Honda Accord Coupe

bowke28

to the wife comment...

as a honda salesperson, i see it all the time, except its usually the wife wanting the coupe and the hubby being the 'practical' one.

robertsmx

Naah. In my case, wife wanted 4-doors and I wanted to keep my Prelude. She won. Now, I'm staring at TSX (somehow, will have to convince her to get the 6-speed).

anonymousposts

I could only dream of having that much influence in my boyfriend's decisions. He wanted a coupe he was going to get a coupe no matter how much I liked the sedan. Luckily I like them both equally and he let me drive it tonight so all is well.

mai510

I was quoted $21,000 for a new honda accord coupe ex-l...manual tranny. Do any of you guys
think this is a good deal?

bowke28

you're not much above invoice, and on a car as hard to get as that, i would consider it a great deal. dont cheapen your experience by worrying about a few dollars. get your car and enjoy it.

anonymousposts

sounds like a VERY good deal to me. Invoice is $21,158 so I would go for it. As long as that price isn't contingent on an astronomical dealer fee or a low ball trade.

wpb03cpe

i was quoted $27,446 for exv6 with navi
The TMV is $26,190

maxamillion1

The reason Honda doesn't have body-colored mud guards is because on the DX and LX (the best sellers.) the lower body trim (panels below the doors) are black, and not body colored. Body-colored guards wouldn't look right with black lower body trim. Now, if I get the Accord EX, I'm having my mudguards painted to match the body, they look SOOO much better body-colored.

Oooo. CONGRATS on your new Accord!!!!!!!

martylaw

Took delivery on a graphite V6 EX Coupe last week. The car is beautiful, very sleek looking, and the interior is outstanding. As everyone says, the Honda switchgear is high quality, and the large center button controlling various functions is very handy, particularly if you're wearing gloves. I had the Honda foglights installed, and I think they add a lot to the looks of the front end (particularly if the car is graphite or black, as the surround blends in very well), and they do throw off some useful extra light. haven't driven it much yet, due to a rattle that required a visit to the dealer, but is now fixed, and some bad weather here, but i am looking forward to putting some miles on it. I was initially concerned about the low seating position, but you get used to it very quickly, and it is quite comfortable. One negative is that the passenger seat is manual, without a height adustment, and the seat heater does not extend to the seatback. The dual control heater is pretty neat though, and keeps the passenger happy.

bowke28

hopefully, i dont get booted from the discussion for this, but TMV isnt the ONLY price to buy the car. it's a general average of selling prices to date, which means you need lower and higher to get that #. understandably, everyone wants to be on the lower end, but if you like the car, can afford the price/payments, and its available immediately, i would pull the trigger. you can probably brow-beat the dealer for more of a discount, but thats up to you. i find pressing over a few hundred dollars to cheapen the experience, but its up to you.

rip off? no, not a rip off....a rip off would be a dealer asking $32000 for the car, and they're not.

1blueguitar

I have been driving my new silver EX I-4 Accord coupe for about a week now, and overall, I am very pleased with the way this car handles. However, I was a little reluctant to go with the I-4 since my previous car was a V6. The I-4 does not overwhelm with power; cruise-control is a little unresponsive, it seems to me, as if the engine first needs to summon up its energy to make the move from 40 to 60 mph. Even so, I will cruise at 60-plus without exceeding 2000 rpm, so it appears that there is a decent reserve of power there if I should need it. I would also like to add that in my opinion, the spoiler adds much to the beauty of this Accord coupe. The coupe's rear-end without the spoiler looks quite naked and rather "chopped-off". I can't speak for the sedan, however, as the sedan and the coupe are very different, as far as the the outward appearance are concerned. The coupe's futuristic design is stunning, imo, while the sedan's is just "ho-hum".

gfreeburn

Hello all!

After a long wait, my auto-dimming rearview mirror arrived and was dealer installed in my new V6 coupe. Unfortunately, it is VERY loose - so loose that it rattles. The dealer claims that there is no adjustment but is checking with Honda Technical for a possible fix.

Anyone else have any experience with this accessory?

anonymousposts

Ours is tight and we have heard no rattles. It actually seems a little tighter than the original mirror.

eptrail

Earlier in this board someone mentioned that they were going to have the splash guards painted the same color of the car. I have a satin silver 03 EX V6. How would I go about getting the black splash guards painted? Who would stock the paint?

