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[Mirage2023]

Yes, I’m pay msrp. I will be driving about 300 km a day, most in city doing deliveries. 2023 Mirage GT or 2023 the lowest model Corolla. The price difference is $2,400 CAD. Which one would you pick?

[Mark]

Yes, I’m pay msrp. I will be driving about 300 km a day, most in city doing deliveries. 2023 Mirage GT or 2023 the lowest model Corolla. The price difference is $2,400 CAD. Which one would you pick?

Some may pick the Mirage & some may pick the Corolla for your situation. I'm not sure that should sway your choice? If I were paying that amount of money for a car, I would surely test drive both. Have you done that?

Just doing some simple math with the numbers you have given us, you are going to rack up the km/miles quite fast.

300 km (186 mi) per day x 5 days/week = 1,500 km (930 mi) per week.

1,500 km (930 mi) x 52 weeks/year = 78,000 km (48,360 mi) per year.

5 years of ownership = 390,000 km or 241,800 mi

10 years of ownership = 780,000 km or 483,600 mi

In most cases city driving is much harder on cars versus highway driving miles.

To be fair to the discussion, $25,817 OTD CAD is about $19,000 OTD USD (using the current exchange rate). If you factor in your payments, how much will the Mirage cost you to pay it off?

Your situation is very different from mine, and what I would do (or someone else) should not sway your decision. I bought a brand new Mirage, because I could get one for under 66% window sticker. Had I qualified for all the rebates being offered at the time, I would have paid under 55% window sticker for a brand new car. My closing costs (including everything - tax, registration, new state plates, documentation fees, & delivery to my home hours away) for my Mirage were approximately $854. A brand new Mirage for under $10,000 OTD (which would be about $13,600 CAD) made me stop looking at used cars. If I bought a brand new Mirage today, it would not look like that at all!

I've had my Mirage for 5+ years now. I paid it off the first year. I've averaged close to 14,000 miles/year on my Mirage so far. If I averaged 15,000 miles/year, my Mirage would only have 150,000 miles (240,000 km) on it after 10 years. If I take care of it, I suspect I will get 15 years out of my Mirage with ease (225,000 miles/362,000km). Your Mirage would have more miles/kilometers than that after just 5 years of ownership.

It's really hard to compare apples to apples here. Car ownership is surely more expensive in Canada. Fuel is not only more expensive, but I suspect car insurance is also more expensive from what others have shared. If I lived in Canada, I may just own older vehicles & just carry liability insurance on them. I see vehicles as money pits, not investments. I prefer shallow money pits over deep ones.

I bought a Mirage, because they were extremely cheap at the time. I wanted a daily driver that was economical to drive, but most of all I wanted to extend the life of my older Subaru Forester. I don't want to replace that vehicle any time soon either. I would say 80-90% of my mileage each year goes on my Mirage, and I think it is extending the life of my 2011 Forester. The Mirage is a good fit for me, but it's also not my only vehicle. If I only owned one vehicle, it would not be a Mirage. I am just being honest when saying that.

I would never recommend buying a new vehicle to anyone, unless it is highly discounted. Buying a 2-4 year old low mileage vehicle for less money is appealing to me, but I don't know your used vehicle market.

In 2013, I paid $17,000 for my current 2011 Forester with 15,000 miles on it. It replaced a 2000 Honda CR-V that I bought in 2004 for $12,000, & that one had 20,000 miles on it at the time of purchase. These are both AWD vehicles with manual transmissions. In my mind, my used Honda CR-V (private party purchase) was probably my best deal on any vehicle, & it was also my favorite vehicle of all time.

I only buy new vehicles when they are highly discounted. I bought a brand new 1990 Ford Festiva when Ford had a $1,000 rebate on them. I paid $5,300 for that car brand new & drove it for 14 years. I still regret selling that car when I did. I really miss affordable base level cars these days, & I wouldn't consider a Mirage near MSRP one.

