Median Age of Versa / Tiida Owners

[tecis]

i really like the versa/tiida being a car for ppl of all generations.We have here users from moreless 18 to 65, i really like that..

I'm going to purchase a tiida demo car, here in MexicoVersion Exclusive AT 4 (comparable with SL in U.S., but no cruise control and CVT so far ).

The reason i will pruchase a demo is, that i realized the demos in that type here are driven mostly by women or older persons, who act nice during the test.

best wishes

FLORIAN

[Ever Victorious]

Demos aren't necessarily only driven by "women and older people"... there's a local Hyundai dealership that ordered several demo units that they could sell off cheaper as long as they drove them 600 miles over 4 months. Because of how many demo units they had, they ended up sending dealership staff on errand runs in these cars (to get lunch and whatnot), and dealership staff tend not to be as nice to the cars.

However... most demos will have under 1000 miles, and as long as they haven't been HORRIBLY abused... it won't matter, because it's just a drop in the bucket as far as mileage goes.

[AZhitman]

Florian -

Bienvenidos, entonces mira aqui : zeroforum/183

[tecis]

muchas gracias, pero prefiero version ingles....

> thanks, but i prefer the english version
Modified by tecis at 8:02 AM 1/15/2007

[tecis]

hey mod thats true but as far as I know here in mexico it is mostly f o r b i d d e n for the sellers to drive the demos themselves, only the gerentes and jefes (supervisors and chiefs) are allowed to do so, and as here in mexico mostly bigger is better counts, they mostly drive with the pathfinder & Co. demo cars if they do so...

so can be an advantage here....

the milage of demo cars here is usually about 1500 miles / slightly more than 2000 kilometers..

best wishes

FLORIAN

[BBISHOPPCM]

I am 22, I bought the car not because it was targeted towards my age group, but because it was the most practical car for my job. I am a computer tech for an entire school district, so I needed something with decent fuel milage and plenty of cargo space; it was between the Versa, and the Subaru impreza outback (the Versa won because it offered the most bang for the buck). 500 miles and I still love the car.

[tecis]

as you say it is designed to attract younger ppl, but i think also more older customers than expected will take it...

I remember from EuRope, when Mercedes in 1998 put the a-class on the market (a van-like subcompact as the versa), the age meridian became one of the highest of all mercedes models - and the insurance rates one of the lowest... but i really loved... as I will like the versa/tiida i think.. arranged test drive for after tomoro... 3 nissan dealers in a town 100 miles away from the plant and only one had an AT demo...

best wishes

[Ever Victorious]

Honda saw something similar with the Element. They targeted it at younger buyers but it became extremely popular with the 50+ crowd despite Honda's targeting.

[BBISHOPPCM]

And Toyota as well. All of the Scion owners I've seen were pushing 50. Automakers believe the 16-30 crowd buys cars simply because they are either cool, fast, or cheap. In reality, a small segment of our age group will buy a car for the above reasons (hence the popularity of the Honda Civic and Mitsubishi Evo and Eclipse models). I believe the Generation Y group, as a whole, is a but more responsible in purchasing their automobiles than the Generation X group. The only people who, in their right mind, would find a tricked-out Scion appealing are the under-20 crowd, but even that doesn't seem to hold water. What it all comes down to is this; people will buy what they like; to hold one generaton to a certain set of standards will cause you a finanial loss; to bank on the idea that all young people want custom illuminated cupholders and 3,000 watt stereos in a sub-compact car is sure to be a flop. Any ideas? Am I totally off track here?

[BBISHOPPCM]

Oh, and I almost forgot; it seems automakers somehow got the impression that everyone under the age of 30 participates in "X-TREEM" competition sports, requiring large amounts of cargo space, ski racks, room for four bicycles, and side-mounted surfboard racks. In reality, many of us have jobs and bills to pay. This is where Honda missed the mark; the Element is far too impractical, overstyled, and overpriced. However, for an old lady, it makes the ultimate yard-sale mobile. Good going Honda!

[Jemdawg]

Haha, the Matrix and the Ford Focus as well. I only really only have seen 40+ year old people driving those.

[tecis]

first of all my impression is the car industrie believes that we all have a lot of free time and nothing to do...

of course it is true, the young generation (like 18-28 for example) does sports...

but the important point in my opinion is the wide spread style of life in our generation... there are ppl just having to do their jobs, being for the children and paying the bills hoping to have some free time on sundays...

there are more free-lancers, but why everybody believes that they work less??the freetime-blocks are just in different quantities, sometimes on the day and not at night like in the industrial age, but does that mean at all, that younger ppl all wanna do extreme sports..

i think a lot of us who have to work hard for the dollar, euro, peso whatsoever are happy if they can go jogging to a park twice a week.

back to versa/tiida:

I m attracted mainly by the versa cuz i have place for 4 persons (im 1,80, my wife 1,63)and luggage , its comfortable with big seats for my opinion, secure for a sub-compact and the consumption is ok (not extremely good)

all that life-style-extreme-free-whatever stuff is not on my list... and really i also dont like the element for me that looks like a playmobil, on whichever group it is targeted, cuz i dont want plastic all around...

would like to know how the insurance rates will be on the versa...

finally thanks to all the contrahents here, seldom i have seen an american forum on such a high standard of intellegence much above american average i think....i really like the way ppl write here and the

tolerant opinions... best wishes

FLORIAN

[DreamU]

I'll be 55 in a few months and just retired. I have been driving luxury cars for the past 10 years but early retirement means less income (it's an OK trade-off in my books). The Tiida/Versa has just enough luxury and style to appeal to my taste and the economics are great. I don't miss the Lexus or Acura (course they don't have nav systems here in Panama so there is less to miss).

