Talk me out of it

[jbdba01]

My $.02 - used SUV with weather mats and a one man canoe/kayak loader; I constantly trash the interior and just dump out the weather mats (a set of 4 is about $200). Cargo area one is well worth the $. About another $100.

4 years ago I bought a 2WD '97 4runner off ebay for $9200 - no wrecks clean as a whistle only 48K miles!! Great vehicle. Fits 4 adults no problem. I'm 6'2. Gets 19 mpg city/ mids 20's highway. It was a local purchase - I got lucky, but I'll drive the entire state to save $5K.

I use my one man canoe loader to get the boat(s) on top. You can buy a "real" one for about $75. I modified by bike rack to do the job and it is money well spent.

Here are the pics...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22996363@N ... otostream/

As a bonus the 4runner tows 5K; so I can tow my 17' boat; throw the canoe on top; put the kayak in the boat; and throw sailing rig for the canoe in the boat, carry 4 people, and have room for beer. I'm fully armed for a small invasion of a third world country. [Editorial : Oh wait with our debt we're on our way there...]

Seriously...the SUV works for my lifestyle - married with children. Pretty inexpensive, but a solid vehicle. I was seriously looking at trucks, but glad I bought the suv. I like having things secured inside the vehicle - versus i the bed.

[Todd]

Get something really big, with oversize rims/tires and a thumping stereo, After all, you are the legend, you need to be seen and heard.

[Heywood]

Because there is no Awesome Honda Element owners club?

[Todd]

plus the high cost of new car auto insurance....

Totally incorrect, sorry Joe. New cars are, in fact, less expensive to insure than some older cars due to increased safety features. I checked, insurance on a 2010 honda element would be less expensive to insure than his 06 ford ranger, to the tune of $98.12 less every six months. Just something to think about Dave.

[JoeS]

plus the high cost of new car auto insurance....

Totally incorrect, sorry Joe. New cars are, in fact, less expensive to insure than some older cars due to increased safety features. I checked, insurance on a 2010 honda element would be less expensive to insure than his 06 ford ranger, to the tune of $98.12 less every six months. Just something to think about Dave.

No problem Todd obviously you are the Guru on Insurance........I was referring to the added costs of Comp, Alligator Towing, New Car Smell, Uninsured Flying Objects, GAP, Flood, Wind Damage, ect. ect. that is required by lenders for new vehicles....... VS Liability for a owned vehicle of Vintage Linage(1999 Jeep GC).........
..

[Todd]

GAP insurance is the biggest rip off item sold at a dealership. Big profits for them when they sell the stuff though.

That savings includes full coverage, except for the new car smell, Dave will stink that new car up with cheap cigars in about an hour.

[DonS]

Honda RIDGELINE is worth checkng.
We have carried 15' kayaks in bed with a bed extender.
Plenty of room inside for passengers. Fold up rear seats offer great volume.
Rear trunk in bed very handy. Can be a cooler too.
20+ mpg @ 80mph
Three trim levels
Take one for a test ride while at the Honda dealer.

[americanrobster]

Honda RIDGELINE is worth checkng.

It's Japans version of a Chevy Avalanche

For a Honda, I was surprised on how loaded out that truck came from the factory.

[americanrobster]

Whatever you do, BUY AMERICAN!!!

That buy American is Bull Crap!!! My wife and I found Honda uses more American parts to build there cars, Vans, C-RVs... In Tennessee!! (than GM.)

American Cars or not. CLICK HERE

Honda's are a pain in the ass to work on. I work on my own cars since I have the tools and know how. I repaired the rear disc brake pads, calipers, and rotors on a friend of mines Accord and they had to set screws that were everything but fun to try and remove, so you could remove the old rotors and put the new ones on. It was nothing but a pain in the butt, and I'm glad I drive a truck that's easy to work on.

I also had another friend of mine who bought a brand new Accord and after 20,000 miles the rear disc brakes needed to be changed out already ? I couldn't believe what I saw.

[Blindmullet]

Whatever you do, BUY AMERICAN!!!

That buy American is Bull Crap!!! My wife and I found Honda uses more American parts to build there cars, Vans, C-RVs... In Tennessee!! (than GM.)

American Cars or not. CLICK HERE

And they don't support the UAW

Why should we? Overpaid union job....went to far the other way.

Look at how much you drive in a given year and do the math. A lot of times it isn't worth it going with something lesser just to save $200/yr. Checkout carmax---you can get an idea what the used market brings.

[americanrobster]

Checkout carmax---you can get an idea what the used market brings.

Before I would even do business with Carmax, I would check out....

http://www.kbb.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and http://www.nada.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; to see what the value of the car is first and use that as a negotiation point from there.

Whatever you do, stay away from Autoway chain of dealers and Drive Time. They're all rip offs from what I've heard.

[Todd]

Whatever you do, stay away from Autoway chain of dealers and Drive Time. They're all rip offs from what I've heard.

My last two cars were purchased from Autoway, had no problems. The only time people supposedly get "ripped off" is when they are complete idiots and go into an auto purchase transaction without doing their homework first.

[Paul]

VW Bug is a great choice



We're retiring our GMC Safaria van. Going to purchase a Chevy Traverse or GMC Acadia .

It is the bigger of the "crossover" small SUVs . We need the bigger size for work

[bigguy]

That buy American is Bull Crap!!! My wife and I found Honda uses more American parts to build there cars, Vans, C-RVs... In Tennessee!! (than GM.)

American Cars or not. CLICK HERE

And they don't support the UAW

Why should we? Overpaid union job....went to far the other way.

that was my point

[americanrobster]

My last two cars were purchased from Autoway, had no problems.

Did Dan Marino sell you your cars?

I went to Autoway Toyota after I saw an ad in the paper for a new truck with all the options listed for $25,000. When I arrived and told them I wanted the $25,000 truck that was listed in the paper they said, "Sorry sir the truck you want is $45,000" and I said to the salesman in the paper it's listed for $25,000. He then walked away never to be seen again. False advertising at it's finest.

Plus, I'm not an idiot willing to pay $45,000 for a 2 wheel drive truck with cloth interior.

[Chadryan]

Honda's are a pain in the ass to work on. I work on my own cars since I have the tools and know how. I repaired the rear disc brake pads, calipers, and rotors on a friend of mines Accord and they had to set screws that were everything but fun to try and remove, so you could remove the old rotors and put the new ones on. It was nothing but a pain in the butt, and I'm glad I drive a truck that's easy to work on.

I also had another friend of mine who bought a brand new Accord and after 20,000 miles the rear disc brakes needed to be changed out already ? I couldn't believe what I saw.

Actually, I have had quite the opposite experience with Honda. I have owned a couple of Honda Civics and found them fairly easy to work on. In fact, a couple of buddy's and I did a complete engine/transmission swap in one of my Civics in a day in the garage at my parent's house. The great thing about Honda is that work is rarely required. Those things run forever and get great gas mileage.

In addition, my dad bought a Ridgeline a little over a year ago. At first I made fun of it because it looked so puny when my Ford was parked next to it. However, I must say that I have been VERY impressed by that little truck. It is extremely well thought out, gets very good gas mileage and has tons of room inside. He absolutely loves it.