Here’s my deal - in Dec 2021, I bought my dream toy (Audi). I played with it for 14 months, had my fun (12K miles), and now Vroom is giving me $10K more than what I paid for it brand new (yes, not a typo or a lie - I promise).
I have other expenses coming up, so could personally use a downgrade. But my problem is I don’t know where to start in this market. I normally consider myself a savvy buyer - but have no clue now.
I’m basically looking for a decent mid-size or even a compact. If someone sold me (for example) a Honda Civic at MSRP today, I’d buy it in 30 seconds (it makes me sick saying that, but that’s where we are). So what brands / dealers would you recommend? Any dealer / dealer in the NYC area you’ve seen recently.
(FWIW, through my employer i’m part of the employee affiliate programs of Volvo, BMW, Audi. All useless right now. Costco/Truecar also seem pretty useless. Tier 1 credit. Can pay cash, or happy to lease/finance if needed)
Brand new: something like a Subaru Impreza, Kia Rio/Forte or Toyota Corolla. The new Civic just came out so is likely to be the toughest. I got a Telluride from a Kia dealer 1.5 hrs from Jersey City.
Used: something reliable like those Japan-built Scions, Yaris’s, etc. Ok so you might spend $6k vs $5k for the same car a year ago but the absolute premium is pretty small. Save on insurance too.
There are multiple threads on frontier here that you can check out, its gonna roughly cost you around $250 - $300 for a base model assuming you are lucky enough to find a dealer with no markups.
We leased an Acura ILX and couldn’t be happier with our choice. Solid build, quiet, refined, great mileage, huge trunk… Just a great 3 box sedan that shouldn’t give you any headaches and will certainly retain value. Sleeper entry in an overlooked segment.
Basically, an upscale, plush Civic that doesn’t cost much.
as a person who have owned both the civic and ilx, tbh I prefer civic more than the ilx because of the better interior. Also a cheaper option even after the markup for the new civic that the dealers are charging in the current market.
The ILX has the better appointed interior, with a lot of soft touch materials, better quality seating materials, and little in the way of hard plastic surfaces. The Acura is the Buick to Honda’s Chevrolet.
The Civic is a vastly better car than the ILX, however due to their lack of popularity, the ILX may be cheaper to lease. Even with that, I’d personally pay more for a Civic.
I don’t know how they’re leasing, but the Forte GT and Elantra N-line both look like they could be fun little rides for the price (if you can get them at MSRP).
They won’t lease well (Kia has hardly ever incentivized leases plus these are niche models).
But a Forte GT is a darn good value against competitors like the GLI (sticker vs sticker). And I have a good deal of confidence a Forte GT can be bought at or below sticker. IDK about the GLI.
I figured they wouldn’t, after looking at the Sorrento 3 years ago and getting some absolutely ridiculous numbers from dealers.
I’d be all over buying that Forte for myself right now if I didn’t still need 3 rows. Can’t wait for the last of the kids to go away so I can get back into a sedan.
Thank you everyone for your advice. I ended up getting a Camry through the costco program ($750 under msrp). It seems like that’s about as good as anyone can do these days.
I was actually more inclined towards the Subaru legacy - but the boss (wife) liked the camry better.
Basically, if you want to use the costco program, just beat the shit out of the website till you find a make/model/dealer that’s still in the program in your area. It will take 10-15 attempts of playing with ZIP codes/makes/models.
As for people worried about me going from an Audi Q5e prestige to a Camry LE - don’t worry, the hope is in another year or two when things settle down a little, i’ll hack myself to another toy through leasehakr.
