2013 and earlier-Honda Civic Prices Paid and Buying Experience

dwynne

Sorry, you are too late - they are getting MSRP for all Civics now. They went from invoice or below to MSRP in just a few weeks. I expect most Honda dealers to be doing MSRP or above now - while they still have cars to sell. The INCREDIBLE demand for Civics means all dealers will have limited supplies and most will run out of cars before they run out of customers - even at full price.

You want a nice Pilot or S2000 I can get you a price way down into the hold back, but no deals on Civic or Civics and probably CRVs as well.

Dennis

ruking1

As a comment to yours, I would suspect a dealership's sale of that same 04 Honda Civic (used obviously) would be at an even HIGHER price!

dwynne

This has spread - the dealership where I recently got a new Pilot and a new S2000 priced into the hold back is also now charging MSRP for Civics.

My salesfolks are saying that in a few weeks they may be out of Civics to sell. They started Friday with 18 LX Civics and had 4 left Saturday afternoon. They are only getting 20 or less in the next couple of month to "restore" inventory - so those will not last. Demand is not as strong for the more expensive models, but when there are no LX models to sell more of the EXs will move out as well. Odds are good that even at MSRP they will be out of cars in just a few weeks.

Dennis

cuyseco

I am want to buy a 08 Civic LX AT, but right now the dealers do not want to give me a good price on line. I think I will wait until the end of the month because I just want to pay no more than 17,000 destination included. :P
Any advice with the dealers in DFW area?
Thanks.

mplshondadlr

Funny you mentioned that Dennis. Here in the twin cities there is about a 14 day supply of Civic's on the ground and in-transit for the month. I had four Civic LX sedans with A/T come off the transport this afternoon and I sold two of them this evening, for $17990.00 plus TT&L. Not the $18395.00 MSRP, but damn close.

My GM said that the internet department can only sell six Civic's this month at $17990.00, after that MSRP.

Whats funny is that three months ago we were selling them in the high $16's.

Supply vs. demand. Metro wide, we had another record month. Thank God I'm not selling anything but Honda's.

alamocity

I know in the San Antonio area the availability of Civic's is rapidly disappearing, as a result the prices are going close to MSRP now and have read that if you don't get one this month they may be gone.

dwynne

14 day supply of Civic's

I would bet the old count for "14 days" worth of Civics is a LOT different from the current count .

I would say it always good to be a Honda salesperson - maybe not as glamorous as high line car sales but you always get to sell a good, reliable product and never any customer rebates. Last month, if should have been GREAT to be a Honda salesperson - except for the cramps in your hand writing up all the deals....

Dennis

fisheerman

Thats weird i just got a quote still under invoice :confuse:

Maybe it is just certain parts of the country

dwynne

It could be, or they "forgot" to include the destination charge and dealer doc or prep fee in the quote.

If you can get a dealer to sell you a Civic for under invoice for the car, destination, and dealer fee I would jump on it before they come to their senses .

Dennis

johnbobody

Hi Dennis-

You seem to be a great resource on this forum. Hoping you can answer this for me. Are the current 1.9% and 2.9% AHFC rate specials for Civics calculating the interest using the simple interest method? I read somewhere- maybe this forum- that the loan amounts may be grossed up my an amount equal to the sum total interest for the original term of the loan - rather than the interest recalculated based on the remaining balance. As such if you pay the load off early, you are also paying all the interest.

Thanks for you help.

kyfdx

All AHFC loans are simple interest...

regards,
kyfdx

dwynne

As kydfx says, simple interest. I have not seen or heard of a "rule of 78s" loan in a long time, but I suppose there could be some tricky F&I folks out there getting people to sign them even now. No captive finance deal I know of would be anything other than a simple interest, no setup fee loan.

Some promo captive deals knock the dealer if you pay them off early (Mazda credit, has/had these) - you could take out a MAC loan to get a rebate but if you paid it off early (in the first 2-3 months) the dealer may have to eat some or all of the rebate. If you paid it off past that point, then the dealer took no hit. Lots of folks took a "don't care" attitude and done a MAC loan, got the rebate applied to the price, then paid off the loan immediately with something with a lower rate.

Dennis

nascar9900

Or it could be that the under invoice quote is for a Civic Coupe.

The Sedans are selling very well, but the Coupes are still in good supply.

fisheerman

going to pick up my car in the am. LX AUTO sedan

just got the quote 17440 OTD

cuyseco

What city fisheerman? I would like to get that price in Dallas-Texas

fivil

I'd like to get that price in Houston, TX...

fisheerman

Well you guys were correct the price has gone up. It is now $17531 OTD.

