I don't understand how can some Honda dealers ask for MSRP for the 2008 Civic? They claim low inventory but almost all the dealers have at least a dozen of them in stock. There is no waiting list for the Civic. I know some dealers even hide some Civic in the back and only show 2-3 to the customers at a time.
No, mis-information doesn't help, nor does the opinion of a Honda sales rep that Civics are "well worth MSRP." Civics are worth what the marketplace says they are worth. It's a market that includes lower-priced competitors. If you haven't noticed from this discussion, lots of people are buying Civics for less than MSRP. That will be tougher to do as more people turn to small cars and the supply of 2008s dries up. But it is nice to know that you don't get pleasure telling buyers that they will need to pay full MSRP, or above, for their Civics, even though it means more profit for your dealership. No doubt you would prefer to give everyone a 10% discount, if you could.
I'm just telling you what the current market is like.
At a recent Honda auction 2007 Civics were getting 2008 MSRP prices from dealers. These dealers will then have to pay to transport them, inspect them and they will mark them up from there.
I've never seen a market turn like this.
And, you're right. The market will always determine prices.
As a Honda owner since 1989, I must say our new 08 Civic LX is the best Honda we've ever owned. This car does leaps & bounds over my '90 Civic, my '99 Civic, and our '02 Accord. The 16" tires & improved suspension make a HUGE difference in ride and handling. ABS = awesome. I LOVE THIS CAR!! Seats are WAY improved as well. Love the height adjustment on the driver's side. Nice lumbar support - very comfy. This car makes a lot of sense. Everything well laid out/displayed. Easy to use. Nice amount of trunk space, as always. This is a lot of car for the price. And as we've always done - we'll be driving this for many years to come.
The MARKET determines the price...There is no conspiracy....No theft....Just free hand economics.....There are fewer civics in the popular models because now that gas is $4.00 people have realized this is here to stay and they are changing their priorities when it comes to what they drive. Civics are a best in class economy car...Demand has risen suddenly...Demand goes up and unless supply goes with it....so do prices........No conspiracy.......It happens when hot new models come out as well....remember when the Acura TL came out.....Same thing MSRP for the first few months....Supply and demand that's all.......However, having a good relationship with your dealer helps....
I just signed for an EX-L Navi...Auto.....21,800 + TTL....NO fees.....And, my dealer spent a week locating the car and negotiating a trade for it.......Normally he sells to me at cost...But in this market this was the best he could do.....I have NO problem with that...Last time I checked there were no crosses hanging over the dealerships.......They are their to earn a paycheck and turn a profit.....Would you go to work for no $$.......
What if everyone who put there purchase price on this blog breaks it down to an easy to compare break down,i.e car price $18000 dealer fee $250 tax 7% Tag&Tittle $255 total out the door price$
this would make it so much easier to compare car price and dealer fees. Also think these dealer fees should be explained in detail by the dealers. they vary from $50- 400 Why?
As coincidence would have it, the cnet automotive podcast for last week is titled "Car Tech 72: Just TRY to find a Civic or a Corolla in these $4 days!". You can listen or subscribe free via itunes and the link to that cast as an mp3 is here.
For two days last week, Honda dealer Rene Isip stalked the lanes at the Manheim auto auction in Orlando, Fla., in search of used Civic and Fit cars for his store in Katy, Texas.
Isip's dealership, one of the top 100 Honda stores in the nation, was almost depleted of new ones.
"We're out of Fits," he said, "and our days supply of Civics is in the single digits."
Getting used models was brutal, too.
"I'm standing here looking right now," he told Automotive News via cell phone. "A 1-year-old used Civic is running about $1,000 over sticker of a brand new 2008. And the dealers are paying it."
So lest anyone was thinking you were just some car dealer telling them some story, they can go read all about it for themselves.
Bought 08 Civic LX Auto Sedan at invoice this afternoon. The dealer has a large selection of Civics in stock and I got the color I have been looking for. On the flip side, the dealer added a pro pack, wheel lock and tinted windows. The total is still about $500 lower than the MSRP ($18,430). I also got a reasonable deal on the trade-in at the blue book trade value. The total process took 2 hours (from the minute I walked into the dealer to the time I drove the new Civic away).
From reading this forum, seems as if some buyers are (still) getting "invoice pricing" on new Civics while others are getting MSRP quotes. Is this a regional phenomenon? Or is it because some dealers have more coming in from the factory than others? Just curious. Also wonder what will occur once the special financing goes away after the 7th of July.