Thank you.

dmbst68

I need some opinions...Here's the deal:
I'm leasing a 2002 Acura RSX (Auto, Leather). According to some discussions I've read, I have one of the most sought after combinations: Eternal Blue Pearl w/ Leather and Automatic. I leased my car in 09/2001, before any of the awesome low interest rates came out. Had the great interest rates been available then, I'd have bought my car. My car is in great condition, other than it needs a wash due to our bad weather.

Anyways, I love the Accord Coupe V-6 Automatic. As of January 25, the payoff figure for my RSX is $19,648, which is good until February 4. According to the NADA website, my car's average trade-in is $18,175. Invoice for the Accord I like is $23,764.

1. Does Honda have that great 3.49% financing going on? If so, when does it expire?
2. Is it reasonable to ask for invoice? The Honda dealer gets his holdback & other incentives, plus they'd have a great car for resale.
3. Are there any recommended Pittsburgh dealers? I don't want gimmicks, like "dealer prep", etc.

Basically, if I could get a good deal on my RSX & a great price on the Accord, I'd jump on it. I love my RSX, don't get me wrong. I just want to take advantage of any deals out there.
 
- Any input would be greatly valued. Thanks in advance!!

maxamillion1

I am thinking about having the guards painted body colored on my car if I get the new Accord, if I get the Altima, I won't have to worry about that.

My aunt's boyfriend works at a body shop in my area, he told me he would paint them for me if I wanted him to.

atlantabenny

Try calling American Honda Finance and ask them for a "lease assumption" arrangement where someone else continues the RSX lease.

I believe they give this accommodation in meritorious cases, especially where the new lessee passes AHFC's credit criteria and you're starting a new AHFC installment or lease plan on the 03 Accord.

Worst case, the original lessee might have to continue as "co-lessee" if the replacement lessee doesn't pass credit.

maxhonda99

dmbst,

HOnda doesn't have 3.9% on the Accord right now.

You may be able to get invoice but I doubt it. It's all about supply and demand-if the car is in demand, you're going to pay over invoice. And i think coupes are in pretty high demand, so you will not be able to buy for invoice.

bowke28

we have plenty of coupes...too many, as a matter of fact. but i have yet to see one sell for less than $500 over.

dmbst68

Where is your dealership located?

dmbst68

Here's the only reply I've received thus far:

"I could certainly give you a great deal on the Accord but I think the problem would be your lease. We could not give you the $19,000+ that you would need to get out of it. Kelley shows it at $15,300 in "good" condition. Also, a lease cannot be traded so the car could not be purchased outright without a sizeable loss. That is not unusual for a lease early term."
 
- Is this dealer correct? I thought buying the lease from me for the blue book value was the same as if they were buying someone's personally owned vehicle.

Any opinions out there? Should I just give up or pursue my original idea? (see post #385)

mikek37

To a dealer, the Kelly Blue Book isnt worth the paper it is printed on. Unfortunately dealers on a whole laugh at the book when you quote a price from it.

s852

It is always very expensive to get out of a lease that early. Maybe if you were trying to get out just a couple months early it would be different.
You have to be really sure you want the car for the term you sign up for.
You cannot get of it early and still end up "ahead" no mater how low the financing is on a new Accord.
On a lease, each payment is the minimum amount needed to pay off the amount of depreciation you financed by the last payment, so that's why the payments are cheaper. However, you will be upside down in the contract all the way until the very last paymentis made.
If you purchased, each payment is going towards paying off the entire loan, so you will have equity at some point before you make the last payment (unless you have a car that will have a value of $0 at the last payment), but each payment will be higher if the term is the same number of months as a lease.
If you get a great deal purchasing a car that ends up with very good resale value, you could finance for 60 months and be able to sell the car for more than you owe after 24 months and have lower payments than you would have had on a 24 month lease. However, you are taking a risk because you cannot be sure what you will be able to sell it for at the time you buy it. If you lease, the resale value has already pre-negotiated, but you need to be wiling to stick with it.

atlantabenny

The dealer may be essentially correct because your lease was presumably based on MSRP, making the car's briefly-depreciated book value still higher than its current market value.

Thus, asking the dealer to buy back the leased car from the lease company in this scenario will not work - the dealer needs to buy the car lower than market value so it can resell it at a profit.

A feasible alternative is to have the lease company accept a lease assumption (see post #387) by a credit-worthy person.

As you might imagine, you or the dealer will need to seek this person out, and there might just be someone out there who needs a shorter-than-usual lease deal.

