dom

Thanks DEI, I'll keep that in mind. Looks like I can always depend on family



And stop whoring up my thread you two. Its get locked when I buy the car, which may not be until next April

dzuy

troutslap , hehe.

how come you dont consider a honda oddessey? a crv isn't that big inisde.

dom

CR-V has plenty of space, not close to Ody spce but enough. And the Ody is too much $$$

DEI99662

Not a problem, but if you need a loan, I wont be able to assist you with that.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

However, I'm sure Stokeless's girl could...

dom

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

What...she's a loan officer. Actually, come to think of it, 21_in_AZ might be able to help along those lines too.

jcg878

please say I've read the last of that :gheyfight:

dom

Any thoughts on the Ford Focus ZX5?

Cash deal on now $17,888 which works out to about 22K on the road. 3 k less than the Matrix that has less features.

The Ford comes equipped with.

AT/ AC / Pwr Win/locks/ CD/ ABS / Steering wheel mounted audio / Leather wrapped wheel / 16" Alloys / Heated Seats / Traction Control

The Matrix doesn't have any of those options save AC and CD and it costs more at 25K

majormojo

Yes. You clearly underestimated my Jedi powers. :P

Whiskers

Hmmmm. Ford vs Honda.....Hmmmm, a Honda or a Ford.......

dom

Its not a wagon, its a Hatchback !!


So what do you think?

majormojo

Po-tay-to, po-tah-to. You said the Mazda P5/3Sport was too small, isn't the ZX5 about the same size? Anyway, assuming the ZX5 has enough room for you, it seems a nice enough little car. I like the looks and C/D seems to like the Focus quite a bit. I've never driven or been in one, so I really don't know about performance, but I have it on good authority that an empty ZX5 can take a TSX loaded down with passengers.

Reliabilty and longevity would be my main concerns. Unfortunately as we all know the C/D 10Best list doesn't in any way take into account long-term ownership issues. I really don't know what the real-world reliability stats are like for the Focus.

dom

Focus reliability has been dreadful from what I kmow. But apparently they've turned it around. They decided to skip an all new Focus (Mazda 3 platform) and instead stay with and revise the current one simply because they finally got reliability right and all the kinks worked out, or so I've heard.

The cars MSRP is 24.5K , for 22K on the road its a hella of a value.

BTW - Its bigger than the Protege 5, not sure about the M3 or Matrix though. Might go see it tonight.

DEI99662

My only thought is it is a Ford. Enough said.

DEI99662

It has/is been dreadful and thats why I wouldnt even consider any Ford vehicle.



I dont know about that. And what I have read, the safety marks arent that good.

I wouldnt even bother. Just be patient couz, a CR-V will come along soon.

dom

I know, I know.

Well I found another CR-V this morning. It was an 02 with 46,000km. The picture looked like a EX-L as the bumpers were body color and the price was $21,500 taxes in I said.

So I looked alittle closer and noticed the Door guards and door handles were black. EX-L's have everything body color.

So I call the guy up and he says its an EX. I mention the pained bumpers and he says he had them painted because he likes the look. Ok, I did the same on my civic. But then he says, he buys and resells cars from time to time and he bought this one with some suspension damage. He swears it was never in an accident and says he has pics of the suspension damage before he fixed it.

I tell him I'll call him if I'm interested. If it looks to good to be true, it usually is.

Should I go and have a look anyway? Really close to home.

DEI99662

Would he be willing to give you the VIN to find out exactly what type of damage to the suspension there was? I would be very cautious with this. For instance, you dont want to find out that the frame was bent and he neglected to tell you or record it.

What type of suspension damage was it? How did it happen? What was replaced? With what type of parts..OEM or some other brand?

If you do go and see it, then make sure he was all, and I mean, all the paperwork and records.

dom

I don't know any details. The Car's abstract will only have info on if the car was at one point written off. Accident information isn't on there. He claimed the suspension damage (Front suspension) didn't even damage the rim. I didn't ask further questions at that point because I had lost intrest. The car wasn't his when the damage occured so I doubt he knows too much.

For all I know, it was in a severe accident. I mean why else would the bumpers be painted? No way he just decided they looked better painted. The whole car probly needed painting so he just did the bumpers as well is my best guess.

DEI99662

Then I think you have your answer on whether or not to go see the CR-V. I wouldnt even bother. Too many concerns/questions with it. I am sure you will find the right CR-V.

sauceman

They always say that with new generations of cars when it comes from big 3's

"...yeah, the last generation was really atrocious, but we've turned it all around, and this one truely marks a turn in our company's building quality philosophy"

Then the next year, first thing you hear, the more it changes, the more it stays the same.

I would never trust an American compact, even if it was built/designed in Germany.

cruzingsilver

Look-wise the liberty kills them all. Its also the best offroad vehicle. It would definately be the one I would get as a primary vehicle if I didn't do so much driving. If its a lot of driving your going to do, dont go for it due to the consumption. Although you could go for the new turbodiesel coming out. But you want a used one...so
Pricewise their all the same, your just saving up on the gas, which if you don't drive much, is not a big deal.
If its your second car/ wife's/ or whatever, it might be a good alternative.

