So I picked up the 2018 Clarity base on New Years Day to qualify for the increased SCE utility rebate and for the new CA HOV carpool stickers (purple) for 2019. I have questions about the Honda Care Sentinel 3 year / 36K plan. The finance manager pushed this on us asking us about the cost of oil changes, tire replacements, etc... We negotiated from $1050 down to $435 - hoping that was a good deal ?? How often are oil changes done on a Clarity and how much does a Honda dealer typically charge ? Is this a good maintenance plan from Honda America ?
Oil changes are at least once per year and many are seeing the Maintenance Minder indicate oil changes at 6,000 to 7,000 total miles even though HV miles were a lot less. So this site (see below) seems to say you are really only getting 3 years of oil changes for $435 plus some extra warranty only if you drive more than 36,000 miles in 3 years. Doesn’t seem worth it to me. https://www.quora.com/Is-Honda-Care-Sentinel-3-45-worth-1-286-for-5-years
If you get a free tire replacement out of it? Sounds good. Otherwise sounds like you are mostly paying up front for the oil changes.
Check your service manual and see what servicing you need in those 3 years. Then call your Honda dealer and ask how much that maintenance costs. Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
If you are having buyer's remorse your contract may have a rescission period. Sent from my SM-G955U using Inside EVs mobile app
One of the main problems with the hard sell at the finance desk when buying a car is you really don't know what you are getting. With the car, you likely spent quite a bit of time making the decision but with the last minute add-ons like maintenance plans and service contracts, you usually don't spend any time at all. I was not familiar with the Honda Care Sentinel and Honda Care Sentinel 3-45 plans. When I looked them up on Honda Financial Services, I was amazed at how limited the coverage is. Do that yourself and see what you paid for in the fine print. Take a careful look at what you might actually use and do some comparison pricing to see if you want to keep the contract. It might be perfect for you and it certainly was good to get a 60% discount off that initial (obscene) price.
