Just bought a new car...advice please.

[centaurmyth]

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Google 'Ultimate Warranty Company'. The coverage you can buy from them is more comprehensive and cheaper than what you're being offered at the dealership.

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This appears very sensible (like your car purchase, smart, good move)... Also, Honda offers scaling warranty packages well over that once you feign disinterest. I got mine up to 5yr/100k mi mechanical for $600ish at time of Accord purchase.

[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.

[A_Junglen]

Thanks Dave,

FWIW, I have great car insurance and a $500 deductible. I think I'm gonna ask my local (trust-worthy) car repairman and see how much it costs to repair dents/ding's and see if Honda's additional coverage is worth it.

I'm fortunate to have the money to cover almost any repair and I bought the Honda because of it's reliability....I think the included warranty and AAA is optimal.

[__w__]

On the dent repair, you need to find out specifically how they are repairing the dents. If they are actually filling and repainting, this is probably a great deal for you. If they are doing Paintless Dent Repair, skip it. The Paintless Dent Repair will work great as long as the paint is not broken. And if the primary purpose is door dings, you have a 50/50 shot at the paint being messed up. If all they are going to do is work the metal back out smooth, it doesn't do you any good because your paint is jacked up.

[Slow Play Ray]

not to derail, but when you read so much 2p2, what would possess you to still go ahead and buy new?

[jtown1010]

I think when you are buying a car that could potentially last 5-10 years, buying new isn't a terrible idea, obv you lose a ton of equity the second you buy it, but if you plan on taking good care of it (driving reasonably, getting oil changes regularly as well as regular tune-ups, tire rotations and balances) you can still get very good value for your money.

[z28dreams]

Just so you guys know, buying new isn't always as bad as people make it out to be.

There are definitely times when manufacturers offer really good incentives/rebates.

I've seen cases where a current year (2007 model) would go for only $1000 more than a 2006 model, and the 2007 had a better warranty (5yr/60k vs. 3yr/36k)

It's -almost always- better to buy used, but new isn't always that terrible.

[daryn]

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not to derail, but when you read so much 2p2, what would possess you to still go ahead and buy new?

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it's nice to have a new car

[rjoefish]

Chevy's bumper to bumper warranty includes roadside assistance and towing reimbursement. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Also:
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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.



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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At our dealership it involves making the ignition so that only the key coded for the car will start it, and other objects like screwdrivers (lol) put into the ignition will shut off the electrical to the starter. Its something like if you're car isn't recovered within 30 days also for when you get the extra payment.

[A_Junglen]

The 2007's were about $1,500 less than a brand new 2008.

I've profited over $500k this summer and would like to think most 19 year old's wouldn't be as sensible as I'm being and would buy like a BMW or something really expensive and unpractical. Civic's are nice reliable cars. (I actually know quite a few people that've spent like half their roll on a car)