I'm glad I purchased a Clarity versus...
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Rick Reagan
Member
I understand Honda is putting the PHEV platform on the 2019 Pilot
https://insideevs.com/2019-honda-pilot-phev-spied-for-first-time/
https://insideevs.com/2019-honda-pilot-phev-spied-for-first-time/
The Pilot PHEV will need a bigger battery than the Clarity PHEV to offer a nominal 47-mile EV range. The Pilot likely wasn't designed from the start to be a PHEV so there may not be enough room inside to hide a Clarity Electric-level 25 kWh battery, and such a large a battery could make the Pilot PHEV very expensive. It will be very interesting to see how far the Pilot PHEV can travel on battery power and how much extra Honda decides to charge for the PHEV option.
Wanted a Tesla Model 3 but knew we couldn't afford it so didn't even sit in one to make myself jealous.
Actually walked in to the Honda dealership to look at the Insight. Saw the Clarity sitting in the showroom and kind of threw it off thinking it would be too expensive. Test drove the Insight, liked it, and went next door to Toyota to test drive the regular Prius just to be sure. Wife convinced me to test drive the Prius Prime, liked the EV only mode, but hated the styling (wife actually likes the Prius styling) and wasn't too impressed with the low EV range and it was a bit small for me (6' 3", 300lbs) but i could make do. Went back to the Honda dealership and test drove the Clarity and what a difference. The styling is so much more refined than the Prime, so much more spacious and double EV range. Sat down with the salesman and decided to go with the lease deal they were offering at the time. Haven't had 1 ounce of regret since then. Odometer had 4 miles on it when we took delivery and its now sitting at 200 miles. Since i don't know what those first 4 miles were i can only safely say that the 196 miles we've driven have been all EV. I get free level 2 charging at work so I plan to make it a game to see how far we can go without using gas. LOVE THIS CAR!
Actually walked in to the Honda dealership to look at the Insight. Saw the Clarity sitting in the showroom and kind of threw it off thinking it would be too expensive. Test drove the Insight, liked it, and went next door to Toyota to test drive the regular Prius just to be sure. Wife convinced me to test drive the Prius Prime, liked the EV only mode, but hated the styling (wife actually likes the Prius styling) and wasn't too impressed with the low EV range and it was a bit small for me (6' 3", 300lbs) but i could make do. Went back to the Honda dealership and test drove the Clarity and what a difference. The styling is so much more refined than the Prime, so much more spacious and double EV range. Sat down with the salesman and decided to go with the lease deal they were offering at the time. Haven't had 1 ounce of regret since then. Odometer had 4 miles on it when we took delivery and its now sitting at 200 miles. Since i don't know what those first 4 miles were i can only safely say that the 196 miles we've driven have been all EV. I get free level 2 charging at work so I plan to make it a game to see how far we can go without using gas. LOVE THIS CAR!
V8Power
Active Member
Sounds like our story minus the free charging at work but I was shopping for my Dad who is in his eighties who wanted another Accord and stumbled on the Clarity. I’m playing the same game, no gas use on my Clarity so far after 4 months! I ran the numbers when shopping and couldn’t believe my eyes that with rebate, the total cost of ownership was lower than continuing with our 13 year old Odyssey. Amazing!
What!?! A dealership that WANTS to sell Clarity Plug-In Hybrids?!? This is a first!
petteyg359
Well-Known Member
Well, mine wasn't reluctant to sell mine, but going by all the other people posting their prices here, I got ripped off to the tune of several thousand
I actually leased mine. I thought the deal was too good to be true and after i signed the papers i asked the finance guy, who i was cool with, if i got ripped off and he said no the lease deals are really good right now.
I don't feel ripped off for paying MSRP to get the first one off the truck last December 2nd. It's been nearly a year of driving bliss and none of the low-ball prices I read on the Price paid thread makes me feel bad--I'm happy for those buyers.Well, mine wasn't reluctant to sell mine, but going by all the other people posting their prices here, I got ripped off to the tune of several thousand
The only thing I feel bad about is that Honda did such a poor job marketing the car that the company/dealers had to drop the price to move them off the dealer lots. Honda's experience doesn't do much to reinforce its commitment to electrification, but it has only itself to blame. A single 30-second commercial (not counting the silly Superstore ad) was not the way to sell a car that takes a lot of explanation to communicate the car's capabilities and value.
