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Comments
I just changed my mind after driving it today, but I am not against the Civic I am against the way they price it
About inflation. Just ask hardworking people, if their salary can catchup with the inflation and compare it to the profits of the Toyota and Honda
And do not forger about the segment Altima vs Civic
But after test drive I was very disappointed with Civic
In my opinion Civic must be cheaper than Mazda3
ex value , you get alumionum wheels 4 wheel discs and a moon / sun roof for about $1500.00 more than the LX. If you are going to trade the car after 36 months lease the LX, I am going to keep mine 5 years or more. What is the best deal, should always be based on how much is the car listed for on the contract including desination charge. I paid $18,990 for a 2008 honda 4 dr civi EX sedan A/T, this included destination.Taxes and license will vary on where you live. My two cents are if you are going to trade it in 3 yrs lease it otherwise buy it, and keep it. I usualy keep mine 7+ years.
In my opinion OTD price don't either as the taxes and fees vary by location. It's my understanding that everyone pays the same Destination Charge it's noted to be $635 for the 2008 model. Yes, there are "dealer" deals, hold backs, incentive but for us mere mortals there are only a few numbers that REALLY matter. The big one is INVOICE price get it at Edmunds or Blue Book if you are not bright enough to do that don't read anymore and don't give anyone advise. To make this real simple I'm going to use one model and one level of a Honda Civic but you can play along with any car you choose-no trade in value just the car (new dealer's lot) which is;
2008 Honda Civic LX Coupe A/T -- INVOICE Price $16,166 (2/3/08)
-- Destination Fee $635 (2/3/08)
___________
$16,801
You will note that this price is the SAME either in Edmunds or Kelly's Blue Book!
Again, not a "Demo" or last years or very low miles.
Next there are "Documentation Fees" the Dealer might insist on these and they could be $10 they could be $1,000 but this is just an add on fee to the dealer for PROFIT! That is not a bad word, one way or the other a Dealer has got to make a profit, he will. The question is what is a fair profit for the dealer and a fair price for the buyer then enter the dragon, supply and demand. Right now a SMART probably get full MSRP or more! The Civic is popular but there are lots of them and lots of dealers too and right now is a very good time to buy, after Christmas the middle of winter who goes out? Who has money? So YOU decide what is a fair mark-up, lets just say 3% for the dealer on the Invoice price of $16,166 comes to $485 (about)
So the car WITH Destination Charge is $16, 801
Throw in 3% profit (on $16,166) $485
$17,286 this is the basic price of this car plus 3% for a Dealers Profit. It's possible (very possible) that he will come to this number of $485 and also want to add on those DOCUMENTATION fees! That's where the wheelin' dealin' comes in. My point is only that on this day 2/3/2008 a round number price for a Honda Civic LX with A/T with 3% or about $500 from the buyer on this sale for this car is about;
$17,300
As a buyer today one can walk in or go online and say to the salesperson "do you want to make $500 today and give or take a few bucks that's about what this deal amounts to. Seems like everyone here uses this forum to show THEY got the best deal and are less concerned to help others.
In the interest that other's should learn from my mistake I made my whole deal online, we agreed to $17,200 paper work was to be complete and I would come in and sign. I showed up the paperwork total was $17,350 gee guess what printed right there on the contract $150 "Documentation Fee" I should have walked out, however, buying a car is work (something the dealer knows, it's his job) I pointed out this was "extra" from what we had agreed on, told him he has to toss in a trunk liner or something and we both said "deal" (should have asked for a rubber floor mat too). Was it the best deal in the world, no but it was fair I like the car. It just ain't worth it to worry that much. OTD price is not worthless, however, it can obscure the facts.
Forget the TTL -Texas ain't Missouri for that matter Boston ain't Hooterville those things vary and your deal in a no tax state could be worse than someones deal where the taxes are 5% even if the OTD price is better.
This is just for bottom line car price not braggin' rights. Besides, if "he" got this car for $17,212 and you paid $17,443 it's not that big a deal over the 3 to 5 years you will have the car. This forum is more to help you not pay the $18,195 MSRP
I suggest you do some research look up the price in both Kelly's and Edmunds and "CLOSE" your deal on-line it helps level the playing field. Trust me, the people who sell cars might have been born at night but they were not born last night.
