Honda Car Forum

Hi,

i am about to buy a new car and am debating between the accord the
jetta and the camry.

I want to buy a car that will potentially last me a while. I am not in
the market to buy a car and sell it after 3 years.

- The car has to be automatic.
- It has to be a four door with more back-room than our current car (a
2000 Corolla).
- I am not too good with cars so preferably something that I wont have
to tweak around too much, and hopefully will never need to pop the hood
unless I need a jump. And on that note can someone explain me the
differences between the various warranties? (powertrain, bumper to
bumper, corrossion perforation etc?) My thinking (although probably
flawed) is that I should just buy a hyundai since they have 'americas
best warranty' and I would be able to take it into them if there do
arise any problems w/it. Can someone please explain?
- A V6 would be nice but I honestly can't justify it, and a V4 would
suffice
- The car will be parked on the streets of NYC and will be driven
primarily on weekends.
- I am thinking of getting a used car (either a 2003 or 2004) to take
into account the major depreciation that I have heard about in the
first year of the car. Any thoughts on that? Any recommendations on a
good place to look for such deals?
- And finally what is a good place to check "prices" of cars? I have
seen various sites (kbb, edumnds, carfax).. can anyone recommend a
particular one or are they all good enoough?

Based on these criteria can someone please recommend the best fit based
on my needs and any reasons for doing so?

Thank you very much!

dufffman@gmail.com wrote:

> i am about to buy a new car and am debating between the accord the
> jetta and the camry.

First of all, avoid the Jetta. VW's are junk!

As for Camry and Accord, you can't go wrong with either one for reliability.
The only real differences between the two (other than appearance) are that
Camry has a slightly smoother ride while Accord has slightly tighter
handling. Test drive both and then decide which feels better to you.

In article <1124068844.498931.116400@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups .com>,
dufffman@gmail.com wrote:

> i am about to buy a new car and am debating between the accord the
> jetta and the camry.
>
> I want to buy a car that will potentially last me a while. I am not in
> the market to buy a car and sell it after 3 years.

Toss a coin between Camry and Accord, then go buy a Camry.

I say that being a Honda guy from way back. Honda beancounters are
ruining the company. But hey, if you end up with an Accord, at least
you're still way ahead of any VW owner.

Buy a VW only if you like pain. VWs are like mistresses--they're fun
for the moment but temperamental and expensive to keep. Accord/Camry
are like wives--perhaps not as exciting all the time, but in it for the
long run.

A car with good back seats that's not going to call too much attention to
itself is the significantly revised 2006 Impala. I'd get a color that's not
too flashy and keep it dirty.

Pars

<dufffman@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1124068844.498931.116400@g44g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> Hi,
>
> i am about to buy a new car and am debating between the accord the
> jetta and the camry.
>
> I want to buy a car that will potentially last me a while. I am not in
> the market to buy a car and sell it after 3 years.
>
> - The car has to be automatic.
> - It has to be a four door with more back-room than our current car (a
> 2000 Corolla).
> - I am not too good with cars so preferably something that I wont have
> to tweak around too much, and hopefully will never need to pop the hood
> unless I need a jump. And on that note can someone explain me the
> differences between the various warranties? (powertrain, bumper to
> bumper, corrossion perforation etc?) My thinking (although probably
> flawed) is that I should just buy a hyundai since they have 'americas
> best warranty' and I would be able to take it into them if there do
> arise any problems w/it. Can someone please explain?
> - A V6 would be nice but I honestly can't justify it, and a V4 would
> suffice
> - The car will be parked on the streets of NYC and will be driven
> primarily on weekends.
> - I am thinking of getting a used car (either a 2003 or 2004) to take
> into account the major depreciation that I have heard about in the
> first year of the car. Any thoughts on that? Any recommendations on a
> good place to look for such deals?
> - And finally what is a good place to check "prices" of cars? I have
> seen various sites (kbb, edumnds, carfax).. can anyone recommend a
> particular one or are they all good enoough?
>
> Based on these criteria can someone please recommend the best fit based
> on my needs and any reasons for doing so?
>
> Thank you very much!
>

Pars wrote:

> A car with good back seats that's not going to call too much attention to
> itself is the significantly revised 2006 Impala. I'd get a color that's not
> too flashy and keep it dirty.

Impala is a gas hog compared to Accord and Camry, regardless of engine.

In article <1124068844.498931.116400@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups .com>,
<dufffman@gmail.com> wrote:
>- I am thinking of getting a used car (either a 2003 or 2004) to take
>into account the major depreciation that I have heard about in the
>first year of the car. Any thoughts on that? Any recommendations on a
>good place to look for such deals?

Much of the "major depreciation" in the first year is the difference
between retail versus trade-in or private party value. You can only
buy new cars from dealers at retail (what a dealer is willing to sell
for, not necessarily MSRP), and sell at trade-in or private party.
If you buy an almost new used car at a dealer, you might not actually
save that much, particularly with cars that don't depreciate as much
(as with the cars named in your subject line). You may save more if
you find an almost new used car in a private party sale.

Of course, with any used car, you'll want to inspect the car's mechanical
condition and its service records carefully -- if you are not too
knowledgeable about such things, you may want to pay a good mechanic to
do so before you buy.

