Preferred place to buy a used e

[MrM83]

I'm not yet put off by horror stories of handles, apps and lane assist!

Could I please get opinion on where you would prefer to purchase a used car from and what year of manufacture? How mileage sensitive should I be?

In the UK there are very few cars offered by private sellers but there are a few. The benefit of buying a 21 or 71 plate or newer is I would have remainder of factory warranty to lean on if required.

Used main Honda dealer cars seem to be at a premium price. I struggle to see how they justify it. If Im being kind, then maybe, just maybe, a car older than 3 years and out of warranty might be at a small premium if Honda put a years warranty on the car. Im not sure what cost that is, but I doubt its as much as the premium they are offered at.

Non Honda dealers seem to price at around a 5-6% premium to a private sale, whereas its the same margin added on again for a Honda dealer.

Time is at something of a premium for me; I don't have much of it to drive around the country looking at cars. I am picky on colour and the combination of this and rarity means options are a little limited. I know beggars cant be choosers.

Id appreciate thoughts on paying up for a 2021 vs 2020, and any benefits of buying from Honda versus elsewhere? And thoughts on pricing premium of cars with 17" wheels over 16"?

Many thanks

[EEEE]

Tbh, it's not a mass market vehicle. The difference in colours and wheels doesn't really make much difference. You will get a bit more range out of 16inch tyres as they are narrower. There isn't much (if anything) to differentiate between the models across the years. Unlike a normal car where 10's of thousands are produced and design improvements take place, to our knowledge all the cars are built the same. I suspect that the date of registration is not a true indicator of vehicle age really.

All UK models will be the 'advance' spec bar a handful of early ones I expect. It's up to you what you want to pay for convenience and dealer facilities etc.

If it's outside of warranty, probably no reason not to buy privately, you will most likely get a decent discount off the asking price as I suspect customers are not knocking down their doors to buy them, and what you offer will probably be greater than what Honda offered them for it part ex.

[MattHero]

I'm not yet put off by horror stories of handles, apps and lane assist!

Good, despite those stories I'm an owner since September 2020 and haven't regretted my purchase for a second. My original plan was to run it for a decade and that's still my plan 3 years later.

A Honda dealer is far likelier to have margin to discount harder than a private seller and through their network, will potentially be able to secure the colour you're after and have it delivered locally for you. In that respect, that's no different to any other car, other than the fact that there's less than 2k e on the road in the UK and no more coming.

But as per other comment, there's not much to choose between the individual vehicles; they're pretty easy on their consumable parts, although some here have ripped through the rear tyres of the 17" Pilot Sports earlier than you might otherwise like (but that's very easily checked and would be remarked on any annual inspection record for the car). The Yoko Green Earths on my 16" wheels look as good as new after 15k, so I must be a gentler driver I guess

Summary: just buy one and cherish it