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I am really intrigued by this car and am going on a test drive today. I asked the dealer to make sure the battery is charged up. What should I look for, try out, be aware of, etc? It seems like a great PHEV. Thanks!
Test driving today
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Read as much as you can on this and other forums. You will know much more than the salesman.
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This is true - when I went was looking, I had more info on the car than the salespeople.
Most dealerships seem to provide minimal training to sales staff on the Clarity model.
Except for one dealer that seemed to know a lot more and was definitely pushed all 3 variants (FCV, BEV, PHEV) - I ended up buying the PHEV from them.
You are the best judge of the car after you read up on the car's pros, cons and financial sense.
Most dealerships seem to provide minimal training to sales staff on the Clarity model.
Except for one dealer that seemed to know a lot more and was definitely pushed all 3 variants (FCV, BEV, PHEV) - I ended up buying the PHEV from them.
You are the best judge of the car after you read up on the car's pros, cons and financial sense.
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This dealer (Dick Brooks Honda in Greer, SC) seemed to know more about the car than I expected. I wouldn't say encyclopaedic, but pretty good...knew at least as much as I did and I have been reading, watching and researching for about 6 weeks. It helps that they have a model sitting inside the showroom on display.
I was surprised by the test drive. Really loved it. I thought it might feel stodgy (I currently have a BMW X1 i35 xdrive) but it drove better than I expected.
They are also discounting the car (they accidentally quoted me the wrong price due to a glitch in their accounting software and are honoring the bulk of it) and combined with the 7,500.00 tax credit I can get the 2918 touring model new for about 24,000.
1 question:
I have read a lot about the loss of power that sometimes happens. It seems like this mainly occurs at highway speeds when the battery is very low and the ICE needs to kick in. Is that a correct summary? I can certainly manage that but I have to admit I am a little spooked if the car is just going to lose power that I can't attribute a cause to.
We drove the car for 20 miles or so on surface roads and highway and it behaved exactly like we expected.
I was surprised by the test drive. Really loved it. I thought it might feel stodgy (I currently have a BMW X1 i35 xdrive) but it drove better than I expected.
They are also discounting the car (they accidentally quoted me the wrong price due to a glitch in their accounting software and are honoring the bulk of it) and combined with the 7,500.00 tax credit I can get the 2918 touring model new for about 24,000.
1 question:
I have read a lot about the loss of power that sometimes happens. It seems like this mainly occurs at highway speeds when the battery is very low and the ICE needs to kick in. Is that a correct summary? I can certainly manage that but I have to admit I am a little spooked if the car is just going to lose power that I can't attribute a cause to.
We drove the car for 20 miles or so on surface roads and highway and it behaved exactly like we expected.
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Great...I will also check with the dealership to make sure the SB's have been applied.
That sounds like a sales gimmick because their offer is okay but not as good as people have been getting. People have been getting incredible deals on 2018's in Georgia and SC. I bought my 2018 Touring a few weeks ago in Gainesville, Georgia (two hours away from you) for $7,600 off of MSRP, in other words $29,800 NOT counting the federal tax credit. Your dealer is quoting 31,500 and they will likely charge $224 documentation/processing fee on top of that (pure profit) which is the SC cap, so really their price is 31,700. You could possibly save up to $2,000 just by driving two hours to Atlanta. If nothing else go to the website for an Atlanta area dealer, click new cars, find a Clarity Touring even if they don't have your color, ignore whatever price they have listed and instead click "Get Price" and enter your email (no phone number unless it's required). Do this for at least five different Atlanta area dealers including surrounding cities like Gainesville. Within a day you should have several quotes. Whatever the lowest quote go back to the dealer in Greer and tell them the price you can get in Atlanta and that you are thinking about driving out there to get the deal but you prefer to buy from them. Worst case they won't budge but most likely they will lower the price if they know you have a better offer two hours away.
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The dealer in Greer quoted me $28,690...I might have gotten my number wrong as I was estimated tax and tags. But I will certainly look around more if deals are to be had.
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I'm financing through my credit union, but also an doing a trade-in with my old car.
I'm not sure you will be able to beat that deal anywhere, even adding the $224 processing fee that's a discount from MSRP of $8,500. Unless they hide a few more fees or add-ons here and there but even then the discount would be hard to beat.
2018 Touring MSRP $37,495
Dealer Price $28,690
Documentation/processing $224
Discount $ 8,581
Most EXCELLENT advice - I did this when I bought a Fit in 2010, taking Atlanta quotes into Mississippi dealerships until one matched the price! The Atlanta dealers, btw, offered to drive the car as far as Birmingham (about halfway).
Great discounts on the Clarity, but it is a little depressing that the Clarity PHEV is having trouble selling.
The car and specs are great and I have seen TV advertising specifically for the Clarity, so what is holding back sales? This car should be selling like crazy.
Is it just the polarizing styling ?
The car and specs are great and I have seen TV advertising specifically for the Clarity, so what is holding back sales? This car should be selling like crazy.
Is it just the polarizing styling ?
I think Honda requires more imaginative advertising.
Those coming to it from a Prius are thinking: What kind of Prius is the Clarity?
Those coming to it from a Volt are thinking: What kind of Volt is the Clarity?
etc.
It doesn't look or act like their last car. The Clarity requires them to wake up a bit .
Not easy for Americans to do.
I think Honda should hire the people who create the GEICO ads.
(just my 2cents...)
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I'm excited by it. This car seems to check a lot of the boxes that were missing from the Prius, Volt, etc. I'm picking it up today (fingers crosses). I'm a little tiny bit nervouse just from reading about some of the issues on these forums, but I'm still going for it.
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Blastfurnace, I've owned my Clarity for over 3 months now, and don't regret buying it one bit. It is quiet, roomy, comfortable, and perfect for my daily commute to work. I'm able to do a round trip commute without using a drop of gasoline. I've driven it about 1900 miles so far, and only used 11 gallons of gas! I did get a NEMA 14-50 plug installed in my garage so I can charge at Level II speeds. This may not be necessary as long as you don't mind it taking ~11 hours to get a full charge. Using a 16amp Level II EVSE, I can charge from empty to full in a little over 4 hours. A more expensive 32 amp Level II EVSE can do this in about 2 hours.
I haven't noticed any increase in my electric bill compared to this time last year.
As long as you never let the battery level get down to 2 bars, you should not experience any 'loss of power' issues. For any highway trip longer than a few miles, you will need to push the 'HV' button to engage the ICE to help as needed.
I haven't noticed any increase in my electric bill compared to this time last year.
As long as you never let the battery level get down to 2 bars, you should not experience any 'loss of power' issues. For any highway trip longer than a few miles, you will need to push the 'HV' button to engage the ICE to help as needed.
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