New owner - 2011 EX

[djrussell]

Hey all,

Just a quick thread to say "hi". I'm the 3rd (3rd!!) owner of a silver 2011 EX. I got it last year with 23,000 miles for $26,500 private party. It was just what I wanted. I have 3 young kids plus one more soon and don't want them messing up the leather in an EX-L. The power hatch and rearview camera would've been nice but I can live without.

It's at nearly 30,000 now and the maintenance minder just lit up with 1/2/B so I need to start checking off that list. I did the cabin and air filters last weekend. They were a breeze. I do most of my own maintenance so will probably be around looking for technical tips or info. This looks like a nice forum. I'm looking forward to hanging out.

[davedrivesody]

Welcome to Odyclub!

[djrussell]

Thanks, Dave!

[PAPAJOE26]

Ditto to "Welcome to Odyclub". I am confused, though. You say you have a 2011 Odyssey EX and call it 3rd Generation. I believe a 2011 would be a 4th Gen, no?

[GeoOdyZantac]

Ditto to "Welcome to Odyclub". I am confused, though. You say you have a 2011 Odyssey EX and call it 3rd Generation. I believe a 2011 would be a 4th Gen, no?

Sorry to say this PAPAJOE26, but you are confused! The OP states that he is the 3rd owner on the 2011 Ody (which I find interesting as that's a lot of transfers of ownership over the past few years),that he has 3 kids and that he is approaching the 30 K mileage mark, but nowhere in his post does he mention the van as being a 3rd Generation Odyssey! I guess you had three on your mind!

[PAPAJOE26]

Ha-ha. That is too funny. I am confused, and realized that when I came back to the thread and read the original posting by djrussell. That is true, being the third owner within the first 23K miles is strange.

[djrussell]

Thanks for the welcomes, all. Yes, third owner.

There certainly aren't many newish Oddyseys in the private market. I had to drive about 4 hrs for this one. My biggest reason for that was that you don't pay sales tax on private sales in GA. The previous owner is a youth pastor that is planting a church in another state. He was trying to cut debt so chose to let it go. I don't really understand that because he brought a few thousand dollars to the bank to pay off the remainder of the loan and was going car shopping the next day. I payed his asking price too, no haggling. I have some paperwork that shows when and where he bought it with about 16k miles I think. Maybe the first owner just didn't like it and traded in.

It also came with a roof-mounted (aftermarket) dvd player and a 5yr/80k warranty. I need to drive to one of the dealers in the network to have that transferred though.

I would've been okay with a Sienna too but there were no used ones and new was a little out of our price range. The best the dealer could do was about $30k. (sorry for more 3's ). I talked to the Honda dealer too and drove a '12 EX-L, we even put all the car seats in it for a test fit. The salesman refused to talk money afterwards, just walked away and said 'here's me card', though so I have no idea what they would have sold for. I assume a couple thousand more than the Sienna.

I just bought a service manual from ebay. Time to have some fun.

[GeoOdyZantac]

Thanks for the welcomes, all. Yes, third owner.
There certainly aren't many newish Odysseys in the private market. My biggest reason for that was that you don't pay sales tax on private sales in GA. He was trying to cut debt so chose to let it go.
I would've been okay with a Sienna too but there were no used ones and new was a little out of our price range. The best the dealer could do was about $30k. I talked to the Honda dealer too and drove a '12 EX-L, we even put all the car seats in it for a test fit. The salesman refused to talk money afterwards, just walked away and said 'here's me card', though so I have no idea what they would have sold for. I assume a couple thousand more than the Sienna.

djrussell-good thing you bought your new-to-you Ody when you did-the new "improved" Georgia Car Sales Tax takes effect on 01 March 2013, and it means now that ALL car sales transactions are taxable, including private party sales! (which the state calls "casual sales") The politicians in the GA General Assembly were crowing last spring about how "we got rid of the evil birthday tax!" (Ad Valorem Tax) but they pulled a fast one. Now nobody will be able avoid having to pay sales tax when you buy a car in GA. Pity the poor people who lease vehicles-they will now not only have to pay a sales tax when they "sign and drive" but also every month of the lease! Another fine example of how our elected officials here in the Peach State have our best interests at heart and give much careful thought about the effects of the laws they make when they deliberate on them before passing them-NOT!

In terms of your purchase it looks like you got a good deal. I know what you mean about the paucity of recent model used Odys in the private seller market. That's what I saw here in the Atlanta area when I was looking-most of the PP ones on CL or other websites were 99-01 2nd Gens w/ 100K+ miles on them. I lucked out by buying my 08 EX from a mom in my son's Boy Scott Troop who wanted to get out from having to make a car payment. She was in the process of moving and wanted to buy a beater with the profit from the sale of her Ody. It's been great for us since I bought it in 2011. I also looked at Siennas but it seems like there were even fewer of those available from private sellers. Good Luck and Happy Motoring!

[djrussell]

Wow, I hadn't heard about the tax applying to PP sales soon. That sucks! Yes, glad to have gotten it when I did. I saved at least $2k on tax alone.