No.. I didn't get this one
Well after doing what most people do and research the sh*t out of what to get next. I narrowed my choices down to a few select vehicles:
- Mazda 3 Hatchback
- Toyota Matrix
- Pontiac Vibe
I also had a few requirement and options which I did not want to budge on:
- sunroof
- good gas mileage
- white in color
Don’t ask, I’m wierd that way, but I really wanted those options… What’s weirder even still is the fact that up until about 2 weeks before my lease ran out on my Cobalt SS Supercharged.. I was seriously thinking of buying it out. Hind sight being perfect I would have tried to sell my Cobalt a lot earlier than I did as due to the fact I started so late.. I ran out of time and had to give the car back before I could sell it.
Anyone that knows me knows I take good care of my cars, and the SS was no exception.. it was a 2005 with only 50,000 kms on it, only winter driven one winter, upgrade kit installed, cold air intake, etc… so whomever gets my car out of a lease, or auction.. well, is going to get a wicked car. Truth be told however, it was the worst car on gas I’ve ever driven. I would put 45 – 48L of fuel in the car, and get only 350kms out of it. And really, it didn’t matter whether I drove it hard, or took it easy. So I won’t miss that to be sure.
Nor this one
First off, I started at Mazda and had a good talk with the dealer there.. he let me take one of the new Mazda 3′s out for atest drive and I really liked it with the options and such and was pretty impressed with the feature set. Bluetooth, heated seats, etc… The only problem in my mind was that they seemed really pricey. And I wasn’t (at the time) interested in a new car.
I went to Toyota next, and they had their ‘Red Tag Deal’ sale on, along with 0% financing.. uhh.. all I have to say is “WHATEVER”! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bashing Toyota brand or the quality of their cars.. however they had almost NO cars which were at 0% financing, and NO cars which were considered ‘Red Tag Deals’.. so in my opinion, almost false advertising to get you in the door. That said, I was interested in the Matrix, so I asked about a sunroof option, and the only one that has a sunroof.. you have to get with a navigation system.. which spiked the price up to around $30,000 for a new one. No thanks.
Headed to Pontiac, and during my first visit.. I had to actually ask for a sales rep as I stood around the showroom for about 15 minutes checking out the Vibe that was on the floor. It was nice, I must say.. I loved the seats on it and the over-all look. Pontiac gets the motor from Toyota so quality was not an issue either. I will be curious as to what the prices go to now that GM is bankrupt.
Anyhow after talking to a dealer (I had to get the receptionist to page someone to come out of their office), I asked about a white one with a sunroof.. and they only had a 2.4L non-AWD (all wheel drive) vibe in Halifax. I told myself that if I was going to get the bigger engine, I was going to get one with AWD.. I mean.. why not? Paying for the bigger engine, may as well have the added bonus of the driving in winter, right?
Yep.. this is my new baby!
Anyhow.. so off I was.. then I discovered the site www.leasebusters.com, and I am now convinced that I will use this site to get all my future cars. First off, the site is basically designed to allow people that need or want to get rid of their leases an option for people whom are looking at getting into a newer car. The bonuses for the buyer is that a lot of the times, the seller will offer BIG cash bonuses to take over their lease. It didn’t take me long to find a black vibe with sunroof in Ontario which was a little more then what I was used to paying on my Cobalt, but with $2900 cash bonus! They would literally give me a cheque for $2900 to take over their lease. Great deal eh? go to the site and check out some of the cars that are there. The reasons for offering these cash bonuses are.. well.. as a seller, you can either pay $386 a month for the remainder of your lease (in my case it was 36 months), or give someone some money to take it over. When the math was done, I was basically paying $300. approx for the 2009 Vibe.
I didn’t end up purchasing that one, since it was black, and a 2.4L non-AWD.. but it did lead me to my choice. A 2009 white pontiac vibe 1.8L with sunroof! I’m pretty excited, and it’s going to driven by my girlfriends step-dad (who just retired) this week. I won’t go into the payment details of the lease, however I will say that it’s an open ended lease, which is quite different than the one I was in with GMAC. Also the residual is a LOT less than the black one I was looking at or any others. So I’m pretty happy with that.
Some key features that I’m really happy about besides my original options:
Fuel economy – 34 mpg city to 45 mpg highway? Are you kidding? WOW!
Auxiliary Audio – a little option, but one I missed on my last car to get direct audio from my Blackberry
All seats fold down – cargo space is unreal! Can’t wait to put the hockey gear in this sucker!
Anyhow.. look for an initial review soon on how I like it after I’ve driven it for awhile.. for now I’m in the ‘anxiously awaiting arrival’ stage 