Off Topic Car shopping experiences

sxa

'23 CX-9 CE, '14 CX-5 Touring FWD, '16 CX-3 GT FWD
My wife and I have been holding off getting her a new ride for awhile, despite this not being a great time to buy I don't really see prices going back down. Inventory is improving and due to my mother in law needing reliable transportation we decided to go ahead and upgrade my wife's ride.

tl;Dr she wanted to start by looking at non Mazdas, while she likes her CX-3 she isn't a Mazda fanatic like him.

Her best friend has a Lexus RX350 and my wife is a fan of RX350 from the "luxury" factors. Personally not a big fan of the design and honestly not a fan of the price. We did go to go a dealership and the sales folks didn't really want to talk to us. Inventory is also super low. If my wife decides this is the direction that she wants to go in I will support her but probably would try a different dealer.

After road tripping with our CX-5 and our nearly one year old daughter we both agreed something a bit bigger would be nice. Of course for me that would be the CX-9 as the best option. My wife did want to look at the Highlander. We drove one. It wasn't bad, but certainly isn't fun to drive. Interior leaves much to be desired. Toyota though is also pretty terrible. Talked with three dealers here to get ideas on pricing on the AWD XLE. Inventory is super low and so the dealers all have crazy markups and the way the Toyota distribution network works means you can't buy a car without tons of added options.

We looked at Subaru. They of course have a devout following, like Mazda fanatics. We drove the Ascent and Forrester. The Ascent was awful. The Forrester wasn't bad but not as fun and responsive as my CX-5 and not as sexy. A super practical vehicle and good price point for the fully loaded Touring. I will give Subaru props for having a super friendly and knowledgeable sales staff. Having the barista in the service department at our local deal is pretty cool. Subaru is doing market adjustments so hard to get a deal.

The local Mazda dealership has been good in the past for me. They were super friendly. They aren't doing any market adjustments and their inventory is getting better. Drove the CX-50 (Turbo and Non-turbo) and CX-9. My wife likes the value of Mazda and I think I have her on board for a CX-9 Carbon Edition. Upscale interior, all the tech she wants but still at a decent price point. We both loved the color palette.

Didn't check out any other brands. I am a fan of Acura but price wise I think going with a CX-9 over the MDX is the right choice. Honda's aren't as sexy, my wife hates the boxy design of the Pilot. The offerings from Detroit don't call to us.

If you have any recent stories or thoughts to share around car shopping please add them to this thread.
 
Not specifically related to car shopping, but if after sales service is a factor in your final decision, this thread might be helpful.

 
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IMO, the RX350 doesn't offer enough to make the step up worth it. Hopefully you end up in the CX-9! I love my Signature.
 
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This site has monthly summaries of new car and used car inventory levels and prices:


If you read a few articles, they call out brands with the highest and lowest inventory levels. The domestic brands tend to have more inventory and better deals than the imports.
 
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I'm not shopping for a new vehicle but just about every week when I do the groceries and other errands, I drive in front of my dealer and can't help giving a quick look to see what they have on the lot. When I come back there's a Toyota dealer right across (same owner as my Mazda dealer) and today I saw the bZ4X for the first time in person, boy is that thing ever ugly!
 
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IMO, the RX350 doesn't offer enough to make the step up worth it. Hopefully you end up in the CX-9! I love my Signature.

I very much agree. And my wife is starting to come on board. We both really like the Carbon Edition color scheme. We also like the captains seats so it seems like the best option for our needs.

This site has monthly summaries of new car and used car inventory levels and prices:


If you read a few articles, they call out brands with the highest and lowest inventory levels. The domestic brands tend to have more inventory and better deals than the imports.

Thanks for sharing the link. I have definitely noticed more inventory available when I pass dealerships. I see there are many in transit as well for Mazda specifically. My current plan is to wait until mid December and try to get a half decent deal.
 
Thanks for sharing the link. I have definitely noticed more inventory available when I pass dealerships. I see there are many in transit as well for Mazda specifically. My current plan is to wait until mid December and try to get a half decent deal.

Early to mid-December is actually when I started negotiating with dealers on my CX-9. I think we actually closed on the 27th or 28th. I can't say for sure, but I like to think that waiting until closer to the end of the month can help with negotiations as they may be more eager to close the sale and get it on their books for the month/year.
 
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