Car Talk 4: The Richard Hertz Rent-A-Car 500

[goIftdibrad]

If you truly want to GTFO out of Corning a car payment seems like it will be counter productive to that goal

We have down payment money already for anything that our incomes would ever support... The only thing stopping a move is income in the desired location. Another $20k or whatever in a loan is essentially irrelevant to that equation.

Fair point

[troyguitar]

We have down payment money already for anything that our incomes would ever support... The only thing stopping a move is income in the desired location. Another $20k or whatever in a loan is essentially irrelevant to that equation.

Fair point

Yeah it sounds odd but that's what I've realized - we don't really need to go full anymore. Her car is just about paid off too so if I get something in the 20s it'll be the same cash-flow situation we've had for the past few years. She has absolutely no interest in and the Mazderp is in good shape.

Seeing how well her car has worked out since buying it new has me thinking that new might not be so dumb - IF I get something good enough to want to keep it. That Kia Forte or whatever is going to get boring quickly. Same worry with the Si really.

[D Griff]

Fair point

Yeah it sounds odd but that's what I've realized - we don't really need to go full anymore. Her car is just about paid off too so if I get something in the 20s it'll be the same cash-flow situation we've had for the past few years. She has absolutely no interest in and the Mazderp is in good shape.

Seeing how well her car has worked out since buying it new has me thinking that new might not be so dumb - IF I get something good enough to want to keep it. That Kia Forte or whatever is going to get boring quickly. Same worry with the Si really.

I've managed to keep the for over five years. Every other appliance thing (GTI, BMW) doesn't have the staying power because they will always be a glorified commuter. I think you and I are a lot alike in having high expectations for the tactility of the car, and the BRZ is better than the C5 in all aspects but power and sound, and they sound decent IMO.

[max225]

If you truly want to GTFO out of Corning a car payment seems like it will be counter productive to that goal

We have down payment money already for anything that our incomes would ever support... The only thing stopping a move is income in the desired location. Another $20k or whatever in a loan is essentially irrelevant to that equation.

Dumb question, since you're back on a compromised FWD road...
Why not consider the GTI? It has a bit more power than the shitvic... and it's a hatch.
Mini?
Velobster?

I think if you're entering this category there are a lot of cars to check out

[max225]

Troy start a car search thread if you're cereal. Also what will become of the Hot Rod Lincoln?

[troyguitar]

One thing I wonder about on the Si is how much it'll get better with wheels and an alignment, plus a hype R rear sway bar. The stock wheels are 28 lbs, my Koseis are 14. That's yuuuge. My RX8 really woke up with the wheels+alignment, pretty much night and day.

BRZ doesn't need anything stock. It's already set up pretty sharply with decently light wheels+tires. If anything a lot of people make it less lively by putting big wheels and wide tires on it.

Troy start a car search thread if you're cereal. Also what will become of the Hot Rod Lincoln?

I'm never particularly serious, but not joking either. I have one parking space on a shitty tandem driveway, I can only ever have one vehicle and it needs 5" of ground clearance.

[max225]

One thing I wonder about on the Si is how much it'll get better with wheels and an alignment, plus a hype R rear sway bar. The stock wheels are 28 lbs, my Koseis are 14. That's yuuuge. My RX8 really woke up with the wheels+alignment, pretty much night and day.

BRZ doesn't need anything stock. It's already set up pretty sharply with decently light wheels+tires. If anything a lot of people make it less lively by putting big wheels and wide tires on it.

Troy start a car search thread if you're cereal. Also what will become of the Hot Rod Lincoln?

I'm never particularly serious, but not joking either. I have one parking space on a shitty tandem driveway, I can only ever have one vehicle and it needs 5" of ground clearance.

Once again, I have gone through most of the cars on your search. Granted not with racing in mind but feel free to ask questions around DD ability/refinement etc. The civic is quite a large car, and it's soft(ish), the handling is... OK. It is going to be better than the MKZ and better than a 328, even the mightly M sport. But... It then falls on it's face quickly. It's fairly slow, has pretty meh brakes, and requires wheels and tires as you've noted. Most cars in this class are incredibly compromised, and to add to it, built to a budget. So you really need to figure out where your priorities lie.

