Toyota Camry XLE or Honda Accord EX-L or Chevy Malibu LTZ???

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by mheisig

Of course they're about as exciting to drive as Al Gore is to listen to...

You've got to decide which "camp" you fall into: a car is solely a way to get from point A to point B and reliability and price are the chief factors. Or, a car is more an expression of who you are and you genuinely enjoy driving and price is somewhat secondary (within reason).

Personally I spend more money on a car because I love driving and I love cars, but hey that's just me and it's not nearly as financially sound as say, buying a three year old Camry that someone else has paid the depreciation on and keep it for 8 years.

My camp is firmly in the latter of your two scenarios. My parents always bought the worst clunkers they could and throw a little money into them to make them work for a couple years. I hated it. I vowed when I got older to always have what I want, I won't settle. It does not bother me one bit to spend $700-$1000 a month on two brand new vehicles. I love new things, I love the new car smell, and I love the amenities new cars have. It may be shallow, but I'm not living the life my parents did.
Technically, it's my wife's car, so it's "mostly" her choice. If it were mine, I'd go with a BMW or something. She loves those three cars and can't decide. I tried to convince her to wait for the Camaro, but she doesn't want to wait. I can't blame her really.
One of the reasons I am trying to push the chevy is cause we could get a KILLER deal on the Malibu AND an 06 Corvette. My truck has roughly 8k in equity in it (trade in value), and they are offering the vette for 38k. Only 20k miles. They said if I bought the two vehicles, they would obviously discount both, and I could get the Vette for 34k and after the 8k for my trade in than I would be financing only 26k. It's yellow, and the bad boy is beautiful. I looked at a new ZO6 and it was 77k. These vettes / my dream car keeps getting more and more expensive. I can't afford anything over 40k right now.
I don't NEED the vette though...it's more of a dream.