'07 Sport vs '08 GT vs '09 Sport

[CHICO2003]

Ok... bit of a dilemma here


I've always been partial to silver so, in doing my nightly search, I recently found a used (20k) '07 Sport at a local dealership. I'm normally not too keen on buying a used car (especially not a turbo) but at $16,5k it seemed like a pretty good deal. The car even had a few extras (homelink/auto-dim, sirius, tints, all-weather mats) Also, the car has what appear to be pretty new Falken FK425 summer tires. The carfax report shows that the previous owner brought it to the dealership for all the usual maintenance (oil, tire rotation, alignment, etc.)

Knowing the car was a good $5-6+k off sticker (and in the color I preferred) I went ahead and put a (refundable) deposit down. I later went ahead and applied for financing at a few online places. Capital One was by far the lowest (5.5% for 60 months) so I informed the dealership of such. They then told me they don't accept Capital One and that the lowest THEY were able to get me was something like 7ish.. (I was tuning them out at this point) After I essentially told them this was a dealbreaker, the finance manager said she'd "see what she could do" and get back to me.


In the meantime, (since the MS3 bug had officially bitten me) and... oh yeah, my car was officially for sale... I decided to cast out some bait elsewhere.

I found a couple dealerhsips in the state with some leftovers '08 Silver GTs. I personally feel the GT trim is a bit of a waste of money but... these are what's available. Pricewise, they both came back to me at $22,7k (which apparently includes a $500 customer loyalty bonus... An excellent deal but, as I said, not a big fan of the GT trim. If this car was a Sport (and marked down equally) it would be a no-brainer.


Finally, another dealership came back to me with a price of $20,988 for an '09 CWP Sport. White is probably my 2nd favorite color... maybe even 3rd next to Metro Grey. I'm not 'in love' with it like I am the silver but... this very well may be the best overall deal. If so, I will certainly learn to live with it since that's the most important factor at this point.


So what do YOU guys think? What's the BEST deal of the 3?


P.S. It's important to note that financing on a new will be a bit less than used. How much less I'm not sure (yet) but it's certainly a factor.

 

[FrequentFlyer]

I'd go with the '09, but I think you may be able to do a little better on the price. Maybe a few hundred bucks if it's worth the haggling for you.

Me thinks the first dealer is screwing with you not taking Capitol One. I mean if the bank approves you, once the dealer gets their cash for the car, they're done with you. You're a customer of Capitol One when you drive the car off the lot. They're trying to get you in on a higher rate with their financing because they get bonuses that way. If you really want the silver, tell them they have to match Capitol One's 5.5%. $16.5 is not too bad of a price.

 

[Peter B]

22.7 for a GT is a good price. I think i paid 23.3 which was 300 under invoice for mine. I personally like the GT, the best improvement is the trip computer, 6 disc cd player, and the bose system. The 6 disc system can be purchased on ebay however for pretty cheap, and swaped out if you are handy with that sort of thing.

Tell the guy selling the sport you will buy it from him if he unlocks the trip computer for you. The sport does have it, its just a locked feature

I went with the GT because it was the better deal. I was in a metro grey sport that was killed ina flood. Went back to get another one and was between an 09 metro grey sport, and 08.5 true red GT. As I was about to leave the dealership for the 3RD time, the salesman came running out and made me an offer I could not refuse on the red one, so that was what I chose.

For me, since it was my second time buying the same car, I knew exactly what I wanted. Price was the driving factor. First dealer to sell me the car I wanted for the price I wanted wins!

One other way to look at it is, if you get the sport, you will have roughly $1000 to spend on your first mod, instead of a better trim.

Last thing is, don't be afraid to push the dealers and make them try harder. That deal that is "only good until tomorrow" will be good next week too if you walk in ready to sing papers. Trust me. Remember you are shelling out over 20k, you should be able to get exactly what you want.

 

[boostdog]

they are trying to screw you on finanacing...call cap. 1 get a check from them and pay the dealer...they don't do cap. 1 because they aren't making more $$ off you. man that would piss me off enough to leave!!!

