car woes (part one)

[saint_monkey]

so, faced with a vehicle with (possibly) a major wiring problem, and repair prohibitive (and unrelated) body damages, and the absolute, non-negotiable need for a reliable vehicle for the three years after next year, Mystery and I decided to go the new car route. We first thought that we would try for the basic, entry level, two door civic hatchback, listing at about $10K and change. We drove off to "Honda of Kirkland" (According to thier obnoxious television commercials, "The Honda of Kirkland Connection.") When we arrived, (in the middle of the second worst rainstorm of the year,) we were greeted by our prospective car salesman and new best buddy No.1, a man whose looks and demeanor instantly reminded me of a cross between Edward James Olmos' marvelously underplayed "Lieutenant Castillo" from Miami Vice, and Reuben Blade's slightly slimey yet still slightly honrable Hospital Administrator on Gideon's Crossing. Sort of the quiet listener type, the type who does the hard jobs when they have to be done, even when the hard job is attempting to sell too much car to a poor college aged couple. He calmly listened to our woes, and rather simply said that they no longer make the entry level Civic, and tried to interest us in a wide variety of excellent used cars. Some sample phrases from our discussion:

• "Yes, but those are highway miles"
• "you can call our mechanics and ask that type of question any time you like."
• they are priced higher than kelly blue book because we buy them back at a higher price, because they are such good cars to re-sell.

After an hour or so, and after learning that the new entry level Honda starts at $14K without any options (special bonus phrase: "and they don't make them without options. Nobody will buy the base model you know.") we decided to give up on the Civic, go home, and research other cars in the $10,000 range.