Buying a new car (1 Viewer)

[schan1269]

I swore off automatic economy cars years ago. One of my cars for work(when I did wholesale, we spent one day a week traveling) was a craptastic 4door Tracer automatic. Bought it for $800 as the other two cars I had at the time(Supra and Taurus SHO) weren't big enough to carry stuff.

Godawful piece of crap it was. Mercury only sold that generation with 3 speed auto.

I went to put a different set of wheels on my car, found the lugs I had(bought the wheels used) from the prior owner didn't fit the Subaru. Drove the managers new-ish Sentra(SE) to the auto parts store. Horrid transmission.

 

[DaveF]

I think automatic transmissions have improved since then.

 

[schan1269]

I think automatic transmissions have improved since then.

This Sentra was 2012, at the latest.

For me, personally, ever since Toyota stopped importing the Supra(although...they sorta gave it to Lexus)...

Might as well slap Kenmore on the nose and stack 'em 4 deep at Sears.

 

[DaveF]

I have been looking at the Corolla for myself Dave. I hate big cars, all trucks and SUVs. My preference has always been 2-door coupés and hot hatchbacks. My Celica is the perfect size for me and it's a real shame Toyota stopped making them a few years back. My current interests for my next car are the Corolla, Civic and Golf GTI. My wife owns a Mazda 3 and we decided we'll never buy another Mazda after hers.

Let us know how well you both like the Corolla after a few weeks and miles. I'm really interested in more in depth reviews.

I'll report back on how my wife likes it. I'm not allowed to drive her car once she gets the seat and mirrors and steering while just right, she doesn't want anything changed.

At first glance, it's very nice. The Barcelona Red paint is surprisingly vibrant. The integrated navigation is a nice feature at this price point. Voice dialing, Bluetooth smartphone connectivity are great. Standard fog lights and DRL are nice safety features. Heated seats and sideview mirror defrosters a plus.

Minuses: from her 2005 Camry she lost: auto dimming rear view, automatic headlights and, most tragically, integrated garage door opener. I'm surprised these haven't migrated down in a decade.

We do have a zero-day glitch to fix: the rear seat latch is broken (the fold down lock). My guess is it was bent by a prior, overly aggressive test driver. I noted it and put it on the paperwork before driving off the lot, so we'll get it fixed without hassle.

Finally: two years routine service included in the purchase. I don't know if that's a Toyota standard now or a dealer option. Surprised me. Wasn't a negotiated perk.

 

[Alf S]

I too love the auto everything features. I've never had them until this SUV I got and can't imagine going back to "manual" mode. LOL


Meaning auto lights, auto heat/air, auto wipers..even remote start is AWESOME etc. Great features IMO.

 

[atfree]

I too love the auto everything features. I've never had them until this SUV I got and can't imagine going back to "manual" mode. LOL


Meaning auto lights, auto heat/air, auto wipers..even remote start is AWESOME etc. Great features IMO.

Me too....and even my wife is spoiled. When we were looking for her a new car a couple of years ago, we were on a set budget for the purchase and the salesman kept telling her we could save money by going with a manual transmission...she looked at him and said "It's the 21st century and I have no intention to going back in time".

 

[Clinton McClure]

Sticks are mad fun to drive on a twisty back road or an abandoned parking lot where you can do stupid things but for a daily stop and go commute, I would rather have an automatic.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

At first glance, it's very nice. The Barcelona Red paint is surprisingly vibrant. The integrated navigation is a nice feature at this price point.

I wish they'd just dump the integrated nav and implement phone screen mirroring. Ford wants $150 for each nav update (new maps on an SD card). If I felt like paying, my car would only be a few months outdated compared to Google Maps on my phone instead of a few years.


(Should I cross-post in the "Things that Annoy You" thread? )

 

[DaveF]

Same here. But Toyota so far is pursuing their own system with no interest in CarPlay or Auto.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

My new favorite auto feature is auto high beams. Love them!

 

[Adam Barratt]

I just bought my first US car (a new Ford Fiesta ST) after a lifetime of owning Japanese marques, and I'm pretty impressed with it. No squeaks or rattles, solid construction. I'm coming from a 2008 Subaru Legacy GT Spec.B. Up until recently I never would have considered a US car, but they really seem to be lifting their game. Even the local GM products (Holden) have improved significantly, which is nice as my company works extensively with both Ford and GM.


