How was your experience buying your Type R?

[Zeffy94]

I was bored one day and decided to see if Edmunds had any CTRs for sale. I had this pipe dream of buying and driving one, as when the car was announced I was hooked instantly. So I asked for a few quotes. To my surprise they had three dealers, and of that only two were showing the model I wanted (the Type R). So the first dealers I dealt with all wanted ADM - as in, 10K - so I basically said no thanks. Another dealer wanted $5k ADM, and I said I would think about it. They were pressuring me but I honestly wasn’t really feeling it.

The last dealer tried to call me but the quote I got was for a sport hatchback- close, but not quite. I almost didn’t answer the call but I decided to. Glad I did, because he ended up telling me they were getting one and what colors I preferred. I gave him red and white, with gray as a third, and he said there was a white one that would be being built in the near future. He asked if I wanted to put a deposit in it, so I did.

The weeks leading up to the delivery were filled with tons of watching YouTube videos on how to drive a stick - so I could have a basic understanding of what to do. I also found a driving school that offered lessons so I took one, and thought I did OKish.

The estimate was originally for April, so when I was told it’s gonna be mid March instead I was thrilled and couldn’t wait. However I was still worried about being able to drive it. When the day arrived the process was smooth - I ended up getting lower than I thought for my trade (a 17 coupe touring) but I decided it was still worth it. It didn’t take very long to get through the F&I stuff and then it was time to go home. By then the stress and anxiety levels were off the charts.

Well, that part didn’t go the greatest. Somehow I got it going on the first try, but like a cruel joke being misled into a false pretense, I would stall shortly after. Then again in traffic. And again. So forth. Was not a good time going home. After I got home my mind panicked and thought what I just did - if I couldn’t drive it, what was I gonna do?

I held off on driving it to work, instead taking my dads personal car (an ILX) until he helped me get the basics down in a parking lot after work. Eventually I mustered the courage to bring it to work and did so. The next two months I would slowly begin to grasp the concepts better and improve. By the third month I wasn’t stalling. Six months I had gotten relatively smoother shifts. 10 months I continued to improve, and now I am also improving still. There’s still more to work on, but I can say I can drive this car pretty good.

I can easily say this was an experience, and I am glad to take the plunge. I found a lot of appreciation for the manual transmission, and although I do not appreciate it in very heavy traffic, I live in an area which usually does not experience it that often, so I am perfectly fine with it. And I finally found a car that I want to keep with me, just because it has a special place in my heart.

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[WhatThePuck]

My experience was fantastic. I didn't go into the dealer, I bought mine from out of state so all the communication was email and phone. This was also the first car I've bought on my own. You know dealers can smell noob car buyers and try to take advantage of that. I wanted to do all the research I could on not just this vehicle but on how to deal with dealers lol. I joined this forum and did a ton of reading (and learning). I knew exactly what I wanted and I wasn't going to let a dealer walk on me. Some places I contacted wouldn't stop emailing me after I had told them my plan, asking me if I was ready to buy. My initial plan was to buy in June, and I contacted I don't even know how many dealers about what they sold the car for, their waitlist, etc. Before Zimbrick I was on a 12-person list here in CO...and was the last one on that list. Anywho I contacted Zimbrick and it was pleasant from the start. I was put on their list of 3 people, my sales rep Jared knew my plan about waiting and didn't try to push me. January came and he called, telling me a CW was coming in and wanted to tell me even though it was early he wanted to run it by me first (which I thought was nice). I told him to go ahead and run numbers with the down payment I had at the time. It ended up working out perfectly. He'd always end his phone calls with, 'please let me know if there's anything else I can do, I'm here to serve you'. I know he was doing his job but at the same time I felt like he actually gave a crap about me as a person and not a dollar sign. He was incredibly helpful throughout the entire process, and even after I received the car he let me know if I had any other questions to ask him. Got the color I wanted and at MSRP, granted I did pay 1200 for shipping but I see that as a win in comparison to having to pay 5k+ in ADM. I couldn't be happier with how well it all went, especially for a first timer.

 

[lorenkb]

I’m trading in my 2017 Hatchback Sport MT for a blue Type R next month. I’m a salesperson at a Honda dealership and just wanted to see what your guys’ experience was purchasing, i.e. was it fun, stressful, meh?

Having a hard time believing you can be from California, involved in sales at a Honda dealership relating to Type R's, and still be honestly asking or interested in this question.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt though . There are pages and pages of posts on how shitty the experience was, especially in California, relating to buying a Type R. The resurgence of stupidity on the part of dealers with the MY19 has been impressive. I guess I should clarify that a bit: Anyone who isn't fanatical about this car does not have a good time with massive dealer markups over MSRP on what is essentially a hopped up econobox, especially when fed the same BS excuses and lies over and over from desperate sales departments.

 

[MatT3T4]

Mine was fine. I went in, in December and they wanted $5k over sticker. They also did not want to give me what I wanted on my trade-in, which was a badass 2017 F-150. After about 20 minutes, I stood up, told the guy that we would not find a middle ground, shook his hand, and walked.

A few weeks later, after the new year, I got a phone call on my way home from work. As soon as I picked up I realized who it was, let him know I was not interested, and hung up.

When I got home, I was hopping into the shower and checked my email really quick. He had also emailed me, so I said screw it. I emailed him back letting him know that I want a certain price on my trade-in, and a certain price on the car. They had two 2018's left over and they wanted to get rid of them that weekend to make room for the 2019's. I took a shower, hopped in my truck, and went down to Honda. About two hours later, I drove home in my CTR. Got the price I wanted, got the trade-in amount I wanted, got the options I wanted...all good.

 

[kkflesh]

Very good. I had texted to the salesman for 3~4 days. And he gave me a MSRP price.

 

[slowride]

I've been working with the dealer I got mine from since 2005, so my purchases are always super easy and stress free. I got my Type-R at MSRP and when I got to the dealer I signed the paperwork and drove it home within 45 minutes or so.

 

[sonicgray_kev]

Decided I wanted a Type R on Monday. On Tuesday, I called all the dealers that had one in stock in the color I wanted within 300miles of my location (NYC). Almost every one I called wanted 5-10k on top of sticker. Most of the calls was straight to the point and they just told me straight up 5-10k on top and I would just say thank you but I'm only willing to pay sticker and it ended there. Of course they always wanted me to come in and talk about it but I just wanted a straight answer of MSRP Yes or No. After speaking to like 12 dealers, I finally speak to a salesman that was willing to do MSRP that was 2 hours away in Sonic Gray. He asked for a deposit to hold the car but can withdraw deposit if I decided not to purchase the car. Started all the paperwork that he need that afternoon. Drove to the dealership the next morning to sign all the paperwork and pick up the car. They were even able to match my loan APR from penfed. Was only at the dealer for 2 hours from my arrival to leaving the dealer. Hardest part was getting to an agreed amount for a trade-in which they also matched from another dealership. They had another CW in the showroom that my buddy picked up for sticker a week after also for sticker.

The best part about the whole thing was all the dealers calling me after to see if I still was still interested in their marked up car. Telling them I got a SG already for MSRP felt great.

 

[ZigzagDerpaderp]

2018

no volume knob

u got screwed bro

 

[Cornercarver]

I’m trading in my 2017 Hatchback Sport MT for a blue Type R next month. I’m a salesperson at a Honda dealership and just wanted to see what your guys’ experience was purchasing, i.e. was it fun, stressful, meh?

Hopefully it is better these days. In August of 2017 I went in to test drive and possibly buy a CTR. 'None in stock, and we have a wait list, and our allotment for the year is four, and you can't test drive it when it comes in unless you can show us $ 45,000. We had a white one, but the general manager's son got it.'

I hear that the madness has calmed down, and you can actually find them in stock now. There are at least three or four in my area now, as opposed to zero back then. I don't expect a dealer to give away a limited supply car under sticker, but the gouging back then was unconscionable. Guess some of it is still going on. And the day I buy a car I have not test driven will be...never.
How is it that I have test driven a Porsche, Lotus, Audi, BMW, Lexus, etc. with no problem, but I can't test drive a $ 35,000 Honda Civic? Type R or not? Puh-lease.

 

[HondaFan2017]

My CTR buying experience from Luxembourg Europe.
After documenting myself, testing the CTR at the beginning of 2018 as well as some competitors I finally decided to pull the trigger in January this year.
So one afternoon I called just to ask. The sales manager was very accomodating, even told me he's going to wait for me should I not make it before 7 pm closing time. There there were 10 CTRs on the lot, all colors that just arrived the week before. He was kind enough to look in the system and tell me which was the newest. I reserved a PMM, seller took my Bmw 4 series coordonates for trade-in. We spent 3 hrs on this and talking about track days, accessories, mods. Really pleasant.
Next day I received promptly a correct trade in value and next day in the morning I went to sign the contract. There was still time to choose another color. Went on the parking lot to compare them. Was torn between pmm and red. I chose pmm in the end. We signed the contract, he was not pushy at all, did not try to sell me stuff. Got a small % off. In one week the car was prepared(told them to gently wash but not to polish or treat the paint, leave plastics), they even contacted my insurer to transfer policy. All documents/registration/fiscal cert ready. This for 150 usd approx. I just had to drive home.
Impecable so far. Rests to be seen how after sales services work.

What I also like was their attitude throughout the interaction: always relaxed, not aggressive, cocky even if I mentioned about the competitors.

Btw I took warranty extension + maintenance for 5 yrs for 1.5k euros.

 

[tofumann]

My experience in getting the car was only as good/bad as I allowed it to be, and that's just a fact-------I realized the salesman make only hundreds of dollars when they sell a $38k product, and most customers really care nothing but the price.

I decided on asking an old friend to help me to find the car locally (S. Cal). He got me $2.5k over msrp (with zero options). This friend is actually retired and no longer in the car business but I would be MORE THAN HAPPY to know if he made some money off my deal, and not just the dealer taking it all.

I had bought my previous car (2016 Shelby) from out of state dealer, and paid $1500 for shipping it in an enclosed trailer to S. Cal. If the out-of-state dealer knows what they are doing, buying it from out of state is the way to go. Of course--you can't really check on the car unless you are willing to travel for inspection, which includes your time, energy and costs for traveling.

 

[tom_volvo850]

Everything is good, but I don't like the dealer try to add up a price. I like the car, but I don't like they add up price. I feel waste money for nothing.

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