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Sure I had no interest in another Hyundai, I just did a side-by-side quality comparison between my Remondo Red 2005 Accord EX-L and the Sonata loaded V6 and look at all the comments I got...a real look, not a magazine report or a marketeer's hype. The same as I have done when parked next to Toyota Camry (which also has an excellent fit and finish). I also just like my Honda...OK! It is not a crime. I told you, I was finished buying problem autos and decided to join the crowd and get the best middle-sized auto for me.
My apologies.
~alpha
PS- Since the Legacy has come up, I thought worth noting that my 50 yr old 'rents currently own two vehicles- an 02 Camry LE 4 4A with 64K miles and an 05 Legacy Sedan N/A 4 4A with 21K miles. The difference between the two are many, but really what it boils down to... they are both outstanding modes of transportation.
Under very severe conditions, Honda suggests changing the timing belt on 6-cylinder models every 60,000 miles. Honda defines severe conditions as regularly driving under one or more of the following situations:
In very high temperatures (over 110ºF)In very low temperatures (under -20ºF)Frequently towing a trailer
In my opinion, Honda would pay the cost of repair if the engine was properly maintained and the belt broke before the 105,000 mile/7 year period under normal driving conditions.
A belt is used in place of a chain because it is quieter; I do not know of any other advantage that a belt has over a chain. But my chain-driven 4-cyl Accord is very quiet.
Actually, the LX SE doesn't have a moonroof. It does add alloys, 6-disc CD, 4-wheel disc brakes with EBD, carbon fiber interior trim and steering wheel audio controls.
Well worth the extra $700 over the LX. The EX only substantial addition is the moonroof for an extra $1725. Ouch!
Honda's model hierarchy doesn't make a lot of sense sometimes, especially when they offer a high value model like the VP or LX SE.
As for traffic automatically parting, some Accord owners have reported this happening to them. I wonder how many years it will take for the Sonata to have such a following as the Accord enjoys today.
If you can lease an 06 Sonata for 199/mo with 2000 down for 3 years for a total payment of about 9200, for a allowed mileage of 36000, to the lender that works out to about 25.5 cents per mile of depreciation, at a 0 money factor.
I can assure you someone is taking a bath on it, and it'll be you if you buy that car at the end of the lease, since it'll be worth nowhere near its residual.
As for taking a bath, I could say that I'd take a bath on the Accord lease vs. the Sonata. I would personally pay about $2500 more over 3 years for the Accord. Splish, splash!!
Same thing with a house. Do you want the $700,000 house in the right neighborhood, or would you rather have the same house in the wrong neighborhood for $200,00 less?
Or do you want to eat hamburger all the time or would you rather have a steak? Top Flight or Titleist? Aristocrat or Stolnichnaya? McDonalds or Fuddruckers?.........
You get what you pay for. Nothing wrong with wanting the best.
This month is a 39 month lease. Residual is 42% and money factor is .00071
You get what you pay for. Nothing wrong with wanting the best.
Nice sentiment, however following that has caused many people financial hardships. A more appropriate way of stating that would be to say as I tell my wife and kids
"Get the best that you can sensibly afford."
Why do I bring that up here? It goes to the heart of this discussion. If you can afford to toss $1000s extra to get the Accord and that it fulfills your wants and desires (not needs, that can be filled by a base Hyundai Accent in most cases!), then buy it.
As for me, I would rather buy a Sonata, and either use the money saved for accessories, or put it to work for me elsewhere.
Like I said, my .02.
1. The interior light burned out on her 1994 Sentra.
2. The back seat needed adjustment to correctly lock in the upright position on her 1991 Altima.
3. The electric seat controls needed a new locking plate on her 1991 Altima.
That's all folks. changed the oil every 3,000 miles, put the gas in and drove the car. Overall, an enviable record for quality. My only problem with Nissan is that it is owned by the French (Renault) whose many attempts to sell autos here in the USA always met with disaster. If the Japanese can continue to exert some control over Nissan, then the Nissan quality will stay up.
