Bought my last Honda.

Good for you Harv --- Hondogs make a good product. I was quite certain you wouldn't mind the newer CVT's

It's funny I used to worry about getting new cars with a lot of mileage on them cuz I feel like in the test drives people flogged those cars. I know I do but the CVT makes it really hard to flog it I mean you push down really hard on the accelerator and the car speeds up but it seems like it's just maybe less pressure on the motor or something I don't know.

Harvey wrote

I drove the CR-V today with the CVT transmission it wasn't really too bad. I'll probably end up buying the car.

You are going to spend hundreds of hours in your next vehicle and all you got is "not too bad". Yikes.

Did this Honda rust in your driveway like the last 2?

Maybe check out a Toyota Rav 4 or Sub Outback or a Hyundi Tucson or a Mazda CX5 or a VW Tiguan or a 2018 Chevy Equinox  or Ford Escape or something else.

This will be my fifth. None of my cars have really rusted away, exactly. I just have this feeling that when the rust starts to show the resale drops. The dealer is offering me 10k for the old one.  I'm assuming that any car you don't drive regularly will rust.  Leave your car in the driveway for two weeks with some rain and then take a look at the rotors.

My comment was really about the CVT not the car itself.  Does the RAV have a 5 speed auto? I'd prefer that.  Honda motors are super sweet, that's what keeps me coming back I think.

I also really like the safety features.  I'm sure all new cars have them.

How do you find out if a price is fair without giving your contact info to another dealer?

Harv, I have never had a car rust..granted my cars are garaged , but we have one that lives on the driveway..All around 5yrs old..

How often do you drive them per month?

2 everyday
1 once every week or so

Have you ever crawled under the once a week car?

can't say I have, but will later..

Harvey wrote

How do you find out if a price is fair without giving your contact info to another dealer?

My opinion is you need to know what is a fair price before discussing the price. I don't like the idea of playing dealers against each other trying to get the lowest possible price, I value their time and try to be fair and only use their time if I am serious about buying through them. I will check with other dealers only if we can't reach a deal.

My last two purchases, I emailed the dealer with my all in offer stating I would sign a purchase agreement for that price right away or check other dealers if they want to pass, no hard feelings. If you have a fair price in mind (fair for both parties, not trying to nickel and dime the dealer) and are serious, they will take the offer.

There are lots of resources available online that help buyers figure out a fair price, though demand for the vehicle will factor into that. Compacts like my Civic Hatch are in much lower demand than CRVs, so that certainly effects the offer price.

I'm very willing to spend a lot of time and drive quite a ways to get what I think is a fair price, so my methods aren't the best for folks that want to get the process done and over with and not spend a lot of time on it. But you pay a bit more as well.

Agreed.  

I took Amtrak down to D.C. and then hopped on the Metro to suburban MD to purchase my current car.

I would have purchased from the local dealer but he didn't want to look for the precise model I wanted. Said he did a search and there weren't any within 500 miles.  Tried to do a hard sell on a model in different trim that he had in stock. It was a good deal, but I'm in the car a decent amount and I really enjoy an engaging driving experience. He had me considering that car but I held off, went home and did my own search online and found my new car about 220 miles away. He outright lied. It's the 2nd time that dealer wouldn't sell me a car. Last time, they wouldn't give me a fair deal on the car I was turning in, so I found a great sales guy in an online forum and drove down to South Jersey in the old car and drove back in the new one. Unfortunately, that guy passed away, otherwise I would have bought from him again.

Harvey wrote

 

How do you find out if a price is fair without giving your contact info to another dealer?

Sorry Harv I missed this.

You've gotten some solid advise from River --- check Edmunds for pricing. If I get the chance I'll run a comparison on Edmunds to a product I'm familiar with and see how close they are to cost. Edmunds also, I think it's them, has what they call TMV (true market value). What they do is collect all sale data on the specific car you are looking at and will tell you what people in your area have paid for that vehicle. It's good toll when purchasing a new car. Email a few dealers in your area and go with whoever makes you feel the most comfortable.

