Still havn't heard back from a dealer yet on them having 5spds on the lot. As soon as I do I will be going to test drive one.

 

I had trouble finding a 5spd to drive when I bought mine.

I would call around and find another dealer that has one, you can always go back to the first dealer and buy it there since most likley your going to have to order it and wait at least a week anyways....no matter where you buy it.

 

oh about the mini cooper my grandfather owns one is a pain in the butt to get in and out of and im 5'10 and 17 , and it is expensive as a **** in maintnance. I havent gotten my tC yet, but ive run down the same list as you including a few more, and the tC comes out on top. Even to the new civic si. So wut limited slip ur not putting out that much power anywayz, 200 horsepower (get trd supercharger, and then call zpi), and with the 6 speed expect to be shifting like a **** if you wanna keep ur gas milage decent, if you kick vtec in ur going from 22 in the city to like 10-12. Go with the tC, I am.

 

it actually runs an i-vtec system. similar to our vvt-i. it doesnt "kick in" like honda's primitive standard vtec system, which acts like an on/off switch. i-vtec changes the settings based on a number of variables; throttle position, rpm, etc.

as i said in my post above, if the 06 Si were available last summer, i would have had a hard decision choosing between the two.

 

Well, luckily the Civic Si is not in my equation. 2X the insurance cost = teh suck!

 

it is??? they're so similar though. 2 dr, 4-5 seater, 4-cylinder, sub-compact, sport coupe. i wonder why the Si is twice as much?

 

Stolen/ broken into so often. So many people have Civics and they are so popular that people will rip anything and everything off of them. Thats also why I cant even look at an RSX...

 

wow. go for the scion then. its a really great car

 

I was able to test drive a 5spd tC at a dealership friday night. When I was done I told them lets go do the paperwork. Then I told them that I wanted the car in Flint Mica (sp?) and they said they didn't have any and wern't getting any in. I said ok, just order it then. They said they couldn't. Walked out and went to a different Scion dealer and asked if they could order one. Sure enough they could. So, again, I said lets do the paperwork. After asking if I wanted any extras I said just one, the supercharger. "Oh, thats not out yet" Pffft... the hell it isn't. "Oh, let me go check"... few minutes later. "We can get it, but you can't finance it with the car" (It actually does say this in the SC brochure, but there are people/dealerships that are doing it). So I tell him if we cant get it all in my loan then I'll find someplace that will and walk out. While outside I called up the other dealership to _____ them out about not being able to order what color I want. While on the phone the guy comes out and starts telling me that they can finance it IF I want to put some money down. I told him I had a car to trade in and thats the same thing as money down. Well, he was supposed to call me today and hasn't. I'll go over there after work to see what the deal is. What I was thinking last night after getting home was, I can finance the car throug the dealership, then have them BUY my car and turn around and give them that money back for the SC. I mean, that way I'm following Scions rules and still getting the SC.

Oh, just remembered, when he was telling me that the SC is 3250 (which I already knew) he said there was a 450 dollar adapter... I was like "Look, the TRD SC is MADE for the 5spd tC, there is NO adapter because it is MADE for this car" All he could say was that was what he was told.

If they aren't willing to do it then I'll go get the GTI. I had a blast driving that car and loved chirping 2nd gear in the car I drove... so no sweat off my back if they don't wanna work with me.

 

Just saying the VW dealers are really trying to move the GTI's to make room for the new MKV GTI's coming in Feb.

The GTI is more pricey than the tC and even though I own a 06 GLI now If price is your concern I'd recommend the tC. It's tough to beat for the money.

I had a 5 spd and enjoyed it quite a bit, did a lot of mods to it and it made the car look better and more individual each time.

I just was one of the unlucky ones who could not get the rear hatch rattle fixed to my satisfaction which is why I sold it. Some people here will say I had too high of an expectation of a car in this price range but, regardless it is the decision I made based on my level of tolerance.

Not all tC's have these issues but, you'll get the impression that they do because few people post a new topic with I have no rattles, they usually only chime in when someone posts a top about a rattle.

Given the choices you've presented the tC is your best bet. Not only from the initial cost but also, insurance. The premium on my tC was amazingly low (I'm also 30 so that might have something to do with it). I pre-paid the maintance so up-keep costs were a non issue for me.

If you're going to heavly mod the car one other thing to keep in mind is that the tC tuning scene is just getting started and there are few established tuners. With a euro car like the VW there are already many established tuning shops that have a history behiind them.

Right now (and then) TRD is the only aftermarket stuff I trusted to put on the car. It also had the advantage of NOT voiding your warranty.

Anyways, my two cents. In Sum, get the tC.

 

you can chirp 2nd pretty easy in the tC too. 3rd gear as well if you shift fast enough!

anyway, keep up the good work. dont let the dealerships walk all over you and dont take any of their BS. good luck!

