Bought a New Car (Mazda CX-5 Signature)

[iacas]

Well, after crunching the numbers, I determined that:

• Leasing might make sense if you're wealthier than I am.
• Leasing might make sense if you really like having a new car all the time.
• Leasing might make sense for some of the luxury brands. See also bullet point #1.

Let's say you buy a car every eight years, and your payments on the car are $450/month. Over those eight years, your payments would average out to about $281.25. So, you'd think that if you can find a lease for $299 or even $329 or something, you get the benefit of having a new car every three years.

But what you forget is that you have to pay $2999 up front, you have to pay a lease termination fee, and you NEVER have equity in the car unless you buy it at the end of your lease, so to stop leasing and buy, you're paying full freight for your next new car, with no trade-in.

I got five figures for my trade in (I could get more selling it personally, but then I don't save the sales tax, and I have the hassle of dealing with all of that, so it's worth it to me to trade it in at the dealer). It was a 2014 Kia Sorento… SX, I think. A V6, AWD with the third-row seating. It worked well, and only ever had to have the rear parking sensors replaced last summer. Oh, and the rear backup camera replaced under warranty. It got better mileage than rated, really, and only ever had regular maintenance outside of the above things. It fit golf clubs well, and we almost never used the third row. Like twice, ever.

I first looked at the CX-5 in late September/early October. I also looked at the Kia K5, as I've had fun driving a BMW 330i lately, and thought it might be fun to drive a sedan again. I wanted the GT-Line (which isn't performance, more looks). And it would have been less expensive. But ultimately decided against it, partly because the local dealer lady was technologically inept, and because I really do like the extra space of at least a CUV/SUV. I looked at the Hyundai Tucson/Santa Fe. They have some nice tech, like Kia. I looked at the Sorento and Sportage, too. And the Telluride, but holy cow are those getting big. I looked at the Tiguan as well, as my wife likes hers. And it's fun to drive, and I previously had a Touareg.

I test drove a Mazda CX-30, too. I don't even know what you'd call it - a very small crossover? A modern-day station wagon? I loved it, almost would hav bought it on the spot back in September/October when I test drove it. Great features, great pricing, super fun to drive.

Then I tried to put my clubs in the car. They wouldn't fit, in any orientation, at all… without the back seat being folded down.

Total non-starter for me. It's like walking toward a hot chick you want to talk to, and then she pulls out and takes a drag from a cigarette. No thank you.

Anyway, then I test drove a CX-5. Super fun to drive as well (this is a Mazda thing), turbo, good features, enough space (about 8 or 9 ft³ less than the Sorento). I wanted the "dark machine grey" but they didn't have one, so I put together a decent price on a dark blue one and I thought I might get a good deal on some outgoing 2020 models. They did a full work-up on the Sorento and came to a five-figure trade-in value. Good.

My wife nixed it, even thought we just paid off the house and had an extra four figures per month. It had only been about 7.3 years since my last car, so short of the eight we typically do, but I thought with the deals available and the market for trade-ins it should be a good time.

FIne. I said I'd wait.

Then the 2021 came along, with some nice but subtle features (larger display screen, mostly). I asked when a CX-5 Signature came in, to alert me. In early January, I was told a dark blue one would be coming in after a few weeks. It came in around January 18. I sat in it after a few days, drove it briefly, and asked for their best price. I asked for the best price from someone else, and another dealer too. Three dealers. One had a dark grey signature that I'd want, but was out of state just into Ohio. I hate having to pay taxes, visit the notary, do all that stuff. But if it's to save $500+ I'd do it. Or at least get their offer and play it against the offer I can get from the local dealer.

Talked it over with the wife. The Sorento:

• Needed new tires in a few months.
• Could use new brake pads on the front brakes toward the middle of summer (maybe around the time we'd be trading it in).
• Was due for a state inspection in a few days (January).
• Had an issue from a recent stupid person's poor driving with an estimated cost to fix of $1750. I opted against having it repaired, as our deductible is not $0 and it really doesn't affect the driving, and you really almost don't notice it.
• Was at about 93,000 miles and would bust through 100k before April or May.

The dealership came back with an offer that was about $2800 off their standard pricing and about $1200 below invoice. The Ohio dealer was about 700 less, but didn't include the roof rails or rubber floor mats, which MSRP for $525 total. And they held firm on my trade-in value, even though I'd put another 1000 miles on the car since October.