The only thing I really don't like are the automatic windscreen wipers. Never on when you want them, and on when you don't!

 

[Clinton McClure]

Same here. But Toyota so far is pursuing their own system with no interest in CarPlay or Auto.

If I decide to get a Corolla, I will probably replace the head unit with an Alpine with CarPlay. My parents bought a Camry with the touch screen infotainment system and I don't like the layout and navigation between screens.

 

[schan1269]

My new favorite auto feature is auto high beams. Love them!

New?

My mothers 1987 Continental had that.

It even had 3 position memory drivers seat. Both front seats(defeatable) would slide all the way back when the door was opened. Drivers seat(allowed in the 3 settings) would either stay at the same height/tilt or drop flat to the floor.

Had auto dimming interior/exterior mirrors(defeatable).

Granted remote hadn't come out...yet.

The one feature both my AUDI had that I think, like seat belts, should be a universal standard.

On cars with power mirrors(what doesn't have them now...) when the switch is set passenger side, when you go into reverse, the passenger mirror angles down to curb/tire view(on my later A6* it based it on normal angle. My prior V8 was "static") to aid parallel parking.

*the A6, you could tell how far off "proper set" the passenger mirror was, based on where the mirror ended up for curb/tire. In the manual it stated that for that feature to work properly...required you to use your outer mirror...properly.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I think I've only had to parallel park once in the past 20 years or so. I back out of parking spaces using my mirrors and would hate to have one of them pointed at the ground.

 

[DaveF]

Discovered a boneheaded design element in the Corolla: The LCD screen brightness is overly reduced by polarized sunglasses. (The LCD screen must be a cheaper unit with a linear polarizer, aligned opposite to how sunglasses are made. This is a really dumb choice, suggesting that Toyota never actually test drove this model while wearing sunglasses.)


In quick tests, the Siri Eyes Free voice voice recognition is poor to terrible. Hopefully after retraining (the first time in the dealer's lot my wife over enunciated the training text instead of speaking naturally) and some time learning the commands, it will improve. Currently, it's more dangerous than helpful as she fights with it while driving.


Otherwise, the car is nice and she likes it. The passenger seat is fine, no complaints about riding in it.

 

[DaveF]

New?

My mothers 1987 Continental had that.

It even had 3 position memory drivers seat. Both front seats(defeatable) would slide all the way back when the door was opened. Drivers seat(allowed in the 3 settings) would either stay at the same height/tilt or drop flat to the floor.

Had auto dimming interior/exterior mirrors(defeatable).

It's interesting how features come out, disappear, and then return anew. The auto-bright headlights are new to me, and seem to mostly be in top-trim midsize sedans and above. Somewhat similarly, years ago, I read about steering headlights, that turned into the curve to better illuminate where you're actually watching. Then that seemed to disappear, perhaps relegated to luxury cars. That feature seems to be returning, available as a feature in the Touring model of the Mazda6.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I seem to remember Acura having the "turning" headlights some years ago.

 

[schan1269]

I think I've only had to parallel park once in the past 20 years or so. I back out of parking spaces using my mirrors and would hate to have one of them pointed at the ground.

On the AUDI, for it to point to ground(which I said)...

Switch had to be set passenger. If middle or driver, the mirror didn't move.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Gotcha, I missed that earlier. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[schan1269]

It's interesting how features come out, disappear, and then return anew. The auto-bright headlights are new to me, and seem to mostly be in top-trim midsize sedans and above. Somewhat similarly, years ago, I read about steering headlights, that turned into the curve to better illuminate where you're actually watching. Then that seemed to disappear, perhaps relegated to luxury cars. That feature seems to be returning, available as a feature in the Touring model of the Mazda6.

On a related note...

Cornering lamps. Ford and GM include those on some cars. Flip the turn signals, they come on.

Ford tried in 1986 to allow them in conjunction with steering. The Gov said no. Citing some obscure law that "permanently on, non user switched headlights*" had to be in front of the turn signals. According to "the law", lights that come on without user control(how the steering wheel isn't "user control"...) must be front mounted.

Supposedly Tucker thought of instead of the center nose light, mount a 30° light forward of the front wheels. He was told to jettison that idea(which with sealed beam, talk about a nightmare).

*apparently however many decades ago this law came about...they must have thought..."one day we'll have DRL"