[M2Motoring]

besides everyone on the forums, everyone i see driving a versa around here in los angeles are middle age if not older (please dont take that into offense) i myself am 25.

[sambot]

So when we test drove the Suzuki SX4, the sales person told us that the SX4 was being marketed to under 30, testosteron-laden males. The only thing was, the people buying the car were the aggressively middle-aged, about to be empty-nesters.

Don't know who's buying the Versas here, because the V is rarer than hen's teeth. I did drive next to a white one the other day, and it was driven by a mid 20s male.

Being aggressively middle-aged myself, I chose the V because my 6'-6" 16 year old son fits in the back seat, although his legs are too long to drive the car. Yesssssssss. All I wanted was a reasonably reliable econobox that doesn't drag on the ground like my beetle does and has a beige, as opposed to charcoal interior to disguise the dog hair.

I have no idea who the target market group was for the V. The ads in Canada seemed to have been dropped 'cause they had gems like the comment about the trunk: "It's so big, you can see Uranus."

[proxim2020]

What it all comes down to is this; people will buy what they like; to hold one generaton to a certain set of standards will cause you a finanial loss; to bank on the idea that all young people want custom illuminated cupholders and 3,000 watt stereos in a sub-compact car is sure to be a flop. Any ideas? Am I totally off track here?

I agree with you 100%. And I totally agree that lots of manufacturers think that I generation are all about extreme sports. I find that the majority of my peers are working class citizen trying to progress through life. Rarely will any of them participate in any extreme.....well any sport. I find that a lot of new car designs are being targeted to an audience that can't afford a new car (16-19). Most people finally get off the used car purchase chain after the age of 25. Buy this time, most people have matured past the phase where they need to have neon everywhere. Or the phase where you have your car modeled after one of the ultra flashy cars in those crappy Fast and the Furious movies. I'm not saying it's not cool to make your car look nice, but your inspiration really shouldn't be from those movies. I went though that phase back when I was in high school, but I matured beyond that. I'm 23 with a career, married, a house, and 2 car payments, and getting ready to work on a family. The V fits my life currently and future perfectly. Hopefully future V's won't have the marketing and features like the Caliber.

[tecis]

you are absolutely right,

i have a small business with my wife here and better things to do than "neon"...working on a family as well currently...

i have the feeling younger ppl more mature to understand that you dont need 2f2f style are buying the versa, if they do so...

and for a lot of tiida owners seem to be tings more interesting in life than the car, for me it is also to get comfprtable from point a to b with good price and few consumption..

best wishes

FLORIAN

[leighvan]

I am 59, male, still working full-time. This is the first new car I've purchased since 1980. I researched the Versa, Yaris, and Fit on-line. I e-mailed Costco and heard from Nissan within 90 minutes, took Toyota 2 days to call, by that time I had purchased my Versa off the lot. I bought the 4 AT, Silver, power package. I've had the car 2 months, and love it.

I have had none of the problems that show up in the forum, but, I wish I had read the forum before buying because of mileage issues. In 2 measured fills after the dealer's tank, I'm at 23.5 mpg driving 90% suburban 25-45 mph.

I go to the forum 3-5 times a day. It's fantastic--I have learned more about the care and feeding of an auto in 2 months than my whole life. Keep up the good work.

[kc5f]

I'm 53 and also researched Versa, Yaris and Fit for an economical car I could still put 30,000+ miles per year on. The Honda sales rep said, "Here's a brochure" and couldn't tell me anything about it, let alone show me one. The Toyota sales rep literally wouldn't show me a Yaris, because he knew it was a piece of junk, but I wasn't impressed with the Corolla and Scion models he showed me, either.

I never thought of the Versa as being pitched at any particular age group, but when I bought mine they hadn't even aired the first commercials. It's not as sporty as my Probe was, and the 30-32mpg I'm getting doesn't quite match the 33-35mpg of the Probe, but it's close enough and a WHOLE lot more comfortable to drive, let alone all the new play pretties it's got!

[BBISHOPPCM]

When I was 18 years old, I purchased a 1997 Mazda 626 (burgundy with beige leather), in contrast, my peers were "pimpin da civix yo jus like da west sieeeeeeed." The Mazda proved to be a lemon (LA4EL automatic transmissions were the 626's achiles heel), but I knew early on that I was dull, and always would be. The Versa is the least dull automobile I have ever owned (ok, the black Frontier was cool).

[OKVersa]

I'm 48 and the Versa was targeted for me