sofakng

It's finally time for me to get a new car and I'm leaning heavily towards the 2005 Scion tC. Everybody I talk to loves the way they look and (almost) everything I read says what an awesome car it is.

Right now I'm driving a 1995 Eagle Talon TSi (w/123k miles, car is starting to have problems but it runs good and has brand new tires). According to KBB it's worth about $2000 as a trade-in, but the last dealer (Volkswagon) said it was only worth $600 (I had an AWFUL experience at the VW dealer though...)

So, this weekend I'm going to take a ride to my local Scion dealer and see what kind of deal I could get using my car as a trade-in. Do they haggle prices at all? Will I be able to get a good deal by talking to them?

Also, Do they offer 0% APR or any other kind of financing deals? Unfortunately I don't have any money to use as down payment but I'm still living at home (getting married next year though!) so I will be (hopefully) making large monthly payments (~$700/month).

If they don't offer any good financing deals, should I wait several months before buying the car? Right now I drive 60 miles each day to work but this will be changing next year (in the summer). So I'm just wondering if I should save up some money (for a down payment) and beat on my current car so I don't put a lot of miles on a new 2005 Scion tC....

What do you all think I should think?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

sofakng

It's not AWD, just front-wheel drive...

Well, it's a couple of small(ish) problems plus one some-what big problem:
* Oil is beginning to leak (very little but still...)
* Right-door handle doesn't work from the outside
* Moonroof sometimes leaks when it rains outside... (its rare though)
* Needs at least one new front wheel bearing

Otocan

with the scion pure pricing you don't need to worry about when to buy it, they don't do "deals" you get the same price anywhere but the things scion dealers do haggle on is APR if done by the dealer (toyota financing has set APR rates) trade-in value on the vehicle and labor for anything you need done to it

if you want the honest truth in your situation, I would say to wait until the 2006 model of the tC comes out (probably in June since the tC was released in June) and drive your car like it is now - but whether you get it now or later you'll most likely have to wait for it without question, I waited literally 3 weeks for a manual Flint Mica with side airbags (one of the hardest to get) and I got lucky, some people have been waiting months... my dealer quoted me at 8-12 weeks

if you wait the aftermarket support will pick up, TRD will have released their supercharger (crosses fingers) and any little bugs in the model would probably be worked out (the specific rattle problems, maybe any paint issues, 6th gear(yeah right) and anything else everyone is complaining about) I've had my tC since the 10th of November and just broke 1000 miles (1050 now) and not a single problem at all, cept somebody slamming into my car in a parking lot causing $3000 in damages, but that's a different story.

Otocan

with the scion pure pricing you don't need to worry about when to buy it, they don't do "deals" you get the same price anywhere but the things scion dealers do haggle on is APR if done by the dealer (toyota financing has set APR rates) trade-in value on the vehicle and labor for anything you need done to it

if you want the honest truth in your situation, I would say to wait until the 2006 model of the tC comes out (probably in June since the tC was released in June) and drive your car like it is now - but whether you get it now or later you'll most likely have to wait for it without question, I waited literally 3 weeks for a manual Flint Mica with side airbags (one of the hardest to get) and I got lucky, some people have been waiting months... my dealer quoted me at 8-12 weeks

if you wait the aftermarket support will pick up, TRD will have released their supercharger (crosses fingers) and any little bugs in the model would probably be worked out (the specific rattle problems, maybe any paint issues, 6th gear(yeah right) and anything else everyone is complaining about) I've had my tC since the 10th of November and just broke 1000 miles (1050 now) and not a single problem at all, cept somebody slamming into my car in a parking lot causing $3000 in damages, but that's a different story.

