Paragon Offers Car Buyers Shelter from the Storm

NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2010 -- A group of Honda dealers have created the Vehicle Exchange Program in response to a wave of car owners flooding Honda dealerships to safeguard their personal safety and the resale value of one of their cars. With Honda boasting the highest resale value of any car sold in America, car owners have honed in on Honda dealers, precipitating a steep increase in sales at Honda dealers across the country, but especially in New York State, the world's largest auto market, where Honda has long held the greatest market share of any auto brand.

Paragon Honda, which is the largest Honda/Acura dealer in the country, developed its Vehicle Exchange Program when it began receiving a large volume of phone calls from Toyota and Saturn owners inquiring about trade-in values. Paragon Honda's Vehicle Exchange Program, launched on February 3, offers owners up to $4,500 of trade-in credit if they upgrade to a new or pre-owned Honda or Acura. Paragon Honda has also decided to offer these trade-in customers financing rates as low as 0.9%, in addition to a guarantee by the dealership to pay off any remaining loans on traded-in cars.

While some might see the generous terms of Paragon Honda's Vehicle Exchange Program as a financial risk for the dealership, Paragon's executives see the program as a prudent, value-driven investment in long-term customers. "Honda owners are loyal to the brand for the very simple reason that Honda is loyal to them," says Brian Benstock, General Manager and Vice President of Paragon Honda. "Honda has an international reputation for reliability. But it's just as important, as we're now seeing, that customers can rely on the value of their Hondas as well, so they're not left in an economic lurch somewhere down the road."

As Paragon Honda tabulates record sales this month, even in the context of a sour economic climate, Benstock's understanding of what car owners want and need today is proving to be accurate. Benstock explained that he recently had a customer who has been driving Toyotas since 1992, but opted to trade-in his Toyota this month for a brand new Honda Civic for only $9 a day. For that Paragon customer, as with millions of other customers, Honda's safety record and excellent value were too attractive to pass up.

With prices for the Honda Civic driven down to $179 a month and the Honda Accord at $199 a month, Honda has emerged in recent years as a less expensive and more reliable alternative, a fact that has resonated sharply with car buyers in the US during a financially difficult period. Motor Trend also recently awarded Honda's 2010 Insight hybrid First Place as the automotive industry's most reliable, eco-friendly and cost-effective hybrid car.