New car buying dilemma. Suggestions?

**jpmuscle** · 08-31-14, 11:16

Ok, so long story short my the Lease on my 2012 VW Passat is up as of October 1st so I've been shopping around. I like my VW passat, I really do. It's been a great car albeit a bit boring. Plus the new TSI turbo models are big improvement. Pretty much they would role me into a new S model with cloth and a 5spd manual for the the same payment I have now. If I opt for the SE model with leatherette and 17's my 0 down monthly payment is 345 month for 36 months. That goes down approximately 25$ per/1000$ down. I considered the Jetta but the cost difference is negligible to get the same options at the expense of size, usable room, etc. It was more fun to drive by a touch.

BUT, my other options include the new Mazda 6 and Honda Accord sport, both with manual transmissions. I like the 2015 Mazda 6, alot. Definitely the nicest car of the group and and sportiest. I loved the interior and it definitely handled the best. Could use a hotter motor though. Price wise I'd be looking at 321 month for 36 months with 0 down or 237 month with 3000 down. Both numbers include TTFs. If I opt for the touring model it's either 378/0 down or 295/3000 down. Honestly, I'm not thrilled about this pricing structure and says to me that Mazda has little confidence in the long term resale value of this car when it comes off lease. It gets the best mileage though.

Now for the 2014 Accord. It's certainly a decent looking car. Not quite the aesthetic appeal of the Mazda inside and out however. The car just exudes that volume sales oriented feel and a reduced level of refinement, especially the interior. Nice certainly but not fantastic by any means when compared to the Mazda. Its more on par with my current Passat. The sport model looks better over the standard EX and has a few nice additional options such as full power driver seat and 18s. I've never owned a Honda and the fact that I'm sitting here now entertaining such options bemuses me but such is life. I've had a long standing preference form mature elegance (which attracted me to the Passat initially) and the tuner crap I always have and always will loathe ( as an aside I miss my 4th gen z28) Price wise the Accord is a better deal cost/value wise. I'm looking at 289/month out the door. 0 cash down and that includes my first payment, no security deposit, and they would buy out the last payment of my Passat. I think they can move a little on this price as well since they would have to bring in a manual transmission in my color choice regardless and they want to start pushing the 2015s. Apparently honda is not offering any lease incentives on the 2015s yet and I haven't seen when that will start. Between 2015 and 2014 the cars are pretty much identical. The dealer also stated that 18 months into my lease I could exercise and option to have them buy it back and roll me into a new model at no cost to me. I'm guessing this has more to do with the long term value retention of the Hondas in general. But everyone it seems has an Accord. No so much with the Mazda.

My biggest gripe against the Honda was the with the dealership. A little to much drive by salesmanship for my taste. I've experienced none of that with my dealings at VW and Mazda, hell when I first got my Passat my sales guy personally called me when my first service window came up and offered to come get my car, drop of loaner, and bring mine back to me after servicing. I live 45 mins from the dealership fyi.

So idk. I think it really is just going to come down to price as I would like to save some money this time around but I hate the idea of opting for what I feel to be a lesser car. The accord is definitely the best buy cost/value wise but the Passat SE with options and especially the Mazda touring are nicer cars. In their basic trims everything I think then is closer to being on par with the Accord but again the Accord becomes the better value. If I knew sitting here right now that I would likely buy following the termination of my lease then the upfront costs I can swallow but the resale value of the Mazda concerns me especially with the motor in it at present. If it was a v6 or turbo 4 my feelings might be different. The same goes for the Passat. In basic trims I think this is problematic.

So any suggestions, experiences, negotiating tips? Color preferences? My passat is black now and its the best color on all the cars being discussed but i'm finding the gunmetal silver to be very appealing this time around too.

Much obliged.

Pics for reference. Note the accord pics are online finds. The Mazda pics I took myself and depict the touring model. The black car is a GT

**TriviaMonster** · 08-31-14, 11:38

The Mazda obviously. Its by far the best driving of the three. But leasing is a financial black hole and thus I cannot support any decision.

**jmoney** · 08-31-14, 11:40

My wife wanted a hind and we had a real bad experience at the dealership as well. I just don't get why their cars coat what they do.

She end up with and explorer. She has several friends that have mazdas, and they all love them.

I would try and do some research on the turbos you are looking at, look around and see what people's complaints are.

**jpmuscle** · 08-31-14, 11:58

Originally Posted by TriviaMonster

The Mazda obviously. Its by far the best driving of the three. But leasing is a financial black hole and thus I cannot support any decision.

I wholeheartedly agree. I think it does depend on the numbers though. A zero down lease or atleast first and fees isn't necessarily a bad deal so long as the residual value is inline with the actual value of the with respect to its depreciation. All your really doing then is renting the car. The more you put down though the black hole-ish it can become though.

Honestly part of problem is I get bored easy so leasing works. If I was going to buy something and keep it 10+ years there would be TDI vw in my driveway.

**glocktogo** · 08-31-14, 12:40

Of the three, I'd pick the 6. However, I'd buy and get aggressive on the bottom line. You need to account for that depreciation factor because too many people are unaware of how much Mazda has improved.

My last pic would be the Honda. I went in to seriously check out an Accord. It was between that, the Kia Optima and a Subaru Legacy. The Legacy was too plain on the interior and down on power. I was concerned about depreciation on the Kia and they weren't budging on the price at the time. The Honda and the dealership turned me off completely, even though the engine was the best of the bunch.

I accidentally stumbled onto a terrifically priced, late model, low mileage Lexus GS-460. The premium over the Honda and Kia was only $2,500, so I couldn't pass it up.

**Sam** · 08-31-14, 13:04

To the original poster -

How is your 2012 Passat running? has it ever had any problem? I'm asking because I have a 2013 Passat SE (gas, 5 cyl, leatherette (fake leather) seats. I haven't had any problem at all since I bought it. Just wondering what am I to expect in the coming years.

I can't tell you which car to choose but I can offer advice on the price and payment issue. Don't get bog down on the number of payments and amount of monthly payment. That's how a buyer gets into trouble with paying too much for a car. A sales weasel (that's what they are) are always trying to finagle with the numbers to get a potential buyer hooked. Concentrate and insist on the final bottom line purchase price. $25000? 28000? 30,000? Then figure out the financing next.

Oh I'll throw my two cents in on the styles, the more organic/aerobic/shapely/modern the car looks, the quicker it goes out of style. The more conservative (or boring but classy) it is, like your Passat, the longer that look will last. Consider a 1990s Mercedes 190 or 300 class cars, they don't look out of style even after over 20 years.

Good luck.

**Dienekes** · 08-31-14, 13:57

"The horror! the horror!" (Kurtz)

**GH41** · 08-31-14, 15:56

With Sam here. The money part is easy. Just add every expense and fees and divide by the number of months leased. You want to know what the car is going to cost you per month to drive. In my opinion leasing works if you want to drive a new car every couple of years or if you are capable of deducting the cost as a business expense and don't exceed the allowed mileage.