New car, old car, same car?

[cute fuzzy bunny]

:P

[JB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cute Fuzzy Bunny Price was correct, $22,644, plus taxes, license and some ordinary DMV fees.

Wow! That's an incredible deal. I'm tempted to see what they'll offer me. But what I really want is lots of room and a small fuel efficient engine. Honda makes great cars. The new Fit is also tempting.... if it was only a little larger.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JB The new Fit is also tempting.... if it was only a little larger.

So...what you're saying is the new Fit doesn't?

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JB Wow! That's an incredible deal. I'm tempted to see what they'll offer me. But what I really want is lots of room and a small fuel efficient engine. Honda makes great cars. The new Fit is also tempting.... if it was only a little larger.

It is. I had to drive a ways to get it though. The local dealers didnt even respond when I asked if they'd match it.

Closest thing I could get to it pricewise in the same product category was a couple of larger fords and chevys, and the honda was still cheaper. After my expedition fell apart in its first 50k miles, I think i'll pass on fords and chevys from now on.

You might look at the CRV or the Element. Both have special pricing right now as well. I could have gotten an Element for about 5k cheaper. Only about 4mpg more fuel efficient per the fed #'s, and only a couple based on "real world" gas mileage reported by other owners. Might do a little better than that with the CRV.

Good prices on the toyota highlanders as well, and those can be had with a 4 banger, but again the mileage just isnt that much better.

[JB]

The highlander is nice but I don't like how the rear seats fold. I have my seats down 99% of the time. Flat folding seats provide for more room, and makes it easier for the dog to get in and out.

Do the Pilot's seats fold flat? From the pictures it looks like they do.

All the specs on the element are good but the fuel economy isn't that great and whenever I see someone driving one they look rediculous with 2 feet of clearance above their head.

[laurence]

Peeked into my friends Pilot, had the third row folded flat and they really disapear, didn't know there was a third row until she showed me!

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Yep, both the 3rd and 2nd seats go flatter'n a pancake.

In the rav4 we have, the second seats come out completely, leaving a pretty cavernous area with a flat floor and a low deck. Very nice for hauling dogs and stuff. Moved my washer and dryer in that instead of the expedition as the deck was so low I could just flip them up in there easy.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Post buying update...

We're pretty pleased with the Pilot. Good parts are 20-22MPG in mixed driving, smooth ride, overall pleasant driving experience, plenty of power when you want it, much lower entry than the expedition (which was more climbing into than getting into), and so far not a single quality problem or need for service. By this point the expedition had been in a half dozen times for everything from fit and finish problems to mechanical issues.

Downsides: I miss being able to pop open just the window in the expeditions tailgate. Having to open the entire rear gate every time i want to toss something in the back is a hassle. The shifter is fairly vague...I find myself having to make sure I get it in "D" and not "D3", or more embarrassing..."N". Early on I had a few twinges from getting the base LX model instead of the EX, but after all is said and done about all I really wish I had was the tinted rear privacy glass, and thats not worth the couple of grand. The base, no frills LX has everything we really need.

After selling the expedition and factoring that in, total cost out the door (taxes, license, fees) with a 7 year warranty on the Pilot was about $14k.

Even the insurance is a pretty good deal. I was paying about $550 a year for fairly strong coverage on the 7 year old expedition, and its only about $650 a year for the brand new pilot.

[laurence]

You know, I got an after market window tinting for $300 that everyone swore was factory. The place had 4 levels of tint material, the metallic stuff is awesome.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I thought about doing that, and I still might. In fact, I can get high end metallic film thats precut for the specific vehicle for about $75. I 'tinted' all my mcmansion windows with a nice gray metallic film to reduce the UV and increase heat rejection, so i'm really, really good at it. That worked out great by the way. The old non low-e glass sucked. You'd shrivel when you walked by a window if the sun was coming through.

The tricks are to get the windows good and clean, use plenty of slightly soapy water when applying, to do it out of the sun, and give it plenty of time to dry before exposing it to the sun. And using the good quality film that doesnt bubble and turn purple.

Really all I wanted to do was cut back on the sun that could potentially hit Gabe in the face and overheat his car seat. I found some cool spring-loaded 'shade's, sort of like the ones that you put up under your windshield. Couple of suction cups on them and a lot of flexibility. Combined with a regular baby roll up window shade, a pair of these give me very flexible and complete coverage, with a lot more shading than most window films will do. Looks just fine.

Besides, around here where it hits 100+ on a regular basis, the shaded glass just means its 9.5 minutes before the inside of the car is boiling hot instead of 7.5 minutes...

[laurence]

Did it yourself? Woah, I don't trust myself enough. But yeah, I did it so Tori wasn't hit in the face with full sun, and to give the air conditioner a fighting chance.


Dude, don't do the suction cup window thingies, for the love of God! If you're going to go there, just get the minivan!

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Never!

The stuff comes right off if you screw it up...theres a spray bottle of remover.

Its really, really not that hard to do. Biggest screwups people do is use cheap film, try to do it outside in the sun, and not getting all the bubbles out...just use plenty of water with a drop of soap in it and a good squeegee. Any persistent bubbles, tiny slit with the edge of a razor and work the air out through that.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cute n Fuzzy Bun'ny Its really, really not that hard to do.

Window film is way better than it used to be. That's how ours was installed, and if we do any more I'm just buying our own for DIY.

But the cost of having someone do it isn't very much. Most of it's the hassle factor of finding someone who'll actually come to your house when they claim they'll arrive.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Prices were about 350-500 installed with decent film vs 75 to DIY.

For a guy that spends his time scanning the sidewalk for loose change, thats a big difference!

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cute n Fuzzy Bun'ny For a guy that spends his time scanning the sidewalk for loose change, thats a big difference!

I'm way behind on wasting money. I need to develop that skill...