Need advice before buying new hatchback.

[n09ze]

First post here, found civicx through reddit and there's a lot of good quality content here. Was hoping I could get advice/help from you guys. I am a pretty big car noob but recently I have been doing a lot of research. I am ready to pull the trigger and purchase my first brand new car - EX WOP hatchback. EX seems to be the most bang for my buck and I like all the features it offers. Is there anything I should know/do before buying it? I'm going through the Costco Auto Program and they quoted me $21,800 and $24,000 OTD (9.25% tax I believe).

The thing I'm most concerned about is getting approved at a good rate. I have great credit but not a long credit history and have no experience with loans and most likely going to get a co-signer. Any tips on this?

In terms of accessories I am planning to get all weather mats from HuskyLiners and maybe purchase a trunk mat from Honda. Are there any other accessories that you think are a very good purchase?

Thanks

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[SonicHB]

You're right, the EX is an amazing sweet spot Honda has hit regarding features for the $$. The options I like on my EX are Honda's high-wall all weather mats, including trunk mat, color keyed body side molding, and mud guards. Honda's mats have a soft touch to them which feels better than the hard rubber ones, and they look nice.

On Co-Signing, it might help get your loan payment down, but when you are evaluated in the future on credit they will see that you didn't carry the full weight of the loan... so to speak. Also think of the position you are putting the Co-Signor in, If something goes wrong and you can't pay, they are responsible for the whole amount. I'm sure it's common for parents to do this for their children, other than that the best scenario is if the Co-Signor is a spouse.

 

[izitnick]

First post here, found civicx through reddit and there's a lot of good quality content here. Was hoping I could get advice/help from you guys. I am a pretty big car noob but recently I have been doing a lot of research. I am ready to pull the trigger and purchase my first brand new car - EX WOP hatchback. EX seems to be the most bang for my buck and I like all the features it offers. Is there anything I should know/do before buying it? I'm going through the Costco Auto Program and they quoted me $21,800 and $24,000 OTD (9.25% tax I believe).

The thing I'm most concerned about is getting approved at a good rate. I have great credit but not a long credit history and have no experience with loans and most likely going to get a co-signer. Any tips on this?

In terms of accessories I am planning to get all weather mats from HuskyLiners and maybe purchase a trunk mat from Honda. Are there any other accessories that you think are a very good purchase?

Thanks

Hey bub, congrats on your first new car! it's a great feeling.
1. I can't comment on the price, a lot of guys here are better at that than me and I'm sure will chime in. You may want toe edit post and comment if you're getting sensing on that.
2. I agree on the EX in the hatch. It has features over the LX that in my eyes are worth it, and the EX-L Navi costs too much more for too many features that I don't care about (navigation being the primary thing). It
3. For your rate: my field of work is mortgage lending. On a mortgage loan, in terms of a lower vs. higher rate, we always base the rate on the lower credit score of all the applicants on the loan (the lower middle of the three scores for each, but I don't think you get a tri-merged report on a car loan). If auto loans work the same, a co-signer will not get you a better interest rate than you would on your own, but may help qualify you from an income perspective if your debt to income ratio is tight. *IMPORTANT* Just remember that whomever is co- signing for you, if they sign the loan papers, this will show up on their credit report as a loan they can be called upon to pay. Whenever your co-signed goes to apply for anything - mortgage, car loan, etc - your car payment will count fully against them from a debt to income (DTI) perspective. I have seen this be the different between qualifying for something and not in the mortgage world.
4. For accessories, I definitely see myself getting a cargo net. Stuff slides about a lot in that cavernous trunk, which can break stuff, and sounds bad when you drive it.

Good luck!

 

[totopo]

Consider the sensing package. I'm glad I got it. Sure the lane keep doesn't work perfect, and the low speed follow can be a little jerky, but all in all I think it makes some drives more pleasant.

If the collision mitigation helps lessen even one injury than that is worth waaaaaaaay more than the 1k for me.

 

[syncro87]

I might as well be the contrarian here.

I could have easily afforded any hatch trim, but chose the LX.

Why?

I wanted hatch, turbo engine. You get auto climate with the LX. I survived for years without the advanced keyless entry, you still get the old fashioned keyless with the LX, you just have to press a button on the fob. I didn't want the advanced touchscreen radio you get in the EX, because it seriously limits your options to upgrade later. I never use the moonroof, and almost always kept the shade closed on my old car due to the heat of the sun. The hatch already rides on the stiff side, and larger wheels/thinner tires just exacerbates this. I couldn't care less about heated seats with cloth. Remote start is undesirable to me...there are already some oil contamination issues surfacing with the DI engines, and idling the car doesn't help, so RS was another option that added little value in my book. Dual zone climate control? First world problem.

Sensing? I thought long and hard about it. In the end, there were too many reports of wonky operation for my taste. I don't want to be driving along and have a false alarm where the car slams on the brakes for no reason. I think we're in the early adopter phase right now, the tech is immature. I see the value in it, I just don't think it is quite refined enough right now for me to purchase. Five or ten years from now, yes, it will likely be evolved enough to take the plunge on. It's usually better, with any high tech stuff, to let others be the first adopters, let them work the bugs out, and then jump in the pool yourself a bit later. No doubt, it's a cool technology. When I looked back at decades of driving, I could not think of one incident where having Sensing would have saved me, prevented an accident, etc. There really hasn't been one in my case.

