[hrbheda]

Originally Posted by carthick1000

If you are going to have only one car, then BRZ would be a practical option in terms of some extra interior room and the trunk space. And for 2022 MY is having quite some improvements.

Good luck with your test drives and have fun!

So I just test drove a MXR (the hardtop miata) yesterday evening. It was fun and quick. Took a few minutes to get used to the shift pattern. 1st gear was a tad too short for my liking. Was in 3rd and 4th for most of the drive. Didn't need 6th at all.

In terms of seating position it was a bit awkward. The clutch pedal was so far back that I had to set the seat forward which meant my knees kept hitting the back of the steering wheel. Adjusting the wheel up made the driving position that much more awkward.

Handling wise, it felt like a go kart, sweeping in and out of the empty back roads was indeed fun.

And, yes, it will be my only car. (Maybe. Haven't thought about keeping or selling the Camry, won't get much for it anyway so probably makes sense to keep it and reduce the insurance to liability only.)

I'm going to wait until I can test drive the BRZ/86 though.

[hrbheda]

On another note, what do you think about the WRX ?

I believe the current gen WRX has a stick shift but the newer 2022 won't (only the STI would and that's outside my budget)

[carthick1000]

Originally Posted by hrbheda

On another note, what do you think about the WRX ?

I have not driven a WRX, so really can’t comment on driving dynamics. But from practicality point of view, you can’t go wrong with an AWD sport sedan esp. WRX, which has double wishbone setup all around (which I think is very good from driving dynamics point of view). It is both fun and can be used for every practical life situation (taking friends, family along, luggage hauling etc.)unlike BRZ or ND2.

So it depends on what you want. Maybe you should think how long you are planning to keep this car. If I were you, I would do one of the following depending on used or new route:

- 2 used cars solution > Retain Camry and buy a used ND2 as second fun car.

- 1 new car solution > Get a WRX

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by carthick1000

I have not driven a WRX, so really can’t comment on driving dynamics. But from practicality point of view, you can’t go wrong with an AWD sport sedan esp. WRX, which has double wishbone setup all around (which I think is very good from driving dynamics point of view). It is both fun and can be used for every practical life situation (taking friends, family along, luggage hauling etc.)unlike BRZ or ND2.

I had a chance to live with a WRX for a weekend thanks to DBHPian kiku007. I've documented my observations in this thread:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...-car-swap.html (Living with a Subaru WRX - The weekend car swap)

I found it to be a great all-rounder, if you can live with the comparatively harsh ride in city conditions. End of the day, depends on the primary need.

[hema4saran]

Dealership tech person took customer's Corvette C8 for a joy ride at illegal speeds. Now the dealership is offering the customer a brand new Corvette. The funniest thing is the mechanic who took it for joyride don't know the car has a inbuilt performance data recorder in this car .

https://jalopnik.com/dealership-give...ons-1847539594

Kudos to the dealership for accepting the mistake and replacing the customer's car with a brand new C8. The dealership scored well in this particular scenario.

1. Markups on used Corvette C8 is huge these days and they will be able sell it within days.
2. They got a customer for life.
3. Good PR for them without spending lot of money. Most of the auto websites are telling this story.

[KartikRajasekar]

Originally Posted by TDCi'd

I have zero credit history but I understand companies like VW have a Expat program for people to get set up in the country. I'm going to be in Mass where there is reasonable amount of snow in the winter and so I'm looking for leasing AWD Crossovers below 25000$. Let me know your thoughts!

I was in a similar position when I moved to Mass in 2019. I managed with rentals on and off for the first 6 months before I bought a car (Preworshipped CX9). Building Credit can be painful for the initial period !

I took a loan from "DCU" for an APR of ~7% and after a few months once my credit score increased (plus the Pandemic pushing the interest rates down) i was able to refinance it to ~2.7%

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by TDCi'd

I just moved to the USA this month and I'm going to be soon in need of a new car. I'm looking at leasing a car here, as i don't want to go through the pain and hassle of selling a new car again like I did with my beloved Ecosport ,I would much rather keep it simple, my first priority would have been a used car but this global chip shortage and covid pandemic has driven the used car market to new levels of crazy in here.

I have zero credit history but I understand companies like VW have a Expat program for people to get set up in the country. I'm going to be in Mass where there is reasonable amount of snow in the winter and so I'm looking for leasing AWD Crossovers below 25000$. Let me know your thoughts!

Originally Posted by KartikRajasekar

I was in a similar position when I moved to Mass in 2019. I managed with rentals on and off for the first 6 months before I bought a car (Preworshipped CX9). Building Credit can be painful for the initial period !

