I ended up with a Civic. It's gorgeous and I absolutely love it. Man, I never thought I was into cars -- but this is my new toy and I haven't been able to take my eyes off of it. I think three things contributed to my love for this car.

The first was the that the literature on this car catered to what I wanted. The engineering is top notch, the safety ratings impeccable, and the fuel economy is one of the best. Oh, and the trunk is really large and the car is wide enough for me to put my cello hard case on the rear seats.

The second was that I got a trim level and color that suited me perfectly. The DX lacked many features that I wanted (like air conditioning and cruise control), while the EX had many things that I didn't need (the sunroof comes to mind). And then there was color. I had coveted a blue car since I was a little girl, and never had that wish fulfilled (former cars in my family were red, green, and silver). So now I have a beautiful blue one, and I am so much happier with it than if I had chosen silver or beige.

The last consideration was that I felt that I had gotten a good deal on this car. MSRP, including destination charge, on this baby was $18,355. Edmunds' TMV price for my area is $17,529 while the invoice price is reported to be $16,944. The dealership I went to sold it to me for $16,632. I could have gotten another $200 off if I had settled for silver, gray, or beige. I did seriously consider it, but in the end I felt that the $200 is worth a color that I L-O-V-E, especially since I plan to keep this car for the next two decades. Total price, including taxes and fees, came to just a few dollars over eighteen grand, and the dealer did not try to push any of the extras on me.

It is interesting how human psychology works. If one of these three factors did not exist, I don't think I would be as happy as I am now.

I also applied for the 2.9% financing, since I can put the cash into a savings account paying 5% (In my finance class, I think this is called a risk-free arbitrage opportunity). The financing should be no problem, but I have heard horror stories of people driving the car off the lot and having their app rejected two weeks later, after they've spent hundreds of dollars on insurance, maintenance, third-party supplies, etc.