And now for something not guitar related...

I just picked my new (used) 2007 Kia Optima today. I traded my 2004 gas-guzzling, money pit Impala for the more economical Kia. Not only did I unload my Impala, I dropped my payments by close to $300. I am very happy that I will have some extra spending cash at the end of the month.

I know that there are other car makers out there, but this deal fell into my lap. My old car was about to have a major breakdown. I could feel it in my bones. I had to get rid of it.

Back story:

As soon as I bought it, the re-sale value was sliced in half. Leave it to GM to over-price a car to make a buck. A week after I got my Impala, a racoon ran out in front of me and dented the right bumper, close to the ground. My third year owning the vehical, the transmission went out (just as the drive train warranty exired). I have had to replace my battery 3 times in almost 6 years. I have replaced the brakes every year I have owned it. My thermostat started to go out this year. And my speedometer started acting funny. On top of all this I was paying close to $500 a month as a car payment. This car was sucking the life out of me.

So when I was presented with this deal, I jumped on it. Better gas mileage, lower car payments, newer model, and more options than the Impala; this was a no brainer. I am very happy and a major weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

I gave up on Detroit thirty-one years ago.

Nothing but Toyotas, Hondas, and Nissans for me now.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

The last couple of North American vehicles I had built up most of their mileage on the back of tow trucks-never again.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

GM stand for "Government Motors".

I've learned years ago to stay away from American cars. Just my personal experience of having the companies never standing behind their poor quality products (although I've won Lemon law lawsuits to get my money back). I long ago knew that American cars were not as good quality as foreign cars, but guess I got all patriotic about supporting American products, and gave them another try. Anyway......after being burned over and over, it's nothing but Toyota and Nissan for me. I've never looked back and have had nothing but good luck.

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"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."-John Wayne

Not all the Japanese cars have kept up the quality they were known for in the 1980s and 1990s.

In '01 I bought a new Honda Accord EX for my wife. She was pregnant and the stick shift on her old '94 Honda Accord was becoming a burden. (She had also previously owned an '86 Civic as well, and both of her previous Hondas had been great vehicles).

Within 6 months, every window seal and door seal had to be replaced (twice on the passenger window), the sunroof had to be replaced and the switching mechanism for the automatic locks had failed. The door seal failures caused wind noise and leaked when it rained (on a new car...my '64 Ford didn't even leak water when it was 30 years old!).

The first year we owned it we also had to have the fuel injection system controller (computer) replaced and the power steering pump went out.

Within two years (the car had less than 25K miles on it) the transmission had to be replaced. The transmission had to be replaced again at 50K miles and was failing again in 2010 (with 78K miles) when the car was totalled because a garbage truck ran over her rear quarter panel (his fault, not hers). I'm so glad we bought the extended warranty...

I've lost faith in Honda, however.

She drives a Chevy Trailblazer now (the first GM product I've ever owned) and I have a Mazda CX7 (Zoom-Zoom). No complaints about either one.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals