I bought a new car (the "I wanna be like Gugs" thread)...

lurch70 said:
Greg I actually like some GMC trucks as well, but like you said, they are pigs, moving living rooms, no matter their size and fuel economy stinks.
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Actually, the new Terrain gets 31 MPG highway. I had two problems with the truck. One, it was a mess to drive. I felt like I could move the steering wheel nearly an inch or two before the car responded to it. Two, the brand. I may have been the only guy in the dealership who doesn't TiVo Glenn Beck.

lurch70 said:
The reviews on the Tiguan have been positive since it came out, mostly for driving feel. Surprising you liked it as it is based on the Jetta platform.
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I had been pretty unhappy with the Jetta. But mostly, it was the aesthetics. I hated those throwback cloth seats, with the same pattern that they used in the first Jetta. And I hated the color white. The GLI was only available in a limited number of colors. And among those they could actually get a hold of, white was the best of the lot. For what it's worth, the only commonality between the Jetta and the Tiguan is the engine, which I was always happy with.

lurch70 said:
Nissan, i laugh how you always want some sort of vehicle in their lineup but realize it is serious ass. I mean really, besides the Z and GT-R I don't think they have a car i would do a double take on.
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I also like the Altima Coupe, it looks like a G37. However, you were right all along; those CVT transmissions are goat awful.

Overall killler deal on the lease ... I saw on their website they have 0 down
lurch70 said:
/ $279/month deals on the Tiguan S ... tempting as i could cut my car payment in almost half and pocket 3-4K from the sale of the Clubman (since I am not upside down) and be driving something new ... but not now.
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Just curious... have you done the math? So, if you'd lose $3K on the Clubman, would you save $5K in car payments?
 
Just curious... have you done the math? So, if you'd lose $3K on the Clubman, would you save $5K in car payments?
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haven't done any math yet, but I would pocket around $3K on the Clubman sale ... still owe 12.5 but could sell it for around 15-16

btw, i really liked the idea of your sales guy to let you go comparison shopping with the Tiguan.
 
lurch70 said:
btw, i really liked the idea of your sales guy to let you go comparison shopping with the Tiguan.
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Yeah... it's a smart move, especially if you have the better product. He and a fellow VW salesmen all but laughed at the idea of buying a Nissan Rogue. I think their exact words were, "Spend five minutes driving that and you'll come screaming back here."

By the way, my salesman also made a point of showing me this video. It's a not a VW promotional video, but it might as well be. The video is actually about the forthcoming launch of a new roof strength test for cars, from the Insurance Institute for Highway Saftey.

 
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lurch70 said:
that's pretty damn impressive.
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It is. My VW salesman was explaining to me, that most American and Japanese car companies build cars to pass safety tests, and VW builds them to be safe. Given what I know about VW, this seems to hold water. He also pointed out, that there's a great deal a variability within the ranges these agencies use for their ratings. So for instance, when the IIHS gives a car a top score of "Good", there may be a very wide range between the top performer which earned that score at the bottom performer which earned the same score. It's why they also release a list of their "Best Picks".

EDIT: I would not be happy if I was driving a Kia Sportage. And to illustrate the point above... the Kia Sportage was in fact awarded the IHSS' highest rating of "Good".
 
car salesmen *rolls eyes*
They always make me cringe because they're just regurgitating whatever a corporate instructional video told them to say. They know literally NOTHING about the engineering behind their product. Someone could jokingly explain the car is powered by a nuclear reactor and that's what they'd tell potential buyers.
 
dorian gray said:
car salesmen *rolls eyes*
They always make me cringe because they're just regurgitating whatever a corporate instructional video told them to say. They know literally NOTHING about the engineering behind their product. Someone could jokingly explain the car is powered by a nuclear reactor and that's what they'd tell potential buyers.
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Mainly, I agree with you. With all the information available on the net, their role is pointless. That said, the two VW salesmen knew their product. Did they know it better then some hardcore gearhead? No. But they knew it significantly better than others sales people I've dealt with.
 
heh! Those "others" sound like there might be some funny stories attached to the experience. Share some?
 
dorian gray said:
heh! Those "others" sound like there might be some funny stories attached to the experience. Share some?
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Not really funny... more just incompetent. For instance, when I showed up at the Nissan dealership and told them what test model I wanted to drive, the salesman pulled a model to the front and handed me the key. He didn't say a word. Didn't tell me anything about the car... nothing.

