[deRusett]

So I’m in the Market for a New Car. Well the fiancé is in the Market and I’ll acquire our 1995 Pontiac Firefly 2dr/4cyl.for myself.

She does a fair bit of Driving for Work on the 400 Series highways in Ontario We have pretty much Narrowed it down to the following 2 Cars

2007 Dodge Caliber SXT Approx $20,545.00

*D Package
*Auto 2.0L 4-Cyl. DOHC 16V Dual VVT Engine
*Driver Convenience Group package


dodge linkage

2006 Toyota Matrix BASE FWD Approx $23.337.00

B – Package
Auto 1.8L 4-Cyl

Toyota Linkage



Now I have not taken the Matrix out yet, but I really enjoyed the Caliber, and if it was my choice alone it would already be in the drive way.

The Caliber was Engineered by Mercedes, The Toyota is basically the Same as the Pontiac Vibe with more refined interior styling. At least that is what I am reading online while trying to build a case for Both the Caliber and the Matrix,

So people help me build a case for which ever car you’d get if you had the choice of the 2, Pro’s and con’s for either would be good.

On a Side note, my Friend is Opening a Dodge Dealership at the End of the Month, so I’m holding off on the new Car till then if a considerable price difference is to be Had we will go with the cheaper one because the G/f is cheap, took her a while to be convinced the Car choices should be the Caliber vs Matrix over the Caliber vs Yaris, because $20,000 was the price point she could not see her self going over so we could pay it off this year.

We are not looking for resale value, if that’s one of your Toyota Pro’s we are going to Run this too the ground as we will with the firefly and did with the 1988GMC van, The other Cars in the Drive Way are a 2004 Honda Accord, and a 2005 Toyota Tacoma. Which replaced a Pontiac Grand AM, and GMC Van, I drive a Ford Pick up at work and swear by them. so as you can see we really have no Brand loyalty.

Thanks for the help any good review links or comparison links would be great.

[FudgeNuggets]

I'd go for the Matrix for these reasons.

1. Better MPG, you know gas is $1.04 a litre here in Hamilton
2. Historically the Toyota will run longer with less maintenance $$$
3. Calibur is new so it probably has some 1st year bugs to work out

Also, it's actually the other way around Toyota builds the Vibe, they just stick the Pontiac logo and red dash lights on it for GM.

[techun]

toyota matrix, although i dont like either of those cars, heh

Im not sure, but is the caliber the new one with the bottle chiller and the fold down rear stereo? If so these things seem gimicky, and i bet they will fail or just be of bad quality.

i would drive the toyota then make a decision, because ultimatly it matters what you want. Also the dodge would be faster, lol

[cursor]

Isn't the Matrix the same thing as the Pontiac Vibe? You might be able to get a better deal on the Pontiac because it doesn't have the Toyota badge on it (less prestigious). I'd get the Toyota, myself. Did see a nice Caliber the other day (55-year old female colleague at work got one). Looks more like a sporty mini-van to me than an SUV, but I liked the stereo integrated into the back door (great for outdoor parties/tailgating). No way is it a Mercedes, though. You're kidding yourself on that score.

I had a lot of problems with my only Dodge back when I was in high school, and am very leery of having another one. That said, I think you should listen to FudgeNuggets when he's talking about 1st year bugs.

Here is a safety comparison:
Caliber - http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/NCAP/Cars/3735.html

Matrix - http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/NCAP/Cars/3585.html

Whatever you do, for sure get the side curtain air bags. They make a life and death difference if you ever get T-boned.

[techun]

im not sure, but when have you ever had a use for a a flip down stereo speaker in your car? You cant play it for long until you have to run your car so your battery doesnt die.

[Quailane]

EEEW. Don't get the matrix. Its a sissy car. The middle of the road caliber you are looking at is $3000 less than the base matrix. Also the matrix has just a few mpg better which I don't think is worth anything. The caliber is 27/32 and the matrix 30/36. Neither are exactly high end gas savers so if that was your priority you shouldn't be looking at either.

[Captain Slug]

Don't buy a new car. The value of it will depreciate as soon as you touch the pedals. Get a certified used 96-98 BMW 3 series for around $14k. Or if you want something that will cost very little get a certified used Toyota Corolla.