[Mirage2023]

Mark, wow!!! 😍😍😍

Thank you so much for your wonderful analysis.

I currently donÂ’t have a car. Picking a used car is too risky for me because I donÂ’t know about cars. ThatÂ’s why I want to go for a brand new car. The current car market is bad but I donÂ’t have the knowledge to choose a car anyway. IÂ’m lucky to discover this forum.

This forum is full of great information and excellent people like you. I couldnÂ’t find a forum like this one for Corolla. This is another reason why I pick a Mirage. I can learn from you guys for maintaining a brand new car, hopefully I can use it for daily deliveries for as long as the car can last. I donÂ’t know which car, mirage or Corolla, is going to give me less headaches. You guys are the only people I can go to, I donÂ’t even know any garage to help me to fix and maintain my car here in metro Vancouver BC Canada. IÂ’ve heard that some of garage are ripping people off. ItÂ’s scary for people like me. ThatÂ’s why IÂ’m scare to buy a used car and wanted a brand new car.

I was going through a mental depression, keeping myself away from the outside world since Covid-19 started. Now IÂ’m ready to face people again, but I donÂ’t want to push myself too much. ThatÂ’s why I want to buy a car and do deliveries, minimizing contact with people. IÂ’m not ready for a normal job yet. I rather spend like 12 hours a day driving outside instead of staying home again like the past couple years. I have no one to go home to anyway. Maybe I should get a cat for companionship.

Thanks again for showing me the calculations. IÂ’m not good at math, hopefully I can make some money by doing food delivery every day. I donÂ’t think IÂ’m ready for ride share, to donÂ’t want to face too many people, I guess Amazon Flex could be another choice beside food delivery.

IÂ’m stuck from a choice between a Corolla and a Mirage. This is a choice I have to make without car knowledge buy luckily I have you guys. I know I need to go out, staying home is bad for my emotional health. Once I got myself a car, IÂ’m willing to drive long time to make money. WellÂ…. Hopefully I can make a living here in Vancouver by doing deliveries. Thank you so much for all the people here trying to help me to make a decision.

I wish every single one of you a Happy New Year. All the best to you guys. 😍😍😍

[Mirage2023]

How come my ‘ became a strange character? 😂

[Mirage2023]

Any people here driving a Mirage or a Corolla and doing deliveries here in Vancouver BC? I wish I can have a chance to learn from you guys.

Coffee and donuts on me 😂

[Mark]

IÂ’m stuck from a choice between a Corolla and a Mirage. This is a choice I have to make without car knowledge buy luckily I have you guys. I know I need to go out, staying home is bad for my emotional health. Once I got myself a car, IÂ’m willing to drive long time to make money. WellÂ…. Hopefully I can make a living here in Vancouver by doing deliveries. Thank you so much for all the people here trying to help me to make a decision.

I wish every single one of you a Happy New Year. All the best to you guys. ������

A Happy New Year to you, too!

I don't want to discourage you from buying a new Mirage. I just wish they were priced better for everyone!

You may enjoy this story below. It shows a guy's Nissan Frontier going past 1,000,000 miles/1,609,344 km doing deliveries. Shortly after this story was shared, Nissan gave him a brand new Frontier for free.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAi9o8SXjNg&t=136s

[Mirage2023]

Thanks, checking it out.

[Mirage2023]

Thanks for sharing! I wish I can have a job like that. I don’t mind to invest in a bigger car. 12 - 13 hours a day…. Wake up early, no problem. I don’t have someone to go home to anyway ��

[Basic]

The price difference is $2,400 CAD. Which one would you pick?

I love the Mirage, and I would pick the Corolla 10000x...

It's just a whole different level of car... they shouldn't be that close in price... 7,400 difference maybe. Then you could choose the Mirage. But at 2 grand? No way...

[Mirage2023]

Basic, Thanks, I’m going to study more before I make a decision.

Happy Holiday! ��