Confessions of a Car Salesman can be found in Edmunds under Tips and Advise
Dayton, Ohio
Price paid: 16699
TTL + 16699 = 18,150
For my experience I talked to several dealers on the phone to get the lowest price possible and agreed and made it clear that there would be no malarky when I got there or I was walking out. They were hurting for buyers so they didn't jerk me around. This was my first car purchase and I think it went well. Gotta love the Galaxy Gray! The market is perfect for buying a car, just drive by a dealership, they look like ghost towns. The only problem I had was the trade in, which I brought up after the price was set, they wanted to give me 100 bucks for it! I laughed in his face and told them I'd rather give it as a tax credit donation. I mean come on it ran and onl had 70,00 miles on it even though it was a 94. But all said this forum was very helpful and I am still driving on that dealer paid for tank.
Thanks!
I am a newbie to the whole car buying experience -Please help
I am looking to buy
Honda civic LX 4 dr sedan AT 2008.
Frankly, I have no idea how to do this online. So here are my questions and thanks very much for your replies-
I am in Seattle. What is the right price for this car?
(I have financing through a bank)
I want to buy this online. I have written to dealers and asked for quotes. How do I make sure that I get the price they email me.
Should I ask them to fax me the quote-how does that go?
help please-i have been looking for awhile but the very thought of going into a dealership is frightening.
I've recently looked into your exact model.
The best prices I've seen is 16,500 (including destination) and many have purchased between 16500 and 17000 + tax and TTL.
Remember to ask the dealer to list all fees and taxes associated with the purchase in the email.
When you decide to go into the dealership, bring a printed copy of the email.
If the dealer try to rre-neg or add additional fees, etc, LEAVE.
Good luck and remeber to vote in your primary this weekend.
He was shooting for $6,000 for trade on his 01 Civic (halfway between "good" and "fair") and $500 over invoice on the new 08 Civic EX-L Navi.
What he got was the $6,000 for the old Civic and $700 over invoice for the new Civic (invoice is $23,295).
No matter how you play with the numbers, in the end, he was content, given how scarce the EX-L Navi Civics are to begin with (especially if you're picky about your color and dealer preference).
Once all fees and taxes were added up, the OTD was right around $23,000. But make sure you know how much you're paying above invoice before you add in all the OTD fees to better understand the transaction.
Invoice again for the EX-L Naivgation Automatic 4-Door is $23,295, and that's including destination.
But here's my question...should I get the Lo-Jack? I don't know too many people who've actually bought that...and I don't know if the $700.00 they are asking for is worth it. What do you think?
When I asked, they didn't include dest charges of 635....making that 18,935.
I asked about DOC fees and yes they have them - 240.....so, total price minus tax and registration is 19,175.
Does this sound like a good deal?
Beats edmunds and carsdirect price. I just have to decide between a mazda 3 GT and the Civic EX-L.
I believe that they are both good cars and each have +"s and -'s. I drove the manual EX and am pretty sure i can be happy with that car.
Was previously offered an EX (cloth interior) for $18,690 + TTL.
A friend is buying an EX coupe MT from them tomorrow for $17,750 +TTL.
All of these deals are with Leith in Raleigh and were for in-stock models only.
Hendricks in Charlotte offered me the EX-L for $19,955 but said that was their absolute lowest price. Dealers seem to be willing to sell their stock at invoice prices or even $100 off invoice now. I have been shopping for a few months and the crowds are definitely off at the dealerships. Hope this info is helpful to some of you still looking. My advice--decide on a trim level and color, check out the invoice price at Edmunds, and offer to buy at that price. If the dealer says anything other than 'sold,' tell them you want to check with some other dealers, then do so.
My son got his at Muller in Highland Park and they had only 2 EX-L Navi's to choose from. Schaumburg and Pauly had similar inventory levels for that model, but not in the Galaxy Gray that only Muller had.
He had his first Civic for 6 1/2 years and 80,000 miles and already has 4,500 miles on the new one, so he's happy.