Otherwise, the long-shot, complex and expensive remedy is to have the dealer buy back the car at the lease company's price and load the difference onto your new car. With this route, your cost-reducing actions involve negotiating the lowest possible buy-back price from the lease company and the highest possible buy-back price by the dealer.

Then again, simply talking with your lease company about your objective could minimize the issues.

Just remember the important things working for you when negotiating: car dealer wants to sell you a car, and same lease company wants to get your new installment loan business.

Good luck.

tblazer503

according to the blackbook, your trade should be "worth" about low to mid 16's ... According to Edmunds TMV, it looks like its probably worth about 15's...

The dealer can buy your car for blue book value.
They will usually give you ACV(actual cash value) which is usually about a g less than book used since they will have to clean it up, inspect, certify, etc the car. Even if the dealer gave you book, he would still have to pay off the lease in full. You would pay the difference. So you would be owing about 3-4k on your car still. You could roll that into the new loan(up to a certain amount depending on the bank) or you could pay in cash. The problem with leasing(from what I see) is that you are basically "borrowing" the car from the bank, and paying for the depreciation of the vehicle. If you return early, they lose money on all the future intrest you would have paid, and they are stuck with a car that is now worth "15's" while the note is still for 19k.

Another thing you could try to do is to sell the car outright. Problem is that you will have to pay the negative equity upfront to get the title. Heck, you could probably buy one now for about 500 or so over invoice (21k) which is something you have to consider.

You would probably be better off keeping the car until the end of the term, then trading it in. I will guess that the residual is probably about 13k or so on the 48mo lease and the way it's falling, it looks like it won't be worth the residual, so you will most likely be either negotiating if you buy it, or trading it then. If it's a 36mo, you are almost halfway there.

Good luck

teenboy13

Has anyone noticed that now on the honda website that they have revised the build your own section? For the coupe they added the 6 speed and the navigation systems.

bowke28

location: louisville, KY if you look us up, use 40299 zip code. (this is not an advertisement, im responding to a question)

book value has VERY LITTLE to do with actual market value of cars. most dealers use it this way:

lowest book value,
subtract reconditioning/prep
subtract 90 days worth of depreciation

the last deduction is meant so if the dealer isnt able to sell the car in 3 months(some go longer, some shorter), then they will be close to what it brings at auction.

atlantabenny

As it applies to trades, it's a confirmation why trade values are so low, and more than 90% of the time it's better to sell to private buyers. The $500 or so in sales tax savings is more than recovered from a private party sale.

gee35coupe

It's $700 per $10,000 in value. Sometimes the tax saving plus the peace of mind you are rid of the car are worth it.

atlantabenny

I agree with gee35coupe for cases like when I traded in Nov 02 my wife's 99 Accord for an 03. Dealer took the 99 at private party price because being a Honda dealer, it could sell the trade easier.

A more recent experience (Jan 03) was the basis for my post #398:

1) Goal: Sell 99 Montero Sport & buy 00 Acura TL for $20k

2) Option A: Dealer takes Montero trade for $10k . Total Cost: $20k Acura - $10k trade + (6% tax x difference of purchase & trade) = $10.6K

3) Option B: Sold Montero privately for $13.5k. Total Cost: $20k Acura - $13.5k cash x (6% tax x $20k Acura) = $7.7k

4) Savings: $2.9k

It seems that when it's a same-brand transaction, trades could be higher but not so for different brands.

gee35coupe

bowke28

i always tell my customers that its a personal choice whether you think a few days/weeks/months of advertising, test driving, negotiating, and taking phone calls are worth the difference. you are basically paid for your time working on it with the difference. if they decide to sell it, fine with me...less work. but most of the time, probably 9 out of 10 times, they decide on convenience over extra cash. quite frankly, i wouldnt do this job if i weren't paid for it, so i really wouldnt expect someone else to either. besides...most private buyers expect to spend LESS than retail on a private party deal, so you may end up with alot less of a difference. then again, you may rip someone's head off and make some serious coin. personal choice.

s852

It depends on what kind of car you have. Some cars are easy to sell on your own and some are not. It is probably harder to sell a $20,000 car where you have to worry about buyers getting financing than a $3000 car that they would probably pay cash for.
Also, the difference in what a dealer gives you is so large that you can sell for less to a private party and still make quite a bit.
For instance a car that the dealer would sell for on their lot for $15,000, they might give you $9K as the trade in value in and you could sell it on your own for $12k.
The private party buyers will expect to pay less, but you can sell it for less, but still a lot more that you would get for trade-in value.
If t is taking months to sell the car, then it is way overpriced. If you advertise any car for anywhere near the trade-in value, it would be sold to a private party in one weekend, not weeks or months.

atlantabenny

Negotiated last weekend on a 2001 Acura CL: dealer's final price was $20.9k; Edmunds' trade value was $16.0k for a potential $4.9k mark-up.

