Top 10 Deeply Discounted 2008 Cars

I'm not in need of a new car this year, but for those of you who are, here's Bankrate's list of the 10 deeply discounted 2008 cars:

• Chrysler 300C
• Dodge Ram 1500
• Ford Explorer
• Mercury Grand Marquis
• Cadillac DTS 
• GMC Envoy
• Nissan Pathfinder
• BMW 7 Series
• Land Rover LR2
• Lexus RX 350

I don't think any of these would be in my consideration set if I was in the market for a new vehicle. I'm thinking the Honda Pilot or Toyota Highlander top my list right now. Both get good reliability ratings from Consumer Reports.

And before I get any "why do you need a gas-guzzling SUV" comments, here's why:

1. Kids are getting bigger and need more leg room. My son will probably be around 6 feet tall based on his growth pattern and sitting in a small back seat won't work.

2. 100 inches of snow this year. Four-wheel drive is much more than a "like-to-have" here. Many times, it's much, much safer to have it.

3. We frequently haul extra kids, equipment (basketball, soccer, etc.), and so forth from one place to another and we need room to do this.

Comments

[BigBoy]

You could always rent a team of dogs and sled for the winter commute - no vet bills!

[Stephen]

4wd? Go AWD, much better in the snow. Sounds like you're the perfect candidate for a subaru.

[FMF]

Stephen --

Actually, I meant AWD. I currently have a Forrester. ;-)

(But it's a bit small.)

[Stephen]

Just FYI, I got a used 2007 Highlander Sport 4wd just in time for this past winter. Handled Tahoe (CA) snow just fine and I typically can get 20mpg (mixed highway & city) if I'm a bit gas-conscious in my driving style. The 2008 model is slightly larger, however, so it may have slightly lower mpg.

[billspaced]

My wife and I bought a 2007 Honda Pilot 4WD several months ago, for the same reasons you state. We bought it at the beginning of the 2008 model year so the 2007s were being aggressively priced down. We bought through the Costco auto buying program, didn't have to haggle, and saved at least $8000 off the 2008 model. Our car had less than 30 miles on it, too.

Overall, a great vehicle. The gas mileage is poor IMO (I think all cars should get at least 50mpg and this one gets 20 if you're lucky and very judicious with the throttle and on the freeway mostly) but the car handles great, is very roomy, and is very comfortable. The third row seat comes in handy, too. It's a minivan without being a minivan.

We've driven it in the snow and it handles especially well. We have two children under 2 1/2 years old and you know how much stuff you need to carry around with 2 boys like that. I highly recommend it.

[Curt at PennyJobs.com]

Sure Honda makes a nice SUV, but the more of them we buy, the more jobs are moved out of the country. After college, our kids are going to be driving around in our old Honda's looking for a job and wondering why they can't find one.

[FMF]

Curt --

Where do you think most of the Hondas in the US are manufactured?

[FMF]

Answering my own question:

"Most models sold under the Honda and Acura brands in North America are currently manufactured in either the U.S. or Canada."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_vehicles_in_the_United_States

[rwh]

I love the BMW 7 series. I'll never own one because they're too rich for my blood. But I loooooove those cars.

I also really like the Chrysler 300 and it's cousin the Dodge Magnum.

But I drive a 2007 Honda Civic EX because I want reliability, fuel economy and affordability. It's a very nice car. I think it was made in Ohio.

[Jennifer]

Not sure how many kids you have, but if you need that third row all the time, you might not like the Pilot. That last row has very little leg room. For a tall boy to be stuck back there would not be fun. A Pilot is not an option for us, because with 6 people, we use the back row every time we drive and we need more space.

[ABC]

Buy American, buy American! yeah, right. How long has the big 3 screwed up their cars so that now "we" all buy Honda's and Toyota's?! Build a better car and they will come! Don't believe me? Look at Hyundai.

All detroit has to do is to build a few good cars (i.e., accord, camry, corolla), and continuously improve the car. Instead, they build all kinds of new cars every few years but nothing really sells!

[BenG]

Do you want a vehicle that has no problem hauling 5 adults comfortably? And gets better gas mileage than a SUV? And costs less too? And can cart more stuff around than an SUV? Sound too good to be true? Its not. Suck it up. Buy a minivan. I can promise you a Odyssey will get better mileage than the Pilot, and you can get in and out of the "way back" a lot easier.

[Adam]

you know why they are discounted? because most of them suck.

[Curt at PennyJobs.com]

BenG - My wife would not buy a minivan. She doesn't like the long front-end and her Dad is truck man.

FMF - I didn't realize most models sold under the Honda and Acura brands in North America are currently manufactured in either the U.S. or Canada. But, I do know that a lot of component assemble has been moved out of the country over the last decade, which has caused a large decrease in the US manufacturing sector. I also realize that this in true for both US and foreign automobile manufactures.

[FMF]

Ben G --

Does an Odyssey come with 4WD or AWD?

[BenG]

The sienna does have AWD available. All the other minivans are good old fashioned FWD - with all of the safety/traction control/stability modern electronics as standard equipment.

[Chief Family Officer]

FMF - Any reason you aren't at all interested in the Pathfinder, which is on the list? Just curious as we have been happy with Nissan (though we have two Altimas, not a Pathfinder).

[FMF]

CFO --

No reason, I just forgot. I would consider a Pathfinder.

[rwh]

FMF:

I have to echo the minivan recommendation. I live in the upper midwest and have two minivans, a 1992 Dodge Caravan and a 2000 Mazda MPV. We bought both of them new and the Dodge is now 3rd in the rotation since we bought the Honda Civic.

You don't need 4WD or AWD. I've never had a problem going through snow in either van. Every winter during snowstorms I cruise right along in the vans while the roadsides are littered with AWD or 4WD SUVs and pickups. This past winter we had the most snow since 1961 and we never had trouble.

Of course minivans have a certain uncool stigma. But as a former pickup owner, I no longer even have a truck. My old Dodge Caravan with the seats removed functions just as well as a truck and drives better. Minivans can't be beat for versatility. They're equally comfortable on long trips, short hauls or muddy backroads.

If I were in the market for a new van and could afford it I would probably go with the Honda or Toyota. There is a reason you never see those things discounted, and it isn't just supply and demand.

[Ken Clark, CFP]

Geesh... I totally was talking myself out of buying a 300C as an expense I don't need in my life right now... :)

The local dealer has 2007's at $8,000 off MSRP!

-Ken