I'm planning to buy a new car and have it narrowed down to 3 possibilities and am looking for opinions to help narrow it down even further. I am looking to pick one by the end of this weekend. I am trying to keep my budget under 21k out the door.
Option #1 : Mazda 3 Hatchback. Dealer quoted me a price of $19,000 before tax/tag/dealer fees. This, at the moment atleast, is at the top of my list. It is also just within my budget (probably just under 21,000 out the door) and there isn't much chance of lowering the price any further. Seems of the options to be the best in quality, safety, and reliability according to my research so far. I also like the looks of this car the best of all of them.
Option #2 : Nissan Sentra SR. I have a quote from a dealer of $18,300 out the door (they came down to 18,000 from the sticker plus 2,000 in rebates) for an SR with the Convenience Package (basically smartkey). I might consider dropping the Convenience Package to save another 1000+. Traction control and stability control are options that I'd have to add on for another $300 or so. Also the braking distance is worse then the Mazda. No roadside service under the warranty like the other two. Reliability and quality may be an issue here also, but there is also a $3,000+ difference in the price. The Mazda salesperson had basically nothing good to say about it and seemed shocked I was even comparing the two (although they are in the same price range and have most of the same options without rebates). The Ford salesperson didn't seem to want to comment other then he thought it was a fine car.
Option #3 : Ford Focus SES (if the dealer near me gets one in soon). No dealer quote on this one yet since they didn't have any in stock, but taking the price listed through Ford's website plus $1,500 in rebates would put it in the same range as the Mazda 3 pricewise. This is the one I have the least information on at the moment, but seems like it'd be similar in quality and options to the Mazda.
Option #1 : Mazda 3 Hatchback. Dealer quoted me a price of $19,000 before tax/tag/dealer fees. This, at the moment atleast, is at the top of my list. It is also just within my budget (probably just under 21,000 out the door) and there isn't much chance of lowering the price any further. Seems of the options to be the best in quality, safety, and reliability according to my research so far. I also like the looks of this car the best of all of them.
Option #2 : Nissan Sentra SR. I have a quote from a dealer of $18,300 out the door (they came down to 18,000 from the sticker plus 2,000 in rebates) for an SR with the Convenience Package (basically smartkey). I might consider dropping the Convenience Package to save another 1000+. Traction control and stability control are options that I'd have to add on for another $300 or so. Also the braking distance is worse then the Mazda. No roadside service under the warranty like the other two. Reliability and quality may be an issue here also, but there is also a $3,000+ difference in the price. The Mazda salesperson had basically nothing good to say about it and seemed shocked I was even comparing the two (although they are in the same price range and have most of the same options without rebates). The Ford salesperson didn't seem to want to comment other then he thought it was a fine car.
Option #3 : Ford Focus SES (if the dealer near me gets one in soon). No dealer quote on this one yet since they didn't have any in stock, but taking the price listed through Ford's website plus $1,500 in rebates would put it in the same range as the Mazda 3 pricewise. This is the one I have the least information on at the moment, but seems like it'd be similar in quality and options to the Mazda.