messfeeder
09-16-2007, 05:52 PM
Earlier this week my dad took the Ody into the dealer for service. He told me that the dealer was unloading the 08 Accords off the truck when he was there. So, since today is my day off, I decided to go down and do some test-driving.
I test-drove the 08 Accord, and then I went next door to the Nissan dealer and test-drove the 07 Altima and the 07 Altima hybrid.
Impressions on the 08 Accord:
Honda seems to be going more the Toyota route with the smoother ride and less road feel. I wasn't that impressed with the acceleration, even though it has a bigger engine than my 07. Of course, it could have just felt a little slower because of the smoother ride and less road noise. The trunk is supposed to be bigger, but it looked smaller because it narrowed a lot as it reached the back seats. There is definitely a lot more interior space in the 08. I still don't like the bubbled out headlights, but the 08's do look better in person than the pictures that I have seen.
I noticed something a little weird about the space where the fog lights would go. One of the ones I was looking at didn't have fogs, but in the spot where they would go there was no knock-out panel to install them. The bumper is all one piece there. I think installing fogs would involve some cutting.
The Honda salesman was a new guy (he had 10 sales under his belt). He introduced me to his sales manager, who seemed like he was trying to recruit me. I told him that I had applied at the dealership, but the manager looked at my resume in the interview and told me that I was overqualified and that I should keep going to school. I think the salesman appreciated taking me on the test drive because I told him a lot of the differences between the 07 and 08. Everyone was friendly at the dealer and I had fun when I was there.
It was a totally different experience going to the Nissan dealer after being at the Honda dealer. The salesman who originally talked to me didn't want to take me out because he knew I wasn't serious about buying anything. The second guy copped an attitude and said something about weekend number quotas. I told him I would come back at a time when they weren't so busy. Of course I had no intention of coming back (the dealership was not even busy today).
When I was about to leave I was introduced to another guy who said that he was the sales manager's brother. He sounded irritated that the salesman would not let me drive the car (especially since they weren't busy today and I could be a potential buyer no matter what I said). So I got my way and test-drove the 07 Altima. It accelerates nicely with its 2.5L engine. It also corners very well. But the interior and all of the little trim pieces just felt a lot cheaper than the parts on my Honda. I noticed that the gas cap lever was a little piece of plastic sticking out of a cut-out in the carpet that looked like it would break under very little pressure. I tugged on it a little (when the salesman wasn't around) and it flexed very easily. The interior quality just wasn't the same on the Nissan as the Honda.
Suddenly after the test-drive, the salesman wanted to sell me a car very badly(probably b/c he had invested so much time with me). He walked around and showed me probably every Altima on the lot. I even got to test-drive the hybrid. I finally told him I had to get going and just left my number with him.
Even though Nissan has some nice performance out of their cars, I am not impressed with their quality. The 08 Accord was nice, but I told the salesman there that if I were to buy today I would still go with the 07.
:lmao: After test-driving those new cars, I took my car through one of the same curves at around the same speed and I felt like I was gonna get up on two wheels! Although, I could have been pushing my car harder without realizing it because I am more comfortable driving it.
I test-drove the 08 Accord, and then I went next door to the Nissan dealer and test-drove the 07 Altima and the 07 Altima hybrid.
Impressions on the 08 Accord:
Honda seems to be going more the Toyota route with the smoother ride and less road feel. I wasn't that impressed with the acceleration, even though it has a bigger engine than my 07. Of course, it could have just felt a little slower because of the smoother ride and less road noise. The trunk is supposed to be bigger, but it looked smaller because it narrowed a lot as it reached the back seats. There is definitely a lot more interior space in the 08. I still don't like the bubbled out headlights, but the 08's do look better in person than the pictures that I have seen.
I noticed something a little weird about the space where the fog lights would go. One of the ones I was looking at didn't have fogs, but in the spot where they would go there was no knock-out panel to install them. The bumper is all one piece there. I think installing fogs would involve some cutting.
The Honda salesman was a new guy (he had 10 sales under his belt). He introduced me to his sales manager, who seemed like he was trying to recruit me. I told him that I had applied at the dealership, but the manager looked at my resume in the interview and told me that I was overqualified and that I should keep going to school. I think the salesman appreciated taking me on the test drive because I told him a lot of the differences between the 07 and 08. Everyone was friendly at the dealer and I had fun when I was there.
It was a totally different experience going to the Nissan dealer after being at the Honda dealer. The salesman who originally talked to me didn't want to take me out because he knew I wasn't serious about buying anything. The second guy copped an attitude and said something about weekend number quotas. I told him I would come back at a time when they weren't so busy. Of course I had no intention of coming back (the dealership was not even busy today).
When I was about to leave I was introduced to another guy who said that he was the sales manager's brother. He sounded irritated that the salesman would not let me drive the car (especially since they weren't busy today and I could be a potential buyer no matter what I said). So I got my way and test-drove the 07 Altima. It accelerates nicely with its 2.5L engine. It also corners very well. But the interior and all of the little trim pieces just felt a lot cheaper than the parts on my Honda. I noticed that the gas cap lever was a little piece of plastic sticking out of a cut-out in the carpet that looked like it would break under very little pressure. I tugged on it a little (when the salesman wasn't around) and it flexed very easily. The interior quality just wasn't the same on the Nissan as the Honda.
Suddenly after the test-drive, the salesman wanted to sell me a car very badly(probably b/c he had invested so much time with me). He walked around and showed me probably every Altima on the lot. I even got to test-drive the hybrid. I finally told him I had to get going and just left my number with him.
Even though Nissan has some nice performance out of their cars, I am not impressed with their quality. The 08 Accord was nice, but I told the salesman there that if I were to buy today I would still go with the 07.
:lmao: After test-driving those new cars, I took my car through one of the same curves at around the same speed and I felt like I was gonna get up on two wheels! Although, I could have been pushing my car harder without realizing it because I am more comfortable driving it.