Thinking about selling my SUV and buying a CTS or equivalent

[JMarsa]

Looking for input from CTS or mid-size near luxury owners.

I've got the 3-year itch with my SUV; I'm bored with it. It's my commuter (40 miles RT) and I actually get it dirty hauling things but I've got a utility trailer and my neighbors have trucks I can borrow so I can substitute the utility.

I've been thinking about a 2004+ used car in like a CTS, Audi A6 2.7T, Acura TL ect. A fun car that get's 25 MPG on regular. The CTS seems like the best bang for the buck at approx 15-18K (GM's high depreciation is good for something). Basically I'm looking for something to tide me over for the next couple years til the Volt or another high MGP sedan arrive to the market.

Any input on any of these cars and their maintenance/reliability for 50K mile examples?



Thanks in advance,

--JMarsa

[bigvegan]

Buy a used Prius. If Gore Jr. can get busted going 100mph+ in one, it's got enough pep for your daily commute. Plus, it's a Toyota, so it will last until 2015 when the Volt comes out, assuming it has the usual GM delays (the same ones that will keep the Camaro from coming out until gas is well over $4 a gallon.)

I wouldn't buy anything German if you're looking for a hassle free commuter. The CTS might be good, but 16mpg city / 25mpg hwy is hardly great mileage.

[JMarsa]

Thanks for the reply, but I'm looking for a mid-size, something with trunk space and that handles well. I had a 3 series for three years (got bored of it too, notice a patern?) so I'd like to get back in that market.

--JMarsa

[Jim Nilsen]

A guy at work just scored an 03 Vibe GT 6spd for 7k. You cant go wrong with the mileage or the way they handle. If you can step over to a Volt the Vibe will work for now, no problem.

[Nine Ball]

An '04-06 GTO is in your price range. Mine gets 25 mpg on the highway, even with twin-turbos and 620 hp.

Find a 6-spd manual, they get about 3-4 mpg better than an auto.

[trapin]

Jason...the 2006 Impala is a great deal. They have all the bugs worked out of them and get reasonable gas mileage and don't have the ugly front and rear fascias of the first iteration.

If you go new then I can get you a discount on a Malibu Hybrid.

[JamesJ]

The CTS is a good car and has lots of performance parts that you can throw on it.

[JMarsa]

Thanks for the replies. I need a mid-sized sedan with the wife, kid and dog. If it were't for the kid seat, head room, (I'm 6'1) and the 7 cubic ft. trunk the GTO is a good idea, the 2004 brochure says 29 MPG for the manual.

--JMarsa

[bigvegan]

Check out - http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm
It's got a pretty cool feature on the cost of gasoline for driving 25 miles.

Multiply that by 8/32 and you can see your weekly/monthly commuting bill.

You might also want to rent a couple of the cars for a week and see how they compare to the EPA estimates.

Or, just accept the fact that there's a pretty straight trade off between performance and fuel economy and pick one. (In L.A., I had to give up my 4th Gen Z-28 because getting 11-12mpg in city driving was killing me. The stick-shifted Corolla doesn't quite compare, but buying less than half as much gas is nice.)

[Surfer]

For a little more you can find an used CTS-V, very fun and comfy, and easily modded along with good mpg for a V8 sedan.

[JMarsa]

The CTS-V gets worse mileage than the GTO (which isn't bad at 29 MPG). I'm thinking of a small engined mid-size that doesn't need premium. The smallest engine CTS only gets 25 MPG or so as well. Not much of an improvment over the 20 MPG I get with my SUV.

--JMarsa

[Surfer]

The CTS-V gets worse mileage than the GTO (which isn't bad at 29 MPG). I'm thinking of a small engined mid-size that doesn't need premium. The smallest engine CTS only gets 25 MPG or so as well. Not much of an improvment over the 20 MPG I get with my SUV.

--JMarsaDon't go by the ratings, in real world their basically the same. Accord, TL etc are similar in mileage real world as well, my sister had a TL, and neither close to the power of the V. A6 2.7 stay away from, the 2.7tt is not a reliable engine and expensive on repairs.

[JMarsa]

the 2.7tt is not a reliable engine and expensive on repairs. I had read that. Too bad since it's a bad azz (same as S4) engine and available with a 6 speed manual. I haven't looked to see if the 2.8 is any better.

--JMarsa

[bigvegan]

How about the Accord Hybrid? It gets decent mileage, and the Accord Hybrid was actually built for better performance rather than top mileage, so it might be a good compromise.

But you're right, it's not really worth giving up the SUV for an incremental mpg increase.

I would recommend a stick shift though, it may not make an economy car faster, but it's definitely a lot more fun to drive a small-engined car when you can shift it yourself.

It also depends on what your goals are. If your SUV gets 20 mpg, and your round trip is 40 miles, figure 2 gallons a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year (assuming vacation), $4 a gallon, and you're at $2,000 a year in gas for commuting. So even if you bought a Prius and doubled that to 40mpg, you'd only save $1k a year.

If you want to help the environment / stop giving as much to oil companies and oil states / etc., then a new high-mileage car might be worth your while.

But if you just want a different vehicle, or you like your SUV, that might be worth $1,000 or so per year.

[BuddyP]

We just picked up a Saturn Aura XR (wifes new car). It's an '07, paid under $17k with 32k miles. Black leather interior (nicer interior than the 1st gen CTS) 252hp and 29-30 mpg's on the hwy at 70.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[BonzoHansen]

Aura is a nice looking car.

[Surfer]

I had read that. Too bad since it's a bad azz (same as S4) engine and available with a 6 speed manual. I haven't looked to see if the 2.8 is any better.

