On my way to the Austin Tx airport this morning, I heard an ad on the radio about rent a tire. Apparently you can rent your wheels and tires instead of buying them. The ad made me think about this thread.
On the radio here, I also heard you can get a 2011 carolla for 11k with no money down and pmts of 189 a month. Might be worth looking to over the Honda if you are still interested in a newer car.