Reasons to buy a car

[dalesky]

There are so many reasons for decding on a particular car, or decisions that go into buying a new car.

 

Finances of course always factors in. Unfortunately, as prices go up so high, financing can be a trap for many who have loans stretching out 5 or more years.

Sometimes we try to find a balance between cost and reliability and/or mileage. We have to think about gas usage, if only to make sure we can afford it based on the new car's usage.

 

Sometimes quality is the major reason. What if the car you are considering has no reliability record, or you simply don't care about that? Or, the overall record for the manufacturer is worth taking a chance with.

 

Style is often a major factor. A car with distinctive styling only goes so far - especially if it is extremely popular like the Sonata has become. Is it important to you that your car is a standout? That you don't see it every time you go on the road?

 

Performance, on so many levels, is considered. Quality of ride, economy, pickup (0 to 60), stopping power, all can contribute to the safety of a car too. How are the safety ratings?

 

Room, both inside and in the trunk. Will we give up trunk space for styling or hybrid batteries?

Are we comfortable sitting in,driving and using the controls? Can we see out well. Do you have to have certain storage areas, maybe for drink cups, phones, a tablet?

 

Available colors- what if you just hate the choices? Will you pass on the car?

Wheels and tires- will we pay more to meet our desires?

 

How long do you think you will keep your new car? I replaced a 9 year old car, which for me was the longest I had ever kept a car. That may depend on where you live.

 

Do you read car reviews- are they a major factor in your decision to evaluate a car with a drive?

 

I considered almost everything, and made a couple of compromises just like when buying or building a house. Most of us can't get everything we want.

For me the FFH comes closest to fulfilling the most of the many things I considered.

 

I felt that the reliability was an issue worth taking a chance on, since the hybrid was a 3rd gen car.

Since I wanted a hybrid, trunk space was ging to be reduced. Having a full fold down back seat helps.

The new battery pac, being smaller, stronger and latest gen. meant that I was hopefully getting the best available tech.

Features, particularly at the trim level I ordered, were excellent.

 

Finally. to the point of all this. Which things did you consider when buying or ordering your FFH?

[hermans]

Whether or not I wanted/needed a new car.

[Sleddog]

Our 2013 FFH will be replacing a 12 year old car. We tend to keep them a long time. My 2001 Focus had over 361,000 miles when it was retired and traded in on a, at the time, new 2009 Focus.

[dalesky]

Our 2013 FFH will be replacing a 12 year old car. We tend to keep them a long time. My 2001 Focus had over 361,000 miles when it was retired and traded in on a, at the time, new 2009 Focus.

Wow! That is some mileage.

[dalesky]

Whether or not I wanted/needed a new car.

Good one! Always nice if you can get another one before you need one, I.e. the old one dies.

[acdii]

We tend to put up to 40K a year on a car and live out in the country where a reliable car is a must have. I made a few mistakes last year in doing a car dance, but corrected it (at a cost) with getting another Flex(which is much better than the first one), and this one I plan to keep a very long time as it fits our needs perfectly(and is getting much better gas mileage than I had expected).

 

I am at a tipping point now with my 2010 Fusion Hybrid. So far it has been a good car, only repairs done to it were caused by me hitting a curb on ice. However, with a snafu on an extended warranty, and the AC compressor sounding like its about to explode, plus it needing tires, has this damned dash squeak that I cant find and was supposedly fixed last time it was in, and that I found that I get a back ache from the car, discovered that by not driving it for two weeks, and the one time I did I had a hard time getting out of it, I am considering going to a HyTi, but only if the price is right.

 

Though my last FFH had issues, it does not deter me from taking a chance on another one, especially after seeing how well the majority here are doing in them, and also considering that I am getting 24 MPG in the Flex on this last tank, I know it wasn't my driving. Even if the new one gets what my current one gets in MPG I would be fine with that, if it exceeds it, even better, but I do know that it is a much more comfortable car to drive and sitting for 2 hours in a car it needs to be.

[hybridbear]

We had decided that we were only looking at hybrids since we do mostly city driving. I have always liked hybrids because of the lower emissions which are better for the environment. I read a lot of articles and reviews of the Fusion Hybrid and Camry Hybrid since those were our two main choices. We ruled out the Prius because the interior quality is so cheap. We ruled out the Hyundai Sonata/Kia Optima hybrids because they aren't real hybrids with a funky non-eCVT transmission. We didn't want a Prius but wanted something close to it because the design of the Prius gets the best gas mileage. We did not want a mild hybrid after being rather disappointed in the city mileage in our Honda Accord Hybrid, so that ruled out all the Honda & GM hybrids. I would have loved to get a Chevy Volt, C-Max Energi or other PHEV but since we live in an apartment there is no where to charge overnight.

