Rant: Cash No Longer King

I spent too many hours, feet on the ground, shopping for a new car.

Why new? They come with a sizable warranty these days. Check it out. The first, original owner of a brand new Hyundai or Kia gets 5 years/ 60,000 mile bumper to bumper all inclusive coverage, plus road assistance, plus 10 year/100,000 mile power train parts and labor coverage.

Go to the Nissan dealer, and the warranty is  3/36,000 and 5/60,000. A serious difference sense the reason I'm getting rid (forgive me baby) of the Geo....in time, all in good time. It still runs.

Back to the rant. While wheeling and dealing, come to find out, if you will finance through the dealership, they will cut you a deal. Nope, no discounts for cash. They really don't want cash, who cares that you've been saving for years knowing this time would come.
Listen bud, I don't want car payments. I'm not paying even 3% interest when savings are barely getting 1%. Oh, they replied, just pay the first months interest then pay the rest all at once. No penalties.
I'm starting to dread the fine print.
But I drove three cars and picked one out. If my baby dies, I can even Walk there!
Just to be thorough, I called a competitor and asked the lowest price on said dream car. Its amazing how many times you have to tell a dealer you plan to keep the brand new car you're buying for its entire life, hopefully 12-15 years.

When I mentioned cash, this competitor told me it would  be an extra $1,000. Thinking my hearing was going out, I asked, "So, its 1,000 discount for cash?"
"No, actually, its an extra $1,000 cash. Instead of $13,988, it would be $14,988."
I didn't hang up. Might as well pump the guy for any other ideas. seems its all about the banks these days milking you for fees, interest and liquidity.
And, seems no other brand has Kia or Hyndai warranties. Sure, you can drop another couple thousand at another dealership for extended warranties, but why?

Listen up banks. You're killing us. Savers get nothing. Spenders get screwed.