When an Auto Writer Buys a Car: Part III

After my wife delivered the crushing reality that a black Mazda CX-7 would not be our next car, it was back to full car-shopping mode. Like most people, we’re a busy couple and don’t have time to talk to dealers on the phone or go to a dealership on a weekday. We had to plan our shopping trips for the weekend, and in Illinois that means Saturday, since there are laws that don’t allow dealers to operate on Sunday.

Using online quotes and test-drive appointments was extremely helpful. I’m not just saying that because Cars.com offers the service — as do most automakers — it really does change the way you schedule your shopping and is extremely efficient.

With the Mazda CX-7 now out of the running, I knew we had to test drive the Honda CR-V. My wife owned a CR-V about seven years ago, and I reviewed the new 2007 model myself for Cars.com. It actually garnered a pretty glowing review, plus it’s safe and will have excellent resale value.

I scheduled an appointment for an upcoming Saturday with an internet salesman at a large Honda dealer in another suburb. It was on one of those long stretches of car dealerships, right next to Hyundai and Mitsubishi dealers, so we could just walk in to test a Santa Fe or an Outlander.

Luckily for me, a new Hyundai Santa Fe came into our test fleet during this time. I took it home for a few days, and Courtney really liked it. What won her over was the comfortable ride, seating position and visibility. I find the Santa Fe a tad sedate, but there’s no way to argue it has the cushiest ride in the segment and takes Chicago potholes well. So now the favorites were the Santa Fe and Subaru Outback.

Saturday rolled around, and we made the trek out to the suburbs to meet our Honda salesman. Again, I was relieved the salesman wasn’t a stereotype, and he didn’t waste our time at all. He found a black 2007 CR-V EX-L, with leather, on the lot, and we were off for a test drive. I sat in the backseat while my wife drove (I don’t ride in backseats much). The test drive was going fine, and I had a question that popped into my head. I asked the salesman, “How much will the mileage come down when the 2008 EPA numbers are released?” If you’ve been following our blog you know 2008 car models are being judged much more strictly by the EPA than those in 2007 and before.

Here is where my faith in the sales guy went out the window. He said, “We don’t think they’ll go down at all; they could even go up.” Huh? Now the EPA has released adjusted numbers using a formula, but hasn’t done the real test on the 2008 CR-V since it’s not out yet. The adjusted numbers are 2 mpg less than the 2007 numbers, about on par with every other model on the market. If he had just said “they’ll go down the same as everybody else,” I don’t think that would’ve stopped us from buying the CR-V. Instead his comment put me on the defensive, and even when I asked him why he thought the mileage would go up, I didn’t get a satisfactory answer.

We got back from the test drive and sat down to get the pricing. Our salesman resumed his efficient manner and basically said the MSRP is the price and there aren’t any deals being offered by Honda. I knew how popular the CR-V was and its short time on lots, so I didn’t doubt him, but I still had to ask “there’s no way to get a better price?” Nope. None. Still, the MSRP was in line with where we wanted to be: right around $25,000.

We took his card and left, and he promised to follow up with us. It was a very painless trip. In the safety of our own car, my wife said she didn’t like the CR-V’s engine when she was driving, especially the acceleration from a stop; it seemed too anemic. I had been impressed with the black and tan color combination and love the handling and transmission of the CR-V, but this isn’t my car. Strike the CR-V from the list.

Two doors down was the Mitsubishi dealer. Without an appointment we walked in and found a number of salesmen idle. One immediately sidled up to us as we approached an Outlander on the showroom floor. Getting a test drive was effortless. Once again we were asked for my wife’s license and were sent off by ourselves in a new Outlander XLS. The Outlander — which I also reviewed for Cars.com — has plenty of pep, but my wife just could not get comfortable in the seat. She was too far back from the windshield — like she was in the Mazda CX-7 — to feel comfortable no matter how she adjusted her position. We had barely gotten a block before she had made up her mind on the Outlander; it happened that fast.

The salesman was nice enough when we told him she just didn’t feel comfortable driving it, but the sales manager came over in a near-cornering maneuver to follow up and didn’t accept her explanation on the first try. I thought it was a pretty valid reason not to like a car.

That was that. After only two weekends of physical car shopping we were left with a decision: The Hyundai Santa Fe or the Subaru Outback. The answer will come tomorrow, along with our negotiations.

When an Auto Writer Buys a Car: Part I
When an Auto Writer Buys a Car: Part II
When an Auto Writer Buys a Car: Part IV