jun 2001       08-24-2016, 7:47 PM Reply   
Thanks Nick. I am going to do some test driving but leaning toward the Accord.

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