32% of used car trade ins are underwater

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: Corollaman
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle


Having driven both, I would take a Mirage over a Corolla every time.


Having had the "pleasure" of owning both a mirage and a corolla I'd take the corolla along with 99.9% of the other people in the world.


I'd walk before I drove either.

 

[Corollaman]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: Corollaman
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle


Having driven both, I would take a Mirage over a Corolla every time.


Having had the "pleasure" of owning both a mirage and a corolla I'd take the corolla along with 99.9% of the other people in the world.


I'd walk before I drove either.


Also having owned a Jeep in the past I'd still stick with the corolla, it's an appliance but it's reliable.

 

[Mr Nice]

Corolla is a nice low cost reliable car.

Toyota did a very good job redesigning the current Corolla.

 

[KrisZ]

The only reason Corolla can be considered nice is if one totally skips other models available in the compact segment. Which is exactly what most Toyota loyalists do.

And don't tell me its sales numbers prove it's the best compact because somehow that argument never works for other makes like VW or Chrysler, only for Toyota.

 

[Corollaman]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
The only reason Corolla can be considered nice is if one totally skips other models available in the compact segment. Which is exactly what most Toyota loyalists do.

And don't tell me its sales numbers prove it's the best compact because somehow that argument never works for other makes like VW or Chrysler, only for Toyota.


I can't disagree with your points, my Corolla is definitely not the leader in the small car segment. I bought ours new after we were having problems with a Chrysler product, we needed something reliable with decent resale value. It's boring, but it's paid for and I save that money for other things. In six years I've had zeros issues, never been back to the dealer once.

 

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted By: Corollaman
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
The only reason Corolla can be considered nice is if one totally skips other models available in the compact segment. Which is exactly what most Toyota loyalists do.

And don't tell me its sales numbers prove it's the best compact because somehow that argument never works for other makes like VW or Chrysler, only for Toyota.


I can't disagree with your points, my Corolla is definitely not the leader in the small car segment. I bought ours new after we were having problems with a Chrysler product, we needed something reliable with decent resale value. It's boring, but it's paid for and I save that money for other things. In six years I've had zeros issues, never been back to the dealer once.


Sounds just like the Civic I inherited. Very boring econobox for Point A to B driving.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: Corollaman
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle


Having driven both, I would take a Mirage over a Corolla every time.


Having had the "pleasure" of owning both a mirage and a corolla I'd take the corolla along with 99.9% of the other people in the world.


I'd walk before I drove either.


I'd buy a used Mercedes before I'd buy a new Corolla. Oh wait, that's what I did. Still fun to drive 3 years later and I'm still waiting for those dreaded repair bills everyone keeps telling me about. Sometimes it's better not to believe what people say and do your own research.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: Wolf359

I'd buy a used Mercedes before I'd buy a new Corolla. Oh wait, that's what I did. Still fun to drive 3 years later and I'm still waiting for those dreaded repair bills everyone keeps telling me about. Sometimes it's better not to believe what people say and do your own research.


Wrong! It's always better to listen to third or fourth hand hearsay from people who haven't even sat in the car that they are expressing an opinion about; you know, the people who heard that their best friend's sister's college roommate knew a guy who went to a dentist that had a patient who hired a plumber who had a customer that said that his cousin told him that he heard that it costs $900 to change the oil on a C Class...

 

[Mr Nice]

Only affluent folks should own a luxury German vehicle.

Lots of average people buy it used and shocked at the cost of the repairs.

 

[Corollaman]

Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: Corollaman
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle


Having driven both, I would take a Mirage over a Corolla every time.


Having had the "pleasure" of owning both a mirage and a corolla I'd take the corolla along with 99.9% of the other people in the world.


I'd walk before I drove either.


I'd buy a used Mercedes before I'd buy a new Corolla. Oh wait, that's what I did. Still fun to drive 3 years later and I'm still waiting for those dreaded repair bills everyone keeps telling me about. Sometimes it's better not to believe what people say and do your own research.


