[rxter]

<!--quoteo(post=73021:date=Jun 2 2009, 08:14 AM:name=flash)-->QUOTE (flash @ Jun 2 2009, 08:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->with the lease programs of many of these japanese manufacturers being so
aggressive, it's pretty easy to pick up a new car for little more than $100 a
month - as a student, it might even be deductible - if you own a business, it
definitely can be<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->


I made a few calls on this aspect and could not find any particularly attractive
lease programs in my area. May have been a local thing, or they worked the
terms to make $100 possible (short term, high cash up front, etc.)

<!--quoteo(post=73021:date=Jun 2 2009, 08:14 AM:name=flash)-->QUOTE (flash @ Jun 2 2009, 08:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->i think it's nuts to buy a used car for a kid away at school - guess who gets to
deal with breakdowns and such? warranties are worth their weight in gold in
situations like that - one good breakdown like this and you've exceeded the
entire year of payments<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->


Agree 100%. The Celica's warranty program was Daddy's VISA card. That thing
was bleeding me at a pretty good clip.

To close the book on this one we did the deal yesterday. 06 Civic with 31K
miles. In very good shape cosmetically (although looks like I'll need to
revisit the Dr - - colorchip that is), and more importantly, 10 oil changes since
new, and spot on the recommended service intervals. The most compelling aspect
of this deal though, was an extended Honda warranty that transfers to me. It
goes for another 70K miles and 5 years. That's better than a new Honda
warranty, and the car cost me a lot less.

A pic of the happy new driver with new and old. Oh, yeah, and did I mention
they are both black?? [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif[/img] Kid's got her father's taste in cars...

   



Again, thanks for the help all.

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[ds968]

<!--quoteo(post=73043:date=Jun 2 2009, 01:00 PM:name=rxter)-->QUOTE (rxter @ Jun 2 2009, 01:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Oh, yeah, and did I mention they are both black?? [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif[/img] Kid's got her father's taste in cars...<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Yeah, but all the money you'll save on maintenace and potential repairs is going to go to car washes and detailing.. though you're used to it and no doubt factored that into the budget, since the old car is black aslo [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

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[rxter]

Car Wash? Perish the thought. But yes, the first thing on the list is a wash, clay bar, and a good coat of carnuba.

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[968Z]

Just did the "car for the kid going to college" thing yesterday. '99 Nissan Altima. Nice car, and cheap too!

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[rxter]

So you are not going to believe this. Well, Dan you might...

3 days and maybe a 150 miles in on the new-to-us-car (including the ride home from OC) and my kid calls me after I am asleep and says "Dad my car is smoking OMG, blah blah..." After I hear "smoking" every thing sounds like a Charlie Brown movie when the adults are speaking. Finally my brain wakes up and I load a jug of water and a case of oil and a flashlight into the trunk of my non-smoking car and drive the couple miles to where she has glided to a stop in a parking lot (with boyfriend in tow no less).

The scene looks like something out of ER, or LA LAW, with the victim bleeding all over the pavement. She's too young I scream. I dip my fingers into the pool of still-warm gelatinizing fluid and whew, just antifreeze. But a lot of it. So I pop the hood - walking around to the front of the car I imagine all manner of toasted plastic, rubber, paint, and other non-metal components. To my relief, the only thing fried is my nerves....pause for another smoke...

Turns out to be nothing more than a leak down low - probably a hose clamp. But it's dark and I'm tired and no way I am crawling under that damned stinking Honda - should have got a German car I mutter under my breath... I pour about a gallon of H2O into the radiator and off we go. Everything seems reasonably OK.

Car starts up - check
Engine Temp a bit high but not catastrohpic - check
Heat pumping out of the vents - check

We limp home and I head off for the sanctity of my bed, with a smile and wave at my German car as I walk by.

Tomorrow morning. Call the Honda warranty people. Not a lot of help actually - something about transfering a contract blah blah. To heck with it I'll just call the dealer. Great - apt at 8:30 - you got it - be there in a flash. Top up with H2O and off we go, limping to the dealer - stinking Honda. And change the oil while your at it.

Noon - Dealer calls. The good news is that the repair is covered. The bad news is that you



NEED






A





NEW







BLOCK



ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???????? Apparently Honda had a few batches of weird materials that creates a "porous" metal, and it just starts to weep at some point. WOuld have been really, really cool to know that before I bought the car. Jeez.

So what are the odds that a couple of Honda Dealership mechs can completely tear down an engine, replace the block, and put it all back together again? Seriously, someone make me feel a bit better about this. At least my oil change will be free. And the transmission, and the coolant, and ...

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[968Syncro]

Holy !@%(*&@!!~$*@ Joe,

Sorry to hear this, even if covered, what a hassle!

I changed my mind - best car for a kid / college kid: 1967 VW Beetle.

Roland

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[gryphon]

<!--quoteo(post=72846:date=May 30 2009, 02:39 PM:name=gryphon)-->QUOTE (gryphon @ May 30 2009, 02:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->You might also think new car too. There are some amazing deals out there.

Tom<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

See above.

Tom

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[ds968]

[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif[/img]

man, at least glad to hear it's covered. yeah the hassle is one thing and not to take anything away from that, but if you had to add to it a few thou
( even for a honda i'm guessing the block is pretty damn pricey ) it could sure ruin your mood for a while..

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[rxter]

<!--quoteo(post=73394:date=Jun 6 2009, 05:06 PM:name=ds968)-->QUOTE (ds968 @ Jun 6 2009, 05:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif[/img]

man, at least glad to hear it's covered. yeah the hassle is one thing and not to take anything away from that, but if you had to add to it a few thou
( even for a honda i'm guessing the block is pretty damn pricey ) it could sure ruin your mood for a while..<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->


Agreed. I am not volunteering to trade places.

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[caffine]

<!--quoteo(post=73329:date=Jun 5 2009, 08:11 PM:name=rxter)-->QUOTE (rxter @ Jun 5 2009, 08:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->NEED
A
NEW
BLOCK

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME????????<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Sorry - to hear that.

Unfortunately its the same thing my Florida son called me about for his 95 M3. I'm apparently to send $$$$ to some place in Conn. this Monday so they will send my son a replacement engine. Worse part is this is typical for this one child of mine. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/huh.gif[/img]
There goes the headers & exhaust I was planning on from rsb.

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[ds968]

what the heck is going on here lately ?! the swine flu pandemic has nothing on the rash of major mechanical breakdowns we're experiencing , whether ourselves or those close to us..

my best friend just told me he had to spend about $6k last week for a cracked block in his '02 BMW


the planets must be misaligned

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[bva]

in hindsight, maybe the best car for a college kid is whatever the roommate drives - develops the negotiation skills needed to bum a ride now and then, and limits your exposure to the occasional tank of gas. just reflecting on my situation at that age; not sure its still a practical solution these days.

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[gryphon]

<!--quoteo(post=73412:date=Jun 6 2009, 08:10 PM:name=bva)-->QUOTE (bva @ Jun 6 2009, 08:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->in hindsight, maybe the best car for a college kid is whatever the roommate drives - develops the negotiation skills needed to bum a ride now and then, and limits your exposure to the occasional tank of gas. just reflecting on my situation at that age; not sure its still a practical solution these days.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Sore subject, here, folks. My son didn't take his 97 Civic to college his fall semester because his roommate had a car and:

1. They lived one block from campus and walked to class.
2. They planned on a monthly run to Costco for food.
3. My son agreed to comp the roommate for any mutual errands.
4. The liqueur store is across the street.

So, my son borrows the roommates car one time to make a run to the airport and fills the tank with $50 in fuel for a 40 mile round trip. A few weeks later I get an email from his cheapass father (an ambulance chaser FYI), who tells me that his insurance company just "happened to inquire as to whether his son had roommates and if they had their own vehicles." Attached was an insurance company rider excluding my son from driving the roommates vehicle. Complete crap of course. Did I mention he was a cheapass?

Payback's a bitch as they say. I threatened my son within an inch of his life if he ever loaned the roommate his Civic. I don't care if the roommate's car breaks down and he is late for a date with Hayden Panetierre. He can walk.

Tom

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[rxter]

To close this out, new short block in - everything appears OK. Got it in the driveway, washed, claybarred, polished, waxed, and photo opp.

That is one shiny fender [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif[/img]

   



Thanks again for all of the advise and experience. Fingers crossed that this one will last a while.

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[Cloud9...68]

<!--quoteo(post=73408:date=Jun 6 2009, 09:11 PM:name=ds968)-->QUOTE (ds968 @ Jun 6 2009, 09:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->what the heck is going on here lately ?! the swine flu pandemic has nothing on the rash of major mechanical breakdowns we're experiencing , whether ourselves or those close to us..

my best friend just told me he had to spend about $6k last week for a cracked block in his '02 BMW<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
My wife's 2007 BMW 328i just had to have its head replaced, due to what turns out to be a factory defect resulting in inusfficient oil pressure to the lifters. Thank goodness, it was covered.

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