Certified pre-owned 2018 Clarity?

[Mitch Bekritsky]

Thanks everyone for all your help! I got a third quote now that split the difference between the first two, with 27k miles.

Even with it being a pre-owned, and "certified" be sure you don't walk out without them performing and showing your the checks on the Clarity Specific Pre-Delivery Inspection (which includes the battery capacity check mentioned above). Just search the forum for PDI, it has been posted and re-posted hundreds of times so not going to do it again here. Be sure to check on the status of the service letters, if they have not been applied, then "question" the certified status of the vehicle, as it may be in paper only and not represent the actual "inspected" condition of the vehicle. Having the extra warranty is great, but part of the idea for certified is that they went through it and it is in good shape. Getting a car from a dealer that can't spell Clarity (no charger on premise is a big hint) only means you need to have a dealer that can, look it over while it is still under warranty.

Good luck, I love the car, hope all goes well for you!

Cash

Cash Traylor, this might give away my novice state with cars, but what are service letters? How do I tell if they're applied?

FWIW - With features being equal from year to year, I would expect a typical 2019 to have fewer repair issues than a typical 2018 and the same to be true for a 2020 compared with a 2019. The manufacturer learns and applies the fixes in the factory that the earlier cars were getting at the repair shops.

The service history I see for the car on the CarFax report doesn't indicate any repairs yet done. So fingers crossed it stays that way!

We're pretty excited about getting our first PHEV -- right now we're leaning towards the CPO Touring with 11k miles on it. It's actually the cheapest of our 3 options right now, but even if I can get one of the higher mileage cars at a lower price, it seems like a smarter move to pay the small premium to get a car with less wear and tear. Does anyone here have any experience that indicates I shouldn't care much about the mileage difference?

 

[Robert_Alabama]

The "service letters" Cash is talking about are also known as "Service Bulletins or SBs". You can ask your service advisor to check the status to make sure all have been applied to the car. Commonly they are computer updates, but for my car, one was a hardware replacement item (climate control unit). As to the mileage difference, another 10k probably isn't a big deal, but it comes with more wear on the seats, tires, etc, so I would want some discount for the extra miles. It would be hard for me to pass on a CPO Touring with 11k miles on it especially if it seems to be the low price option for you.

There are pdfs of some of the SBs in this thread:
https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/service-bulletins.3480/#post-52693

 

[Mitch Bekritsky]

The "service letters" Cash is talking about are also known as "Service Bulletins or SBs". You can ask your service advisor to check the status to make sure all have been applied to the car. Commonly they are computer updates, but for my car, one was a hardware replacement item (climate control unit). As to the mileage difference, another 10k probably isn't a big deal, but it comes with more wear on the seats, tires, etc, so I would want some discount for the extra miles. It would be hard for me to pass on a CPO Touring with 11k miles on it especially if it seems to be the low price option for you.

There are pdfs of some of the SBs in this thread:
https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/service-bulletins.3480/#post-52693

Thanks Robert_Alabama! I asked both dealers with the higher mileage CPOs to drop their price by $2k, expecting some pushback, but waiting to hear back from them. One of them also wanted to charge a $900 for the pre-delivery service inspection and tacked on a $400 ad fee, which makes me wonder if either of the other dealers would try that shenanigan too. I asked for OTD prices, so hopefully not.

One thing I discovered tonight is that all 3 cars have been sitting on the lot for at least 3 months (the longest is actually at 5 months). They've all dropped their prices on the cars since the initial listings. The 11k car has dropped by $2k since it's original listing, and one of the others dropped by $1k, but I'm still trying to see if I can get them lower.

 

[Skynosaur]

Thanks Robert_Alabama! I asked both dealers with the higher mileage CPOs to drop their price by $2k, expecting some pushback, but waiting to hear back from them. One of them also wanted to charge a $900 for the pre-delivery service inspection and tacked on a $400 ad fee, which makes me wonder if either of the other dealers would try that shenanigan too. I asked for OTD prices, so hopefully not.

One thing I discovered tonight is that all 3 cars have been sitting on the lot for at least 3 months (the longest is actually at 5 months). They've all dropped their prices on the cars since the initial listings. The 11k car has dropped by $2k since it's original listing, and one of the others dropped by $1k, but I'm still trying to see if I can get them lower.

I need you to focus only on Otd number for yourself and match what they give you. I don't care what bs number they pull. The finally number has to be what you expect or close.

The game is simple. Whatever they paid to get the car off previous owner add some fees on top for servicing it. Now mark it up more to meet market price like everyone else. Keep in mind they won't buy your car if they know it doesn't make sense for them. Now everyone expects a discount right. That's where the mark up takes a hit. But if your demand is crazy low. They have to protect themselves with bs fees. Some dealer might work below cost to move a car that sits like clarity.

PDI is a service done for new vehicles. The cost shouldn't be apply to the customer. It's a CPO. So it should be ready for sale and doesn't need to be prepared for anything.


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[Mitch Bekritsky]

Just checking in with a final update. We picked up our 2018 CPO Honda Clarity Touring today. We ended up getting the one with 11k miles on it. It looks great and drives really well. We got it for a price I'm happy with and frankly, I am just relieved to have the car. Time to learn all the ins and outs of the car now...

Thanks everyone for all your help! If you see a Clarity Touring around Atlanta, it may just be me