Don't worry, lesson learned. Next time you'll know to check the prices forum before buying a new car. You shouldn't pay MSRP on any car unless it's a Tesla or a limited edition. It's all about supply vs demand.Well, mine wasn't reluctant to sell mine, but going by all the other people posting their prices here, I got ripped off to the tune of several thousand
petteyg359
Well-Known Member
This was the first car purchase I've ever done. I'm hoping dealers will be an antiquated horror story by the time I need to buy another. Online orders with transparent pricing would be nice.
Several dealers around me in MD have the option to buy the car completely online. They'll even give you an offer on a trade-in after sending them some pictures, and deliver the car to your house. I would have used one for our Pilot, but a closer dealer beat the price. The best price from online dealers for the Clarity was about $2K more than I ended up paying, so that wasn't really a consideration this time.
I too am hoping that all dealers move to this type of method at some point. With places like Carvana (car vending machine) going up, I'd say the marketplace is headed that way.
I too am hoping that all dealers move to this type of method at some point. With places like Carvana (car vending machine) going up, I'd say the marketplace is headed that way.
Not yet sure if I am glad yet, for me the long run matters a great deal, almost every new car will be fine in first 3-5 years.
Our requirements: 5 seats + good mileage + reliability + cost + total cost of ownership for 10+ years
Our first preference was CRV then I read about them being banned in China due to gas mixing in oil, we are starting to see this with Clarity now (big bummer). We almost bought Camry Hybrid. Prius Prime was an initial contender, but lost due to lack of fifth seat and wife feeling claustrophobic on passenger side in it.
Our requirements: 5 seats + good mileage + reliability + cost + total cost of ownership for 10+ years
Our first preference was CRV then I read about them being banned in China due to gas mixing in oil, we are starting to see this with Clarity now (big bummer). We almost bought Camry Hybrid. Prius Prime was an initial contender, but lost due to lack of fifth seat and wife feeling claustrophobic on passenger side in it.
petteyg359
Well-Known Member
I've yet to see anybody actually have a test show gas in the oil, nor has anyone shown the oil level increasing over time (i.e. gas getting added). High levels from the dealer and with a cold engine are all I've seen posted about.
I was not really in the market for a new car. My 2014 Gen 3 Prius had only 55,000 miles.
A friend was in town and wanted to go to the Honda dealer to look at the CRV and Pilot, so we drove her there. At the time, I did not even know that there was a Clarity PHEV on the market until I saw one in the showroom and I loved the way it looked (green).
Now the car I had thought I would get at next new car time was Toyota Camry Hybrid, but I as controversial as some reviewers manage to make out the Clarity, I thought the Camry was pretty odd looking from the front, and I did not like at all the styling of the interior.
When I got into the Clarity I loved the interior. It feels spacious and has a modern, clean look to it.
Then when I did the math on the State of Texas $2500 rebate and the federal tax credit of $7500, it was like getting a brand new car for $21,000!!!
I also know that the federal rebate is in peril of not being renewed under the current administration, and the city also had a 50% rebate (up to $1200) on the cost of the charger and installation, and these kinds of rebates often don't last forever either, and since I knew that one day a PHEV or full electric would be in my future, I decide that the time was right.
I loved the car, but if it had not been for these other things, I might have passed and waited another year or two to see what comes next.
A friend was in town and wanted to go to the Honda dealer to look at the CRV and Pilot, so we drove her there. At the time, I did not even know that there was a Clarity PHEV on the market until I saw one in the showroom and I loved the way it looked (green).
Now the car I had thought I would get at next new car time was Toyota Camry Hybrid, but I as controversial as some reviewers manage to make out the Clarity, I thought the Camry was pretty odd looking from the front, and I did not like at all the styling of the interior.
When I got into the Clarity I loved the interior. It feels spacious and has a modern, clean look to it.
Then when I did the math on the State of Texas $2500 rebate and the federal tax credit of $7500, it was like getting a brand new car for $21,000!!!
