Lee's Car Shopping Pt. 2: Needs
Last week, Phil talked about the car buying process. One of the things he suggested was to make a list of your needs and wants. This is great advice, since it really helps to narrow down the vast selection of vehicles that are out there. Needs are those things that are non-negotiable, that the vehicle has to have. Wants are those things that you would like, but are not deal breakers if you can't get them. I thought I would share with you my needs for a future Murano replacement.
Passenger Room While it is usually just my wife, daughter and me in the car, I often carry other family members and friends when we go out to eat. Since I put my daughter's child seat in the center (safest) position in back, any vehicle I get has to be wide enough so that adults can sit in the outboard rear positions, and still be comfortable. This means that any vehicle that doesn't offer a center seating position (like captain's chairs) is crossed off the list. Cargo Capacity Whether it is trips to Costco or to Disney World, I need a certain amount of space. Most compact vehicles just don't offer the cargo room I all too often require. Our Murano has about 31 cubic feet of cargo room behind the rear seats, and that suits us pretty good. I don't like the idea of roof top cargo holders since 1) they are generally a PITA and 2) they tend to hurt fuel economy. I also prefer the versatility of a hatchback over a trunk, which tends to limit my choices to wagons and crossovers. Safety Like most people, I want the safest vehicle I can buy. This means it must have features such as stability control and side curtain airbags. The last time I was shopping, the Ford Freestyle was eliminated simply because it didn't offer stability control. Ford has since remedied this deficiency in the Taurus X. A backup camera is also required. Once you have one, you will wonder how you ever lived without it. Also, rollover resistance is very important to me since I am gravitating towards SUV/CUV's. Comfort and Convenience Leather is much easier to keep clean than cloth and I require an interior other than black. Black gets very hot, and it just looks too stark. Memory seats and mirrors - my wife and both drive our primary vehicle and we have very different seating and mirror positions. Memory settings makes switching drivers an easy task. The Mazda CX-9 loses out for not having the mirrors linked to the memory seats. I like it cold, and my wife likes it hot. With the goal of continued marital bliss, multi-zone climate control is a must. A sunroof is something I get a great deal of use out of. Not so much for cruising with it open, as the hot Florida weather tends to dissuade that. Rather, I like to use it to vent the cabin when the vehicle is parked outside. Plus, at night, it is great to have the open sky above. Fuel Cost I don't want to spend any more on gas than I already do with our Murano. This means that a replacement needs to either get comparable fuel economy (or better) or it can do slightly worse, if it will run on regular, since the Murano requires premium. Fuel cost is really the one prerequisite that will eliminate more potential vehicles than just about any other "need." When you start getting into the larger and heavier vehicles that I require, good fuel economy is difficult to achieve. So there you have it. What I need in my next vehicle. Some of these basic needs, like room for five, will include a large number of possible vehicle choices. However, it is some of the specific needs, like fuel cost and a backup camera, that really pare down the number of potential suitors. Next week I will talk about my wants. But in the meantime, what are some of your needs?
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- Lee Scott May 22, 2008, 5:05 AM
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- Car Buying
I'm going through a similar process...
no family though, and no plans for one in the imediate future which means roughly 3-4 years.
Needs:
has to seat 2 in comfort for longer road trips. And needs enough room to store a decent amount of gear.
Should have room for 4 for in town trips.
Good fuel economy. I currently get between 22-25mpg city, and 30mpg on the freeway, I dont want to do worse, i'd like to do better.
Costs Under 25k, the closer to 20ish, the better.
Wants:
sunroof, i have one, I like it, if its an option I'll take it.
Perfomance/sporty feel... Conflicts with fuel economy, grrr
A sense of luxury touch... I'd like something a bit more upscale then the sunfire.
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I do have it narrowed down to a few choices:
1) Honda fit... waiting to see what the 2009 looks like
2) Matrix/Vibe (XRS/GT)
3) Mini Clubman, not the S, 2500+ dollars, cold weather engine issues, and lower fuel economy. The whole mini system though, it just makes you want to keep checking of opitions. and the price explodes
Futher down the list:
Honda civic or SI.. Maybe, however, the civic is such a boring looking car.
Subaru impreza: These are remarkable afforable, but sufer in gas cost.
Jetta TDI... If they qualify for a tax credit, it jumps up on the list.
Interesting about the child seat in the center. I understand it is the safest position, but I don't think it would be a deal breaker if there was a vehicle I really liked with captain chairs. And if there was another adult on board, I wouldn't mind putting the baby behind the driver to make the other passenger a little more comfortable. I guess I need a 12 passenger van so I can put each of our three boys in the center of his own row! ;) In fact, captain chairs in our Yukon XL were a must have feature because we use the third row every day, and we want the two who ride in back to be able to walk through without having to flip and fold the seats. There have been times when it would be nice to have that extra seat in the middle. Sometimes you want to carry along more passengers (we have just one empty seat currently - well, I suppose we could cram all three kids in the rear and bring along two extras, but it's not wide enough back there for proper car seats). Also would be nice to put all three of our kids in the middle row and fold up or remove the third row for extra cargo space. But those occasions are rare. On a day-to-day basis, it would be a huge PITA to have to fold seats for them every time we got in and out. A $60 hitch haul cargo platform hanging off the trailer hitch gives us the extra cargo space we need for camping trips and such.