[techun]

you could even get a 2003 or 4 and it would be thousands less, but if he wants a new car...

[Cyrix_2k]

Originally Posted by Captain Slug

Don't buy a new car. The value of it will depreciate as soon as you touch the pedals. Get a certified used 96-98 BMW 3 series for around $14k. Or if you want something that will cost very little get a certified used Toyota Corolla.

I agree - I got my '96 3 series convertible for a little over $5k. It gets over 30 mpg, has a nice quality feel to it, and handles well. I love it.

oh, and as a side note, we've had TERRIBLE luck with FWD Dodge's. The worst offender was our '90 Dynasty back in '94. We bought it used and it would kill a transmission about every 10,000 miles. We had no less then 5 trannys in that car, all but 2 were replaced under warranty. After the first shop replaced the tranny for the third time, and the warranty expired, he forbid us to come back to him with the that car. That's how bad it was...

[deRusett]

Originally Posted by FudgeNuggets

I'd go for the Matrix for these reasons.

1. Better MPG, you know gas is $1.04 a litre here in Hamilton
2. Historically the Toyota will run longer with less maintenance $$$
3. Calibur is new so it probably has some 1st year bugs to work out

Also, it's actually the other way around Toyota builds the Vibe, they just stick the Pontiac logo and red dash lights on it for GM.

Gas is not a Huge issue, Most of it is payed for by the fiance's employer.

But for the sake of Argument
we will say Gas is $1.10/L
Toyota = 30/36mpg
Caliber = 27/32mpg
1mpg = 235 L/100km
average yearly driving is 30K (km) (based on past 3 years )
Toyota yearly cost approx $2574/$2145
Caliber Yearly Cost approx $2805/$2409

that is a difference of $231/$264 per year in Gas
so it will take more then 10 years of driving the Toyota to make up for the increase in the price of the Toyota over the Caliber, which makes the fuel economy point moot, which is why I didn't post the fuel economy of the cars.

Originally Posted by Captain Slug

Don't buy a new car. The value of it will depreciate as soon as you touch the pedals. Get a certified used 96-98 BMW 3 series for around $14k. Or if you want something that will cost very little get a certified used Toyota Corolla.

I have a perfectly good Older Car, the Fiance wants a new car since she now does a lot of driving for Work, plus on the new car we can write off expences. but I wont go into that.


How do either of those Cars Compare to the 2 that I have chosen
Both Cars are 4 door Hatch Backs, clearly the Hatch back is something we ( she) likes since our current car is the Firefly.

And I stated that the car would be driven into the ground there for value after the fact is irrelivent since it would not be resold.

[techun]

i hate to add unhelpful posts, but you forgot to add in rising fuel costs, gas will probably be about 5 bucks a gallon in a couple years

[Cyrix_2k]

a touring 3 series is a hatchback...

as far a value goes: even though you're not reselling the vehicle, you still lose the money that goes towards purchasing it so obviously buying a used car means you lose less money. A lightly used car is virtually new anyway, and costs much less.

[goog`]

Junk the firefly and buy 2 old civics, eveyones happy

[macklin01]

Dodge has had plenty of models dodged by costly quality problems. (*ahem* Neons with terrible head gaskets and transmissions. */ahem* After my Dodge neon and watching my parents shell out money for failed parts in a few of their Dodge Caravans, I swore I'd never shell out money for a Dodge again.)

Angie and I bought a new 2003 Corolla a few years ago and have been quite pleased in terms of reliability and fuel economy for the past 3 years. If you time your purchase to coincide with the introduction of new models, you can get some very good deals. Likewise with hail damage sales, etc., at the end of the summer.

Personally, I always thought the matrix looked kind of cool ... although the Scion xA looks a little better.

Agreed on side airbags for any small vehicle, by the way.

BTW, I rented a Ford Focus recently and was very impressed with handling, fuel economy, and interior layout/styling. If they get good reviews for quality and reliability (I haven't had the chance to check), you might want to look into them, too. They have the same overall look and feel as the two vehicles you mentioned. -- Paul