--JMarsaI really like the last gen A6 with the 2.7tt and BBS wheels, and 6 speed manual, but that engine is a pos. One of the reasons Audi switched to the V8 b/c of reliability issues and all the warrenty claims for the 2.7, the next S4 is going to use forced induction again excet supercharged.

[Surfer]

How about the Accord Hybrid? It gets decent mileage, and the Accord Hybrid was actually built for better performance rather than top mileage, so it might be a good compromise.

But you're right, it's not really worth giving up the SUV for an incremental mpg increase.

I would recommend a stick shift though, it may not make an economy car faster, but it's definitely a lot more fun to drive a small-engined car when you can shift it yourself.

It also depends on what your goals are. If your SUV gets 20 mpg, and your round trip is 40 miles, figure 2 gallons a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year (assuming vacation), $4 a gallon, and you're at $2,000 a year in gas for commuting. So even if you bought a Prius and doubled that to 40mpg, you'd only save $1k a year.

If you want to help the environment / stop giving as much to oil companies and oil states / etc., then a new high-mileage car might be worth your while.

But if you just want a different vehicle, or you like your SUV, that might be worth $1,000 or so per year.Bingo I always see people fretting with their suv gas mileage (not meaning this thread). I've had a bunch of trucks and when calculated it would make no sense to purchase a little car to save money, I would save around 2K a year in gas with all the driving I do. If somebody is worried about 2K yearly they have other financial problems and should not be driving an suv etc (not meaning anyone on here, moreso the hamburger flipper driving his Escalade and living with parents). People seem to forget new car payment, generally higher insurance since new, depreciation etc, wipes out the savings. I've had a few friends freak and say their getting a Civic etc, then when I show them the numbers their like "thats all I'll save?" lol. And since some owned free and clear, it was like they forget the new car payment etc, getting the car to save mileage ended up costing them more money lol.

[wedgehead]

My wife and I were looking for a replacement for her Toyota Corolla. With my twins being 14 and 6 footers now and my little guy getting bigger everday we went looking. We were going to buy used or buy something salvaged and rebuild. Well we found what she wanted Honda Accord, Nissan Maxima,the cars really didn't get much more milage than a Suburban and the price used was a lot higher. We found a Used 02 Suburban with a ABS problem for $8500. Bought the suburban and replaced the ABS module for $300. Now we have a vehicle that gets 21 with a few mods to help the milage on the freeway on our ski trip this last winter. The vehicle is much safer than in one of those cars also. We could buy a lot of fuel for just the price difference in the vehicles.

[dogtag]

If I were in the market again, I'd consider a Camery Hybrid. The Senergy drive is right out of a Prius except they use a V6 and it get's
in the 40's.
We own a Prius and Wifey gets 58 to 62 all the time. When I drive it I can only get 55. She says it takes a Woman......

We recently took a trip to Sacremento for a total round trip cost of 115 bucks. Got over 60 mpg most of the way till we got into the mountains.
Really, when you can fill up for 35 bucks and go 600 miles, it makes it seem like you're ownly paying 1.50 for gas.
By the way, your car looks nice...
DT

[Jim Nilsen]

I just talked to a friend that has a new Chrysler 300 with the Hemi in it and he is pulling down 25 city and 30 hwy and another person at work is getting the same results in a Charger. they say when you hit the gas it has more than enough power and it runs on 4 cyl most of the time.

Once you hit the 35mpg threshhold you can actually buy a new car for the cost of the gas savings if you buy a car for under 12k and drive over 250 miles a week. You might not like any of these cars but they get the job done for less and a lot of suv's are need of more maintenance cost for most and if you have 2 vehicles to rely on and divide the miles between them based on the utility reasons for using them you can make them both last longer. I have been doing this with my truck that rarely gets driven but is there when I need it and it has lasted far many more years than it should have.

If we all get another vehicle and keep the old one it will really scare the environmentalist that can't figure out the reality from a survey !!!!

[70bird]

My Wife and I are considering getting something smaller for her. Right now she's driving a 04 Durango with 5.7 Hemi. This has been a great vehicle with lots of room, power is great, and highway mileage is amazing for a vehicle of it's size. (24+ mpg) The problem is city mileage, 12-14 mpg if she is easy on it, 8-10 if I'm driving it LOL.

We are actually considering (can't believe I'm saying this) a mini-van. Maybe a Honda Odyssey or Dodge Caravan so we don't lose too much interior room. Both have decent fuel ratings. (19-20 avg)

However, by the time I factor in the cost of a new car,( not to mention the hit we will take for depreciation on our car) insurance, financing, AND fuel savings. It would take about 3 years to start paying for itself.

Jim, I think you are on to something with just buying another vehicle for cheap to beat on, while keeping the gas guzzler for times when you need it

Now I just need to figure out where I can park it

[JMarsa]

Thanks for all the comments. Still looking. I guess I need to go out and drive some cars.

--JMarsa

[CHRIS67]

JMarsa -
I just traded in my GMC pickup for a Chevy Cobalt Sport yesterday. It has 2.4L with a 5 speed and gets 22 city and 32 highway. The car is fun to drive, but still getting used to something smaller. I'm 6'4" and I think if I had 1/2" more on me I'd be hitting the roof going over bumps. Nice stereo in it, 10" sub in the trunk 288 Watts. Price isn't too bad either.

[wedgehead]

well I posted in a earlier post that my wife and I bought a used suburban to replace her toyota. Man am I glad we did as she had a wreck today. A kid in a ford truck turned into the side of her truck in an intersection. The whole side of her truck from front fender to back bumper is wasted but everyone came out with no injury. I am just glad my family was in a big SUV. We will be getting another one if this one totals.