2003-2011 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup
As some may recall from my post a week or two ago, I have been helping my brother with his new car lease/purchase which came down to the Passat 2.0T (he currently drives a Passat 1.8T) and 9-3 2.0T. Now I love my Saabs (for sake of full disclosure I have a '93 9000 CSET and an '04 9-5 Aero), so I want to see him in a 9-3 in the worst way, but I promised to be neutral.
I won't bore you with all the gory details (this post will be long enough as is) but the 9-3 beat the Passat in essentially every category. Fit, finish, style, handling, features etc. all won by the 9-3 (not to my surprise of course, but somewhat to my brother's). As Mike Lynch has noted, the Passat has hiccuped (got bigger) and indeed it drives bigger. My brother really came to these conclusions all on his own (I only fought with the VW dealer once when he said that the 9-3 was the same as a Chevy Malibu; dealer had no idea who he was talking to).
The kicker is the the 9-3 2.0T cost less to lease than the Passat 2.0T despite the difference in MSRP. My brother was blown away by this and I was pleasantly surprised. So it was ultimately a no brainer. I'm a little fuzzy now on the exact lease terms (you'll know why in a second, keep reading) but the Passat was essentially $369 for 36 months with $2150 down and a $15,700 residual and the 9-3 2.0T (with auto, metallic, sunroof and cold pkg.) was $339 for 27 months with $1800 down and a $21,000 residual (both 10k mile leases). Deal was done and my brother was set to pick up his new nocturne blue 9-3 with parchment interior last Saturday.
But lo and behold I check in here essentially a week ago today and see a post from Mike Lynch about 0.0% for 60 months just becoming available for 9-3 Aeros and Combis or $3000 rebate. As he said in his post 0.0% for 60 months saves $4700 (assuming $30,000 financed) which is a better deal than the $3000 rebate. By financing an Aero at 0.0% and saving north of $5000, you can buy an Aero for essentially the same price as buying a 2.0T. So I call my brother to tell him about the new financing, sing the praises of the Aero (which I wanted him in from day one but it was more than a $4000 difference so I understood why he didn't go for it), and tell him he can buy $5000-6000 more car for the essentially the same price and get to go to the Aero Academy. Needless to say my neutrality was now out the window (I didn't have to be neutral anymore as he was getting a Saab either way).
So we go to the dealer on Saturday morning and he and his wife are put off a bit by the two-tone interior. I have his wife sit in the driver's seat of both cars so she can appreciate the difference in the sport's seat. Also have them look at the rear of the Aero which with the spoiler and other cues is IMHO much nicer. There was a question regarding which way to go until he took the Aero for a test drive. Let's just say it was no contest at that point. He test drove the 2.0 again just to make sure, but between the handling, acceleration and all of the additional features and styling cues, he knew he had to buy the Aero.
So the happy end to my long story is that my brother will pick up his new '06 9-3 Aero in nocturne blue with parchment interior, auto, touring and cold packages on Saturday. The deal you ask? $33,895 which is $700 below invoice. He financed the whole ball of wax (at 0.0% why not finance the sales tax etc.)
And I can say for the first time in my life that I am jealous of my brother's car!!
P.S. Thanks to Mike Lynch as his advice and information are simply invaluable. And my brother compliments you as well. I showed him your post comparing the Passat to the 9-3 and his comment was "wow, that is a really fair comparison from a competing dealer" (or something to the effect." My hat is off to you Mr. Lynch. Wish I lived anywhere close to Cali so I could buy my next Saab from you.
posted by 69.117.1...
, Thu, 10 Aug 2006 07:31:06
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