 

I had previous been really impressed with the current generation of Camry Hybrids since Toyota had made so many improvements from the first generation Camry Hybrid. I was thinking that was the car we were going to get, until I started reading more and more about the FFH. With every article I read I began thinking more and more that the FFH is better than the Camry Hybrid. Once we test drove the FFH we were convinced.

 

I had created huge lists of things to check out on each car based on past experiences. Since this was my first time buying a new car it was a completely different process from buying a used car. Shopping for used cars in the past we didn't spend as much time analyzing every detail because it wasn't as big a financial hit to sell it after a year or two. With a new car we want to keep it at a minimum for the 8 yrs/100,000 miles that the hybrid warranty covers, hopefully much longer. Thus we tried to brainstorm every little item that we have liked and disliked about past vehicles to rate the TCH & FFH on these areas. I also created a scoresheet with a long list of criteria on which we scored each car on a scale of 1-10. We also scored our 3 previous vehicles to use as a benchmark.

 

We made a pros and cons list for each vehicle and weighed it carefully. In the end we were sold on the Fusion. There were compromises that we had to make, but in the end we are very happy with our decision

[acdii]

I for one am glad you chose wisely on the Fusion! :)

[aaronj1159]

I made a decision matrix. Fuel economy, interior space (I'm a snowboarder, the fold-down seats are a HUGE benefit), and reliability were my top criteria. The next tiers included safety, styling, cost, dealership, and driving performance. Finally the things that weren't as important to me were available colors, added features, etc. Every category was ranked 1-10 for every car in the class including the FFH, Honda, VW's (Hybrids and TDi's), Hyundai, and Nissan. That ranking was then weighted based on which tier I had them in. Highest number was by far the FFH.

 

This was just how I got initial ideas about the cars. Test drives followed and that ultimately made the decision.

[acdii]

For me the #1 thing it must have is being a Hybrid, so that ruled out the vast majority of cars. Also based on past experiences with other cars, it narrows it down to basically the Fusion. I had an 09 TCH, left a bad impression, although had the 09 been as nice as the 13 is now, it would have been a different story, but after having 2 Fusions, a 2010 Sport which was great but sucked as much gas as the Flex does, it did not make for a good daily driver when you put on 500 miles a week. That was replaced with our current Fusion Hybrid which got OK MPG from the start, but improved to exceed its EPA and has so far been a very reliable car. Now the new Fusion is out, and with available options no other car in its price range can match, the styling, the handling, and most important the Comfort, its tops the list.

 

Now if I had 44K to spend, the car that tops it is an Avalon Hybrid. It may not have the styling cues of the Fusion, but it beats it in comfort, and drivability in that it is so quiet and smooth, virtually no road noise, and very easy to obtain 40 MPG in, considering the test drive was on a 22* day. And considering how Toyota is known for reliability, its a hard one to beat if you can afford it.

[dalesky]

For me the #1 thing it must have is being a Hybrid, so that ruled out the vast majority of cars. Also based on past experiences with other cars, it narrows it down to basically the Fusion. I had an 09 TCH, left a bad impression, although had the 09 been as nice as the 13 is now, it would have been a different story, but after having 2 Fusions, a 2010 Sport which was great but sucked as much gas as the Flex does, it did not make for a good daily driver when you put on 500 miles a week. That was replaced with our current Fusion Hybrid which got OK MPG from the start, but improved to exceed its EPA and has so far been a very reliable car. Now the new Fusion is out, and with available options no other car in its price range can match, the styling, the handling, and most important the Comfort, its tops the list.

 

Now if I had 44K to spend, the car that tops it is an Avalon Hybrid. It may not have the styling cues of the Fusion, but it beats it in comfort, and drivability in that it is so quiet and smooth, virtually no road noise, and very easy to obtain 40 MPG in, considering the test drive was on a 22* day. And considering how Toyota is known for reliability, its a hard one to beat if you can afford it.

For me the Avalon was not a choice for two reasons- too large, and too expensive. My neighbor has one, his 3rd Avalon, and it is by far probably the nicest car of it's size and price group. But again, I buy what fits my wife and I best. She is just 5 ft (not 'just', in a negatived way), and I doubt she could reach the pedals. I haven't done much research on the Avalon Hybrid, but is it actually getting the 40mpg? It is a big car, kind of like the Lincoln Hybrid. I would guess that it might be hard to average anywhere near 40mpg.