Should I still jump on this or what?

Area is DC

dwynne

Invoice on a Civic LX AT sedan is $17,099. If you can get that car with title, tax, and tags for $17,531 then I would be signing the papers on it and not posting on the forum .

Dennis

nascar9900

I agree. That is a very good price.

fisheerman

Just got off the phone with the dealer and he is going to have the car ready in the morning. Ill be a the dealership when it opens.

Thanks for the good info guys.

-fish

joem5

How can one dealer charge $299.00 and the dealer up the street charge $100.00 less?
Also, when I bought my Acura I drove 100 miles,because she dropped the shipping charge.
I'll never walk into a dealership again.Anyone that does is crazy. The salesman has to see the manager. The manager wants you to put money on it right then and now.
Buying a car shouln't be that stressful,but it is and you still feel screwed.
Yup, the thing to do is Fax them to death and get a price you want. :sick:

cuyseco

Fisheerman,

Can the dealer deliver the car to Texas? just kidding
I would like to get that price. You are lucky.

dwynne

Our fingers are cross for you that all goes well .

Too many stories of "we can't sell it to you at that price" to count on it until you take delivery with no surprises. One person got a too low price (I think it was a price mistake) and when they got there to pick it up the dealer would only do it at that price if they used the dealer's financing. Turns out that was 3% higher than the buyer could do elsewhere. So one more thing to add to the list of questions to ask before anyone goes to pick up a car they have a deal on - "do I have to finance this with you to get this price". Along with "does this include destination", "does this include your doc / prep fees", "any dealer accessories on this car", and everything else you have to ask to avoid disappointment at the dealer's lot.

Dennis

fisheerman

Thanks

I was already on top of that. All fees are included and are broken out on the quote. I even asked if I could use the honda 1.9 36 month financing on this deal and they said no problem. With a 750+ credit score I should be ok.

Just in case I brought the check book and I will just stroke them a check if it gets ugly.

Ill post back and let you know how it goes.

-fish

kansei

I just picked up an EX-L/Navi with an automatic transmission (4-door) in Westchester, NY. The wife wanted a dark blue one with leather. I looked through dealer stock on the 'net and only found two in a 200 mile radius. We picked the dealer 30 miles away and drove there to get the car. They had one without Navi that we would have bought but it had "$1800" of additional equipment on it. They told us they had another one with Navi which we could get much cheaper. We got the price down to $21,250 (MSRP $22,460, invoice 20,660). They did not charge us anything exorbitant above and beyond the regular $50 processing fee, $12 tire disposal fee and destination. Got the 1.9% financing for 36 months (go to the Honda website to print a certificate).

However, the salesperson masterfully opened the trunk lid when I was inspecting the car for dents and scrapes and distracted me so I would not notice a golf ball sized dent and a half inch scratch on the trunk lid. We also waited 2 hours to get the car and it was after 7 PM and getting dark when it finally arrived. Do the math: dark blue car and sunset, it is nearly impossible to see anything wrong with the bodywork. I noticed the dent when I got to my friend's house and called the dealer as they were closing. I was also able to email them a picture of the dent as proof otherwise I'm sure I would have had to pick up the cost of fixing it. My friend picked up his car on a Saturday and went back on Monday to report the car had a scratch and a dent, they would not fix it and said it was his fault.

The dealer took the car back, gave us a loaner and are fixing the damage. I'm not overjoyed that they're doing bodywork on a brand new car, but that's life. I'd rather have this than having to deal with more hassles elsewhere. I still got a screaming deal on a car that's nearly impossible to get. I just wish they told us about the dent; we could have gone home and came back another day instead of waiting around for 2 hours.

mslulu

I purchased 2008 Civic EX Coupe for 18400 today in Pasadena, CA. Made offer via email and then drove to dealership where car was waiting. This was the easiest car purchase ever for me.

dwynne

You are lucky, 99.9% of the time if you don't see it in your pre purchase inspection the dealer is not going to fix it. I bought a Previa once with a "wrinkle" in the door that my wife and I failed to spot until we got home. Since then we go over everything with a "fine tooth comb" before signing any paperwork. I think it annoys the heck out of the dealerships, but that is just too bad.

In any case, enjoy your new car once you get it back. Getting anything off on a Civic these days should be considered a nice deal.

