[Frommy]

Hi everyone,

I've been doing my research for the last year or so and stumbled upon the iA a couple of weeks ago.

Background: I have a 100 mile round-trip commute everyday for work. So my priorities are MPG & price. I'm going to put a ton of miles and a ton of gas into my new car. After looking at the field of high-MPG/low-cost cars I found the Ford Fiesta. After continuing my research, I came to the Nissan Versa. Lastly, I found the Scion iA. The features and style of the iA blew away the Versa. I'm hoping my search is over, but I have some questions maybe this forum can answer.

iA QUESTIONS

#1. How good is the Navigation? I currently use the Waze App on my phone. I'm assuming the Scion Navigation doesn't have traffic or any other special features that a phone app would have, correct?

#2. I read somewhere that the tires/wheels are a weird size and may be hard to replace. What is the general consensus on this?

#3. Are there any fellow highway drivers that can comment on a daily long commute? Noise, feel, etc.


PURCHASING QUESTIONS

#1. Has anyone taken advantage of the College Grad Rebate? My wife graduated from Graduate School last May so I may take the opportunity to get an additional $250 cash back and a better shot at 0% APR financing. Just wanted any input on it.

#2. A local Scion Dealer has multiple automatic iA's for $14,755 internet pricing. Is this some kind of bait & switch? It's my understanding that the automatic iA's MSRP for around $17k. I just want to know what to expect when I go in.

#3. Maybe kind of tied to #2...Is there any leverage to be used with the recent Scion discontinuation announcement? Perhaps that's why the lower price in #2, but could you get them to go even lower?


Sorry for the long write-up but I plan to go test drive this weekend. I have a 2006 Mitsubishi Galant GTS that I want to trade toward the new car. If everything goes well, I may be an iA owner come next week!

 

[bapaik]

Hi everyone,

I've been doing my research for the last year or so and stumbled upon the iA a couple of weeks ago.

Background: I have a 100 mile round-trip commute everyday for work. So my priorities are MPG & price. I'm going to put a ton of miles and a ton of gas into my new car. After looking at the field of high-MPG/low-cost cars I found the Ford Fiesta. After continuing my research, I came to the Nissan Versa. Lastly, I found the Scion iA. The features and style of the iA blew away the Versa. I'm hoping my search is over, but I have some questions maybe this forum can answer.

iA QUESTIONS

#1. How good is the Navigation? I currently use the Waze App on my phone. I'm assuming the Scion Navigation doesn't have traffic or any other special features that a phone app would have, correct?

#2. I read somewhere that the tires/wheels are a weird size and may be hard to replace. What is the general consensus on this?

#3. Are there any fellow highway drivers that can comment on a daily long commute? Noise, feel, etc.


PURCHASING QUESTIONS

#1. Has anyone taken advantage of the College Grad Rebate? My wife graduated from Graduate School last May so I may take the opportunity to get an additional $250 cash back and a better shot at 0% APR financing. Just wanted any input on it.

#2. A local Scion Dealer has multiple automatic iA's for $14,755 internet pricing. Is this some kind of bait & switch? It's my understanding that the automatic iA's MSRP for around $17k. I just want to know what to expect when I go in.

#3. Maybe kind of tied to #2...Is there any leverage to be used with the recent Scion discontinuation announcement? Perhaps that's why the lower price in #2, but could you get them to go even lower?


Sorry for the long write-up but I plan to go test drive this weekend. I have a 2006 Mitsubishi Galant GTS that I want to trade toward the new car. If everything goes well, I may be an iA owner come next week!

Hey man:

iA questions:

#3 -- I can't speak too much on the others, but this one I can a bit more. I think YMMV with this. It might be what you're previously used to. It isn't the most quiet car on the highway, but it's not terrible...but I also don't have that much to compare it to, and from my highway driving it's not bad. It does get moved around in higher winds, as it's so light. I think you'll be able to feel all of that stuff on a high way test drive.

