Car Shopping During Christmas - Due to Accident

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No denying the automatic transmission in Mazdas are excellent. Always in the right gear, never in too high of a gear and wandering all over the place.

CVT and 1.5L turbo engine problems would eliminate Honda.

Mazda does have zoom zoom engineering in their vehicles. Luckily your wife was not injured in crash.
 
[every vehicle post on bitog] is answered with CX-5. Its a pretty good vehicle no doubt.
 
Oh man that sucks! Like you say, no one was hurt is the main thing. The rest sounds like an insurance nightmare, so hopefully that all works out.

In regards to car shopping, car sales are slow this time of year, so things could work to your advantage.

I remember years ago when I bought my nearly new 1997 Jeep Wrangler, it was Dec 22-23 1998 and when I walked in to the showroom, the sales people were playing cards. I struck what I thought was a phenomenal deal too.
 
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Im glad to hear everyone was OK. That's the most important thing.

As for car shopping, I agree with JTK, right before Christmas and before tax refund season is probably the best time to get a good deal.

Test drive all the ones you like and choose whatever suits you.
 
Drive a Forester before settling on a CRV or a Mazda.
Just my thoughts as one who has driven the three and bought a pair of Foresters over the years.
 
Originally Posted by AZjeff
Has everyone recommending the CX-5 actually driven one? We have the 2014 RAV4 and our daughter has a 2015 CX-5 and the difference in daily driving dynamics is nil. Maybe we need to go autocrossing with them to feel the Zoom Zoom? Did Mazda do something 2016 up to rate the high praise? Back when we bought it was down to the RAV and CX-5, everything else being close the RAV won because the interior wasn't all black. Both have been flawless since new, we're going to DT tomorrow with the Mazda for new Continentals. Certainly a nice CUV but I don't find myself smiling like a butcher's dog when I drive it.

I owned a 2015 CX5, and now own a 2019 CX5 turbo. The turbo is actually, legit fun. It's MUCH quieter and MUCH more refined in every way vs. the 2015, as well.

I would recommend the CX5 turbo -OR- if you can someway figure out how to wait it out, or get a stop-gap vehicle until the RAV4 PRIME drops and is actually tested, HEAVILY consider that. Everything about the RAV Prime that is currently public seems really cool.

Aside from that, vehicles I'd consider would be:

-Ford Edge Sport/ST ( American, and less mpg for similar performance though, also less refined...)
-Blazer RS (see above notation)
-Audi Q5 (Uses a DCT, and has a few other "more expensive to maintain components" for only a slight bump in performance and refinement)


Used:

AMG 43 GLC (no clue on maintenance, but does use a DCT, offers legit performance gains, similar in refinement)
BMW X3 M40i (No experience with this one at all, but it looks like the answer to the GLC AMG).
 
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OP here - Thanks for the replies and kind words. Wife is a little sore from seat belt, but still as kranky as ever, haha.

I am starting to build a comparison spreadsheet (I'm an engineer by education and trade - oh well), to have a quick reference. My recent experience with the CRV is the baseline. I have started with more Honda CRVs, and added Subaru Forester and Outback, and Hyundai Santa Fe. Probably will look at a few other brands too, but so far those are the top three. I am particularly interested to see how the Subaru CVT compares to the Honda CVT in a drivability sense.

We will have to buy used. We just finished putting 2 sons through college, so funds are a little less available than ideally. I am trying to find something with less than 75K miles. I don't know what the insurance company will give us yet, which will determine when to get serious. Probably 2013 or newer models, because the wife wants comparable options that the CRV had.

I bought my 2005 LJ between Christmas and New Years, and almost got it for dealer cost, due to slow sales at that time. Still have it after 15 years.
 
I would only buy used if the price was substantially lower than my best/hardest negotiation on the same vehicle new. There are so many good choices in this segment that it's really hard to go wrong with any of them.
 
Originally Posted by Char Baby
I would only buy used if the price was substantially lower than my best/hardest negotiation on the same vehicle new. There are so many good choices in this segment that it's really hard to go wrong with any of them.

Well said. You can do real well on a new SUV right now. New tires, warranty, new everything.
It would be a great Christmas present.
 
I've owned rented or driven most in this class, and just bought a very low mileage 2016 CRV Touring.

Subaru's have CVT issues, plus other problems and recalls. I've owned several Subarus, so I know them intimately.

RAV 4 was fine, but felt a little crude. I'd buy one if the price was right.

Daughters Mazda has been very good, but there aren't as many used AWDs out there to choose from.

The Honda CVT is very good, no complaints, quiet and smooth. The 2017 and newer have many irritating problems. The ‘15 and ‘16 are upgraded versions of what you had.

I've had two ford CVTs and Two Honda CVTs, so far no problems at all. Company has a fleet of cars, most have CVTs, none have had problems.

While some have more sophisticated AWD systems, they all get the job done in similar fashion on the road.

The Honda had the most options, best price, and fewest potential problems.
 
It's pretty widely accepted that Honda has the best CVT going right now. They perform pretty well for what they are and don't have any known reliability issues.
 
Originally Posted by benjy
hondas like toyotas are over rated + overpriced. use the internet to easily shop local as well as out of town as bigger dealers sell more at lower markups. girlfriend got a new jetta at a big dealer 75 miles away few years back for a G less than the local crooks wanted for a leftover!!

Hondas and Toyotas are overrated -- yeah, and I guess you still believe in Santa Claus also.
 
Originally Posted by BAJA_05
RAV4 or another Honda CRV would be my choice. There is a reason they hold there retail -- decade after decade.


My theory on that: Honda and Toyota are the default choices for the masses that dont know about cars. They ask one or two people, those people say Honda Toyota and tell a story about vehicles they had in the 90s 2000s that were good.

Is Honda/Toyota still as good as they used to be?

I think cars are just global parts bins slapped together by the lowest wages possible so they all have quality risks and we wont know for years how current examples play out.
 
OP here. I have been researching model data online, and basically narrowed it down to SUbaru and Honda, due to mileage ratings and safety ratings. Last Friday I test drove a Subaru Outback, Subaru Forester, and Honda CR-V. All were 2020 models.

The Outback drove nice, but was more like a car, lower to the ground, and entry / exit were lower than our late CR-V. The Forester was much better, from an entry / exit standpoint, and much more like our late CR-V, and I actually liked the way the CVT behaved in both Subarus. Upshifts and downshifts were very similar to conventional automatic transmissions. From the two, the Forester would be my choice.

The CR-V was a 2WD LX model with the 2.4L, like ours had, but ours had been an AWD model. They didn't have an AWD version in stock, The drive experience was very similar, but the CVT felt softer, almost "mushier" than the CVTs in the Subarus. Also, the LX doesn't have a lot of options that even basic Foresters have. For that, I would need to move to an EX model, with a significant cost increase, and the only engine available right now for the EX with or without AWD is the 1.5L Turbo, which has plenty of discussion regarding fuel dilution of oil. I'm afraid that we would suffer from that because most of the time, my wife doesn't left vehicles warm up completely on a cold start before driving away.

So, right now, it looks like I'm looking for good deal on a 2019 / 2020 Subaru Forester.
 
Originally Posted by dareo
[every vehicle post on bitog] is answered with CX-5. Its a pretty good vehicle no doubt.


It is but tiny compared to CRV.
 
I'm seeing Foresters starting at $24.7k at Herberger in Colorado Springs. Should be available for a similar price in Alabama.
 
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Well, we ended up buying a 2020 Subaru Forester Premium. I built a spreadsheet to compare offer from various dealers (and brands) to see what was the best "bang for the buck". Fortunately, our insurance from the totaled 2013 CR-V gave us around $11K to use.

Honda and Subaru were the main contenders, based on mileage, safety ratings, reputation, etc. However, the Hondas fell out, mainly due to cost and apparent unwillingness of local dealers to negotiate much. Ironically, the dealer we had purchased our late CR-V from was the worst. The Hondas were at least $3K more on average.

I had three Subaru dealers that I was working with. Funny thing is, two different salesmen from one dealership gave me two VERY different prices on the same vehicle. I also noticed a difference in car pricing using TrueCar and USAA Buying Services on some others.

A local Subaru dealer was initially higher than the other two, but I was able to negotiate a lower price after a few conversations. Yesterday was the end of their sales month and a regional Subaru sales competition period, so that worked in my favor. Also got a discounted extended powertrain warranty (with $100 deductible) up to 100K miles (basic powertrain warranty is up to 60K miles).

As "fun" as this ordeal sounds, I sort of hate buying "new" vehicles, because I'm OCD enough to "do my homework" first.
 
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