I took a loan from "DCU" for an APR of ~7% and after a few months once my credit score increased (plus the Pandemic pushing the interest rates down) i was able to refinance it to ~2.7%

Karthik, you are responding to a 3-month old message. I think TDC'd must have bought a car by now.

TDC'd- Please share which car you bought and how was your experience leasing/buying with zero credit background? If you haven't bought one. My recommendation is to get a Mazda CX-5 which will be great car to own and drive under $500/month for lease.

When I moved here few years ago, I bought a brand new Mazda CX-9 (Thankfully, my previous 2- year stint in US helped with an available credit rating and SS card)

I have seen some friends/colleagues able to lease cars on day 1 of arriving in US (albeit at a higher rate) and for duration of your visa (provided it's minimum 3-years). 2 Year leases are rare and super expensive.

Finally, it's also an art of negotiation when you meet sales folks at the dealerships

[CarBot]

Few months back I had submitted a post while buying a new car in the USA
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-...keen-v8-4.html (Want to buy a $60,000 car in USA | Keen on a V8)

I wanted to buy a V8 but ended up buying a Subaru Ascent Limited. 3 months down the line with 2000 miles on it started getting bored of the Ascent.

Also the usage was very less due to work from home, high monthly payments for the SUV made me think of selling and buying a sedan.

At the same time carvana.com offered to buy my brand new SUV for $1300 more ($45300) than what I had paid for $44,000. I could not pass this deal and told my Subaru sales advisor about my decision.
He asked me to visit the dealership to see if he can match the price and he ended up giving me $44,800.

Used / New market is just crazy here. This is the first time I am hearing and experiencing the scenario where once you drive out of dealership the price increases.

So I decided to sell the Ascent and checked out a brand new WRX in Rally Blue color. I bought the WRX for MSRP.
The profit I made on Ascent and few monthly EMI I had paid all went as down payment and I drove a brand new WRX for less than much lesser price.
Even though its not a V8, it still sounds amazing in its stock exhaust.

My monthly payment reduced to 70% of what I was paying for Ascent and I could not be more happier than this.

Also, found a comprehensive FAQ WRX documentation. Good to have it handy.
https://www.reddit.com/r/WRX/comment...hing_2015_wrx/

Below are some pics. The car is a visual treat to watch and to hear it











You could see the Ascent I traded-in in the below pic behind the WRX

Signing off, your's faithfully with 'TC' from the dealership:

[sandeepmohan]

Well done. A WRX selling cheaper than a Ascent/Forester is unheard of!

Other than the WRX series and new Outback, there is next to no appeal for the other cars Subaru sell. I was eyeing a Legacy 3.6 RS but they stopped selling them in New Zealand.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by CarBot

At the same time carvana.com offered to buy my brand new SUV for $1300 more ($45300) than what I had paid for $44,000. I could not pass this deal and told my Subaru sales advisor about my decision.
He asked me to visit the dealership to see if he can match the price and he ended up giving me $44,800.

Used / New market is just crazy here. This is the first time I am hearing and experiencing the scenario where once you drive out of dealership the price increases.

So I decided to sell the Ascent and checked out a brand new WRX in Rally Blue color. I bought the WRX for MSRP.

Congratulations and I wish you many happy miles with the WRX! Great choice of colour too. I'm glad you made use of the market situation to your benefit.

You deserve an award for selling an SUV and buying a sports sedan in 2021. We need more people like you.

There's a bunch of WRX groups in Reddit/FB that you can make use of and enjoy the benefits of being in the Subaru community.

Maintain this car well and you'll see how it retains its value much better than the Ascent.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Well done. A WRX selling cheaper than a Ascent/Forester is unheard of!

The Subaru Ascent is not the Forester. It is the 3 row SUV that's not sold in AU/NZ. It's their full-size SUV so to speak and its starting price is higher than the WRX.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Other than the WRX series and new Outback, there is next to no appeal for the other cars Subaru sell. I was eyeing a Legacy 3.6 RS but they stopped selling them in New Zealand.

How about this one?



Legacy/Liberty is a sedan and hence curtains down for it.

I feel their (other) cars in general are targeted at families that prioritise safety. The naturally aspirated engines in the Impreza and the Forester are not exciting at all.

[4wdrunner]

Waited to get one since Italian Job (2003) finally took a plunge.

[gopi_rm]

Hey guys,
One of my friends living in Philadelphia wants to buy his first car in USA. He got married recently and looking to buy a midsize SUV. He test drove the following cars but couldn’t decide which one to buy.