Dealer then offered $10.5k for my 00 Solara, which Edmunds says they can retail for close to $15k. Gross profit on trade: $4.5k.

Total potential mark-up on both transactions: $9.4k less $1.0k reconditioning = $8.4k.

Dealer's investment on both cars: $16k trade on Acura CL and $10.5k trade on my Solara = $26.5k.

Gross profit as a percentage: 31.6% or $8.4k / $26.5k.

If dealer turns this kind of business (trade & sell pre-owneds) every 90 days, this 31.6% gross profit quadruples to 126.4% in one year !!!

Minus operating costs, my guess is that the dealer still makes a hefty profit from used car trading. And it won't be surprising if this portion of their business represents 2 of the 3 legs of their stool.

bowke28

there is not much markup in new cars these days...30 years ago, it was 25-30%, and at most now around 8-10%. as a salesperson, used cars is my bread and butter. for volume, i can sell new cars all day, but my actual paycheck comes from commission on used cars. average USABLE profit on most used cars is around $3000-$3500 with some exceptions. if a dealer did not sell used cars, then, yes, 2 of the 3 legs would crumble, and new cars alone cannot sustain business for very long.

atlantabenny...31.6% over 90 days, extended for a year, is still 31.6%. the % doesn't change, just the bottom line $.

one of my main points for discussing trade vs. sell is that people who choose the more convenient path STILL gripe and complain. if you actively choose to give up $ for convenience, then you should expect less money. if it is THAT MUCH of a problem, i tell folks to call the newspaper. one guy even called right from my office...lol.

fact is, noone minds a dealer making money, they just dont want it made on THEM. a retail establishment makes money by buying for market wholesale, and selling for as much as possible. this is not gouging, it's business.

atlanta...the dealer IS NOT making $4500 on YOU. they are trying to make it on the person that eventually buys your car. you can't assume they just made $4500 on you, since very likely, they wont sell it at sticker price. the profit is on the buyer, not you. YOU chose to trade in rather than sell it yourself, so the percepted loss is on you.

atlantabenny

1) Topic: 31.6% Gross Profit/90 days = 126.4% Gross Profit/360 days

Illustration:

a) one starts off with $10k to buy and trade a car
b) suitable car is bought and after 90 days, car is sold for $13,1600 (gross profit: $3,160 on this transaction; remaining $10k is used to buy another car)
c) repeating a) & b) 4 times during the year, one still uses the initial $10k seed money but accumulates $3,160 Gross Profit/sale each 90 day period or quarter
d) $3,160 x 4 quarters = $12,640 Gross Profit
e) Gross Profit % = $12,640/$10,000 or 124.6%

Hope I didn't miss anything here.

2) Topic: "you can't assume they just made $4500 on you"

Didn't assume this at all; my bottom line was if one opts to trade, then one opts out of the opportunity to acquire an additional amount potentially available from a private party sale.

That the dealer makes $4.5k from the case presented was intended to stress the familiar "buy low/sell high" principle of trading.

And taking it further, how the car buyer can use this knowledge to negotiate more for his/her trade.

To a dealer, the job is considered well done if the trade is bought at the lowest price and is later sold at the highest amount, and that's perfectly understandable, even expected.

But you see where I'm coming from - I'm here to present viewpoints that consumers can consider to be informed car buyers. And the beauty of our system is the freedom of choice intersecting with the freedom of speech/information.

spleck

a retail establishment makes money by buying for market wholesale, and selling for as much as possible. this is not gouging, it's business.

The car market works differently than most other markets--that's the source of most consumer's frustration. When I go to Wal-Mart, I don't see them trying to charge $0.75 for candy with an MSRP of $0.59. They don't try to charge me for shipping and distribution, or the cost of the sales flyer (advertising), etc. In fact, Wal-Mart only charges me $0.44. Yet Wal-Mart makes more profit than the gas station across the street charging $0.59 or $0.75.

