Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

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bogleenigma
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Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by bogleenigma »

Ladies and Gents,
It appears that we're going to need to replace my wife's Honda Civic as the engine died this morning. I'm a little displeased as we were almost able to get it to 300k miles. Anyway, I havn't haggled on getting a new vehicle in a number of years and I want to make sure I get the best deal possible. She wants a Honda CRV EX. We have one child with another one in the way, so a larger vehicle than her civic makes sense. 4 Wheel Drive is $27, 394.

Any tips and tricks on getting the lowest price possible? Our emergency fund is pretty low and doesn't have enough in it to cover $27,394. We would be forced to sell some VTI in our taxable account to make the purchase if we purchase in cash. Would purchasing in cash give us the ability to negotiate lower? Or does it just make sense to get 0% financing for 60 months? What we'll probably do is put as much of it as we can on our Citi 2% card (up to the limit the dealership will allow) as we can which we can pay off in a few months and either do the rest from stock or finance.

Thanks.
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SmileyFace
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by SmileyFace »

The dealers don't care whether or not you finance the car as they get paid either way. If Honda is offering 0% (I know Subaru and Nissan are right now) I would certainly take it.
Start by asking for quotes over the web (from Honda's site) from many different dealers in your area - this lets them all know that they need to be low as you are comparison shopping for price.
TonyDAntonio
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by TonyDAntonio »

I bought a new Honda CRV almost 3 years ago. Unless I lived in the snow or planned on going up to the snow I wouldn't (and I didn't) buy a 4-wheel drive. And if you are short emergency cash I wouldn't get the higher end. We bought the cheapest CRV and it has been a good vehicle. I did go online to get competing bids and I financed part of the car just to get the lowest deal. I could easily pay cash but the financing was so cheap and it allowed the dealer to give me a better price that I financed about $8000 of the car. Go online and get competing bids. I don't even remember what online site I used but as soon as I entered my info I got about 10 bids from the Honda dealers in the area. I then kept replying to the lowest bidders with my lowest bid. Eventually there was one who kept giving me lower prices. Not much lower but it cost me nothing but some emails and phone calls. Good luck and go cheap. You're getting a good car at the low end regardless.
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Toons
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by Toons »

I bought a New 2015 Crv in 2015
Here is what I did.
Went to Kellys bluebook and a few other sites to price..
Once I had a good idea of what pricing was,
I emailed every Honda dealer within a 300 mile radius,,
using a secondary email address google voice phone number,not cell.
I found Crvs on their lots and would ask for "out the door" pricing.
I did this to get feedback on how their process worked.
A few sent me out the door prices,
Others wanted me to call or ,they called first,I never responded to calls..
If need be I would initiate a call.
Once I had digested all the info and ready to make a decision ,
I found the Crv I wanted.
Drove to the lot with all my info in hand.
They already knew that I was prepared.
Transaction took 20 minutes.
I was and am pleased with purchase to this day.
Minimize your legwork.
The internet is a powerful tool.
Spend as little time as possible on a lot...once there ,
you are on their playing field and it is their job to wear you down and,,,
Wear you out. :happy
"One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity" –Bruce Lee
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batpot
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by batpot »

Have you driven the CRV, or just want a "bigger Honda"? maybe time is of the essence, and you don't have time to take test drives, and figure it out?
Worse than spending slightly more than you might have to, is to get a really good deal on one, and then find out there's something you hate about it.

I figured out exactly what I wanted, then spammed every dealer for a quote. I got a rav4 this way, and had a number of dealers all competing for the exact same VIN as it arrived fresh off the boat.
chartcab3785
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by chartcab3785 »

acura301 wrote: What we'll probably do is put as much of it as we can on our Citi 2% card (up to the limit the dealership will allow) as we can which we can pay off in a few months and either do the rest from stock or finance.
I hope that you mean you'd pay it off in full at the end of the month and not pay Citi's 13+% interest?
bpr
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by bpr »

Not sure where you are located , but that price seems high for EX. Colleague just bought 2016 CRV EX-L AWD for 26500(includes tag/title)+ tax
Bondman
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by Bondman »

Just bought a new crv-ex. Out the door price was 23500. Spent two weeks haggling online through emails. Went to dealership with best price and went through the whole offer charade and got it down to 23500. Did not enjoy the process, Wife was primary negotiator.
mervinj7
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by mervinj7 »

