Hi all, I just initiated my first lease ever with the Honda Clarity. I picked up my brand new car yesterday! I do have a couple of questions that I’d like to ask. I’m also new to this forum. Thanks in advance for answering these questions: - I fully intend to purchase the car at the end of the lease. If I go over on mileage, will this matter? Will I be paying the residual price (plus tax) if I plan on keeping the car? Will I have to be an overage in mileage if I purchase it outright? - The HondaCare extended warranty - is it worth it? I have it currently built into my lease. If I drop it now could I purchase it again later? How much should I expect to really pay for something like this? What are your experiences with HondaCare and this process. Again, thanks for looking at these and answering my questions! I’m glad to be part of this community.
No mileage overage charge if you buy outright. It's sort of factored in bc you'll pay the previously agreed upon purchase price even though it's technically worth less since it has more miles than the lease rate. Did you lease it to take full advantage of the Fed credit only? Warranty is a personal preference for most. I'm not sure if you can add it later, I'd try to speak to Honda directly about it as I wouldn't trust a dealer answer. And keep in mind two things 1) the majority of profit that comes from a sale is the warranty (and finance charges). Better believe they've structured it to make sense for THEM. 2) there are also some very good aftermarket solutions, but you HAVE to read all details, especially with a hybrid. Personally I'd prefer to "self-insure" - put whatever that extra $ is into a saving account each month - if you don't use it, it's not lost
I think it doesn't make sense to buy extended warranty on a lease. You can buy a maintenance plan to cover oil changes, etc. If you really decide to keep the car you can buy extended warranty at that point.
Welcome to the fold. I hope you enjoy your Clarity as much as me after two years and 36,000 miles. I bought the extended warranty and regretted it. Although I paid less than others ($1500 for 5 years/125,000 miles) I thought I was snockered because the dealer slipped a third party warranty past my 73-year-old eyes. I stopped kvetching about it after some of the smarter people on this forum pointed out that the extended warranty is like any other insurance decision. If you never need to use it, that means the car held up. So what does it matter if I paid less or got more extensive coverage if I never needed to make a claim. Since I made it to age 75 I guess I never needed life insurance either, but it did give me and others peace of mind. However, I think the Clarity is more reliable and well made than me. In conclusion, I have found the Clarity to be very well built and engineered so I would roll the dice on possible repairs.
I agree from a mechanical standpoint. Honda’s are nearly bulletproof. Where I have concerns, that will probably lead me to purchasing some form of extended coverage, are items outside of the battery warranty. The head unit/center display comes to mind and one member recently had a DRL issue that lead to replacement of the wiring harness. A $5000 repair, had it been outside of the warranty. Other items like the brake pedal feel simulator or a battery coolant pump would probably cost a nickel or two to repair as well. Since I plan to keep the car for 10-12 years or more, or until it becomes a basket case, I’ll opt for additional coverage.
