Some dealers are so ignorant of our Claritys. I just met a Clarity owner who picked up his new car yesterday and he was fed misinformation from the dealer like: -the Touring has a bigger engine -in Sport mode you must use premium gas -to drive electric you need to press the Econ button -the paddles on the steering wheel are for shifting the gears -you need to pay for HondaLink annually OMG ♂️! Check out this laughable photo broadcasting dealer ignorance. The dealer insisted that the Clarity was ineligible for green plates in Ontario and plated the car with regular plates: The owner will be getting his green plates himself next week. Goes to show how important it is these days to be informed before plunking down your hard-earned money and how forums like this help people get missing facts and support. Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Always research the car yourself and never trust the dealer to be honest or knowledgeable. They're legally-mandated anti-competitive middlemen grifters, and most of them are proud of that. https://www.vox.com/2014/10/26/6977315/buy-car-hassle-free
I feel like it would be grounds for a lawsuit if someone was so wholly misinformed about a product they were purchasing. They’re fundamentally misrepresenting some of the most basic elements of the car! Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Within the first 5 minutes of reading on this forum, I learned more than the salesman, finance mgr, office mgr, service advisor, parts dept, and techs at my local dealer knew about the Clarity combined!
I wrote some days ago about the same situation. My dealer seemed to have no clue about the car. In my case they have no idea about the rubber plugs, about the service bulletins, they said that the headlights in the clarity cannot be adjusted. They don't even know if they have a charger in the dealer. So, any recommendations in NY - CT area are welcomed.
Wow, just wow! What an embarrassment for Honda. Having a dealer like that described in the OP is a real black eye for the manufacturer. I wish there were a direct way to communicate that kind of crap to Honda directly, but all communication is filtered through their customer relations system.
The same thing happened with Chevy dealers and the Volt even after being sold for years. Let’s face it, most people don’t know or care to understand what a PHEV is. Which is why they are so hard to sell in significant numbers.
I picked up my Clarity last week from the dealer and the car had ordinary plates. I was told Service Ontario would not issue them because it was not on there approved list. The approved list has the 2018 but not the 2019. I went to Service Ontario and was told the same thing but they do update the list as the manufacturer informs the MOT. I wrote an email to the MOT and received the same information from them. I have written an email to Honda Canada and I am awaiting a reply. I was fortunate to have a salesman who was trained on the Clarity so was quite knowledgeable. This forum is the ultimate source of information and all of Honda's salesman should belong.
Yikes looks like MTO and/or manufacturers facing some challenges keeping the list current. 2019 Prius Prime & 2019 Teslas aren’t Green also apparently according to the current list LOL: http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/vehicles/electric/green-plates-eligible-vehicle.shtml Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
"The same thing happened with Chevy dealers and the Volt even after being sold for years. Let’s face it, most people don’t know or care to understand what a PHEV is. Which is why they are so hard to sell in significant numbers." I considered 3 cars last summer. The Volt, the Accord hybrid, and the Clarity. I almost bought the Volt. The salesman was very knowledgeable about the car (I was already familiar with it because a cousin has one). The Clarity won out because of size and the interior (I bought a Touring). So far the only service I have had was two SB updates - one to fix the estimated range the other SB-097 to fix the level 2 charging issue. The service technician was very helpful and the two service visits fixed the problems.
Since the Regressive Conservatives removed the rebate the EV manufacturers don't really have much incentive to contact the MTO about new models.
No guarantees, but many years ago (OK - almost 20 years ago), we purchased an Odyssey from Curtiss Ryan Honda in Shelton, CT. It was a drive from Yonkers, but totally worth our experience. It might be worth calling them to see how well they know the Clarity. Good luck! Update: our salesperson is still there: Jim Cossette (203) 929-1484 Ext: 225. If you call him, tell him that you were referred by Melissa Dillon through Norman Greenberg ~ from a sale in 1999
A dealer not knowing about a product is one thing... it will prevent said product from being sold effectively. But, what really worries me is when it comes time to service my Clarity. Will the mechanic be familiar enough with the vehicle to service it, without screwing up? That is why I plan on doing my own oil changes and basic maintenance initially. I previously had a lot of success maintaining my 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid. However, I had a copy of the official Honda Maintenance book - which I do not have for the Clarity.