Pete

If you're going to get married and move out next year, you seriously need to be putting money away. Keep the Talon for now.

dante

you say you don't have any $$ to put down, but you live at home. if you can make $700/month payments, put that aside for a down payment. If you can scrape together another $600 somewhere, that's $2k without even figuring the trade-in. Then sell your car (figure at least $2k from a private sale), and you've got $4k and your payments will be like $250/month. I'd be *real* careful abuot saddling yourself up with high car payments, weddings cost $$$ plus I doubt you'll be living with your parents after you get married...

edit: btw, doubt 2006 tC will be out in June. If there's a "release" (there wasn't one for the xA/xB), it'll be in aug/sept like everything else. the early release was just b/c its a new line.

sofakng

Well, here's some additional information...

Apparantly front wheel bearings cost $300 per tire (for my '95 Eagle Talon), so the car needs at least $600 worth of work. If I don't do this the car won't last more than another month or two. On top of that, my car is already leaking oil and I forgot to mention that it needs half of a gallon of anti-freeze every two/three weeks. (e.g. it has lots of problems)

Also, it's important to note that I'm extremely lucky in the fact that my parents and my fiance's parents are paying the wedding 100%. This means I don't have to save up for it (or worry about it).

So with all that said, I either need to put at least $600 into my current car (even though it's only possibly worth $600, hopefully it's worth more though), or seriously start looking at a new car before this one dies.

Do you think I should put the money into my current car and wait before buying a new one?

basilisk4

If your Talon can make it a few more months, I recommend saving your butt off for a few months -- try to save up $4,000-$5,000 or more -- you'll be glad you did once you start making payments, and you'll be able to select a shorter loan term (36 or 48 months). And waiting a few more months won't make a whole lot of difference in the value of your Talon.

silverstarsciontc

You can find use TC's already and save $2-3k. That also maybe a good option for you.

Pete

Man, the price of that wedding is a tiny down payment on the price of the marriage. Save your cash; the Talon's problems sound minor.

blackpearlTC

buy the '05 now, the '06 may be priced higher due to the crazy demand of this car.

Otocan

no way on earth scion will raise the price on the car because of the demand..... that's just retarted

if they raised the price it'd make the entire point of scion ridiculous, the tC is an awesome car for the money, but not for over $20,000 - love what you have and thank scion for it, if they raise the price they'll be scratching their head when the pre-orders they've been getting suddenly dissapear

I still say wait, save till you have about $5000 in down payment combined with your trade and you'll thank yourself later... $16,465 + 1500 tax, tag, title, misc minor options etc minus $5000 down is about $14,000 @ 60mo = $230/mo - 48mo is $287/mo and you'll never be upside down on the payments and won't need GAP insurance.....

sofakng

Everybody who is suggesting I save up before buying the tC, you do know that my car needs at least $600 in repairs plus I have to hope the car's oil leaking problem doesn't get worse. I'm just afraid the car might not last more than a couple of months and the way I see it, is that $600 of repairs = two months worth of car payments on the new tC.

I'm not just trying to convince myself to buy the tC now (instead of waiting)... I'm just a little unsure about spending a lot of money (eg. $600 = the total value of the car) on a car that I'm not even sure will last me more than a month or two.

Guest

Buy a Mazda 3 --- much better car.

Otocan

forum troller, dismiss that please

well, if your current car has a problem that needs attention you're going to have to wait no matter what, like I said, I got severly lucky and got my car in three weeks, some people have been waiting months for their car, so even if you try and get one now it'll probably be a while till you actually get the car

and wheel bearings costing 300 per tire is really, really high even though I know absolutely nothing about how much it should normally cost, that just sounds ridiculous, I'd shop around for a while about getting it repaired, maybe take it in and see if anyone will do a free estimate on why it's leaking oil/requiring too much coolant and/or the bearings

so in your current position, you'll be waiting for a tC regardless unless you get lucky (lottery winning lucky) so I would put a deposit on one and see how long your current car lasts, if it'll last you longer than you expected, or you can get the work done for pretty cheap then get your deposit back and wait till you save up, otherwise try and get a good deal on your trade-in and take the tC as soon as they can get it in - if you decide not to get it, don't feel bad at all, it'll be off their lot in days anyways

