Not sure about the other Fitfreak members out there, but I was also a forum member of my old clunker a 91 Cadillac and they had their own Cadillac forums (cadillacowners.com). Was wondering if anyone faced any backlash from previous forums when mentioning they traded their car in for cash for clunkers.

I think i caused an uproar on the Cadillac forums when I traded my 91 caddy, and made a posting about it. First for taking a low mileage Caddy off the road 70k miles. Second that I didn't buy American. Third that the Honda is all plastic.

Anyways just wanted to plug my 2 cents. I also defended my Fit which I really love now. As for my Caddy..it had alot of plastic parts...most of which where cracking , falling off , or fell off. I don't miss it at all and happy to be a member of Fitfreak.net

 

Ask if any of them would have given you $4500 for your Caddy.

 

Also, let them know that you don't cry when you fill up the gas station every couple of weeks.

 

LOL exactly, the caddy was an $800 purchase 3 yrs ago. The cash for clunkers deal, i made out like a bandit. It couldn't have been worth any more than $800 on its best day. And yes...i keep passin that gas station...and I still don't need to fill up ...I'm lovin it!

 

haha they're gonna do it too, just wait.

 

I've told a story before about how we humans fulfill needs in our friendships...I had a best friend way back in my 20's. I was single for a lot of the time. She was married a lot of the time. She was my "stable married friend". When she split from her husband, our friendship fell apart. We would either have to renegotiate our friendship and find new fulfillment, or go our separate ways. We chose the latter.

You were a fellow Cadillac friend, in your group. Here you are a Fit friend. Until people begin to form other connections, the friendship is often lost when someone changes status.

One side or another may feel betrayed. Or guilty. There may be relief at moving on, as you feel right now with much better gas mileage.

There are news stories mentioning all kinds of people up in arms over some vehicles being destroyed. But if you read more stories, you'll find the salvage people are battling over those cars for the parts. While the engine is a big money maker for them, if the car has good parts, they can keep them and sell them.

Which means your car isn't really GONE. It's just gone on to helping others. It's not like you can run to the dealership to pick up a new door on a 20 year old car. And if YOUR car was in good shape, it goes on to help many other people. Kind of like organ donation.

See here:
Salvagers see green in 'cash for clunkers' - On Deadline - USATODAY.com

It obviously depends on the salvage yard and the area, but those parts could go to help many of the very people who got mad at you. One person might get a great door panel. Someone else gets an original dash. Another friend finally can upgrade to the undamaged grille. Depends on what the salvage yard can pull off before the vehicle has to be shredded.

It (the whole CARS process) has the potential of benefiting a huge number. Starting with you trading it in.

You were ready to move on, and they aren't. And both are right in their own ways.

 

I got rid of an explorer with low mileage, from what i've seen, explorers are the #1 dumped vehicle.
Nothing but trouble for many owners ( after 7 years)

most explorer owners I've talked to,who didn't dump their cars, are jealous, not upset with me

 

one of the guys on the E24 (635) forum did that to his vehicle. Initially, he caught a lot of crap, but he ended up selling a ton of parts off the car prior to turning it in (bumpers, interior panels, seats, electronics). The car needed a ton of work that exceeded its value, and most of the guys came to see it as a parts car in the end, which is done all the time.

The dealer called him back the next day, trying to reneg on the deal, cause of all the equipment he removed prior to bringing it in. Not sure how it turned out, he never updated the thread.

 

Someone's crying over a '91 Caddy? Gimme a break, it's those POS's that led GM down the road to bankruptcy in the first place. Good riddance!

Those cars SHAMED the name Cadillac. And your Cadillac forum friends should be honest with themselves, and thank you for helping to rid our roads of at least one more of GM's mistakes.


And welcome to Fit ownership. It's a little slower than most, but it sure is fun.

 

was it a cimmaron?

 

Lots of negativity on trading my beater '89 Cherokee XJ. Sold off my '89 Wagoneer XJ (project jeep) the same week to a friend. Was told by several members, "guess you don't need to be here anymore". Some folks need a life.

 

Are the new Fits made in America or North America?

People always talk about plastic like its bad BUT plastic is actually very efficient aside from being cost effective.

If your old friends liked the Caddy I can't blame them for that (I dont even know what kind you had).... but a general statement like "why did you buy import (even though it may not be import)" and "plastic is bad" are rediculious broad statements.

