Honda Used Car Dealership vs. New

You've decided you want a Honda. That part was easy. The part nobody warns you about is that "buying a Honda" isn't one decision, it's two: which model, and which kind of dealership you're going to buy it from.

Most people skip the second question entirely. They assume a Honda dealership is a Honda dealership, and the only real choice is new versus used. That assumption costs buyers money every single day, because a used-focused lot and a franchised new-car showroom don't just sell different inventory. They run on different pricing models, different negotiation rules, and different risk profiles. Walk into the wrong one with the wrong expectations and you'll either overpay for peace of mind you didn't need, or underpay for protection you actually did.

This guide breaks down exactly what separates a used Honda dealership experience from a new one: the real cost gap, the warranty math, how financing changes, and how the negotiation itself plays out differently depending on which side of the lot you're standing on. By the end, you'll know which path fits your situation, not because a salesperson told you so, but because you did the math yourself.

For a full walkthrough of doc fees, dealer transparency scoring, and how to negotiate an out-the-door price at any Honda dealership, our complete Honda dealership guide is worth reading alongside this one. It covers the mechanics that apply no matter which path you choose here.

Two Different Businesses Wearing the Same Badge

What a "New Car Dealership" Actually Sells

A franchised new Honda dealership carries new inventory straight from the manufacturer, plus a used and certified pre-owned lot on the side, usually built from trade-ins and lease returns. The new side of the business runs on manufacturer pricing, incentive programs, and allocation, meaning the dealer doesn't fully control what shows up on the lot or when.

What a "Used Car Dealership" Actually Sells

An independent used car lot, or the used-only wing of a franchised dealer, sources inventory very differently: auctions, trade-ins, off-lease vehicles, and private acquisitions. There's no manufacturer allocation here. The dealer picks every car on the lot, prices it based on market comps, and carries the full risk of reconditioning and reselling it. That difference in sourcing shapes almost everything else on this list.

Neither model is inherently better. They're just built for different kinds of purchases, and understanding which one you're actually walking into changes how you should shop.

The Real Price Gap: What the Numbers Actually Show

Where New Car Pricing Starts

New Honda pricing starts at MSRP and typically settles a few percentage points above dealer invoice, generally in the 3 to 5% range depending on the model and how much demand it's seeing. On a mainstream model like a Civic or CR-V, that can mean a final price landing $2,000 to $6,000 above what the dealer actually paid Honda for the car, before fees and taxes even enter the picture.

Where Used Pricing Starts

Used pricing works off a completely different reference point: recent comparable sales, not a manufacturer sticker. A three-year-old Honda typically sells for somewhere around 55 to 65% of its original MSRP, depending on the model's depreciation curve and how many miles it's carrying. Some models, the CR-V and Ridgeline in particular, hold value noticeably better than others, which narrows that gap.

Here's the number that actually matters, though: the gap between a certified used Honda and an equivalent new one is usually smaller than shoppers expect, often closer to 20 to 30% rather than half off. Meanwhile, the gap between a new car and a non-certified used car with unknown maintenance history can look like a bargain on paper and turn into a wash once you factor in a $1,500 repair bill six months in.

Expert Tip: Don't compare sticker to sticker. Compare out-the-door total cost of the used option, including any reconditioning you'll need to do yourself, against the out-the-door total for a new or certified equivalent. The real gap is almost always smaller than the headline price difference suggests.

A real example makes this concrete. Take a 2009 Honda Accord EX-L currently listed by an independent dealer: view the listing here. A car this age sits at the far end of the depreciation curve, which is exactly where the used market gets interesting for budget buyers, but it's also exactly where you need to be most careful about mechanical condition, since there's no factory warranty cushion left at all.

Warranty Coverage: The Gap That Actually Drives Risk

New Honda Coverage

Every new Honda comes with a 3-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper limited warranty and a 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty, plus 24-hour roadside assistance for the length of that bumper-to-bumper term. That's Honda standing behind the entire vehicle, not just the engine and transmission, for the first three years of ownership.

Used Coverage, and Why It's Not One Thing

This is where "used" stops being a single category and splits into three very different risk levels:

HondaTrue Certified used vehicles, covering 2021 to 2026 model years under 80,000 miles, carry a 7-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty, a 5-year/86,000-mile non-powertrain warranty, and a documented 182-point inspection before the car is ever listed.

HondaTrue Used, the lighter certified tier, drops to a 6-month/10,000-mile powertrain warranty. Real protection, but a fraction of what full Certified offers.

Uncertified used, like older private-party trades or independent lot inventory, typically carries no factory-backed warranty at all. You're relying entirely on the seller's disclosure and whatever inspection you arrange yourself.

That third category is where the real risk lives, and it's also where the real savings live. There's no wrong answer here, but there is a wrong way to shop it: buying an uncertified used Honda without an independent pre-purchase inspection is the single most common way buyers turn a good deal into an expensive mistake.

Expert Tip: If you're looking at anything outside the HondaTrue Certified tier, budget for a $100 to $200 independent inspection before you commit. It's the cheapest insurance policy in the entire car-buying process.

