jkonquer

Hello
i just want to introduce myself to scionlife.com community.
i use to own a 2001 toyota celica gt-s and now i have 2005 subaru sti. I mainly bought the sti for track and autoxing use as well as my old celica. They both are great car and now that i own a sti, i need a sporty car that gets great gas mileage and fun at the same time. I thought of other cars like rsx, mazda 3, civic and it seems like scion tc is the way to go! best bang for the buck! and one of the nicest cars under 20k.

I just have few questions before i buy tc....
-how much are u guys buying your scion for? invoice price? lower?
-how do you like your car? would you do it again if you had the choice?
-hows the actual gas mileage? i know the scion.com says over 30, but i want to know actualy mileage.
-any good dealer in socal? that carries lot of tc's?
-and finally, which options do you think its a must?

thank you so much for reading this, and hopely i'll buy tc someday

thanks
-jae

jkonquer

also hows the insurance on these?
also what's the difference between spec and normal one?

BigMURR

I bought mine 18860 and the insurance with my three speeding tickets is about 320

(240 monthly car payments)

Overall nice car for the price though it's nothing like that sti you lucky a$$.

the car is much better than my old civic, the gas mileage could be better but is still good for only paying about 32 to fill up. about 27 to 28 hwy mpg

BigMURR

the spec does not have the moon roof just the three windows and hubcaps not rims oh and no cruise control I think that is just about the only difference.

personally I wouldnt get it.

BigMURR

oh yes don't get any options, really you can save a lot more money buying the same parts after the fact. The price I listed was entirely stock.

jkonquer

thanks for the input,
yes im planning on getting the basic with sunroof and cruise control. so would you say insurance is fairly cheap?
i remember on my celica was very expensive for what it is.

Yanki01

mine was $19,300.

it turns some heads, i would buy again if i had to.

i get about 22-24mpg. both city/hwy

???

the only option i would get is the lip kit and lip spoiler. Just so you wont have to drill anything yourself. Other than that you can find everything else cheaper!

p.s.- i pay $135/month for insurance!

CuRiOuSfIsH

Mine came to 19,xxx after taxes and I got side curtain airbags. You cant get 1 at invoice due to Scion's pure price policy. Gas milleage is get around 27-28 with mixed driving but I dont get on the gas too often. Cars such as RSX-S and S2K can obtain around the same gas milleage. HP to gas milleage trade off not the greatest.
Honestly, I rather have a GT-S than the tC. I would not buy this car again if I had that choice. The car does not have much sporting characteristics. By the time you spend the $ for the tC to handle or respond as well as the GT-S, the tC wont seem like such a good deal anymore.
I rather get a Mazda 3. Doesnt look as good, but has more usable space and is just as fast on the straights and handles better.... this is judging from the fact that you already have a weekend warrior. Only problem with that is the aftermarket choices are less.
tC is definately is a good buy in terms of bang for the buck even at MSRP..... but if youre not so much into the looks, enjoy good handling, dont want an engine to run out of steam at 5xxx RPM, need more space, look elsewhere.

shifty_capone

I paid $17,024 for a stock 2007 Black Cherry Pearl tC. It came with the standards, pw/pl/sunroof, all the regular stuff. I pay $387 a month, and $201 for insurance. I'd say it was kind of an impulse buy, but after I test drove it, I was hooked.

Bottom line, you're buying a car that not everyone and their dog has. Ask yourself this: how many people in your area own a Civic? How many own an STi? Now how many own a Scion tC? I still get people asking me WTF a Scion is!

jkonquer

so you would rather buy mazda 3 over this car?

jkonquer

hehe, i personally see more tc than new civic in my area or any other area. and rarely see sti. but that's just me i guess.

by the way, how did you get your car for so cheap? i thought scion was pure price

shifty_capone

Scion is pure price. That was the sticker. I guess I failed to mention what I ACTUALLY paid...lol.

After financing and rolling over what I owed on my Cavalier, it was $19,075. Still, not bad. The tC has everything I want in a car, so it's perfect for me.

kdog_1981

too many mazdas on the road!

stefPap1120

I got my 2006 BCP Manual w/ Scion Security, Floor Mats (Both options not really needed, but car was on the lot, and I like the all-in-one key rather than separate remote) and I got side curtain airbags total with taxes (NY) came to $18,004 making monthly payments (60month, $8000 down) of $227

Oh yeah and don't buy the SPEC, not worth it.....

CuRiOuSfIsH

mm.... yeah, I think I would. Mazda 3 is a less suspecting car. I was looking at the Mazda 3 hatch before the tC but wanted to give 2 door cars a try.
IMO, the tC without F/I is just a looker. It has decent acceleration but nothing that will compare to an Sti. If youre main goal is just to commute around and dont have too much to carry the tC may be for you.
Some folks feel the 2AZ has great potential. Although I'm not an engineer, I feel the 2AZ is a rather ordinary everyday engine. There is nothing special about it nor does it show signs of sporty character.
Oh, I live in NYC, I see atleast 2 tC's a day and they are usually stock.
IMO, enthusiasts may want to look elsewhere if youre looking to a sporty car.

locondcoco

total after taxes? $16,800 (saved on taxes due to end-of-lease trade)
of course.
i'm averaging around 27mpg (75% hwy, 25% city), but on road trips, with it cruised at around 75, you'll see over 30mpg's easy.
i'll agree with yanki, lip spoiler and lip kit. and springs if you can afford it too. but dont do it at the dealer like i did, wasted WAYYYYY too much $$$.

oh, and insurance, in NY, about $800 for 6 months, which i guess comes out to about $130/month. (1 accident, a few speeding tx, but none in the last 3 years. whoo hoo!).

jkonquer

^^man insurance is little expensive like my old celica.

chazm

Are you serious. When I owned my G everone complained that their were too many on the road and I only saw about 1 a day. I see ATLEAST 4-5 tc's a day.

JKonquer~ I don't think scion advertises over 30mpg, i think its something like 22city/28hwy but people have gotten over 30. I use to own a GTS too, you can expect around the same MPG.

When you say basic I assume you mean NOT the spec t? If so, they already come with the sunroof and cruise.

If you get the regular tc with no options you can expect to pay just over $17k if you add a spoiler or lip spoiler like i did I think it was $17.5k....I wouldn't add anything extra from the dealer.

Go to www.trdsparks.com to get cheaper dealer options. For instance, the dealer will charge you $155 for a 5 piece floor mat. You can get a 4 piece from sparks (who needs extra carpet in the trunk) for $78. Other aftermarket products can be found all over the scionlife site.

jkonquer

so this is what i got so far.
-around 17-18 OTD price
-around 27 mpg
-don't get spec(i just want power everything and sunroof and etc. just no dvd/navi )
-scion is very slow?
-high insurance

anymore pros and cons?
i personally just best quality that 20k can buy. as long as car feels good and quality is there, speed is not a big deal for me

CuRiOuSfIsH

quality...... hm..... I think the xA and xB are built better. The tC has a bunch of rattles everywhere and some folks on here dare call it the "rattle trap" car. tC is not really slow, mid 7 seconds 0-60..... I call that adequate in today's HP craze.
Pro's if you leave it close to stock and not spend too much $$ outside of tires, brakes, and maintenance, it's car that will last a long time.