I originally wanted to purchase a Fit Sport because of the price and versatility of the vehicle. After some calls and emailing the best offer was $16,300. Soon after came the recent Presidents’ Day Sale at Honda which involved 2.9% financing for 60 months on civics (and other models). We decided to go to the dealership and look at some of the cars. The salesman showed us some price sheets and applied the savings of $405 that was quoted as a discount to the Fit, to the Civic LX. The price with destination & handling was $17,990. They didn’t have one on the lot so we went home and waited for one to arrive. We also gave them a $500 deposit, BUT DIDN’T SIGN ANYTHING. Now it gets interesting because we then decided that we wanted to go with the EX because my wife wanted the sunroof and I like the alloy wheels much better. We called around to 5-6 dealerships and got quotes for the LX and EX, which varied:
Dealer 1 LX – 17395 EX – 19040
Dealer 2 LX – 17285 EX – 18790
Dealer 3 LX – 18700 EX – 20100
Dealer 4 LX – 17295 EX – 19045
Then we called the original dealership we went to and told them to beat the prices, which they eventually did. We bought our 2008 Civic EX Sedan Auto for $18,500 plus tax 6% and about $100 for tags/title/tire. We also got the 2.9% financing. Bottom line is, the sticker price for the car was $20,145 and we ended up settling for a price that was $1,645 less than that. It basically equates to paying the sticker price for an LX and getting an EX. We are very happy with what we got out of the deal, but are not very happy with the treatment and service that was provided. As a young couple, we felt like they saw us coming on our first visit, and we didn’t feel welcomed in any way on our purchasing visit. Perhaps the salesman felt like he blew his big commission by not suckering us on the first visit.
So I will list my tips for first time car buyers, because I am a first time car buyer.
1. Find out in these forums what the dealer invoice is on the car. Figure to pay 3% over that price or about $500-$600.
2. Call all the dealerships in your area to get the absolute best price you can, it takes work, but it’s totally worth it. If they don’t give you the price over the phone, say “We have no intention of coming to the dealership, unless it’s to pick up a car. We are not wasting time/gas to just get a price.”
3. Once you feel like you’ve gotten a good price, go on Edmunds.com to see what other people are paying to make sure that the price is right.
4. Now do all the math to figure out what you will be paying. Tax %, Title/Tags/Tire (About $150), and financing $$$. Include any down payments.
5. Now you are actually ready to go to the dealership and test drive the car. Make sure the actual car is up to your expectations. If you are ready to buy, then you can talk to the finance person and read over the numbers carefully to make sure they match your own stats/arithmetic. Make sure nothing is thrown in that you don’t want (pin stripe, floor mats, wheel locks, etc. etc. etc.) if they are in the car already, ask the dealer if they are included.
6. Inspect the car again before leaving, we noticed a scratch on our car (on plastic) and they said they would repair it free (because the factory guarantees it).
7. Drive away happy, knowing you did everything you could to not get cheated.
Thanks to everyone on this site who posts their own experiences, because I learned a lot in a short period about how to go about buying a new car. I almost made a mistake myself, so don’t think you are being too picky with the dealer.
A) This is not thread about the advantages/disadvantages of leasing vs. buying, so your comments about leasing are outside the scope of the topic and shouldn't be discussed here.
C) People make their own leasing vs buying decisions based on their own personal circumstances. Regardless of whether you are a lawyer, accountant, car salesman or whatever, you can't account for each individuals personal circumstances.
D) Having a bias against leasing, and then continuing a negative thread with an individual only gives your arguments less credibility. You can't speak for everyone, so please don't try to.
I happen to like leasing and enjoy its advantages. I understand there are also disadvantages, but for me the advantages outweigh them. Sometimes I lease, sometimes I buy and sometimes I even buy the car after the lease is over.
Getting back to the subject, I'm in the market for a Civic Sedan EX Auto for when my lease on my Accord expires in the next few months. In all likelihood, I will lease the car, but the circumstances at the time may lead me to buy it instead. It all depends.
My needs right now are to know what prices people are negotiating, what the additional leasing costs AHFS currently puts on their leases, what the residuals are for the relevant length of the leases and what money factors are currently being charged.
I live in the NY on Long Island. If anyone has information in that regard, I would appreciate it.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks,
Kenneth
Yeah that's about right, at least in my area unless he's a friend of yours. He should have put it up on the lift and fully checked underneath the car and all the fluids as well. If he did all that then $100 is average, you didn't pay top dollar.
splash guards, 100k, 7 yr warrenty, no deductible...