I think I'd be worried about parking lots if I had a Mercedes, you know dings and dents from people who don't care. The guy who parks right next to you in an empty parking lot with his lifted truck. No such worries with the Corolla.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: Corollaman


I think I'd be worried about parking lots if I had a Mercedes, you know dings and dents from people who don't care. The guy who parks right next to you in an empty parking lot with his lifted truck. No such worries with the Corolla.


I enjoy driving nice vehicles and I want to keep them looking nice and running well. I can't imagine driving something that I didn't care about.

 

[javacontour]

I dunno. I put my daughter, who is now in grad school, in a Corolla because she doesn't really have an interest in cars. I don't worry about her. She can gas and go for a long time.

I drive a Mazda3, because I care, but don't want to break the bank.

Most DON'T care, and believe the Corolla will be a reliable driving appliance, and that suits their needs.

Most people are NOT car people, so they don't know or don't care that there are better handling or otherwise better options out there. They look at the reports that Toyota consistently ranks at or near the top in reliability and buy another one.

That is often the top selling point for people who are not car people.

It's hard to argue with their formula from a business perspective.

Car people won't get excited by much of what Toyota offers. But the shareholders are laughing their way to the bank.


Originally Posted By: KrisZ
The only reason Corolla can be considered nice is if one totally skips other models available in the compact segment. Which is exactly what most Toyota loyalists do.

And don't tell me its sales numbers prove it's the best compact because somehow that argument never works for other makes like VW or Chrysler, only for Toyota.

 

[Mr Nice]

My niece graduated college and I told her to either buy a Mazda 3 or Corolla if she wants a trouble free car for the next 10 years.

She bought a Corolla.

 

[KrisZ]

I'm not even talking about handling, I'm talking about 15-20 year old technology engine/tranny, that's in every Corolla and Camry, interior that only recently was revised to be somewhat competitive. You know, all the traits that old GM vehicles, like the Cavaliers and Buicks were so loudly criticized for. But when it come to Toyota, these are all positive traits now. No wonder they are laughing all the way to the bank.

And it's not like you can't have other, much, much nicer vehicles in this segment that have very similar reliability record. So if Honda, Mazda, Hyundai, GM and others can do it and still have reliable vehicles, why can't Toyota?

 

[javacontour]

Not everyone wants to be an early adopter.

We chose the RAV4 in part due to the lack of cutting edge technology.

We (ok I) was not a fan of the CVT in our 2010 Nissan Altima.

oilBabe became less and less enamored with it as she drove the car for 6+ years.

So we liked that the RAV4 was an established tech 2.5L port fuel injected 6 speed automatic ride.

Let others sort out the new tech and we'll adopt it when it's perfected.

My Mazda3 has a 6 speed manual. I'm am not thrilled at the future prospect of no true manual transmissions in new cars.

I'm not a Luddite, just slow to adopt new technology.

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
I'm not even talking about handling, I'm talking about 15-20 year old technology engine/tranny, that's in every Corolla and Camry, interior that only recently was revised to be somewhat competitive. You know, all the traits that old GM vehicles, like the Cavaliers and Buicks were so loudly criticized for. But when it come to Toyota, these are all positive traits now. No wonder they are laughing all the way to the bank.

And it's not like you can't have other, much, much nicer vehicles in this segment that have very similar reliability record. So if Honda, Mazda, Hyundai, GM and others can do it and still have reliable vehicles, why can't Toyota?

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
I'm not even talking about handling, I'm talking about 15-20 year old technology engine/tranny, that's in every Corolla and Camry, interior that only recently was revised to be somewhat competitive. You know, all the traits that old GM vehicles, like the Cavaliers and Buicks were so loudly criticized for. But when it come to Toyota, these are all positive traits now. No wonder they are laughing all the way to the bank.

And it's not like you can't have other, much, much nicer vehicles in this segment that have very similar reliability record. So if Honda, Mazda, Hyundai, GM and others can do it and still have reliable vehicles, why can't Toyota?


