08' Mercedes C-Class v.s. '08 Infiniti G35 Sedan

The Focus and Fusion both get great reviews from Consumer Reports.

Buster, that story you told about the Toyota Avalon's engine seems to indicate the Toyota engineers are complete and utter morons. It's as if you think Elmo and Big Bird built the car.

That story is so sensational that it can't possibly be true. Just about every test you see done by consumer reports consistently rates Toyotas amongst the most reliable out there. By the way, I'm not a car enthusiast or anything, but you have to give the nod to consumer reports when it comes to testing just about anything. Their methods are precise, well-funded, and extremely scientific.

But I was really talking about comfort anyway. My father has an Avalon, I swear it's like riding in a battleship (assuming battleships have really big and comfortable seats with tons of leg room).

The first generation Focus had a propensity to randomly catch fire. But other than that little "glitch", it is a good car. Especially the new ones.

This is my favorite "feature" Ford has ever offered... :D
-dKLKm5i2ic
I'd buy one! Too bad they "corrected" it.

Is that legit?
I don't see how it can do that for so long? I suppose if oil got in the headers it could work, but I would imagine it would flame out before it got to the tail pipe and would come out as smoke.
Any mechanics out there that could shed some light?

Is that legit?
I don't see how it can do that for so long? I suppose if oil got in the headers it could work, but I would imagine it would flame out before it got to the tail pipe and would come out as smoke.
Any mechanics out there that could shed some light?.

its legit and as recent as this year.... they had to pre-emptively recall thousands of trucks because the first of the super duties released caught things such as fields on fire. adn these were diesels...

Is that legit?
I don't see how it can do that for so long? I suppose if oil got in the headers it could work, but I would imagine it would flame out before it got to the tail pipe and would come out as smoke.
Any mechanics out there that could shed some light?

100% legit. It is caused by a) the particulate filter in the exhaust and b) too much fuel getting through the injectors and into the filter.

The way this is supposed to work is...
1) the particulate filter catches a bunch of exhaust junk (for emissions purposes)
2) ECM releases (via injectors) a specified amount of raw fuel into exhaust
3) fuel gets caught in filter and raises the temp of the collected junk from (1) so that it burns off (without combustion)

But, in the case of these Fords, the faulty injectors released too much fuel which caused the temperature to rise to a point where combustion (read flames) occurred.

Ford actually halted sales of these trucks while they worked on a fix.

I test drove an 08 Accord EX-L this evening. I'm really diggin the new design and this 4 cylinder trim model comes with leather.

Base invoice is around $24K. I didn't really talk too much about price and told them I'd come back later in the week. They offered it for $26,400. Time to put my game face on. I hate haggling. Any advice? (ahem... paging canthetuna)

LB you probably don't have a lot room to move on their price. the new Accord is going to be hot and the dealers know this. They may take $500. I bet tough if you want a really good deal you could get a new 07 for a steal but it would be the old model.

LB you probably don't have a lot room to move on their price. the new Accord is going to be hot and the dealers know this. They may take $500. I bet tough if you want a really good deal you could get a new 07 for a steal but it would be the old model.
I know it'll be tough. The original MSRP was $26,900. They took $500 off the top. I told the dealer they also had a $250 coupon on their website. He neglected to mention that. I'm looking at a price of $25,000 to $25,500. Just wondering if that's realistic or not.

I don't really need a new car. I'm just tired of driving a stick shift and I would really like a sedan.

I know it'll be tough. The original MSRP was $26,900. They took $500 off the top. I told the dealer they also had a $250 coupon on their website. He neglected to mention that. I'm looking at a price of $25,000 to $25,500. Just wondering if that's realistic or not.

I don't really need a new car. I'm just tired of driving a stick shift and I would really like a sedan.


There is a dealer in Atlanta (Mike Patton Honda) selling them for what you want to pay. Might be worth the trip for the savings.

eBay Motors: Honda : Accord (item 200160055067 end time Oct-12-07 15:22:55 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2008-Honda-Accord-Sedan-EXL-Already-Discounting-Them_W0QQitemZ200160055067QQihZ010QQcategoryZ6254Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

http://www.mikepattonhonda.com

I test drove an 08 Accord EX-L this evening. I'm really diggin the new design and this 4 cylinder trim model comes with leather.

Base invoice is around $24K. I didn't really talk too much about price and told them I'd come back later in the week. They offered it for $26,400. Time to put my game face on. I hate haggling. Any advice? (ahem... paging canthetuna)

I'm one of the worst hagglers you'll ever meet. You have to be prepared to say no...these guys are professionals.
My advice would be to go to N.A.D.A. Official Used Car Guide Company (http://www.nada.com) and do the "price with options" option so you can know EXACTLY what it costs. Offer them $500 to $750 max over invoice and they should take it. I have literally purchased 5 brand new vehicles, I have never paid more than $500 over invoice. They might try to say the manager won't allow it etc...then make up some BS story about another dealership that is 50 miles away offered $750 over invoice, but you like them and they are closer, so if they offer $500 over invoice, it's a done deal right now.
If they say something like, well "how bout 1k over invoice...it's only $500 more, I have kids to feed." You respond by saying, I have kids to feed too, and if it's "ONLY" $500 more, then a big bad super dealership like this could afford to pay that meezly figure for me. Just be strong. No weaknesses. Don't waiver in front of them...be fast and firm with your comments. If you pause and think about it, they will try their best to break you. If you are extremely firm then they know not to waste a lot of your time. They want that sale. It works...trust me.
I just paid 5k even for brand new top of line windows for my house...my buddy (who has 3 MORE windows in his house) paid $7500. He "thought" he got a deal, but they played him. With me, I kept saying no. They started at close to 12k, then without me saying anything they dropped it to 8500 and said that's the best they can do. I said thanks for your time have a good day. They stopped me and made a "mysterious" phone call to his manager and told me good news, we "just now" got co-op money and that will bring it down to 7k. I said no thanks, I have a magic figure in my mind, and you're not touching it. He asked for the figure and I said don't worry about it, you aren't there. He then gave me "manager discounts" and a military discount (even though he knew I wasn't in the military), and it came down to $5600. I said let me think about it, go put your stuff away while I talk to my wife. I talked to her, and laughed, she said "you have a figure in mind don't you?" I said yeah, 5k. She said, "go get em." I went out to him and said, here's the deal. I want my wal mart card (free card for listening to the speal) to be doubled to $100, and I want the windows for $5k even, no tax...just 5k. He got on the phone and his manager dropped it to 5400...I said 5k...then his manager said 5k but I have to pay tax...I laughed and said that's only like 50 off the 5400 you offered. I said 5k or nothing, and don't think I won't go to some hungry window company and get em for cheaper than you. You have this last chance. He said OK but you owe me...I said what...he said I have to put a sign in my yard for two weeks. I laughed and said sure.
You have to be willing to work them. They are experts at taking your money, you need to be an expert at keeping it.

Sorry for the long winded story, I see too many people get skrewed by sales people who know what to look for.