I have a 2000 Honda Accord EX coupe, 4 cyl/5 spd stick shift which I l♥ve but it has 157k miles and will soon be needing expensive maintenance.
A local Honda dealer has a 2008 Accord EX sedan (I prefer the 4 dr for the room & functionality but the cpe is sexier) w/only 3,900 miles for $19,435. Much more luxurious than mine, a great drive -- this has an AT but the EPA mpg rating is only a smidge below those with a stick.
It lacks the leather seats I prefer (for Puff and her shedding) and also the retracting sunroof which is SO GREAT with Puff -- in summer's heat, I can crack the side windows to admit a draft, open (or tilt) the sunroof, and spend 20 minutes shopping and come back to a non-distressed Lab. They'll add one for $1200; (I can have a functional one added for $400 w/o as many bells & whistles).
The salesman also steered me toward a 2010 Honda Insight -- smaller, not as much fun to drive, a bit more expensive. Great MPG, interesting.
I'm not sure why he didn't have me drive a '09 Honda Civic Hybrid. They have leather seats (optional). Great 45 mpg rating. No sunroof but one can be added. And possibly a $4,000 tax credit (I'll call my tax accountant first thing tomorrow to see if it's still in effect for 2009 -- it was for previous years for NEW Civic Hybrids.)
From checking trade-in prices on used cars, I figured mine would be worth $4-5k. They offered $2.1k.
SO-o-o, tomorrow morning I'll go visit my friend Stan, who buys and sells used cars (only USA brands, unfortunately) and see if "Bessie" is worth more.
AND, I'm also a Costco member and they have a new vehicle buying plan which (they say) saves an average of over $1k on the purchase of a new car. I put in my name and member # and a Honda dealer 70 miles away, across the state line in Missouri, will contact me tomorrow.
Anyone have experience with the Honda Civic Hybrid?
Anyone have experience with Costco's car buying plan?
A local Honda dealer has a 2008 Accord EX sedan (I prefer the 4 dr for the room & functionality but the cpe is sexier) w/only 3,900 miles for $19,435. Much more luxurious than mine, a great drive -- this has an AT but the EPA mpg rating is only a smidge below those with a stick.
It lacks the leather seats I prefer (for Puff and her shedding) and also the retracting sunroof which is SO GREAT with Puff -- in summer's heat, I can crack the side windows to admit a draft, open (or tilt) the sunroof, and spend 20 minutes shopping and come back to a non-distressed Lab. They'll add one for $1200; (I can have a functional one added for $400 w/o as many bells & whistles).
The salesman also steered me toward a 2010 Honda Insight -- smaller, not as much fun to drive, a bit more expensive. Great MPG, interesting.
I'm not sure why he didn't have me drive a '09 Honda Civic Hybrid. They have leather seats (optional). Great 45 mpg rating. No sunroof but one can be added. And possibly a $4,000 tax credit (I'll call my tax accountant first thing tomorrow to see if it's still in effect for 2009 -- it was for previous years for NEW Civic Hybrids.)
From checking trade-in prices on used cars, I figured mine would be worth $4-5k. They offered $2.1k.
SO-o-o, tomorrow morning I'll go visit my friend Stan, who buys and sells used cars (only USA brands, unfortunately) and see if "Bessie" is worth more.
AND, I'm also a Costco member and they have a new vehicle buying plan which (they say) saves an average of over $1k on the purchase of a new car. I put in my name and member # and a Honda dealer 70 miles away, across the state line in Missouri, will contact me tomorrow.
Anyone have experience with the Honda Civic Hybrid?
Anyone have experience with Costco's car buying plan?
