Looking to buy a new Honda civic ex. What do I need to know?

Judyat

DIS Veteran
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Feb 11, 2009
Messages
594
We haven't bought a new car in a long time and while looking forward to it the whole haggling thing drives us crazy. Could use some tips and if anyone has bought one how much did you end up paying? The dealers say there isn't much wiggle room but that's one of their lines. We may be able to pay cash with savings but don't want to tell the dealer that till it's a done deal. Suggestions greatly appreciated.
 
Hondas and Toyotas really seem to hold their value. I looked at a used van and with the cheaper financing with the new cars, it was not much more than the used. I didn't want one with a lot of miles and they really didn't haggle with the price as much with the used one either, it seemed set, they didn't really have a choice either so it may have been that the used inventory was low at the time. I got a letter last month from my Honda dealer saying they needed used cars and asked that I come in to test drive a new one and trade in my 3 year old CRV.
 
Study up. Use KBB.com and edmunds.com to get ideas on how to buy a new car and prices, as well as what your trade might be worth, remember to negotiate the new car and you trade separatly. Those sites will list MSRP and Dealer Invoice as well as what you should pay for said automobile. Remember, you are in control, you are the one buying, you have the cash, you don't like the deal walk out. There are always more dealerships that want to make a deal. That doesn't mean offer 20k on a car that's worth 32k, but by studying up and using the hints and prices you find on line you should know what a good deal is and can bargain accordingly. When you do come up with a deal, then ask about a further discount about paying cash. Depending on how much you can get for a rate to finance, you might be better to finance and put that money away and let it work for you.

I just bought a new 2013 Ford Explorer for $236 below dealer invoice earlier this week. I got it on the last day of the month when dealerships are looking to move cars to make quota for the month. I was dealing with one dealer and called the other and the second beat the price over the phone. I took the $2000 rebate over the 0% financing, but was still able to get a rate of 1.74% from a local credit union with the dealer doing all the work for it. I talked to a fraternity brother who's a finance manager at a different car manufacturer and he said that 1.74% was pretty much a wholesale rate.


When you study up and know what you want to and should be paying it's a great feeling, a lot better then feeling like you were taken.

Good luck
 
We pay cash for our vehicles also, and the dealers do not give you any extra discount for that. In fact, if you pay cash and don't finance thru them, they loose all the money that you would be paying them in interest.

We just purchased a new vehicle a few months ago - we were deciding between the Toyota Highlander Limited and the brand new Nissan Pathfinder SL Premium. Even though we had previously purchased multiple vehicles from the Toyota dealership, they only wanted to discount the vehicle $2000. We then went to the Nissan dealership, and they doubled the discount on a vehicle that they can hardly keep in stock. The Nissan dealership was trying to meet a sales goal that weekend from Nissan North America, so they were more willing to deal.
 

We bought a Civic last year, just the basic model, automatic transmission, 4 door. It was brand new and we paid about 16,700 or so. They were doing a finance deal at the dealer for .9% so we financed through them. It's a great little car, super gas mileage.
 
Look at the forums on kbb and edmunds. There's usually a thread where people list what they paid and what the current deals are per area, etc. Of course that was a few years ago so maybe it's changed since...
 
I don't know if this is available in all areas but we got quotes from our area Honda dealers over the internet. Fortunately we got the lowest quote at the dealer closest to us. There is still wiggle room after the quote but not much.
 
The most important advice is to work *up from invoice*, not down from sticker. Be certain you know about all incentives and rebates. If you're trading, consider selling he trade vehicle separately to maximize value from it. Use KBB.com and Edmunds.com for pricing information.

You control what you're willing to pay. Never feel like a dealer is doing you a favor by talking to you. Their singular objective is to extract maximum profit from you in any way possible. Information its your best first defense. If you don't like a deal, walk out.

Invoice pricing information is the first step. You'll make you're best deal armed with that information.
 
We haven't bought a new car in a long time and while looking forward to it the whole haggling thing drives us crazy. Could use some tips and if anyone has bought one how much did you end up paying? The dealers say there isn't much wiggle room but that's one of their lines. We may be able to pay cash with savings but don't want to tell the dealer that till it's a done deal. Suggestions greatly appreciated.

Good car choice! I have a 2012 Civic EX I got last year. I had to lease mine because I couldn't afford to finance. I LOVE THIS CAR. This is my second Civic. I asked the most basic model they had and for me this car was a pleasant upgrade. I had a 2000 Civic before which lasted me 12 good years. It could have been longer if I had the means to keep repairing the stuff that was wearing out. My car now has power everything whereas my 2000 Civic had manual windows and mirrors and no fancy controls for the radio on the steering wheel. It definitely didn't have a cool little computer that shows you how many miles you have left on your tank of gas. Honda's are just awesome cars and I think they are worth every penny. They do keep their value and if you take care of them, they will last forever. Plus the gas mileage is awesome! It will get 37-40 miles on the highway. :thumbsup2

My dad bought my last car for me so when I set out to find a new car last year, the whole process was a new learning experience. I learned the best time to go to a dealership to buy a car is on a weeknight when they are slow like an hour before they are closing. Believe me, they will do whatever they possibly can to get you to purchase before they close that day.

