Went for a test drive.

Feel free to post anything unrelated to wet shaving or men's grooming (I.e. cars, watches, pens, leather goods. You know, the finer things of life).
CMur12
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Post by CMur12 »

I, too, buy a car with the intention of keeping it for the long haul.

I'm on my third Honda in 23 years. I sold my first Accord with 236,000 miles on it, and it was still running strong. You won't be compromising reliability or longevity by choosing a Honda over a Camry. What you need to do is be sure to drive both before you make your decision.

Again, the Accord is the top safety pick in its class. This is largely due to timing, as a new crash test was added this year and the Accord was designed for it. The Camry, which was a top safety pick last year, before the new test, went down considerably in the ratings this year.

- Murray
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Post by GA Russell »

I test drove an Accord Sport today. The dealership had a bad vibe, and I didn't like the salesman, although he was friendly. So far the best vibe and salesman were at the Hyundai dealership.

The car's interior appointments I didn't think were as nice as the Sonata and Camry, but the car had everything on my checklist except Sirius radio. It also comes standard with a rear camera! The car I drove came with Michelin tires.

The ride was very firm, and I felt a lot of bumps in the road.
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Post by CMur12 »

Russ, that's the Accord with the "handling" suspension. Other Accords would be less firm. Is the Sport the only Accord you tested?

- Murray
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Post by GA Russell »

Yes, Murray. Maybe I'll go back on a weekday when it is less crowded.
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Post by SharpSpine »

I'm not sure if it's true or not but I've ways heard that when you're ready to buy to go towards the end of the month when they may be willing to do more deals in order to reach quotas.
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Post by GA Russell »

I've heard that too, Brian.
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CNG Civic

Post by Bobwhite »

I wholeheartedly love my 2012 Civic CNG! It runs on compressed natural gas. Honda will sell or lease a filling station that you can use to compress your own natural gas in your garage over night. I don't have the station in my garage because I'm buying my gas for 90 cents / gal.

I live in one of the states where CNG is common, but most major cities run their vehicles on CNG, so they allow the public to buy gas at their station.

My Chevrolet Avalanche fuel costs 25 cents / gal. to drive, while the Honda Civic costs 3 cents / gallon. The oil stays clear, and there is no soot in my tailpipe.

The State gave me a $3500 rebate and Oklahoma Natural Gas gave me a $2500 rebate. The dealer gave me $7000 off of the sticker price because of the hail damage. I bought a new car with 36 miles on it for half price! The fuel savings compared to the Avalanche will pay for the car in four and a half years.
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Civic CNG

Post by Bobwhite »

One drawback is that it only has a 200 mile range
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Post by brothers »

Fascinating Bob. Next car I get might be a CNG.
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Post by fallingwickets »

Oklahoma Natural Gas gave me a $2500 rebate. The dealer gave me $7000 off
Nice move!! Well done....looking forward to the day becks subsidies are available haha

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Post by gruffydd3 »

CMur12 wrote:Russ, that's the Accord with the "handling" suspension. Other Accords would be less firm. Is the Sport the only Accord you tested?

- Murray
All 2013 Accords have the same suspension. The Sport model differs by having some spoilers and trim pieces and two exhaust outlets. It does however, have 18" wheels instead of 17". That may give it a slightly firmer ride.

All Accords have firmer suspensions than the Camry. Honda has always been known for having sporty handling compared to Toyota and some others.

If you want a smoother ride and don't really care about handling, Toyota or Hyundai are probably better choices.


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Post by jww »

GA Russell wrote:
jww wrote:I don't think that there is a wrong answer for you here and am confident that you will be happy with any one of the cars on your list ..... Although I do admit to being partial to the Sonata because of my affinity to Hyundai.

Nothing like a new car .... except perhaps a new razor, soap or brush:)
Wendell, I like to keep my cars until they die. What's the longest you've kept a Hyundai?
I turn them over every 4-5 years at the moment. I have leased in the past as well -- but moved to purchasing in 2005/06. I realize that it's not the wisest financial plan to do so, but I have been bitten so badly over the years with used or older car repair bills that I decided I was willing to pay the price to maintain some level of peace of mind. The Hyundai 100K km warranty is excellent.

FYI - one of my employees just replaced a 2004 or 5 Santa Fe - and they had something like 180K km on it ---- they had good repair history and costs were not high at all -- it was simply time for them to replace it as a number of things went south all at the same time. They figured that they got their money out of it plenty of times over.

My 09 Santa Fe will be 4 yrs old this November -- and I am not thinking of replacing it for at least 2 years -- probably 3. My wife's Accent is a 2006 -- so 7 years old, still has tons of life in it --- no repairs beyond normal stuff like brakes, tyres, etc. with the exception of a tie rod needing to be replaced back in January --- it cost something like $120 for the part and labour. We will likely keep that another year or two as well - longer if it continues to be this good for her.
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Post by Bobwhite »

fallingwickets wrote:
Oklahoma Natural Gas gave me a $2500 rebate. The dealer gave me $7000 off
Nice move!! Well done....looking forward to the day becks subsidies are available haha

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Post by GA Russell »

I test drove a Kia Optima SX today. It was very nice, but the rear window was much smaller than I would like.

I asked to drive a base model SX, but the sticker price of this one was $27,700, which is $3,000 more than the other cars I've driven. I can't justify spending more for a Kia than for its competition.
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Post by JayTrek »

No test drives for me for a while. I love my Jeep Compass. More money to spend on shaving stuff.
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Post by jww »

JayTrek wrote:... I love my Jeep Compass. More money to spend on shaving stuff.
:lol:
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Post by scruffy »

Take a look at the Ford Escapes. They were redesigned this year I think. I think it is more of a CUV now instead of a SUV.

We bought a Honda Accord a few years ago. It has been reliable, except for it stalling on the highway once. It did restart immediately though. They told me it was a strange glitch. It has not happened since. However, the paint jobs are terrible. The paint chips all the way through when hit with small pieces of gravel coming up from the road. I like the way the Honda Accord handles. They seem to have thought of every extra feature.

I did have to pull out the fuse for the Daytime Running Lights. I mean, what do I need headlights on in the daytime for?
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Post by jww »

scruffy wrote:...

I did have to pull out the fuse for the Daytime Running Lights. I mean, what do I need headlights on in the daytime for?
Daytime running lights have long been the law here in Canada, as well as parts of Europe. Denmark, as an example, reported 7% reduction in accidents because vehicles are more visible to each other. But if you look hard enough, you can find evidence that suggests they don't make any difference at all. All I know is that I have driven with my lights on constantly for many years. My cars now have automatic lights that shut off when I turn the vehicle off. Works for me ... I admit to liking the difference in visibility of other drivers when their car has DRLs installed. ymmv.

+1 on the shout out for the new Escape. Nice looking, and well equipped. I like how Ford has taken their "world car" approach from the Escort of the 80s to now --- they are actually putting some very nice cars on the road these days. Honestly, they are.
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Post by GA Russell »

Ed, that's good to know about Honda's paint jobs.

At one of the dealerships I visited, there was a super-duper offer for paint protection for five years, but it cost $500. My thinking was that at that price it might be better to just pay for a new paint job after six or seven years. I don't know.
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Post by CMur12 »

The paint problem is pretty widespread among brands. My understanding is that it is a result of environmental controls and water-based paints.

- Murray
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