Dennis

fonofidl

Just got an 08 Civic LX MT . 15,600 + 635 dest + 299 "documents"+ 269 DMV + 1092 NJ tax = 17,900 otd. The first two dealers gave me all the lovely song and dance about the Millenium Package and acid rain scary warnings, etc. which was fun. The third guy gave me no baloney and was happy to pop another out the door at the end of his workday. I THINK I did okay. Did I? Anyway, I found this forum helpful. Thanks to everyone!

sandman46

The Sandman

abincom

Is this an OTD price that includes tax, title, and document fees?
That's a good deal.

fisheerman

Well I got the car today. Everything was just as promised.
OTD $17561 LX AUTO CIVIC. Car had 6 miles on it.

Took advantage of the 1.9% financing as well

All in all an excellent deal. I was in and out of the dealer in less than an hour.

Thanks to everyone on this board for the advice.

Also a question that came up. Can a dealer offer any rate they want thru Honda financing? Someone spoke of buying the interest rate down and I was just wonder if the dealer can do this? Say 2.9 to 1.9 to 0.9 like a mortgage

Thanks

fish

grabsjoker

So would I! We went to Goodson West (in Houston) yesterday and the dealer was insistant that we should buy the car from him, at MSRP. I can wait, as I think the prices will go down, or, I will talk it down. After all, a car sold today at less than MSRP is better than a car sold in 2 weeks at MSRP, right?

bensul

If you live close to the Southern California area it maybe worth a try to buy your car from here. There are lots of dealers out there particularly in the Inland Empire/ Riverside/ Victorville areas that are still selling the LX sedan and coupes for around $16100 to $16500. I got mine for $16,400. Just remember that a lot of people out there don't have excellent credit and will not qualify for the low-APR programs that are currently being offered and will buy a used car instead. Never believe what those salespeople tell you because even at below invoice prices they are still making money with incentives from the factory that are not known to the general public. The dealers are the manufacturer's customers so they have to provide them with discounts just like the dealers provides us with discounts to purchase the vehicles on their lots.

backy

Two weeks should not be a problem. But if you wait longer, there's a chance that with Civics selling so well, the 2008s will start getting scarce before the 2009s arrive. What you are waiting for apparently is for the dealer to have "close-out" pricing on the remaining 2008s when the 2009s are coming. That's possible, but it's also possible the 2008s will be nearly gone by then. Kind of a crap shoot. Isn't car buying fun? :sick:

fivil

I'm hoping for the market to fall out as the 09s arrive, but with gas prices still on the up-turn, I kinda doubt that's going to happen in time for when I want to make a purchase. I'm a little rushed because of a $3k incentive my county is giving me to do away with my older polluting car, but I'll buy a Mazda 3 or a Corolla or a Sentra or something else before I buy a Civic at MSRP.

Goodson Honda West was offering the LX autos at about $18,700 OTD just a week and a half ago. And now at MSRP that would equate to right over $20,000 OTD....for an LX!

My hope is that their pool of buyers will dry up real fast at that price point and drop things back into reality.

When will the '09 model make its debut?

cuyseco

Fivil,

Do you live in Dallas-Texas? I am asking because you said about the 3K from your old car.

grabsjoker

God, I hate car buying. Its no fun, at all. Really, no fun....

Still, I was hoping to get a deal around 17500 for an LX, OTD. I think that the prices won't go down much though, as gas is so high people really are switching... I wish my county would pay me to sell my older crappy car, that would be cool as hell.

As for the two weeks thing, I was just saying that if I were a dealer, I would rather sell a car to someone like me, at less than MSRP, rather than waiting for some unknown future buyer (in a day, two days, a week, two weeks, etcetera) to come along and pay MSRP. Does that make sense?

johnbobody

That would make sense if they had to wait that long (2 days, week, etc.) to sell the next car. From what I'm seeing here in the midwest, they can't keep the LX's coming fast enough. Over the last month- since I started my search- the dealers in my area went from having several (10-20+) in stock to just 1 or 2 by the end of each weekend. Really amazing. I think the combo of low rates that were put in place before things started really moving and gas will keep things as they are for the next few weeks.

mplshondadlr

"Never believe what those salespeople tell you because even at below invoice prices they are still making money with incentives from the factory that are not known to the general public."

Do you really think salespeople set out to lie to people everyday? And for that matter, do you really belive that with all of the information available out there that the moment Honda to dealer incentives change they dont get posted here?

