So on Friday I traded the black car ('95 GT Mustang Coupe) in at last and bought a brand new 2009 Honda Civic EX 5-speed Coupe with all the fancy crap like tint and pinstripe and stupid stuff the dealer tries to charge you an arm and a leg for. It's silver with black interior, has really cold A/C, gets good gas mileage, and I can hook up my iPod to the radio. Pretty neato indeed.
Here's the breakdown:
MSRP $19,205
Doc Fee $670
I paid:
Sale Price - $17,879
Sales Tax - $1483.87 (all of which will be a deduction on my 2009 return thanks to the Stimulus Package)
Total Fees - $737
ARP - 5.90%
Cash for Clunkers Trade-in Allowance for '95 Mustang GT w/150K miles - $4501
Amount Financed - $15,598.87
Payment - $301.54 for 60 months
No additional down payment except the black car.
So someone asked "why would I trade my car in when I'm just getting in more debt?" First off, late last year I spent over $2000 trying to fix mysterious problems with the black car that NOBODY could figure out, including me, all of the very experienced mustang guys on my local board, Keith at AZDC, and my local mechanic. $2000 down the drain with nothing to show for it. The black car was dying, and recently even begun not starting, or starting, stumbling, then dying. It would do this 15-20 times (seriously) before it worked. The T5 was also in need of a rebuild. It simply was not worth the cost and aggravation to keep trying to fix a car that would continue to break down. I need my car to get to work. Period.
Now before I gave them the black car, I took off:
The 8.8 axle which I sold for $300 and replaced with a V6 axle found on Craigslist for $50.
The CD Player which I sold for $60.
The Magnaflow Catted X-pipe and Flowmaster exhaust which I will sell for good money, and replaced with $10 stock exhaust stuff.
The Cobra wheels which I sold for $200.
The front seats which I gave to Ben in exchange for some grey V6 stockers.
The Edelbrock intake and elbow that I will probably get at least $350 for once I clean it and powdercoat it.
The throttle body which I sold for $50.
The gauges which I sold for $160.
The steering wheel that I got $60 for in exchange for my friend's stocker.
That's about another $1000 net in my pocket.
So while I paid more for all of this stuff, I likely would have to leave it if I wanted to sell the car, whereas here I get good money for it and the dealership doesn't give a shit either way. Plus I got to help out a few friends with some great deals on great parts.
I bought the car from Bell Honda. The sales guy Jason Teel was pretty cool, but the finance manager "Derek" was a giant douchebag toolshed. He tried to justify their $158 per month "Protection Package" by telling me that Hondas are built with "special nuts and bolts" and that I can't get the tools to work on them. ONLY Honda dealers have them. :| What a fucking tool. He also told me that the $4500 trade-in allowance for the black car isn't like money down, and that I'll be flipped in the car as soon as I drive it home - which necessitates gap insurance. I asked him how a rebate that reduces the financed amount is different from cash money - and he couldn't tell me. The scary thing is that people out there probably believe this guy's bullshit. I told him to write the contract with the terms I negotiated up front, or I was walking out. He finally got a clue. I can't say I'd recommend that dealership to anyone given the experience I had with this jackass. Honda Cars of Mesa is far better.
Overall, I'm totally happy. I have a brand new car that will very likely be reliable, a cheap payment that is partially offset by significant savings in fuel costs, and total piece of mind. Cash for Clunkers worked great for me. I'll gladly make my car payment in exchange for piece of mind and reliability. However, I don't see how this would benefit most folks because most people who drive old beaters like me don't have the money for a brand new car. Whatever - I'll take Obama's money.
$4500 trade in.
$1000+ in take-off parts from the black car.
$1500 tax deduction.
$75 p/month fuel savings.
Paul.
Here's the breakdown:
MSRP $19,205
Doc Fee $670
I paid:
Sale Price - $17,879
Sales Tax - $1483.87 (all of which will be a deduction on my 2009 return thanks to the Stimulus Package)
Total Fees - $737
ARP - 5.90%
Cash for Clunkers Trade-in Allowance for '95 Mustang GT w/150K miles - $4501
Amount Financed - $15,598.87
Payment - $301.54 for 60 months
No additional down payment except the black car.
So someone asked "why would I trade my car in when I'm just getting in more debt?" First off, late last year I spent over $2000 trying to fix mysterious problems with the black car that NOBODY could figure out, including me, all of the very experienced mustang guys on my local board, Keith at AZDC, and my local mechanic. $2000 down the drain with nothing to show for it. The black car was dying, and recently even begun not starting, or starting, stumbling, then dying. It would do this 15-20 times (seriously) before it worked. The T5 was also in need of a rebuild. It simply was not worth the cost and aggravation to keep trying to fix a car that would continue to break down. I need my car to get to work. Period.
Now before I gave them the black car, I took off:
The 8.8 axle which I sold for $300 and replaced with a V6 axle found on Craigslist for $50.
The CD Player which I sold for $60.
The Magnaflow Catted X-pipe and Flowmaster exhaust which I will sell for good money, and replaced with $10 stock exhaust stuff.
The Cobra wheels which I sold for $200.
The front seats which I gave to Ben in exchange for some grey V6 stockers.
The Edelbrock intake and elbow that I will probably get at least $350 for once I clean it and powdercoat it.
The throttle body which I sold for $50.
The gauges which I sold for $160.
The steering wheel that I got $60 for in exchange for my friend's stocker.
That's about another $1000 net in my pocket.
So while I paid more for all of this stuff, I likely would have to leave it if I wanted to sell the car, whereas here I get good money for it and the dealership doesn't give a shit either way. Plus I got to help out a few friends with some great deals on great parts.
I bought the car from Bell Honda. The sales guy Jason Teel was pretty cool, but the finance manager "Derek" was a giant douchebag toolshed. He tried to justify their $158 per month "Protection Package" by telling me that Hondas are built with "special nuts and bolts" and that I can't get the tools to work on them. ONLY Honda dealers have them. :| What a fucking tool. He also told me that the $4500 trade-in allowance for the black car isn't like money down, and that I'll be flipped in the car as soon as I drive it home - which necessitates gap insurance. I asked him how a rebate that reduces the financed amount is different from cash money - and he couldn't tell me. The scary thing is that people out there probably believe this guy's bullshit. I told him to write the contract with the terms I negotiated up front, or I was walking out. He finally got a clue. I can't say I'd recommend that dealership to anyone given the experience I had with this jackass. Honda Cars of Mesa is far better.
Overall, I'm totally happy. I have a brand new car that will very likely be reliable, a cheap payment that is partially offset by significant savings in fuel costs, and total piece of mind. Cash for Clunkers worked great for me. I'll gladly make my car payment in exchange for piece of mind and reliability. However, I don't see how this would benefit most folks because most people who drive old beaters like me don't have the money for a brand new car. Whatever - I'll take Obama's money.
$4500 trade in.
$1000+ in take-off parts from the black car.
$1500 tax deduction.
$75 p/month fuel savings.
Paul.
