Honda Civic

[Jdvn1]

I've had very good experiences with the Accords, but.

 

[Mystery Man]

I drove a '81 Honda Civic when I was in highschool. The little booger could take hairpin turns at very high speeds.

 

[Angcuru]

My only complaint about Civics (other than the people who do monstrous body mods to them) is the lack of leg room. My brother has one, and I have to put the seat all the way back to not be crunched up against the steering wheel.

 

[Xath]

My only complaint about Civics (other than the people who do monstrous body mods to them) is the lack of leg room. My brother has one, and I have to put the seat all the way back to not be crunched up against the steering wheel.

That could be problematic, as he is about 6'4. But he currently drives a Ford Escort hatchback, so I don't think leg room is a big concern for him.

 

[Old One]

If you're looking at a used car, definately get the Blue Book pricing from kbb.com or edmunds.com. Heck, you should do the same for a new car.

Don't accept the initial asking price. Almost everyone will sell a car for less than they initially ask. After arming yourself with the Blue Book pricing, set on your own counter offer, and then mentally set yourself a number that you won't go above, somewhere between your asking price and theirs. Stick to your guns, find out as much as you can from poking around either of the two blue book sites, and you should save a fair amount of money.

But that goes for any car purchase, not just Honda Civics...

What JD said...

Hit kbb and edmuds.

Here is a strategy I have had clients use on several occassions...

(1) Use edmunds.com to narrow down the true dealer cost of the vehicle(s) you are looking at. You can then input your criteria into edmunds to search dealers in your area. I usually do recommend going with a pre-certified used car that is 2-3 years behind the current model year. Since the 2006s will be hitting the street soon, 2003 fits the bill. as Nakia said, most new cars loose 20%+ of their value in the first 2 years, after which depreciation slows considerably.

(2) Once you have identified the dealers that have the car you want (with the appropriate goodies), e-mail and/or fax the used car manager telling them you will be buying a car in the next 48 hours, that you have identified car X as a possible candidate and that you are contacting all local dealers with that car for possible purchase in a competitive bid situation. The dealer that gives you the best deal with the minimum hassle will (subject to a satisfactory test drive) get your business. This short-circuits a lot of the used car crapola and often gets you the best price with minimum hassle. The key is knowing all the numbers ahead of time and pitting them (the dealers) against each other...good for you, bad for them.

(3) Have you financing in place before you go - preferrably through a credit union or another lending institution that has a good rate...check www.bankrate.com for competitive rates in your area.

Good luck!

~ OO

 

[BiggusGeekus]

The Civic is a solid car.

There isn't much safety data out about the hybrids. Sorry folks, but I consider the lives of the people in my car to be unexpendable for data testing. Just something to consdier.

If you're looking at a used car, definately get the Blue Book pricing from kbb.com or edmunds.com. Heck, you should do the same for a new car.

Don't accept the initial asking price. Almost everyone will sell a car for less than they initially ask. After arming yourself with the Blue Book pricing, set on your own counter offer, and then mentally set yourself a number that you won't go above, somewhere between your asking price and theirs. Stick to your guns, find out as much as you can from poking around either of the two blue book sites, and you should save a fair amount of money.

But that goes for any car purchase, not just Honda Civics...

Good advice.

If you are bad at negotiating, bring the number of all the car dealers in the area who are selling the car you want. Also, bring a cell phone. When they quote you a price, say "thank you" and start calling around. Tell the other dealers what price you've just been offered. This way, you get them to do the bargianing for you.

Good luck!

 

[Desdichado]

Good advice.

I hope so! I've settled on a career (at least for now) as a buyer, so hopefully I've learned a thing or two about negotiations by now!

The key is to have as much information as possible. That's your leverage. Don't let the sales guys feed you a line of crap, and they will -- as much of it as they think you'll swallow. But if you know more than they do (sadly, that's not terribly difficult to do) you can disarm every attempt they might make to screw you over. If they know that you're informed, and if they know that you have other options, and if they know more or less what you will accept, most of the time, they'll work to get into your range. They'd rather make a sale, even for a reduced profit margin, then no sale at all. It's not like cars are moving like hotcakes (in most instances) so making a sale is much more important in a market like this than in some smaller, commodity-like product.