It happened to me with two different dealers.

Trust me, go when they are slow and right about to close. You may just be surprised at how much they will bend on the terms, price, whatever to get the sale before closing for the day.

Good Luck! ;)
 
I had an '86 Civic that lasted til '98 and a '98 Civic LX that my nephew is still driving. Great car!
 
We just bought a new Odyssey using employee pricing but my husband had negotiated down to $100 over the employee price which was several thousand below invoice. Here is my advice:

1. Know the rebates, incentives, dealer cash etc. - most Honda dealers will negotiate that back to you.
2. Know who has a lot of the vehicle you want, they may be more motivated.
3. Don't be afraid to negotiate with every Honda dealer in the area, start on the phone or via the internet, tell them the trim level and color and ask for their best price. Let them know that you know what incentives and dealer cash etc. they are getting. Take the lowest offer back to the other dealers and see if they will beat it.
4. If you don't get to a price you are comfortable with just walk away.
 
We haven't bought a new car in a long time and while looking forward to it the whole haggling thing drives us crazy. Could use some tips and if anyone has bought one how much did you end up paying? The dealers say there isn't much wiggle room but that's one of their lines. We may be able to pay cash with savings but don't want to tell the dealer that till it's a done deal. Suggestions greatly appreciated.
The general rule of thumb is that you can walk away with the sticker price as your out-the-door price. For example, if the sticker price is $15,000, you tell them you can't afford more than that as the final price (tax, title, and everything). It's worked for us (we've done it twice), but you have to be willing to walk away and take alot of no's. We often had dealerships calling us back after we walked away to agree to it, but it was too late for them.

Also, my first car was a Civic and I loved it. However, we bought an Accord two years ago and couldn't get rid of it fast enough. We could not stand the Maintenance Minder system and Honda's maintenance costs and schedule. It was always confusing, expensive, and we constantly felt taken. We have a Toyota and love it. The maintenance costs have been virtually non-existent. They have a standard maintenance schedule of every 5,000 miles, which is easy to remember and so inexpensive. Just our experience!
 
My daughters first car was a 98 Honda civic with 250,000 this was two years ago..She is still driving it and has had no problems other then just reg stuff like new tires and wiper motor..very lucky Hondas are very good cars
 
The general rule of thumb is that you can walk away with the sticker price as your out-the-door price.

That's no "rule of thumb" I would ever endorse.

No disrespect, but I would offer that's the *worst* strategy for buying a car. Never, ever work down from sticker. Work *up* from invoice. Buying at sticker price is handing money to the dealership. If a salesman knows up front that your frame of reference is sticker price, *of course* they'll balk when you tell them you want some fraction off of it because they know *you* think its a great deal, when in all honesty it isn't. As I said, no offense, but negotiating a car deal around sticker price is just not the best strategy.
 
That's no "rule of thumb" I would ever endorse.

No disrespect, but I would offer that's the *worst* strategy for buying a car. Never, ever work down from sticker. Work *up* from invoice. Buying at sticker price is handing money to the dealership. If a salesman knows up front that your frame of reference is sticker price, *of course* they'll balk when you tell them you want some fraction off of it because they know *you* think its a great deal, when in all honesty it isn't. As I said, no offense, but negotiating a car deal around sticker price is just not the best strategy.
I totally agree that you work up from invoice, and I never said to work down from the sticker or to tell the dealer that is what you are doing. All I was saying is that, from my experience, haggling up from invoice generally works out to the sticker price as your total out-the-door cost. Plus, if someone is not inclined to research the invoice price before buying a car, it is a good rule of thumb with no advance knowledge of price factors.
 
I totally agree that you work up from invoice, and I never said to work down from the sticker or to tell the dealer that is what you are doing. All I was saying is that, from my experience, haggling up from invoice generally works out to the sticker price as your total out-the-door cost. Plus, if someone is not inclined to research the invoice price before buying a car, it is a good rule of thumb with no advance knowledge of price factors.

I realize its hard not to disagree without sounding disagreeable, and I honestly don't mean to sound that way, but that's just not been my experience at all. I've only bought five new cars in my lifetime (age 48), but aiming for invoice has typically yielded me a cost several *thousand* below the sticker. I guess, more broadly, is that I really don't haggle. I computed an invoice-based price once for a car that I thought included what ultimately led to a reasonable profit for the dealer, walked into the office, and said "I will buy that car in your lot right now for $x. No haggling, take it or leave it." They took it, and I was out of the office in under a half-hour. And I was nowhere near sticker, they upsold me *nothing*, and I had already arranged financing separately.