Interestingly, I recall that starting in the 1999 model year the first Honda-build Odyssey was selling at MSRP--mainly because supply couldn't match demand based on production limitations; once the Alabama plant came on line (late 2002/early 2003?) Odysseys suddenly starting appearing on dealer lots en masse and prices went south. I reckon the moral of the story is that dealers aren't going to "deal" when they can't keep the model in stock.
I am looking for a 2008 Civic LX-Auto in NYC area. I was quoted a price of $17,169 (inlcuding dest.) plus tax and DMV fees of $160 (no dealer prep. fees). What is a reasonable OTD price for this car in the NYC area? Also do you think Honda will extend the low financing? Thanks.
"if your a AAA or Costco member you can get a no haggle price. usually a few hundred bucks under the msrp for those looking for a deal."
Only works if the dealer actually contacts you back. Both my friend and I (living in two different states) have found that if you make a request about a car that is in high demand, they often won't reply to you.
Lest folks think I am a "dealer hugger" I should point out I don't have a lot of sympathy for the dealers.
Why?
Say last year it took a dealer from May to August to move 800 Civics - all they were allotted for the time frame. A lot of these may have been sold well off of MSRP or just over invoice.
This year the "poor dealer" moved 700 in May and June and has to wait for the others to come in to sell them and they are getting at or near MSRP for all of them.
In both cases they will sell 800 Civics, but in this year's case they make more money per unit and sell more of them earlier in the year. In an ideal world they would get an unlimited supply and could sell 1,600 by August - but they are limited to the current production and their allotment of 800 Civics. So while the sales folks may have little to do down the road they are blowing out cars now and making more money than last year.
So "poor dealer" indeed .
The flip, flip side is that all the other products on the lot may not be selling as well so by the end of the model year total sales may actually be down compared to last year.
Sorry for getting you guys back late. It is the Honda Cars of Katy. A few things to be aware of:
(1) They add extras to every Civic they sell. But the final price is still a lot better than the MSRP without the extras. If you are not looking for Civic, you will get very good deals.
(2) To get the special financing rate (0.9%), you will have to buy the Honda Care with it. I paid cash.
(3) They will add $399 for oil change for 5 (?) years to your final price. Tell them to take it off.
(4) They like trade-ins of high demand used Honda cars etc. You will get good dollars on these trade-in.
It might be Honda Cars of Katy, and based on their web site they seem to have the largest Civic inventory of any Houston area dealer. They are a relatively new dealer (owned by John Eagle Honda, I believe) and have offered very aggressive pricing to build future allocation. Other Houston dealers seem to have pretty well depleted their Civic inventories, at least for now.
I have been shopping around for an EX in RI southern MA,got prices from three dealers, all around $100 over invoice, MSRP $20180, prices including destination all at or near $18700. Only difference is 2 have additional junk fees of around $300.
Any tails of selling anywhere near MSRP in RI/southern MA are not true.
Yes it includes everything my OTD price was $19,249.09 total they might have change the price now to take advantage of the gas prices but I have a friend thats a sales person their that can get for you about $500 over invoice.
Can some of the guys here in the know comment on whether the Civic special financing will continue after the 7th? I am going on vacation to come back only after the 7th of July and I don't want to miss this specific deal? Or will they offer some other deal? I understand the civic is very popular right now etc, but than the economy is in the tank.
I would not count on it. If you want the cheap money you should probably buy before you go. For one thing, it is not likely to get CHEAPER the longer you wait and very likely to be higher. The Civic was a the best selling vehicle in the USA for May (outselling the F150 and Corolla) and is still selling fast now - so fast many dealers have few to offer. I can see no reason for Honda to offer discounted financing when they are flying off the lots in most places. We don't KNOW, but that would be my guess.
Things are getting very tough in Atlanta. I did the internet quotes from here on Edmunds to about 10 different Honda dealerships in and around town. Went round and around for 2 days. EVERY reply talked about the incredible sales of Civics, extremely low inventory, and supply and demand. I was very clear in my emails that I wanted to get an OTD price of 18.5K (thats with a 7% tax rate here).
Half of the dealers wouldn't give me a quote, basically saying they wanted MSRP or MORE! Several quoted 20K+ OTD. One dude even laughed at me for daring to ask for such a low price, saying I must not know the market we're in and that I must have just started looking (I payed him back later :-).