We bought a new CRV just a few months ago. Great compact SUV for the price! Once we test drove the SUV, we picked the color and the trim level. After that, we just emailed the 12 closest dealers to us. Of the two that gave us the lowest quotes, we went with the one with the that gave us a test drive initially. Since it's all over email, it's not as bad as it sounds. That way, you don't have to do anything in the actual dealership other than sign the final offer (reject all other additions from the dealer).
Also check out truecar.com to see reasonable prices in your area. For example, a CRV EX with AWD should be around $25,971 in Knoxville, TN.
https://www.truecar.com/prices-new/hond ... code=37912
Last edited by mervinj7 on Fri Aug 05, 2016 12:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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coachz
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by coachz »

I'm in Charleston, SC and just bought a 2016 Honda EX (Mountain Air, great color) for about $23,000-$23,500 also a month ago. I had a trade. That's a good price. Just use the phrase "Out the door" when asking for a price. That means NOTHING else added to the price.

I had the trade in, 2 fobs and title in hand so they knew I was serious. They offered $26k and I said I'm thinking of another number $22,500. They said $23,000 and I wrote a check. When you do it, do something similar and then say "If you throw in the Honda rubber floor mats and cargo tray, you have a deal. I bought those after though for $115. Face to face is fine as long as you are always ready to walk. I called a few other out of town dealers and had their "out the door" price ready.

They said "we can't find one in that color, I said, I have one here 60 minutes away and I can go buy it today" and showed them on the phone. They said sec.... "Ok we can get you that". Done deal. We have the car and it's working great. I put a 32gb USB flash drive in it and have about 400 albums of tunes.

Took 1.5 hrs first time and 1.5 hrs on pickup for them to change the VIN number because they got the car somewhere else. THey move glacially. :-) Bring a book.
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Flobes
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by Flobes »

Let them know you will definitely be buying a car and you are not just browsing.

Try to separate the separate negotiations: the model you're going to buy, what extras you want, how you're going to pay for it. Car salespeople are very adept of conflating and comingling these; the aim is confusing you about the negotation while exciting you about the new car.

Try to set the pace of the conversation: they speed up when you want time to consider, and they slow down when you're ready to move. When they pull the "I'm going to have to get the manager" ploy, get out of your seats and start to walk away after a few minutes.

When I bought my CRV EX, I also had to buy quickly. I played two dealers, and both knew it.

I was willing to purchase a current year model, from the lot, just as the next year models were arriving on the lot. Saved many $thousands. As I plan to keep it forever, the model year mattered not to me. Might this work for you?

Once the cost of the CRV was set, we hondled about extras. The "winning" dealer threw in freebies and deep discounts to get the deal done: on steering wheel cover, floor mats, window tinting.

As important, the "winning" dealer helped with the "situation" that brought me to the new car purchase. For example, will a dealer take away your dead Civic with some consideration?

Settle on the total price before you get to the financing. Dealers make money selling financing. So telling them upfront you're paying cash can actually be an impediment to getting the lowest price. If you garner 0% financing, that is borne by Honda who is willing to get its money over a longer period of time (rather than a financial agency).

Would the HRV, the new smaller and less expensive sibling to the CRV, work for you?

Don't drain your emergency fund. Remember that buying your new car will have other immediate expenses: sales taxes, license and registration fees, increased auto insurance.
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coachz
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by coachz »

mega317
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by mega317 »

coachz wrote:And there's this one. http://charleston.craigslist.org/cto/5714530306.html
Salvage title--run away. There are several reasons a title may be branded but if the post says minor accident it was probably totaled.
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coachz
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by coachz »

yeah, minor accident made me very suspicious since it's over 5 grand less than a new one with.
I wonder if they have pictures of the accident.
mervinj7
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by mervinj7 »

By the way, Honda currently offers 0.9% financing for the CRV. Although, we had the cash to pay for the car, we took the financing option for 75% of the car's value in order to have a bit more liquidity in our cash holdings. In your original post, you mentioned having to sell VTI in your taxable account to get the funds. You should consider the tax implications opportunity costs before you do; especially compared to a very low interest loan. However, don't let the financing vs. cash option distract you from buying the lowest trim level you need. Also, I definitely wouldn't recommend buying the car on your CC unless you plan on paying it off before the first interest payment is due.
http://automobiles.honda.com/current-offers.aspx
jharkin
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by jharkin »

acura301 wrote:Would purchasing in cash give us the ability to negotiate lower? Or does it just make sense to get 0% financing for 60 months?
(this has probably been mentioned already) The opposite actually - dealers make a percentage when they sell you factory financing, so they often will go lower on price if you finance. That's been my experience on our last 3 purchases (Toyota, Honda, Acura). Also its been my experience in this area at least that Honda and Toyota rarely offer 0%. Its usually 0.9, 1.9 or 2.9 even if you have stellar credit.

