2013 and earlier-Honda Civic Prices Paid and Buying Experience

ruking1

I would not be torn between the Corolla LE and the LX, especially when the LX sounds like it is indeed cheaper. In fact, if the LX cost more I would still chose the LX.

tcoulthart

The dealer incentive is on edmunds.com. It looks like the 2004 Civic LX quote you have includes the incentive. As the invoice price for the automatic is $14,771. Good luck get the 2004 Civic

I have put the link below:

http://www.edmunds.com/new/2004/honda/civic/100344069/incentives.- html?vdp=off&setzip=53716&state=WI&tid=edmunds.n.ince- ntivesmip.incentives.3.6.Honda*

jaa37

Wow--that's a great deal. I just picked up a magnesium 4-door EX with auto tranny and side airbags for $16,167 (the same price I paid last December for a silver one, which got totaled a few weeks ago) including ddestination and not including taxes and tags. Bought from Madison Honda in Jersey. They kept me waiting well over an hour to pick up the car, but the price was competitive, and they had the color I wanted...

jlm1955

What would you do or expect the dealer to do if the new car you were buying had a scratch on the bumper (about the size of half dollar).

Thanks,

isellhondas

to fix the scratch unless the car was bought "as is" cosmetically.

I know we have a "scratch and dent" area. Most of those cars are simply cars we have had in stock for a long time and most of the time, there is no damage on them. They are, however, deeply discounted and sold "as is" from a cosmetic standpoint.

It's funny sometimes watching customers go over every inch of these cars, trying to find out where the "scratch" is!

cooljw

Anyone shopping for one of these? Went to a dealer yesterday, and got them down to $15,900 (includes destination charge - but no taxes/registration fees). What do people think about this price? That's $15,385 vs. the invoice price of $15,775 (when exluding the destination charge).

I used the tips over at www.carbuyingtips.com, and saw the $750 factory-to-dealer incentive on Edmunds. Figuring this all in, the dealer's cost is $14,670 + $515 destination = $15,185 (after taking out the incentive and 2% holdback). So the dealer is still making a good profit.

I didn't buy it, because I figured I should be getting a better deal given that it's a 2004 and the 2005's are rolling in.

wendellh

Hey, I'm trying to purchase a Civic LX automatic and got a quote from directcars.com for $14886. That's WITH the $750 rebate. It seems like folks have purchased the car for less WITHOUT the rebate. Is it customary to negotiate with directcars.com or is that their final price? Also, does anyone have advice about buying a car from out of state and any drawbacks to that? I currenly live in Las Vegas and am trying to buy the car from CA through directcars.com. They kill you in Vegas with that $399 doc fee.

wendellh

ajkivi

My girlfriend recently purchased this model, AT and side airbags for $15,400 OTD. (around 13880 base) No options. Ellicott City, MD. Wondering what other MD and VA buyers are paying.

My impression is buying out of state is no worse than in-state. Maybe a bit of extra paperwork with your DMV. Not sure about out West though.

blueiedgod

Out of state purchase are not any different than in state. You only pay sales tax where you register. If you are getting a better price out of state, go for it. A good dealership will do all the paperwork and will give you temporary carboard or paper tags. A not so good dealership will give you certificate of origin and send you on your way. Then you would have to go to your local DMV and do all the paperwork there and pay the tax.

The $399 doc fee may be negotiable as well.

mbedono

Where can one find the 2005 Civic invoice prices?

wendellh

Thanks for answering. The place I am considering buying this Honda from is going to give me a temporary moving permit. (?) I don't know if that counts as a temporary tag. Do you know if it is possible to negotiate on the price with Cars Direct.com? Their OTD price is better than the local dealers but the base price on the car is higher. Again, it's those rip off doc fees and vehicle theft registration fees that they slap on you here in Vegas. I'll try to see if they're willing to budge with the final OTD price.

jlm1955

This sounds a little high for a 2004, especially a manual. I just got a LX for $13,500. Most of my shopping indicated about a $2K (retail) delta between a LX and EX. If the $15,900 includes the infamous dealer fee then that would bring in line.

scottw

Thank you Edmunds for putting me in control of the buying experience! I just bought a Honda Civic sedan. It is the value package, but I don't know if it is an LX or what. It is an automatic. I think I made a GREAT deal!

I took your true market value, subtracted $750 for dealar cashback ,added $500 as an estimated doc fee and tax to get a overall price just under 15 grand.

I gave that offer to Las Vegas's Desert Honda, but they wouldn't go below $13,800 for the retail price. (That was after they said they couldn't go below their invoice of 14,200)

So last night, Sept. 29th I went to Shack-Findlay and gave my offer to them. They hesitated at first, but when I said I would write the check NOW they agreed. My out the door cost was $14,989.80.