If you are not knowledgeable about car maintenance and repair, figure
out which brands have the best and most trustworthy mechanics' shops
(dealer or independent -- though dealer shops tend to be more expensive)
in your area. It is also good if there is a good selection of shops for
that brand, in case the good one you found closes shop, the good mechanic
retires, etc..

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Lee
Unsolicited bulk or commercial email is not welcome.
No warranty of any kind is provided with this message.

"High Tech Misfit" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:1m3fgl5kyy5fs$.dlg@hightech.misfit...
> Pars wrote:
>
> > A car with good back seats that's not going to call too much attention
to
> > itself is the significantly revised 2006 Impala. I'd get a color that's
not
> > too flashy and keep it dirty.
>
> Impala is a gas hog compared to Accord and Camry, regardless of engine.

The Accord and Camry have about the same fuel consumption. The 06 Impala
hasn't reported it's fuel consumption (time will tell), but I suspect it's
close to the economy of the 3.5L Malibu Maxx. If so, 3.5L Impala should only
consume about 10% more then Japanese rivals.

Pars

Jetta - I have no info there.
Accord/Camry - Very worthy, V6 can be pricey.

Since you are going to keep it and you like warranty, you really can't go
wrong with the '06 Hyundai Sonata. I have an '99 V6 Accord and I really
enjoyed the Sonata V6. Gets the same gas mileage as all of the other V6's
plus, the truly fun part, you'll save many thousand dollars on the purchase.
I test-drove one for a $50 promotion and I liked it. Heck even the base 4
cyl comes with a crap-load of airbags (seat, curtain front and rear), ABS,
brake assist, stability control and traction control. If you just consider
the safety features, wait, you can't even option some of those features on
the Camry/Accord and certainly not at a decent price. I think Edmunds is
advertising the top-of-the-line, loaded with every option, Sonata LX V6 for
$24k. They also have a $1000 rebate if you finance through Hyundai. Not
bad. The base 4 cyl model with rebate is yours for ~$17k. Yes, they still
have the 100k mile warranty.

here are the trims:
http://www.hyundaiusa.com/vehicle/so...mpare_trim.asp

I know I will get spammed for that but DUFFFMAN, just go drive it, Hyundai's
deserve consideration, as they are not the same cars of even 2 years ago.
If you don't like it and think it sucks, at least you can come back here and
spam me

.... back in the day, Toyota/Honda/Nissan (Datsun) were considered cheap,
suck-azz vehicles.

-keith




<dufffman@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1124068844.498931.116400@g44g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> Hi,
>
> i am about to buy a new car and am debating between the accord the
> jetta and the camry.
>
> I want to buy a car that will potentially last me a while. I am not in
> the market to buy a car and sell it after 3 years.
>
> - The car has to be automatic.
> - It has to be a four door with more back-room than our current car (a
> 2000 Corolla).
> - I am not too good with cars so preferably something that I wont have
> to tweak around too much, and hopefully will never need to pop the hood
> unless I need a jump. And on that note can someone explain me the
> differences between the various warranties? (powertrain, bumper to
> bumper, corrossion perforation etc?) My thinking (although probably
> flawed) is that I should just buy a hyundai since they have 'americas
> best warranty' and I would be able to take it into them if there do
> arise any problems w/it. Can someone please explain?
> - A V6 would be nice but I honestly can't justify it, and a V4 would
> suffice
> - The car will be parked on the streets of NYC and will be driven
> primarily on weekends.
> - I am thinking of getting a used car (either a 2003 or 2004) to take
> into account the major depreciation that I have heard about in the
> first year of the car. Any thoughts on that? Any recommendations on a
> good place to look for such deals?
> - And finally what is a good place to check "prices" of cars? I have
> seen various sites (kbb, edumnds, carfax).. can anyone recommend a
> particular one or are they all good enoough?
>
> Based on these criteria can someone please recommend the best fit based
> on my needs and any reasons for doing so?
>
> Thank you very much!
>

To add a new dimension to this i recently read reviews online about the
2005 Hyundai Sonata. It has supposedly "overwhelmed" the Accord and
the Camry for the price. What do you guys think about that? I had
pretty much narrowed it down to the Accord adn the Camry, but is the
Sonata an option? I would love to hear some critics/praises about it.

Thanks,

dufffman@gmail.com wrote:

> To add a new dimension to this i recently read reviews online about the
> 2005 Hyundai Sonata. It has supposedly "overwhelmed" the Accord and
> the Camry for the price. What do you guys think about that? I had
> pretty much narrowed it down to the Accord adn the Camry, but is the
> Sonata an option? I would love to hear some critics/praises about it.
>
> Thanks,

Although Hyundai's quality has greatly improved over the years, long term
reliability for cars 5-10 years old remains a question mark, especially
compared to Honda and Toyota.

Also, the Sonata is not as fuel efficient as Camry and Accord, regardless of
engine. So if you do a lot of driving, the savings in purchasing a Sonata
may be offset by higher refueling costs. Some Hondas and Toyotas are class
leaders for fuel economy (and that's not counting their hybrids).