Looking for a new car...

[Duncan]

Sooo... we've kinda narrowed it down between a CR-V or Escape... thoughts? gut's telling me to go for the CRV but my head's saying Escape because it's the better deal... better bang for buck and i like the look better... although Alicia likes the room in the CR-V... it is roomier but the Escape in my mind has enough room.. but i suppose more is always welcome...

Oh, any other suggestions? we dont really like the swinging Rav4 door so that's a deal breaker.. the outlander interior is small and cheapish.. koreans are evil... so are vws.. and most other cars are too expensive or not worth it like the CX-7... who the heck wants a turbo family car... fill up on 91 octane?! no thnx... plus it's just as expensive if not more than the cr-v with the leather luxury group option... oh yea... the leather is big for us to save us the hassle of worrying as much about spillage... for obvious reasons... like Alicia spills drinks... oh yea, the little tyke does too, but i'd argue the wife spills more!

[jeSteR]

If you plan on keeping it for the life of the vehicle, and don't mind the more frequent visits to the mechanic after the third year, then go for the Escape. I know two people who have it and love it, but after 3 years, the resale value on it is pretty much crap.

The CR-V will hold it's value way better, so if you sell it after 6-8 years... the money you would've saved buying the escape, you'd easily make back then.

I like them both.

[Duncan]

how old are the escapes that your friends own? because i can't help but be an optimist when it comes to ford's new "we build reliable" cars campaign...

Yea, i understand the value thing.. but we plan on keeping this car for a long time... probably to it's grave.. i know the crv holds its value better, but it's just that we can get the escape with all the fixings including navigation for even cheaper than the stock CR-V EX-L... but even w/o navigation on the Escape, the escape comes standard with things the cr-v doesn't. Like fog lights, and roof rack... also a lockable trunk compartment for valuables...

i really like them both too... but i suppose we'll see what kinda deal we can get from Mel first on Saturday...

[jeSteR]

If you plan on driving it to it's grave, then get the Escape.. you'll get at least 10 years out of it.

The BEST that Mel could possibly get you is around 3.5 - 4% off list and throw in some floor mats or Wheel locks. Honda has 0.9%... so unless Ford is over 6%, the total outlay will still be less for the Ford in TCO over 7 years... after 7, the TCO would probably swing the CR-V's way.

[Duncan]

actually both honda and ford quoted us 6.9% financing... crazy high... i dunno why too... but we didn't do much negotiating with ford before we left because they were closing... i'm sure we can talk them down a bit.. and even when we went to middlegate honda the other night, the guy said the rate for a 60 month finance is 6.9%... heck, if it's that high i'd probably just pay it outright with my line of credit and eat the 4.75% i get there... i didnt see any 0.9% rates listed... maybe that was back when you guys got coleen's crv...

but yea, grave is what we're thinking of... and if mel can only offer us a 3-4% discount, then we might have to go with the escape... even with the 3-4% discount it's still more expensive than the escape with all the options loaded in including navi... plus we haven't negotiated the ford guy down yet either... oh get this... the sales guy went to highschool with ken, and even wilder, the sales MANAGER of that dealership is Caleb from VCBC... not sure if you remember him but he played in the genesis league a couple years back and he said he remembers me haha... i hope i didn't destroy him or anything.. but anyways, he said if we decide on the escape, he'll see what he can do for us with the price...

[jeSteR]

I see... yeah typically, the best rates are always for 36 month or less financing... but really 6+% in this economy???? that's just retarded. Like you said, you're better off going to a bank and getting a loan or line of credit for under 4% easily. They you're buying the car for cash and you'll have more leverage to negotiate.

[Duncan]

i was pretty shocked to see the 6.9%.. actually ford was 6.99% ahah... even more! geeze.. so lame...

and yea the ford guy said if we pay outright with cash they'll probably be able to do more for us in the price...

if mel can do wonders for us, we'll see what figures we can compromise on... if not, the it looks like you'll be seeing the New Life Ford family doubling in size! Shaun wont be the only lonely domestic driver!!! heck, other than Shaun, I can't think off the top of my head who else drives domestic... i guess Larksun had the firefly, and Grace Liu has the sunfire... Oh, and Joe drove the Neon!!

[jeSteR]

Jonn's still got his Neon.

[Duncan]

oh yea...

but still, i'd sooner get a Ford over a Dodge/Chrysler... RIGHT SHAUN!?

[se7entse7en]

Mazda=Ford. They both come out of the same building. So... Larksun's RX7, JoAnn's car. My truck was a Mazda as well (and it's still alive and doing fine!). etc.

I was reading one of those Lemon Aid car buying guides before I got my car. It basically said if you're going to buy Ford, get either the Mustang or the Fx50. Though I guess that doesn't help you.

I wouldn't go Dodge or Chrysler. Not unless I was a grease-monkey capable of fixing it myself (like my dad). Too many stories of blown transmissions and faulty computer components.

[Duncan]

Hmm... so i was talking to alicia's banker cousin in law... it seems as though if i'm planning on getting a mortgage sometime in the next year or two, the line of credit route isn't the best thing since it'll deter the bank from approving my mortgage because to them it's a substantial outstanding debt. Even if the financing is high, he recommended going through the dealership.

Also, after recrunching the numbers and considering the fact that we want to move out in late 2010, it doesn't seem reasonable to get a car. D'oh we were really looking forward to ditching the jetta too! but it seems as though all this car shopping was in vain... We're probably going to stick it out with the lame jetta until we get our house. It's the most sensible thing to do and not to mention responsible thing to do.

sucks...

[jeSteR]

Nothing is as practical for kids as an old school Corolla SR-5 GTS with a custom paint job and not one but TWO spoilers.... Ask Shaun.

[Duncan]

haha.. yea! i can strap the kids to a spoiler each once the second one comes! then i can drive in peace and quiet...

[Duncan]

dang... i know i'm not buying a car anymore, but heck, i just looked up stuff on the Venza... seems like that would've been a good choice over the crv and escape...

[geForce]

Keep your eyes on the goal! A new house is way better than a car.
Is your Jetta still leaking now?