But hey, it's not about me, it's about you. How about a Tahoe Hybrid or Yukon Hybrid? You haven't mentioned your price range, but it has you covered on all points - passenger room (very comfy for five, 7-8 in a pinch), plenty of cargo space, leather, sunroof, tri-zone climate control, curtain airbags, stability control, rear view camera. Also another super cool convenience feature - remote start. I don't have it now but have had it on some rental cars and it is so nice to stick it to mother earth for three minutes and arrive to a pre-air-conditioned cabin. The only thing I'm unsure of is whether it has the memory seats/mirrors/pedals that I know are available on other trim levels. I bet it does. Fuel economy will be comparable to smaller SUVs or CUVs or minivans.
Or, you know, a regular Tahoe or Yukon. Driving conservatively, we average about 16 mpg in our XL, and it will do about 19-20 on long highway trips. Given the huge rebates and plummeting resale value of used ones, you could probably get a sweet enough deal to offset the lower gas mileage versus the hybrid or a smaller CUV.
PS - the Yukon looks to be about $1500 cheaper than the Tahoe comparably equipped (GMC standard NAV is an expensive option on the Chevy).
opfreak - I may be biased as an owner, but how about a Mazda3? Play around on their website, you can get almost everything for less than $25K. It looks and feels much more expensive than it is. Forego leather, xenons, etc. and still get all the important stuff (power everything, alloy wheels) for $20K or less. Both engine options 2.0 and 2.3 will get you in your target mpg range. Even the Mazdaspeed3 is not too bad on gas depending on how you drive.
ahightower - i've researched the mazda3. It was on the list... however from reading reports the 2.3 real world milage is kind of a let down.
I was seriously going to buy a mspd3 at the beginning of the year, but decided to wait, i'm in an area were priemum fuel is now ~ 4.70 a gallon. And while the spd3 gets good gas milage for the power. And I really really want one... Long term it wont work out.
I forgot the final factor though. The WAF, the mazda3 got a big thumbs down.
in case anyone was wondering.
For insurance/gas/interest costs. (gas based on 12k miles a year).
5yr cost:
1) honda fit ~36000
2) matrix/vibe ~40000
3)miniclub ~44000(using a ~23k mini)
4) Jetta Tdi ~45000 (geusing 25kmsrp)
5) MSPD 3 ~ 47500
And while we had a post about how much more a month your willing to spend...
the difference between a spd3 and a fit is about ~190, the spd3 and a vibe ~125.. The total costs over 5 years though really add up.
I will eventually get to my possible picks and I will even talk about why some vehicles won't make the cut.
WAF is actually going to be a HUGE influence and I plan to bitch, er I mean blog, about that in a future installment.
I actually repriced a mini clubman, with just a sunroof and the sprort steering wheel (cant get cruise without, whats up with that?).
comes out ~21,800. tempting. lol
Guys, what is WAF?
Opfreak, if the Protege5 is a good model of the Mazda 3, I've found that installing a K&N filter boosts fuel economy a lot! Not the air intake, just the drop-in air filter. I've noticed about 3-4 mpg improvement since I installed the filter. I'll never use paper filters again.
PS: The Protege5 with the 2.0 engine gets about the same fuel economy as the Mazda with 2.3 engine according to pre-2008 EPA estimates.
Lee, I think you should give the Subaru Forester a serious look.
BA: WAF: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_acceptance_factor
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/06/28/waf_wife_acceptance_factor/
As for the Forester, I like it, but not enough luxury for me and it would never pass the WAF test.
Lee,
Is factory installed backup camera a hard requirement or will an aftermarket unit suffice?
I have to stay away from a mazda dealer. Since I like the wagon style alot more... I know if I walk in, i'm walking out with a red wagon... with 6 on the floor ;-)
Oh I see! LOL! Thanks, guys. BTW, Lee, I think the Forester has a high WAF factor...check out THE DRIVING WOMAN blog.
Opfreak, LOL about the wagons! And I'm peeved the 2009 Mazda 6 won't have a wagon or a hatchback!
7driver: I have actually looked at the aftermarket ones and the biggest problem I have with them is where to locate the monitor. I don't want to have something attached to my windshield all the time.
BA, my wife is a JAP, a Subie would never fly. Think Audi, Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, etc.
Lee, they have aftermarket backup monitors that mount in/on the backside of the sun visor as well as ones embedded in the rear view mirror (like the CX9's).
my WAF would like to be in one of those. Then I show her how much it would cost.... lol it works ok.
that being said, if I find a reasonable price 1 year old a3... i might jump on it.
blackadder5639 one of the few reasons i'm not driving a red spd3 right now, is that mazdafiancing declined me... for who knows why...
then a month later sent a leter saying... opps, we looked again, if you want a car, vist dealer again.
7driver: I have seen the sun visor ones, which might be a possibility. The tiny one in the CX9 is really almost too small, especially when you are used to a 6.5" one. But I can cross that bridge when i get to it.
lee sounds like the ford edge/lincoln MKX is on your list... Or a Vw GTI 4door if small is good. Perhaps a Tiguan (Fingers crossed for long term duty!)...
The more I think about it, Tiguan sounds really good!!
-Cj