When I went to GMC, I test drove the car, came back and told them it simply didn't measure up to the VW Tiguan. The saleswoman said she understood my preference and initially let it go. However, she caught up to us on the way out, and said her manager "insisted she ask us if we might be interested in an Cadillac Escalade". I was somewhat bewildered. I came in and asked to drive a $30K car that gets 31 MPGs and they tried to sell me a $70K car that gets "up to" 13 City MPG. I mean, I've heard of upselling, but that's retarded.
 
einride said:
well okay. i occasionally drive a friend's 1991 945 (that's the actual model number of the 940 wagon fyi) and it is SLOW AS ALL FUCK. also my girlfriend's 1990 745. nothing happens when you press the gas. now sure, not the turbo engine (probably the smallest engine actually) but my lasting impression of all volvos i've driven is it's like driving a particularly boxy tractor. my AUDI 5000 wagon (which was a direct competitor to the 740/940) is so much more responsive and comfortable it is ridiculous, and it is also a large car with a dinky 1,8l 88hp engine

so, well, yep. have you considered SAAB 9000 if you want to drive a swedish car that is less boring
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going to look at a saab 9-3 today. my boss said he would spot me money for a car, so that's good. one question to sweden: why the fuck do you make cars that are awful in the snow? rear-wheel drive boats like the 940 wagon are ABSOLUTELY terrible in any sort of snow/ice/rain. you would think that it would be the opposite. i have had my car slide and get stuck in about an inch of mud on a perfectly sunny day.
anyway, you're right. they feel exactly like a tractor. mine can be swift due to the turbo, but its just a clunky bitch.

lurch- no, she definitely had a white tiguan. must have been 2008 or 2009 then. weird, seems like years ago that she had it. my grandmother was sick so my mom was driving back and forth to new hampshire like every day. she put close to 45k on it in a year and the thing definitely started to fall apart even though it was meticulously maintained. very very smooth ride at first and then it just rapidly went downhill. just saying... shouldnt be a problem when leasing a new car.
 
When I went to GMC, I test drove the car, came back and told them it simply didn't measure up to the VW Tiguan. The saleswoman said she understood my preference and initially let it go. However, she caught up to us on the way out, and said her manager "insisted she ask us if we might be interested in an Cadillac Escalade". I was somewhat bewildered. I came in and asked to drive a $30K car that gets 31 MPGs and they tried to sell me a $70K car that gets "up to" 13 City MPG. I mean, I've heard of upselling, but that's retarded.
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most of these salespeople (and especially managers) at these American car dealers are fucking clueless product pushers.

my favorite was years ago when my friend was looking to trade in his Dodge RAM for a new one and his salesman told him that carpeting was extra. I asked him, "you mean mats?" ... "no, carpeting" ... "so, the truck now comes with a bare metal floor?" .... "yes"

i had to leave as my fists were clenching.
 
lol @ the carpeting story
The main thing that makes me laugh about car salepeople is that they act like they're selling something really important and that if you're not buying into their bullshit, they have a line of people just busting down the door to get at their depreciating asset
(this may actually be true in some cases hahaha but that just means people are sheep)
 
MFJ said:
one question to sweden: why the fuck do you make cars that are awful in the snow? rear-wheel drive boats like the 940 wagon are ABSOLUTELY terrible in any sort of snow/ice/rain.
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do you use good studded snow tires from december through april because if you don't, you're doing it wrong

this is required by law in sweden (well technically any tire that bears an M/S designation is legal but only people who want to get themselves killed use studless tires) so a swedish car is going to be built with that in mind

the 740/940 series was considered very safe by the standards of the time, and is still a very common car in the countryside here, especially with hunters and other outdoorsy folks who often need to drive on forest dirt roads and through snow etc. so they do work in snow, y'all must be doing something wrong. my experience is that these cars are pretty prone to skidding if you drive recklessly, but that otherwise they do fairly well
 
that's some good info, thanks erik. i mean i shouldn't complain. i have driven this car for 6 winters and i haven't had any serious problems (knock wood) besides getting it stuck a few times. funny story. one time my friend left my house after we were drinking some beers at like 3am (bad idea - stay in school, say no to drugs). it was snowing a bit and he for some reason decided to take a foresty back-road to his house to avoid traffic encounters. he calls me like 15 minutes after the departure and proceeds to explain how he accidentally drove his car up on a boulder and that he needs a ride. i didn't understand at the time, but when i got to him, his car was literally driven up diagonally on top of a 6 foot tall rock just a bit off the road. after a bit of "WAT..." from me, he got in and my car was stuck immediately in the snow/ice on the side of the road. we tried FURIOUSLY for about 90 minutes to get it out by any means possible but we totally failed. had to call his mom for a ride, and it was not a fun way as she was definitely already a cunt in my book. anyway, he was driving an s60 and it only did like $400.00 worth of damage hahaha. the s60 is also a fucking snow beast. moral of the story- don't drive in the snow if you don't really have to, or else your dad will have to tow your ass out with a huge Jeep
 
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