car shopping, part 1
Feb. 17th, 2004 11:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cellioTonight I visited Mazda and Toyota dealers.
The Mazda 3 seemed like a decent car -- nothing to get excited about, but servicable. I was having some trouble with the clutch, stalling several times, which surprised me given that I've been driving manual transmission for basically all of my driving life. I don't know if that means it's very finicky or if it's just been too long since I drove a different manual.
The Prius question has been solved for me: there aren't any, and the waiting list is 5-6 months long. That does not fit my timeframe.
The Matrix is a nice car. It's roomy but doesn't seem to be huge (I haven't tried to parallel-park it yet). I think some of the roominess comes from the fact that it's just plain tall compared to my Mazda 323. (But it's not an SUV, so I assume it doesn't have those safety issues.) The seats are comfortable (even the back ones), and visibility seems to be ok (not quite what I'm used to) once you remove the headrests from the rear seats. I wish the line between the bottom of the windows and the top of the doors were lower, though.
The test drive for the Matrix was very comfortable, including on pothole-filled and cobblestone roads. The one I drove was an automatic, so it lacked some of the get-up-and-go that comes with a manual. (I kept reaching for the control and then saying "oops, no, automatic" -- which means there were several times when I wasn't happy with its choice of gear.) I'll have to go back to drive a manual. The car I drove also had all-wheel drive, and I don't know how much that affects the driving experience on dry roads like we had tonight. (It affects gas mileage by two or three MPG, and I'll probably give it a pass unless I find that it makes a big difference -- one worth an extra $1500 or so.) The Matrix's gas mileage of 28/33 MPG is a bit of a turn-off.
I forgot to ask to see an Echo while I was there. (I got there closer to closing time than I would have liked. Pittsburgh navigation note: if you find yourself heading somewhere you didn't want to go and saying "well, this can't be that bad" -- you're wrong.)
Of the two cars I saw tonight, the Matrix beats the Mazda 3. Also on the list to investigate (thanks for all the comments!): Honda hybrid, Honda Civic, VW Golf, Ford Focus (the Car Talk guys seem to like it), Chevy Aveo (looks to be lower-end than most of these others).
Pennsylvania has an annoying law that forbids car dealerships from being open on Sundays. Bah. So I'm limited to certain evenings. My car turns into a pumpkin at the end of March, so this should be doable.
The Mazda 3 seemed like a decent car -- nothing to get excited about, but servicable. I was having some trouble with the clutch, stalling several times, which surprised me given that I've been driving manual transmission for basically all of my driving life. I don't know if that means it's very finicky or if it's just been too long since I drove a different manual.
The Prius question has been solved for me: there aren't any, and the waiting list is 5-6 months long. That does not fit my timeframe.
The Matrix is a nice car. It's roomy but doesn't seem to be huge (I haven't tried to parallel-park it yet). I think some of the roominess comes from the fact that it's just plain tall compared to my Mazda 323. (But it's not an SUV, so I assume it doesn't have those safety issues.) The seats are comfortable (even the back ones), and visibility seems to be ok (not quite what I'm used to) once you remove the headrests from the rear seats. I wish the line between the bottom of the windows and the top of the doors were lower, though.
The test drive for the Matrix was very comfortable, including on pothole-filled and cobblestone roads. The one I drove was an automatic, so it lacked some of the get-up-and-go that comes with a manual. (I kept reaching for the control and then saying "oops, no, automatic" -- which means there were several times when I wasn't happy with its choice of gear.) I'll have to go back to drive a manual. The car I drove also had all-wheel drive, and I don't know how much that affects the driving experience on dry roads like we had tonight. (It affects gas mileage by two or three MPG, and I'll probably give it a pass unless I find that it makes a big difference -- one worth an extra $1500 or so.) The Matrix's gas mileage of 28/33 MPG is a bit of a turn-off.