Features/quality 2
Tracking 1
Cost 3
DD ability/size 4

The priority assignment would significantly shift it from one vehicle to another. Civic is pretty compromised on power/track/features/features/quality (feels cheapish inside) but it wins on Cost and Size.

[Huckleberry]

When I was looking this year, between the WRX and the GTI, I chose the GTI for the new daily.

[max225]

When I was looking this year, between the WRX and the GTI, I chose the GTI for the new daily.

The AWD thing is really hard to give up actually. It makes it an ALL SEASONS car, even for people like me, and it allows me to blend sport+utility. As opposed to rolling in a house to gain 2 drive wheels. The civic/mini/gti suffers a bit in the winter, I am sure they are fine with winter tires, but in my example, I am forced into chains if my vehicle isn't AWD. That's a huge benefit over the others.

[max225]

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-release ... 29760.html

FCA reported car sales... down for Q3... also Wrangler is down vs LY.
I wonder who the Fk is buying all those JGCs? Sales are way up YTD... nearly 200k units...

still an QTR but chinks in the armor are occuring...

RAM is killing it... without it FCA would be in deep double digit decline doo doo

[MexicanYarisTK]

When I was looking this year, between the WRX and the GTI, I chose the GTI for the new daily.

I got my mk7 when they just came out as well as WRX, and I came from a mk6 GTI that just got totaled. My local dealer asked me for a downpayment when I asked for a test drive

and here i am, 82k miles later and 2 payments left!

[Huckleberry]

When I was looking this year, between the WRX and the GTI, I chose the GTI for the new daily.

The AWD thing is really hard to give up actually. It makes it an ALL SEASONS car, even for people like me, and it allows me to blend sport+utility. As opposed to rolling in a house to gain 2 drive wheels. The civic/mini/gti suffers a bit in the winter, I am sure they are fine with winter tires, but in my example, I am forced into chains if my vehicle isn't AWD. That's a huge benefit over the others.

The AWD is a benefit, but when it came down to it, I found that I was just giving up AWD by going with the GTI, and I was giving up a lot more going with the WRX. I live in Delaware, so we do get our fair share of snow. If anything, not having AWD simply affords me the opportunity to work from home. I usually relegate those days to the mandatory online training sessions we have to take every year. We'll see how it fares this winter. If I need to grab snow tires, then I will.

[Huckleberry]

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-release ... 29760.html

FCA reported car sales... down for Q3... also Wrangler is down vs LY.
I wonder who the Fk is buying all those JGCs? Sales are way up YTD... nearly 200k units...

still an QTR but chinks in the armor are occuring...

RAM is killing it... without it FCA would be in deep double digit decline doo doo

Ford and GM haven't released yet, but September sales took a nosedive overall.

[max225]

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-release ... 29760.html

FCA reported car sales... down for Q3... also Wrangler is down vs LY.
I wonder who the Fk is buying all those JGCs? Sales are way up YTD... nearly 200k units...

still an QTR but chinks in the armor are occuring...

RAM is killing it... without it FCA would be in deep double digit decline doo doo

Ford and GM haven't released yet, but September sales took a nosedive overall.

They bitched about labor day shift, but this is quarterly reporting now that they have switched to that. Overall it seems like the market is flatish.

[Huckleberry]

When I was looking this year, between the WRX and the GTI, I chose the GTI for the new daily.

I got my mk7 when they just came out as well as WRX, and I came from a mk6 GTI that just got totaled. My local dealer asked me for a downpayment when I asked for a test drive

and here i am, 82k miles later and 2 payments left!

Subaru has never been able to earn my business. I've walked in numerous times, but never left in a Subaru. I remember when I was 19, I was looking at the STi and GTO. The Subaru salesman told me, and I quote, "If you come back with your mommy or daddy, we'll let you take it around the parking lot." The Pontiac dealer tossed me the keys, so I bought the GTO.

