And the winner is...Honda

We are buying a new car. I know, I know, it's better to buy used, but we have dealt with a lemon of a Ford Focus for 4 years now (bought new) and my husband doesn't want anything without a warranty. If we hadn't had a warranty for our Ford, we would have spent $9,450 in repairs over 4 years. Yes, almost the cost of the car itself, AGAIN, in only four years. That includes 2 transmissions and does not include a dinged bumper we decided not to replace, a broken side-view mirror or a missing hubcap, all of which we are ignoring at the moment. We plan to trade in, primarily because there are so many things wrong with the car I could only sell it for wholesale anyway. It's been a total nightmare.

We want a four-door hatchback and I've spent days reading all the reviews because I simply don't want to be stuck with another problem car like the Focus. I knew that Toyota and Honda were good, but I wasn't sure HOW good. It's been really interesting; according to Edmunds.com, the Honda Fit is the best buy. I loved the real cost estimator; it gives the amount you actually spend per mile over 5 years. The Fit came in at .43 per mile; the Matrix, .45 per mile. The Focus was .47 per mile but that assumes you don't get a lemon like we did.

So, it looks like we are probably getting a Honda, although we will test drive a Toyota. I got some fabulous advice from Single Ma regarding buying a new car and I plan to use it. We also plan to buy a Honda Rebel. They are only $3200 brand new and they get 57 mpg. How great is that? Of course, I will have to bike my kids to daycare (it's only about 2 miles) and then ride the motorcycle to work, but if I get a break on parking then it will be really frugal. We will get rid of both cars and just have one car and a motorcycle (and our bicycles, of course). I wish we could get along with just one car but it's not going to happen. Wish me luck in my quest to buy two new motorized vehicles!