so up until about 2 weeks ago, my gf and I had made a decision to keep my 10 year old jeep cherokee for another year, and try to coax some more mileage out of its 141,000 engine. Paying for gas when I got 18mpg hurt, esp with the $2.29 gas out here on Long Island this summer, but figured that it would be fine to stay with for another year. However, 2 weeks ago yesterday, my jeep turned into a 2-ton paperweight, with the thermostat (possibly?) going as well as a radiator leak and another coolant leak further in the system. Mechanic would've had to fix the thermostat to even determine whether that was the cause of the overheating, and regardless it needed the radiator patched/repaired and then the coolant system farther in the engine worked on as well. And a whole new cat-back exhaust. Guess it's time to go car shopping.

Tested the tC, the xBox, the Mazda 3 and the Focus. Was definitely partial to the tC as soon as I saw it, and it drove beautifully. The Mazda 3 felt like a minivan on steroids, it handled far better than it felt like it should have, and had a bit more of the "screaming hp" when it was pushed above 4k. The tC on the other hand felt like it was sportier but in reality acted more refined. It had the mid-range punch from the higher torque, but didn't feel like it had the same stuff at the higher rpms. This was all fine for me, as I'm commuting 50 miles a day and doing road trips on the weekend. And it was 3k less than the Mazda3.

The best thing I can say about the xBox was that it wasn't as bad as I expeced. I was dreading the thought of driving it every day, as the 115 hp and the stock wheels were pretty pathetic. The gf wanted to check it out, as she liked the practicallity of it. Great... When I was test driving it, though, it handled much more like a car than my parents old minivan. Could almost forget the fact that I absolutely HATED the outside. The 5-speed helped, but didn't feel anywhere near as nice as the clutch/shifter in the tC, though.

This was the end of the first week, and then I left for Vegas for the industry wide tradshow, and my gf got quotes for a car loan, insurance, FICO scores, etc. Went back to the dealer on Sunday, they had two tCs in the lot, we settled on the Silver one, and then went through the hassle of trade-ins, APR rates, graduate program, etc. The no-haggle thing is nice, but was kind of a pain as far as the graduate rebate was offered. You can only get the rebate if you use Scion financial, and they could only offer 5.25% due to my gf's (incorrect) FICO score of 696. So ended up stating that we were going with our private lender which was 4.39%, and they ended up getting a different 3rd party to come in at 4.29. Freakin' hassle, and they just kept stating that they couldn't negotiate the Scion rate due to the no-haggle crap.

Then the financial guy (toyota) kept badgering us on both the alarm/etching for $700 or the extended warranty for $1300. Not exactly no-haggle anymore... Almost got to the point of standing up and asking why I should be buying this car when you're making it sound like it's going to completely fall apart in exactly 3 years and a day. Definitely did not appreciate the sales pressure, but after limping my trade-in to the dealer we picked up the tC yesterday. Exactly 2 weeks after my jeep died, and thankful that they had any color except for white or azure blue.

Overall pretty positive buying experience, and the car is a BLAST!!! Spoke to the Yakima guy and he said that they've got a rack all set up for it as well, so will soon have 2 bike racks on the roof and it'll be perfect. Mods are questionable as we're also saving for a house, but will have to see.

dante

PS - the Mazda guy was a douche. The two easiest ways to turn off a customer are a) implying that they can't afford it and b) lying about how hard the 3s are to keep in stock when there were half a dozen 04s sitting in the lot when the 05s are already out.

 

too long for a first post... :twisted:


some cliffnotes would be nice

 

Yea way to long os a post. I didn't read it but i'm guessing from the topic you got a new tC. Congrats.

 

interesting story i guess...... Congrats on the tC.

 

Seems to me that once the Scion salespeople hand you over to the Toyota financing people, you started having problems.

Anyways, congrats on a new tC. You're right about the fact that Mazda3 is very nice, but the dealership experience also turned me away. The salesperson there actually said that the "dealer adjusted" value of $3000 more on top of MSRP is to make the car sell faster. I asked him if he's sure a couple times and got the same answer.

Compared to other expensive cars, the tC may not shine, but within it's price range, definitely a good buy

 

ha, ooops, didn't look that long when I was writing it. work was boring. :twisted:

 

Congrats on your tC purchase. I love my SSM too. It is far more refined than any other car I've owned, but that should be no surprise considering I've only owned Fords before this.

 

was definitely surprised at the refinement, reminded me of the Accords and Preludes that I've driven. Anybody have a pic of a tC with a roof rack? Spoke with a Yakima guy before and after I purchased the tC, and the rack w/ fairing should be showing up shortly. Can't find any pics online... Will cover up the glass roof, but have to do something to transport 2 DH bikes.

 

great post. Wish there were more posts like that here...well done.

saw you tested the mazda3. That was on my shortlist, but reading about how great the tc is and how much the 3 was with comparable features made me put it at a distant 2....the only reason I would test drive it was if tc turned out to be a dud. Well, I still love my tc and I'm glad it looks like you made the same (although much more educated) decision.

 

dante, congratulations and welcome to the club. I hope you love your tC as much as I love mine.

 

Great post. (Those other guys are just cranky old men. )

I would be driving a Mazda3 today if I hadn't noticed an article on the tC while I was waiting for the Mazda3 that I wanted (Black SAB/5-speed/moonroof seems to be a universally difficult combination to get - yes, they have a lot in stock, just not the RIGHT ones). Sounds like you tested the 5-door, I was looking at the S sedan. Great car, but the tC really did it for me.

The Mazda guy was great, but if it weren't for salesman arrogance I might have been a Honda man for the past 10 years or so. Walked on the lot back in 94 looking to buy my first new car, and got treated like I didn't deserve a Civic. Oh well, their loss.