Car Buying: Test Drives Part 1

I test drove 8 cars today: Nissan Sentra, Nissan Altima, Hyundai Elantra, Ford Focus 2012 sedan, Subaru Impreza, Honda Fit, Toyota Corolla, and Toyota Yaris.

I’m not a fan of the whole buying experience in general. The salespeople have such a great information advantage over the buyer. Some of the salespeople are pushy, telling you to buy today, even after you told them you’re only test driving and will purchase in a week or two.

Most people, especially myself, don’t know how to evaluate cars and what initial feelings on the road can become problems later on. We can turn to professionals like Consumer Reports, but their blurbs are short and useful as a pre-filter, but not that helpful after narrowing your selection.

I am looking at hatchbacks and small sedans. One concern I have with hatchbacks is that you can’t really see out the back and the blind spots are large. But they can carry a lot of stuff. On the other hand, small sedans will have trouble carrying things like bikes, but are typically good about being able to see out the rear, but knowing where the car ends requires time and patience to learn the car. I don’t particularly care about rear seat room, but that is a major concern for other people on cars like the Yaris and the Fiesta