[dp1]

To help others who are still doing their research, please share the key reasons why you ended up buying Scion iA?

What I was looking for:
- small reliable <$20k car, either new or 1-2 years old, as daily driver for a 30mi daily commute, to take the load off of track/ax prepped Scion FR-S

Reasons why I bought Scion iA:
- expected quality and compliant ride (suspension and 6 speed AT) of a Mazda platform
- didn't find better value for money from Mazda 3, Honda Civic/Fit, Toyota Corolla/Yaris, Mini, Fiat 500, Ford Focus/Fiesta, where some of them have potentially big reliability issues, sloppy transmissions, etc.
- good experience with Scion (buying and servicing FR-S)
- good safety and other standard features
- enough power and compliant street ride (test drive), also roomy and comfortable inside - I'm 6' 200 lb
- easy on the eyes (looked better in person, inside and out)
- no haggle

 

[richard_rsp]

I completely agree. I came from a 2015 WRX and looked at a lot of the same vehicles. It came down to the Ford Fiesta 1.0L Ecoboost vs the iA for me. Basically I was sold on the Ecoboost until I went to THREE different Ford dealers and every one tried jerking me around. That gave me time to research the iA a bit more. After talking with my dealer, I was sold! That set pricing definitely has its advantages.

Other positives I discovered:
Free maintenance for 24k miles
Top Safety Plus Pick!
Scion/Toyota College Grad plan has some awesome deals. I got 1.9% for 72 mos and $750 off of the pure pricing!

 

[Lando]

I completely agree. I came from a 2015 WRX and looked at a lot of the same vehicles. It came down to the Ford Fiesta 1.0L Ecoboost vs the iA for me. Basically I was sold on the Ecoboost until I went to THREE different Ford dealers and every one tried jerking me around. That gave me time to research the iA a bit more. After talking with my dealer, I was sold! That set pricing definitely has its advantages.

Other positives I discovered:
Free maintenance for 24k miles
Top Safety Plus Pick!
Scion/Toyota College Grad plan has some awesome deals. I got 1.9% for 72 mos and $750 off of the pure pricing!

Can you give more detail on how the Ford dealers treated you?

I like the idea of no haggle. Makes things much simpler.

 

[richard_rsp]

Can you give more detail on how the Ford dealers treated you?

I like the idea of no haggle. Makes things much simpler.

There were a total of three dealers that I spoke with

Dealer #1 was generally nice, but they did not have the car in stock and wanted to charge me an additional $600 to go get the car. They also tried to tell me that the rebates would not apply to a vehicle not in stock (which is not true).

Dealer #2 was nice on the phone but when I got down to the numbers, they were trying to charge me tax instead of giving me the tax credit for my trade (you get a credit for the taxes in Georgia, not sure if its that way in other states). When I tried to correct the sales manager, he got rather hostile, which I am not going to deal with. Moved on.

Dealer #3 was actually a dealer I had been to before. The deal started on the phone on a Saturday morning. I asked for numbers on a deal based on the trade-in value that I had received from the other two Ford dealers. I emailed all my info as he requested, but the salesman never sent any numbers.

Sunday - I emailed the salesman to find out if he had a chance to run the numbers. No response. (okay, I'm thinking "maybe he is off on Sunday?"). No biggie.

Monday - Lunchtime rolls around and still no response. I call the dealer since i haven't heard anything. Talk to the salesman and agree to bring my car over during my lunch break. I do - check out the car I am trying to buy and have them appraise my trade. No numbers sent over after I left.

Tuesday - No response to calls or emails.

Wednesday - Finally get a followup call from the dealer (not from my salesman). I tell them I haven't heard back from my salesman. 10 minutes later, I get a call from my salesman and some numbers sent to me via email. Their "deal" is MSRP for the car and a low-ball for my trade ($2k less than what the other dealers offered). When I ask about the low trade, the salesman says that they can't give me a better deal on it with out an appraisal (?). I asked about the appraisal from the previous Monday and he said that because that sales manager wasn't here, he couldn't go with that appraisal. At this point, I gave up on this dealer and Ford.

Overall, I have bought too many cars to deal with dealer BS.

Scion on the other hand, did everything over the phone before even stepping into the dealership. They ended up giving me $1k more for my trade than any Ford Dealer offered. Everyone was super nice and everything was easy to understand and straightforward. Scion really made me a happy customer.

 

[Moe]

That's a good amount more to be betting on your trade in, and that's not something i'm too surprised about since i've heard and even seen for myself how good Toyota dealers can be with trade in's. They probably have better luck with flipping them, or are willing to take on more of a risk.

 

[IHazCheeseburger]

Wow that's a huge circle Dealer #3 made you run around. That's how you loose loyal customers and push them toward another brand.

 

[Moe]

Wow that's a huge circle Dealer #3 made you run around. That's how you loose loyal customers and push them toward another brand.

Exactly, the dealership looses out big since that years of someone taking a vehicle in for servicing that they won't get. Selling in that way is key.

 

[Bundu]

Scion iA - value for money and gas mileage.
I was looking at equivalent size vehicles with good gas mileage for a daily driver (60 mile round trip per day).
The Ford (Fiesta and Focus) just felt crappy and the transmission shifting was bad, we happened to be in stop-go traffic and the car would shudder when you pull away. Prius feels and drives like a bus, and underwhelmed by all the other stuff we looked at.

 

[dp1]

Another big plus - it's somehow much easier to drive a comfortable 2400lb 100hp AT car close to the posted speed limits than a 2800lb 300hp track/ax prepped MT car

 

[Tegwin]

Another big plus - it's somehow much easier to drive a comfortable 2400lb 100hp AT car close to the posted speed limits than a 2800lb 300hp track/ax prepped MT car

This is so true haha I find my self always going 10-20 over in my camaro, with the iA I have a hard time hitting the speed limit hahaha

 

[BillyBigRig]

The main reasons I bought the iS are, the interior feels and looks like I am in a more expensive sports car. It is one of the most comfortable cars I've driven which was one of my big reasons for looking at newer cars.with the Corollas I looked at I had a hard time choosing what features mattered and what was worth the extra price and I felt like I would have regrets about not getting this or that but with the Scion I could only regret color and transmission and in a world of too many choices that gave me price of mind. The iA has a fun factor that all the other cars in this price range are missing.

 

[Tegwin]

Given the choice, id have gotten a iA stick, in dark blue...but i wasnt going to pick and choose lol in 3 years ill have it and be able to buy it cash, i hope

 

[Polmeh]

Given the choice, id have gotten a iA stick, in dark blue...but i wasnt going to pick and choose lol in 3 years ill have it and be able to buy it cash, i hope

Would you buy a used 2016 in 3 years or a new 2018/2019?

 

[Tegwin]

Would you buy a used 2016 in 3 years or a new 2018/2019?

No, ill buy a new one if it's still the same platform, or ill find a used one with low miles to swap what ever I install onto it haha