Purchasing Questions:

#1 -- I qualified for the grad rebate, but am currently in grad school. They were very strict about me providing them a current transcript that showed I was in school. I believe you have like a 3 month window prior to your grad date, and after, to apply for that rebate. Read the fine print on that, it is pretty explicit as I remember.

#2 -- Can I ask where you live? There was a dealership in MD (I'm in DE) and they offered the automatic at the same price. But in reading the fine print, it didn't include the freight fee. For me, that dealership still did come under the price of the regular Scion, so just read the fine print on that website, and include any fees they might be hiding (usually it is in the fine print though).

#3 -- I did end up using that lower priced dealership in MD to leverage a deal with my dealership in DE. I showed them the deal, and told them I'd buy from them that day if they could match the price. They gave me ~$800 the price of the car to match the price. So at least my dealership was flexible. But if your local dealership is that cheap already, it might be worth going with them (especially if the cost + freight, still comes under MSRP).

I ask where you live, only on the off chance you live near me (as that MD dealership was the same price).

 

[Frommy]

Thanks for the quick response bapaik!

To answer your questions:

iA questions

#3. I will definitely do a highway test drive to make sure everything is to my liking. My current Galant is pretty loud on the highway so it shouldn't be an issue to change.


Purchasing Questions

#1. I looked at the fine print for the College Grad program and I think my wife will qualify. It states "be a graduate from an Eligible School (as defined below) and provide proof of graduation (showing an upcoming graduation within six months OR a recent graduation within two years from the date of signing your vehicle lease or finance contract) from one of the following Eligible Schools located in the 50 United States..." so since she graduated in the last two years she should qualify.

#2. I live in KY. The only fine print from the dealer website says that the $500 Customer Cash is included in the $14,755 price.

 

[richard_rsp]

iA QUESTIONS

#1. How good is the Navigation? I currently use the Waze App on my phone. I'm assuming the Scion Navigation doesn't have traffic or any other special features that a phone app would have, correct?

#2. I read somewhere that the tires/wheels are a weird size and may be hard to replace. What is the general consensus on this?

#3. Are there any fellow highway drivers that can comment on a daily long commute? Noise, feel, etc.


PURCHASING QUESTIONS

#1. Has anyone taken advantage of the College Grad Rebate? My wife graduated from Graduate School last May so I may take the opportunity to get an additional $250 cash back and a better shot at 0% APR financing. Just wanted any input on it.

#2. A local Scion Dealer has multiple automatic iA's for $14,755 internet pricing. Is this some kind of bait & switch? It's my understanding that the automatic iA's MSRP for around $17k. I just want to know what to expect when I go in.

#3. Maybe kind of tied to #2...Is there any leverage to be used with the recent Scion discontinuation announcement? Perhaps that's why the lower price in #2, but could you get them to go even lower?

Ok, I'll try and help a bit.

#1. Navigation is pretty good. It's not quite as good as internet based navigation (Waze, Google maps, etc), but it will get you where you need to go. It has basic HD Radio based traffic (gets a signal from HD radio in certain cities). I'm in Atlanta and while it works here, I dont really use the traffic in daily driving (only when going to a defined destination). The Navigation is mainly nice for longer trips where you dont want to have your phone navigation running all the time; and for seeing upcoming street names in daily driving, etc. For the money, it was worth it for me.

#2. Yes, the stock tires are a weird size, 185/60/R16. To my knowledge, there are no other brand tires in that size except the stock Toyos. When I switched to summer tires (for autocross), I went to 195/55/16, which is a more common size and is basically the same size diameter as our stock tires (just SLIGHTLY smaller and wider). Therefore, buying a new set of tires is pretty easy because there are options. But if you have to buy ONE new tire (such as for a blowout), you will have to likely go through the dealer to get them.