 

[CHICO2003]

Right on guys... no doubt the 1st dealership was trying to screw me. In fact, I just got a VM from them with the "I have some very good news for you" routine.. lol

As much as I hate that kind of BS, the car IS a good deal... and if they're willing to match the Cap1 rate then really what's the difference in the end?

But the question is still... which one to go with?


I've all but ruled out the '08 GT Silver. I dig the HID and LED lights but honestly... whether it's sport or GT, that stereo has to go! I also prefer cloth seats over the leather so that's not really a selling point for me.

So yeah... the more I think about it... I'm pretty sure I've eliminated that from contention.


White vs Silver New vs Used

 

[CHICO2003]

Here's a breakdown of what I'm dealing with...

 

[boostdog]

if it were me i'd go with the 07....lower price is always better..your terms will be the same and the car has already lost depreciation. work them hard on the price and see if they'll move more. I would have bought a used 06 wrx but there were none for sale around me and i got a nice % rate by buying new and i beat the dealer up badly on price. as a matter of fact all they got was the 600 bucks subaru gives them for selling the car ( hold back) then i held out for what i wanted on my trade in too. be patient and don't be anxious.

 

[Peter B]

.... be patient and don't be anxious.

+2^

Yes, like I mentioned I walked away from the dealer3 times. Each time i let him know I had other offers, and needed to think them over. Finally he came running up to me (almost literally) and said he couldn't let me keep walking away, because sooner or later I wouldn't come back.

Dealers play games with you, play their games right back. Because you can't really loose. At the end of the day, the dealer needs to eat, so they need to sell you that car.

 

[Outkast]

FrequentFlyer is absolutely correct regarding Capital One. I can back this up by saying that I use to work for Capital One. The dealer that is blacklisting Capital One is because they have incentives to gain loans through their contacts. This is one of the reasons why you never disclose the amount you want to finance during the negotiation of the car price.

I have a Silver 08 GT and I love everything about it. I was torn between the Sport and GT package, but concluded the few perks that come with the GT are the things I wanted since I was purchasing a new car. I did not want these items to be something I wanted thereafter the purchase, therefore having buyers remorse.

Keep your best interests in mind; not the dealers.

 

[hollar1211]

chico - let me know how everything works out with your deals. i'm also looking at 07 and 08 ms3's in CT. The only difference is i prefer the gt. with the way the dealers are currently suffering it would be foolish of me not to take advantage of the extra perks. like outkast said, i don't want to be sitting on my couch in a few weeks regreting my decision. right now i'm looking at a silver 07 gt that the dealer wants 19 for. i waited 3 days, so i'm calling on lunch today to crunch some numbers.

 

[CHICO2003]

Thanks for all the comments...

Honestly, the only thing I'd probably wanna get afterwards are the HID and possibly even LED tails. I know those are quite costly and a pain to install... but even that isn't enough (imo) to warrant the premium. Especially when I actually prefer the cloth seats (easier to maintain). That said, if the price was right on a GT I'd go for it. So far, the 2 dealers that have Silver GTs aren't budging. From their perspective, I guess I can understand why. (they're selling it to me at invoice.) not their invoice but Edmunds and various other sites invoice.. .so it's legit. I don't think it would be fair to ask for an even lower price. lol

So yeah... I'm back where I started. As far as haggling with the '07 goes... I realize these are tough times but, at the same time, I don't want some other shmo to buy the car. If some extra haggling/games could result in something significant I suppose it would be worth the risk but... since this car is already priced pretty low... I'm thinking I'm better off just leaving things be.


FVCK!! I hate this $HIT!!! haha making a decision sucks!!!

 

[Peter B]

yeah buying a car was kinda stressful. Driving it however...

 

[leadf00t]

Thanks for all the comments...

