Am reaching for the trigger (finally?)

[SuperFudd]

I have been with this forum for about two years sans Sonic, making do with my rustic green Plymouth Sundance. That is about to change (I hope).
Tonight I applied on line for a pre approved car loan at my credit union.
I then let my local Chevy store know, on line, that I intend to buy one of there new 2013 Sonic LTs. it would likely be 1.8L, auto sedan, probably blue. Chevy is offering $1K off and the dealer $1.5K off according to thier web site.
Then I will drive my Sundance to a "auto dismantleler" that will, thanks to a state of California program, hand me $1000.
Yeah, maybe not the most exciting post to this forum today, except to me

Correction: Not the state but rather the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

 

[River_Rat]

Good luck. Your post count shows some dedication for a prospective owner. Never would have guessed you were driving a "rustic green Plymouth Sundance."

 

[SouthFLSonic]

Glad you are finally getting a Sonic!!!

 

[Preloader]

So soon SuperFudd? Hahaha

I'm sad to hear that the legendary green w/ rust camouflage Sundance will be seeing that great big crusher in the sky.

But I'm glad to hear you've finally got the Sonic in your crosshairs.

I don't see you as being one to do a bunch of power mods when you do get the Sonic, so I'll refrain from asking why no 1.4T?

I'm excited for you, as I know how intently you've studied and desired a Sonic. Can't wait to see pics when it happens.

 

[Swordsmith]

Well I will be the one to say it then. Why go up to an LT and then not spring for the extra $700 to get the 1.4T? Even stock it's a better engine, and with nothing but a tune it's a much better engine. If you were going LS, the price difference would be $1700, and that I could understand.

There's nothing wrong with the 1.8, mind you, it's just... not as good. Worse MPG, less power, the only upside is the $700 savings, and that just doesn't seem like all that much money.

 

[Preloader]

I refrained from asking, because of all people I'm pretty confident SuperFudd has done his research on the two engines. I also would highly recommend the 1.4T, but am in no position to advise on someone else's financial circumstances.....

$700 could mean the difference between getting a Sonic or not at all. But agreed, if at all possible, pull whatever strings needed to get the 1.4T if you can.

Hell, I'll loan you the $700 for 3 months at no interest. True story.

 

[attrapereves]

I refrained from asking, because of all people I'm pretty confident SuperFudd has done his research on the two engines. I also would highly recommend the 1.4T, but am in no position to advise on someone else's financial circumstances.....

$700 could mean the difference between getting a Sonic or not at all. But agreed, if at all possible, pull whatever strings needed to get the 1.4T if you can.

Hell, I'll loan you the $700 for 3 months at no interest. True story.

I regret not getting the 1.4L in my white hatch. It has the $300 spoiler which looks basically the same as the car with a non-spoiler. It also has the black rims which look cool, but I'm not sure they are worth $900 extra. With the $1200 that those extras cost, I probably could have looked around to find a white hatch LT with a turbo for about the same price as I paid.

My cars are simple commuters, but the 1.4L is worth it alone just for the increase in fuel economy.

 

[Opticon]

Then I will drive my Sundance to a "auto dismantleler" that will, thanks to a state of California program, hand me $1000.
Correction: Not the state but rather the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

I would park it in front of the BAAQMD facility overnight with a brick on the accelerator just to spite the state mandated taxpayer burden. And if it caught fire and I'd dance around it while touching myself and post it all to Youtube.

Because a 94 Sundance has directly contributed more to society than the that whole building worth of pious, earth worshiping, think they know what's best for humanity and convinced politicians to make everyone else pay for it, substitute fallen leaves for toilet paper ass-wiping mother****ers.


... Or maybe I'd just sell it to some young kid.

 

[ChrisJ]

I would park it in front of the BAAQMD facility overnight with a brick on the accelerator just to spite the state mandated taxpayer burden. And if it caught fire and I'd dance around it while touching myself and post it all to Youtube.

Because a 94 Sundance has directly contributed more to society than the that whole building worth of pious, earth worshiping, think they know what's best for humanity and convinced politicians to make everyone else pay for it, substitute fallen leaves for toilet paper ass-wiping mother****ers.


... Or maybe I'd just sell it to some young kid.

Maybe the governor of PA was right afterall..

 

[SuperFudd]

Finger now on the trigger, aim taken.