purpled_out_tC

-Depending on where you live, look into the public transit system (some cities it's pretty good)--montly passes for the bus and trolley in san diego cost about $55 or bumming a ride from family, friends, and co-workers
-If this is the case, I say sell the car as is, get what you can get for it. Put in your order as soon as you figur out the road you'd like to take 'cause tCs are on ridiculous backorder. I been waiting a little over a month for my azure pearl, 5spd, w/SAB.
-Anyway save up ANY extra money to have a max down payment
-Also (if you can), getting a loan from a credit union may not be a bad idea

btw, imo it sounds as if you've already made you're decision and you want someone to support it. nothing wrong with that, i just pointing out

basilisk4

^^^ That's what I say as well. The second option there (48 months) is the way to go. I understand not wanting to put $600 into an older car that's barely worth that much, though. If you think you're disciplined enough to actually do this, you could put down your deposit on a new tC right now, save up as much as you can before your car comes in, and just WAY overpay at the beginning of the term. In other words, if you can only put a couple thousand down, you can just make double payments (or more) for the first several months you own the car, and then drop back to smaller ones. You'll end up paying the car off more quickly and paying much less interest -- it will be almost the same effect as putting more down initially.

Hope that made sense.

P.S. The Mazda 3 is either way overpriced or way underequipped compared to the tC, depending on which version you choose. You can get a much crappier version of the 3 and it would only be about $1,000 less than the tC, or you could get a 3 with the same options that come as standard equipment on the tC for about $3,400 more. This is evident from Mazda's website (www.mazdausa.com). That, and everyone I know who has driven both the tC and the 3 has preferred the tC.

dante

ha, I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but check out the mazda3 anyway... [duck]

I test drove both of them, and while I wasn't as impressed with the 3 as I was with the tC, it still drove extremely well and was considered (before the tC came out) to be an amazing value. If you can find an 04 that a dealer's dying to get rid of, might be an option... still think you should get the tC, but test drive as much as you can and make up your own mind.

as for the wait for the tC, if you're not picky about color or SAB, they're pretty available, at least here in the NE. my jeep died on me so we couldn't be picky, my gf and I said a) 5-speed, b) don't care about SAB and c) *any* color except white or pearl. The great thing about the cars is that they come stock from the factory so you can get an ordinary stock one without too much trouble. The other cars on other lots had stuff we didn't want/need, like 18s, 6-disc changer, etc that pushed the "value" car from 17k to 19,500. So much for a nice cheaper car... :?

good luck, you're in the same boat as I was a couple months ago and I look forward to driving the tC every day, commuting's become much MUCH more fun.

basilisk4

One of the problems with the 3 is the way they package the options -- for example, you can only get the moonroof (and not a panoramic moonroof, in any event) if you get the "Moonroof & 6-CD Package" for $890. Since I have no interest in paying a cent for a crappy generic 6-disc changer (which still doesn't play MP3 files), this package would suck for me. Likewise, ABS is an OPTION on the 3, and is packaged with side airbags (which I didn't want to pay for). You'll also pay extra for 17" alloys which, in my honest opinion, don't hold a candle to the beautiful ones that come standard on the tC.

sofakng

That's exactly what I'm leaning towards. Let's say I have to wait a month before receiving the tC. In that time I can save up $1000 (or so). Then when the car comes in, I will pay $1000 per month for about 5 months. Thats means that I should have $6000 + $1500 (trade-in) = $7500 paid on the car before I will have to start making regular monthly payments (eg. $250/$300).

Does that sound like a good idea? ...or does it still make more sense to put the $600 into my Talon and save up before buying the tC? Also, if I plan on making big payments, wouldn't I still take out the loan for 5 years?

Don't get me wrong, I obviously want the best route financially, but I'm just unsure of how long this Talon is going to last me. I'd even like to keep it for 4 months just so the 60 miles a day that I drive doesn't get put on the brand new tC (eg. once I move into my own place in 7 or so months I'll only be driving maybe 20 miles a day at most instead of the 60 I drive everyday now.) However I'd hate like heck to invest lots of money into my Talon only to see the car die in another month or two and then I'm SOL.