So I’m thinking of getting one of these:

Gets equivalent of 100MPG, costs approx. $27k for the all electric version.  Looks like a tadpole.

Remember the Gas Panic that was happening…a few years ago?  Oh wait, a few weeks ago.  It’s funny how people have just sort of accepted it now.  There’s still the occasional post about it, but no where near the amount during the month of May/June.

Anyway, it’s also funny how you learn the most when you least expect it.  A few days ago I was browsing through some car forums when I came across a thread called, “premium fuel.”  Generally, this means a few people exchanging hot air back and forth about how it does or doesn’t make sense.  Read the rest of this entry »

If you had/have a car with extended warranty, and you get rid of it before the warranty runs out, did you know you are entitled to a pro-rated refund?  In most cases that is.  I can’t speak for all warranty contracts since they differ, especially when you go with one provided by the Automotive Company vs. a private insuring company.

Typically, the process to get your money back requires you to send a letter to the insuring company, including a proof of title change, in most cases this is a copy of the title that you sign off on to change owners, along with details on the VIN.  All this info should be in the booklet you got with your warranty.

I just got my check for $89.00!  I had about 7 months of extended warranty left when I got rid of my old car.  Although I did get rid of my car close to a year ago!  Hey, I’m not complaining.

This story includes threats to call the police, 3 levels of dealership management, key theft, and something very close to extortion.

About 4 years ago, shortly after I moved to California (I’m back in Hawaii now), I wanted to buy a more economical car, so I went to look at some used cars at the Honda dealership near my new apartment. As I looked around, I found a used Acura Integra. Manual transmission, fairly low miles, not a bad sticker price, decent condition, and most importantly, more gas efficient than my SUV. I took the car on a test drive, and the horror story begins. I didn’t have a plan before I headed into this dealership…I just wanted to “look around.” I really didn’t think I’d buy anything. I was pretty naive about the whole auto buying process. Never did I think I would go through what I did.

After the test drive, I thought, this car is not bad. So I told them, “Yeah, I’m interested.” So we go inside, sit down, and out comes the “grid.” The first set of numbers are all worked out, and they said the car was $14,500 (or so). I forget what my monthly payments would be. They haven’t even pulled my credit yet.

Hmmm, not interested. So they asked, am I trading in? I said, “Most likely.” They then asked if they could have my keys to appraise my car, and I gave it to them. Didn’t think much of it, actually. This was the biggest mistake of the night. Once they invest in looking at the car, coming out with a $$$ value, they will try everything to sell you the car.

Well, they came back with a revised offer, giving me something like $17,000 for my SUV, so if I went ahead with the deal, I would leave with another car and a check for $2,500. I thought, “That’s not too bad…I wonder if I can get more.” Well, now I looked interested. It just got worse. They asked the classic question, “What would convince you to take this car home today?” And I gave them a number, $13,000 for the car, and $17,000 for my trade in. Five minutes later, this “manager” comes out and says, “Sorry, we can’t do that, but we will give you the car for $14,000.” I thought, “Wow! $500 more dollars. /sarcasm” I still didn’t feel comfortable.

I made a few calls, and everyone told me, “Don’t do it. You can easily find other cars for less.” I agreed. I went back, and told them, “You know what? Sorry, but I’m not interested. I’ll come back later.” Now this is where it gets ugly.

The salesman says, “Hold on, let me go and see if we can work out an even better deal.” Again, five minutes later he comes back, this time with the dealership GM. The gm says, “It’s your lucky day! We need to make this sale happen. We’ll give you the used car for $13,000, and pay you $17,000 for your trade-in.” Uhhh, salesman, did you not hear what I just said earlier? Some conversation goes on, and they said, “Why don’t you think about it.” I said, “No thanks, I’d like to go.” Continuing to disregard my statements, the guy keeps blabbing away. Finally I said, “Can I just have my keys?” The guy says, “Sure.” Twenty minutes later, still no keys. At this point, it’s late, and I just want to go home. The gm comes back and tells me, “You sure you don’t want to do this? Is there anything I can do?” And I replied, “No, I’d like to go home…where are my keys?” To that he said, “It’s coming.” Another twenty minutes passes, and at this point, I’m pissed. So I go up to the GM, and said, “Where’s my keys?” He said, “It’s coming.” And that’s when crap hits the ceiling.

I said, “Listen, I want my keys right now, or I am going to call the police.” To that he replies, “I’m getting it right now, just hold on.” Already huffing and puffing, I waited a few more minutes. Finally, the salesman pulls me on the side and says, “Look, let’s just go in and fake like you’re filling out the paperwork, and I’ll get the keys, and you just go.” I couldn’t believe it! Is this really happening to me in a dealership?

