Hey guys i went to a honda dealership here in paramus, nj to test drive a civic hybrid. i really want to get one because i want to trade my acura tl 2004 as soon as possible before i spend more than i should. i got this sales guy who was younger than me and started 2 weeks ago. he had little to no knowledge of the hybrid and even admitted that i would know more of them. but he mentioned that they have run-flats? is this true???

i got the following options: wheel locks, chrome exhaust finisher, fog lights, all season floor mats, auto d/n mirror w/ compass, interior illumination, leather steering wheel cover, interior gauge trim kit, bass system kit, and honda music link. does anyone have pictures of the interior illumination and interior gauge trim kit? i don't see it on the honda website.

so i had my acura tl appraised and will have a balance of $3075 to transfer to my new balance. i managed to make a deal of $600 a month with 8.99% which includes all the options above with installation and the remaining balance with 0 down payment. they wouldn't give me the full total, just the monthly payment because they said it was getting late (after 9pm) and i'll receive it later this week. it's also the nav version. is this a good deal? i played with the finance calculator and found that with the 600 monthly payment with 8.99%, the estimated selling price would be 25,836. so i guess that the price of the car with taxes, options and installation.

they wouldn't have any hybrids with nav until end of the month and they'll have the white and silver blue. i test drove the white one and it's not bad. i like dark cars with dark interior like my tl: anthracite with black interior. i may choose the white but what do you guys think? i kinda like the magnetic pearl but i may have to wait longer for that and from the pictures there's blue cloth with black and tan panels...not too crazy with having more than 2 interior colors...especially the blue cloth.

well i'm looking forward to your responses and i'll be around to post some more in the future.

Interior Illumination: Here's a link to a pic of the interior with the illumination kit. I considered it, but there's a cubbyhole on the left side of the dash that you'll lose if you get the light kit.

Gauge Trim Kit: It's not available for models with navigation. See here for more details.

Run-Flats: No, they don't. They're plain old low-rolling-resistance tires. Traction's not the best.

I would recommend--if you can--cancelling the wheel locks, exhaust finisher, and floor mats. The prices at the Honda dealer are obscene, and even the least mechanical person can install these on their own. You can get the same genuine Honda parts from H and A Accessories or College Hills Honda.

If you're more mechanically inclined, you can do the bass kit, and some here have done the auto-dimming mirror. I looked at the instructions on installing the foglamps and decided to get the dealer to do it.

For what it's worth, we got ours at Bay Ridge Honda in Brooklyn. The salesman (ask for Frank!) scoured 4 states to find one with a Nav system. We picked it up a week later. He really knows his hybrids, as does their service shop. It wouldn't hurt to give them a call and see what they can do for you.

Would-be hypermiler

I signed the order with the 600/month payment on it. It didn't give the itemized amounts. It says that the order is not subject to cancellation. So does that mean I'm bound to this sale? It seems that i was given false information about the run-flats and I may consider dropping options. They also don't have the car to be sold to me...just this signed order.

I don't know the legal aspects of it, but it doesn't cost you anything to make a call to Bay Ridge (or another dealer) and ask what they can do for you.

Given the rate these things are selling, if you don't want the other one, they know they can sell it before it ever touches their lot. You could sniff around the topic by saying you've done a bit of research and want to drop a couple of the accessories, and ask how committed you really are.

As far as I know, you're not under legal obligation until you've signed the purchase contract with the VIN on it.

Would-be hypermiler

You might also want to consider whether you want to purchase the Music Link option. I ordered it initially for my car, but then I did a little research on the Internet and found many folks were not too happy with it. I'm fine now with a cable to attach my iPod to the stereo system.

You have too many things thrown into a pile and 9% is VERY high. Mixing in a trade in is also financial roulette and you arent spinning the wheel. Know what I mean? I break it all down into numbers and make sure I am clear on where the dealer markup is on each line item. If you buy all those options-- I'd ask/insist on 40% off list minimum for all together. Dealers make GOBS of money on options.

Also, the MSRP on these cars went up 300 bucks several months ago but the dealer cost of the vehicle did not change accordingly.

For comparison only, I was offered 4.99% financing and kept my old car totally out of the picture ( It sold easily on the "open market."). I financed at a commercial bank instead for the remaining amount after "downpayment."

we all don't have perfect credit

We financed through Honda, same as we did the CRV. (Okay, so we're lazy.) Our dealer knocked a percentage point off of the financing because we got the extended warranty.

Go to Honda OwnerLink and there's an eStore that will let you pick out accessories from your dealer and it'll tell you what they charge for it, with and without installation. Compare that with the prices at H&A or College Hills. You can probably knock $1K off the price, just by doing some of the stuff yourself.

Would-be hypermiler