This time, the dealers weren't giving any sort of incentive on the WRX. "Oh, you're just used to the domestics who have to tack on incentives. Our cars sell themselves." Meanwhile, VW was tacking close to $5K on the hood of the GTI.

I do remember the one time a Chevy dealer told me I needed to put down $5K just to drive a new 5th Gen. I laughed pretty hard at that one.

[max225]

The AWD thing is really hard to give up actually. It makes it an ALL SEASONS car, even for people like me, and it allows me to blend sport+utility. As opposed to rolling in a house to gain 2 drive wheels. The civic/mini/gti suffers a bit in the winter, I am sure they are fine with winter tires, but in my example, I am forced into chains if my vehicle isn't AWD. That's a huge benefit over the others.

The AWD is a benefit, but when it came down to it, I found that I was just giving up AWD by going with the GTI, and I was giving up a lot more going with the WRX. I live in Delaware, so we do get our fair share of snow. If anything, not having AWD simply affords me the opportunity to work from home. I usually relegate those days to the mandatory online training sessions we have to take every year. We'll see how it fares this winter. If I need to grab snow tires, then I will.

What would you give up with the WRX? I found them to be quite comparable, similar price, similar performance. I preferred the WRX exterior styling but the VW interiors. WRX should depreciate a bit less, but it would get worse MPG and require premium so over a long period of time likely a wash.

[max225]

I got my mk7 when they just came out as well as WRX, and I came from a mk6 GTI that just got totaled. My local dealer asked me for a downpayment when I asked for a test drive

and here i am, 82k miles later and 2 payments left!

Subaru has never been able to earn my business. I've walked in numerous times, but never left in a Subaru. I remember when I was 19, I was looking at the STi and GTO. The Subaru salesman told me, and I quote, "If you come back with your mommy or daddy, we'll let you take it around the parking lot." The Pontiac dealer tossed me the keys, so I bought the GTO.

This time, the dealers weren't giving any sort of incentive on the WRX. "Oh, you're just used to the domestics who have to tack on incentives. Our cars sell themselves." Meanwhile, VW was tacking close to $5K on the hood of the GTI.

Their dealershits are one of the worst... and they always treat their products as if they are made of unobtanium, they are the only main stream brand to do so. Quite bizzare.

[D Griff]

We have down payment money already for anything that our incomes would ever support... The only thing stopping a move is income in the desired location. Another $20k or whatever in a loan is essentially irrelevant to that equation.

Dumb question, since you're back on a compromised FWD road...
Why not consider the GTI? It has a bit more power than the shitvic... and it's a hatch.
Mini?
Velobster?

I think if you're entering this category there are a lot of cars to check out

Civic Si drives better than a GTI, is cheaper, has more content... ?

[MexicanYarisTK]

When I was looking this year, between the WRX and the GTI, I chose the GTI for the new daily.

The AWD thing is really hard to give up actually. It makes it an ALL SEASONS car, even for people like me, and it allows me to blend sport+utility. As opposed to rolling in a house to gain 2 drive wheels. The civic/mini/gti suffers a bit in the winter, I am sure they are fine with winter tires, but in my example, I am forced into chains if my vehicle isn't AWD. That's a huge benefit over the others.

I've only heard about snowchains in this country that's only in mountains in cali or colorado. I've been to various snow resorts with all seasons on the east coast, heck even up to vermont and I have yet never ran in one. But I wouldn't go up and down a hill for 2-3 miles straight with snow on the ground.

[Huckleberry]

The AWD is a benefit, but when it came down to it, I found that I was just giving up AWD by going with the GTI, and I was giving up a lot more going with the WRX. I live in Delaware, so we do get our fair share of snow. If anything, not having AWD simply affords me the opportunity to work from home. I usually relegate those days to the mandatory online training sessions we have to take every year. We'll see how it fares this winter. If I need to grab snow tires, then I will.

What would you give up with the WRX? I found them to be quite comparable, similar price, similar performance. I preferred the WRX exterior styling but the VW interiors. WRX should depreciate a bit less, but it would get worse MPG and require premium so over a long period of time likely a wash.

