Bought a Toyota today.

To make it clear the federal regulation requires NORTH American made parts to earn a '1.' as apposed to imported parts that require a '4' or '5.' if less than 70%

mike hunt

Hmm let's see. They offer it at one price with 0% financing, or at a discounted price if you pay them the entire price all up front (either by having a fat wallet or having some 3rd party loan you the money to pay them with). I don't know how your brain operates, but paying them the entire price up front is what is known to them as cash. Are you implying that a "cash discount" is only for those who actually hand over green bills? A check for the amount (from you OR your 3rd party lender) is considered cash in this context, so in fact, it IS a discount for cash. Or if you like, a penalty in price to gain the financing through GMAC at 0%. Either way, it IS the same thing.

Exactly!

It would hardly make sense for you to buy the extended warranty. You don't keep a vehicle long enough. However I'm not in favor of them anyway, if the vehicle is well designed and built. I buy for the longer term and don't buy new designs for a few years.

No I did not say that. He is a Chevy dealer regional dealer rep. He handles all of the Chevy warranty issues at dealers in this region. Prior to that he worked as an engineer for Saturn.

Do you do endless Googles look> > It will be maintained well, just like the late Taurus. My private friend

Howard, a buddy of mine is a District Service Manager with GM and he handles warranty disputes that can't be resolved by the dealerships with their clients. It sounds like your buddy has a similar type position.

I actually do conduct a lot of Google enquiries before making any significant purchases. Recent examples are my wife's new Pontiac G6, my recent order for Vinylbilt California shutters and the new Lauzon hardwood floors (Yellow birch with truffle stain) I just ordered. In the case of all three of these items, I visited the respective manufacturers' web sites to learn as much as I could there. Then I searched for testimonials for all three, good and bad. Then I took a first-hand look at all three and tried out the G6. Then I bought with a bit more confidence in the products than I would have had buying blind.

The Integra happens to be a favorite of mine too and I have always admired its style and performance. As for Hondas, my brother is on his second new Civic and he loves them. My neighborhood is a bit different than yours, in that I still see a majority of GM, Chrysler & Ford vehicles being purchased. Having said that, I see a lot of the young market buying new and used Hondas, Cobalts, Acuras and Neons and doing their version of hotrodding them. In some cases, that's no more than putting a fat pipe on the exhaust tip. *LOL* Others have created genuine amazing street machines out of their rides.

Howard, I'm a boomer from the early 50's and you can probably lump me in with the above, except I know what I like and dislike. I continue to resist buying anything other than a vehicle produced by the big three, but I do like a lot of euros and Japanese cars as well as one Korean car - Hyundai Tiburon. But I don't condemn anyone for buying what they like. I just happen to be strongly committed to buying Big Three stuff, which can be difficult during times like right now when only a very few of their products appeal to me. Howard, I didn't purposely set out to offend you with my comments about the Sienna. I just happen to think it is an ugly and bland vehicle and anything I have read about its quality hasn't been good. I was trying to give honest feedback before the conversation degenerated into a p'ing match. In fact, I hope that your Sienna gives you and your young family years of reliable service and lots of great family memories. That's what life is all about. Raising a family is tough enough on its own, without having car problems. Have a great weekend with the family!

I would not consider a car, or mini-van, if I needed to purchase an extended warranty because of reliability issues. Exactly what will be covered ? When and where will it break down ?

Crunch the numbers and find out your own answer.

In my case, I used the UBS buying service for a prenegotiated price. I used the Manufacuterer 3.9% finacing and wheeled and dealed on the trade for a

Hi Howard! Wow, that neighbor of yours clings to the past worse than I do! Although, I have owned a '63 Sting Ray for almost 20 years. That's not to say that '63 was the last year was the last time GM built good looking product. *lol* My '63 is almost as high maintenance as my sister-in-law.

Hi Howard! Wow, that neighbor of yours clings to the past worse than I do! Although, I have owned a '63 Sting Ray for almost 20 years. That's not to say that '63 was the last year was the last time GM built good looking product. *lol* My '63 is almost as high maintenance as my sister-in-law.

Gotta love a '64 Valiant. 225 cubic inch slant 6. No computers, no fuel injection system, no ECM, no complicated smog/emissions junk. Just a cap/rotor/coil/plugs/carb. Could convert it to electronic ignition and get rid of the points. My dad bought me a rust free egg shell blue '65 Dart 170 wagon that's waiting for me down at his land in Arizona. We'll rebuild the engine.

Also, what's all the minivan bashing about? I love my minivan. I can carry plywood, materials, tools, ladder on the roof rack. It looks better than an ugly SUV, gets better gas mileage, holds more people/cargo, more versatile, domestic minivans have available AWD, and is cheaper to buy. By the way, Ford is going to stop making the Freestar soon. What a shame. It looks a lot better than the GM and Dodge ninivans. Instead, Ford is going to start making a tall station wagon type vehicle. Man it's weird. In the mid '80's, the automakers were falling over themselves to stop station wagon production to instead make more popular minivans, now the trend has reversed. It's all fads. Back in the '70's when I was growing up, my family had a '72 Plymouth Fury 9 passenger 'Brady Bunch special' wagon with a 318ci that was bought brand new. 10 years later, my mom (divorced from dad) gets it towed because it was parked on the street, and she never bothered to get it out of towing/storage because it ran like crap due to needing a carb rebuild. In the early 80's, a '72 Fury wagon was just a huge car no one wanted. Now, on ebay, they go for big bucks. Trends and fads.

Howard, that was an old, old post (January 6th) from our feuding days, that you already responded to on January 7th at 6:01PM. At that time, you responded: "Jetski, I am proud of my gene pool. There are some rather high achievers in mine." Since that time, we have stopped the bickering and are seemingly getting along okay. So quit reading those old flames and be nice to me!

Howard, you're scaring me! *LOL* I'm always nice to you now. I haven't uttered a nasty comment in quite some time. In fact, I stopped flaming you when I wrote a message on January 13th. That other message that you responded to yesterday was an older message from January 5th, that you had already responded to on the 7th.

I decided that life is too short to spend a lot of time arguing with someone who doesn't share my opinion on the quality of any given vehicle. Besides, you mentioned that you bought your Sienna because you thought it was the best vehicle to transport your young family around and I happen to think it's commendable for anyone to purchase a vehicle with the best interests of their family in mind. That's why I commented that I really hope that your Sienna gives you and your family years of enjoyment and dependable service.

So quit reading those old messages!!! *LOL*