Guess the best answer I can give from memory is “the internet”. They’re not helped any by the fact that we are not within even the $200 delivery range so we’d have to arrange delivery (and possible pickup).
Dunno if they work with used cars, but I have heard good things about Costco’s buying service. Your credit union or bank may also have a service that would be useful looking into?
I drive a 2015 model of this vehicle. Not a bad choice. Very solid build, very good gas mileage for its class. Good versatility for space with the split fold down back seat. Has some of the same pedigree as the Ford Escape, due to past relationship between Mazda and Ford based on what I’ve read.
Only thing I don’t care for are the cabin noise and what is in my opinion an average at best electronics package. The audio interface is archaic and Bluetooth takes longer to pair than our Toyota, although it does work.
If the price difference is big, the touring model should be fine. I find the extras on the grand touring to be a bit gimmicky. The headlights that move with the steering aren’t really useful unless you drive regularly in pitch black areas. The navigation you can replace with a smartphone. And the auto breaking feature does work but it will scare the bejesus out of you when it triggers.
Sam’s has something similar. I’m under the impression it works like Truecar. You get a no-haggle price that is below the retail but probably not as low as possible if you’re a good negotiator.
I found Costco pricing to be superior to Truecar. Costco got me my Subaru for ~$800USD under invoice whereas TC seems to be more of a lead generator for the car dealers.
We’re not really looking for the Grand Touring - mostly just not looking for the Sport. We have a teen driver, and vastly prefer to have the blind-spot detection that comes on the Touring and up. (he’s also a drummer, thus the search for something just barely big enough to transport a drum kit…)
Interesting. You may well be right. When I used Truecar for one of my cars the dealership mentioned they liked Truecar and sold a lot of cars through them. That’s not necessarily a good sign for consumers. However it’s also true that Truecar has changed a lot over the years. They got into trouble in the beginning because they gave up a lot of information on the dealers true cost and apparently caused a lot of problems. After some negotiations they changed their model. Since the time I used it it’s changed even more. When I used it I got a list of prices and dealers and could choose who got my contact info. Now, you don’t get to choose anymore. It’ll spam your info to all of them. Bleh.
Again, good call. The space is pretty good for a small SUV.
The blind spot monitoring works, though sometimes it gives false positives. The CX-5 does have some fair sized blind spots of its own, due to thick pillars (although I think most new cars share this issue) so I added those little stick-on blind spot mirrors you can buy cheap on Amazon or eBay.
Good luck. Your son will appreciate the reliable performance and fuel economy. I drive about a 70/30 mix of city/hwy and get just over 27mpg.
I plan on giving it a shot once the 2019 models start hitting dealer lots.
I drive the 16 CX-5 GT AWD refresh (better soundproofing and fancy LED lights), just about to pass 60k miles, its a great crossover. And a damn MVP in the last few snow storms we had here in PA. I find the cabin noise acceptable and my Bluetooth connects super quick.
We did buy a 16 CX-5 Touring (16.0, not 16.5 like yours). FWD, as we already have a Subaru and it doesn’t snow all that often here. Like it a lot so far. It’s the newest, lowest mileage (21k) car I have ever owned.
That sounds like a great find, when I looked for used cars back in the day, I never found anything with less than 50k miles. I guess things have changed, as people trade cars in sooner / lease more.
Yeah that is correct, it was a weird mid-model year update , like 9 months before the 2018 re-designed models came out in early 2017.
Excellent, glad to hear they improved!
Has the radio interface advanced from the archaic “six presets per band” (FM1, FM2, AM)?
I’d have to actually go check on the way home tonight, I only listen to music off my phone via Bluetooth while driving, heh.