New Car Advice and Recommendations

[1nitestan]

The 2015 TDi wagon is available in the U.S (sold as the Jetta).....and it also comes with a 6spd manual I believe. <- that would be a perfect car. The only gripe I have about the S3 is that it's small. Essentially it's an Audi version of the Golf R....and the Golf R is a better car.

I totally agree with leasing a european car. That will save your ass if/when repairs happen. Lease rates/programs are also really good in that if you rollover your lease to a newer model, you may even end up paying less for a better car.

Might also try looking at the Ford Escape: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/24/2013-ford-escape-vs-2013-mazda-cx-5-comparison-review/
A friend on mine has one and it's actually pretty good.

Stay away from anything GM - this is simply a car company that just wants to pump out units and not give a rats ass about customer service. Just ask the groups of C6 Corvette Z-06 owners how they feel about leaky cooling systems and broken valves on cars that haven't even exceeded 12,000 miles on the odo.

 

[badbadboy]

The 2015 TDi wagon is available in the U.S (sold as the Jetta).....and it also comes with a 6spd manual I believe. <- that would be a perfect car. The only gripe I have about the S3 is that it's small. Essentially it's an Audi version of the Golf R....and the Golf R is a better car.

I totally agree with leasing a european car. That will save your ass if/when repairs happen. Lease rates/programs are also really good in that if you rollover your lease to a newer model, you may even end up paying less for a better car.

Might also try looking at the Ford Escape: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/24/2013-ford-escape-vs-2013-mazda-cx-5-comparison-review/
A friend on mine has one and it's actually pretty good.

Stay away from anything GM - this is simply a car company that just wants to pump out units and not give a rats ass about customer service. Just ask the groups of C6 Corvette Z-06 owners how they feel about leaky cooling systems and broken valves on cars that haven't even exceeded 12,000 miles on the odo.

I just rented a 2015 VW TDI Jetta on a recent biz trip. The friken alternator fried on me and it only had a few thousand km on it. Mechanic from the rental company said they had nothing but problems with the VW's. Being in the car for a couple of hours made my opinion of VW's even less....

Surprising since they did have a pretty high rating.

 

[87112]

The only thing I don't like about the latest GTI. Golfs, are the narrow front seats. In the shoulders and legs too narrow.

 

[Five-Guns-West]

I just rented a 2015 VW TDI Jetta on a recent biz trip. The friken alternator fried on me and it only had a few thousand km on it. Mechanic from the rental company said they had nothing but problems with the VW's. Being in the car for a couple of hours made my opinion of VW's even less....

Surprising since they did have a pretty high rating.

VW is currently a schizoid company. The VW Golf is excellent and reliable. The Jetta on the other hand, has been cheaply put together and a pile of problems. At the dealerships, Jettas are incredibly discounted but not the Golfs. The model of Jetta before the current was a good car. The current model, if you inspect closely, shows obviously shoddy workmanship in fit and finish. I don't know where they are built, but my guess is that this is yet another example of cost-cutting that is rampant in auto brands. I see this in Subaru, Mazdas and Toyotas these days.

I don't know which high rating you are referring to for the Jetta. I find that car reviews are too often focused on performance as though we should all think like we want to own a Porsche, or on the other extreme, we're brain dead consumers who only looks at the car's merits in isolation to the competition and in my opinion, don't know how to look at the quality of the vehicle build or ignore it altogether. Sure, the Jetta is a good car on its own merits, despite its problems. But compared to the competition, its a piece of shit.

 

[Five-Guns-West]

The 2015 TDi wagon is available in the U.S (sold as the Jetta).....and it also comes with a 6spd manual I believe. <- that would be a perfect car. The only gripe I have about the S3 is that it's small. Essentially it's an Audi version of the Golf R....and the Golf R is a better car.

I totally agree with leasing a european car. That will save your ass if/when repairs happen. Lease rates/programs are also really good in that if you rollover your lease to a newer model, you may even end up paying less for a better car.

Might also try looking at the Ford Escape: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/24/2013-ford-escape-vs-2013-mazda-cx-5-comparison-review/
A friend on mine has one and it's actually pretty good.

