Clarity EV - It's like chasing a unicorn

I use cars.com when trying to find specific inventory. It shows only 4 available around SOCAL:

https://www.cars.com/for-sale/searchresults.action/?mdId=36385409&mkId=20017&rd=200&searchSource=QUICK_FORM&stkTypId=28880&zc=90210

Also, would you consider the Clarity fuel cell?

 

The FCV would have been my first choice because the hydrogen fuel would be free.
I originally started looking at the FCV but at that time they were in high demand and I could not wait.

The fast fill up times and free cost of energy was the main reasons plus CA has the HOV exemption, CVRP rebate and local rebate....

You have to look at the free hydrogen stations to see if it's worth the lease.

 

As stated earlier get on some waiting lists, that will pretty much the only way you'll end up with one. That being said, here's my story...

I was monitoring cars.com and cargurus.com for inventory around here (I'm in Torrance). At the time in January, apparently Norm Reeves in Cerritos had 5 of them. I contacted the internet sales manager and he said he had 3 left. I confirmed about 3 times via text that they were indeed there so I took half day off work and drug the wife and 2 kids down there, so you can see where this is going...

Yep they weren't there, they had gotten those 5 two days prior and they went to the people on the waiting list. I was pretty pissed so some other manager came out in the lobby and basically reiterated what the sales guy said. We left.

25 minutes later as I'm pulling into my driveway, my phone rings and it is the GM from the dealer who caught wind of the situation and was extremely apologetic and said that the next one that comes in is mine (yeah right).

Well he called 3 weeks later and low and behold they got one more 18' in, I originally wanted the pearl white, he had the Vortex Blue Pearl on grey leather, so I said f it and grabbed it, really glad I got that color after all.

Get on multiple lists and be persistent!! Good luck it's an amazing car.

 

Nice color - very unique.
Glad you got Norm Reeves to pull thru - they have always treated me very well over the past 4 Hondas we got from them in Cerritos...

That Vortex Blue is a color not available to other Clarity models making it unique.
Wish I had that instead of the Forest Green w/ tan in my PHEV...

 

Yeah Honda did a great job of offering unique color combos specific to each of the 3 technologies in these cars!

 

For some reason Honda calls the Vortex Blue Pearl the "hero" color for the Clarity Electric and Moonlit Forest Pearl the "hero" color for the Clarity Plug-In Hybrid. However, instead of a unique "hero" color, the Clarity Fuel Cell cars get a two-tone paint job; no matter what color the rest of the car is painted, the roof and the pillars are black.

 

Don't forget, the wheel inserts are also black on the FCV. That always seems to look good. I'm not a fan of black cars, but this picture is good.

https://amp.businessinsider.com/images/58f0fdd831fdc74a228b4673-1536-1151.jpg

 

That's a good-looking car--the black wheel inserts look great. I like our Moonlit Forest Pearl Clarity better with the Clarity accessory wheels than with the OEM silver-insert wheels (which are now shod with snow tires).

 

Whoa whoa whoa, does that mean if I found someone willing to swap inserts with me from a FCV, my wheels would essentially be all black? Anyone have any pictures of anyone that has done that? I think that would look pretty good on mine especially since I tinted the windows. OR wonder how much they are from Honda...

 

Check out this post and thread.

 

@2020 painted his wheel inserts. See pics in this post...
https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/honda-clarity-de-ugly-fied.3375/#post-32236
Looked like he painted over the silver Honda logo in the center of the inserts. Probably wouldn't be hard not to do that if you chose. Then they may be pretty much indistinguishable to the Honda FCV inserts.

 

Damn thanks guys, gonna remove em' and see what I can do.

 

Sorry about the OP having trouble finding an EV, but whoa I am really interested now in painting my plastic covers black. I had hoped that just removing the covers would improve the look, but someone posted a photo in another thread with the covers off, talk about ugly, I still can't unsee that picture. Also I thought I read that they contribute at least a little bit to aerodynamics. But I never thought about painting them. Not sure I would Plastidip them because I don't want a flat color which would look like plastic, I think gloss would look better to at least give the appearance of metal.

 

Greetings,

I was coming from a 2016 Ford Focus Electric that the lease was expiring. I had heard about the waitlist being mentioned in a number of places. When I contacted Galpin Honda (as they are 3 miles away from me), they said that they did not have a wait list, but didn't say how I would know that they have one in stock. They don't even bother updating their website for the Clarity EV's. They said keep checking with them. I was keeping track on Cargurus. A couple of weeks later, someone mentioned (on one of the forums) that Galpin was supposed to get a few that same week. I called the rep handling the EV's, and he said that he had one in stock, and how soon can I come in. I was there a couple of hours later, and picked it up. Got the Vortex Blue Pearl. Strangely enough, there is someone else with the same color CLarity electric in my church parking lot.

Regards,

GHTech

 

I love the Vortex Blue. It would be my first choice, I think. Congratulations!