Two things I said I’d never have but probably will by the end of the day
1) Car payment – they suck. But lately, you’re better off financing through the car manufacturer since they give really good rates. I mean, hell, if your liquid accounts pay a better rate than you’re being charged for a car, then it’s a no-brainer.
2) A Honda – This one, specifically. We borrowed it for a day and Junior really digs the DVD player. I always viewed them as, well, cheap little cars. Apparently, that has changed in the last decade or so. Consumer Reports and just about every other online resource says The Pilot rocks and is a good damn deal.
January 30th, 2007 at 9:47 am
Love my Accord. It’s treated me very well in the 7 years I’ve owned it. Maintenance is more expensive than a Murican car, but they run sooo much better and longer it’s worth it…
January 30th, 2007 at 9:50 am
You’ll love it. Hondas are mighty good cars engineering and reliability wise. They’re also very friendly cars. It’s hard to explain, but they’re just very thoughtfully designed for drivers and passengers.
I also like the local Honda dealerships (Airport Hwy and West Side) much better than I liked the Toyota dealership or Ford dealership on Alcoa Hwy.
January 30th, 2007 at 10:02 am
Even if you are making more on your liquid accounts than you are paying, you are still incurring DEBT in this case. Thus “the borrower is slave to the lender.” I had good luck with my Honda (just bought a Mazda 6 to replace it), but I would recommend paying cash for it. Just my $.02.
January 30th, 2007 at 10:10 am
Yeah, I can’t do much to defend my employer.
The engineering and quality is as good as any other, but we still use cheap plastic everywhere, make stupid decisions on things like “automatic climate control” that isn’t, well “automatic”, and don’t include many “surprise and delight” features.
I think the best point made is the dealerships.
I’ve gone with friends to various dealerships because I know financing and cars and all the inside angles. Domestic dealerships still treat their customers in a less-than-acceptable manner.
:sigh:
January 30th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Jon, “surprise and delight” is a good way to put it.
We were thrilled to discover the little LED in the ceiling that lights up the center console at night. I was looking through the owner’s manual and found a way to automatically roll down the windows in the summer time as you’re unlocking the doors with the remote. (IIRC you hold down the unlock button for five seconds.)
January 30th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
I’m still never going to have a car payment. I will keep my Hondas, though–they’re fast, brutel motorcycles.
January 30th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Oops. Lemme try “brutal”.
January 31st, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Right after I got back from the Gunblogger Rendezvous I traded in my (paid for) Ford Ranger for a new 2006 Toyota Tundra. One major reason I chose the Toyota (right after quality) was 0% financing for 60 months. When I bought the Ranger in ’99 it got it at 0.9% for 48 months.
If you have to make a big-ticket purchase, rates like that take a lot of the pinch out of it.
Hope you enjoy your new evil SUV.
February 1st, 2007 at 10:27 am
[…] I hate it. I hate dealing with the sales guys. I hate dealing with finance guys. Can’t stand it. But we grabbed a Honda Pilot (4WD just in time for the non-snow) mentioned here. We went by to finish up some paperwork and all that. This is the part where my wife became annoyed because my credit score blew hers out of the water. Hers is still great, mind you, but mine is a few points shy of the max. So, the finance guy said we’d get a better rate if I was the applicant. […]
February 1st, 2007 at 5:29 pm
Hey, sooner or later you had to switch to a car that’s built in America. 🙂