I haz a new car!
Feb. 28th, 2012 11:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamflowerFor several months, the DH has been trying to persuade me to trade in my car for a new one. He is all about warranties and fuel economy.
I,on the other hand, was looking forward to having a paid off car, and I liked my nice 2005 Ford Escape very much. It was supposed to be paid off next month. Until Ford Credit sprang a surprise on us. You see, after Hurricane Katrina, Ford very generously offered the folks of the Gulf Coast four grace payments-- no payments until after the first of the year. The payments would be attached to the end of the loan. What they failed to tell us was that they would be accruing extra interest the whole time! The result was a $2500 balloon payment at the end! Efforts to get in touch and see if we could arrange payments on that amount (because we do not have that much in a lump sum to spare) resulted in a frustrating game of being shunted around and phone tag.
Fed up, I told the DH that we'd see if we could make the trade-in he'd been asking for.
The new car is really wonderful! It's a 2012 Honda Fit! It took us a few days to get the color I wanted-- they didn't have it on the lot, but were able to get it from elsewhere. It's very small compared to anything I've driven before, but has as much or more interior space as my Escape. I will really have to get used to the dash configuration-- I've driven nothing but Fords and a couple of Chevies for decades. It has six cup holders! I love the key, which has the electronic part built into the key itself, so I don't have to worry about losing a separate "booper". It gets really good mileage-- about 5 mpg better than I was getting.
And its BLUE!
Our experience with the Honda dealer was lovely. They were very helpful and courteous and kept us informed of the process. The finance officer was able to get us a very low interest rate and a very low monthly payment (a good $60 less than we'd been paying on the Ford). And that was after incorporating both the extended warranty, a gap insurance policy and a $600 tag allowance (we will still have to cover $144 of the tag, though).
I'm quite pleased.
I,on the other hand, was looking forward to having a paid off car, and I liked my nice 2005 Ford Escape very much. It was supposed to be paid off next month. Until Ford Credit sprang a surprise on us. You see, after Hurricane Katrina, Ford very generously offered the folks of the Gulf Coast four grace payments-- no payments until after the first of the year. The payments would be attached to the end of the loan. What they failed to tell us was that they would be accruing extra interest the whole time! The result was a $2500 balloon payment at the end! Efforts to get in touch and see if we could arrange payments on that amount (because we do not have that much in a lump sum to spare) resulted in a frustrating game of being shunted around and phone tag.
Fed up, I told the DH that we'd see if we could make the trade-in he'd been asking for.
The new car is really wonderful! It's a 2012 Honda Fit! It took us a few days to get the color I wanted-- they didn't have it on the lot, but were able to get it from elsewhere. It's very small compared to anything I've driven before, but has as much or more interior space as my Escape. I will really have to get used to the dash configuration-- I've driven nothing but Fords and a couple of Chevies for decades. It has six cup holders! I love the key, which has the electronic part built into the key itself, so I don't have to worry about losing a separate "booper". It gets really good mileage-- about 5 mpg better than I was getting.
And its BLUE!
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Side view 2012 Honda Fit |
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Front view Here it is from the front. |
Our experience with the Honda dealer was lovely. They were very helpful and courteous and kept us informed of the process. The finance officer was able to get us a very low interest rate and a very low monthly payment (a good $60 less than we'd been paying on the Ford). And that was after incorporating both the extended warranty, a gap insurance policy and a $600 tag allowance (we will still have to cover $144 of the tag, though).
I'm quite pleased.
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Date: 2012-02-28 06:12 pm (UTC)And that's really tacky of Ford, to accrue finance charges on the deferred payments. Good grief. You really have to watch these credit companies, whether independent or connected to car companies, like a hawk.
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Date: 2012-02-28 06:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 06:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 06:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 07:37 pm (UTC)That said, I'd say it's a 99.9% probability that I will buy another MINI when the day arrives.
So. Have you named the car yet? :^)
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Date: 2012-02-28 07:42 pm (UTC)I pretty much won't drive anything other than a Toyota or Honda, since I've never had trouble with either, and nothing but with Ford.
I hope you have a lot of fun driving it, it looks amazing!
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Date: 2012-02-28 07:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 08:20 pm (UTC)I am glad it's not expensive. As for the size - I have the small car, and I can tell you, it is a blessing when you have to find the parking place in the crowd. ;)
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Date: 2012-02-28 09:19 pm (UTC)One thing that I've always been very impressed about with Japanese cars is their ability to have a lot more space inside them than their size would warrant. Makes me wonder if a TARDIS crash landed in Japan sometime in the past...
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Date: 2012-02-28 09:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 09:55 pm (UTC)Someone must have taken note of the steering wheel problem. In this model, the steering wheel is not only tilt adjustable, but also telescopes as well.
What I think is really tacky is that they offered it so "generously" to hundreds of people, who would all be more than a little shocked at the end (as we were) so that they could collect all that whacking lump of interest later-- but they still were able to make a PR coup from everyone who was grateful for the deferred payments!
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Date: 2012-02-28 09:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 09:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 09:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 09:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 09:59 pm (UTC)Still, so far I LOVE this little car!
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Date: 2012-02-28 10:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 10:02 pm (UTC)Yes. I never had a lot of trouble parking my Escape, but the big old truck I drove before that was awful to park! This one, I think, will fit into just about any space!
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Date: 2012-02-28 10:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 10:13 pm (UTC)LOL! Perhaps! It really is very roomy! But it only travels on the road, not in time or space-- be cool if it did, I'd visit all my friends.
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Date: 2012-02-28 10:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 10:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-29 12:16 am (UTC)Oh, that is perfect!
Heh. Oddly, I could handle the clutches on our big ol' farm tractors, but I didn't ever have to shift a car* until I bought my 1979 VW Rabbit Diesel. My husband taught me how to shift and lived to tell the tale! :^D
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Date: 2012-02-29 01:23 am (UTC)*hugs hugs*
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Date: 2012-02-29 01:35 pm (UTC)