 

Here is what has happened so far:

Tried to get the tC w/ SC. First problem I ran into is that they didn't want to do the financing of the SC w/ the car. I didn't want to pay out of pocket for it. Later I thought, well.. I'm trading in my car, why don't I do my trade in for the SC and do the financing for the car. I brought up the idea w/ the sales guy and he went for it. But, then he only wanted to give me what I owed on my car. We argued about it and I left. Later he calls me and tells me if I can find something on Kelly Blue Book or something like that showing I should get more for my car then he could work w/ me. Next day I checked online and found 2 Corollas that they were selling from the dealership, one had the exact same miles mine did, but they were selling it for 5 grand more than they offered me. I know they have to have a little room to come down, but still... they aren't going to lower the price 5k. So, I went back. Went thru it again, and walked out again. So, I've given up on a SC tC.

Drove to the VW dealership. They played a lot nicer than Scion. They dont have a black GTI w/ moonroof in stock anymore. According to them there is only 1 in the state. But, again I played tug of war w/ the price of my car and they just didn't see me getting the GTI at the price I wanted. They have a black GTI on the showroom floor that doesnt have a moon roof and they got the payments to 323 a month (I was shooting for an even 300). But, it doesnt have the moon roof. This was something I was REALLY looking forward to having. I'm somewhat up in the air over if I should get this or not. They lowered the price on the car and gave me more for my car... Its a little more than I was hopeing for w/ a little less than I was hoping for....

I think tomarrow I will go to Mazda and see what deal I can swing with them. I know I can get the GTI for 323 a month. I KNOW I can get a non-SC tC for just under 300 a month. I'm not sure yet about the Mazda 3s GT becuase I havn't had a chance to play hard ball yet.

Once again I'm somewhat up in the air over which one to go for. I like the speed and pep the GTI has, but I cant get it w/ a sunroof and its smaller than the other cars. I like the looks and style of the tC, and I LOVE the features the 3s GT has (leather, climate control, xenon headlights... blah blah blah).

 

Beware! Mazda 3=Ford. EeeeewwwwwwW!!! I looked at the Mazda 3. Actually, my choices were down to the tC and Mazda 3. But in the end, the features included on the tC just couldn't be beat. I got the color I wanted to. (On the Mazda 3, only certain colors came with certain packages! That's BS.) I also like the customization of the tC. This is the first whip I have modded. And I think my whip looks pretty good now. (It'll look much better after a few more mods.) You're in a tough situation, good luck in whatever decision you make!

 

Well, I hope I didn't get completely butt raped, but I am now the (future) proud owner of an 06 5spd NB tC! Got it at 300 a month for 72months, 6.9% financing (I have a 690 credit score, so I dunno how good that actually is). Don't know when it will get here as I just made the deal, but I cant wait.

 

Smart choice!! Congrats!!

 

Congrats. Another NB owner!

That's a fairly high finance rate, though... i got 4.9%... You have very good credit... Highest tier is 730+ i think. Might want to try to build that up a little bit and refinance later on.

 

You have a decent rate but you played right into the dealers hands bceuase you were shopping by payment and not by the price of the car.

 

I never told them what I wanted to pay. I said lets do the paperwork and they come out w/ 375 a month! I was like there is no way in hell I'm paying that. They were at 315 for the longest time and were not gonna budge. I dunno, maybe I did let something slip. What kinda payment should I have at 72 months?

 

Depends on how much you put down on it. I put down $4k on mine.. price was 18,160.. my monthly (60 month) is about $275, w/ 4.9% APR. Put less of a down payment, you have a higher payment, and vice versa.

 

My wife and I just bought two tCs on Saturday. Her credit is top notch, they dealer told her she was off the charts and easily get's their lowest apr, which was 6.15% for 60 months. That's a lower rate than the credit union we've been with for 10+yrs would give us.

Here's Toyota's Financing stuff:
Finance Rates 60mo / 63mo/ 66mo / 72mo Selling Price
Sign 'n Drive+ FICO 730+ 6.15 / 6.15 / 6.65 / 7.15 (%)
Sign 'n Drive FICO 690-729 6.30 / 6.30 / 6.80 / 7.30 (%)
Zone1+ FICO 730+ 6.15 / 6.15 / 6.65 / 7.15 (%)
Zone 1 FICO 690-729 6.30 / 6.30 / 6.80 / 7.30 (%)
Zone 2 FICO 650-689 7.15 / 7.15 / 7.65 / 8.15 (%)
Zone 3 FICO 620-649 11.15/ N/A / 11.65 / 12.15 (%)
Zone 4 FICO <620 14.05 / N/A / 14.55 / 15.05 (%)