When I deal on a new car I go late in the day, an hr or so before closeing,
that way the salesperson isn't going to try and waste all of your day.

Tom

"Ctenos" <SPAMctenos@att.net (reply w/o spam)> wrote in message
news:ctswd.1125$uM5.469@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> I'm helping an aged friend near Boston, MA buy a car. He's pretty much
> settled on a new 2005 Honda CR-V LX in 4WD, no extra options. No
> financing,
> no trade-in, simple sale. Three questions:
>
> - Is there any special advantage to buying right now, after Christmas, or
> in
> January? There may be a slight difference in excise tax, but otherwise
> timing not critical for the buyer. Any special pre- or post-year-end
> dealer
> inventory deadlines, hold-backs, etc. might help.
>
> - Are the Consumer Reports numbers accurate for this sort of thing? Saving
> a
> few hundred bucks could help a lot for this buyer, so an informed
> negotiation would be good.
>
> - Can anyone please suggest an actual fair price right now for this car,
> no
> extra options?
>
> Thanks very much for advice - this ain't my thing, exactly.
>
> -Ctenos
>
> P.S. - Haven't been able to get the Honda.com web-quote thing to work, but
> will keep trying.
>
>

 

When I deal on a new car I go late in the day, an hr or so before closeing,
that way the salesperson isn't going to try and waste all of your day.

Tom

"Ctenos" <SPAMctenos@att.net (reply w/o spam)> wrote in message
news:ctswd.1125$uM5.469@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> I'm helping an aged friend near Boston, MA buy a car. He's pretty much
> settled on a new 2005 Honda CR-V LX in 4WD, no extra options. No
> financing,
> no trade-in, simple sale. Three questions:
>
> - Is there any special advantage to buying right now, after Christmas, or
> in
> January? There may be a slight difference in excise tax, but otherwise
> timing not critical for the buyer. Any special pre- or post-year-end
> dealer
> inventory deadlines, hold-backs, etc. might help.
>
> - Are the Consumer Reports numbers accurate for this sort of thing? Saving
> a
> few hundred bucks could help a lot for this buyer, so an informed
> negotiation would be good.
>
> - Can anyone please suggest an actual fair price right now for this car,
> no
> extra options?
>
> Thanks very much for advice - this ain't my thing, exactly.
>
> -Ctenos
>
> P.S. - Haven't been able to get the Honda.com web-quote thing to work, but
> will keep trying.
>
>

 

ABS is too emphasized, because people rely on it to do things its not
designed to do. It won't shorten stopping distance and you really have to
hammer the pedal down to create a skid. If you drive intelligently, you
don't need ABS. Insurance carriers have realized that by eliminating ABS
discounts as it didn't reduce accidents. Side curtain airbags are another
issue, as they have proven to add a safety factor in side impact crashes.
Seems I saw an LX advertised here in Calif a couple weeks ago for $18,900,
if that gives you an idea. Can't remember if it was on 04 or 05 though.




"Ctenos" <SPAMctenos@att.net (reply w/o spam)> wrote in message
news:5LAwd.1110008$Gx4.314464@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> Much obliged for all these helpful thoughts - please keep 'em coming! The
> buyer actually was aiming at a 2004. My concern was that many of these
> lack
> ABS, which I regard as an important safety factor, especially for someone
> with limited reflexes. We'll ask how much lower prices are on last year's
> model.
>
> Thanks again-
>
> Ctenos
>
>
>

 

ABS is too emphasized, because people rely on it to do things its not
designed to do. It won't shorten stopping distance and you really have to
hammer the pedal down to create a skid. If you drive intelligently, you
don't need ABS. Insurance carriers have realized that by eliminating ABS
discounts as it didn't reduce accidents. Side curtain airbags are another
issue, as they have proven to add a safety factor in side impact crashes.
Seems I saw an LX advertised here in Calif a couple weeks ago for $18,900,
if that gives you an idea. Can't remember if it was on 04 or 05 though.




"Ctenos" <SPAMctenos@att.net (reply w/o spam)> wrote in message
news:5LAwd.1110008$Gx4.314464@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> Much obliged for all these helpful thoughts - please keep 'em coming! The
> buyer actually was aiming at a 2004. My concern was that many of these
> lack
> ABS, which I regard as an important safety factor, especially for someone
> with limited reflexes. We'll ask how much lower prices are on last year's
> model.
>
> Thanks again-
>
> Ctenos
>
>
>