How can someone purchase a clarity outside of California

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TPK

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Hello,

I am a happy owner of a Honda Clarity PHEV since 2018. I was able to purchase it directly from a dealer here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

An acquaintance of mine really wants to purchase the same car (latest model), however he doesn't speak English too well, so I am helping him out by asking around.

As you know, the model is not actively stocked or sold anywhere outside of California at this time..

I have called several Honda dealers here in Milwaukee, and no one so far is willing to entertain the idea of ordering one..

Does anyone know if there exists a dealer anywhere near Milwaukee (perhaps Madison, Chicago, Green Bay, etc..) that would be willing to order the PHEV??

Should we be looking for dealers in California willing to work with us so he can purchase over the phone and have it shipped??

It really shouldn't be this difficult to buy a car... But I guess with this car is sort of is this difficult...

... Thanks
 
I am not sure about ordering one.

The website Cars.com shows there is one in stock about 90 miles from Milwaukee, in Illinois.
 
Per cars.com search

2020 White Touring at Continental Honda in Countryside, IL - 86 mi from Milwaukee
2020 Moonlit Forest Pearl Base trim at Don Ayres Honda in Ft. Wayne, IN - 193 mi from Milwaukee
2020 Modern Steel Metallic at Walser Honda in Burnsville, MN - 291 from Milwaukee
There are 3 at Honda World in Louisville, KY, 1 in Omaha, NE.
Those are just the ones within 500 mil of Milwaukee.

They are being actively stocked at some dealers outside of CA. Go to cars.com and search.
 
Another reason to search with cars.com even when trying to order through a dealer. When I tried ordering through a dealer last year I emailed the salesman and told him what we wanted - 2019 Crimson Pearl, Base Trim. A day or so later we went in to meet with him and he said he could get one from another dealer from the other side of the state and mentioned the city. Because I had searched with cars.com before meeting with him, I knew that the dealer in that city had a Crimson Pearl, Base Trim - but it was a 2018, not a 2019. He admitted that was the case when I told him - at which point he tried talking us out of a 2019.
 
At least one poster on Facebook went through Autonation with great success. Whether that was just that particular dealer is unknown, but if there is one near you it's worth a try. They found what the posted wanted and had it shipped from CA.
 
We bought our 2018 in Ohio and several were on the lot back then. They might be scarce now due to the pandemic.


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TPK said:
Hello,

I am a happy owner of a Honda Clarity PHEV since 2018. I was able to purchase it directly from a dealer here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

An acquaintance of mine really wants to purchase the same car (latest model), however he doesn't speak English too well, so I am helping him out by asking around.

As you know, the model is not actively stocked or sold anywhere outside of California at this time..

I have called several Honda dealers here in Milwaukee, and no one so far is willing to entertain the idea of ordering one..

Does anyone know if there exists a dealer anywhere near Milwaukee (perhaps Madison, Chicago, Green Bay, etc..) that would be willing to order the PHEV??

Should we be looking for dealers in California willing to work with us so he can purchase over the phone and have it shipped??

It really shouldn't be this difficult to buy a car... But I guess with this car is sort of is this difficult...

... Thanks
Click to expand...

Noticed one 2020 Forest Green touring en route to dealer stock at dealer in Dallas....


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Order one or try to arrange for a dealer swap. Or, go to a state where one is available and buy one or have one delivered to your state.

We worked directly with a dealer in CA and had the car delivered to Oregon.
 
TPK said:
As you know, the model is not actively stocked or sold anywhere outside of California at this time..
Click to expand...

This is not true according to Cargurus. The local dealerships are showing inventory here in the Seattle area.

Type in your zip code for the closest dealer with the car in inventory. California has the largest stock of these vehicles for best selection.

Some states may not charge any taxes on the purchase if you have the vehicle shipped to you out-of-state. You will pay your local taxes when you register the vehicle in your state or the dealer may do it for you.

Note some states may require you sign the paper work in state, so this may not be possible for folks living in the those states. You got love how the local dealers protect their turf.

So call some of the dealers in California to see if they ship out-of-state and the cost to purchase. I've read of folks purchasing new cars from dealers out-of-state for a reasonable shipping cost. The downside is that you are buying the car unseen.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/new/s...ingHelper.selectedEntity=d2560#resultsPage=15
 
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I use cars.com usually for my searches. There have been several in upstate NY, one or two near D.C., a few in Louisville, one in Countryside, IL.

These are all 2020's and some of them newly arrived. Honda is still distributing some outside of CA and I put a deposit on an order from my local dealer in Michigan three months ago.

For now, I'm not in a big rush. My 38 mile commute ended suddenly in mid-March and we really haven't had much need for a second car since.

Our errand car is a Nissan LEAF and we charge it about once a week.
 
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I would advise against contacting CA dealers for a buyer in WI, when there are vehicles available in neighboring states. Transportation costs will be less or perhaps included, or perhaps, unnecessary. Some of the vehicles mentioned earlier are within a few hours drive.

CA makes things as difficult as possible, particularly when sales tax is involved. Which is why we arranged to have the vehicle delivered to OR. When we bought the car there were none available in Oregon or Washington. The dealer we worked with was selling another Clarity to a buyer from WA the following week.

There seems to be more Clarities currently available in states outside CA than there were at the time of our purchase. It should be relatively simple to buy one.
 
Landshark said:
I would advise against contacting CA dealers for a buyer in WI, when there are vehicles available in neighboring states. Transportation costs will be less or perhaps included, or perhaps, unnecessary. Some of the vehicles mentioned earlier are within a few hours drive.

CA makes things as difficult as possible, particularly when sales tax is involved. Which is why we arranged to have the vehicle delivered to OR. When we bought the car there were none available in Oregon or Washington. The dealer we worked with was selling another Clarity to a buyer from WA the following week.

There seems to be more Clarities currently available in states outside CA than there were at the time of our purchase. It should be relatively simple to buy one.
Click to expand...

It cost us less to fly from Las Vegas to Salt Lake city, stay over night in a hotel, and drive home than it would to have the car delivered. The dealer picked us up at the airport.
 
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