[acdii]

When I test drove one on a cold 22* day, both city and highway I manged to get 40.1 on it. In reality it is not much bigger than the Fusion inside, with both car seats in the back, there was just enough wiggle room for my wife, a little more than the Fusion, but right about the same as the Cmax. It just looks bigger on the outside.

 

However in retrospect, glad I didn't get one, its a grampa car.

[GrySql]

its a grampa car.

You might be surprised what us Grampa's drive or have driven.

Someday, if you're lucky, you might be one too and won't like being grouped in a class of society that you currently think are 'out of touch'.

Right now, in your bloom of life you know it all. On the other hand, maybe you don't.

[acdii]

:worship:

[terryb]

You might be surprised what us Grampa's drive or have driven.

Someday, if you're lucky, you might be one too and won't like being grouped in a class of society that you currently think are 'out of touch'.

Right now, in your bloom of life you know it all. On the other hand, maybe you don't.

Amen to that!

[dalesky]

You might be surprised what us Grampa's drive or have driven.

Someday, if you're lucky, you might be one too and won't like being grouped in a class of society that you currently think are 'out of touch'.

Right now, in your bloom of life you know it all. On the other hand, maybe you don't.

 

Now I get the significance of your 'handle'. I use hair coloring lol

[GrySql]

Now I get the significance of your 'handle'. I use hair coloring lol

That too... :)

 

[acdii]

My wife uses Squirrel a lot, but for other reasons (winkwink). :)

[hermans]

You might be surprised what us Grampa's drive or have driven.

Someday, if you're lucky, you might be one too and won't like being grouped in a class of society that you currently think are 'out of touch'.

Right now, in your bloom of life you know it all. On the other hand, maybe you don't.

When I showed pictures of my old muscle cars to my kids when they were growing up their reaction was "you owned one of these?" Now, whenever I buy one they say, "I want that car!" My kids already have their inheritance picked out.

[dalesky]

That too... :)

 

NICE!

[GrySql]

NICE!

Thanks, your GT is very nice too.

Bought this new, keep it new (plus tricks), don't drive it much now. Has 91k miles on it now and doesn't burn oil, is reliable and still breaks 100 in the 1/4 mile.

 

When I showed pictures of my old muscle cars to my kids when they were growing up their reaction was "you owned one of these?" Now, whenever I buy one they say, "I want that car!" My kids already have their inheritance picked out.

One of my daughters, at 16, was forced to drive the restored 64-1/2 Mustang convertible to school for a short while, she was ashamed. Now she gets it.

[dalesky]

Thanks, your GT is very nice too.

Bought this new, keep it new (plus tricks), don't drive it much now. Has 91k miles on it now and doesn't burn oil, is reliable and still breaks 100 in the 1/4 mile.

 

One of my daughters, at 16, was forced to drive the restored 64-1/2 Mustang convertible to school for a short while, she was ashamed. Now she gets it.

When I was in the Navy an officer friend had a 64 1/2 convert. Great car! You are lucky to have one.

Kids! What do they know?

[GrySql]

had a 64 1/2 convert. Great car! You are lucky to have one.

 

Sadly, that was long ago - I sold it to pay for her college, so she had the benefit of it in another way.

She's 40 now, the college degree was a good tradeoff.

Her children like riding in the '03 with the top down through.

[acdii]

Dude, your old! LOL Just kidding. I'm 48 with a 6 and 8 YO. Also have an 18 YO son who graduates high school next week, so there is ALWAYS a chance of being a Grampa before too long.

[GrySql]

Dude, your old! LOL Just kidding. I'm 48 with a 6 and 8 YO. Also have an 18 YO son who graduates high school next week, so there is ALWAYS a chance of being a Grampa before too long.

Oh, there are a few members here that are older than me, plus, I refuse to grow up. ;)

Chronological age is one thing that we can't control, the idea is to make the most of what you have, when you can - because we're not getting out of this alive.

You seem to be doing a good job of keeping busy.

 

What is nice about these FFH's is that they appeal to a much younger age segment than ever before and I find that to be a good thing.

This Forum is an example of the large amount of bright younger folks driving the car.

 

Any more personal blah, blah and we'll have to switch to Facebook, which this Forum is not. :stats:

Edited May 16, 2013 by GrySql