I'm a little fixated on the liberty and I liked its rugged character when I test drove it. I also prefer the interior of the liberty over the CR-v. To me it looks a little cheap inside.
I watched a car show (RPM montreal), and they compared the liberty to the nissan X-TRAIL. The liberty was the winner by far. Eventhough the liberty is quite heavier, its handling was better than the x-trail (which i assume is very similar to that of the CR-V). I noticed it had good handling for an SUV when I tried it too.

Hope this helps!!!

Check out the new hyundai tuscon. It looks great and has a good warranty. My gfriend is considering it. It's also the cheapest of all the suvs you named new.

ClutchPerformer

Get the SVT version, and you'll get my

Fibonacci

I just bought an '05 CRV as a Christmas gift for my wife - I actually like it a bit more than I thought the first time I drove it. My main priority was safety, so I kept comparing it to the Tucson. To me the Hyundai was just a tad too unrefined compared to the Honda. After comparing the projected resale value in 5yrs - it was a no-brainer.

A good friend of mine bought a Matrix recently for his wife, IMO too much of a slug (no torque).

dom

Test Drove both a Vibe and the Focus ZX5 on Saturday.

Vibe:
As soon as I pressed the gas I realized there was no chance I was getting this car. It had absolutely no balls, it was a very dissapointing test drive. I expected at least some movemnet from the engine. But even with the pedal floored it barely moved. Next time any of you are questioning wheather the TSX has enough power for you go out and drive one of these things, you'll feel alot better.

Focus ZX5:
I was impressed with this car's chassis, no I was extremly impressed. I wouldn't say it handles better than the TSX but the best word I can think of right now is that it feels more settled. Because the dealer was very close to home I had a chance to take it on a route I commonly take with the TSX. The car soaks in bumps beutifully and it always feels composed. Going over train tracks there wasn't a shutter or movement in the body, it definently felt more stable than the TSX over those same tracks. Ford did a A+ job on the chassis. The engine was so-so. alot more pep than the Vibe but still fairly slow.

Where things went south with the Focus was interior. Its Mexican made roots were immediately evident. Poor seat/seating position, horrible ergonomics, Cheap plastic abound, and a messy gauge cluster. When you unlocked the power doors the noise was so loud it drowed out the radio. It was near impossible to access the seat controls with the door closed, the shifter sat so low I had to look down to find it. The CD holder on the driver's side would hit my leg when I opened it. The rear seats fold flat but you have to first lift the bench up, then remove the headrests and then fold the seats and there wasn't much room with the seats up either.

In the end the Focus drove beautifully but its interior and design were its shortfall. If Ford ever figures out that car's interior they will sell alot more.

In the end my wife said it best. Its going to be very difficult to find another car when coming from the TSX, our expectations are now simply too high.

DEI99662

If the engine could talk, when you pressed on the gas pedal, it would have said, "What do you want me to do?"

Like I have said before, if the Matrix/Vibe had a bigger engine like a 2.0L or the 2.2L, then it would be something to consider.

Indeed. The chassis set up is pretty good for a Ford, but still not that impressive to me.



A buddy of mine has a SVT Focus and I still dont like the interior fit and finish. For a SVT I would think it would be much better than a base Focus, but it still looks cheap and plasticky.



Not that I have to tell you, but you need to be able to distinguish between other cars you test drive. Basically go into a test drive with no expectations.

DEI99662

domn, any luck with finding a good deal on a CR-V?

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

DEI, you seem awfully interested in whether has gone to seek his new CR-V yet.

DEI99662

Because I care. Afterall, is family.

dom

At least he's being helpful, unlike some other people

Don't listen to him DEI, I could use all the help I can get. As for a CR-V havn't found anything yet but I'm sure I can find something by April. I'm hoping a Black EX that I have an eye on will still be in the Autotrader this week which makes for 3 weeks, makes the seller alittle more desperate to sell.

DEI99662

This isnt the one that had suspension damage is it?

EDIT: Is this the one you are referring to?

https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...&postcount=233

dom

Yup, thats the one. I spoke to the seller and he claims no accidents or damage at all and the price ($23,995) falls in line with what everyone else is asking.

I'm hoping to buy private as well (which this one is) as I only have to pay 8% taxes as opposed to paying 15% if I buy from a dealer.

DEI99662

Sounds good. When does the AutoTrader come out? Today?

dom

https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...&postcount=233

Thursday

DEI99662

jcg878

whew, I'm not the only snob in here... I think you will need a nice used car - nothing you can buy new in that range will appease you

DEI99662

Its Thursday. Hope you picked it up on your way to work.

dom

Nothing new on the CR-V front in Autotrader. No new listings and the 02 Blk EX is gone so I guess its sold. Still lots of time, but I may have changed my buying direction.

DEI99662

No stick to your guns and get that CR-V. You wont be happy with anything else.

Do you still have last week's issue? Try calling anyways. Maybe the seller forgot to rerun the ad or decided to go a different route to see it.

dom

No, that smells of desperation. I want Silver anyway But CR-V's are I think too much damn money. I've started to look at (gasp) a Montana or Buick Rendezvous.

I also just may end up with a 00 Honda Civic. Rememebr we really only need the car for the year my wife is home with the baby so something to go to and from work may be all I need.

Damn confused