To buy or not to buy (Micra vs. Corolla, 84 month term)

[nissan owner]

Greetings everyone!

Im in the market for a compact car and I wanted to know maybe some additional info about how Nissan is marketing and selling this car. It seems like a fun car with good styling and supposedly cheap (less then 10 grand starting price). However I logged into the build & price module on the website and I was surprised by the outcome.

I looked into the SV model with manual transmission and nothing fancy in particular (no alloys)

The financing at 84 months with the tax cost at 3.9% comes to a monthly payment of 235 dollars.

So for 84 months that is 19,740 total.

To me that is kind of hard to swallow especially when the Toyota Corolla comes to me for an additional 1,428 dollars. The monthly payments are 252 for 84 months at 1.9% which gives me 21,168 dollars.

So I could have a toyota corolla, or a nissan micra for pretty much the same price. I think the cost for an entry level compact car is kind of high for the amount of car you are getting in return, is there anyway to really make the nissan Micra a better choice? The standards that come with the base corolla are also pretty dam good. What are your comments?

[FunFun]

Hi Nissan Owner!

I suppose for me it's fuel economy, I like the look, they are Fun to drive, having a funky looking 4 door - not like all the rest of the 4 doors sedans out there and I am not at the fuel pumps every 4 days...I suppose everyone will have there own special reason why they will be buying a Micra. Toyota's and Honda's are great cars! I can never say enough about the Japanese engineers!

Financing a vehicle over 7 years - personally too long for me to have a debt over my head that long, unless am buying a home Maybe 3 - 4 years, grin and bare it for a few years.

[MetroMPG]

Hi, nissan owner

the Toyota Corolla comes to me for an additional 1,428 dollars.

So I could have a toyota corolla, or a nissan micra for pretty much the same price.

Respectfully, I don't consider a $1400 difference to be pretty much the same price. It's not an insignificant difference, to me.

It seems to be a simple question. Which car do you like more, and if it's the Corolla, is the additional $1,428 worth it to you?

[Ustauk]

What kind of interest rate does the Corolla offer on 60 months of payment? With destination fee, but without tax, the payments for the Micra SV go from $206 per month at 3.9% for 84 months to $206 per month to 2.9% for 60 months at $271 per month. You're still not getting as good an interest rate as the Corolla, but its closer, and the car will be paid off faster with not much more dollars per payment.

What features does the base Corolla you're looking at have versus the Micra SV? Compare the features, test drive both, and balance the pros and cons of both, and you'll have your answer. Good luck!

[AlphaMicra]

Let me see...you could buy a cool Micra, or spend over a grand more to buy a boring Corolla. I don't understand what the problem is.

[en3rg1e]

I too was looking at the corolla, for me the car is just too big, plus the top trim exceeds 26k, i could just buy a frs if i add 2k more. Find something thats not gonna break and not gonna break you.

[AlphaMicra]

I too was looking at the corolla, for me the car is just too big, plus the top trim exceeds 26k, i could just buy a frs if i add 2k more. Find something thats not gonna break and not gonna break you.

Exactly; it's too big. When I have to work in downtown Toronto, I'll take the Micra with the backup camera and tight turning radius over the Corolla any day. I can't tell you how many cheap Corollas have fender damage from hitting cement pillars in the underground parking lots.

[en3rg1e]

I feel that cars are getting much fatter, if you look at me 2003 sentra and compare it to the newer models its nuts! I love seeing little asian ladies..like 4 feet tall driving these huge maximas...its crazy!

[nissan owner]

Yeah there are some things to consider like standard features, but at least you see the point (comparable price for two VERY different cars), and I see now that car choice comes down to what you want the most, no matter what car it is, one will always be satisfied with the choice one makes.

[AlphaMicra]

Yeah there are some things to consider like standard features, but at least you see the point (comparable price for two VERY different cars), and I see now that car choice comes down to what you want the most, no matter what car it is, one will always be satisfied with the choice one makes.

Yep. Some people want a cool legendary hatchback; others want a boring sedan.

I've been over it with a fine toothed comb, and compared it to the competition. So far, the only thing you've told me is that you care about overtaking other people, yet the base Corolla has no better power to weight ratio than the Micra. Why don't you get something better than a Corolla, if that's all you care about? I mean, at 132 horses, the Corolla is probably the weakest choice you could go for.