I am looking to buy a 2019 Honda Civic LX from a local dealership, currently with 22,800 miles. The car was previously leased in California before it ended up at the dealership. Since it's the LX trim, it comes with the 2.0L 4 cylinder engine (no turbo charge) mated to a CVT.
I test drove it today and there were no major noticeable issues with it. There were some exterior cosmetic damages (few paint chips and scratches) but other than that it seemed fine. I haven't had a mechanic check it out yet but I'm assuming there aren't any major interior damages or issues, especially given it's a fairly new car.
Dealership is currently asking for $15,995 and with taxes and doc fees it will come out to about $17,700. Is this is a good deal, and do you think I have any wiggle room in negotiating the price down a bit? I plan to pay fully in cash, no financing. I'm also a bit concerned that given this was a previously leased car, that the previous owner may have driven it really hard.
I've been looking at local private sellers on Craigslist and Facebook marketplace, but most of the cars for sale are either old and have issues, or are models that people generally avoid due to proven unreliability, hence why I've turned to looking at dealerships.
About the price, since you pay cash, you can offer less. Walk around the car and write down all the issues (cosmetically) you see and use them to lower the price. The other thing is that you should ask a mechanic to check the car for you, as you said, it was a leased car and it is possible that the previous owner didn’t take care of it.
Haggle even more the 2.0 engines are good and have a mechanic check it out and make sure it is in good mechanic shape if it is then it could be a great car!
