My son lives in a state where there is no extra charge for the delivery of his car ( beepi is not in every state yet so some states have a small delivery charge). The company does a thorough inspection of the car. I think my s’s car still had some of the original warranty left on it ( I think- not 100% sure. But it was a relatively new car with low mileage). If one wanted to, the could test drive a similar car locally somewhere else. I don’t think he did that. He had looked at Honda civics and Honda fits a few years ago when he considered replacing his car (fwiw he decided to Fit was too low to the ground). Anyway, he ordered the civic online me with beepi and a flatbed truck delivered it to his door. He loves it. Also, check the resale value of a car you are considering. I think he found that the Hondas held their value better than some of the others he considered.
@jym626 I owned a Honda civic before. Checking with beepi it would cost $399 to deliver here but with a $100 coupon would be $299. Transfer fees at CarMax are $249 but the cars are priced higher. I wouldn’t say CarMax is the best deal and I have bought and sold to CarMax. Even if I buy at a local CarMax there will be no transfer fee but they still charge a $300 processing fee so they pocket money from here and there. Carmax is priced higher than Beepi.
We use Carsdirect.com to buy our new cars but they also have a used car program - it’s similar database as Autotrader.com but I think its link to dealers so you can probably search for certified cars as well and of course put in your price points - don’t select a make or model, just the price points and see what comes up.
Buying a certified car used from a dealer can be a good by if you get a low mileage car…just make sure the certified is through the manufacturer (i.e. we bought a used 1999 Acura RL in 2000 w/ 20k miles and it was certified by Acura, not the dealership so I could take it any Acura dealership for warranty work.
Can you go to a dealership and test drive a Civic or at least sit in one to see if it fits you well? We have had 2 Civic Hybrids and one thing I like about Honda is that they tend to have tight, European style steering and brakes. Nothing loosey goosey. But, you may find you want more room above your head, or the blind spot doesn’t work for you, or whatever. We have a Toyota Corolla now and it is very similar. The only thing I don’t like about it is the fancy radio/bluetooth/godknowswhat system which is too complicated for me and the brake pedal is a little loose for me since I’m used to driving a Honda. We bought it used, but it only had 3000 miles on it.
After my friend’s car was demolished in our accident, we looked at the Civic and Corolla and even Chrysler. He ended up with a Ford Focus. He liked it so much, he got the same for his daughter. I prefer the Civic, but I’m short, and my friend is over 6’2"
@greenwitch I am used to a small interior. I am renting a Camry right now and the interior is very open spaced.
I prefer the European style steering and brakes as I had a german car before. I am test driving a civic at CarMax tomorrow but after searching online all day today I am not too enthused about it. Maybe when I actually go there I will feel better about it.
Actually, it has been sold in the US since 2007, and the current design is the third generation of the car.
Reviews indicate that pluses are fuel economy, space efficiency, and handling. Typical review downsides are ride and small fuel tank. It does tend to be more expensive than competitors listed in reply #6.
@ucbalumnus I haven’t been in the market for a car since 2005 and had not kept up with the new Honda models. I was familiar with Accord and Civic. My first car was a Honda Civic. I am test driving one tomorrow that is a few years old but has very low mileage.
Be careful of low mileage cars, due to the frequency of odometer fraud.
Also, low mileage could be city miles, or cold start short trip miles, which are generally harder on the car than highway miles.
@jym626 you are correct–Honda’s hold their resale value because they don’t sell vehicles to rental companies, so the market isn’t flooded with used Hondas. I sold my parents 3 low-mileage used Hondas and after one day on Craigslist the vehicles were sold.
Have rented some Ford Taurus sedans on travels lately and they are amazingly good. And I prefer the tight driving feel of German cars. Worth a test drive.