So, I had to take a new job which is gonna require a 100+ mile a day round trip commute. With gas prices for premium over $3 a gallon, I'd love to get myself into something that gets more than 30mpg highway.
Is anyone interested in purchasing an '03 SVT
sonic blue
"winter package" (traction control, heated side mirrors, heated seats)
(pretty much all the options except the HID lamps)
borla catback exhaust (3")
matching blue HVAC center panel cover
roughly 35,000 miles
maintenanced every 3,000 miles.
tires have less than 15,000 miles.
i'd like to get $12,000, mildly negotiable.
thanks.
____________________ it is smarter to be lucky
than
it is lucky to be smart.
(not that i really want to debate or discuss why i'm selling the car
or why i do or don't get the same mileage you do,
i just want to sell it)
the best i've done on a pure highway tank
when i didn't hit any traffic jams for 300 miles
and kept the car at around 70mph
with a lot of cruise control,
was 27mpg.
and that's on 93 octane.
the car's only rated for something like 22/27.
if you're getting 30+
you either drive in a very unusual way,
or there's something very unusual about your car.
because the model used to rate mpg on a car
is completely unrealistic
("highway" speeds for mpg testing is 45mph),
cars almost never get what they're rated for,
let alone exceed those numbers.
regardless,
the car i'm looking at is rated 33/38
and has significantly more interior space
and is a hell of a lot nicer inside
and will run on regular instead of premium gas.
its an all around much nicer car
and it'll save me roughly $125 a week on gas.
i'd -love- to get into a hybrid
and save even more,
but a Prius runs about $8k more than the car i'm looking at
and even with the radically higher mileage
and gas prices where they are,
it would take years and years to make back that $8k
let alone start saving any money.
the car i'm looking at
the monthly payments will be identical
(even though its a cheaper car,
i got my SVT during the days of 0% APR),
so combine cheaper gas with longer mileage
and the savings are instant.
but no dealer's gonna give me anything for my car
(i've already discovered),
so i need to try to make a private sale
and i need to make enough to cover the loan.
Last edited on Sun May 7th, 2006 10:44 pm by jhimm
____________________ it is smarter to be lucky
than
it is lucky to be smart.
less than what i owe,
which would mean my monthly payments would go up,
which defeats the whole purpose,
since i would not end up saving money in the end.
apparently pricing books
must have no mechanism
for accounting for something
like a specialty or limited edition car
(like an SVT)
because both my Ford dealer and the dealer on the new car
told me that the car was book priced at $8,000.
which can't possibly be right.
i could see an '03 base model Focus being worth that,
but not an SVT.
(the quoting system still doesn't work under Mac OSX)
Last edited on Mon May 8th, 2006 12:40 am by jhimm
____________________ it is smarter to be lucky
than
it is lucky to be smart.
yea that's totaly true, but make no mistake: the dealer would CIRTAINLY turn right around and sell for way more the milage calls for based on the fact that it's limited eddition
____________________ 04 ZY ZX3/2.3L PZEV/K&N Typhoon CAI/FS race exaust/SVT suspension/black 18" L8 rims/FS front stress bar/steeda STS/black projector LED headlights (HID)/black alteza taillights/smoked side markers/euro upper front grille/euro LED 3rd brake lights/
very true,
but it doesn't do me any good.
i expected the non-Ford dealer to go strictly book,
but i was pretty shocked when the SVT dealer took that line with me.
i've bought 3 cars from them in 5 years
and i haven't given him the impression yet
that i wasn't gonna buy another one real soon.
i fully expected him to throw me a bone,
if for no other reason
than to ensure i remember our "relationship"
when i'm ready to get back into something high powered.
the crazy part is,
he didn't make any money selling -me- the SVT,
so i'm shocked he doesn't want a second bite of the apple.
i'm on a 0% loan
and because it is an '03 that i got
when he already had '04's on the lot,
i got it for less than MSRP.
oh well.
i'm moving in a few weeks.
once that's settled,
i'll get it detailed,
take photos,
and put it on eBay.
if i can cover the reserve,
that's good enough.
____________________ it is smarter to be lucky
than
it is lucky to be smart.
i think that may be heresy on this Forum, liking a Civic.
i would have gone for an Si coupe,
except the torque is so low
that it takes the car ELEVEN SECONDS
to accelerate from 30-50 miles per hour
or from 50-70 miles per hour.
compare to, say, a VW GTI
which can do either of those in something like 2.5 or 3 seconds.
but i can't afford a Civic Si or a GTI, anyway.
i'm looking at the Fit Sport,
which is ugly,
but not actually any smaller than a Civic
(and in some ways bigger),
and handles and drives quite nicely,
and can get nearly 40 mpg on the highway.
and,
a well appointed Sport model is $16k
instead of $23k for an Si or nearly $30k for a tricked out GTI.
____________________ it is smarter to be lucky
than
it is lucky to be smart.
jhimm wrote: i think that may be heresy on this Forum, liking a Civic.
i would have gone for an Si coupe,
except the torque is so low
that it takes the car ELEVEN SECONDS
to accelerate from 30-50 miles per hour
or from 50-70 miles per hour.
compare to, say, a VW GTI
which can do either of those in something like 2.5 or 3 seconds.
but i can't afford a Civic Si or a GTI, anyway.
i'm looking at the Fit Sport,
which is ugly,
but not actually any smaller than a Civic
(and in some ways bigger),
and handles and drives quite nicely,
and can get nearly 40 mpg on the highway.
and,
a well appointed Sport model is $16k
instead of $23k for an Si or nearly $30k for a tricked out GTI.
It may be heresy but what choice do we have left when Ford's suck and there doesn't seem to be any changes in the near future...I would have bought the RS if it was offered..I like the new MKV GTI. I saw the new Fit at an autocross and kind of liked it...Good luck with your sale. I still have my 02 SVTF..would have sold it if someone offered me $10,500 but no luck so I decided to keep it. Anyway since no RS in the U.S. I opted for the .:R32.
Last edited on Thu May 18th, 2006 08:27 pm by Blurry
____________________ 02 SVT Focus, CD Silver, No. 2032.
jhimm wrote: ha.
the R32.
that's a whole different price universe from where i'm living.
good luck with it.
i've heard increasingly disturbing things
about VW's reliability. This is my 7th VW...I still have an 83 GTI w/1.8 16v conversion and none of them have been worse then my Fords...
____________________ 02 SVT Focus, CD Silver, No. 2032.
Yes, there were QC issues with VW publicised. The Jetta TDi I have has over a 100k km on it and there was a rash of little things that they took care of in the first 20k. Since then it's been good. Still have the Focus since it's more fun.
____________________
A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