In other words, most of the EX stuff was mildly nice to have at best, but not worth paying thousands of dollars for, to me.

My wife has a sedan EX-T, so I'm familiar with the EX hatch features.

You can get an LX hatch, CVT, for around $19 grand with 0.9%x60 mos through Honda. Seemed like a good deal to me, low price, you get the good engine, and you get alloy wheels on the base hatch unlike the sedan.

Considering that when I was a kid, most people had no A/C in their car, crank windows, probably no cruise control, no keyless of any sort, no bluetooth, etc...the LX is equipped like a Mercedes or Cadillac of not too many years ago.


Look at carjojo for pricing help.


/end of devil's advocate LX post.

 

[Shankmeyster]

Around here I've seen Honda's finance at 0.9 for 36 months at some and 60 months at other dealers. If you can pull that financing then you'll be good. I had that on my 2010 and you can put it on auto deduct or do it yourself.

As for accessories, buy anything that's not attached to the car after the actual car. Putting that stuff on the financing just means you will pay more interest at the end.

 

[syncro87]

Around here I've seen Honda's finance at 0.9 for 36 months at some and 60 months at other dealers. If you can pull that financing then you'll be good. I had that on my 2010 and you can put it on auto deduct or do it yourself.

As for accessories, buy anything that's not attached to the car after the actual car. Putting that stuff on the financing just means you will pay more interest at the end.

0.9 x 60 is a national program from Honda assuming your credit is good. Dealers can, in many locales, mark the rate up a point or two at their discretion. They make money on the margin between 0.9 and whatever you accept. If a dealer is telling you a different rate than 0.9 for 60 months, most likely they are bumping you on the rate.

Spot on with accessories. Get them after the fact.

 

[fdcarter]

First post here, found civicx through reddit and there's a lot of good quality content here. Was hoping I could get advice/help from you guys. I am a pretty big car noob but recently I have been doing a lot of research. I am ready to pull the trigger and purchase my first brand new car - EX WOP hatchback. EX seems to be the most bang for my buck and I like all the features it offers. Is there anything I should know/do before buying it? I'm going through the Costco Auto Program and they quoted me $21,800 and $24,000 OTD (9.25% tax I believe).

The thing I'm most concerned about is getting approved at a good rate. I have great credit but not a long credit history and have no experience with loans and most likely going to get a co-signer. Any tips on this?

In terms of accessories I am planning to get all weather mats from HuskyLiners and maybe purchase a trunk mat from Honda. Are there any other accessories that you think are a very good purchase?

Thanks

Hey congrats on your upcoming first new car purchase!

As to your choice of Civic hatchback, I say definitely go for the EX! It's a nice upgrade from the features of the base model. I don't need (or want) leather seating right now, (because that would be "death to my backside" in the AZ summer heat and sun I deal with yearly), and Apple CarPlay accesses navigation from my phone, so no need to pay more for an EX-L w/Navi.

I picked up mine last week, and love it! It also sounds like you're getting a sweet deal on one too, from the OTD purchase price you mentioned in your post.

Even still, I'd get one with the Sensing package, if you can afford it. To me, it seems like a very beneficial suite of safety features, that I think should come standard on all Hondas from here on out. (Some other car makers have even begun to lead the way on this note, by including features comparable to the Honda Sensing package on their base models).

My EX hatch with Sensing was about 26K and change OTD (including all taxes, destination, and other fees), so after having put down 2K cash as my down, I wound up financing the sticker price, which was about 24K and change.

The slightly higher price was because the inclusion of Sensing added on 1K, plus extra for the CVT. It also included an accessory package that included splash guards, wheel locks, and cargo tray (which I highly recommend, btw. Already had a "spill disaster" in the cargo area, and the tray has already saved the day).

If you can find an EX w/Sensing for 25K or below via the Costco Auto buying program OTD, I'd say definitely go for it. If not, financing 24K OTD for an EX is still a great deal. Congrats again!

 

[VarmintCong]

If the EX has leather steering wheel it'd be perfect. Honda, really, could you be any cheaper?

 

[Shankmeyster]

0.9 x 60 is a national program from Honda assuming your credit is good. Dealers can, in many locales, mark the rate up a point or two at their discretion. They make money on the margin between 0.9 and whatever you accept. If a dealer is telling you a different rate than 0.9 for 60 months, most likely they are bumping you on the rate.

Spot on with accessories. Get them after the fact.

Good to know on that finance rate. I'm going to ask for that on my hatch regardless if they are advertising it or not.

 

[derbo904]

If the EX has leather steering wheel it'd be perfect. Honda, really, could you be any cheaper?

I bought a leather steering wheel from Honda for roughly $90. I couldn;t let a steering wheel hold me back from buying a car.

 

[Shankmeyster]

Wait, the EX doesn't have the leather wrapped steering wheel? I thought they all did.

 

[derbo904]

Wait, the EX doesn't have the leather wrapped steering wheel? I thought they all did.

Nope. Only EX-L/Sport/Touring does. You can however but the steering wheel for $90 from honda and swap it out.

 

[Shankmeyster]

What a bunch of bullshit. Cost saving bullshit.

 

[syncro87]

Wait, the EX doesn't have the leather wrapped steering wheel? I thought they all did.

No, but under $100 from Honda for the leather wheel if one's dainty palms can't handle the brutal assault of the standard version's razor sharp plastic.


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