It was a good offer, and they offered to keep the same deal even if they swapped the car with another in Butler, PA. I feel it was a good offer because I showed them the deal I had from another dealer (chopped off all identifying info), and asked them to take $256.71 off their deal to make the number $xx,999 even… and I said "If you can do that, I'll buy the car right now. Done deal." They couldn't. Wouldn't. After seeing that it was several hundred less through the other dealer, with the same trade-in (I may have made that part up, though I think they'd have matched it based on the other offer(s)).

Anyway, I agreed to the purchase on Thursday. Friday at 6:30, they had it prepped and I dropped off my car. I'd cleaned out my car on Tuesday. 🙂 By 7:30 I was on my way home… and then got a call that I had to return to the dealer. The guy had forgotten to transfer my license plate.

Then Saturday, after Junior Elite, I had to go back again. Turns out they submitted the VIN for the dark blue one they traded to get the dark grey one, so the bank thought I had a different car. Oy.

But, all is well that ends well. And I'm happy.

And now we have three grey cars in our household.

[saevel25]

Nice, my good friend has a CX-5, and loves it. He bought one in 2017. He got T-Boned when a drunk ran a stop sign at about 45-50 mph back in the summer. The car spun a few times and the rear end hit a utility pole. He ended up with minor kidney bruising and bruising from the seat belt. The car was totaled. The car definitely did its job by protecting him. 

He got the exact same model, but just a new version this past summer after the insurance was taken care of from the accident. 

I always liked the look of the Mazda vehicles. They tend to be on my short list every time I look for a new car. Hyundai / Kia just had some really good deals going on when I buy cars. 

[jsgolfer]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

Well, after crunching the numbers, I determined that:

• Leasing might make sense if you're wealthier than I am.
• Leasing might make sense if you really like having a new car all the time.
• Leasing might make sense for some of the luxury brands. See also bullet point #1.

Let's say you buy a car every eight years, and your payments on the car are $450/month. Over those eight years, your payments would average out to about $281.25. So, you'd think that if you can find a lease for $299 or even $329 or something, you get the benefit of having a new car every three years.

But what you forget is that you have to pay $2999 up front, you have to pay a lease termination fee, and you NEVER have equity in the car unless you buy it at the end of your lease, so to stop leasing and buy, you're paying full freight for your next new car, with no trade-in.

I got five figures for my trade in (I could get more selling it personally, but then I don't save the sales tax, and I have the hassle of dealing with all of that, so it's worth it to me to trade it in at the dealer). It was a 2014 Kia Sorento… SX, I think. A V6, AWD with the third-row seating. It worked well, and only ever had to have the rear parking sensors replaced last summer. Oh, and the rear backup camera replaced under warranty. It got better mileage than rated, really, and only ever had regular maintenance outside of the above things. It fit golf clubs well, and we almost never used the third row. Like twice, ever.

I first looked at the CX-5 in late September/early October. I also looked at the Kia K5, as I've had fun driving a BMW 330i lately, and thought it might be fun to drive a sedan again. I wanted the GT-Line (which isn't performance, more looks). And it would have been less expensive. But ultimately decided against it, partly because the local dealer lady was technologically inept, and because I really do like the extra space of at least a CUV/SUV. I looked at the Hyundai Tucson/Santa Fe. They have some nice tech, like Kia. I looked at the Sorento and Sportage, too. And the Telluride, but holy cow are those getting big. I looked at the Tiguan as well, as my wife likes hers. And it's fun to drive, and I previously had a Touareg.

I test drove a Mazda CX-30, too. I don't even know what you'd call it - a very small crossover? A modern-day station wagon? I loved it, almost would hav bought it on the spot back in September/October when I test drove it. Great features, great pricing, super fun to drive.

Then I tried to put my clubs in the car. They wouldn't fit, in any orientation, at all… without the back seat being folded down.

Total non-starter for me. It's like walking toward a hot chick you want to talk to, and then she pulls out and takes a drag from a cigarette. No thank you.

Anyway, then I test drove a CX-5. Super fun to drive as well (this is a Mazda thing), turbo, good features, enough space (about 8 or 9 ft³ less than the Sorento). I wanted the "dark machine grey" but they didn't have one, so I put together a decent price on a dark blue one and I thought I might get a good deal on some outgoing 2020 models. They did a full work-up on the Sorento and came to a five-figure trade-in value. Good.

