Right, exactly. I didn't actually test drive the Mazda 6 because I had crossed it off my list. Don't get me wrong, everything I hear about Mazda's is they really do have a sporty factor to their drive. But I wasn't enamored with exterior design, the comparable Mazda 6 got worse gas mileage, cost a little more, and I believe the new engine they are coming out with on the 3 will transition over to the 6 soon, no... the SkyActive or whatever it's called. It might have been a fine option, but not what I narrowed it down to. Yoyo... I've seen those emblems online...I'm sure I could switch and switch back... it probably increases the car's value, really. That said, I'm not too crazy about aftermarket stuff like that anyway.
Glad you opted for the Optima. It's a sweet looking car...we parked next to one in our similarly-trimmed '08 Accord and I was jealous. Good choice!
Passat: http://www.edmunds.com/volkswagen/passat/2012/reliability.html?style=&sub=sedan Optima: http://www.edmunds.com/kia/optima/2012/reliability.html?style=&sub=sedan
No, it's not, unless you plan on replacing your couch every 3 years. In my case, I may buy at the end of the lease, which would be a more applicable comparison. HOWEVER, with that option, it's basically as-if I'm getting a free option to purchase the car, in 3 years...if I want. It's not entirely free... there is a VERY small finance charge factored in the lease payment. But it's like 0.1%. And there are a few other minor fees... but none that wouldn't otherwise have associated with financing. So, "effectively"... it is a free option. The only downside is if the car actually depreciates much faster than buy-out price in the lease. If that's the case, I am content with not buying this particular car, and having driven a car for 3 years, at a much lower monthly cost than had I financed an out-right purchase. When I am making a purchase that I know will be for a longer hold, I will buy. If these options were available on furniture, than you probably should take it. But you don't see that type of lease available on furniture often because it's hard to put terms around its use (i.e., I can't drive more than 12k miles a year... would you limit the amount of times you could sit on the couch). Moreover, they are generally lower priced items. And, as noted, with the exception of some higher end electronics, have much longer shelf lives. That said, the rent-to-own furniture business, which principally caters to low end furniture and lower income households, is a huge business.
The I4 has 2.5 liters of displacement and 167hp. When I bought my 95 626 it was a v6 2.5L and like 140hp. Right now I am driving a Toyota 4runner but by year's end I will trade in for a midsize car, and I must admit my previous experience witht he Mazda 626 makes me biased towards the redesigned Mazda6. Of course I enjoy reading threads like these, so keep us updated OP.
The optima has 200 horsepower out their normal 4 and 274 hp out of their turbocharged version while getting about the same gas mileage as the Mazda6.
Hey Jay, Congrats on the new car....I am actually in the debate of buying or leasing rite now....If you dont mind me asking, how much did u have to down payment and pay per month? Thx
dude you live in austin, nobody cares about the brand of car you drive. it's not how you get there, it's where you're going! how much is it to lease an audi a4?
I'm liking it great. As I noted, I do not drive a ton. I only live 3-5 miles from work, and I work form home a couple times a week if I can. On the weekends we typically take the wife's car. In short, I likely won't come close to my 12k mile per year limit on the lease. That said, I've driven it plenty, and enough to form a solid opinion. All the positives that I posted about multiple times in the thread remain. I could list them out again, but no need. In interest of being fair, a couple of negatives. 1: Passenger seat does not appear to be power up and down. It has power, but not up and down. My wife is only 5'4 and she's mentioned she could use a booster seat! 2: The reviews stated it can feel a little loose, and I'd agree, it does. It's definitely not a Porsche or BMW. But then, I don't drive a ton. Moreover, I think half of the "loose-ness" is just getting reacquainted with a front-wheel drive, which just drives different. Straight-line speed is great, mind you. It's just a little loose in road grip. 3: Sight-lines can be a little limited. Must consider I came from a mid-sized SUV. I was used to huge windows, large side and rear-view mirrors. This is the opposite. It's the sportier small mirrors, and the windows aren't huge vertically, so just taking a bit to get used to how I look in my mirrors and in my blind spot. I have not paid a lot of attention to the mileage, though am happy there. Fit and finish remain solid. This can come down to your personal credit. Assuming you have decent credit, you should be able to get a lease for $0 down, or very little. As I explained earlier in the thread, don't look at a lease any different as you would a purchase. You should be negotiating the price of the car. After you've narrowed down that price, they calculate the monthly payment off your down-payment and some small finance charges - with Kia it wasn't 0%, but it was close. Meaning, you could put down $0 or you could put down $5000, and if you have good credit and they want your business, they shouldn't care, as they'll just calculate monthly payment from there (and collect a little more interest/finance charge if you put less down). So, I got the turbo package with all the options but only a couple of the accessories for just under $29k. I put a couple thousand down. But I got big check back because I was trading in my SUV. Kia offered me $2k more than any other non-private sale buyer (i.e. more than CarMax, more then the VW and Hyundai dealers, etc.). The only thing I now have to somewhat cross my fingers on is the resale value. I have a purchase option at the end of the lease. I am hopeful resale value will continue to improve. If so, I will be in a great position to buy the car, whether I want to keep driving it or not. Because since I put so few miles on it, my car may actually be worth more than the purchase option at that point, which is based on a person putting the 12k annual miles on it. I'll probably only do half that.
Jay, when you say 'big check back', did you really get a check/cash for your trade or did it go straight towards the new car as credit?
I had similar problems going from my Ford Ranger to Civic Hybrid. I imagine it is a problem in general with small cars.
Since I'm leasing, I got a check. I traded in my SUV. They gave me $26k for it. I took $2k and put it towards my lease. I got a check for $24k. I'm leasing my car for three years, with the lease payments based off my $2k downpayment and just under $29k base price of the car. Alternatively I could have simply bought the car outright and come out of pocket a few thousand given my trade-in. But since (i) the finance charge in the lease was so low (varies by dealer, by person leasing, but I think you can find a lot of 0% or near leases these days), and (ii) since I drive so little, and (iii) find my self tempted by new cars regularly (every 3-5 years), and (iv) wasn't comfortable actually purchasing a Kia yet, I decided to lease. Like I said, if my car is actually worth more than my purchase option when my lease is up, even if I'm on to the next car, I'll just go ahead and buy it and then sell it to a 3rd party and pocket the difference. In truth, I don't think this will happen, but I'm hopeful
