ford taurus - any thoughts?

[Byteme]

he keeps shifting between value and passion.  he sold his convertible 3 series on autotrader because maintenance costs once his warranty expired were annoying him.  now he just has a sienna which he drives with his wife and young kid.  needs another car for himself.  he's my age, 39, so not a kid but not an old dude.  good job but can't blow money especially with such a young kid and no mortgage yet. 

big guy and doesn't like feeling cramped.  i suggested he get a vw gti and he's considering it but likely wants to go the midsize to large sedan route.  then he told me he liked the jeep gc strictly on how it looks.  i'm steering him away from it because the way he drives sometimes, i'm afraid he'll flip it.

i told him the problem he was facing was value vs passion.  these midsize standard sedans he's test driving are boring him.  that's when i suggested the ford taurus and he sounded intrigued when i showed him how it looked. 

Tell him to wait and get either a next generation Fusion or Mazda 6

[GoCougs]

I think the Taurus looks pretty good; especially the rear with the retro LED tail lights; and it's a decent deal with a good power train (290 hp V6, 6sp AT, available AWD). However as a daily utilitarian car it's really not great. Packaging is poor and it's huge. The best utilitarian car for an enthusiast is the Camry V6 SE.

[veeman]

yesterday, his wife and him came to my place and we did some test-driving.  I was in the backseat which gives me a very different perspective

new acura tl loaded with superhandling awd (black) - very sporty and sounds good.  fast.  not luxurious at all.  cramped back seat.  small trunk.  exterior styling is ok since the refresh.  annoying lying POS salesman who tried to tell me that 19 inch tires are more comfortable than the standard 17 inch tires and other bs.  my brother in law wasn't impressed

used certified mercedes e-350 awd (silver)  2 years old.  12,000 miles on the odometer - wow.  this car looks awesome both from the outside and inside. elegant and stately. feels like a bank vault.  you can instantly tell you're not in a run of the mill mainstreamer.  roomy backseat.  crappy leatherette which feels and looks terrible compared with the real thing. i was taken aback by how good their certified warranty appears.  3 years from date of certified purchase, 100,000 miles bumper to bumper (not just powertrain).  covers everything except tires and brakes and other normal wear and tear.  for a little over 1,000 more you can bump it up another year and an additional 12 thousand miles.  for a little over 2,000 more you can bump it up 2 more years and an additional 25,000 miles.  then there's the price.  44,000.  new is 60,000.  my brother in law liked it.  thought it was slow compared with the acura though and the steering was weird.  didn't feel natural because of the steering assist which turned the car much more than the wheel turned. 

next step was audi a6 but ...  something happened on the way outside the dealership where he turns around and tells me and his wife  "what am I doing...this is madness...camry or sonata, not this bs luxo crap which i'm going to regret"  wife agrees.  i'm silent.

they go to toyota and hyundai, not to test drive, just to take another look. he comes within a few minutes of buying the sonata limited with panoramic sunroof, leather, and nav for 28,500 after saleswoman originally quoted him 29,500 but then "bargained".  i suggest to him to not do anything rash.  he and i don't know what a good price is yet and does he need the car tomorrow?  he grudgingly agrees. 

we go home, drink a beer (just 1) and then him, his wife, and child go home. 

today he emails me carsdirect pricing:

sonata 27500 (but one dealer offered 26500) 0.9% apr for 3 years.  loaded with everything

camry v6 xle 29974 0% apr for 3 years.  loaded with everything.

i told him my opinion:  camry was smoother, quieter, faster, better interior, better resale.  sonata had better styling, better gas mileage, better warranty.  camry was more substance but more boring.  i suggested that if he wanted a lexus which no one would notice get the camry.  if he was willing to sacrifice some refinement and speed for more style, get the sonata.  can't go wrong with either.

we'll see...

[CJ]

We love our Sonata SE 2.0T, except the tires are too damn loud.

[68_427]

An MKZ would have been interesting.  Forgot about that car.

[GoCougs]

Agree on the TL critique. I had great luck with the Accord and wanted to really like the TL (SH-AWD w/6sp MT) but it was merely okay.

If he wants a good deal go with the Camry SE V6. Missing a few of the luxury items, and the leather isn't as soft and supple as the XLE, but it's a few grand cheaper.

[CJ]

An the SE V6 gets some nice wheels, but for value for money, and with the right tires, the Sonata is te best option. The 2.0T is a treat of an engine. I did 37.1 MPG (4.979 gallons for 184.7 miles) in it with the air on, temp of 104 degrees or so, and trough some smal mountains (Arbuckles just north of Ardmore, OK) and was extremely comfortable while doing it. The cars with 18s need quieter tires to truly be great.

[SVT666]

The Camry is the better car by far.  The Sonata has come a long way, but from my test drives, it's still not up to snuff.

[veeman]

he called me today and said he bought the mercedes.  bargained down to 41.5 thousand for the one we test drove:  silver, E350 AWD, 2011 with 12,800 miles.  Clean carfax, was leased and not a demo car.  comes with bumper to bumper warranty 3 yr starting now/100,000 miles.  maintenance not covered.   

Beautiful.

His wife told him a saying from the old country (she's an immigrant from eastern europe) - once you ride a horse, you can't ride a donkey

[CJ]

Good man.

[TurboDan]

he called me today and said he bought the mercedes.  bargained down to 41.5 thousand for the one we test drove:  silver, E350 AWD, 2011 with 12,800 miles.  Clean carfax, was leased and not a demo car.  comes with bumper to bumper warranty 3 yr starting now/100,000 miles.  maintenance not covered.   

Beautiful.

His wife told him a saying from the old country (she's an immigrant from eastern europe) - once you ride a horse, you can't ride a donkey

Sounds like a good deal. And agree on the horse/donkey comment. Going from a BMW to a Taurus (as he was originally considering) just seemed odd unless there were financial limitations dictating the downgrade.