There may be a new addition to my garage in the not too distant future.
My wife would really like to replace her 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT with a 2008 Scion xB. Ever since I brought my Scion tC home from the dealer, my wife wanted to replace her car with a Scion with the manual transmission.
The other day we were running errands and decided to swing by the Scion dealer to take a look at the new xB. There were two models out on the lot and we were taking a look, although couldn’t really see much since they keep the cars locked. We decided to head inside to pick up a brochure and ask about the availability of the xB. When I purchased my tC, I had to wait a few months until my car was built and shipped from Japan so we weren’t sure how the xB was moving.
After a brief conversation with the salesman, we walked back outside so he could open up the car and we could get a closer look at the interior.
At this point the salesman asked if we wanted to take it for a spin and my wife was more than happy to give the car a test drive. While I wanted to go along, the kids were not interested so I stuck back at the dealership with them. Upon returning from the test drive, my wife was even more interested in replacing her Trailblazer.
She is ready to make the deal and sign the papers for a new Scion xB but I am much more cautious and take my time with making any financial decision. In order to see how serious she is about replacing her current car, I asked her to take some time to do some research into the potential price that we can expect if we sell her truck. In addition, I wanted her to calculate out the expected difference between what we can sell her car for and the cost of the xB so she can determine how many months we will need to save until we have the cash to cover the difference.
Much to my surprise, she has already taken action and has a plan to work with in terms of expected sales price and saving for the difference. While I didn’t have any plans of replacing her truck, I do think it could benefit us financially as the gas prices aren’t going any lower and the xB is certainly more fuel efficient than the Trailblazer. However, we do need to think seriously about our interest in off-road motorcycling as we use the Trailblazer to haul our kids’ Honda out to the track for them to ride. They haven’t been out riding much and have been staying busy with other interests so maybe we can sell the Honda as well and let that hobby go.
As long as my wife can demonstrate a plan where we can replace the truck without incurring any car payments, I will be more than happy to make the switch so she can have the vehicle she wants. One more thing that I need to do is call our insurance company to get an estimate on the costs to insure the xB compared to what we pay now for the Trailblazer.
What do you think about the Scion xB?
Anyone interested in purchasing a 2003 Chevy Trailblazer EXT with leather interior, heated seats and DVD entertainment system? 🙂
Credits: Photos from Scion.com
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Scion seem to be getting a better market share as they mature, I am sure they are a great buy.
I personally like larger vehicles, not sure if I would get one though. Still love my 2002 Bravada, which is siilar to the trailblazer.
The new xB is much better looking than the older one in my opinion. My personal preference other than gas prices is to keep the blazer, I love that car! Especially for you where you are hauling around dirtbikes and what not…not sure if the xB has enough oomph to do the same. You should definitely be able to make the swap without incurring payments I would think.
A plus on the Scion is I think they are holding their value pretty good…at least I know the tC is.
What do you think about the Scion xB?
I think it’s a great looking car! Toyota has really improved it over the original boxy design – and the interior looks awesome too!
A new and improved toaster. 😉
@Natron :: I’ve been very happy with my tC and think it was a great value for the car. If it were not for having kids, I’d go with small cars but it is certainly convenient to have something a little bigger at times.
@Dave :: I don’t think the xB can handle hauling dirt bikes so we might have to decide how much we care about that as we haven’t been in awhile anyways. They do seem to hold their value pretty well and should be pretty reliable with the Camry engine under the hood on the tC and xB.
@Saman :: Yeah, I was not a big fan of the original design but this one looks really nice. I did like the interior and the DVD system includes separate players in the headrest for each passenger, so the kids would no longer fight about which movie to watch! 🙂
this car looks like a ice box:)
I vote for upcomingBMW X6, cant wait? What about Audi Q7?
Water Subject, I edited your link because you never closed the tag. The BMW and Audi are more than I care to pay for a car.
Still…. the quality is one of the best
My dad sells them, so if you need any info before buying let me know. I know nothing about them! 🙂
Thanks for the offer. If there is any info I need, I will be sure to let you know. The nice thing from a purchasing standpoint is the pure pricing so you never have to worry that you didn’t get a great deal, although I actually enjoy that process and have done pretty well in the past.
Did not know they are expensive in the States, in Europe they are at cost of average SUV, ( Chinese crap autos are not included in average SUV:)
Its funny that you write about this. I pulled up behind a new one yesterday and noticed that there is only one (what I assume to be) reverse light on the left side of the bumper. I thought it was odd. During the day, will people notice your xB is in “R” and take caution?
Either way, cool lil ride. One of my good friends has one, and is now considering the new body style.
I’ll have to take a closer look as I honestly didn’t notice that when we had stopped to look at the car. Of course I wasn’t looking too closely because I didn’t have any plans of buying the car.
personally i like the 1st gen xB better, but i can see how some people would like this design more. it’s “beffier.” 😀 i have a 1st gen xA and i love it. a little slow but other than that it’s perfect…i can park it anywhere!
I tried to pitch the xA to my wife but she said that is way too small, particularly since she usually has the kids as well.
I love my tC.
Wanna race? Run whatcha brung!
I’ll have to bring the motorcycle then as I don’t think the tC would hold up. 🙂
Dang. You, me, and Danielle’s Scion? That should be fun. 😛
Yeah, I can take the xA! 😀
Heck…you can prolly take my Max.
I don’t know about that as the Max is a pretty quick car. I’d feel more comfortable about that race if I had the turbo charger bumping me up to about 200hp.
So far I have heard very little about the Scion. None of the used car dealers I work with even have one. Looks like I have 1 out of 1 votes as positive for the car (it’s a start).
Personally I’m a little turned off by the looks, but then again I don’t like the PT Cruzer much either and that has turned into a “Members club” car.
I don’t care for the look of the scion either. When it comes to the more economical cars i prefer the neon. I know thought that those cars are practicaly extinct. When it comes to luxury cars i love Audi and Mercedes.
I don’t understand the hate that Scions get among fellow car lovers. It’s ridiculous — they’re a stylish, economical automobile.