Car sales seem to work on the principal that money should be made NOW, all at once, and from one person. Or they work on the principal that they can charge a whole lot of money to most people to make up for some people getting a good deal.

The market is ripening for change--although it may still be a long way off. Operations like carsdirect.com are an example of some of that going on. The trend towards lower markup is another sign.

atlantabenny: Your example would be further influenced by the fact that once the dealer has sold 4 cars, he can buy 2 at a time... It's still a confusing because if you took overall sales (52640) and overall costs (40000) then you would come back to 31.6%. Reminds me of a math trick: http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.missing.dollar.html

atlantabenny

I used the wrong term - it should be Return On Investment instead of Gross Profit Margin. My apology for the confusion.

spleck

okay, I knew there had to be a distinction between the numbers. Makes sense now.

atlantabenny

Interesting quiz - got me whirring there for a minute.

spleck

Does anyone have any dates yet, and what area are you in?

I heard some places were getting them Feb 3 and that the release is Feb 7. One person said they were picking it up Feb 10.

So far the dealers I've talked to don't even have VINs yet.

unclebruno

We took delivery of a black ex V6 a couple of weeks ago, in the middle of a blizzard. We'd looked at most of the cars at this price level and many less expensive ones too. The Coupe is loaded. In the end, we found ourselves comparing all of them to the Honda Coupe. Pretty easy decision in the end! Our toughest choice was between the 4 cyl manual or V6 auto. My wife usually drives the car and she said she was happy with the 4. We went for long back to back test drives in both (4 cyl first of course!), and ended up buying my choice- the V6. She now admits that she really likes the extra power, but we may have to upgrade the radar detector. The car is so smooth and quiet it is too easy to be well over the limit without noticing. The car handles great in the snow, the traction system got a workout the first week. The streets are a little drier, and the car is broken in now, so we can pick up the pace a bit. Left a BMW 3 series in the dust last night at a stop light. The car has loads of power, handles great, people stare at it all the time. With the tint on the back, it looks very sleek. We thought of getting the spoiler, but don't think it adds much to the sleek look. We find ourselves still looking back to admire it after parking it. We'll need another vehicle in about 6 months, and the Accord sedan just went to the top of the list. My only criticism so far is that the steering wheel cruise and audio controls should be dimly illuminated or have phosphorescent paint - can't see them in the dark. Great car, and one we expect to enjoy for a long time.

unclebruno

Does anybody have an opinion on paint sealants? Is there value in them? Any particular brands better? I want to protect the finish on my black 2003 Coupe.

krillin

Hey all,

Do any of you know if body-colored splash guards are offered anywhere for the '03 Accord?

s852

I think lighting it would look tacky (very Pontic Grand Prix-ish) and you shouldn't be trying to read that tiny lettering while driving anyway.
You can feel the audio and cruise controls on the wheel just like you can feel the turn signal stalk in the dark without it needing to be lit or glowing.

unclebruno

You're right s852, I shouldn't be reading the controls while driving, and that wasn't the plan. I don't read the window, seat heater, mirror or any any of the other dozens of switches either, but the orange glow helps me find them without taking my eyes off the road. I also have the choice to dim or eliminate all those glowing switches, except the steering controls. The steering controls are several and small, and hard to locate in darkness. Maybe when I know the car inside out it willbe easier to find the right control first time in the dark. It's a small thing, I really like this car.

aming

Paint sealants: I definetly plan on getting it done. I've seen the difference with and without it and I personally would get one done on my car. Just have to find a good one that you don't have to pay every year to "reapply it". Lustre Glaze is one of my favourites. Dealerships sometimes carry this brand.

maxamillion1

I wish they were though.

silverk21

unclebruno - you wil get used to the controls. I have had my coupe for about 3 months and have really got used to them - a great feature. I don't think I have ever pressed any station buttons on the head unit itself. Strictly use the remotes. I do agree however, that it would be nice if they had a sutle glow. Also, as someone else mentioned, it would be nice if they had a control to change the disks. Enjoy your new coupe.

bowke28

...you shouldnt negotiate your best price. by all means. just dont take it personal.

all im saying is that there shouldnt be the outright hatred for dealers that there is by so many. this confrontationalism by some of the buying public is something that needs to be addressed as well. sure, it protects you from pushy salesmen, but it also alienates a good one, thus perpetuating the buyers attitude. you can be pleasant AND keep your distance. get an attitude as a RESPONSE to a pushy salesman. this way, you will be surprised to find the good ones.