(This is a REALLY long post...feel free to skip)
Our top four picks (in no particular order): Jeep Patriot, Honda CR-V, Toyota Rav4, and Chevy Equinox
All relatively comparable in all aspects - price, performance, warranty, and safety
We wanted something a little bit bigger (since I could hardly fit Nora's baby car seat in my car) and sturdy so in 10 years when we finally decide to shell out some kiddos, we don't have to buy another vehicle. (Don't worry Mom, it won't be 10 years...maybe just 8)
Based upon internet research, we formed the following list
My order: Grey's order:
1. Chevy Equinox 1. Chevy Equinox
2. Honda CR-V 2. Jeep Patriot
3. Toyota Rav4 3. Honda CR-V
4. Jeep Patriot 4. Toyota Rav4
Today we went out. Our biggest concern was money of course since these were all fairly close (cough cough with the exclusion of the jeep cough cough).
Now mind you, ole Grey HATES foreign cars. He's very much in the - "US makes better cars. We need to support our own economy" which is why his list is like it is. On top of that, since we've been dating, he has continuously dogged my toyota corolla (Trish) even though he will flat out admit that she has been a very good car. It's purely due to the fact that she originates in Japan. Never in his mind has he ever considered buying a foreign car. Never.
Never.
The deal was that today would be an "information getter" day. I would test drive them all, we would check out the features, come back home and narrow it down to 2. Grey would then test drive the two on Wednesday, giving it a little more skinny to test out acceleration, gears etc, and we would talk more about price on Wednesday. We figured, given a really good deal, we might be more inclined to buy quicker. However, we were in no hurry and had even thought about waiting until the new editions come in September and to try and get the one we wanted for cheaper at that time.
We did not buy a car today, don't worry.
We went to
Toyota first. We were very impressed. The Rav4 drove quite nicely, was spacious, had 4 cup holders (very important), and to top it off, apparently, they hadn't met their quota for the month so they were anxious to sell. PLUS, they were doing some type of promotion where they were upgrading each of them to the next level, so there was automatically a sunroof. :) BAZINGA!
Honda was next. The guy was a horrible salesman. He kept trying to show us all these features of the CR-V but couldn't get them to work. The CR-V has a computer like screen in the middle of your dash that works your radio and has bluetooth for your phone etc. He couldn't get it to work and finally just said, "well you know what it's supposed to do."
Um no we don't. That's why we're here. If you, the salesman, are trying to SELL ME this vehicle and can't even work it, how are we supposed to? ON TOP OF THAT - There was a groundhog in the road that I almost hit while test driving. The salesman in the back flat out called it a "mother f-er." Seriously?! How ridiculously unprofessional?!
So that with the fact that I felt like you could really feel it shifting gears and it had HORRIBLE blind spots meant that it was automatically off our list.
Jeep was 3rd. Horrible salesman again. He did absolutely no selling. Grey had to ask him, "so what makes a Jeep the better buy?" Crickets. Plus, it was my least favorite to drive. I felt like I had to floor the gas pedal to get it to go 25 mph and I couldn't see out of it at all. The hood was extremely high in the front. No go.
Chevy was last. I loved the look (inside and outside) of the Equinox. It was so spacious and comfy. I loved the cup holders (again, very important). However, I felt like the gas pedal was real jerky. Whenever I would press it, it would almost launch you forward. Chevy was also the most expensive.
Since Chevy was at the top of every rating that we looked at, we decided that Chevy and Toyota were our top picks. We then went back to each one and talked to them about financing (we got away from the plan!)
Toyota - the guy gave us 2000 for our car, took 2700 off the price, and gave us 0% financing for 60 months. Plus, that toyota dealership gave us lifetime power train (to cover the engine etc) and free maintenence for the first 2 years (including all oil changes etc).
Chevy - the guy gave us 2000 for our car, took 1000 off, and gave us 2.25% financing for 75 months with a 3-4000 down payment. We told him that it was a no go so he threw in an extra year on the bumper to bumper warranty and a free (to us) sunroof. Still with that, we were looking at financing $4000 more than the toyota AND having to pay interest.
Basically: After that, Grey decided that he wanted to go ahead and test drive the cars (again, AWAY FROM THE PLAN!) With him driving both cars, and absolutely hating the way the Chevy drove (couldn't see out of it and felt like he was sitting in a bathtub), he told me that he wanted to get the Toyota (when I was actually leaning towards the Chevy). Can you believe that foreign car hater RECOMMENDED THAT WE BUY A TOYOTA?!
On to Wednesday! I'll keep you updated. :)