Stay away from anything GM - this is simply a car company that just wants to pump out units and not give a rats ass about customer service. Just ask the groups of C6 Corvette Z-06 owners how they feel about leaky cooling systems and broken valves on cars that haven't even exceeded 12,000 miles on the odo.

I concur that the Golf R is a superior vehicle to the Audi A3. The price of Golf R's though..... wow.

I think what you say about GM doesn't apply to all their brands, for example Cadillac and Buick. Even between models of the same brand, quality is uneven, from great to downright awful. As for Corvettes, I consider them attractive but I always found them to be built astonishingly cheap. It is loaded with uneven body gaps and misalignments, pieces that rattle, etc. I think they know that the consumer most apt to buy a Corvette is going to overlook many things and the cash grab and cost-cutting to maximize profits is the apparent motive. I'd love to own one but only from the perspective of it as a throw-away car, and these days I'm not in the money to throw that kind of cash around.

 

[tokugawa]

I have looked at the Nissan Rogue and to be honest it's not that bad. It's reasonably priced (you get quite a bit for what you pay for) and has pretty decent reviews. The potentials issues I have with the Rogue are power and potential resale value. 5 plus years down the road, brands like Honda CRV, Subaru Forester, Toyota Rav4 and Volkswagen (and other European) will still retain their value due to name recognition. The other makers on the other hand I am not so sure about.

As for Volkswagen, it looks like there may be a TDI AWD Golf Sportwagen coming out. Unfortunately we might not be able to see it until the latter part of this year or next year. I also read that the VK Tiguan is coming out with a redesigned model for 2016 with improved gas mileage and increased cargo space.

That being said, it looks like I might have to endure with my current vehicle until the new Volkswagens come out. Or unless I find something else between now and then that will blow me out of the water.

 

[badbadboy]

I have looked at the Nissan Rogue and to be honest it's not that bad. It's reasonably priced (you get quite a bit for what you pay for) and has pretty decent reviews. The potentials issues I have with the Rogue are power and potential resale value. 5 plus years down the road, brands like Honda CRV, Subaru Forester, Toyota Rav4 and Volkswagen (and other European) will still retain their value due to name recognition. The other makers on the other hand I am not so sure about.

As for Volkswagen, it looks like there may be a TDI AWD Golf Sportwagen coming out. Unfortunately we might not be able to see it until the latter part of this year or next year. I also read that the VK Tiguan is coming out with a redesigned model for 2016 with improved gas mileage and increased cargo space.

That being said, it looks like I might have to endure with my current vehicle until the new Volkswagens come out. Or unless I find something else between now and then that will blow me out of the water.

Speaking from first hand experience; you may want to reconsider buying any vehicle in its first year of design. Let them work out the bugs and purchase the vehicle in its third year of production. I had a vehicle with a transmission defect that was covered under extended warranty. Without that warranty, I would have been on the hook for $4500!

BTW I recently test drove a Rogue for future requirements and think its value for $ is pretty damn good. Only kicker is my mechanic thinks they are difficult to work on with extremely tight spaces etc. Perhaps the new ones have changed that lack of space under the hood.

 

[Five-Guns-West]

I have looked at the Nissan Rogue and to be honest it's not that bad. It's reasonably priced (you get quite a bit for what you pay for) and has pretty decent reviews. The potentials issues I have with the Rogue are power and potential resale value. 5 plus years down the road, brands like Honda CRV, Subaru Forester, Toyota Rav4 and Volkswagen (and other European) will still retain their value due to name recognition. The other makers on the other hand I am not so sure about.

As for Volkswagen, it looks like there may be a TDI AWD Golf Sportwagen coming out. Unfortunately we might not be able to see it until the latter part of this year or next year. I also read that the VK Tiguan is coming out with a redesigned model for 2016 with improved gas mileage and increased cargo space.

That being said, it looks like I might have to endure with my current vehicle until the new Volkswagens come out. Or unless I find something else between now and then that will blow me out of the water.

As for the Nissan Rogue and power, I found it lackluster on my first test drive. I was careful not to annoy the salesperson so I drove conservatively. I went back a week later and feigned great interest (wasn't that hard because there were other things that stood out about it), so I felt more comfortable telling the sales guy I wanted to give it a go again. Also I am not a big fan of CVT transmissions, but I have seen it executed well in Subarus and Audis.