The easy way to get the best deal if you have the cash to buy it out right is just take the dealer financing, and then send American Honda Finance a check for the full principle balance when you get the welcome letter. Note that the F&I guy will try to scare you that bad things will happen if you payoff early, precisely because the dealer makes a percentage over the life of the loan. This is nothing but a scare tactic and can be ignored - AHF has no prepay penalties.
JoeJohnson
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by JoeJohnson »

DaftInvestor wrote:The dealers don't care whether or not you finance the car as they get paid either way. If Honda is offering 0% (I know Subaru and Nissan are right now) I would certainly take it.
Start by asking for quotes over the web (from Honda's site) from many different dealers in your area - this lets them all know that they need to be low as you are comparison shopping for price.
Dealers do in fact care if you finance. They get a kickback from the lender when you finance a vehicle. Financing typically is going to be the better deal because of said kickback. More wiggle room for the dealer.
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DRILLINDK
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by DRILLINDK »

I'm learning a lot from this thread. Curious what 'Out the door price' means what exactly?
miles monroe
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by miles monroe »

spend 5 minutes and get quotes from truecar.com - that becomes your ceiling.

"out the door" is bottom line what you're gonna pay.

you want "out the door" becasue after haggling a couple hours and agreeing on (for example) 25K for the car, the salesman comes back with a purchase order for 26K. whats that? you ask. oh, thats the dealer prep and doc fees says your friendly salesman. then ya gotta start negotiating over that. you want your negotiating to be the "final" price you're gonna pay.

a car salesman will lie to his mother if it could get him an extra $50 in commission.
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Watty
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by Watty »

My son just went through shopping for a car and they looked at a CRV, but ruled it out because the visibility was pretty limited. I'm not sure if they were looking at the 2016 or 2017 or if it made a difference. They ended up going with a Subaru Forster mainly because of that.

When you are looking at cars you might keep that in mind.
Dead Man Walking
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by Dead Man Walking »

Checking prices paid on the websites mentioned above is an excellent starting point. You're buying at the end of the model year which should help. Buying at the end of the calendar month may also save money if the dealer is paying interest on his floor plan and you purchase one in his inventory.

DMW
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jabberwockOG
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by jabberwockOG »

CRV is being redesigned for 2018 when it will have 3 rows of seats. The new gen 2018 CRV will be released relatively early in 2018 - likely right after Spring auto shows. Don't bother waiting a couple of months for a 2017 CRV, instead see if you can wait just long enough to get a 2016 CRV at a substantial clearance discount. Do not buy a 2016 CRV unless it has a substantial discount this late in the 2016 model year.

I like the CRV but would also look very hard at a 2017 Forester also - it is getting a half cycle refresh for 2017.

btw - "drive out price" or "out the door price" usually means full total cost of the car minus sales tax, tag , and title fees. Local sales tax, tag and title fees are fixed local government fees, and they vary by locality (state and city, county), and are not negotiable, and the dealer is not allowed to charge more or less for them than local government stipulates. Everything else in the cost of a car is negotiable. So most savvy buyers negotiate the cost based on "drive out" meaning bottom line total cost except for sales tax, tag and title fee. Once you reach written agreement on drive out price, then the local sales tax, tag and title fees can be added based on your location (and there is zero negotiation on those).
Topic Author
bogleenigma
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by bogleenigma »

chartcab3785 wrote:
acura301 wrote: What we'll probably do is put as much of it as we can on our Citi 2% card (up to the limit the dealership will allow) as we can which we can pay off in a few months and either do the rest from stock or finance.
I hope that you mean you'd pay it off in full at the end of the month and not pay Citi's 13+% interest?
Of course. That would be nuts.
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bogleenigma
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by bogleenigma »

