[dave6]

Skip all of it. Dealerships make more money selling this overpriced stuff than they do selling the actual car. I turned down $6,000 worth of this crap last time I bought a car.

Another suggestion no one's mentioned -- consider going with a high insurance deductible. $500 minimum. If you can pay cash for a car you can come up with $500, and you'll save a lot on premiums. Also, filing claims raises your rates, so if you get into a $500 fender bender you probably just want to pay for that yourself anyway.

There are probably people on 2+2 that regularly play cash games or tournaments with buyins higher than their car insurance deductible. Think about how silly this is.

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Merchanical Breakdown Protection - $1,681
"Provides cost of parts and labor for covered repairs. Includes towing, rental car and roadside assistance for 84 months or 100k miles with Disappearing Deductible."


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What's a covered repair? How does the deductible work -- it might be something like $25 per part, so you have to pay $25 for every part they use. "Disappearing Deductible" sounds good but means nothing. Hondas are good cars, you're not going to need to spend $1600 on repairs. Do you even plan to drive the same car for the full 84 months?

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Theft Protection Program - $279
"Provides security coding protection for your vehicle, and offers a payable benefit of $5,000." So if my car were stolen and my insurance company gave me $18k for example, Honda would give me $5k on top.


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Translation: they probably etch the VIN on your windshield. For this you pay $279. What does "payable benefit" mean? Any fine print that gets them out of paying even if your car gets stolen? This is +++EV for the dealer.

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Road Hazard Protection - $269
"Tire and Wheel Road Hazard Protection. 100% of repair and/or replacement. Not Pro-rated." They told me even if I bought new tires they'd replace any tire/rim's I bought.


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Again, restrictions? Also in general, don't insure against losses you can afford (this goes for extended warranties at Best Buy, etc. but that's a different topic). Skip this "protection" and just buy new tires if you need them.

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Ultra Lustre - $325
"Exclusive Paint and Fabric Protection against acid rain, road salt, and other harmful elements for up to 5 years."[/b]


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Unnecessary and massively overpriced. The paint from the factory is fine. Wax the car later if it needs it.

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Dent Zone - $289
"We Will Repair External Dents and Dings for 5 years, Unlimited Miles."


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Most people probably never use it. A year or two from now, if you get a dent or ding, will you notice or care enough to take it in to the dealership? Someone already compared this to gym memberships. Same idea.