I rented an Altima for a week from Alamo a few months ago and while it is a tremendous improvement over the previous Nissan, it did not impress me too much -- passing power of the I4 seemed to be low, but then it always was.
$500-$1000 based on trim level and engine
$1000 if financed through Hyundai Financing
$1000 if a current owner of any other Hyundai vehicle
These are nearly identical to last month's offers.
Where is the $2000 factory rebate you are mentioning?
Me, for one. I have driven many vehicles in the past 35 years, and the 05' Tucson and '04 Sonata we currently own are evidence as to how we feel about Hyundais. I have driven some Hondas before (along with many other brands), and they just didn't impress me.
Enough said on the subject
Agreed.
However, I would bet that more than likely you saw a Hyundai ad that features a number of Hyundai models and mentioned that up to a $2000 dollar rebate is available on select models. Currently, the 2005 Sante Fe qualifies for that amount and actually, the few remaining XG350 models offer a $3000 rebate ahead of the arrival of the 06 Azera.
Check this out for current Hyundai rebates:
http://www.hyundaiusa.com/financing/specialoffers/special_offers.aspx
Like I said, if you can tell me when and where you saw that ad, please do. An extra $2000 off the 06 Sonata, (which is outselling the old model hands down) would make that a tremendous value and likely to sell out!
And don't tell me its a Honda.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I can assure you that no matter what car you get if you buy it after the lease you will take a bath.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Oh what a contemptible lie.
Just because you pay more doesn't mean you are getting something better. Price does not equate to quality. How many times have you gone to an expensive restaurant and got lousy food? Or gone to an inexpensive one and gotten a really great meal?
Sometimes snob appeal tends to drive up the price of something even though it may not be the best. Honda suffers from this snob appeal effect.
Nothing wrong with wanting the best.
No there isn't just don't fall into the trap that just because your paying more your getting the best. Because in most cases your not.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
But my real point was at that price, the Sonata's lease is subsidised big-time because the depreciation of the car doesn't warrant that low a lease rate.
Oh what a contemptible lie."
Couldn't agree more. You pay for what you get, and sometimes, if the planets are properly aligned and the gods are smiling down on you, you may actually get what you pay for...
If you maintain the car well and don't have excess miles, any Accord will be worth more than the residual in the open market, if it wasn't a subsidised lease, which usually doesn't happen anyway for Accords.
But with any Hyundai, no such luck. To reflect true depreciation, Hyundai would have to charge more for lease than a comparable Honda, and if they do, they will lease exactly 0 cars.
Yea - those inexpensive quality McBurgers are really great. I feel good feeding that to my kids. And if the quality isn't there at a good restaurant I send it back to the kitchen. Don't you?
Snob appeal for Honda owners? Huh? For a Honda? Its not a BMW or Jag. Just a good car that's priced right.
The Accord is the best in its class. OK - IMO. And I just don't automatically pay more and hope its better. I research it. But better costs more.
And how about this one - you gotta pay to play ......?
Perhaps when you take into account the incentives that Hyundai provides, buy or lease, the "true depreciation" for the consumer actually favors the Sonata.
In my opinion you're a jerk to make fun of someone's spelling. It does nothing to help make your point . . . rather it detracts because why bother reading beyond a garbage first line like that?
And you think that only people who buy Accords research their cars?
"Better" is relative. You bought the car that is better for you. That doesn't make it better for everyone. But in order to decide what is better, each buyer needs to do his/her research. Guess what? It's not automatically a Honda--which is what you are telling us. An automatic decision is no decision.
OK let me make a few comments.
1.) This simply is a case of attack the messenger, usually when that happens you hit a nerve.
2.) It is considered bad netiqutte to correct or make comments about spelling. And:
3.) Tell it to Edmunds it either a) passed their spell check or b.) was suggested as the correct spelling since I always use their spell check.