#3. Its a subcompact, and yes, they generally can be loud compared to larger cars. The iA is a good compromise (for me) between sporty (read: harder riding) and comfort. It wont be for everyone, but I like a sportier feel. Given that, I would have no problem driving my iA across country.

Purchasing:
#1. Yes, I did the college grad plan (also grad school) when i got mine, but through Southeast Toyota Finance, which is our local toyotas finance company. It was easy, got me an additional $500 off (at the time) and a great interest rate (1.9% for 72 months).

#2. They are clearing out some of the Scion iA's because the Scion brand is being discontinued. The brand transition is supposed to take place in August of this year, so I imagine dealers will be anxious to get their lots free of the Scion brand. I say take advantage of one of those deals, but proceed with caution. Look for weird "dealer fees", etc.

#3. Not real sure what type of leverage you could have. Totally depends on the dealer, inventory, and how long the car has set on the lot. I would not go in with the idea that you will get too much off these cars (as not a lot is built in), but be sure to check out any deals that are advertised.

I hope that helps! Good luck!

 

[Frommy]

Thanks richard_rsp & bapaik!

I picked up an Automatic Graphite iA on Saturday. So far I'm loving it!

Thanks again for answering my questions promptly!

 

[bapaik]

Hey, I hope you enjoy it! Did you get the price you were looking for? There's been some great deals!

 

[Frommy]

Hey, I hope you enjoy it! Did you get the price you were looking for? There's been some great deals!

I am pretty happy with pricing. I got $2000 for my trade-in and added a 6yr/120k mile EasyCare Totalcare warranty for $1500.

After taxes/fees/trade, I ended up paying $15,800 out the door.

After driving the car for less than a week here are my thoughts/impressions:

1. I'm not used to having such a little gas tank. I filled up after the low fuel light came on and pumped about 10 gallons in. I did a double-take because all the cars I've ever owned had 15-20 gallon tanks. I guess smaller tanks=less weight=better MPG. That will take some getting used to!

2. The wind does push this car around on the highway. Obviously the car is light and small, but sometimes it can be a chore to keep it in the lane on a really windy day.

3. It took me forever to figure out that the tripometer button was also a knob to control the lighting on the dash :laugh:

4. I have had to turn on Sport mode a couple of times when I'm on the highway and try to merge or pass when I don't have much time/room. I think I mentally still expect the V6 from my old car to kick in and get me by.


I love this car! It kind of holds a special place in my heart. All my previous vehicles were either bought by someone else or handed down from my wife (she usually gets the nice shiny new vehicles). I will probably baby this thing for a long time, but I have no regrets with my purchase!

 

[Jin]

I am pretty happy with pricing. I got $2000 for my trade-in and added a 6yr/120k mile EasyCare Totalcare warranty for $1500.

After taxes/fees/trade, I ended up paying $15,800 out the door.

After driving the car for less than a week here are my thoughts/impressions:

1. I'm not used to having such a little gas tank. I filled up after the low fuel light came on and pumped about 10 gallons in. I did a double-take because all the cars I've ever owned had 15-20 gallon tanks. I guess smaller tanks=less weight=better MPG. That will take some getting used to!

2. The wind does push this car around on the highway. Obviously the car is light and small, but sometimes it can be a chore to keep it in the lane on a really windy day.

3. It took me forever to figure out that the tripometer button was also a knob to control the lighting on the dash :laugh:

4. I have had to turn on Sport mode a couple of times when I'm on the highway and try to merge or pass when I don't have much time/room. I think I mentally still expect the V6 from my old car to kick in and get me by.


I love this car! It kind of holds a special place in my heart. All my previous vehicles were either bought by someone else or handed down from my wife (she usually gets the nice shiny new vehicles). I will probably baby this thing for a long time, but I have no regrets with my purchase!

LOL that's a NOB?? I'll play with it today - great =) second day with mine and I'll be making a road trip with it pretty soon, i'll post up impression and stuff soon as well.