 

Don't get me wrong I loved that Cadillac, it was a 1991 Coupe Deville. But like a typical american (old)car....it will run...not the best running..but will nickel and dime you on stupid repairs to keep it running. I was able to sell a few of its parts on ebay prior to trade and also load the trunk w/ junk the trashman wouldn't pick up (old microwaves,vcrs,computer equip).
Yeah one posting on the Caddy Forum was like "did you pay in Yen?" outrageous. Anyways that Caddy had ALOT of plastic on it ....from the bumpers, the front fenders where some composite material not even metal, lower body trim, to all that Fake plastic wood inside LOL.
I'm not sure where the Fit is made either...but my old 89 Accord Lxi Coupe and 92 Accord DX coupe where made in America and they were great cars.

 

"and also load the trunk w/ junk the trashman wouldn't pick up (old microwaves,vcrs,computer equip"

not good. the trash man doesn't take those things because they need to have thier toxins removed.

 

Fits are made in japan so i can sort of understand their argument, but it also creates jobs for americans (distribution, transportation, dealer network, etc. etc.) and stimulates the US economy at the same time...down to the hotdog place that sells dogs to the honda dealers/customers.

times change, people change, car manuf's also need to change with the times and build things people want. that's the bottom line.

congrats on your purchase.

 

I think some of the manufacturers WERE building what people WANTED...but not what they NEEDED. There's a HUGE difference.

Much had to do with profit, CAFE standards, gas guzzler loopholes, tax credits, etc. Sort of a "look what we can get away with" with everyone participating. Everyone ate cake for dinner night after night, and then started to wonder why they didn't feel so good.

They all got what they wanted, their deals, but it wasn't GOOD for them in the long run, it wasn't what they needed.

The companies that took everyone's best interests into consideration are the ones that are doing well. They make a profit without sacrificing quality or reliability. Honda's vehicles have broad appeal. They don't NEED five different brands under a parent corporation to appeal to various markets.

 

Ok, I hate to get too political since I am new here and don't really know the rules, but I have to.

The only people I hear complaining are the complete idiots that listen to Fox (or better yet Faux) news. They are nothing but ignorant republicans that listen to bigger idiots like glen beck.

They make a choice to ignore what benefits the C4C has and instead focus on dumb things. According to clown shoes wearing glen back, the C4C program:
-has a tracking cookies that allows them to hack your pc
-the ToS agreement says to .gov now owns your PC

Seriously, how could you be that dumb? The tracking cookie in no manner allows someone to "hack" your pc, nor could it. Get a bit of an education before spouting off. The ToS was for ONLY the dealer side and it didn't give any rights to the .gov nor did they own your pc. There were parts there that implied some serious actions if FRAUD was suspected. If that is the case, the FBI will be knocking at your door and giving up your PC is the least of your worries.

It is funny how they chose to ignore everything else, but what do you expect from sensationalist on Faux news?

One thing we learned from Japan was that whatever money we put into restoring the economy, it had better has positive returns, more than a 1:1 ratio, and quick returns.

So with that said, I got $4,500 for the .gov, BUT I also invested another $15,000 (including all fees, taxes, etc..). I would call that a damn good return for the initial cash they gave me. Not to mention;
-the dealer made a sale and profit
-the salesman was able to profit
-the bank and finance company got my money and interest profit
-the economy as a whole got a big boost (entire C4C program)
-the environment was improved
-fuel is being saved

It's funny how the republicans seemed to just ignore this part....idiots

Anyone that says you ought to buy american ought to get at lest a highschool education and quit living in the past. Americans produce crappy cars, have poor workmanship, and the entire process is bloated by over-paid, unskilled UAW workers that do nothing but drive up prices because all they care about at the end of the day is what they are paid. I will GLADLY buy from Japan when I know it is of higher quality, well made, and ran efficiently.

rant over

 

i agree with many of your points, with the exception of the flat bashing of all republicans. i am independent. there are as many dipshits on your side of the table as their are on the other side of the table.

there are dipshit independents too

 

At 51, I'm getting too old to care what anyone thinks about what I do. I turned in a wonderfully maintained 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee for a new Honda Fit. My wife now drives the Fit and I get her 2004 Volkswagen Jetta m/t TDI.
I feel for the loss of my Jeep, but now my wife gets 35 MPG on the highway, and I get 35 MPG in the city. This is an economic advantage for us that puts money in our pocket (and helps the environment, and the economy).
I don't feel bad for what I did and neither should you.

 

This is the stinger on a rant about people being uninformed? That's some tasty, tasty irony.