I understand where you're coming from on the rule-of-thumb basis, I suppose, but I guess it just goes against my grain to suggest to anyone that buying a vehicle at or near sticker represents a good deal. And given that pricing information is infinitely more available now than it was when I researched and bought my first car 26 years ago, I can't see why someone wouldn't be willing to undertake the effort unless they're so flush with cash that the difference in cost isn't worth the trouble.

I remember buying my first Buick Lesabre in 1987 and realizing very quickly back then that, for GM, invoice prices (excluding destination charges) for the base car were, as I recall, 85% of MSRP, and options were *exactly* 87.5% of MSRP. That ended up representing something on the order of $2,000, plus the manufacturer's rebate, which I think was about $500 at the time. That ended up giving me an out-the-door cost that was $3,000 below sticker.

So, as I said, not meaning to be argumentative, but I just don't think the math works out to say that an invoice-based price ends up being sticker "out the door." If I'm misunderstanding something in your approach, my apologies.
 
This is our car-buying method, which is a combination of various experts' advice -- especially Consumer Reports Magazine -- and experience. It has worked well for us multiple times:


I have this very car, and one thing that makes it easy to buy is that options and add-ons aren't really an issue (or, at least that was true when I bought mine 5-6 years ago). An EX comes with certain items, so pretty much every '13 EX on the lot will be identical -- except for color.

When we bought ours, we were open to late-model used, but in reality that just didn't make sense. We found that the price difference between new and the FEW late-model used available was less than $1000. This was just about the time gas prices skyrocketed, and "everyone" wanted to buy something with good mileage, so this may've been an anomoly that might no longer exist.

You've already driven the car, right? You're SURE this is the one? Refuse to drive it again on the day you go in to talk about money. They want to get you into that nice new car, smelling that nice smell, feeling how much nicer it is than your old car . . . but you've already made your decision. No need to do all that and involve emotions. No need to allow the salesman all that time in the car to engraciate himself to you, to make you feel like he's a friend. Today is about price. Price only. Go into the office, talk price. No driving.

DO NOT "work up from invoice". The dealer has multiple invoices with different prices, and he will use this as a tool to convince you you're paying a fair price. They also get bonuses if they sell X number of cars within a certain timeperiod, so even IF they showed you the real invoice (they won't), it wouldn't really be the truthful amount they paid for the car. If they offer to show you the invoice (and you should question why they're so quick to want to show this "private" information to you), decline. Tell them you've already investigated the price of the car, and you know the number you're willing to pay. If they tell you you're unreasonable, say, "Well, perhaps I am, but I know what I am willing to pay. If you're really not interested in selling the car, I'll go elsewhere." They want to make you feel that you're not well informed, but if you've done your homework, that's untrue. Working "down from sticker" is even worse. Come on, we all know that's an outrageously inflated price. You should refuse to acknowledge its existance. Instead, check with Consumer Report Magazine to learn the real cost. Think about it: Why would you begin with ANY number that originates with the people who want to sell you the car /make a big profit from you? They have strong motive to mislead you with inflated numbers. Consumer Reports (and a couple other independent agencies), who stand to make nothing from you, are much more trust-worthy. Add a couple hundred for profit to that, add taxes and tags . . . and that's the price you're willing to pay.

When you go in, refuse to discuss payments, trade ins, or anything else. Discuss only one number: Total, out-the-door price. This should include the car's cost, taxes, tags, transportation fees, everything. You know what you're willing to pay. Stick to it. They'll ask: How much are you comfortable paying each month? I only want to talk about total, out the door price. Are you planning to trade something in? I don't know yet. Right now I only want to talk about total, out the door price. Are you going to finance? We can about that later. I only want to talk about total, out the door price. This isn't reasonable -- it's not how car buying is done. Really? That's too bad. Let's get back to talking about the total, out the door price. Car salesmen HATE this. When they start talking about financing and per-month and ignore this or that fee, THEY are in control. They do this all day, every day, and -- I don't care who you are -- they are better at it than you! So refuse to participate. You only want to talk about one number: Total, out-the-door price. If you're only talking about one number, they cannot manipulate the conversation or twist any numbers around. One number. One number only.

When we bought my Honda, we figured out what we were willing to pay and went to the Honda dealership near our house. They were totally unwilling to talk to us on this level, basically showed us the door. We were polite but explained that this was their one and only chance to sell us that car, and we would not be back. They said, "We don't care. We don't like you anyway." We left. Note that this car exists in large numbers on every Honda lot, so this wasn't a problem -- for us.

We went to another dealer in a neighboring town. Taking the "we're all friends here" approach, they were more willing to talk to us, but they wouldn't meet our number. Again, explained that this was their only shot at meeting our number. We left.