So we go in and sit down. He grabs the paperwork for me, and I continue to fill it out while he steps away to get my keys. I wrote some things on that form that would not be appropriate for my blog. It was harsh. Five minutes later, he brings my keys to the table. I was relieved to get my own damn car back! Finally, he says, “Just hold on a few minutes until my GM walks away…” I said, “Okay.” Then he tells me, “Alright, go. Sorry man.” And I leave.

That was by far the worst dealership experience ever. This Honda used car dealership is in San Jose. If you’d like to know which one, email me. Anyone else have a horror story to share?

On second thought, the dealership was Capitol Honda Used Car on Capitol Expressway, San Jose, CA.

Woot! Am I happy when my bills go down. My auto insurance decreased from a $651.00 / 6 months to $487.00 / 6 months. Awesome! Thank you AIG Hawaii.

The reason? My speeding ticket has finally been removed from driving record. The actual penalty for the ticket is nothing compared to the pain from the insurance company. Check out how much it has cost me…

Gas prices are rising, but come on, siphoning gas from a car parked in their garage? If your vehicle does not have a defense against gas thieves, let me recommend getting a locking gas cap. On top of the fact that these folks are stealing gas, from reports I’ve seen on the news last night, they also leave some nice scratches on your car at the same time. How nice.

Or have you? More common tips are…
- Check your tires. Odd sounds could mean poor wear, which might indicate you need to rotate or get new tires.
- Maintain your car.
- Drive smooth, keep a constant speed.
- Don’t drive faster than 50 MPH.
- Buy a hybrid.
- Blah, blah, blah.

Well let me give you some unique gas savings tips that you won’t hear anywhere else. Ha, okay that was a lie, but I haven’t read it anywhere…just kind of thought of them on my own or maybe I heard them some place before. Wait, that means it would be common sense…well, yeah…and maybe they’re wrong.

Read the rest of this entry »

You may not have heard, but Hawaii’s recent experiment with regulating the gas industry, also known as the “gas cap,” has failed. After about 8 months, the program just didn’t work out…or did it?

Public opinion seemed to overwhelmingly favor getting rid of it, which is what brought about its demise, but in actuality, it favored the consumer. A lot. Why then was it repealed you ask? Because it “looked” like it didn’t work.

Before I go on, let me say that I am against government regulation of any business, for the most part, because free enterprise is what drives the US economy. But back to topic, the reason public sentiment was so against the gas cap was purely timing. As gas prices increased, so did the gas cap. This led to the false belief that the gas cap would reduce prices, but didn’t.

There were a few instances where gas prices dropped, and this was good. But sadly, not enough for the public to accept it.

Hawaii is unique in that there are only two refiners. These two refiners control wholesale gas prices in Hawaii. This is one of those instances where maybe government regulation can help, but even then it’s still questionable and, in my opinion, a “last resort” action. Regulation makes sense if the companies are not going to be honest. This is the part that pushes me towards regulation, because I believe the two wholesalers in Hawaii are taking advantage of the situation. Pre-gas cap Hawaii often saw price increases, but rarely saw decreases. And if they decreased, it would be a small fraction of what it increased, while the rest of the US saw dramatic decreases. Odd isn’t it?

As a consumer, I’m sad. But as a US citizen, I’m glad…it is better off that this experiment failed even if it might have meant a few more dollars in my pocket.

I just randomly wondered, why is gas priced in tenths? For example, regular is $2.9990.

Apparently this is quite a mystery! One possible explanation is that gas used to cost a few pennies. This caused gas stations to really hesitate moving up to the next cent. Read more here. Another has to do with being unable to get a perfect gallon measurement, thus the difference. Check out this article, it’s amazingly detailed. I’ll admit I didn’t read the whole thing…it was just too much info. Cliff notes please. Another reason could be that it just looks cheaper…marketting.

Whatever the reason, it’s kind of odd. If they rounded down, I would like to buy $0.0049 worth of gas please…4000 times.

You must’ve seen the commercials from Honda and Toyota about their two new cars, the Fit and the Yaris…like two boxers trying to jab each other…”YARIS”…”The Fit Is Go”…It’s nice to see this segment of small cars growing! In Asia and Europe these tiny cars have been around for ages…look at em and you go, “How do full grown adults fit in there?!?” But they do.

I’m not a hardcore environmentalist, I admit I drive a truck. I rarely drive though, maybe 500 miles a month, and the truck is essential to carrying my muddy dog around.

Oh yeah, Nissan is going to introduce a small car too, called the Versa. I haven’t noticed any American cars in the super tiny car segment yet…or did I miss it?

Nissan Versa:

Honda Fit:

Toyota Yaris: