5th Jun 2010, 09:08
Please someone explain to 9:02 that an Acura is a Honda, and Hondas flagship top of line automobiles and SUV's.
I have owned numerous Hondas since the 70s, all purchased new. Best ones were earlier Accords and out first new Honda-Acura Legend, which was a great car.
I was unimpressed with the RL to replace so we bought the TL Type S. I have even driven my bosses NSX long ago; nice car if you could afford one new.
Why would anyone want to sell a mint body Honda garage kept and all service intervals maintained? It was quite simple; perfect body, mint interior, except it went through transmissions. I got really soured to see a late model low mileage car depreciate so heavily. Personally if it was an oddball color or high mileage or even in a accident or filthy, maybe a low resale might be warranted. I had the black with black leather and black marble look console, and loaded non smoker, always garaged, and mint with service records at the dealer.
When the Carfax reports list transmissions, it is a great thing for the buyers, not the seller. I would do the same thing if I were a used car buyer if I bought used. It does not seem to matter how mint a car may be when one is armed with Carfax service reports from day one.
I had a small scratch repaired on my new GM also, and it is now on the Carfax in all fairness. But that was my fault, not a mechanical issue, irregardless of how the car is pampered and maintained.
I have my cars detailed and they are great, but Carfax is there down the road. I think it's a good thing to be honest with cars history, but it can cost on the smallest issue.
5th Jun 2010, 10:20
"Please someone explain to 9:02 that an Acura is a Honda, and Hondas flagship top of line automobiles and SUV's."
No kidding, but if you read my post, it is like saying Cadillac is the same as Chevy. AND I also said that the value of a Cadillac will be lost much quicker than ANY import car. Seems to me that most brands weaknesses are their transmissions. Chevy trucks have one of the worst transmissions. Subaru WRX's are known to have weak transmissions. Even the Ford Fusion has started showing problems with their transmissions. Maybe you should've bought the TL with the 6-speed manual if the AT is such a bad unit.
Just don't think going out and buying a Cadillac or a Lincoln is going to make your resale better than the Acura. You'll be even more disappointed.
5th Jun 2010, 10:27
This is completely false. The last Honda I bought was sold to me at invoice, which was over $2K off with no hard negotiations. The last Ford I bought was the hardest deal I have ever done, and took over an hour to get to the price I had in hand when I walked in.
Funny thing is most domestic dealers need to clear their lots more than the import companies, and with the hefty rebates you'd think it would be easier to buy a Ford then a Honda. I've had the same thing happen at Chevy dealers though, where they just don't want to give you a fair price in comparison to any import dealer.
Dodge dealers are the exception as they seem to be desperate to unload their stock. I have had some unbelievable deals written in less than five minutes. We actually took one of those deals to a Chevy dealer and they matched it on a Trailblazer. Of course now I wish we'd have bought the Durango as the Trailblazer was junk.
5th Jun 2010, 10:45
"Comparing LIST (MSRP) on cars is totally meaningless."
Unfortunately, this is the only comparison that you can use. Every deal is unique and you may get thousands more off on a car then the next guy that wanders in and pays sticker for the same car. Believe me, I used to sell cars and couldn't believe the differences from one deal to the next.
The only way to do a fair comparison is to do MSRP and resale values and calculate the percentage of difference between the two. Each individual deal makes it impossible to have any accuracy for comparison. There are studies that still suggest that the more expensive import car works out to be the better value down the road overall.
Like I have stated before, the Honda Accord I owned for the short time of 2008/ 2009 never had me in a position where I owed more than it was worth. The Focus I now own has always been worth less than I owe on it and lost almost 40% of its initial value in the first 8 months. I got a mere $2,000 off of the Honda when I bought it, and I got well over $3,000 off the Focus with the rebate and all, and STILL it is worth less than I owe after only one year. Which is the better value to you? Being upside down or not being upside down in a car is a very fair comparison to me, as then the deal doesn't really matter.
Imports just hold their value better and will pay off in the long run. I do hope this changes though, as I would rather buy Fords these days like the new Mustang V-6. I really hate throwing money away on cars that sink like rocks when you drive off the lot. I'd still have the Honda if it weren't for the Ford payment protection plan...
5th Jun 2010, 13:18
I am an avid car enthusiast and mechanic, and I put ZERO faith in CarFax. In fact, I never even CHECK the CarFax on my used cars. It is grossly over-rated. Case in point: if the CarFax shows that a transmission has been REPLACED, it means the bad one is GONE... it's no longer an issue. Modern body shop work is so good that I've seen cars that were repainted from accidents 10 years ago that still were indistinguishable from new car paint.
My criteria for buying a used car is to spend a good amount of time driving and inspecting the car inside and out. If I can't tell it was ever damaged or repaired, I could care less, nor should anyone else. If all evidence of an accident is gone, then what difference does it make? If a bad transmission was once in the car, it doesn't automatically mean that the NEW transmission is bad. People need to pay far less attention to CarFax and much MORE attention to the car itself.
6th Jun 2010, 04:36
The real reason that Honda Accord holds it value is that Honda has never resorted to steep rebates and discounts when the economy slows down, or fleet sales to keep production volume up. It is not an indication the car is better than others. It is just the corporate pricing strategy.
4th Jun 2010, 20:42
I think the point they were making is more with the deal you can get on a domestic as they put hefty rebates and drop their prices a lot to get them sold these days. I have seen $10K off of MSRP on vehicles (Dodge) only in the mid $20K range, which is insane. You'll never see a Honda discounted that much because they don't have to.