When I got home I discovered that Desert Honda had called and said they wanted to make my deal. I'm going to enjoy calling them to say it's too late!

Thanks again Edmunds. You have been a tremendous help.

ScottW
Las Vegas

elsteef

Nice job Scott. I've been shopping for a Honda in Las Vegas for about 3 months and found it is almost impossible to get a good deal with those ludicrous doc fees. I'm just waitin for the 05's and I'm going to San Diego for mine.
 Enjoy your new car!

bd21

Scott your right, knowledge is power. However, you didn't get the knowledge in this case. You don't even know what car you bought, which is a little scary. Let me help, although you won't be happy with my thoughts. A value package means you bought a DX and sadly you overpaid for it. If it was an LX automatic 4-door sedan, it would have been a reasonable deal for an out-the-door price. You really need to do your research and know exactly what car you are buying next time.

ruking1

In your opinion what would have been a good price?

(leave out tax, license, <they are all probably different state by state, even county by county> doc fee, {doc fee is really the price by the dealer charged to process paperwork, i.e., negotiable})

Kirstie_H

...added $500 as an estimated doc fee and tax to get a overall price just under 15 grand.

Scott seems to indicate that his price included tax and all fees (which seem high in LV). If he's happy with the deal for his area, it seems appropriate to simply say congratulations.

Congrats, Scott! I'm glad you got the car you wanted and that your purchasing experience was relatively hassle-free.

kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host

tcoulthart

I bought a CIVIC LX automatic using Edmunds.com to request quotes. My LX quote was $14,351 and that is what I paid not including the $89 doc fee, Wisconsin Sales tax and Wisconsin title fees. Out the door with everything was $15,341 (car 14,351, doc fee 89, tax 794 title/lic 107)

I also received a quote of $12,808 for the Value Package, (basically a DX with Air conditioning)

ruking1

Often it pays to separate out (and also know) what the additional fees are. If I did the math correctly, WI sales tax is 5.5% This is in stark contrast to a 8.75% in the county where one of the nearest Honda Dealerships is located. But no matter where you buy in CA, you are taxed at the rate of domicile.

scottw

bd21,

If, as you say, that I've overpaid for my Civic value pack, then you must not believe that Edmunds has correct information. As I had said, I used the Edmund's True Market Value for the Civic value pack. (I didn't say it before, but it is the one with side airbags.) The TMV was 14,132. My actual sales price was 13,319.72. Doc fees were 399 and VIN etched glass was 199. Taxes were 1043.80. Grand total was 14,989.80.

So, bd21, how much should I have paid for my "DX with air"?

bd21

Scott, reread your original post. You said you "weren't sure if you bought an LX or what". Now you mention you got side airbags. My point was you didn't know what you bought, so how could you know if you got a good deal? You just bought a year old car, so it should be a great deal, but you paid a price higher than you could have bought the same car for last year.

O.K. here is what you requested. TMV is an average only, it's just a starting point. I've always paid at least $500 less than TMV. You got taken on the window etching! It's worth about 20 bucks and most dealers will give it to you, if you say you won't pay for it. Tax and DOC fees are driven by the state and dealer, so they are not worth talking about. I think you could have got it for $500 less, if you shopped with more accurate research. The dealer still makes a profit, because of holdback. At this time of the year you should expect to buy cars easily below invoice. In the end you bought a great car, so just enjoy it.

elsteef

Scott, I feel your pain when it comes to Honda shopping in Las Vegas. The dealerships DO NOT want to sell these cars at a fair price.
 I just got a quote from Desert Honda 2 days ago on an '04 civic EX, MT, coupe and they wanted $16,200+ $399 Doc+ TTL. I even mentioned the 750 incentive and they (sales general manager) that they were already losing too much on the deal.
 I just walked away...

civic4

Total for the car with auto trans, side bags and in the color I wanted (Fiji Blue Pearl) including all fees and tax was $17557.86

In addition, this dealer extends the factory warranty from 3 yrs 36K to 4 yrs 45K. With the way I put miles on the car for work, this was one of the reasons I purchased from them.

My stepson totaled my '98 A4 1.8T Quattro on a trip home from the local burger place. Initially I was in shock, after all, I had put 150,000 miles on that vehicle and I really did love it, especially in the winter and although it was beginning to "nickle and thousand" me to death, I decided I wanted better mileage and a more dependable vehicle. I'm Looking forward to picking her up tomorrow. My wife wanted me to get another Audi, she has an A6 4.2Q. This car is frightening to drive sometimes, it really jumps from the start, she even says it is a lot of car for her sometimes when she forgets to go light on the gas pedal. Consumer Reports convinced me that the Civic was the best choice. I feel even if she never really loves the car, she will grow to respect it for its phenomenal value.

scottw

bd21,

The reason I titled this string "Knowledge is power" was because thanks to Edmunds I new what Civics were going for, and the dealer cash back incentive. That gave me the ability to know a reasonable deal. The first price the dealer gave me was $16,000 for the retail price, and I laughed at it.