The hatch, the better quality interior, I found the GTI's seats more comfortable, I liked the clutch and shifter better, and the better fuel economy with the ability to run on 87. With the WRX, I would have had to step up to a Limited in order to get the push button start and LED headlights, and no dealer was discounting the Limited down to where my GTI was.

[D Griff]

The AWD thing is really hard to give up actually. It makes it an ALL SEASONS car, even for people like me, and it allows me to blend sport+utility. As opposed to rolling in a house to gain 2 drive wheels. The civic/mini/gti suffers a bit in the winter, I am sure they are fine with winter tires, but in my example, I am forced into chains if my vehicle isn't AWD. That's a huge benefit over the others.

The AWD is a benefit, but when it came down to it, I found that I was just giving up AWD by going with the GTI, and I was giving up a lot more going with the WRX. I live in Delaware, so we do get our fair share of snow. If anything, not having AWD simply affords me the opportunity to work from home. I usually relegate those days to the mandatory online training sessions we have to take every year. We'll see how it fares this winter. If I need to grab snow tires, then I will.

Having a car that's "good in the snow" is just going to force people asking me for rides, make me spend more days in my cube I don't enjoy, etc.

[max225]

Dumb question, since you're back on a compromised FWD road...
Why not consider the GTI? It has a bit more power than the shitvic... and it's a hatch.
Mini?
Velobster?

I think if you're entering this category there are a lot of cars to check out

Civic Si drives better than a GTI, is cheaper, has more content... ?

I think that's sort of relative, noticeably less power, and 30% less displacement. A GTI can also be had slightly used with as much or more content as the civic. The civic is impossible to be found used... for a significant savings.

[MexicanYarisTK]

I got my mk7 when they just came out as well as WRX, and I came from a mk6 GTI that just got totaled. My local dealer asked me for a downpayment when I asked for a test drive

and here i am, 82k miles later and 2 payments left!

Subaru has never been able to earn my business. I've walked in numerous times, but never left in a Subaru. I remember when I was 19, I was looking at the STi and GTO. The Subaru salesman told me, and I quote, "If you come back with your mommy or daddy, we'll let you take it around the parking lot." The Pontiac dealer tossed me the keys, so I bought the GTO.

This time, the dealers weren't giving any sort of incentive on the WRX. "Oh, you're just used to the domestics who have to tack on incentives. Our cars sell themselves." Meanwhile, VW was tacking close to $5K on the hood of the GTI.

I do remember the one time a Chevy dealer told me I needed to put down $5K just to drive a new 5th Gen. I laughed pretty hard at that one.

maybe bring a beagle and be like, I was just walking my dog and I thought I stop here and see what happens.

[Huckleberry]

Subaru has never been able to earn my business. I've walked in numerous times, but never left in a Subaru. I remember when I was 19, I was looking at the STi and GTO. The Subaru salesman told me, and I quote, "If you come back with your mommy or daddy, we'll let you take it around the parking lot." The Pontiac dealer tossed me the keys, so I bought the GTO.

This time, the dealers weren't giving any sort of incentive on the WRX. "Oh, you're just used to the domestics who have to tack on incentives. Our cars sell themselves." Meanwhile, VW was tacking close to $5K on the hood of the GTI.

Their dealershits are one of the worst... and they always treat their products as if they are made of unobtanium, they are the only main stream brand to do so. Quite bizzare.

Seriously. I forgot to mention when I looked at the Cruze and Impreza in 2012. The Impreza's interior made the Cruze look like a Mercedes.

[D Griff]

Civic Si drives better than a GTI, is cheaper, has more content... ?

I think that's sort of relative, noticeably less power, and 30% less displacement. A GTI can also be had slightly used with as much or more content as the civic. The civic is impossible to be found used... for a significant savings.

Yeah I wouldn't buy the Si used... bad in most cases.

The GTI definitely feels more powerful (and is) but driving both back to back, I vastly preferred the drive of the 'vic. They feel way sportier. Have you driven an Si? They have a larger turbo, larger brakes, better seats, LSD, etc. over your beloved Sport.