After ten or so days of serious investigation and debate, Eileen and I bought a new 2008 Nissan Altima today to replace the blue Saturn. We originally bought the Saturn off the showroom floor ten years ago and it had been a really good car, but we expected to replace it later this year. Having to buy a car on short notice made it much more difficult though. After careful consideration, the Altima was the right combination of features vs. price. We got the 2.5 litre SL package in a dark metallic grey exterior with a black leather interior.

The first car we drove was a 2009 Acura TSX and we found it to be a feature-rich car with excellent “sports sedan” appeal. A bit expensive though, for the features we really value.

The second car was a 2008 Infinity G35X. Wow. That car is amazing to drive. Fantastic handling, great engine (300+ hp) and sounds like a lion roaring when accelerating. The Bluetooth and iPod integration is the best I’ve ever seen in a car. Three things against it though: my head rubs against the ceiling, and it is thirsty for fuel, and it was well above our pain tolerance for price. Certainly the last one closed the deal there. I have no doubt that it is a great car, perhaps the best one we looked at, but we do have a budget to mind. Maybe in the future…

We also looked at pre-owned cars. I have nothing against a recent model pre-owned car but I never like buying privately (can’t be sure of what I’m getting) and dealer inventory is hit-or-miss. Since we didn’t have a lot of time our options were limited. We looked at a 2007 Lexus ES 350 and very seriously considered that car, right up until we realized that we aren’t (yet) Lexus people. Maybe our next car will be a Lexus: very plush, outstanding reputation and great finish. Hopefully people will think that of us if we are driving one!

We also looked at Volvo but discounted them due to lack of features at similar price points. Nice people, silly cars. I’m always reminded of that old movie line “They’re boxy but good!”

Another visit to the Infinity/Nissan dealer brought us to look at the Altima. I was initially skeptical but after a drive and a look at available options I changed my mind quickly. The 2.5 litre engine with the CVT transmission makes it quite responsive and we could get a huge list of features for a quite moderate price.

Another strong contender was the 2008 Volkswagen Passat. Eileen is driving a 2003 Volkswagen Beetle convertible and loves it, and our experience with the car and dealer has been excellent. However for the price was higher than the Altima for the similar features, so we just couldn’t bring ourselves to spend the extra money when it wasn’t necessary (e.g. the dealer isn’t that nice).

We spent a while driving around in the Altima today and we are thrilled to own one. I think we are off to a great relationship with that car, not the least because the Bluetooth phone integration with voice command is so much fun to play with!

I don’t think Eileen enjoyed the car shopping experience. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it but it was moderately entertaining and we met some really nice people along the way.