We were feeling a little shakey as we approached the third dealership. We'd used this method before, but we'd experienced more success in the past. Could our homework have been wrong? The third dealership was into theatrics. They brought out people who yelled and told us we couldn't have the car for that price. Again, we left. As we were pulling towards the exit, the salesman who'd helped us first CAME RUNNING out of the building and THREW HIMSELF onto the hood of our car. My husband said quietly, "You're about to get your car." An hour later, we paid $25 more than we had planned, and I drove the car home.

Incidentally, the dealership who eventually sold to us was -- by far -- the largest Honda dealer we visited. We feel they were more willing to deal because they get a kickback for making certain sales numbers, and even a car with a small profit margin takes them closer to that bonus. So we feel that you're going to get a better price from a big dealership.

When they learned that we were going to write them a check instead of financing, they were not pleased. They WANT to finance so they can make more money. I really do think we got this car for a good price.

If you need to finance, do it through the bank or the credit union. This isn't as convenient. It means you have to leave your newly purchase, badly wanted car, and you have to finalize the financial choices with your bank or credit union . . . then come back with a check. But you will pay less in interest over the next years if you do this. If you're going to finance, it's best to do your transaction during bank business hours.

If you have trouble obtaining financing, it's a hint that you cannot afford the car and should make other choices. Tough advice, but truthful. Never strap yourself financially for a car, especially not a new car.

If you intend to trade in your old car, make it a separate transaction. Again, they do this every day, all day, and if you allow them to mix the two transactions, they will fast-talk you 'til you don't know just what you paid for the new car OR what you received for the old car. If you sell the car yourself, which is some trouble, you'll probably get a better price.
 
I realize its hard not to disagree without sounding disagreeable, and I honestly don't mean to sound that way, but that's just not been my experience at all. I've only bought five new cars in my lifetime (age 48), but aiming for invoice has typically yielded me a cost several *thousand* below the sticker. I guess, more broadly, is that I really don't haggle. I computed an invoice-based price once for a car that I thought included what ultimately led to a reasonable profit for the dealer, walked into the office, and said "I will buy that car in your lot right now for $x. No haggling, take it or leave it." They took it, and I was out of the office in under a half-hour. And I was nowhere near sticker, they upsold me *nothing*, and I had already arranged financing separately.

I understand where you're coming from on the rule-of-thumb basis, I suppose, but I guess it just goes against my grain to suggest to anyone that buying a vehicle at or near sticker represents a good deal. And given that pricing information is infinitely more available now than it was when I researched and bought my first car 26 years ago, I can't see why someone wouldn't be willing to undertake the effort unless they're so flush with cash that the difference in cost isn't worth the trouble.

I remember buying my first Buick Lesabre in 1987 and realizing very quickly back then that, for GM, invoice prices (excluding destination charges) for the base car were, as I recall, 85% of MSRP, and options were *exactly* 87.5% of MSRP. That ended up representing something on the order of $2,000, plus the manufacturer's rebate, which I think was about $500 at the time. That ended up giving me an out-the-door cost that was $3,000 below sticker.

So, as I said, not meaning to be argumentative, but I just don't think the math works out to say that an invoice-based price ends up being sticker "out the door." If I'm misunderstanding something in your approach, my apologies.
No problem. I totally see what you are saying. I suppose the value of vehicle, regional markets, and other factors may affect our unique experiences. We have also used this method when buying a used car, which may be a better use for our general rule. We pay cash for cars, which also makes dealers less likely to work with us. Although I do my homework before buying a car, getting out the door with thousands less than sticker can be difficult. I guess we at least agree that if your total cost is more than sticker, you really are being taken! :)
 
When you go in, refuse to discuss payments, trade ins, or anything else. Discuss only one number: Total, out-the-door price. This should include the car's cost, taxes, tags, transportation fees, everything. You know what you're willing to pay. Stick to it. They'll ask: How much are you comfortable paying each month? I only want to talk about total, out the door price. Are you planning to trade something in? I don't know yet. Right now I only want to talk about total, out the door price. Are you going to finance? We can about that later. I only want to talk about total, out the door price.
This is exactly what we do and sums it up perfectly!
 
Look at what they're selling for on ebay (new cars, dealerships post there) - it may be worth it to buy and either fly to pick it up or have it shipped to you. Crown Honda of Greensboro, North Carolina always has the best price I've seen. (Helped a friend buy a new Odyssey recently). They were $500 below what a "broker" (you pay them to negotiate for new car deals) got as their best price.

You can also just call/email dealerships - tell them which model/options/color you want and that you want them to email their best price for the car you want.

Dealer financing is fine if you get 0 or low rate. I think our friends got either 0 or 1.49. Just say no to the extras - GAP, warranty, etc.

Hondas and Acuras are the easiest to buy online - options are very limited.
 












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