I stopped by the Chevrolet store on the way home from a job interview (looks good. TBD ) and chatted with the internet sales guy I messaged last night. He wasn't expecting me until 10am tomorrow. He wasn't busy so he checked the inventory of 2013s and printed a quote on a blue 1.8 automatic LT and a blue 1.4T automatic LT for $700 more. In both cases, $2,500 off MSRP. Yes they have the 1.8 in other colors but I like blue. Well, I like the extra cost red best but they don't have any.
The 1.4T didn't show up on the dealership's site until this morning which is why I didn't mention it last night.
With an automatic, will an unmodified 1.4T be noticably stronger than the 1.8? It is not likely I would mod it anytime soon.
Both a 1.8 and the 1.4T will be available for me to test drive tomorrow morning at 10.

 

[ChrisJ]

Finger now on the trigger, aim taken.

I stopped by the Chevrolet store on the way home from a job interview (looks good. TBD ) and chatted with the internet sales guy I messaged last night. He wasn't expecting me until 10am tomorrow. He wasn't busy so he checked the inventory of 2013s and printed a quote on a blue 1.8 automatic LT and a blue 1.4T automatic LT for $700 more. In both cases, $2,500 off MSRP. Yes they have the 1.8 in other colors but I like blue. Well, I like the extra cost red best but they don't have any.
The 1.4T didn't show up on the dealership's site until this morning which is why I didn't mention it last night.
With an automatic, will an unmodified 1.4T be noticably stronger than the 1.8? It is not likely I would mod it anytime soon.
Both a 1.8 and the 1.4T will be available for me to test drive tomorrow morning at 10.

Stronger only at lower rpms. The 1.4Ts main purpose is greatly improved gas mileage.

 

[Blue hedgehog]

When i was buying mine I test drove both 1.4t and 1.8 with autos. The 1.4t had a noticeable increase in acceleration. Sometimes I regret not test driving the manual because I prefer stick but deal with NY rush hour traffic on a regular basis + remote start.

 

[ChrisJ]

When i was buying mine I test drove both 1.4t and 1.8 with autos. The 1.4t had a noticeable increase in acceleration. Sometimes I regret not test driving the manual because I prefer stick but deal with NY rush hour traffic on a regular basis + remote start.

Without traffic my commute is 50 minutes each way. With traffic its often 1.5 hrs. I sit in traffic every day and drive stick just fine. Honestly the clutch in the Sonic feels like a little toy and I cannot see how it could ever inconvenience anyone.

Of course, that is just my opinion.

 

[Preloader]

Noticeably stronger accelerating up a hill I'm guessing.

 

[Swordsmith]

With an automatic, will an unmodified 1.4T be noticably stronger than the 1.8? It is not likely I would mod it anytime soon.

The 1.4T is a smaller, weaker engine than the 1.8. If you drive it gently, with a light foot, it will therefore use less gas. On those instances where you need or want more power, though, tromp down harder on the pedal and the boost will come up and turn it into a More powerful engine... which uses more gas.

While test driving the two, I could not really tell them apart, to be honest. But that's because I wasn't testing in a situation where I could push them and see the real differences between the two.

Make a point of finding somewhere where you can do some harder accelerating, as if you need to get up to speed fast to merge into traffic, or charging up a steep hill, and you should feel the difference between the two engines.

Also, until you get a tune, the differences are smaller; the tune adds a little to the 1.8 and a lot to the 1.4T, so the difference is larger post tune.

I know you plan on waiting to do mods, but you might want to look into getting a tune sooner, even if you go with the 1.8, since you plan on getting an automatic. The stock setup for the automatic is, according to most sources, fairly annoying, and you'll enjoy the car more when it's better behaved.

 

[AdorableKaren]

So soon SuperFudd? Hahaha

Omg lmao I lost it!!! Thanks Preloaded I just choked on my poptart

Good luck SuperFudd I hope to welcome you to the Sonic family soon

 

[SuperFudd]

Bang!

I got it!
For details see my string about test drive advice.

 

[Blue hedgehog]

Without traffic my commute is 50 minutes each way. With traffic its often 1.5 hrs. I sit in traffic every day and drive stick just fine. Honestly the clutch in the Sonic feels like a little toy and I cannot see how it could ever inconvenience anyone.

Of course, that is just my opinion.

My 25 mile commute when going into the city can take 2.5 hours in rush hour traffic. Most days about 1.75-2. Otherwise it would be a .5 hour drive without traffic door to door.

Noticeably stronger accelerating up a hill I'm guessing.

Yes. I accelerated relatively hard at the same point on the test drives up a medium hill.