Looking to go electric - are these Honda Prologue posted rates for real?

Ask the Hackrs
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Hey there. Hope you like stories because I’m not really a “here’s three lines no puncutation give me a deal” guy. The short version is “is there a point to being loyal to the same sales guy or is it time to play the field?”

I’m closing in on the end (this fall) of three years with a '23 Honda HR-V LX AWD. I sold my '19 HR-V Sport in fall of '22 thinking we would cut back and get the new CR-V Sport, but ended up needing a car desperately a couple months later and decided to stick with what I knew, toward the end of scarcity on these cars. So I wound up with this '23 and… it’s fine… but I don’t love it like I did the previous generation with the double flip seats and the smaller wheelbase and certainly don’t want to pay $456 a month (with MI state taxes, no down) for another three years in one like this. I hate putting my phone in that little tray, can’t clip anything on the honeycomb vents, I feel like I lost a lot of cargo room, and the fuel efficiency is a downgrade from both my old HRV and the Equinox my spouse drove for a while (currently 23.5 MPG and steadily dropping, in ECO mode all the time).

Honda is emailing me frequently, of course, about various models but the latest is about how inexpensive the Prologue can be and the link in the email takes me to deals like these - screenshot attached. Even if I pay $0 down and the monthly rate goes up substantially, it still seems like saving a lot of money compared to the lease I’m finishing now.

I’ve been wanting to go electric for years - I WFH, 97% of my driving is within a few miles of my house, and the other two percent is within one full charge @ 296 miles (we own an Ody for big hauls and long trips).

I’ve done my last three leases with the same guy at the beloved local dealership. Last time I was in for maintenance he said he was ready to get me out now, a few months early, and into a new lease. I told him I want to go electric and he says I should hold off three more years and lease a CR-V Sport for now. Which, I guess, but it looks like I’m going to pay even more per month for one of those, and it’s not going to save me that much on fuel compared to just plugging in at home or at one of the plentiful local chargers (I live in a very science-friendly eco-conscious city).

When I check the beloved neighborhood dealership’s website, they don’t seem to have any prologues in stock, while the big dealership the next town over has several.

The way I see it is three options:
1.) I show him this screenshot and try and get him to match it
2.) I get out of the comfort zone and shop around locally
3.) I go out of state – I saw the Honda Ninja folks here have some very nice prices on Prologues today, but I have to get to New York?

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Just to clarify, are you looking to get out of your current lease now (early)? And, if so, it “just” b/c of the reasons you mentioned in the latter half of the 2nd paragraph of your initial post?

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Thanks for asking – and especially for reading. Boy, that was a long message.

I don’t HAVE to, but I would like to get out of this lease now and into a less expensive lease. I am trying to reduce my monthly expenses, and if I can also cut out gas tank fillups every 10-14 days or so, then, bonus.

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And honestly if a different make is more sensible I’m willing to consider that too. I’ve been a Honda guy for like 20 years, old habits.

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How much is your HR-V worth (as in, do you have positive equity)?

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You certainly don’t need to remain “loyal” to someone who did you dirty like that

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Additionally, you told your sales guy you want an electric prologue, and he’s trying to sell you a CRV.

A good salesperson (for you) helps you get what you want, not what he will make more commission selling you.

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TLDR: if you think Prologue quotes are great, take a look at Acura ZDX

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No reason to show loyalty you already gave that guy enough business, and I agree he’s not being your advocate, it looks like he’s using you to fit what he wants.

Definitely shop locally but look at all the brokers on the website. Some ship but some do have residency restrictions. Also check your state laws—for example I found out in NC the lemon law only applies if the vehicle is bought or leased from an NC dealer (strong nc dealer lobbyists I guess).

Don’t be surprised if dealers won’t touch the brokers deals. Sometimes they will play ball but otherwise they will just laugh in your face. Also don’t mention that you “saw this deal on Leasehackr”. That won’t help negotiations.

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I do not have positive equity. I’ve requested three quotes from Carmax, Carvana, and the LH buying service, and they are all about $3000 less than the payoff.

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Try Facebook