When I said I didn't know which type of Civic I bought I was only confused that it didn't have a suffix like the DX. I knew I was getting a four-door automatic sedan value pack, but I wasn't sure if there was an easier way to say that.

I am really confused about part of your reply where you said that I " ...paid a price higher than you could have bought the same car for last year." Are you saying that last year the '04 Civic value pack went for less than it is selling for now?

As far as being "taken" on the etched glass, that would have shown up on the deal no matter what I paid. My offer did not include it. They just adjusted the retail lower. My offer guessed at the doc fee and was over by $100, so if I made a mistake that's where it was.

Perhaps you could have saved another five hundred, but I know that I could have done a lot worse than I did.

bd21

Yes you could have paid much more and many people do. Edmunds is a great source and if you use all of its sources, you will do better than most when you buy a car. I've been looking at Edmunds & Carpoint daily for many years. Reading the posts, which I have done on all Hondas for several years gives you some very good insight.

Back in Nov, Dec 03 and Jan 04 there was up to a $1000 dealer incentive on Civics, although most dealers were only getting around $500. I bought my LX for $700 under invoice in Jan 04, so yes you could buy a car for as good or even better deal than now. The bonus was you had a newer car.

guccigirl04

why is there such a huge price difference between states? shouldn't it that the TTL be the only variable components in the OTD price? how can we overcome such price differences? how should we go about haggling with a dealer such that we can buy the car in CA within the price range offered in other states like NC, FL, MD, TX, etc.?

guccigirl04

since the 2005s have come out, how much are the 2004 civic lx's selling for now?

shall it vary depending on the state?

i've tried comparing real life/actual prices (based on recent posts) with carsdirect prices in their respective states and it has always come out that CA has the least CD price but people from the central/east coast have been getting their civics for much less than we can get it here at CA. why is that? something's amiss. will someone pls tell me?

sorry if my last 2 posts are related. it's just so strange to me. need someone to help me figure.

jaa37

Which dealer was this? Also, do you happen to know what your price breakdown was (i.e., sales price, taxes, fees)? Just curious...

civic4

Breakdown as you requested: I Purchased the car at "Honda of Watertown", The "Lorenson" auto group) They extend the warranty to 4 yrs, 45,000 miles on any new Honda you buy at no charge. First service is free, first ding repaired at no cost (within a certain period of time) and you get a loaner when your car is in for major work over $200.

2004 Civic EX with side airbags automatic with destination $16,202

Dealer Conveyence Fee $279

Tax $988.86

Transfer of plates $88.00

NOTE: The dealer initially had the selling price at $16,352 with conveyance fee of $279. I protested stating the conveyance fee at Curtiss Ryan Honda was only $159. He agreed to subtract another $150 from the selling price of the car,

muppet

I have a quote for a 2004 Civic VP for $12,400. Taxes, etc add up to $13,200 ish, I just want to know if I'm getting a fair shake?

Thanks!

bd21

Since we don't know what exactly you are buying it'd hard to say. Specifics would help like 4-door, automatic and any options on the car. Include all fees they want except state tax. Also, destination is part of the regular purchase price, so make sure it's included.

ruking1

Two weeks ago, I picked up 2004 Civic VP, Satin Silver, 4 door, automatic, destination, full tank of fuel,. The price was virtually the same as your quote. Doc fee 45. Tax and licence are peculiar to each state.

jbush

Hi,
I was looking to buy new 2004 Civic Lx. But I found a private seller selling 2004 Civic LX w/ side air bag ,5500 miles, for $14600 in Michigan. I have not yet negotiated price with him.
My question is
a)will it be cheaper to buy this used (almost like new) 2004 civic than buying a new one?
b)how much should I bargain for? Edmunds site does not have used card pricing for 2004

thanks in advacne-jb

bd21

That is very close to what I paid for my new LX in Jan 04, so I would say that is definetly way too much for a year old used car.

cptsesso

We paid $14700 for 4dr, LX, auto, no side airbags in June. Your price seems too high for used.