My wife nixed it, even thought we just paid off the house and had an extra four figures per month. It had only been about 7.3 years since my last car, so short of the eight we typically do, but I thought with the deals available and the market for trade-ins it should be a good time.

FIne. I said I'd wait.

Then the 2021 came along, with some nice but subtle features (larger display screen, mostly). I asked when a CX-5 Signature came in, to alert me. In early January, I was told a dark blue one would be coming in after a few weeks. It came in around January 18. I sat in it after a few days, drove it briefly, and asked for their best price. I asked for the best price from someone else, and another dealer too. Three dealers. One had a dark grey signature that I'd want, but was out of state just into Ohio. I hate having to pay taxes, visit the notary, do all that stuff. But if it's to save $500+ I'd do it. Or at least get their offer and play it against the offer I can get from the local dealer.

Talked it over with the wife. The Sorento:

• Needed new tires in a few months.
• Could use new brake pads on the front brakes toward the middle of summer (maybe around the time we'd be trading it in).
• Was due for a state inspection in a few days (January).
• Had an issue from a recent stupid person's poor driving with an estimated cost to fix of $1750. I opted against having it repaired, as our deductible is not $0 and it really doesn't affect the driving, and you really almost don't notice it.
• Was at about 93,000 miles and would bust through 100k before April or May.

The dealership came back with an offer that was about $2800 off their standard pricing and about $1200 below invoice. The Ohio dealer was about 700 less, but didn't include the roof rails or rubber floor mats, which MSRP for $525 total. And they held firm on my trade-in value, even though I'd put another 1000 miles on the car since October.

It was a good offer, and they offered to keep the same deal even if they swapped the car with another in Butler, PA. I feel it was a good offer because I showed them the deal I had from another dealer (chopped off all identifying info), and asked them to take $256.71 off their deal to make the number $xx,999 even… and I said "If you can do that, I'll buy the car right now. Done deal." They couldn't. Wouldn't. After seeing that it was several hundred less through the other dealer, with the same trade-in (I may have made that part up, though I think they'd have matched it based on the other offer(s)).

Anyway, I agreed to the purchase on Thursday. Friday at 6:30, they had it prepped and I dropped off my car. I'd cleaned out my car on Tuesday. 🙂 By 7:30 I was on my way home… and then got a call that I had to return to the dealer. The guy had forgotten to transfer my license plate.

Then Saturday, after Junior Elite, I had to go back again. Turns out they submitted the VIN for the dark blue one they traded to get the dark grey one, so the bank thought I had a different car. Oy.

But, all is well that ends well. And I'm happy.

And now we have three grey cars in our household.

Very nice, my girlfriend has a red 2020 CX-5 and I have the 2020 CX-30.  Love Mazda’s.

Edited January 31, 2021 by jsgolfer

[iacas]

18 minutes ago, jsgolfer said:

I have the 2020 CX-30

What do you do with your clubs, then?

[colin007]

My favorite colors are grey, gray, slate, titanium, charcoal, silver, chrome, gunmetal, and nickel.

[ChetlovesMer]

Great choice, brother. 

My wife is planning on getting the same thing. 
I've been driving a 2015 Mazda6 (with a proper transmission) since the end of 2014. I'm going to drive that until the doors fall off. Super comfortable, gets almost 40 miles to the gallon, has a proper transmission, very low maintenance, it's been paid off for about 3 years now. Plus, it's blue. BTW- I can easily fit 2 sets of clubs in the trunk. I've had 4 sets in there, but we had to pull the drivers out and lay them on top just in case. 9 times out of 10 there's just my clubs and my ClicGear 3.5+ in the trunk. 

Anyway, I think you made a good choice. 

[jsgolfer]

11 hours ago, iacas said:

What do you do with your clubs, then?

I keep them at the Country Club, but If I travel or need them at another course, I just put the one of the back seats down.  I also, at times just take the longer clubs out, the bag fits with no problem and I just lay the longer clubs over the top of the bag.

Edited February 1, 2021 by jsgolfer

[boogielicious]

Congrats on the new car!

[StuM]

Congrats on the car and kudos for your research.  Loved the line about the hot girl pulling out a cigarette.

As for leasing, it is typically cheaper in the short term but more expensive over time.  If you keep vehicles longer term buying is lower cost, even with routine maintenance  such as tires & brakes.  If you want a new car every 3 years and always want under warranty then leasing makes sense. Of course, leasing can hurt if you really put on the miles.