1. VW Tiguan
2. Mazda CX-5
3. Hyundai Tucson
4. Kia Sportage
5. Toyota Rav4
6. Honda CRV
7. Nissan Rouge
8. Merc MLB
9. Audi Q3

His requirements are space, comfort, reliability, safety, convenience features, noise insulation and driver assist tech (since his wife is a newbie driver and sharing the car). Luxury, performance and sporty ride are not his priorities.
He tried used car search but for 1-2 years old cars, the price comes close to new car so dropped the idea. He is also not sure whether leasing or buying would be beneficial for private use. He intends to keep the car for around 7 years.

Since luxury and performance are not his prio, I suggested him to buy VW Tiguan which would feel premium compared to Japs & Koreans and also fulfills his requirements.

But I am not sure how reliable VW is in USA although there is no DSG and whether CX-5 would be better compared to Tiguan? Also please provide some pointers regarding leasing vs buying. Thanks.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by gopi_rm

One of my friends living in Philadelphia wants to buy his first car in USA. He got married recently and looking to buy a midsize SUV. He test drove the following cars but couldn’t decide which one to buy.

I have driven all cars expect the VW Tiguan. Straight off the bat, I will tell you to avoid VW as neither VW nor Tiguan is a popular choice in US (Multiple reasons) and there are just very few buyers.

The cars that you listed out are in a wide range of budget starting from $27K to almost $50K and normally folks buying a car don't have such a wide range. So first thing to get out of the way is the real budget range. It should be a range of $5k-$6K maximum. (For e.g : $30K-$35K)

I would recommend him to buy the Mazda CX-5 (2.5 Liter Turbo) which comes in from a certain variant which starts at $32K. Great engine, wonderful driving aesthetics and premium interiors.

As an owner of 2 Mazdas, I love the driving aesthetics and premium interiors of this brand. It's almost on par with German trio.

Next best option is Nissan Rogue which is also nice to drive and has decent interiors.

Audi Q3- Q3 is a nice car but, really soft to drive and will be in $40-$45K range.

Merc GLA- I assume you mean this as there is no MLB. GLA is a very small car and is not suitable if he has a family.

Kia Sportage, CRV, RAV 4 and Tucson are almost identical. Nice and really boring cars without standing out for anything special. So choosing any car out of this lot depends on what he likes the most.

Difference between Lease vs. Buying

Since he is planning to keep the car for 7-years, his only option is buying it. As lease are meant for a maximum of 3 years.

Lease :

3 Years Maximum. 10K miles, 12K miles and 15K miles per year. You pay lower monthly EMI and return the car after 3 years (there is an option to buy after 3 years as well). No service cost headache and everything is built into the monthly EMI.

Buying :

7-years loan. Higher Monthly EMI and best option if you want to keep the car for minimum of 7 years.

Hope this helps.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by gopi_rm

Hey guys,
One of my friends living in Philadelphia wants to buy his first car in USA. He got married recently and looking to buy a midsize SUV. He test drove the following cars but couldn’t decide which one to buy.

1. VW Tiguan
2. Mazda CX-5
3. Hyundai Tucson
4. Kia Sportage
5. Toyota Rav4
6. Honda CRV
7. Nissan Rouge
8. Merc MLB
9. Audi Q3

East coast has a very good electric charger density. Why not go for a Model Y or something. That said, Mazda and Hyundai are really good value propositions. Rogue is nice too, but Nissan is a gamble.

As for the Europeans, they are the same all over the world, its just that when given adverse conditions they break down sooner. If your Friend is keeping a car for 7 years, a European car is not good (Check out prices of 7 year old Toyotas vs Europeans)

As for new vs old. Old cars make sense, however not in this market.
Leasing is okay if you don't drive much and like switching vehicles. Low mileage (10,000/year) leases are available at attractive price points.

For a long hauler, buy new. Though if he is new his credit score would mean high interest rates, unless he scores one of the company special 2% APR deals

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by gopi_rm

His requirements are space, comfort, reliability, safety, convenience features, noise insulation and driver assist tech (since his wife is a newbie driver and sharing the car). Luxury, performance and sporty ride are not his priorities.

Going electric is a smart option. But if he doesn't want to spend on an EV, I'd suggest Mazda CX5 AWD unless he cares about badge value. The 2,5 turbo variants are extremely well priced, feel luxurious, drives & handles well.

I'd pick it over any CR-V, RAV4. I'm not a big fan of Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, or VW. I do believe Nissan has moved to the legendary ZF transmissions in their new gen cars, but I wouldn't buy a car from a failing brand.

Another car I'm love in the segment is the Subaru Outback.