I cannot get past my mother's Corolla's shockingly-bad seats and kidney-hammering ride. It's as harsh as my Cherokee, worse than my Dakota or my wife's big Blazer. When my mother said my Crown Vic (a stiffly-sprung police cruiser on, at the time, harsh-riding summer tires) rode better than her Corolla, I was skeptical...but it does.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: MCompact
Wrong! It's always better to listen to third or fourth hand hearsay from people who haven't even sat in the car that they are expressing an opinion about; you know, the people who heard that their best friend's sister's college roommate knew a guy who went to a dentist that had a patient who hired a plumber who had a customer that said that his cousin told him that he heard that it costs $900 to change the oil on a C Class...


Yeah, it's really only $300 for Service A at the dealer, but it's just once a year with 10k oil changes. But I prefer the E class, it's more reliable the C class and has more options, but used, it's only a couple thousand more than an C class. I think I looked at a C class with basic options and the E had the pano roof, bixenons, power trunk closer, real leather, parking sensors etc and was 18.5k as opposed to 12-14k on an equivalent year C class without those options. As you can tell, I like the options, they're fun. Anyway, I do the oil changes myself for about $25-$30 in oil/filter, still got lots of Autozone $2/quart synthetic oil.

Originally Posted By: Corollaman
I think I'd be worried about parking lots if I had a Mercedes, you know dings and dents from people who don't care. The guy who parks right next to you in an empty parking lot with his lifted truck. No such worries with the Corolla.


I'm only slightly worried about it. I try to park far away but that only works half the time. I don't know why someone feels the need to park next to me when I'm so far away. A friend of mine with an Audi S7 says the same thing, she'll park really far and when she comes back, someone is parked next her. Only has a few scratches so far. I know a body guy that could touch it up for a few hundred. One of these days when it gets too annoying I'll get the whole car done. Still looks good from a distance and a good wax hides some of it til the next wash.

 

[lawrencerd]

I think we have one of those situations where anyone going faster than I am is a jerk or a hazard and anyone slower is an idiot and a slowpoke. Anyone spending more on a car/leasing/ financing must be tutted at or made to feel badly, because they're irresponsible. I don't have to make their payment so I say live and let live. If you want to pay cash for every car, maybe let the warm fuzzy feelings be their own reward instead of putting down others.

 

[javacontour]

Oh, I agree.

But also, I don't want to see folks on CNN or where ever they might be saying, oh, that car dealer ripped me off when they didn't either save up, or have been trading every two years, or they didn't get pre-approved from a bank or others and so on.

Many (not all) of the instant gratification crowd will also be the first crying that someone else ripped them off, dealers are crooks, and so on.

Dealers are in the business of making money and selling cars, add ons, service, finance, and so on. Everything they offer is to enhance THEIR bottom line.

If you sign on the line and say yes to it, it's hard to claim it's all the dealers fault. Especially if you don't do due diligence on your own.

I'm fine with people doing their own thing. Just as long as the consequences fall on them and only them for what they do, no problem.

When some do-gooder wants to spread the consequences to others, then I have a problem.

Not everyone who has a car loan is irresponsible.
Not everyone who pays cash is responsible.
Not every dealer is a crook.
Not every buyer is a saint.

And so on...

Originally Posted By: lawrencerd
I think we have one of those situations where anyone going faster than I am is a jerk or a hazard and anyone slower is an idiot and a slowpoke. Anyone spending more on a car/leasing/ financing must be tutted at or made to feel badly, because they're irresponsible. I don't have to make their payment so I say live and let live. If you want to pay cash for every car, maybe let the warm fuzzy feelings be their own reward instead of putting down others.

 

[Mr Nice]

Java,

Don't forget these sales folks sometimes work 70 hours a week.

They are on commission and don't care if customers can't afford vehicle with 72 month financing. That's not the sales person problem. Their job is just to sell, sell, sell.

Lots of people make impulsive large purchase decisions without stepping back and evaluating their financial situation.