I also know that the federal rebate is in peril of not being renewed under the current administration, and the city also had a 50% rebate (up to $1200) on the cost of the charger and installation, and these kinds of rebates often don't last forever either, and since I knew that one day a PHEV or full electric would be in my future, I decide that the time was right.
I loved the car, but if it had not been for these other things, I might have passed and waited another year or two to see what comes next.
Also this.. I was able to get .9% financing. I had not originally intended to finance the car and was just going to trade/sell the Prius and pay the difference from checking, but I realized I could use the tax credit to take $35000 from my 401K and move it over to my Roth IRA and the $7500 rebate would perfectly offset the taxes on that money and because of the .9% financing for 3 year, I could just do auto-pay for that from my checking.
So, it was really a lot of factors that made me go ahead and get the Clarity even though I was not actually in the market for the car and had been kind of looking at Camry Hybrid as a purchase a couple of years off.
So, in my case, it was just kind of a once in a lifetime perfect alignment of the planets. The Matrix clearly wanted me to have a Clarity because it put so many pieces into the right place to make it happen.
So, it was really a lot of factors that made me go ahead and get the Clarity even though I was not actually in the market for the car and had been kind of looking at Camry Hybrid as a purchase a couple of years off.
So, in my case, it was just kind of a once in a lifetime perfect alignment of the planets. The Matrix clearly wanted me to have a Clarity because it put so many pieces into the right place to make it happen.
V8Power
Active Member
Our story is similar. In January earlier this year, I was researching & shopping for another Accord for my dad in his 80's and stumbled on the Clarity on their Canadian website with the big green "government incentive" flashing and looked into it for him. The Clarity was a better deal than the Accord after the $14,000 vehicle and $1000 L2 charger rebates in Ontario but my Dad's condo has no charging capability nor was it even on the table and the other PHEVs were too physically too small or too econo-box or had too low an EV range.
He opted to get another ICE Accord but then we ran the numbers for ourselves and we were surprised that the total cost of ownership including the cost of money, depreciation, fuel & maintenance was lower for a brand new Clarity than keeping our 13-year-old Odyssey. Because of the rebates and the shift from expensive gas to relatively low-cost electricity here, this was a once in a lifetime chance to get an effectively 'free' new car (cost neutral) or even save money in the long run. New cars always ate away at net worth, but this was an exception. The business case for a Tesla was not nearly as good. We too thought that our Ontario rebates would not last forever so we pulled the trigger then in the spring then in the summer, our newly elected Ontario Premier killed the carbon tax & associated green rebate programs, including for EVs. My intention was to watch the industry for a few years and get a full EV Lexus, Acura, Honda, Toyota if and when those become available or Tesla if and when Elon stabilizes his company and matures his after sales parts/service.
The Clarity was a lone wolf in its niche segment of 'luxurious', larger vehicle, practical EV range that qualified for the full Ontario rebate, long-term reliable brand history with a net price point that could even save us money. Great time to get into electric and this was the right car for us before going full electric.
He opted to get another ICE Accord but then we ran the numbers for ourselves and we were surprised that the total cost of ownership including the cost of money, depreciation, fuel & maintenance was lower for a brand new Clarity than keeping our 13-year-old Odyssey. Because of the rebates and the shift from expensive gas to relatively low-cost electricity here, this was a once in a lifetime chance to get an effectively 'free' new car (cost neutral) or even save money in the long run. New cars always ate away at net worth, but this was an exception. The business case for a Tesla was not nearly as good. We too thought that our Ontario rebates would not last forever so we pulled the trigger then in the spring then in the summer, our newly elected Ontario Premier killed the carbon tax & associated green rebate programs, including for EVs. My intention was to watch the industry for a few years and get a full EV Lexus, Acura, Honda, Toyota if and when those become available or Tesla if and when Elon stabilizes his company and matures his after sales parts/service.
The Clarity was a lone wolf in its niche segment of 'luxurious', larger vehicle, practical EV range that qualified for the full Ontario rebate, long-term reliable brand history with a net price point that could even save us money. Great time to get into electric and this was the right car for us before going full electric.
we are starting to see this with Clarity now (big bummer)---where have you seen this???