We are trying to buy a Honda Civic Hybrid and would like to know the going price. We are looking at a basic car (without Navigation system). If you have bought one on the San Francisco Bay area in the past couple of months, I would be interested to know what you paid, where you bought it and if you would recommend the dealer.

 

hello, i bought mine at honda of oakland. i have the nav system and the dealer insisted on a $3k markup. they said the hybrids were selling very fast. in fact, they were pretty honest with me and said that the hybrid markup makes up for the all the other sales that they have to come down on price. they came down on their markup to $2500

so my nav equipped one was $26k.

honda of oakland was fine. dealer was friendly and honest. service deptment looks pretty clean and good. they will try to push you into all sorts of junk during the closing with the finance guy but that's typical i guess.

 

I got mine in mid-June and paid $1000 over sticker. That was at Concord Honda. Let me know if you want the salesman's name. If you're a Costco member, you should check the price at different dealers by asking for a quote through the Costco website.

 

I picked mine up today at Marin Honda. After ordering it in April, I waited 3 months for it to arrive. I paid the MSRP of $22,700 and used the Costco Auto Buyer's Plan, which saved me an additional $100. I'm not sure they are taking anymore orders for the car, but you can call them. They were very fair and honest. Many dealers, like Oakland, charge a premium, but that is not the poicy of Marin Honda. Good luck.

 

I bought mine in late February at Berkeley Honda for MSRP - $23,900 Albaster Silver with Navigation. The had recieved I believe 4 or 5 that same day and only 1 was unspoken for. They initially wanted $2k over MSRP but I 'was willing to buy today' so after only a little drama MSRP it was. They also didn't make any effort to sell me any add on's which i appreciated.

 

THere is no "going price".
Your negotiating skills is a big factor.

 

I entered wait list in early May, picked up car in mid-June. Paid $300 below MSRP.

For a HCH-II w/NAVI, Tax, Destination, Licensing,
Custom Sunroof,
Wheel Locks,
Splash Guards,
All weather mats,
7-year 120k Honda Care warranty $0 deductible,
Lo-Jack + early warning system
extra $$$ on the trade-in
day/night auto dimming mirror

I paid $27,300 before taxes and $29,400 after taxes (california).

I went to Pacific Honda of San Diego (a few miles from the Mexico border).

I actually tried to do business with 38 dealers from San Diego to Bakersfield (and a few here and there even further) and only Pacific Honda would give me the price I wanted. In fact, I put in the warrany and lo-jack and sunroof with them because they were so easy to work with. I originally wasnt going to get anything extra at all (with this dealer).

But, you really got to be in charge with them. You tell them your price (be realistic, MSRP is reasonable, a few hundred below maybe is reasonable. Don't looks to save $1,000 on the price. Instead, I saved $300 on the sunroof, trade-in an extra $700 on my truck than bluebook listed (what the dealer goes by religiously but his GM was out that day may have had to do with it, don't know), saved $1,090 on the 7-year 120k 0$0 deductible warranty than what they were offering (in part to my insistance about www.myhondawarrantyinfo.com), free wheel locks/splash guard/all season floor mats, saved $100 on dimming mirror, saved $400 on lo-jack+early warning system, $300 on MSPR of car. The wheel locks/splash/floor mats are usually about $450 but some do free. These guys did free for me. I did pay $99 (two weeks later at a different dealer) for a civic trunk tray that I converted into a civic hybrid trunk tray with minimal effort.

So, all that money totals roughly $3,340 that I saved but only $300 of it was in the MSRP, it was in all their "extras". So where I saved, they didn't increase something else. Be ready to walk out. For sure do not be emotional. I was completely unemotional. I really couldn't care less if I purchased the car that day or not and was so ready to not buy it but the experience lifted my mood. I showed no emotion whatsoever and I do think they tried to "guage" me, but when you show no emotion, they have no "strings". easy to say, I know, but really, it is so. Try walking in emotionally attached to the car and see how much money you save (if any).

These guys are not your friend. Don't get duped into thinking they are. They just trying to put food on the table like any other, some are more pushy than others; some are more lyers, some are completely honest. But no matter who they are, if you aren't firm and ready to walk out on them, none will give you any kind of deal.


Thanks,
Shawn

 

These dealers out here are smug. They claim to charge you MSRP, yet rob you in accessory fees. For example, i have seen door jam and wheel well protectors for 400 dollars and SIRIUS satellite connection for 800. around a 275-300 dollar mark up for the protectors and 400 dollar markup on the SIRIUS. Sure the car may be MSRP but not the accessories. They may have the right to do so, but i wouldnt pay twice the price for an accessory that is marked for half price on the HONDA website. What made it even worse is that they refused to take any of the items off to avoid the high price.

 

I paid 1500 over MSRP a couple of weeks ago at Anderson Honda, Palo Alto. If I had been more patient, I think I could have done much better (0-1000 over MSRP).

After I bought the car, I was received multiple calls from sales people. I received one this last weekend as a matter of fact. I'm convinced that if patient enough, you can pay much less than I did.

Here's a quick run-down:

Dublin Honda - Wouldn't go below 2225 over MSRP, until I drove away. Then they went down to 2000 over.

Corte Madera (Marin) Honda - Agreed to sell to me at 1000 over when I called in the morning. However, they had sold the car to someone else by the time I was half-way there (driving from the south bay).

Anderson Honda (Palo Alto) - Wanted 2000 over MSRP. I said I would buy it for 1500. They said OK. I guess I was too easy.

Other places I called either didn't have it, or wanted 3000-5000 over MSRP. If you have the time, I call all the dealers in your area first to make sure they have a car on the lot. Then, drive over and see if they'll make a deal. If they're not in your range, leave a number and drive away. Repeat at the next dealer. If you don't have a car at your price, either be patient, or call them back later in the day (or later in the week).

I've found that your bargaining powers are much better when the showroom is less crowded (sounds simple enough). And, sometimes it has to do with which manager is on duty at the time - at least on salesperson told me as much. So, it helps to check back and talk to different people.

Hope that helps.

 

I've uploaded a spreadsheet that I recently used to help me keep notes. This was a helpful tool, since there are so many dealers in the bay area.

Sorry it's pretty messy. But, I think you'll get the hang of it for at least ballpark numbers. It's important to note that these numbers are mostly from phone conversations. So, if you go into the dealership with money in hand, they will come down from these numbers. They don't come down until you show up in the showroom.

Also, there are some auto-filters you can use to get rid of information you don't want to see. For example, you can select "Civic" from the "Model" column header, so you won't have to see all the Insight data.

Enjoy.