It's 2008 - not 1978. Of the 18 saels people here in my dealership, 12 of them have a college degree.

si_chips

I'm in the southbay and I contacted several internet depts of local dealers. None of them were able to match the price of what I got from Manly Honda in Santa Rosa. One of them actually told me there is "no way anyone will sell it to you at that price." It was a 95 miles drive north-ward for me and it was well worth it, not only for the price, but also for the excellent experience (no hassle, friendly customer attention, in and out in less than an hour).

I highly recommend contacting Paul Ciardiello at Manly's internet dept. If you want, you can tell him Allen referred you. Excellent and easy guy to buy a car from. He kept all promises and we were done with the paperwork in less than an hour at the dealership. We got the color we wanted (one of the less common colors) with less than 5 miles on the car.

This past weekend, I just got my LX Sedan Auto ($18390 MSRP) for $16273 (plus taxes @8.25%, doc fees of $55, DMV license/tags = $17865 OTD)

Allen

igloomaster

I'm going in today to negotiate on an 08 Civic LX. Should get it for under 17K - - I'll let you know what happens.

hondafan15

Car buying may be fun if you know the ways of getting the best price. Did you know that you could create a Group Buy and get the best priced offers just because you are not the one who wants to buy the same car?

bensul

Having a college degree has nothing to do with a person being honest and trustworthy. People pay different prices on the same car, why??? It's because people are being taken advantage of when they don't do their homework and know beforehand what the comparable selling price of the car elsewhere. Like everything else, there are good and bad salespeople, but having a college degree has no bearing whatsoever whether that person is honest or not.

ruking1

Well no, just different jobs and goals on opposite sides of the transaction. One side wants to get the price/s as high as possible and up-sell much more if possible. The other side wants to get the price down as low as possible and get stuff thrown in at low to no cost.

fivil

I'm in Houston cuyseco...and wishing I could get pricing like the SF Bay area...

mplshondadlr

"People pay different prices on the same car, why??? It's because people are being taken advantage of when they don't do their homework and know beforehand what the comparable selling price of the car elsewhere."

Lemme get this right - someone pays MSRP is being taken advantage of by a shady salesperson? How so? If Honda feels the value is $18395.00, I as a salesperson do too. I can tell you here in the Minneapolis area there are no Civic LX sedans to be had. Therefore, supply vs. demand plays a huge role in pricing.

That is the problem with these prices paid boards. Southern California is flush with Civic's while the midwest is not. While many people in CA are getting the kinda deals we were offering three months ago but due to obvious reason we can no longer offer those deals. Why? Because if you don't want to pay MSRP, the guy behind you will. I have no problem saying no to an offer. I have told people that I will not sell them a car at the price they found on this very board. And they dont understand why a guy in Atlanta can get it for this price, but he cant. I say to people in a very nice way that it sounds like a great deal and shouldn't cost too much to book a flight to ATL to save $300.00.

Kinda like the boom times in real estate, that 1st open house people were getting several over-list offers on the same day. Those days were know as a "sellers market". Was the real estate agent considered a shady person for taking the highest offer? Now that the market is flush with inventory, it's shifted back to a "buyers market".

Of corse, everyone is a tough guy over the internet, but once there here in person, it's a different story. I have no problem saying no to an offer.

ruking1

While I would not have predicted the timing especially for Honda, on other makes I have done this: perhaps now is the time to consider the cost effectiveness in getting a Honda in other locales, states. As most folks know the actual taxes you pay will be the state/county domicile of the vehicle.

dwynne

I do this all the time . I have leased cars from WI, CT, OH, KY, and GA (3 times). I go where the best deal is and done fly out and drive back, drive out and back, and even getting cars sight unseen via car hauler before. An open car haul on no set schedule can be quite reasonable in price. Go where the dealers will deal and you can save some money as long as you don't have to spend it all in gas, plane tickets, or car haul charges. The difference between invoice and MSRP on most Civic models would pay for a really long haul or lots of gas or a plane ticket and gas.

Dennis

ruking1

Spot on! It is good to get another view.

I was lucky in the last 04 Civic purchase, as the lowest price was literally up the street 5 miles.They even gave me half a tank of fuel to test the car for 24 hours. Filled it up on the close of the eventual deal.

Too bad it is domiciled in CA. (highest taxes in the nation probably, outside of NY)

ruking1

First off, congratulations on your new Civic !! All the best!

However make SURE you get your specific new car issues resolved under the 1 year/12,000 miles new car warranty. Two things I would have done for starters, check the tires balance and front end alignment.

The answer to your question is the rate can and does vary according to the decisions the finance folks/executive/s make/s, BASED on your credit worthiness.