Tiguan - now, later, never?

I’m shopping for a small AWD/4WD vehicle, and I fell for the 2010 Tiguan Wolfsburg. Here’s my question:

Should I nab one now in May while pickings are slim or wait a few months for the 2011 models? What is more likely to net me a better deal? I am looking to lease, and my current lease will be over toward the end of August. I foolishly allowed myself to get into a 39 month lease which means at the end of this month, I’ll be out of bumper-to-bumper warranty on my current truck, another minor concern should anything go wrong between now and then (not likely, the truck’s in great shape).



Yet another factor is the insane deal Toyota is offering on a RAV4 V6 lease currently. I’d prefer a Tiguan, but the savings in going that route are substantial. The Forester XT is also still in the mix as a middle-of-the-road option with rates, features and performance in between the two others.



Thanks for your help and opinions, folks!

I’d go for the insane Toyota lease.

If you’re leasing a VW, make sure the lease does not extend beyond the warranty period.

Yeah, I won’t be making that mistake twice. Thanks!

Your opening post speak of a concern for saving money and getting a good deal.
If that is true, is there a reason you’re leasing rather than purchasing the vehicle?
Mile for mile, leasing is more expensive than purchasing.

I’m looking for a shorter term commitment right now and my experiences purchasing vehicles in the past have made me much more comfortable leasing. Maintenance once out of warranty can become expensive in its own right, and payments during the contract are always lower when leasing. I may go back to the VW dealer to see what I’d be looking at by purchasing one though, just to check every option.

I hate to point this out, but if you owned the truck you are currently driving, then the trade in value of that truck would be deducted from the cost of the new vehicle, causing the payment for the new vehicle to typically be less expensive than the lease cost.

And then, when 3 years ends, you could then trade in this vehicle, and have something that would then decrease the cost of the replacement then, too.

Its like renting an apartment instead of buying a house, when you can afford to do both.
When you move, its easier to leave an apartment than to sell a house, but you have nothing at all to show for it, financially.

BC.

Maintenance on the Tiguan is estimated at $500 for the next 3 years; VW provides free maintenance for most of that period. Toyota appears to have a similar deal and their 3-year maintenance estimate is $550. You basically won’t pay for anything but gas. The EPA average for the two is so close (21 for Tiguan and 22 for Rav4) but the Tiguan uses Premium gas. Expect to pay about 20% - 25% more for fuel. So, the big savings are for the gas and lease. If you don’t mind the extra cost for the Tiguan, lease it.

BTW, as you know, leasing costs more than buying. But it can be a lot less hassle. If you value your time more than the difference in cost between buying and leasing, then lease. If you buy, don’t take a loan for longer than you intend to keep the SUV. The last thing you need is to owe more than you can get for the SUV when you sell it, and it’s easier to see where the money goes if you trade it on another vehicle. If your next salesman pays off your old loan, starts a new one, yadda, yadda… you can lose track quickly, and he can make a few more bucks on the transaction.

Great advice, and a good summary of where I find myself now regarding leasing vs buying. If I don’t want high monthlies and don’t foresee keeping the vehicle more than 3 years (and don’t want to put a lot down), leasing is a much less risky option than financing.

To bring this back on topic though, my question was not really designed to spark a lease vs buy discussion so much as to get some advice on market trends.

Based on cyclical trends, are better deals more likely to be offered once the 2011 Tiguans arrive later this year and stock is more plentiful, or should I pull the trigger now?

It seems to me that VW wants to move 2010 vehicles now, and is willing to offer better prices of all forms, including a lease.

Why not a two-year-old, low-mileage Hyundai Tuscon/Santa Fe for 1/2 the cost?

Twotone

That’s the advice I was looking for. Thanks again.

I didn’t really like either of those. I’m coming from my second consecutive Jeep Wrangler and looking for something a little more practical and fuel efficient, but still fun and powerful, with AWD for winters and hiking/camping trips. The RAV4 Sport and Tiguan Wolfsburg made it to the final round, with the Subaru Forester XT being another alternate option.

Did you look at the Mazda CX-7? IF you get the Touring model, you’ll get the turbo charged engine, same as the Tiguan, but with more horse power, more torque, more storage space, and most likely more options standard than the Tiguan.

I didn’t test drive one because the fuel economy is lower than I would like to see, and the reviews and forums are pretty mixed on it. Do you have one?

Yeah, I just picked mine up last week, Grand Touring model. The CX-7 is rated 17/23, Tiguan 18/24, so not much of a difference in fuel mileage. My first tank netted me 16mpg with whatever the dealership put in it before I picked it up(recommends 91+ octane, as I’m sure the Tiguan does).
Mazdas are known to be fairly reliable, but you never know if you’ll get that “Monday-morning-friday-afternoon” car that just won’t run right. VWs are hit or miss on reliability from what I’ve read, and I never test drove the Tiguan.
I know you’ve seemed to have made up your mind, but would one more test drive really hurt? Just make sure you get the Touring or Grand Touring for an apples-to-apples comparison, the NA 2.5L is rather anemic from what I’ve read.

Cool, maybe I’ll test drive one this weekend. Yeah, I wouldn’t bother with the regular version. As for mpg, I know it’s close to the tiguan, but I was already pushing what I was willing to drop to with the VW.

One thing to consider is that the RAV4 rear “hatch” opens to the left and the Tiguan opens up.

As far as buying now or waiting, Tiguans are in high demand, and don’t sit very long on dealers’ lots right now. But, dealers should be more willing to part with 2010s at a better price once 2011s show up.

If it’s what you want, what’s a few MPG? For every 10,000 miles you drive, a 27 MPG car will save you less than $200 vs. a 23 MPG car if gas is $3/gal. If you drive 10,000 miles per hear, that’s around 50 cents a day.

Yeah, I noticed that when I test drove it and a lot of reviews called that out as an issue. My wrangler’s trunk door opens the same way and it’s never really been a problem though, even when I park on the street.

The issue I’m facing now is the styling on each of these has me hesitant to make a move. I want the fuel efficiency, reliability, ground clearance, fairly good off road and deep snow handling (I live in upstate NY) and back doors, but I also want a car that isn’t predominantly styled for soccer moms. I suppose while I’m wishing for unlikely things, I want an eager Kate Beckinsale in the back seat too…

If you have any questions about the Mazda, head over to www.mcx7.com it’s where I’ve been hanging out while I was deciding on what to buy. A little biased, but they might help you decide