I got a new car! I had my last one (a 2000 Accord) for over 10 years. My previous car before that was a 1994 Civic, so I’ve been a Honda owner for many years. I don’t think you can go wrong with a Honda.
I’ve had my eye on the new Accords for several months. They changed the body style a bit, and it’s sleeker and longer than the “bubble” look of my last one. I feel like I have a lot of car under me. And it has all the bells and whistles I could possibly want. A built in navigation system, voice activated bluetooth, connection port for my iPod, 6 CD changer/player, leather interior, moonroof and remote ignition starter (for cooling it off before I get in during our hot summer months). It has some great safety features as well: front and side air bags, ABS brakes, Vehicle Stability Assist, Tire Pressure Monitoring.
I used the Costco Auto Program. They have pre-negotiated great rates for Costco members, and I got a really good deal without having to do the bargaining on my own. (I did get the salesman to give me a 27% discount on the remote starter, so I’ve still “got it” when it comes to persuasion capability!) For anyone looking to buy a new car, I recommend the Costco program.
Now I need to get used to all the toys and quit playing with them while I drive, before I have an accident. (just kidding … I’m careful!)
That’s a really nice car Donna! I suspect it will last you for 10 years easily too. Our Hyundai is a 2004 and it’s still got 4 years on it’s warranty so we won’t be buying anything for a while but I’ve always like Hondas.
Will Oregon be your first road trip?
Maybe… But not for a while. I’m still in my break in period. 🙂
Don, did you buy an extended warranty or does Hyundai warranty their cars for 10 years? I bought the extended warranty on my last Accord, but decided to forego it this time. I never used it. I’ll probably need it this time since I didn’t buy it. But I decided to take the risk.
My philosophy on extended warranties is that if you never buy one, the money you save will more than cover the occasional instance where you have to pay for repairs. If this weren’t true, I doubt that the companies would push them so aggressively. It’s the same reason I buy high-deductible insurance.
The exception would be if the warranty was very cheap, and the item to be covered was at unusual risk to fail. I don’t think either applies to a Honda Accord.
I gave my opinion to Donna in an email, but I think it is worthwhile sharing, so here it is:
For the kind of vehicle you have I think chances of needing it are small. Sure, there is a possibility, but unless you think you could not come up with a couple thousand dollars to fix something major if it breaks a few years from now, I think you should save your money.
Keep in mind that about half the price you pay for an extended warranty goes directly to the people selling it as commission (usually the guy in finance who handles all the paperwork ). The company then has to pay all repairs out of the remaining half, after subtracting all the administrative costs and profit. You will see that the actual amount of money that is paid out in claims is very small. Certainly you can find someone who got value from their policy, but for every one who did there are many, many more who didn’t.
If you do decide to get it, be sure it is transferable, and that it will be accepted at any Honda dealer. Many of them are restricted to the selling dealer or to a certain states or location. They also tend to have so many exclusions and restrictions that the company can often find a reason why they won’t pay.
My honest opinion is that they are just another way to suck more money out of car buyers.
When I bought my Hyundai it had a 10 year warranty on the power train. I don’t remember how long the other warranty was but I think it’s expired now.
Here’s the info on the Hyundai warranty. Looks like it was 5 years for the non-power train so we are beyond that.
http://www.hyundaiusa.com/warranty.aspx
Don, it’s revealing that you were not aware that the warranty has expired. It doesn’t sound like you have needed it.
We’ve used it a couple of times for small things but this car is definitely the best car I’ve ever owned.
I hear the 2011 Sonata won best in it’s class on Yahoo.
http://autos.yahoo.com/2011_hyundai_sonata/
I left a comment but it didn’t show up. Must have been flagged maybe for the link I put in it?
Yep, Aksimet threw it in the spam folder. I recovered it.