Deal Check: 2020 Honda Civic Sedan LX/Sport at NY

Ask the Hackrs
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1

Hey -

Just started my car lease researching process. Received this quote from a NY dealer and wondering if this is a good deal. Tbh NY dealers are much more straightforward than NJ dealers. None of the NJ Honda dealers agreed to send me any quote saying unless I visit their store. But I never expect to waste any time to visit those dealers unless I receive an actual satisfied quote with OTD. :frowning:

One question is - How on earth could I possibly receive a more accurate quote before I make a decision to visit the dealer, is phone communication rather than email a better idea to do so?

Below is a quote I received from a NY Honda dealer, even though I consider this as something negotiable.

2020 Honda Civic Sedan LX
Cosmic Blue Metallic
Gray interior

$237/month for 36 months
Monthly lease based on buyer input, subject to approval
Retail price $21,605.00
Discount - $1,457.00
Incentivesarrow - $500.00
Acq Fee $595.00
Subtotal $20,243.00
Residual (61%) $13,270.55
Down payment $0.00
Term 36 months
Base monthly payment $216.13
Tax (8.88%) $20.41
Total monthly payment $236.55
Feesarrow
$250.50
Tax on cap reduction $0.00
Down payment $0.00
First monthly payment $236.55
Total driveoff $487.05

Also I am not sure how could their processing fees be as low as $250.50, from what I seen on other ppl’s deals across the forum it seems most people pay as much as 500-1,000 for titles, registration or so. Is there any thing else I need to consider if I follow up this deal? Any possible hidden price apart from OTD $487.05(so far)?

Thanks for your help and any reply is highly appreciated! :stuck_out_tongue:

2

Yup, don’t fall for their tactic of getting you in the door and on the hot seat. Try any remote communication possible (phone, email, chat, etc) and if they don’t communicate, move on.

3

Yes! I actually called one of the NJ dealers who previously said he cannot provide any quote. Without any surprise, he offered me a quote through the phone. lmao

4

The quote in the first post is a little weird. Tax in NY is not on the monthly payment. It is collected upfront by the state. Either the lessee pays upfront or the bank pays it and capitalizes it into the lease.

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5

Thanks for letting me know. So you mean this is uncommon, right? When they provided this quote, they added tax monthly from $216.13 to $236.55. I can double check with them upon this case.

Also, is there any advantage or disadvantage btwn paying tax monthly or paying all taxes in advance?

Thanks for your help :slight_smile:

6

It’s generally not recommended to pay a lot of money DAS (due at signing). I usually recommend first month or first month + DMV fees DAS.

Also you can use the LH calculator and post the link here. You have all the inputs except MF which you can find or ask on Edmunds forums

Your tax rate is probably 8.875% to be exact.

@Simon_W

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7

Thanks! Just briefly calculated the quote and attached it to the original post. Sorry as a new potential car owner I totally have no idea is .00061 seems to be a good MF.

8

There’s really no such thing as a good MF. It’s one input out of like 4-5… you use it and learn how to use the calculator but in the end you have to judge the end result rather than any singular input.

Random thought: instead of grinding the last meat off an LX bone why don’t you see if you can get an EX for this price?

1 Like
9

Yes, that’s a good thought - Since 237/month seems to be affordable to me, I’d try to negotiate to see if I could get a better trim.

10

Update: Received a reply from NJ dealer - after showing them this quote they said it is a good deal and I should take it.

11

Just putting this out there: this is a barebones $21k Civic that will presumably hold its value very well, possibly better than even the 61% residual. Leasing it at nearly $250/mo, although a fairly low-sounding number, seems expensive for what it is. Have you looked into financing it? Alternatively, assuming you are a NJ or NY resident, both states offer EV rebates - could it be worth considering something that takes advantage of that in this price range?

12

That seems to be a fair point - Not yet heard of EV rebates for NY, are there any details of this rebate? Applied to finance only? Thanks! :slight_smile:

13

https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Programs/Drive-Clean-Rebate/How-it-Works

Basically, up to $2k off for NY residents buying or leasing EVs, including plug-in hybrids (but those get less). The dealer can always decide to mark up to the price to make up for the difference, but it’s worth looking into as an option!

14

Thanks! I will check this out - since EV seems ok tbh and if that only raise the budget a bit per month. Let me check this out, again thanks for this info

15

Hey, just received this quote from the same dealer -

2020 Honda Civic Sedan Sport

Modern Steel Metallic
Black interior

$238/month for 36 months
Monthly lease based on buyer input, subject to approval
==============
Retail price $23,555.00
Discount - $2,102.00
Incentivesarrow -$500.00
Acq Fee $595.00
Subtotal $21,548.00
Residual (62%) $14,604.10
Down payment $0.00
Term 36 months
Base monthly payment $217.11
Tax (8.88%) $20.50
Total monthly payment $237.61
Feesarrow
$250.50+DMV
Tax on cap reduction $0.00
Down payment $0.00
================
First monthly payment $237.61
Total driveoff $488.11+DMV

Kind of surprised to see that they had a special labor day sale for an additional $500 incentive on Sport trims, making the monthly payment only $1/month higher than LX. Also, I guess it’s because of Sport’s higher residual (62%), making total lease cost closely equal to LX - which seems to be a better deal?

What do you guys think?

@max_g appreciate for the professional help btw!

16

But your incentive remains $500 :man_shrugging:t4:

And your total costs went up by more than $1*36 because now the DAS is $488 plus DMV

17

Oh, initially their discount was $1,602, the additional dealer discount was $500.
The Incentive arrow they provided was from the factory graduate $500 discount, which is different.
So basically in total, there is a $1,000 incentive. Sorry for the inaccurate description.

18

And with that said, the final sales price with 595 acq fee included is $21,548

19

Have you tried driving a civic with the 1.5t engine, it’s a better experience, imho.

20

That almost adds $1,500 onto the sport trim in the sales price. I guess that slightly goes beyond my budget, but thanks for your advice :slight_smile: