HELP! '13 Optima vs '13 Accord vs '13 Mazda 3

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BigBuck

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Hey guys. My girlfriend goes to Radford University, and in case you didn't know they had a student parking lot flood because of a dam being released. The school didn't notify her until 5:30 in the morning, when the car was already ruined. Here are some links for background info.

News story

Students seeking answers from university

file.php

Here is a picture of some of the vehicles. This is nowhere near how high the flooding was. It was above most cars.



Ok, well her car was a 2010 Honda Accord EX with 16,000 miles. Geico says it is totaled. Water above the roof, the car was 100% submerged. I have additional pictures I may post sometime. Not sure how much they are cutting her a check for, thank God she had insurance.


Onto the cars. She is interested in the three in the title. 2013 Kia Optima EX, 2013 Honda Accord EX, and the 2013 Mazda 3 i Grand Touring. Could anyone offer some suggestions on any of these vehicles? She is going to be test driving soon, but she is looking for any input. All is welcome.




Off topic, but if anyone reads into the story, could you give me some advice for her? It seems like the school should be at fault. She did not receive a notification until 5:30am when the car was already submerged above the windows. Is there anything you recommend she do? She lost a car that wasn't even broken in yet, and now has to dish out money to buy a new car. Any advice on that front? I am still young myself, so I appreciate all the help.
 
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yeah that sucks.. go with the accord i test drove the sport last week . maybe you should seek legal advice. unless we have lawyers and what not on BITOG! but sorry to hear that I hope for the best for you guys!
 
Unfortunately, I see little liability on the school's end. This is a natural disaster, IMO.

As Chris said, get the Accord. Parts and service availability is far superior to the other two, at least for the foreseeable future.
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Unfortunately, I see little liability on the school's end. This is a natural disaster, IMO.
...


I don't know. It was a dam release wasn't it? The Univ. knew but "didn't think it was serious enough" to issue any warning. The news story indicated that the U decided not to use the alert system until 5:30, when it could have alerted much sooner.

Since it was a U parking lot, if she had a permit they had her plates on file and could have called to notify.

I'm sure the insurance companies will try to take some action against the U for not protecting property in its own parking lots.

Honda FTW.
 
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You can't compare a Mazda 3 to a Honda Accord--these cars are not in the same class and I still wouldn't buy a Korean car. Since she already had a Honda, she should get the same thing unless she didn't like it.

You situation is purely an insurance claim. Hold Geico's feet to the fire. If I hired an attorney, it would be to ensure you get enough out of them.
 
the kia optimas and hyundai sonatas are really nice cars. the warranty is amazing. drive then and compare them. buy what suits you best. I love the turbo versions of these cars. tons of fun to drive.
 
Originally Posted By: salv
the kia optimas and hyundai sonatas are really nice cars. the warranty is amazing. drive then and compare them. buy what suits you best. I love the turbo versions of these cars. tons of fun to drive.


This.
 
Mazda 3I GT. with a bit of negotiation , you should be able to get it for close to 20k. Its fully loaded and is still being made in japan. We have been very happy with ours.
 
Let the insurance company subrogate it. That means if they are owned money by university they will extract it and no effect on your insurance. They have a strong interest in this since your vehicle is not the only one. I have a feeling the insurance lawyers have some motivation to sue the university insurance.

The 2013 Accord EX is best choice by a long shot IMHO. Mazda 3i Touring is quite nice however you downsize to get slightly more MPG. If she likes keeping cars a midsize has much better keeping factor over smaller vehicle.

My regret post college at age 21 was not buying an Accord EX instead getting a Civic EX. At upper mileage my Civic was a rattle box and felt small/unrefined. My friends with Accord's had much nicer cars at similar mileage as they aged better. Also much more useful.
 
Do you know how to get a brand new Kia half price?

Drive it off the lot.

When I was shopping for a second car, I checked out an Elantra Touring. Figured I could get one dirt cheap compared to similar cars in the segment.

The salesman and the Manager were not very polite and declared Hyundai quality valiantly and wouldn't budge on the price at all.

We went to a Mazda dealer and got a Mazda 3 Hatch brand new 1000$ cheaper than the "best price" at Hyundai. Hyundai didn't care that we were going to buy the car cash. No discounts.

At Mazda, we got to finance at 0% and they didn't give a cash discount either, but it was free financing so we took it and kept the money in the bank.

Even when I bought my Honda Fit new, I was able to wrestle with them a bit. Got a free spare tire instead of the flat kit, reduced the price because I was going to pay cash, and they were always friendly about everything.

Now that I work in the field, and they know I bought from them, they even give me BETTER service.

So, all I am saying is brand is still first in importance, and Hyundai doesn't quite have it yet. But they want the same price as everyone else.

Hyundai had a good spot in the market when they sold the Accent for under 10k. They want to move upmarket at your expense and if you ever want to sell it you'll take a huge hit.

Hondas sell themselves here in Quebec. If I go and pick up a CR-V in the spring, I will only loose about 3 grand as I have immaculate service records and all fluids changed regularly.

So I drove a Honda for 3 years and only loose 3 grand to drive a new car that was a gem to own? Not bad. That is even competitive with taking the bus!
 
Not sure if Mazda solved its sub-par metal use. They rot in dog years up here. Guy down the hall has an 06 Mazda 3. Its body is junk, he's [censored] off. the other 2 mid 2k's in the parking lot both rusted pretty good. May not be an issue down there. The Hondas been done before, I would probably try they Kia Optima. Cheap, best looking and best gas mileage of the bunch, gets good reviews. We have a 05 Kia Sorento in the family since new. Not one single problem with it.
 
My mother-in-law used to work at Radford and now works at Virginia Tech. I graduated from Virginia Tech, so I know the area pretty well. Flooding to that level on the New River is certainly not common. The article said that official estimates put the river crest much later in the day.

This is one of those situations where the University had the potential to be wrong no matter what they did. If the official estimates were correct (and that's all the information you have to go on), you'll get blasted by students (and their parents) for waking them up in the middle of the night to inform them of an event that would happen 12 hours later. On the other hand, if you go with those estimates and then the river catches you by surprise, you get blasted by students (and their parents) for not waking them up in the middle of the night.

It's so easy to Monday-morning-quarterback the whole situation, and say, "clearly they should have done such-and-such." Well, it's not always clear what the best decision is at the time of the event, and it certainly wasn't Radford's intent for a number of students to lose their cars. Unfortunate things like this just happen sometimes. They apparently had no written communication policy related to a flooding river; it simply hasn't happened to that extent before. I bet they will now, and that's the good that will come of it.

As for the car, I'd buy another Accord.
 
Test drive. Your opinion is all that matters. I always test drive every vehicle I am interested in and then buy the one I liked best. What's the point in getting a good deal on something you don't enjoy? Still have both the cars I bought new and still enjoy driving them.

ref
 
I was an auto claims person at one time. Your car is insured at actual cash value not replacement cost. ACV is going to be Kelly Blue book value, less deductable and salvage fees. Geico will subrogate (go after someone) to get back her deductable and salvage fees. this process does take lots of time, and if you hire a lawyer it will probably longer and he'll want a cut of funds due her. She has to keep a detailed record of everything she does, spends and speaks too. good luck
 
The Mazda3 is a compact and the Accord is EPA classed as a fullsize. Not really a fair comparison to be made there.

There is a lot to like about the Kia Optima. Style-wise I cannot believe that this is the same company responsible for the previous models of Optimas with their completely bland styling or the Hannibal Lector grilled models.
Suspension is a little on the firm side compared to it's Sonata sister that didn't bother me. It's like they are going for the Mazda thing but haven't quite mastered it yet. The car handles fairly well. Not great, but competent.
Steering actually felt better to me than it's Sonata sister car. That might just be subjective because I was so smitten with the looks that I wanted it to feel good. It doesn't. It's still kinda' numb...probably the exact same unit as the Sonata. Better tires maybe
21.gif

I liked everything else about the car.
 
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