2020 PHEV Not Just For California

Everyone's favorite magazine, Consumer Reports, recently reported the Passport is the least reliable Honda and, amazingly, the Clarity PHEV is now the most reliable Honda. Times change.

 

It was a really boring test drive in the Passport. The thing can’t get out of its own way, despite supposedly being tuned to be “sportier” than the Pilot. The clarity feels like a race car after that thing.

It was our last alternate vehicle we wanted to check out before finally deciding to order the Tesla. We cross-shop in very odd ways. Don’t judge .

 

I'm trading in our gen-2 Insight hybrid to get an electric MINI Cooper to complement our Clarity PHEV, but I'm interested in your decision to switch from Clarity to Tesla. Which Tesla? If you went for a Model 3, how did you choose between the rare $35K Model 3 and the full-boat Performance? Because there are no dealers, I assume there is no price negotiation with Tesla, correct? How long is the order-to-delivery time? Do you have an ICE vehicle, too, or are you going all-in BEV?

 

We are getting the SR+ after much deliberation. It will be my fourth plug in vehicle and third BEV. We held the order for a bit longer for one more test drive so probably about 6 weeks of waiting once that’s done.

We were going to go with the LR DUAL motor but we then lose the WA EV sales tax credit and of course the increased price of the car. It adds up to over a $12k difference for 70 miles of range we won’t frequently use and an extra motor we don’t really need. With the Clarity as a trade in, the Model 3 will basically be income tax free, a benefit of over $4000 ($20k exempt and $20k trade in) that helps me get over the fact I’m not getting the fed tax credit.

I still have a Fiat 500e and a Ford F-150 so one more gasser. We really try to only use the truck when it’s absolutely needed so it only gets driven once every 1-2 weeks. A little more than that during boating and camping season. I’ll probably keep it for that until it falls apart unless a compelling electric replacement appears. It’s also our “dog carrier” for our 4 dogs who have a lovely, padded and carpeted enclosure in the back. The Cubertruk is a non starter for me. It’s not my style and my RV would murder the range on it anyway.

 

It’s laughable that a vehicle that has only been available for 2ish years, would even be considered for a “most reliable” designation. But if CR says so, it must be true.

 

If you're in NY and the State $1,900 direct to dealer rebate is still extant and unchanged, you don't want to go to Princeton: it only applies to NY State dealers

 

The NY rebate is $1,700

 

From the FAQ, no:

1. I am a resident of New Jersey. Can I receive the rebate if I purchase from a dealership in NYS?
   No. The purchaser or lessee must be a NYS resident.
2. I am a NYS resident. Can I receive the rebate if I purchase a car from a dealership located in another state?
   No. The car must be purchased or leased from a participating dealership registered with the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) as a new car dealership.

And yes, Claritydreamer, you're right. It's $1,700 for the Clarity. In my case (in 2018), the dealer just used it as a down payment, so I forgot the exact amount (it's in my calculation spreadsheet). That, 0.9% financing, free charging at work, and dealer discounts made it a great deal for me.

 

Has anyone been able to buy/order a 2020 on the east coast?

 

i saw 2 nice 2020 claritys in san diego yesterday and the proce was 35K. One white one silver. The salesman said they will both be gone in 2 weeks. He says they trickle in slowly but sell quickly once they arrive

 

I failed twice, third time was a charm.


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Ordering one is definitely possible, but a pain. Around Columbus, OH, only one dealer was willing to attempt ordering and they weren't sure it would actually work. I tried a few others and none were willing to spend any time to see if ordering was even possible.

I ordered in the beginning of March, and the car didn't show up until beginning of June. It took so long, the dealer thought it wasn't coming and refunded my deposit. Then it showed up unexpectedly one day and they called me up to see if I still wanted to buy it. Only issue was that the touring model showed up even though I ordered the base model, but they gave me some discount because of that. Otherwise it was exactly what I ordered.

Ordering accessories for it surprisingly only takes a day or two. And I'm pretty confident they won't have problems servicing it since I think the powertrain is pretty much the same as the Accord Hybrid or the Insight.

For anyone around Columbus, dealer is Germain Honda in Dublin. Ask for Winslow.

 

It's sad that Germain Honda wouldn't order a Clarity for you. Even if there's not much profit in it for them, turning away paying customers is not good business. Across town, Germain's MINI of Ann Arbor (the only MINI dealership in the US not run by a BMW dealership) was willing to order an electric MINI for me, so it's not a corporate-wide edict. However, my MINI, which left the factory 3 weeks ago, has somehow become lost in the system with no predicted arrival date.

Know that Germain's service department has always been great with my Clarity and my unbroken string of Hondas beginning in 1986 (when they were Howard Cooper Honda). I had no trouble getting a warranty repair when my Clarity's A/C condenser failed. There was no visible damage to my condenser so it should have been a no-brainer, but others on this forum have had to pay to get undamaged, defective condensers replaced at other dealerships. I can certainly understand it if you decide Germain doesn't deserve your business.