I forgot to ask to see an Echo while I was there. (I got there closer to closing time than I would have liked. Pittsburgh navigation note: if you find yourself heading somewhere you didn't want to go and saying "well, this can't be that bad" -- you're wrong.)
Of the two cars I saw tonight, the Matrix beats the Mazda 3. Also on the list to investigate (thanks for all the comments!): Honda hybrid, Honda Civic, VW Golf, Ford Focus (the Car Talk guys seem to like it), Chevy Aveo (looks to be lower-end than most of these others).
Pennsylvania has an annoying law that forbids car dealerships from being open on Sundays. Bah. So I'm limited to certain evenings. My car turns into a pumpkin at the end of March, so this should be doable.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-02-17 09:04 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-18 10:07 am (UTC)The guy last night said that he had one leftover 2003 Matrix that I might be interested in. He happened to mention that it's red, and I must have frowned or something because he asked me what was wrong. I said "sporty-looking car, female driver, red -- sounds like a magnet for the wrong kind of attention". :-) (I was actually thinking police, not horny guys; I'm 40 and not especially attractive.)
The "sporty-looking" bit was actually the sales guy's phrase, not mine. I don't really think of the Matrix as especially "sporty", but I'm pretty oblivious to style sometimes.
(Oh, in case you're wondering, the leftover also turned out to be an automatic transmission, so I didn't actually reject it based on color!)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-02-18 12:42 am (UTC)Re:
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Date: 2004-02-19 09:29 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-02-18 07:38 am (UTC)I didn't realize PA had a law about not selling cars on Sunday...sure that isn't a Pgh thing?
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Date: 2004-02-18 08:07 am (UTC)I didn't realize PA had a law about not selling cars on Sunday...sure that isn't a Pgh thing?
The dealer who told me this last night said it was a state thing. Of course, he could have been mistaken. I find blue laws really annoying in general (if (generic) you want to keep your sabbath then keep it, but don't hinder me). In the case of car-shopping it's downright intrusive: what does someone who works, keeps the (Jewish) sabbath, and can't drive at night do? Wait until summer? Spend vacation days? This isn't a quick run to the liquor store; shopping for a car takes many, many hours. I'm glad I'm permitted to drive at night, but I would rather do my test drives during the day, when I would spend fewer cycles seeing where the heck I'm going and more on paying attention to the ride.
Re:
Date: 2004-02-18 07:37 pm (UTC)Wow. As you might have guessed, Pennsic is in fact my primary generator of stuff-hauling needs. Yeah, I live close and could make multiple trips, but darnit I don't want to. When I go on vacation, I go.
And that mileage kicks butt! I think that's the main thing that's nagging me about the Matrix -- it's a nice car, but the trade-off between size and efficiency isn't quite in the right spot for me. It sounds like the Echo will do well for me, though the Matrix is a fine car too.
High profile plus light vehicle means that you feel gusty winds of 25+ mph quite distinctly on the road.
Good point. I should make sure it weighs at least as much as my current car. (I hope that data is in the owner's manual.) There were a couple days this winter when I felt myself being blown around a bit by wind in the city. Not a pleasant feeling, though it's blessedly rare.
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Date: 2004-02-19 09:33 am (UTC)(My dream car would be a hybrid with the general configuration of the old Camry wagon otherwise. Wouldn't get mileage as good as the current hybrids, but would get *decent* mileage, with the comfort I'm looking for...)
mileage
Date: 2004-02-19 10:25 am (UTC)On the plus side, my commute is short and I don't see that changing. So I don't chew through a lot of gas; I guess I fill the car every three weeks or so. But still, I'd like to be efficient here to the extent it's practical, because it's not just about the money but also about the planet to some level.
Re: mileage
Date: 2004-02-19 03:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-02-19 09:35 am (UTC)Important note: you can only get anti-lock brakes on the Matrix if you get the all-wheel drive package, at least with the automatics. (It might conceivably be in the high-end standard.) That was the main reason that
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Date: 2004-02-19 10:26 am (UTC)