 

[GlassJaw]

If you are bad at negotiating, bring the number of all the car dealers in the area who are selling the car you want. Also, bring a cell phone. When they quote you a price, say "thank you" and start calling around. Tell the other dealers what price you've just been offered. This way, you get them to do the bargianing for you.

This is a sure-fire way to P.O. the dealership and get yourself booted. Trust me, I've seen it. As shady as you think the dealerships are, this is just low class.

Now, as someone who has sold cars (Hondas in fact), the best advice I can give you is to do as much research as you can and have a price in mind BEFORE you go to the dealership. The worst thing you can do is to ask them "what's your best price?". Don't do that. Ideally, you should hit them with a price. Even better still, phrase it in a way that you don't actually state the price of the car. If you want to buy the car for 15k, you want $k for your trade-in, and you can put down $2k, tell them you'll buy the car RIGHT NOW if you can finance $10k, put 2k down with your trade-in. You might not get the price you want but at least you have a good start point. If you start battling for the price of the car right off the bat, you've lost.

Some other semi-insider advice:

If your trade-in is more than 4-5 years old or has more than 50k miles, they don't even have to look at it. Almost everything goes to auction. Dealerships will give you the "fair" rating straight out of the Blue Book. Sometimes you have very little negotiating power in this department. All the more reason to use the method I discussed above. Give them an offer as a package deal.

Good credit is a very strong bargaining chip. Most people don't realize it but the interest rate CAN BE NEGOTIATED. The dealership is under no legal obligation to give you the best rate possible. In fact, most of their money is made with loans (aka the "back end"). If you have good credit, you should be able to get rates around 3-4%, sometimes lower.

Newspaper ads: If you see a deal in a paper that looks too good to be true, it probably is. The print ads usually have some very strict criteria with them. Often times the prices listed are for cars with standard transmission or even without AC. The ads are to get you into the dealership. They dealership does NOT want to sell you the ad cars AT ALL.

Also, don't go into the dealership with the belief that they are trying to screw you. Don't be combative. Be firm but be polite. Remember, it's not personal. You can get up and walk out any time you want (even though they'll try to stop you).

Oh, and for the record, Hondas are awesome. They are some of the best cars on the road and better than some cars much more expensive. Their reliability is second-to-none. I'd take a Honda over Toyota in a heartbeat. Hondas are a lot more fun to drive too.

 

[Tewligan]

My experiences with the Civic have been great; my dad's has gotten into at least 8 accidents, but noone has ever been hurt and the car has been relatively inexpensive to fix.

I'm not sure if this sentence says more about the Civic's durability, or your dad's driving skills...

 

[Desdichado]

This is a sure-fire way to P.O. the dealership and get yourself booted. Trust me, I've seen it. As shady as you think the dealerships are, this is just low class.

You only say that as a former car salesman, though! Seriously, booting somebody for calling the competition? That's just stupid. You sure won't get a sale that way. Nor will you impress anyone, especially anyone who talks to the person who got booted.

Currently, because I work for a car company, I haven't really had to be in a position of negotiating a price; we get under dealer invoice already, but last time I bought a car, there were a lot of arrogant salesmen who didn't want you to know anything, who assumed you didn't know anything, and seemed to get offended if you either did know anything or insisted on knowing anything.

That's shady. If your dealership's good, and on the up-and-up, you don't fear customers who come armed with a bit of knowledge about the car they're looking at and the prices they can get from other dealerships in the area. In fact, you better get off your lazy butts and start expecting much more informed and savvy customers. Gettting POed because someone calls your competition from your lot is just petty. And stupid too. They'll call anyway when you're not around if they're smart.

Dealerships need to wake up to the fact that in most regions, they are a commodity. If they kick someone out for something as bone-headed as making a cellphone call, that person can just go to another dealership in the area and get exactly what they want from them. The only way dealerships can differentiate themselves and win customers is by offering better service, and a more pleasant buying experience. And what you're describing is the exact opposite of that. I have no sympathy for such a dealership.

Hell, I'd storm out if they even so much as suggested that I shouldn't call another dealership. They've automatically lost my sale if that's the case. Not only does that indicate that they're afraid they can't compete against the other guy, but I have no patience for a place of business that doesn't respect me as a customer. Especially in this case, where I'm a customer who can just go to another dealership. I've got the leverage in this case, not them.