Something else to consider is if you are financing, you will get a much higher interest rate on used than new.

stglock

Paid 14740 + TTL + full tank of gas here at the bay area

need_info

I just read #1292, jaa37 from connecticut who wrote the cost he paid for a 04 Civic EX w/side airbags w/ destination was $16,202. I tried to to duplicate that price on edmunds.com. I keyed in a zip of 06779 (Watertown CT) and edmunds.com gives a "total with options" (includes destination, 4 door, automatic) of $17,555 (TMV-what others are paying). How can you buy this car $1,353 less then what edmunds says to buy it for? Please tell me what I'm missing. Thanks!!

allun8888

I just bought a brand new Civic 2004 EX with side air bag at New Jersey for $16,100, plus $500 for Lo-jet.

blueiedgod

check out http://www.carsdirect.com

They have 2004 Civic EX for $16,082

http://www.carsdirect.com/build/options?zipcode=06779&acode=U- SB40HOC023D0&restore=false

mthexuma

I paid 15,994 for my Civc EX 4-door automatic w/o aribags. This was the best price out of dealers in the area. - I live on Long Island. The only other things I paid was tax and DMV license plate fee. I got an amazing deal.

pintochinto

Recently bought a 2004 Honda Civic LX, 4DR, AT for $14,300. By the way, if your buying your Honda in Silicon Valley go to either Los Gatos Honda or Palo Alto Honda. The rest of the honda dealers (specially the one in sunnyvale and the one in capitol, san jose) are bunch of cheats.

need_info

I'm the one who wrote #1300 asking how to get a lower price. cardirect.com is a great help. That's for telling me about it. Did you give the dealership the print-out and they agreed to that price? Thanks again.

blueiedgod

Did you give the dealership the print-out and they agreed to that price? Thanks again.

If you are just going for the "price match" why not buy it from the website? They will refer you the dealer that sells it at that price. If you have trade-in, then your best bet is to have a dealer "price match" carsdirect. I have always been able to negotiate a better deal without bringing carsdirect print out. Check out Inconsiderate buyers thread in the Smart shopper Forum. Carsdirect is out there in the open with their pricing, and they would lose business because a dealer would match it or beat it by $50. If you are comfortable with their pricing, buy from them.
You can service your car at any Honda dealership, and in extreme cases at Acura dealer. You don't have to have your car serviced at the dealer you bought it from. You may not get free loaner or free oil changes if you take it to a more convinient dealer, but also consider the quality of work the shop is doing. Not all dealerhip service stations are created equal.

civic4

Dear need-info

That is what the car went for. Civic EX automatic with side airbags. I think I did pretty well. I emailed the dealer, told them I was serious about buying within the next month and was researching the net for this car and described this site which posted what people were paying from around the country. His first email back to me was a price of $16,352 which was droped another$150 when I said I was not happy with the dealer conveyance fee of $290, He said his manager OK'd the additional discount because he wanted to increase the "end of the month numbers" for September. Remember, there is currently a $750 Honda incentive. I do not know if that is figured in the Edmund's "what others are paying" price. Good luck. I live in Orange CT and bought in Watertown basically for the deal and the extended warranty they offer for free.

civic4

The car listed on cars direct.com link listed above is a manual transmission, mine is automatic. This would account for a price difference.

blueiedgod

The car listed on cars direct.com link listed above is a manual transmission, mine is automatic. This would account for a price difference.

The manual is listed for $15,125
Add auto, it is $15,854
Add side airbags, it is $16,082

You can not send Java generated options in the link, sorry. You have to chose your options once you open the link.

need_info

To blueidgod & civic4
Thanks to both of you for your insight. I don't have a trade in and I like the price. I'm in northwest Ohio but I buy in Toledo, 50 miles away because the local dealer won't deal. I see my price for a 04 Civic EX w/side airbags, 4DR, auto and destination is $16,397. All I want to add it back mud flaps. Yea, I don't take my car to the dealer I buy from, that's not a problem. And yea, I see the $750 incentive, that's why I like the price. I'll let you two know in a couple of days how I did......thanks!!

civic4

To need_info:

I've had the car for about a week now and like it alot. Just a couple of things that need to be adjusted which I will wait for the 5000 mile oil change.

The sunroof makes a slight rattle when opened, the driver side rear A pillar vibrates to the bass on the radio, I have a slight clicking sound in the steering column when I fully turn the steering wheel.

Good luck on your buying venture.

blueiedgod

rear A pillar LOL

That would be a C pillar in the Civic, if it is by the rear glass. And the vibrations are probably due to losely mounted decorative cover on it. It is held in place with clips. See if you can pop it in place. The sunroof rattle is probably the shade not the glass it self.

confusedtoo

How do I find if Honda is offering an incentive on what I am interested in---a 2005 Honda Civic EX Special Edition. Currently what I've researched shows an INV of 16687
                        plus 515 for DEST
                 coming to 17202
I don't want to pay any more than I have to and and don't want to play games
Is $200 over this INV of 17202 a reasonable offer?
What about this $750 incentive I see people talking about?