New Car Drama

Okay internet, I told you I’d tell you more about the car thing when I knew more. So let me tell you what’s going on…
To recap, I had dealt with a few rude dealers and not found anything I liked until I stopped to look at the Ford Fiesta. I couldn’t get the Fiesta, but I was kind of done car shopping and I could get financed in theory for the 2011 Ford Focus, which is ubiquitous but not horrible. In practice, I needed to give them a partial down payment ($200) before they would get the financing done because I don’t have a co-signer and they “had to call in some favors” to get it done. So I gave them $200 (fully refundable) and asked when we would know for sure. Two days later they had finally called me back and let me know that they had it worked out. In the meantime, I had found a new car that I LOVED, the 2011 Mazda2. When I saw it online, it seemed perfect. When I saw it in person, my heart literally skipped a beat. It felt so right when I test drove it. But it was late, and they couldn’t even deal with a bank that night. The next day they called me and told me that they couldn’t do it for me. So I was upset, but prepared to get the Focus, but it still had to wait until my next payday for the other $300. In the meantime, I found another Mazda dealer that advertised that they dealt especially with people with bad credit. I don’t have bad credit exactly, so much as very little credit history. Anyway, they told me they could probably finance me, so I went out there and got some things in motion. I just heard back on Friday that they can finance me for the Mazda2 but “we need to discuss some things”, I don’t really know what that means, but now I’m flustered. Tomorrow, one way or the other, I’m buying a new car and I don’t know where to go, so here’s my pro/con list for each car…

Mazda2

Pros

1. Bright green=super pretty
2. Mazda has a great reputation
3. It felt so right when I drove it
4. Unique/European styling- it's not the same as every other car on the road

Cons

1. Almost no features/options- it will route MP3 player through the radio but that's it
2. Back seat is not comfy/spacious (I feel I shouldn't have to concern myself with kid comfort since I don't have kids, but because of how often I watch Nick and Naty, I do)
3. No former US model to refer to- it might have bugs we don't know about since there's no history
4. Not very powerful
5. low MPG for it's size (subcompact) (29/35)
6. slightly more expensive

Focus

Pros

1. Blue which is my favorite color
2. Ford's Sync System (Bluetooth, will run calls through the radio for a hands free system, plays music from MP3 player radio adjustments on the steering wheel, ambient lighting [this is cool, colored lights at the feet that you can change depending on your mood])
3. Back seat is more spacious/comfy (see above)
4. It's a Focus, it's been around long enough that I know what problems I'm likely to run into with it
5. Slightly cheaper than the Mazda

Cons

1. Ford doesn't have a great reputation, and the Focus especially has had terrible years in the past, although the reviews have been universally fair to good since 06
2. STILL haven't test driven it due to dealer issues
3. Ubiquitous
4. MPG is lower than the Mazda (25/35) but average for the size of the car

Hmmm… I thought that writing it out like that would help me make a decision, but it didn’t. I love the Mazda, but I’d be giving up some pretty neat stuff with it. I do really like the Sync system but I certainly don’t need it.
If I could wait a year to get a new car, the 2012 Mazda2 is supposed to have a much higher MPG rating and a potential for a “speed” version with more power. Buying a car is hard people!