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New car shopping :whee:

41,172 2,080 June 9, 2012 at 05:23 PM in Autos
There is at most a 50/50 chance we'll buy something this year, but we hadn't driven any new cars in almost five years so we thought we'd check some out.

Wife drives an '08 VW Eos - that's the car we would replace. Shockingly, it has been a very reliable car, and has only 36k miles on it. So we're in no hurry to sell it. But we decided to drive a couple of cars today, just for kicks: an Infiniti G37 and a Lexus IS350 and IS250. As expected the Lexus was a bit more sedate, but more fun than to drive than expected. Wife prefers the IS350 to the G37...

We would most likely buy a late model used, around a '10 model. I love my '06 TL and so does my wife, so we would also drive an Acura before making any decision (though we're not driving the new butt-ugly TL - it would be a TSX, or even the new ILX if we bought new).

What other comparable cars should we try?

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Joined Aug 2005
Baldilocks
> bubble2 41,172 Posts
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Original Poster
emelvee
06-11-2012 at 07:21 AM.
06-11-2012 at 07:21 AM.
After doing more research, I'm trying to encourage her to go with the Infiniti G37 - if we do buy something. I think it will be a lot more fun to drive than the Lexus IS350...but more research to come.

To throw something completely different into the mix, we also drove an '07 Lexus RX350. She has always liked this SUV...her comment last time we drove one a few years ago was "maybe when I'm older," since it's certainly not sporty. But this vehicle was in nearly perfect condition.
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Joined Aug 2005
Baldilocks
> bubble2 41,172 Posts
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Original Poster
emelvee
06-11-2012 at 10:23 AM.
06-11-2012 at 10:23 AM.
Ok...going to ford.com and entering my email/phone was a mistake. laugh out loud
Got 5 emails and one phone call.
Ford is the only American car manufacturer we'd consider, so we will stop by there at some point if we go with a new vehicle.
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Joined Jan 2008
HER SPOILED HIGHNESS
> bubble2 9,504 Posts
11,379 Reputation
ALVSGIRLY
06-11-2012 at 10:25 AM.
06-11-2012 at 10:25 AM.
Quote from emelvee :
Ok...going to ford.com and entering my email/phone was a mistake. laugh out loud
Got 5 emails and one phone call.
Ford is the only American car manufacturer we'd consider, so we will stop by there at some point if we go with a new vehicle.
did that one time looking at real estate laugh out loud. never again.
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Joined Aug 2005
Baldilocks
> bubble2 41,172 Posts
2,080 Reputation
Original Poster
emelvee
06-11-2012 at 10:30 AM.
06-11-2012 at 10:30 AM.
At least the salesperson was very nice when I told her we're not ready to test drive yet (we prefer to stop by whenever we're in the area of just when we feel like it). Not pushy at least.

The Infiniti and Lexus salesman were not pushy at all (especially Lexus)...but I guess the luxury makes are more like that. Still, I wish there was a way to test drive cars without having to talk with a salesman. Smilie

If we buy new, I would most likely email multiple dealers once we decide on the model/color/options/etc. that we want, to get their best price without having to see them in person. I've only bought 3 new cars out of the 14 I've purchased over the years.
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Joined May 2005
Proud Barner
> bubble2 36,606 Posts
1,385 Reputation
TigerStar
06-11-2012 at 12:08 PM.
06-11-2012 at 12:08 PM.
Quote from emelvee :

The Infiniti and Lexus salesman were not pushy at all (especially Lexus)...but I guess the luxury makes are more like that. Still, I wish there was a way to test drive cars without having to talk with a salesman. Smilie

.
There is. Stop by after they close.
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Joined Jun 2004
L10: Grand Master
> bubble2 27,804 Posts
541 Reputation
Pig
06-11-2012 at 12:14 PM.
06-11-2012 at 12:14 PM.
Wot about the new Passat?
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Joined Aug 2005
Baldilocks
> bubble2 41,172 Posts
2,080 Reputation
Original Poster
emelvee
06-11-2012 at 12:23 PM.
06-11-2012 at 12:23 PM.
Quote from TigerStar :
There is. Stop by after they close.
Don't know how to hot wire cars.

Unless it's a price on a rental car.
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Joined Jun 2006
L9: Master
> bubble2 18,871 Posts
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tsuperwanker
06-11-2012 at 02:27 PM.
06-11-2012 at 02:27 PM.
Ah I test drove the G37 (Coupe), and it was so lacking in power, and the gas economy was absolute garbage. I was just driving in town, and it indicated I was getting 14 MPG, and on the highway, I was getting low 20's.

