Outlander_Joe,
I don't have a gray Outtie (mine's DWP), but do havea metallic gray Mazda 3s and the color is easy to care for and looks clean longer than most other colors. Hides tar marks and road debris easily. It's amazing when you finally clean it and see how much junk comes off even when you didn't think it was that dirty.

If you already have your finances in order you may want to seek out a leftover '07 instead of picking up a used one. Not that there's anything wrong with low mileage used cars...except the unknown. There should be plenty of leftovers left out there especially in LS version. You could easily save $5000-$6000 off sticker without much haggling. I had a deal on an '07 LS 4WD w/Sun & Sound and Entertainment Pkg forunder $22K, but was able to save so much I decided on a loaded XLS. Without those pkgs you could get one for under $20K. Spring is right around the corner so dealers should still give you decent trade money for your Eclipse.Research the figures for your car, get aquote at one dealer and then go to the next and see if they can do better. These days you gotta play the game to get the best deal.

You won't be dissapointedwith the Outlander. Happy hunting.

 

rtrackr99,

Thanks! I've enjoyed my Eclipse and I can't wait to see what the Outlander can do. I've never owned an SUV before, but I have driven several. It just seems like the right move for my wife and I at this point in life. Yeah, the good gas mileage was another reason for leaning towards the Outlander. I mean, if I wasn't going to get a boat, I would have considered something like the Nissan Rogue....but then I look at that...it's a 4 cylinder, has less power, and gets the same if not worse gas mileage as the V6, 220 hp Outlander! I've never purchased a brand new or even a leftover vehicle before. But my wife has and she is at 5 years on her Cavalier right now, so we're going to try to offset it...this will technically be "my" new vehicle and we'll try to keep it for 10 years...so in 5 years it should be paid off...at that point her car will be 10 years old and we can trade it in for a new vehicle. Hopefully this system will work out for us. I mean, we were paying (2) car payments at the same time...this way we will only ever have one payment.

antlip,

I'm not as concerned about dried salt...I tend to wash my vehicles pretty regularly as well. As long as it's easy to keep clean in the summer, I'll be happy with it. I definitely think the dark grey models are the sharpest Outlanders. But if I end up washing my car twice or morea week, I don't want to hand dry it EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Cuffy,

I kind of like the white ones too...but even though this is technically "my" Outlander, I think the wifey has forbidden me from buying a white car. I don't know...she just doesn't like them. Its ok, I'm all about the dark grey ones, so it doesn't matter much. I also kind of like the dark blue, but they only come with thetan interior...which is ok, but I MUCH prefer the grey/black interior.That's right...I forgot that the sun and sound package is available on the LS model. I really would likea sun roof. I also wouldn't mind going with a leftover, but I don't know if I can afford going $20k+ I was thinking more like 17-18K with only 7-9k miles. The big thing is I want to make sure the vehicle wasn't just leased for a year or something...I don't know if that is possible, but I'msure peoplearen't as gentle witha vehicle they aren't planning on keeping. The nice thing is that I only have a 5 mile commute to work, so I should be able to keep the miles low on this for quite awhile

Thanks for the advice everyone! If there is anything else anyone wants to add, feel free! I appreciate it!

Joe

 

Outlander_Joe,
Understood on the finances. I tend to be a car snob and when i got inside the XLS and played with all the goodies i couldn't pass up the great deal...even thoit put us into a year longer payment schedule. Like you we plan to keep this one a long time(6-7 yrs) so we figured why not splurge some.

My wife also isn't too keen on white, but the WDP is very pearlescent which makes it much nicer than straight plain white. I had a similar color Pathfinder that she liked it well enough to go with the WDP. The Outtie is her daily driver since our other car's (Mazda 3s) a stick and she has a long, generally traffic laiden commute.
I get sole use of it on the weekends!!![sm=happy046.gif]

It's very useful for going to Home Depot, Target, Sam's, Costco, etc. I folded the seats up and put a 70 inch long box in there the other day without having to move the front seats and was able to close the tailgate/hatch completely. Leaving the tailgate down and using some MacGuyver engineering i know i can handle hauling some 2"x4"x8's without worry. I don't think a sheet of drywall will fit, but that's why I'm addinga hitch for my utility trailer.

Gas mileage has been a very satisfying 20-21 mpg for my wife's 50/50 commute. Much better than the 12-13 mpg my Titan was giving us. I haven't taken her on a long road trip yet, but expect at least 23-24 mpggoing thru the Appalachians. It's a solid choice in any color.