Ok, I know we've got some savvy car shoppers in the GRM fam. Here's what's up: I'm in my mid-50's and I can afford to get up off my wallet more than I currently do. Retirement savings are solid, salary is both good and secure, house is almost paid off. I'm going to buy AK1 a new car, because it's worth $400/mo to my peace of mind.
here's where y'all come in: find me the cheapest new car(s) with heated seats. I'd consider a lease but with GM and maybe others offering 0% for 72 months, I think it might make sense to buy. New only, no CPOs, no used.
So far I'm seeing 2021 Buick Encore GX coming in around $26k, with several available in my area, zip 48187.
GRM POWERS, ACTIVATE!
2021 Mazda3 Sedan "Preferred" trim has heated seat. Built out in Soul Red (worth $595) it's $26,090.
Pretty sure the Spark has heated seats and a lot cheaper than $26k
Mr. Peabody said:
Pretty sure the Spark has heated seats and a lot cheaper than $26k
GM has pulled nearly all heated seats due to their chip shortages. Can't even get them in the $50K+ Silverados.
You can get aftermarket seat heaters, if you're up to removing and reinstalling the seat covers and doing some basic wiring.
Mitsubishi mirage and clog up the rear catalytic converter.
I spent quite a bit of time in a rental Spark this year, and it's a shockingly capable car. Great mileage, handles fine, gets out of it's own way pretty well.
And aftermarket seat-heaters would be a good weekend project for the two of you.
I put a set of seat heaters from Amazon in our bronco and they are surprisingly effective.
Not super difficult but to do it right was a bit of work.
Don't be afraid of them is all I'm trying to say!
TVR Scott said:
I spent quite a bit of time in a rental Spark this year, and it's a shockingly capable car.
I've been wanting to test drive both a Spark and a Micra, but just haven't made it happen. All the tests make comparisons to each other and say the Micra's a lot sportier/fun to drive.
In reply to Mr. Peabody :
You get some stuff we don't get to play with, like the Micra. You also get heated seats and steering wheels in models and trim levels that we don't. For example I see Hyundai ads on HNIC that say they have them in all their models. After having them for two winters in my GMC Canyon I'd love them in everything I own. My old bones are starting to appreciate the heat on cold mornings.
I did look up the Spark on the US site. Heated seats are still listed as available.
Doubt it's the cheapest but I like my 21 Mazda3. I have the hatchback but I'd recommend the sedan for a younger driver just because rear visibility is much better.
I'd probably look at Kia Soul or Hyundai Kona
John Welsh said:
I'd probably look at Kia Soul or Hyundai Kona
Had a rental Soul in Manitoba the other week, those seat and steering wheel heaters will roast you pretty quick even on low, no waiting for things to warm up! Overall the car wasn't too bad.
AFAIK the cheapest new car with heated seats is the Mitsubishi Mirage SE Starting at $17,445
Snrub
Dork
12/5/21 12:28 a.m.
Not horribly expensive variants of the Versa, or Senta are have heated seats. Hyundai Accent Limited.
When we bought the Fiat the dealer installed aftermarket seat heaters for about $200. Find the cheapest car she's happy with and have them added.
I'm hearing from a trusted indy shop who has ties to all the dealerships "the hyundai and Kia 4-cyl are junk and they don't stand behind their warranty". This makes me sad because the Kona N looks kinda decent.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
I'm hearing from a trusted indy shop who has ties to all the dealerships "the hyundai and Kia 4-cyl are junk and they don't stand behind their warranty". This makes me sad because the Kona N looks kinda decent.
I've heard a lot of this also - that the Hyundai/Kia direct injected engines are junk.
But then I also hear that a major contributor to this story is.... folks who don't bother changing their oil.
It makes me VERY disinterested in buying a used Kia but I'm not sure what's true. Buying a new one might just be fine if you can be bothered to perform routine maintenance.
....anybody have something more than hearsay?
In these crazy times, are manufacturers still offering friends/family/supplier/etc discount programs? And, if they are do dealerships still honor these programs?
I'm just wondering if this can be a path to "honest" pricing in these times?
I agree that new is probably the "win and sure thing" you need at this time. That far north becomes "otherworldly" in the harsh winter.
Another question (that doesn't have to be answered here), is there really a long term commitment to LSSU? It's not that it's so far in miles but that the miles are hard miles in winter. The same distance to Cincinnati or points in between has less drama.
In reply to John Welsh :
I only have info on Ford discounts at this time, through one very close friend in engineering and a cousin in new car sales at a dealership in NJ. Sounds like they are being accepted on sales from inventory, but not on the F350 Dually Platinum that my cousin's customer wanted to special order.
and yes, there's a commitment to LSSU.
and yes, from thanksgiving to Easter you might as well be driving on the moon vs the stretch from Saginaw to the Soo.
I usually disregard people who say, "all xyz brand cars are junk", it usually turns out their opinion is based on one bad experience they had with that brand years ago. It may warrant more investigation on your part about some specific issues, but in general I think it's hard to find a truly terrible car these days.
OHSCrifle said:
....anybody have something more than hearsay?
The 1.6 and 1.6T engines are fine and that's probably what would be in whatever you would be looking at.
If you spend a few minutes searching for Hyundai/Kia engine recalls, or engine recall fines you'll see what's going on. They had big engine problems then dragged their feet recalling them and got their peepee's slapped to the tune of $210m. In all it's said that it's going to cost them $5b. So as far as not standing behind their warranties, that starts at the top.
Locally there's a large and pretty good online community of Korean owners. Canadians buy them at a much higher rate than Americans, and a big problem that I see with the dealerships here is that they're sleazy and incompetent. I owned a 16 Koup for just shy of a couple years. It had the 1.6T and I liked the car, but I don't have a lot of faith in the company, or at the dealership level and wouldn't buy new, and I wouldn't buy another one unless the price was right.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
Years ago, a GRMer set me up with a Mazda discount code through their account with the racing program.
Another, GRMer set me up with a Ford discount code. That was helpful back in 2013. The new Escapes had just come out and they were a hot hit and dealers weren't dealing. The code made it really easy and "honest. '