$21.150.00...if i get to the dealer and it's true, i'm buying. wada you guys think?
did you not read my above post? I just bought a civic EX for $18,500, which included floor mats and wheel locks. I didn't opt for the extended warranty which is about a thousand. You would be paying the actual sticker price if you paid $21,150. btw, splash guards cost like $50.
It's my first car and definitely excited. Also the whole internet buying experience was great. Made my life easier and helped cut through some of that dealership BS, and it saved me at least $300. My dad was more traditional and kept telling me that first dealer I went to had the best price and that I should do it then and there.
I was looking for a 2008 4 Door EX Civic Automatic
Started my negotiating using the Internet. I received three quotes from local Honda dealers:
$18,499
$18,690
$18,590
Doc and Title Fees range from $206 to $399 in my area.
After meeting in person, I received a quote for $18,395.
Another dealership beat it with an $18,200, and that was the offer I took
(That beat my personal target of $18,300 after reading this forum for two weeks)
Tricks and notes::
Online inventory – if your dealership has it, look at it daily, it took two days for my car to drop off. Handy to see if cars are moving.
When you start going below invoice price, you will start to get the “we have to pay our bills” speech and the “I’ve never sold a car below invoice”
Pick 3 colors that you like – and don’t ask in preference order when they check their stock.
Have your own financing, sell your car on your own, wait till the end of the month (Blah, Blah, Blah, you’ve all read that before)
The dealerships are trying not to look desperate. They won’t come out and say sales are really bad. They seem to do the opposite and not want to bargain unless they really have to.
Also, if you want to use a dealer’s internet price in negotiations against them, have your friend (not roommate) submit the bids – most dealerships have a tracking system to see what you have been told already. Especially if you go through a web based quote and have to put your phone number.
I was told holdback was only 2% and not 3% - probably smoke and mirrors – but I thought I would mention it.
Oh - and the car is great!
btw, got 95 miles on less than a quarter tank on a recent trip.
$21,695 at Ed Voyles Honda ($2,000 off MSRP) --> +600 over Edmunds TMV
$22,695 at Team Honda ($1,000 off MSRP)
$23,060 at Curry Honda ($630 off MSRP)
What do you guys think? I was looking for a lot lower actually after a friend of mine was telling me that the Sedan SIs aren't selling well and that the dealerships are really trying to sell them. These deals just seem like the normal run of mill offers.
If I had wanted to hardball them I could have had the car OTD for $20,500. I wanted a car that day and figured I could take the $500 hit
This was Autofair Honda in Manchester, NH for a 2008 Honda Civic Si.
Shame it wasn't in the blue but the color is like a greyish gold, it's ok, very stealthy.
The car runs like a dream.
MSRP: The Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price or MSRP represents the selling price recommended by the manufacturer for the vehicle you
are considering. MSRP on your vehicle is $17695
Invoice: The price the dealer pays to buy a car from the manufacturer, exclusive of hold back or other discounts. Very seldom is this the bottom
line of the cost for the vehicle to dealers. Invoice on the vehicle you are considering is $16350.71 (Includes $635 destination)
Dealer Holdback: An allowance paid by the manufacturer to the dealer to allow the dealer to purchase a vehicle for less than the invoice price.
Dealer holdback on the vehicle you are considering is $339.20
Dealer Cash: An incentive to a dealership from the manufacturer to assist in selling a particular model. The dealer cash that is available on the
vehicle you are considering is $0
Ourisman Honda of Laurel Internet Discount: A special incentive from our dealership to you!
Your Internet Discount is time sensitive:
Purchasing today an additional discount of $500
Purchasing within 72 hours an additional discount of $300
Purchasing before the end of the month an additional discount of $200
Your quote is based on the following formula:
Invoice-Dealer Holdback-Dealer Cash-Ourisman Honda of Laurel Internet Discount.
$16350.71-$339.20-$0-$500=$15511.51
An on the road price based upon the above number would be $16788.38
The on the road price includes your taxes, tags, destination charge and any and all fees associated with the purchase of a vehicle.