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BizB
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Which Car To Buy?
2007-11-11 |
I'm leaning toward the Toyota Matrix for my next car. I'm writing this stream of consciousness to try to sort out why.
Toyota Matrix:
2003 Private Sale value: Good Condition - $8070
Pontiac Vibe (same exact car):
2003 Private Sale value: Good Condition - $7500
The Toyota holds its value better than American cars. This has been true for a long time. I'm done with American cars until that changes. But, why the Matrix? There are so many cars in the bottom end of Toyota's lineup. The Corolla, Yaris, Matrix, Scion xd, Scion xb and Scion tc all cost between 15K and 19K depending onthe trim level you select. They're all offer good fuel economy, though some are better than others. There are four different engines in those 6 cars. The Yaris offers a 1.5 liter engine, but no better fuel economy than the 1.8 liter Matrix and Scion xd. The Scion xb and tc offer two different slightly larger engines. Their similar fuel economy is not quite as good as the others but that's to be expected.
The things that I need from a car include:
A back seat so that I can transport my child and grandchildren
Space for my kiteboarding gear
Space for camping gear (but not at the same time as kiteboarding gear)
Easy to clean surface
Fuel economy
Cost of ownership lower than $700/month (not difficult)
Things that I really would prefer to have include:
Power windows
Power locks
Now, there are things that I'm going to miss about the truck, but they're not worth paying for every single month. I can always rent a truck from Home Depot or UHaul if I need to.
The Corolla doesn't offer many of those and the Yaris has even fewer. That leaves the Toyota Matrix and the Scion xd.
The Matrix has almost all of the features at a retail of $17,500, but that's a price that you can negotiate. The Scion xd also has most of those features and the price comes in at $16,502 and that price is set in stone. The only place you can haggle is with your trade-in value. Though, the basic Scion xd has most of those features as well.
So, the question becomes, how do I justify spending more to get the Matrix? Here's what I've come up with.
I don't know how much I can reduce that 17.5K price.
Mike (Julie's husband) said the Toyota product would probably get me the best trade-in value. That's because the salesman has two different points in which he can make adjustments in order to make the profit that his manager demands. The Scion dealer is only going to make more money by offering you less on your trade. The Scion price is the Scion price. They call it Pure Pricing and it's similar to the Saturn concept.
The Matrix...
is bigger
has more cargo space
has plastic floors in the cargo area and the seat backs are plastic so when they're folded down, the entire area is plastic. That'd be much easier to clean.
is not a new model in the Toyota line (the Scion xd is)
is equal in fuel economy
has adjustable seat height/angle
That pretty much sums up why I'm leaning toward the Matrix. I drove one yesterday and I really liked it. The one that I drove was an automatic and I intend to get a manual transmission version, but I liked the automatic when I drove it. I
Happy Veterans' Day
BigBro tried really hard to make this post on the other site, but even with my help, we couldn't make it work without using the built-in image upload facility. Since there are 59 images here, I'm putting them on this site.
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