AQFAMOT: Day... Umm... Part 2.

This past Friday and Saturday, we (my family) took our first giant step in purchasing a vehicle. By this, I mean we actually got off our bums and went outside.

We spent the day in the Ottawa area, where we started our adventure at a GM dealership. We walked around what we thought was the single row of used cars, all of which were Buick, but it wasn't until we found the Pontiac's that a sales rep actually came out to meet us.

We didn't actually test drive anything at this location, mostly because it was my first car shopping experience, and I was nervous. However we did take a look at a few cars.

Pontiac G5 (2006?) - Mediocre unloaded car, with tiny passenger space and roll up windows. Some warranty. $10k

Nissan Alitma (2005?) - Mostly loaded, quite comfortable, ABS, sunroof and heated seats. No warranty. $11k - 60 000km

Pontiac G6 (2005) - Fully loaded, super comfortable, some rust on doors (not sure about underneath) No warranty $9k - 60 000 km, suspicious. Based on these 3 cars, I would have bought this one, assuming it all checked out.

Next Stop - Jeep/Chrysler/Dodge

We didn't see anything worth looking at here, though it did put us in view of our next stop...

Unimportant Sleazy Street Corner dealer (I don't actually remember what the place was called) We saw an Elantra with obvious accident damage (dents and paint issues) and an Ion that left too much to be desired, both with nearly 200 000 km on them, no options, and $10k.

Next Stop - the bus. We concluded our Ottawa tour here... or did we...

On our way home, we did stop off at Ford dealership, which is really what we wanted to do in the first place, and we spent more than a few hours here.

Cars that caught our attention:
2005-2006 Ford Focus, wagon, hatchback, and sedan, all of which left me unimpressed.
2005 Saturn Ion. Two thumbs up for the price.
2007 Ford Fusion, easily the best car I've seen yet.

I test drove 2 of these cars.

The Saturn Ion. What a headache. Not the car, but the sales rep. I was impressed with the price because it was well within our decided price range (the car was $8000), upon sitting in it, I explained to the car dealer that I was looking for something with ABS, which I knew the Ion didn't have, much to my surprise, he told me it did. I asked him to make sure, so he looked under the wheel, and then under the hood, and then confirmed that it had ABS. Maybe I lucked out? Not likely.

We walked over to the Fusion, started it up, and it made some less than impressive noises. When I asked what the problem was I was told that a) all Fusions sounds that way, and b) that it would be fix upon pickup. Not impressed, but overwhelmed by the overall awesomeness that is the Ford Fusion.

Back to the Ion. We took it for a spin. Not overly impressive, but it did everything a car should, it drove, it stopped, turned, handled well, had a bit of pick up, and for the price was 100% awesome. Upon return to the dealership, we decided to make an offer, where we started talking to some other guy, who reminded us that if the car had ABS, there would be an ABS light that turns on when you start the car.

Back to the car. No ABS. I knew it.

The ABS wouldn't have been a deal breaker, it was that we were lied to that turned us off the car.

Lets test drive the Fusion.

Orgasm on wheels is all that comes to mind. Comfortable and easy to drive, as far as I'm concerned, this may be the best car ever created. I wanted it. It wasn't until the guy pointed out that if we're not going to buy it, that he wasn't going to have it looked at that I was a little suspicious.

We left.

Saturday, we started with GM, where we decided we liked the Pontiac Vibe ( I feel like at this point that I should mention that my friend drives a Pontiac Grand Prix, which I might love as much as the Ford Fusion). I'm developing a preference for Pontiac. Leave it to me to choose the extinct. Out of our price range, we moved on.

A different Ford dealer ship had a single Ford Focus to offer, overpriced.

Saturn, which we almost didn't go to, is where the magic happened. Greeted by an awesome sales rep, who was awesome with my daughter (bonus point), we told him exactly what we were looking for, and he brought us to exactly what we were looking for, no recommendations to spend a little more over a longer period to equate to the same monthly payments (more bonus points), no gimmicks. He recommended the Hyundai Accent, which put us exactly where we needed to be, with everything we wanted, and we went to look around the lot.

Always reluctant to do what I'm told, we decided to test drive a 2007 Hyundai Elantra, and a Pontiac Pursuit.

The Elantra came first. At this point I've taken the Fusion off my list of comparable cars, because I won't buy any other car if I don't. Upon sitting in it, it gets points for being comfortable. Really comfortable. I'm tall, and it had lots of room for me, and then some. The controls are easy, and everything is where it should be. Ample storage, with your classing glasses compartment over head, a storage compartment over on the dash over the radio, another one under the radio, and a huge one in the traditional between the front seats position.

It was also loaded with other options (heated seats, A/C, Cd MP3, power everything) All of the lights, signals, cruise control were exactly where they made sense to be. Incredibly easy to drive, I could see myself driving it comfortably for hours upon hours. Thoroughly impressed with the overall ease of this car, I think I made my decision at this point.

Into the Pontiac Pursuit. Fun little car, not built for the tall, horrible seats. Lots of pick-up. If I could have taken the seat out of the Elantra and put it in this car, it would have been a definite yes. However, I think I drove it for 5 minutes before my back started to hurt.

Time for lunch (or so I told the dealer), already certain that I wanted the Elantra, We decided it was time to test drive a Kia. On a wild goose chase, we managed to find a Kia Rio and and Kia Spectra to test drive. The Rio was better than I thought it would be, quite comfortable, ample trunk space for a hatchback, and much quieter than I expected. My issue with this particular Rio was that it had a billion kilometers on it (140k actually, much more than the average of 60k we've been seeing), it was literally brake pedal to the floor to slow down. Assured once again that this would be fixed, we tried out the Spectra. The Elantra knock off lacked in the comfort and charm department, and without even leaving the lot, I was unimpressed with the breaks. These breaks made a lot of noise. For $800 less than the Elantra, we decided that it was time to go back to Hyundai.

After taking it for one more drive, we put in an offer, and that is where we are right now.

Today we find out if we can manage it, and if the recall issues that I just found out about have or will be rectified.