Honestly, the only thing I'd probably wanna get afterwards are the HID and possibly even LED tails. I know those are quite costly and a pain to install... but even that isn't enough (imo) to warrant the premium. Especially when I actually prefer the cloth seats (easier to maintain). That said, if the price was right on a GT I'd go for it. So far, the 2 dealers that have Silver GTs aren't budging. From their perspective, I guess I can understand why. (they're selling it to me at invoice.) not their invoice but Edmunds and various other sites invoice.. .so it's legit. I don't think it would be fair to ask for an even lower price. lol

So yeah... I'm back where I started. As far as haggling with the '07 goes... I realize these are tough times but, at the same time, I don't want some other shmo to buy the car. If some extra haggling/games could result in something significant I suppose it would be worth the risk but... since this car is already priced pretty low... I'm thinking I'm better off just leaving things be.


FVCK!! I hate this $HIT!!! haha making a decision sucks!!!

If you end up with a GT, I'd gladly switch seats with you. I have a brand new 08 sport, only 2800 miles on it. So you get your cake & eat it too. Some food for thought.

 

[stevessvt]

Lets not forget that no matter what, the 09 will always be worth a few grand more when it comes time to sell than the 07, all things being equal. So really the question is: is it worth $2600 for you to get a virgin car?

 

[coololddude]

I would get one of each, But thats just me!

 

[1BadPig]

I'd go with the 08 GT... well, I'm biased since I just got mine a week ago.

 

[boostdog]

Lets not forget that no matter what, the 09 will always be worth a few grand more when it comes time to sell than the 07, all things being equal. So really the question is: is it worth $2600 for you to get a virgin car?

this is backwards logic though...of course it will be worth more it's 2yrs newer(braindead) but the op has to pay more for it.

i still vote for the 07...cheaper and still alot of fun. if want the ammenities install them yourself...damn hids and leds are not worth 2-4grand...come on guys!

you are doing nothing but saving yourself money the whole time you have. other that the things you """"want""" they are the same car. get the 07 and go have fun with your lower payments. this will give you $ to spend on making it look better and go faster.

EDIT: plus like i said it's already taken the depreciation hit...your wallet won't be as hurt when you deciede to trade...believe me! be logical!(drinks) Your buying a fun toy...not a house not a wife (hehehe) upgrade as you go along.

Edit: 2 - take a look at autotrader .com...there are several ms3 at or below the same price you are looking at across the country.....they have room to move believe me!

 

[stevessvt]

How is it backwords thinking? You have to take in to consideration what it will be worth when you sell it. You pay more up front, but you get more back, too. You pay 4600+ more now, but your going to get about 2000+ back when you sell it. And to me, having a 2yr newer car thats brand spanking new is worth $2600

 

[boostdog]

these cars are loosing more of there value than you are giving them....i gaurantee you that the op can buy the 07 for less $....look at autotrader.com these are asking prices across the US....asking prices my friend...you say only 2grand but is that true?? maybe if he got lucky and ***** someone when they bought it from him but if they are willing to sell that 07 for that $$ what did they give the guy for trade in?? a whole lot less....look at the bigger picture.

also we need 1 important thing to know op....how long are you going to be keeping this car? I will never own a car i can't afford to pay for in 4yrs or less. be smart...think ahead. if your going to keep the car for along time...then yes stevesvt's logic is correct...what would be 2600 bucks? nothing really.....but if you think for 1 second that your going to be trading it in, you must think about that and when you'd not be upside down in the car. 6 year notes take along time to get even with the value of the car...your looking at ~ 4 yrs....the 07 has already taken the hit and you can then afford to pay for it in 5 years..heck maybe even 4.5-4 yrs. at the same payment ( same mind you or close to it) as the new one. getting you their quicker giving you equity (sp?).

edit: OP what kind of % could you get on a 4 yr note? are they offering you anything like that?

 

[Outkast]

If you are good with working on cars then buy low and add as you go, but if you are just a driving enthusiast such as me then buy it with it already on it. Enjoy the car straight off the lot and trade it in when the 2011 MS3 is unleashed. That's your four year cycle (note).

My advice...you are paying for the engine. If you can afford what you want then buy what you prefer, but like boostdog said – live realistically and live within your means, because in the end any car purchase (new or used) is a bad investment. At least with the MS3 you’ll have fun with your bad investment.