[billchao]

Nice! This car is one of my top choices when I decide to replace my CX-9 in a year or two.

[iacas]

39 minutes ago, StuM said:

Of course, leasing can hurt if you really put on the miles.

That too. I’m at 93,000 after 7.5 years. Now, that should settle down since my daughter won’t be getting driven to as many tournaments over the next 7 1/2 years but we may be visiting her in North Carolina or wherever. But I often rent cars now for those kinds of things.

[The Flush]

1. I'm jealous.

2. I appreciate the level of research that you did .  

 

I am driving a 2007 Taurus with about 235,000 miles.  I have 3.5 years left on my mortgage. My wife's car will be paid off around the same time. I hope the car lasts until the mortgage is paid off because it will allow more options on the purchase of a new car. 

[StuM]

6 hours ago, iacas said:

That too. I’m at 93,000 after 7.5 years. Now, that should settle down since my daughter won’t be getting driven to as many tournaments over the next 7 1/2 years but we may be visiting her in North Carolina or wherever. But I often rent cars now for those kinds of things.

That mileage is not bad ( @ 12,500 per year) and most cars should get well over 100,000 miles if taken care of.  Keeping the car over 7 years is clearly in the “buy zone” in my book.

[iacas]

43 minutes ago, StuM said:

That mileage is not bad ( @ 12,500 per year) and most cars should get well over 100,000 miles if taken care of.  Keeping the car over 7 years is clearly in the “buy zone” in my book.

Yeah. But 12,500/year is over and above the 10k or even 12k leases common these days. Gone are the days of 15k or 20k on the basic leases, without paying for extra mileage.

[StuM]

10 minutes ago, iacas said:

Yeah. But 12,500/year is over and above the 10k or even 12k leases common these days. Gone are the days of 15k or 20k on the basic leases, without paying for extra mileage.

True

[DeadMan]

I bought a new Honda CR-V in November 2019. I looked at the Mazda CX-5, and it was probably my favorite car to drive. But then I tried to put a car seat in, and the front seat had to be moved way up for the car seat to fit. I was really disappointed, because the CX-5 was great in every other way. I was probably about 10 minutes away from pulling the trigger, too.

FWIW, I really like the CR-V. No regrets in the end.

[iacas]

5 minutes ago, DeadMan said:

I bought a new Honda CR-V in November 2019. I looked at the Mazda CX-5, and it was probably my favorite car to drive. But then I tried to put a car seat in, and the front seat had to be moved way up for the car seat to fit. I was really disappointed, because the CX-5 was great in every other way. I was probably about 10 minutes away from pulling the trigger, too.

FWIW, I really like the CR-V. No regrets in the end.

The CR-V (2011) is the back car in the photo.

It was good. We liked it. I didn't like how expensive and low-tech most things were in the Hondas at that time, or in 2013 when I was looking at my car (Sorento, looked at the Pilots very briefly). I think that's changed a bit recently.

The things I don't "love" about the CX-5:

• The moonroof. I came from the panoramic one in the Sorento, so this normal small one kinda stinks.
• That it doesn't let me say "I park in a garage at my house" and do some different things, like:
  • Not lock the car when I walk away from it to go in my house, and/or alert me that my car is unlocked five minutes later after arriving home. I want to have "walk away and have it lock" turned on, but not in my garage.
  • Disable the parking sensors, maybe, when I am backing out of my garage and the car is in reverse, but the front sensors are going off because I pulled IN to the garage?
• Uhm… I don't plan to have to sit in the back seat, but I've heard it's a little smaller than some.
• No readily accessible place for change. Like coins.
• No great place to put my iPhone, unless I plug it in and then put it in the storage in front of the gear shifter. But then the cord is coming out of the arm rest/console thing, and could get in the way of drinks and the shifter or something. Right now I just have a 1' cable and a 3' cable, and I use the 1' cable and have my phone sitting in the cup holder. That won't work with two drinks, though. I could put my phone in the console, but meh. I'll try to figure something out here.

Overall, small stuff. And not the type of stuff, I don't think, that's likely to get more irritating over time.

I do have to remember to change the "LAS" setting. I think it just vibrates the wheel, and I might like the rumble sound or the beeping more.

[iacas]

Got these. I hate license plates that just sit against the car. They can rattle, they can scratch the paint… etc.

Two-pack for $12. Put the other one on my wife’s Tiguan. Installation was easy.