Willett Honda met my price and Mr. C.V. (internet guru) was a pleasure to do business with. Bought my wife her Atomic Blue LX auto last night and happy with the purchase. Honorable mention to Nalley Honda for a 19K OTD quote w/lifetime 3rd party powertrain warranty. Mrs. M.S. was wonderful and helpful in her emails.
I'll tell you, deals are hard to come by now. Good luck.
These promotions are planned many months in advance. Honda had no idea at the time gas prices would go through the roof. Had they known I'm sure they NEVER would have done thse finance specials. No reason for them to do this.
So, I would say it would be highly doubtful they would continue the low financing.
Just finding a car may be your toughest challenge.
Thanks for your response, I also felt that this deal would probably not be renewed. I will try to possibly do a deal tomorrow for a EX-L but if I cannot, I will just have to deal with it once I get back from vacation.
The deal has been extended to July. You can only get this special financing rate from Honda if you buy the Honda Care with it.
Not correct on either count.
The finance special was always set to run through July 7 (the Monday after the 4th weekend) and has not (at this time) been extended.
Your dealer fed you a line of crap-o-la saying you had to buy their overpriced HondaCare to get the promo rate. IF you qualified for the "AHFC Super Preferred credit tier" you get the cheap rate no matter what. If you do qualify and were denied the rate because the dealer lied and said you could only get that rate with a HC purchase, then you need to call Honda and let them know that they have a bad dealer that is telling lies to customer and potential customers. If you did not qualify, then they were probably going to buy down your rate with all that profit they made if you have taken the HC plan a 2x what it should cost.
Thanks Dennis. I have a credit score of 870 but the dealer insisted that purchasing Honda Care was the only way to get the Honda special financing rates. I ended up paying cash for the Civic.
The dealer's name is Honda Cars of Katy (Texas). They do not offer any special financing rates for the Civic line unless you buy HC from them. I have called around (Houston area) and other dealers are doing the same.
Comments
price: $16273
OTD: 17865 (8.25% tax, $55 doc fees, etc)
It's what I paid 13 days ago. not sure if the price is still the same now.
Manly Honda in Santa Rosa
Beware smart shoppers!!!
Why not? They are well worth MSRP. Used 2007's are selling at auction for MSRP now.
" All of the dealers have at least a dozen of them in stock"
So what? A dozen Civics is nothing even for a low volume dealer.
A lot of stores don't have ANY at this point!
And what are they 5 speed coupes that don't sell well?
" I know some dealers even hide some Civics in the back"
Yep, it's a conspiracy. That's for sure!
I'm raking no pleasure in this situation and mis-information doesn't help matters.
At a recent Honda auction 2007 Civics were getting 2008 MSRP prices from dealers. These dealers will then have to pay to transport them, inspect them and they will mark them up from there.
I've never seen a market turn like this.
And, you're right. The market will always determine prices.
I just signed for an EX-L Navi...Auto.....21,800 + TTL....NO fees.....And, my dealer spent a week locating the car and negotiating a trade for it.......Normally he sells to me at cost...But in this market this was the best he could do.....I have NO problem with that...Last time I checked there were no crosses hanging over the dealerships.......They are their to earn a paycheck and turn a profit.....Would you go to work for no $$.......
car price $18000
dealer fee $250
tax 7%
Tag&Tittle $255
total out the door price$
this would make it so much easier to compare car price and dealer fees. Also think these dealer fees should be explained in detail by the dealers. they vary from $50- 400 Why?
They reference an Automotive news story from the June 16th issue which you can read for free at this link (and other places online).
It starts:
For two days last week, Honda dealer Rene Isip stalked the lanes at the Manheim auto auction in Orlando, Fla., in search of used Civic and Fit cars for his store in Katy, Texas.
Isip's dealership, one of the top 100 Honda stores in the nation, was almost depleted of new ones.
"We're out of Fits," he said, "and our days supply of Civics is in the single digits."
Getting used models was brutal, too.
"I'm standing here looking right now," he told Automotive News via cell phone. "A 1-year-old used Civic is running about $1,000 over sticker of a brand new 2008. And the dealers are paying it."
So lest anyone was thinking you were just some car dealer telling them some story, they can go read all about it for themselves.
Dennis
They will quickly find out for themselves when they go to buy one.
I have never seen the market change like this. It's like someone flipped a switch!
