One of the most common Honda or Acura car accidents has no moving vehicles but simply occurs with the stroke of a pen on a piece of paper.

This article is going discuss buying  Honda and Acura vehicles from the right source.

At Accurate, we specialize exclusively in the sales and service Honda and Acura automobiles. For this reason, I know that some will think that this article is a little bias, and maybe it is....but a wise person once said that people know the truth when they hear it, or in this case read it.

When shopping for a vehicle a consumer has basically 5 options to choose from for the source of their next Honda or Acura automobile.

Option 1:    Go to a franchised Honda or Acura dealer and buy a brand new unit.

The Positive:     The consumer gets a brand new car and in most cases exactly what they think they want.

The Negatives:   The consumer pays full price plus, likely the most money that Honda or Acura vehicle will ever sell for. Now they may be told at the time of purchase that the unit they are buying or leasing has special pricing or special financing, but if they purchase that brand new Honda or Acura vehicle, when they drive it off the lot, just like any other new vehicle, it depreciates dramatically in value....In some cases as much as 20%!!! This is a car accident.

Option 2:    Go to a new car franchised dealer and buy a Certified Used Honda or Acura.

The Positive:    The Certified Used Honda and Acura vehicles are less expensive than new vehicles and special financing thru the factory may be an option. There is also usually a limited powertrain warranty included on the vehicle for one year.

The Negative:   As we have already discussed in an earlier article, Certified Used Honda and Acuras are used cars. The quality of the used Honda or Acura vehicle that a franchised dealer starts with and what they do to the vehicle prior to marketing as a Certified Used Honda or Acura can vary greatly between individual vehicle units. There is a set guideline that franchised Honda and Acura dealers are supposed to follow for Certified units but......

 What an individual franchised dealer has in a particular  unit and  the honesty & integrity of the individual Honda or Acura dealer greatly determines the quality of an each individual Honda or Acura Certified vehicle.

The Certified Honda or Acura units, regardless of quality, will be some of the most expensive used Honda or Acura vehicles in your local market. And in most cases, you can also formulate how much you pay for the vehicle per mile and it will be the same cost (per mile) as the new Honda or Acura vehicle would have cost, when you calculate in the mileage that is already on the Certified Used Unit.

 I will tell you the formula to use to evaluate a used vehicle based on it's mileage in a later article.

Option 3:    Buy from a franchised or non-franchise dealer that is not a Honda or Acura dealer.

The Positive:   Sometimes, if the consumer is in the right place, at the right time, they can come in during a trade-in of a Honda or Acura and buy that trade-in just minutes after the dealer took it in on trade.

Negative 1:    This is a very dangerous thing to do....There are always questions of why the vehicle is being traded and in many cases, over 50% of the time, the previous owner is trading the vehicle to avoid a future expense with the vehicle or because there is something negative about the history of the vehicle that has not had time to show up on title history reports. In this scenario, you can quickly buy a bad vehicle.

Negative 2:  The car dealer that sells a little of every make or advertises that they sell more cars than anybody will not have the expertise to know that the Honda or Acura vehicle that they are selling is a good vehicle or not. The old saying "Jack of all trades but master of none" comes to mind.

Option 4 :   Purchase a used Honda or Acura vehicle from a private individual.

The biggest dangers fall into the private seller category

Positives:   Possibly purchase a vehicle that will save the consumer money and seller might be the original owner.

 Negative 1:    Many times, a dealer will act and market a used vehicle as a private seller. This is called "curb stoning" and it is against the law. Think about it....Why would a car dealer disguise himself as a private owner and seller?

Negative 2:   In the event that there is a problem with the used car or in the transaction itself, there is limited recourse options available to protect the buyer / new owner of the vehicle (you).

Negative 3:   In most cases, a buyer will get a cleaner vehicle and at a cheaper price from a car dealer that from a private individual. The reason is simple, new car depreciation has placed the private individual in a position where he cannot compete price-wise without taking a significant loss on his vehicle.

Option 5:    Go to a non-franchised dealer that exclusively specializes in Honda and Acura vehicles.

This is where Accurate comes in.....

Positives:   We cannot afford to have a bad car transaction. 

 There is no blue sign with a big "H" to hide behind.

 Our Honda and Acura inventory must be clean, fully serviced  priced right. 

Our market demands it.

When purchasing ask these important questions:

Who Purchased this Honda or Acura vehicle for this dealership? Our Honda and Acura car inventory is selected by one of our own service technicians, a former franchised dealer technician for both Honda and Acura dealers in the Nashville, TN area.

Where did this Honda or Acura vehicle come from and where was it previously titled? The majority of our Honda and Acura vehicles are purchased directly from American Honda Finance (AHFC) off of lease and most of those have only been titled in the south, to avoid road salt corrosion.

Specifically, what have you done to prepare this Honda or Acura vehicle for marketing? This is a very important question and if the answer is only "a 150 point inspection", then ask more questions. You want servicing not inspections. At Accurate. we service everything that we sell prior to marketing. Our Honda and Acura vehicles are fully serviced and fully detailed before displaying to our retail customers.

Don't have a car accident!!!

I encourage all car shoppers to investigate the Honda or Acura vehicle that you are looking to buy. Do you research and always cross-reference the VIN to the equipment being advertised on the vehicle (see our article on Buying Honda Odysseys by the VIN).