The second time around I really gunned it. The Rogue seems to have two basic sets of behaviour, each modulated by the CVT transmission. When driving conservatively, it is lackluster and about as powerful as the Honda CRV under full throttle. But when you gun the Rogue, the CVT transmission does its usual banding thing and then suddenly the engine kicks in with its torque. At RPMs over 3k, the thing just goes. For example, accelerating up Westwood Plateau in the Rogue has been fast. I have not been remiss for lack of power in this vehicle.

Long term fuel economy has been very good. This thing really does have 2 personalities.

As for resale value, I do agree with you the brand recognition thing is going to hamper it. However, they are popular for a reason and I think Nissans have taken market share from Toyota and Honda lately and the brand is becoming recognized for quality.

This is a hard decision in any case as there are a lot of good options out there. I think it always pays to look at many and test drive them more than once, I always find the 2nd test drive gives a more realistic appraisal of the car. Take the time to give each car a hard look and spend the time doing it. I drive the sales people crazy but I don't care, it's my money and I am not going to regret spending it. Try to convince the sales person to let you take it overnight. I had no problem with most dealers in doing that except the German ones.

 

[Five-Guns-West]

BTW I recently test drove a Rogue for future requirements and think its value for $ is pretty damn good. Only kicker is my mechanic thinks they are difficult to work on with extremely tight spaces etc. Perhaps the new ones have changed that lack of space under the hood.

All mechanics bitch about tight spaces. It's an unrealistic complaint of modern cars, they are all getting tighter and tighter.
I think the thing to really watch out for is complex or overly exotic technology in cars - that's where the specialized mechanics come in and the costs sky rocket. German cars for example are unnecessarily complex and BMWs (and Mercedes) in particular tend towards exotic that is prone to failure. Not only that, when you roll in to a mechanic with your German car, I am quite sure their eyes light up with dollar signs in them.

 

[johnsmit]

Truth is just test drivin a car for 10 min..can't give you a real idea of what good or bad about a car..
you need to drive it in an every day situation like you will be doing for the next 4 yrs or more.

If you have your heart set o one car over the other .go rent one for a day or two .. Find out if it works for you in all ways .

Even with all the cars I have been driving lately.. I personal still would pick a ford f150 which I have had 3 of in the last 10 yrs. They work for me ..They are comfortable and I know what to expect .

my other choise would be a ford Explorer or Edge.. because they are also good fit for me and every thing is familiare. .

Maybe it great to get some thing new and different..and in today's car market there is lot of that..It is the reason i bough my first F150 back in 2004.. they were the new redesigned F150.. which i thought were a great improvement over the ideas. .They have tinkered with them over the yrs . make some things better ..other ideas I think suck.. but over all they are a pleasure to drive and that is what is important. I drive an average of over 30,000 a yr .so I want to enjoy it.

Note and you need a top of the line power adjustable seat .it make a world of difference in how you drive .because your one with your vehical

 

[1nitestan]

I concur that the Golf R is a superior vehicle to the Audi A3. The price of Golf R's though..... wow.

I think what you say about GM doesn't apply to all their brands, for example Cadillac and Buick. Even between models of the same brand, quality is uneven, from great to downright awful. As for Corvettes, I consider them attractive but I always found them to be built astonishingly cheap. It is loaded with uneven body gaps and misalignments, pieces that rattle, etc. I think they know that the consumer most apt to buy a Corvette is going to overlook many things and the cash grab and cost-cutting to maximize profits is the apparent motive. I'd love to own one but only from the perspective of it as a throw-away car, and these days I'm not in the money to throw that kind of cash around.

Yeah, the typical Corvette buyer is a person who's had a boner for the Corvette since childhood and willing to overlook a lot of flaws. I'd own one too but only from the standpoint of it being a cheap fast car to thrash at the race track.

 

[Five-Guns-West]

SELL THE HOUSE, SELL THE WIFE, SELL THE KIDS, SELL EVERYTHING

 

[tokugawa]

This looks interesting: http://www.unhaggle.com/

Might give it a try.