I would definitely go German - the A4/3 series/C300/350, or the IS350 (yeah, I know Japanese). They'll be much more lively. Big Grin
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Joined Jan 2007
The Mistress of All Evil!
> bubble2 22,510 Posts
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Maleficent
06-11-2012 at 02:40 PM.
06-11-2012 at 02:40 PM.
Quote from emelvee :
Ok...going to ford.com and entering my email/phone was a mistake. laugh out loud
Got 5 emails and one phone call.
Ford is the only American car manufacturer we'd consider, so we will stop by there at some point if we go with a new vehicle.
We just bought a 2012 Ford Focus a couple of months ago that I'm totally Inlove2 with. heart
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Joined Jan 2006
Piece of work
> bubble2 18,933 Posts
670 Reputation
Landers
06-11-2012 at 03:00 PM.
06-11-2012 at 03:00 PM.
Quote from tsuperwanker :
Ah I test drove the G37 (Coupe), and it was so lacking in power, and the gas economy was absolute garbage. I was just driving in town, and it indicated I was getting 14 MPG, and on the highway, I was getting low 20's.

I would definitely go German - the A4/3 series/C300/350, or the IS350 (yeah, I know Japanese). They'll be much more lively. Big Grin
You bought an AMG.. were you really all that concerned about gas mileage at that point? laugh out loud

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Joined Jan 2010
Hello, My Name is Mike!
> bubble2 1,642 Posts
365 Reputation
MikeBear
06-11-2012 at 03:51 PM.
06-11-2012 at 03:51 PM.
Quote from Maleficent :
We just bought a 2012 Ford Focus a couple of months ago that I'm totally Inlove2 with. heart

That car has the new "auto-shift" manual tranny right? I hear you have to baby them for a couple months, while it "learns" to properly shift itself. What's it like in real life?
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Joined Jul 2005
L10: Grand Master
> bubble2 10,159 Posts
z2g
06-11-2012 at 04:05 PM.
06-11-2012 at 04:05 PM.
Quote from tsuperwanker :
Ah I test drove the G37 (Coupe), and it was so lacking in power, and the gas economy was absolute garbage. I was just driving in town, and it indicated I was getting 14 MPG, and on the highway, I was getting low 20's.

I would definitely go German - the A4/3 series/C300/350, or the IS350 (yeah, I know Japanese). They'll be much more lively. Big Grin
Odd that you would say that the g37 is lacking in power but mentioned the cars above. The A3 is totally weaker...0-60 in like 8 seconds. The A4 does it in about 6 seconds. The G37 does 0-60 in about 5.5 seconds.

The C300 does 0-60 in 7 seconds. The C350 is comparable to the G37....maybe a tad slower.
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Joined Oct 2005
...---...
> bubble2 901 Posts
Mad Scientist
06-11-2012 at 06:59 PM.
06-11-2012 at 06:59 PM.
Jaguar Wink
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Joined Jan 2007
The Mistress of All Evil!
> bubble2 22,510 Posts
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Maleficent
06-11-2012 at 08:37 PM.
06-11-2012 at 08:37 PM.
Quote from MikeBear :
That car has the new "auto-shift" manual tranny right? I hear you have to baby them for a couple months, while it "learns" to properly shift itself. What's it like in real life?
Mine doesn't have the manual, so I don't know anything about that. laugh out loud
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Joined Jun 2006
L9: Master
> bubble2 18,871 Posts
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tsuperwanker
06-11-2012 at 09:09 PM.
06-11-2012 at 09:09 PM.
Quote from Landers :
You bought an AMG.. were you really all that concerned about gas mileage at that point? laugh out loud

Ah, yeah, the AMG is amazing. Comparable gas mileage indeed, and if you go really easy on it (really hard to do - especially since just pushing the right pedal puts a smile on everyone's face Big Grin), it returns decent mileage. To everyone this is going to sound terrible, I get anywhere from 16-18 mpg city, and 21-25 mpg highway. For a 4300+ lb car w/ 500 hp, not too bad. I don't care about mpg's, it's all about having fun. Going to take it out to Watkins Glen sometime soon Big Grin
Quote from z2g :
Odd that you would say that the g37 is lacking in power but mentioned the cars above. The A3 is totally weaker...0-60 in like 8 seconds. The A4 does it in about 6 seconds. The G37 does 0-60 in about 5.5 seconds.

The C300 does 0-60 in 7 seconds. The C350 is comparable to the G37....maybe a tad slower.
I know the G37 has pretty good numbers, but it certainly does not feel like it has power at all. I test drove the C350, and it felt far more lively than the G37. I've seen many G37's at autocross, and they just put down terrible times (I know MLV probably doesn't care about autocross laugh out loud). The G37 just felt heavy, and had no spirit. To me, this just made for a terrible driving experience.

Also, the A3 is sort of in a different class. I will say it's a pretty cool looking car, and if they had an RS3 in the US, I would be interested in that car.
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