Somewhere tonight, Murphy is laughing....

[cathyr19355]

It's final. I'm not buying the 2001 Honda.

Why? Because I was at the dealership this afternoon, looking at a different car just in case, and I decided to give it another test drive, since they'd just *replaced* the damn torque converter.

I had driven it no further than a half mile when the "check engine" light went on again, accompanied by the blinking of the light around the selected gear.

Even Sales Guy admitted this killed the deal. Because that means we have no idea what, if anything, is wrong with this car, and I have no intention of buying a potential problem.

So instead I ended up looking at two different other cars. One is the Toyota Avalon I originally went there to see. The Avalon is a large 4-door sedan, much larger than the Suburu I had had or the Honda that just washed out of the race. It's a 1999 model, with about 61,000 miles, but it looks like a new car, and has the smooth, silent, ride and feel of a land cruiser. Carfax says no sign of accidents or other problems, and Consumer Reports likes the model. It has beautiful leather upholstery, a built-in CD player, and power-just-about-everything. And the price (about $11,500) was a tiny bit cheaper than they were charging for the 2001 Honda. I asked why the low price, and it turns out they just lowered it, because it's been around for awhile and they're hoping to move it. (This is a Honda shop, and they don't get many Toyotas, or land cruisers, there, even as trade-ins).

In light of my lack of parking talent, I never really wanted a land cruiser, and while I like power locks, I'm not really used to making my seat do the Watusi with power controls.

The other car I looked at is a 2004 Honda Civic LX. 53,000 miles. A four-door sedan, rather similar to the one that washed out. They just got it as a trade-in, so it hasn't been through their conditioning/certification process yet. That likely will happen Monday, Sales Guy said.

My only concern is that it has a few small body dings... just enough to make me wonder if this car has a ... history. And the 2004 Honda will cost more, too, because it's newer. The dealership hasn't fixed a price for it yet, but Sales Guy says it will likely be a bit over $13,000.

I told Sales Guy I'd touch base with him Monday and tell him which of the two, if either, he should take to my mechanic for a look-see. I hope I can manage to decide by then.

Comments

[bippimalin.livejournal.com]

It's good that you are picky with your car. It's a big expense, even if it's second hand, and it has to fit your needs. And perferably not need a lot of gas, it's crazy how expensive it has become. Here in sweden a lot of people are starting to buy hybrid cars, I suspect our next will be a hybrid when the one we have needs to be replaced.

[jmaynard.livejournal.com]

A used hybrid here is not very inexpensive at all...in fact, they run very close to their new price.

The other problem is that the break-even point for a new hybrid over a new conventional vehicle of the same model comes at about 100,000 miles - and for a used car, that is probably even farther off, since you're that much closer to the very expensive battery replacement.

[cathyr19355.livejournal.com]

jmaynard is right about hybrids being expensive here in the US. A friend of mine bought one new, and it was significantly more expensive than a new car of the same class and size would be.

The bigger problem for me is that I do not make a lot of long road trips, and the current models of hybrid get their best gas mileages (and therefore cost savings) on long road trips.

[jmaynard.livejournal.com]

Actually, hybrids do best in stop and go traffic and city driving, where the electric motors can carry a lot of the load. I do make long road trips (95% of my driving is at 70 MPH or so), and a hybrid would be worse than useless for me.

It's not at all uncommon to see a hybrid be rated for better mileage in city driving than highway.

[cathyr19355.livejournal.com]

Oops. I stand corrected.

[pmat.livejournal.com]

It may be rated that way, but it's not actually true. Our Prius gets about 5-10 mpg better on highway driving than in stop-and-go. Friends with one say the same. The thing about a hybrid is, the gasoline motor charges the battery, so you can't just run on battery for very long. (Regenerative braking also helps, but not enough). The real savings come because the gasoline motor is small, and the car depends on the electric motor for extra oomph when needed (like when you're accelerating).

In any case, yeah, the break-even point is not close. We tend to own cars for 15 years or so, and expect to get there eventually, but it's a way off.

[cathyr19355.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the comments.

[cathyr19355.livejournal.com]

I'm always picky with cars, because they're a major expense that I don't like to have to repeat often. So I consider my decision carefully and once I have the right car, I tend to keep it for as long as I can. When I was replacing my first car, and I took it to a dealer as a trade in, he solemnly informed me that "your car has outlived its natural lifespan." :-)

[jmaynard.livejournal.com]

The AValon is a great car. It's the same platform as the Lexus LS430 (that year), and both have a sterling reputation. It would give you years of trouble-free service.

For that, a little parking practice is well worth it. :-)

[cathyr19355.livejournal.com]

In addition, I want to get the issue resolved, and all the information I have on the Avalon is favorable, while the 2004 Honda is still a bit of a pig in a poke. So I'm leaning toward the Avalon right now...but things could, of course, change.

[jmaynard.livejournal.com]

I was incorrect: the Avalon has the same engine as my RX300, on a smaller platform than the LS. Even so, it's still got a sterling reputation, and I think you'll love it.

[cathyr19355.livejournal.com]

It will all come down to this: do I want to gamble on my liking a full-size car once I get used to it? I suspect the answer will be yes, since at bottom I'd rather have good handling and dependability than anything else.

I did look for customer reviews on line, and I see that the Avalon gets decent gas mileage and has ABS brakes too which are also pluses. In fact, the earlier Avalons (such as the 1999 and 2001 models) got better reviews than the current 2006, for which some people reported road noise problems, cruise control problems, and a nasty sulfur smell when braking.

[fadethecat.livejournal.com]

Congrats on finding the problem before buying the car. I'm fairly certain you heard about landley's adventures with the transmission in our remaining Grand Am. (Note to self: do not buy cars made by GM.) Hope you find one you like of your remaining choices: I'm partial to Hondas, myself.

[cathyr19355.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm kind of pleased at having the problem detected before purchase myself. :-)

I know a little about the transmission problems with the Grand Am, but don't have a lot of the details.

As for buying GM cars, my first car was a Dodge Aries, which has given me a permanent allergy to anything made by Chrysler. Coincidence? I fear not. :-(