When we left off, I was searching for food-for-thought on what car I should get for about $15k moving into a field sales job racking up 25,000 miles a year or so. The real must-haves were bluetooth and leather, and at the time I was looking for something that could take regular gas. Well, we have some clarifications and updates for the next round of fun bantz.
First of all, I want to congratulate all of you for picking out some really great options for someone who wants to spend $20k. Your ability as a group to consistently take “I’m looking to spend $15k” and treat it as seriously as a used car dealer should be commended. Kudos. But to your credit, I’m sort of realizing that should probably be closer to the top of my budget to get what I want.
I’ve figured out more specifically what I want, so here’s the new rundown of what I’m looking for - tl;dr style:
Bluetooth must. Leather must. Navigation OR OEM CarPlay compatibility must. Adaptive cruise huge plus. Under $22k in the NYC market, meaning, “pretend I said under $17k” (remember, dealers have $1000-2500 in fees on top of advertised prices, and the cheapest ones on AutoTrader are usually accident cars and lemon buybacks). If it’s over $20k I want at least a few months of nationally-backed warranty (either CPO or off the new car warranty). Decent gas mileage - ballpark 25mpg combined (regular) or 30 (premium). Lower body mileage better, but definitely under ~60k. No domestics. Not so slow I hate driving it. Good legroom.
Yes, I am open to cars taking premium now, but it needs to perform better on mileage accordingly.
What I’ve seen:
2015 Genesis Sedan 3.8 RWD: Drove it. Adaptive cruise with stop and go is amazing. Liked it a lot but lacked some passion. Slightly over budget to get one still in warranty. There’s a weird thing, Hyundai Genesis is 5 year warranty, Genesis G80 is 6 year. So I can get a 2016 with 4 months of warranty, or a G80 (can’t afford) with 2 years 4 months. In the running.
2012 ES 350: Sat in a base model. On the small side. Navigation-equipped ES’s use the same interface and graphics that Lexus debuted in 1999. GS is older and not close on mileage goals. As much as I want a Lexus, I don’t think it’s out there. Ones I can afford just feel old, thirsty, or both.
2017 Mazda6: Sat in one, on the small side, the RX8 was the start of the interior language and material choices for a lot of Mazdas, and I didn’t realize they were still using that in 2017. I was extremely thrown off. I couldn’t get over the idea of paying $15-17k to replace the RX8 with a car that looked the same on the inside, was slower, and was smaller.
2017? Passat 1.6T: Not bad, affordable, takes regular, but I had to lean forward out of the seat to use the touchscreen with the seat pretty far back (I am tall). Sort of a turn-off. On the outside looking in, but not eliminated.
2017 Audi A3 2.0T Quattro: Liked it a lot. Seat goes pretty far back, to the point you’re actually sitting behind the B-pillar so there’s no armrest. Wish it was a coupe. Can get inside factory warranty but CPO gets expensive fast. Loved the MMI interface wheel thing. In the running.
Interested in looking at:
TLX - The 3.5 costs more than the Audi though, and uses more gas. The 2.4 would be competing in the “15-20k” category on speed/comforts, but is not actually in that price range.
Jetta GLI - You all missed this one. 2.0T, takes regular, quick, cheaper and more efficient than the Audi/Genesis. Seems like a lot to like.
2015/2016 Audi A3 2.0TDI - Only 2015/16 had the MMI wheel, would need to be nav equipped (CarPlay started in 2017), needs a tune for boooooost, needs to be CPO to get comprehensive warranty. Lots of boxes to tick. But dumb efficient and the Dieselgate 10/120k powertrain warranty is a really nice plus.
Volvo??????????- what should I look at?
Optima / Elantra - Neither were high on my first list as they look neither lux nor sporty, but I dunno I guess should look at them more before saying no.
V6 Accord/Camry - still looking into this, but getting one with low-ish miles is no bargain. V6 Accords start at around $20k with barely under 60k miles. Anything you see advertised below that on a V6 accord is to get you in the door... E.g., one listing said advertised price is after $2000 down payment, before $995 doc fee and $995 reconditioning fee, financed in-house only or add 20% dealer convenience fee for cash.
Would love more suggestions and any firsthand experiences with anything I’m still considering, TIA oppo.