Good place to get a used car (Houston, Dallas: coupons, home)

[JH6]

There is a little place called Longhorn imports, my friend bought a honda there and it was reasonably priced and good running.

[COCUE]

Originally Posted by Denver303TJC

In a nutshell, we live near the Apple-plex on Parmer and she goes to school near UT in the morning. She is looking to work a job at night, so public transportation isn't a good option if she finishes work at 10p, even more so since it's 1.5 miles to the nearest bus stop; And on a bike, riding along Parmer at night, isn't a great option (especially for a 20-something woman). Short-term she is planning on using the Intl Driver License. She is in the country on a student visa.

I got nothing against her getting a SSN and a Texan D.L., that would be good, if it's fairly straight forward, as you mentioned. We are looking to get the car in both our names, as well as the insurance, so that we both may drive the car.

Thanks for bringing this up, the advice is appreciated, since living with a foreign national I wasn't 100% sure what was the best way to go at the legalities of driving for her.

If she's here legally on a student visa (F or J) not a tourist visa, its pretty pretty straight forward to get a SSN and a D/LL subsequently. I obviously can't advise on immigration issues but she's not really allowed to work off-campus though people do it everyday. I believe she's only allowed to work on-campus (the school sponsoring her student visa) for not more than 20 hours/week except where she's applied for F1 visa exceptions like CPT and OPT after hey 1st year of study. Again not offering expert advice just suggesting you check out all the details
All in all. I do believe it's advisable for your g/f to get her SSN and D/L

[Denver303TJC]

Originally Posted by COCUE

If she's here legally on a student visa (F or J) not a tourist visa, its pretty pretty straight forward to get a SSN and a D/LL subsequently. I obviously can't advise on immigration issues but she's not really allowed to work off-campus though people do it everyday. I believe she's only allowed to work on-campus (the school sponsoring her student visa) for not more than 20 hours/week except where she's applied for F1 visa exceptions like CPT and OPT after hey 1st year of study. Again not offering expert advice just suggesting you check out all the details
All in all. I do believe it's advisable for your g/f to get her SSN and D/L

Thanks! Ok then, I'll advise her to get her SSN and DL thereafter. Thanks for the input!

[Don in Austin]

Originally Posted by mesmer

First Texas Honda now has fixed pricing and no commission, even on their used cars.

"No haggle" pricing usually means the price is high and don't bother to haggle because there is nothing you can do about it.

Don in Austin

Originally Posted by mesmer

There's a guy on Burnet that doesn't do financing so you have to bring your own - it's a strange setup but it's one less thing to lose money on. Weinstein is his name I think.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by Don in Austin

"No haggle" pricing usually means the price is high and don't bother to haggle because there is nothing you can do about it.

So I can't speak for First Texas Honda's used car prices, but their "no haggle" new car prices for Hondas are actually pretty competitive. You might be able to beat their prices by about $500 if you drive to Dallas or Houston, but it's probably not worth it. They're actually a pretty good place. I don't think you would get taken advantage of there like you could at other dealers around. Now, I'm sure that they try to sell you all the same extended warranties as well so as long as you stay away from all the add-ons, I think someone could walk in there and walk out with about as good of a deal that they could get on a Honda within 100 miles of here.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by Don in Austin

"No haggle" pricing usually means the price is high and don't bother to haggle because there is nothing you can do about it.

Don in Austin

Originally Posted by mark311

So I can't speak for First Texas Honda's used car prices, but their "no haggle" new car prices for Hondas are actually pretty competitive. You might be able to beat their prices by about $500 if you drive to Dallas or Houston, but it's probably not worth it. They're actually a pretty good place. I don't think you would get taken advantage of there like you could at other dealers around. Now, I'm sure that they try to sell you all the same extended warranties as well so as long as you stay away from all the add-ons, I think someone could walk in there and walk out with about as good of a deal that they could get on a Honda within 100 miles of here.

Interesting you should say that, mark. First Texas offered "sticker price" only on two models when I was looking in July. One was a 2015 ! The other a brand new 2016, so a bit more understandable. The sales dude seemed quite proud of that policy. Nice...if you happen to own the dealership I went a few miles up the highway for a better deal.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Interesting you should say that, mark. First Texas offered "sticker price" only on two models when I was looking in July. One was a 2015 ! The other a brand new 2016, so a bit more understandable. The sales dude seemed quite proud of that policy. Nice...if you happen to own the dealership I went a few miles up the highway for a better deal.

Yeah, it's always worth doing your research, but typically the Honda Fits and HRVs are very hot right now so it's difficulty to get any discount on those anywhere. They probably offer the deepest discount around on Accords and Civics right now. I think it's tough to get a deal on a 2016 while they're clearing out the 2015 models. But yeah, I guess I should clarify my statement to walk-in traffic for the average person. Was the deal that you got in Round Rock more than $500 more? Was it a Fit or a HRV that you were looking at?

You can get a good idea of what a dealer is willing to discount to the average person by seeing what their advertised price is on www.cars.com. A 2015 Accord Sport for $21,500 advertised price is a pretty good deal at First Texas and is about $4K off MSRP with no extra add-ons. A 2015 Civic EX CVT sedan for $19,600 is also a pretty good deal. You definitely aren't getting overpriced there on deals like that. But, I agree with you if they're sticking to the MSRP on certain models.

[Denver303TJC]

Thanks, everyone! :-)

[mesmer]

Originally Posted by Don in Austin

"No haggle" pricing usually means the price is high and don't bother to haggle because there is nothing you can do about it.

Don in Austin

I shopped around and First Texas Honda's no-haggle was the same as everybody else's haggle. It's not like car max (which is no haggle with a premium).

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by mesmer

I shopped around and First Texas Honda's no-haggle was the same as everybody else's haggle. It's not like car max (which is no haggle with a premium).

As I mentioned earlier, First Texas' price was sticker...which is MSRP ++. I was told that in no uncertain terms. I'm a listener, not a haggler. I 'listened' my way to $13K off our current Volvo and $3.5K off our purchase this summer of a much less expensive commuter car(from $27K down to $23K). Those numbers are a fair bit away from "sticker...take it or leave it". Folks who are first adopters might 'need' to pay MSRP for a vehicle; but I wouldn't do it for a Honda, that's for sure. The HRV ain't THAT cute!(Nor is the CRV).