TonyDAntonio wrote:I bought a new Honda CRV almost 3 years ago. Unless I lived in the snow or planned on going up to the snow I wouldn't (and I didn't) buy a 4-wheel drive. And if you are short emergency cash I wouldn't get the higher end. We bought the cheapest CRV and it has been a good vehicle. I did go online to get competing bids and I financed part of the car just to get the lowest deal. I could easily pay cash but the financing was so cheap and it allowed the dealer to give me a better price that I financed about $8000 of the car. Go online and get competing bids. I don't even remember what online site I used but as soon as I entered my info I got about 10 bids from the Honda dealers in the area. I then kept replying to the lowest bidders with my lowest bid. Eventually there was one who kept giving me lower prices. Not much lower but it cost me nothing but some emails and phone calls. Good luck and go cheap. You're getting a good car at the low end regardless.
We live in Hagerstown, MD. Snow is fairly rare but it can be pretty bad when it does. You think we would be fine with 2 wheel drive? I know fuel economy would certainly be better.
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bogleenigma
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by bogleenigma »

Folks, thanks for all of your brilliant input. I learned SO MUCH from all of you. I can't thank you enough. On the happy side of things, it turns out the car is, in fact, not dead. I don't recall the exact details in terms of what was going on with the engine (wife handled talking to repair shop) but after telling us earlier in the day that the vehicle was toast, they later told us it could be fixed for about $300, which we gladly accepted. This shop also happens to like to purchase Hondas and reburbish them and sell them and I decided to find out what they would purchase the car for -- $1500. Given that it's a Honda Civic and it's slightly less than 300,000 miles, I'm fairly certain, unless no other major repairs come up, that we can easily get another 50,000 miles out of it. When it dies, however, believe me, I will be taking all the advice I received here in mind. Thank you.
TonyDAntonio
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by TonyDAntonio »

I really don't know when it is advisable to go with AWD. I live in the SF Bay Area and snow (and even rain these last half dozen years) is never an issue. I would error on the side of caution though if you live where there is snow, even sometimes.
acura301 wrote:
TonyDAntonio wrote:I bought a new Honda CRV almost 3 years ago. Unless I lived in the snow or planned on going up to the snow I wouldn't (and I didn't) buy a 4-wheel drive. And if you are short emergency cash I wouldn't get the higher end. We bought the cheapest CRV and it has been a good vehicle. I did go online to get competing bids and I financed part of the car just to get the lowest deal. I could easily pay cash but the financing was so cheap and it allowed the dealer to give me a better price that I financed about $8000 of the car. Go online and get competing bids. I don't even remember what online site I used but as soon as I entered my info I got about 10 bids from the Honda dealers in the area. I then kept replying to the lowest bidders with my lowest bid. Eventually there was one who kept giving me lower prices. Not much lower but it cost me nothing but some emails and phone calls. Good luck and go cheap. You're getting a good car at the low end regardless.
We live in Hagerstown, MD. Snow is fairly rare but it can be pretty bad when it does. You think we would be fine with 2 wheel drive? I know fuel economy would certainly be better.
German Expat
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Re: Advice on purchasing a new Honda CRV

Post by German Expat »

acura301 wrote:
TonyDAntonio wrote:I bought a new Honda CRV almost 3 years ago. Unless I lived in the snow or planned on going up to the snow I wouldn't (and I didn't) buy a 4-wheel drive. And if you are short emergency cash I wouldn't get the higher end. We bought the cheapest CRV and it has been a good vehicle. I did go online to get competing bids and I financed part of the car just to get the lowest deal. I could easily pay cash but the financing was so cheap and it allowed the dealer to give me a better price that I financed about $8000 of the car. Go online and get competing bids. I don't even remember what online site I used but as soon as I entered my info I got about 10 bids from the Honda dealers in the area. I then kept replying to the lowest bidders with my lowest bid. Eventually there was one who kept giving me lower prices. Not much lower but it cost me nothing but some emails and phone calls. Good luck and go cheap. You're getting a good car at the low end regardless.
We live in Hagerstown, MD. Snow is fairly rare but it can be pretty bad when it does. You think we would be fine with 2 wheel drive? I know fuel economy would certainly be better.
We had a front wheel drive CRV in Colorado as a 3rd car and it was perfectly fine in the winter. The main difference maker in winter are snow tires and your biggest worry is cornering and stopping. I had a 5 series BMW with all wheel drive (and snow tires) but would rather use the CRV when there was heavy snow because of the higher ground clearance. It worked well and never got stuck. AWD is mainly needed if you have to drive steep inclines.
For safety best investment are snow tires.

Also read here:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/maga ... /index.htm
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