Marcski wrote

Agreed.  

I took Amtrak down to D.C. and then hopped on the Metro to suburban MD to purchase my current car.

I would have purchased from the local dealer but he didn't want to look for the precise model I wanted. Said he did a search and there weren't any within 500 miles.  Tried to do a hard sell on a model in different trim that he had in stock. It was a good deal, but I'm in the car a decent amount and I really enjoy an engaging driving experience. He had me considering that car but I held off, went home and did my own search online and found my new car about 220 miles away. He outright lied. It's the 2nd time that dealer wouldn't sell me a car. Last time, they wouldn't give me a fair deal on the car I was turning in, so I found a great sales guy in an online forum and drove down to South Jersey in the old car and drove back in the new one. Unfortunately, that guy passed away, otherwise I would have bought from him again.

Hold on just a second Marcski. Dealer trades are not a perfect science. He could've called the dealer that showed with the car you wanted to buy but they could've told him the car was already sold. If the dealer he called knew he had the only car like that for miles around I'm sure that's what he did. 220 miles is a bit of a stretch to do a dealer trade. Dealers have a network of trading partners that they work well with and that's normally within a 150 mile radius. Most dealers don't want to take a car back from a dealer who's any farther away from him than that.

I'm not saying he didn't lie to you but my gut tells me he was the one lied to.

Yea, Harv --- Edmunds is spot on with their TMV pricing. The MSRP I did was within $10 and the invoice pricing they gave was wqithin a couple hundred of actuality but I know why that is. Their TMV pricing is fair.

I use Edmonds for getting the numbers when buying a car.  It used to be a lot better but they are so stuffed with advertising now trying to bump you off your game you have to pay attention.  I don't do dealer against dealer.  I do car against car.  I pick vehicles out that I like.  I don't even test drive them because I know they all drive fine.  Then I put my numbers together, they like to deal in monthly payments now so you have to go the extra step with the down payment and financing but that is pretty simple.   Then I figure out what a fair trade in on the car that I dropping off and I go the dealer.  I let them know I am coming and what I have.

As far as trade in the Ford dealer up here lost the sale because they could not give me a decent amount on the trade in.  The guy they peddle it to would not give them anything.

The Acura dealer down in Albany gave me 50% more for the car because of the options he had with the trade.  Then we got down to numbers on the car.  I told the kid right up front what I was doing.  It was between the SHO, TLX Tech package and the Infinity Q-50 forget the trim.    

I knew what the fair price was and the Acura Dealer did not want me to leave the shop, probably because the Q-50 would blow the doors off the TLX and they would have hooked me.   I thought in my gut the Acura would be more reliable(consumer reports) but the Q-50 was quick.   The second time he came out the number he put in front of me was 30 bucks per month below what I thought was a fair deal.  I looked at him funny cause  I thought he must be underwater at that point but TLX's were not really selling.  I said to him you sure you can do that.  He said YUP.  I said get it ready I'll wait.  Drove home couple hours later with the new car.  64k miles later and all I have done is change the oil.  Never even drove the Q-50.  

It looks like Edmunds wants my info too. What do they do with it?

Dealer is kind of driving me nuts. I want to see the quote in writing, can't seem to get it by email.

You can still get the info without giving them your info but you have to work harder at it.

try this link

https://www.edmunds.com/honda/cr-v/2017/suv/

scroll down to almost the bottom of the page. Click on build and price. You should only have to change the zip code to get their pricing and TMV.

They should be very willing to send you a quote in writing via email. If not I'd look elsewhere. Quotes in writing are done daily as an everyday process.

What they'll do with your info is give it to the manufactures and call you a "hand raiser" targeting you for junk mail and email for their product.

NICE!!

I looked again Harv ---- it's only half way doen the page