Yea - those inexpensive quality McBurgers are really great. I feel good feeding that to my kids. And if the quality isn't there at a good restaurant I send it back to the kitchen. Don't you?
Well for one thing if the quality is not there at a good restaurant its not there. No amount of sending something back will make up for poor quality food and/or a bad chef. And yes I have had food at expensive restaurants that make McDonalds taste good.
Snob appeal for Honda owners? Huh? For a Honda?
Yep there seems to be a cult following for Honda that most manufacturers just do not have. Just read some of the stuff on these forums if you don't think so. Many Honda owners do act like they have the best thing on the road regardless of what any real world experience shows or what anyone else might say or regardless of price. It seems that many Honda owners act like Honda is the greatest thing before, during and after the invention of sliced bread.
But better costs more.
If you believe that then I have a wonderful deal for you, but please send cash in small unmarked bills since checks can be troublesome in transactions like these.
I will say again price does not equate to being better. With most things, Hondas included, you can spend less and get just as good and maybe even better.
The flip side of the coin that says "Better cost more" says "A fool and his money are soon parted."
As for me I tend to go for the most bang for the buck, which puts Honda down on the list.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Lets be honest, people buy what they believe is better. Remember that perception creates its own reality. It may not be better in reality but they think it is.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I'll be an advocate for Honda and you be an advocate for whomever you want.
Now if you had just been saying "I prefer Hondas" then there would be no contention, but thats not what you have said.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
A new car purchase vs a used car purchase usually offers a lower interest rate and a longer term finance option.
Remember before dealers convinced the public that leasing was less expensive (yeah, right) than buying---dealers used to run ads to "bring in the payment book on your car and we'll send you out with new wheels."? What's wrong with financing a new car for five years (car loan, home equity, whatever) and trading in the car before the loan is paid off?
I'm in central Virginia.
The comments I read on these and other discussion boards amaze me sometimes. I believe Honda builds a great product, but they've lost a lot of their fun to drive characteristics over the last 10 years or so. I loved Hondas and Acuras of the 80's and early 90's. Low dashboard, low hoodline, revvy engine that you could feel and hear. Not the isolation and overly smooth characteristics that typify today's models.
Not only do people think their Hondas are the greatest cars in the world, many insist that everyone must agree with them. Not only that, but everyone must also desire a Honda like they do.
It's a free country, there are many choices and there are cars out there every bit as good as Honda. I wish the arguing would stop and everyone could simply enjoy chatting about cars and like what they like.
On a final note, if I had to choose between an Accord and a Sonata right now, I'd probably choose the Sonata just because I'd like to drive something different that everyone else in my neighborhood. Not to mention save several thousand dollars.
I've only leased a car once and it was a '95 Acura Legend at the end of the model year. They had an amazing lease offer of $349 per month vs. the $700 I'd have to pay in a monthly payment. The lease term was 36 months and at the end, I did buy it. The residual was so high that I made almost $4k off it by buying it. Drove it another eight months, then traded it in.
Usually, though, leasing doesn't make much sense if you're going to buy. It always ends up costing more to lease than buy. The real reason I leased the Acura was because I was 20 years old and couldn't afford to actually buy it, so I leased.
I think that's an accurate characterization of the "$2,000 off" deal. It's not anything we didn't already know.
What about the Maxima you said you leased! Huh!? Huh!? Which is it!!?? Just kidding with you buddy...I agree with you about the earlier Hondas being better handlers, I would say they still are. They just are not miles ahead of the playing field anymore with Mazda in the mix. Personally, I love the excellent vision out of my 96, and it still handles like a charm!
What about the Maxima you said you leased! Huh!? Huh!? Which is it!!?? I'm just kidding with you buddy...I agree with you about the earlier Hondas being better handlers, I would say they still are. They just are not miles ahead of the playing field anymore with Mazda in the mix. Personally, I love the excellent vision out of my 96, and it still handles like a charm!