Buying a fuel efficient newer used Mazda or Volvo wagon

We planned to buy a newer used car that performed well, had good reviews and achieved favorable gas mileage. We test drove a 2010 Mazda 5 from a few different dealers in Pasadena. Our car buying plans took a major twist when we decided to purchase a 2002 Volvo wagon. I also bought a 2006 Toyota Corolla instead of a newer four-door sedan.

We needed to buy two cars. I had been without one for several months after getting hit in the back end of my Nissan Pathfinder. And we wanted to scale down from our 2000 Chevy Astro van which had run well until we needed to put in about one-thousand dollars this year in maintenance and normal repairs.

I was adamant that we weren’t going to buy a car more than two or three years old. So what happened?

The Mazda 5 is considered a mid-size car and the engineers did a tremendous job with the layout. There are four-bucket seats and the third row is large enough for small children or it lays flat for extra cargo space. The layout makes moving from the second row to the third easy. Doors also slide open and closed making it great for tight parking spaces.

We were downsizing from our van and wanted a vehicle with storage space and room to carry two to three passengers. We also wanted a vehicle with good gas mileage. The Mazda 5 fit our criteria.

Test driving the Mazda 5

We originally test drove the Mazda 5 from Enterprise Car Sales (the division of the rental agency) and I liked how the Mazda 5 handled, how it accelerated along the streets, and the quiet engine was hardly noticeable.

The 2010 Mazda 5 had a sticker price ranging from $ 12,999 at a private dealer in Pasadea to $ 16,999 at Enterprise Car Sales. Hertz had them for right around $ 15,000.

Why we didn’t buy

At one dealer, Crown City in Pasadena, we test drove a 2002 Volvo wagon. My wife said she didn’t like Volvo wagons but it was her idea to test drive it. We did and she liked it. The Volvo was selling for $ 8,400.

Here’s what you have to understand about us. We’ve always bought used cars as inexpensively as possible and ones that looked as nice as possible. It’s not an easy equation. If the cars had trouble, we would usually ditch them quickly.

She became less inclined to spend $ 15, 000 for a newer car even though we liked it.

We then test drove another Volvo wagon with perfect interior at another dealer and we wound up purchasing that. We paid $ 8, 500. The Volvo we purchased had one owner, was a trade-in, and it had 84,000 miles.

I don’t foresee us having maintenance or mechanical problems in the next three or four years with it if we decide to keep it. If we save and up our income in the coming year, then in 2013, we might decide to purchase a 2012 Mazda 5.

I will say the Volvo immediately seemed stronger than the Mazda 5—I listen for that when closing the doors.

Overall the Mazda 5 performed well and we almost bought it. But we went with the Volvo and decided to keep saving our money for a newer car that – well, I’m not necessarily sure—it may be the 2012 Mazda 5 when we’re ready to buy.

Gas mileage for the Mazda 5 according to Fuel Economy.gov is 22 city and 28 highway.

For the Volvo is about 17 city and 24 highway.

Two sites for trustworthy car reviews are Edmunds.com and The Car Connection.com