Honda rolls out low financing rates for best-selling Civic
The Civic has been a pillar of the Honda lineup for decades, and high gas prices have made it even more important to the Japanese automaker's success here in the U.S. Back in May and June, Honda couldn't make enough Civics, but with the auto industry here in the States imploding, even Honda's little money maker needs incentives. Right now, buyers with good credit can pick up a brand new 2008 or 2009 Civic with 1.9% financing for 36 months or 3.9% APR for up to 60 months. All models except the GX are included in the offer, even the Civic Hybrid.
If you're not looking to buy a Civic, you can lease one for $1,999 down and $189 a month for 36 months. That's $1,100 cheaper than the previous offer of $2,799 down and $199 a month. Honda says the incentive offers are necessary in part because of lowering gas prices, and the Japanese automaker wants to continue to see Civics fly off dealer lots to keep its new Indiana factory humming. Honda dealers are also happy about the Civic deals in light of Toyota's 0% financing program on 11 vehicles, but they would like to see even more. Between 0% financing at Toyota and hefty discounts on 2009 Civics, we have all the evidence we need that U.S. auto market is completely screwed right now.
Gallery: 2009 Honda Civic
[Source: Nick Sells Hondas]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Justin 10:08AM (10/28/2008)
Wow...that's a sign of how bad things are. They never really seem to to do this for Civics...
Scary.
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Dondonel 11:28AM (10/28/2008)
Not really, except for the last 6 months, Civics always seem to be heavily discounted (I live in Michigan). This also shows that in order to have a successful business in car industry you should be able to offer good purchase/lease options, not just a good product line.
A couple of months ago my lease expired. I really wanted to buy some American car this time, unfortunately the leases offered by the Japanese companies (with the exception of Toyota/Honda which had bad offers) were much better than those of GM or Chrysler (Ford was somewhat competitive).
I ended up leasing another Japanese car because the leases offered on the American cars were 40% more expensive for the same MSRP price (compared to the Japanese cars). It was really sad to see how weak the financial arms of the American companies actually are. To me, this seems to be a more important problem for the Big 3 than the average product line.
Tim 10:16AM (10/28/2008)
Why not wait for 0%. Its not like they're going to run out of the these things.
What we need are cheap large cars now that gas prices have gone down and the supply of small cars have increased.
Can Ford sell those old crown Victorias for under 20k with the mustang v6?
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MikeofLA 10:16AM (10/28/2008)
I wonder if they are going to start offering deals on the Si... then maybe mazda will offer deals on the MS3.
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Nick 10:34AM (10/28/2008)
They are offering it on the Si...which is why I just contacted my local dealer :)
TJ 10:31AM (10/28/2008)
Across market watch right now,
Honda Motor Co. announced Tuesday its net income in the three months ended Sept. 30 fell 41% from a year earlier, and issued a profit warning, citing a firmer yen and higher materials costs.
The result reflects the difficult operating environment, with Honda's North American car sales slumping 9.9% in the September-ended quarter from a year ago.
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Rob 12:12PM (10/28/2008)
There is no reason I can think of to put down a dollar when getting a lease. Before the discount they wanted nearly 3 grand? For a civic... wow. An independent leasing company could likely do better.
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akboss 1:43PM (10/28/2008)
I don't understand why this car is so successful - its such an ugly car! OK so its more reliable than a Swiss watch, so what? There are so many more interesting cars out there that have had low or zero financing months ago. Mitsubishi, Subaru, VW...I'd take any of those over an eyesore like the Civic. Honda could honestly wrap a giant turd in sheetmetal with four wheels and people would line up for it and hand over their wallets at the door.
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luiscor82 3:56PM (10/28/2008)
you answered your own question. Reliability is always the answer you choose a civic. i have owned 4 civics going back to the oldest a 1988 crx. Each of these cars had great resell value and even being heavy on the miles they never failed.
I would never buy a Mitsubishi, Subaru, VW, or mazda. Would anyone trust one of these with over a hundred thousand miles to drive across country?
yes civics dont offer much in terms of styling. But they make up for it in durability. many civic buyers have bought ten year old hondas before and know when they spend 16K and up that their new (low end car) is going to last them.
exkart 5:46PM (10/28/2008)
are you crazy, civic look awesome
Maybe it's the picture but in real life they are the best looking cars in their price range.
Digital Display
good gas
reliability
what more can you ask for?
gtdrifter 5:50PM (10/28/2008)
Also it's not just about the reliability. Sure it's not the most beautiful car to look at but it's definitely one of the most fun to drive compact cars out there (with great gas mileage).
luiscor82 8:34PM (10/28/2008)
yes i totally agree. I love my 99 civic and would love to get a brand new one. The coupe looks gr8, not so sure about the four door. Just was trying to get the domestic guys to understand why we have initially purchased civics and why will continue to.
akboss 12:09PM (10/29/2008)
So I suppose it depends on your priorities, but my initial reaction stays - Honda is reliable, but so are lots of other makes. My wife drives a 1997 VW Jetta with 250,000 kms, drives like it was new. My folks have a '97 Chrysler, 300,000 kms and all it asks for is oil changes. Look it up on Consumer Reports or any other reliability ranking system - you'll find that Honda's aren't the only ones earning top ranks, and smart buyers will look at more than a big red H on the hood before they get the keys. Oh, and Civics are in the top-3 of most stolen cars, and insurance premiums are higher. Yay!
Smegley 1:40PM (10/28/2008)
I was really hoping these hideous civic sedans would just go away. They are disgusting.
The coupe looks good, though.
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Nick 7:49AM (10/29/2008)
The outside styling of the Civic is not bad. It's the interior that got hit with the ugly stick. I have no idea what they were thinking with that two tiered dash, that ugly stereo and not to mention why they put the mini emergency brake right next to your knee.
Oh and the Civic has had it's share of issues, plastics scratch easily, a moaning steering wheel when turning, and let's not forget the rear ball joint problem that wore out tires at 10k mile intervals and took Honda up to 3 years to have it resolved.
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mikey mike 9:11AM (10/31/2008)
Reliability --my g/friends 06 civic has had 3 recalls from honda and you call that quality..The interior is totally 150% plastic and i must ad the worst looking inferior interior I have ever seen. If civic owners buy them for gas mileage then iam sure lada or skoda would love to open a dealership for you..haha..Oh, lets not forget the most comfortable seats ( these cars are chick cars )...Quality n reliability id say not...Its about time you pulled your heads out of the sand and wake up to what other car manuf are building .....
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