Interestingly, I recall that starting in the 1999 model year the first Honda-build Odyssey was selling at MSRP--mainly because supply couldn't match demand based on production limitations; once the Alabama plant came on line (late 2002/early 2003?) Odysseys suddenly starting appearing on dealer lots en masse and prices went south. I reckon the moral of the story is that dealers aren't going to "deal" when they can't keep the model in stock.
$17,169 (inlcuding dest.) plus tax and DMV fees of $160 (no dealer prep. fees). What is a reasonable OTD price for this car in the NYC area? Also do you think Honda will extend the low financing? Thanks.
Only works if the dealer actually contacts you back. Both my friend and I (living in two different states) have found that if you make a request about a car that is in high demand, they often won't reply to you.
Anyone can ASK any price for any car.
Of course someone panic stricken over gas prices could pay that much I suppose?
Pretty doubtful.
No big deal. People would just get our "Costco" price and go shopping with it.
I would guess that Civics are probably on their DNQ list now.
Why?
Say last year it took a dealer from May to August to move 800 Civics - all they were allotted for the time frame. A lot of these may have been sold well off of MSRP or just over invoice.
This year the "poor dealer" moved 700 in May and June and has to wait for the others to come in to sell them and they are getting at or near MSRP for all of them.
In both cases they will sell 800 Civics, but in this year's case they make more money per unit and sell more of them earlier in the year. In an ideal world they would get an unlimited supply and could sell 1,600 by August - but they are limited to the current production and their allotment of 800 Civics. So while the sales folks may have little to do down the road they are blowing out cars now and making more money than last year.
So "poor dealer" indeed .
The flip, flip side is that all the other products on the lot may not be selling as well so by the end of the model year total sales may actually be down compared to last year.
Dennis
What dealer in Houston? I live in Dallas but I am willing to go to Houston if they give me good price.
(1) They add extras to every Civic they sell. But the final price is still a lot better than the MSRP without the extras. If you are not looking for Civic, you will get very good deals.
(2) To get the special financing rate (0.9%), you will have to buy the Honda Care with it. I paid cash.
(3) They will add $399 for oil change for 5 (?) years to your final price. Tell them to take it off.
(4) They like trade-ins of high demand used Honda cars etc. You will get good dollars on these trade-in.
(5) Overall friendly and reasonable people.
What is the Honda care? Did you pay the whole car price in cash?
Any tails of selling anywhere near MSRP in RI/southern MA are not true.
I bought Civic LX Auto Sedan for $18600 (OTD - Including all taxes and fees) today in Northern California.
Thanks.
Will you pls let me know the dealer name and location?
What was the price before tax+fees?
Thanks,
DR
Can some of the guys here in the know comment on whether the Civic special financing will continue after the 7th? I am going on vacation to come back only after the 7th of July and I don't want to miss this specific deal? Or will they offer some other deal? I understand the civic is very popular right now etc, but than the economy is in the tank.
G
Dennis
Half of the dealers wouldn't give me a quote, basically saying they wanted MSRP or MORE! Several quoted 20K+ OTD. One dude even laughed at me for daring to ask for such a low price, saying I must not know the market we're in and that I must have just started looking (I payed him back later :-).
Willett Honda met my price and Mr. C.V. (internet guru) was a pleasure to do business with. Bought my wife her Atomic Blue LX auto last night and happy with the purchase. Honorable mention to Nalley Honda for a 19K OTD quote w/lifetime 3rd party powertrain warranty. Mrs. M.S. was wonderful and helpful in her emails.
I'll tell you, deals are hard to come by now. Good luck.
So, I would say it would be highly doubtful they would continue the low financing.
Just finding a car may be your toughest challenge.
Not correct on either count.
The finance special was always set to run through July 7 (the Monday after the 4th weekend) and has not (at this time) been extended.
Your dealer fed you a line of crap-o-la saying you had to buy their overpriced HondaCare to get the promo rate. IF you qualified for the "AHFC Super Preferred credit tier" you get the cheap rate no matter what. If you do qualify and were denied the rate because the dealer lied and said you could only get that rate with a HC purchase, then you need to call Honda and let them know that they have a bad dealer that is telling lies to customer and potential customers. If you did not qualify, then they were probably going to buy down your rate with all that profit they made if you have taken the HC plan a 2x what it should cost.
Dennis
Thanks,
The dealer's name is Honda Cars of Katy (Texas). They do not offer any special financing rates for the Civic line unless you buy HC from them. I have called around (Houston area) and other dealers are doing the same.