Financing: New Rates vs. Used Rates Aren't the Same Conversation

New Vehicle Financing

Honda Financial Services runs its most competitive promotional rates on new vehicles, sometimes advertised as low as 0% for well-qualified buyers on select models. These promotions are one of the genuine financial advantages of buying new, assuming your credit qualifies for the top tier.

Used and Certified Financing

Used vehicle loans, including HondaTrue Certified financing, typically carry higher interest rates than new-car promotional offers, though HondaTrue Certified usually still beats standard used-car rates since lenders view a certified, warrantied vehicle as lower risk than an uncertified one.

The practical takeaway: if a 0% or near-0% new-car promotion is genuinely available to you, run the math before assuming used automatically saves you money. A lower purchase price financed at a much higher rate can, in some cases, cost more over the life of the loan than a pricier new car financed at a promotional rate. This is exactly the kind of comparison a salesperson on either side of the lot has no incentive to walk you through, so do it yourself.

Expert Tip: Get pre-approved by your own bank or credit union before shopping either new or used. It gives you a real number to compare Honda Financial Services against, on both sides of the lot, instead of trusting whichever rate the finance office quotes first.

State Taxes: How New vs. Used Math Changes Depending on Where You Live

Here's a factor almost nobody weighs into the new-versus-used decision, and it can move the real cost gap by hundreds or even thousands of dollars depending entirely on your zip code: sales tax structure, and specifically whether your state gives you credit for a trade-in.

Why This Matters More for New Than Used

Sales tax is a percentage, so it hits harder in dollar terms on a higher purchase price. A new car's higher sticker means a proportionally bigger tax bill than a used car at the same rate, which is obvious enough. What's less obvious is that some states let you deduct your trade-in's value from the taxable amount before calculating that percentage, and some states don't, and that single rule can swing the real math between new and used more than the tax rate itself does.

State	Vehicle Tax Rate	Trade-In Credit	What This Means for New vs. Used
California	7.25% base, higher with local add-ons	Not offered. California taxes the full purchase price regardless of trade-in.	The lack of trade-in credit hits new purchases hardest, since new cars carry higher prices and buyers are more likely to be trading in. A used purchase with a trade-in still gets taxed on the full price too, but the smaller base price keeps the dollar impact lower either way.
Texas	6.25% flat statewide, no local add-ons on vehicles	Yes, full credit. Tax applies only to price minus trade-in value.	The trade-in credit meaningfully narrows the new-versus-used tax gap here. A $12,000 trade-in against a $30,000 new car saves roughly $750 in tax alone compared to a no-credit state.
Florida	6% base, local surtaxes typically bring it to 7 to 7.5%	Generally available, though confirm the specific credit treatment with your county tax collector.	Combined with Florida's high doc fees, tax and fees together add up fast on a new purchase. Run the full OTD number, not just the sticker, before comparing to a used alternative.
New York	4% state, local rates can push the combined total close to 8.875% in some areas like New York City	Yes, full credit under state tax law.	The state rate is genuinely low nationally, but local add-ons vary enough that your specific county matters as much as the state number. The trade-in credit applies either way, narrowing the new-versus-used gap similarly to Texas.
Pennsylvania	6% state, Allegheny County adds 1%, Philadelphia adds 2%	Yes, full credit under state tax code.	A fairly standard structure with meaningful trade-in savings available statewide, which softens the tax-driven case for buying used over new if you have a trade-in to apply.
Illinois	6.25% state plus local, can run higher in some municipalities	Available, though partial limits can apply depending on vehicle value, so confirm current rules before assuming a full credit.	Illinois' local add-ons vary widely by municipality, which means the real tax gap between new and used can differ significantly even within the same state depending on exactly where you're buying.
Georgia	7.0% one-time Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) on fair market value, replacing traditional sales tax entirely	Trade-in reduces the taxable fair market value, but only when the sale is made through a licensed dealer, not a private party.	This is the detail most Georgia buyers miss. TAVT applies at the same 7% rate to new and used vehicles alike, based on fair market value rather than negotiated price, which somewhat levels the playing field between new and used compared to states with traditional sales tax. But buying used from a private seller instead of a dealer means losing the trade-in credit entirely, a real cost that's easy to overlook when a private-party used car looks cheaper on paper.

Tax rates and trade-in credit rules reflect general 2026 patterns and are not tax advice. Local county and city rates can shift the effective total meaningfully within a single state. Confirm current rates and trade-in credit rules with your state's department of revenue or motor vehicle division before finalizing a purchase decision.

Expert Tip: If you're in a no-trade-in-credit state like California, or buying used from a private seller in Georgia, run the tax math on both a new and used purchase separately before assuming used automatically wins on total cost. The purchase price gap is only part of the picture; the tax treatment of your trade-in can close that gap more than buyers expect.

Negotiation: A Completely Different Game on Each Side

Negotiating a New Car

New car negotiation centers on the gap between invoice and MSRP, plus manufacturer incentives, rebates, and dealer-added markups on high-demand models. The car itself is standardized, so the negotiation is almost entirely about price and fees, not condition.

Negotiating a Used Car

Used car negotiation is a different sport entirely. Every used car is a one-off: different mileage, different condition, different history, sometimes a different set of add-ons already installed by a previous reconditioning pass. That means your leverage comes from comparable listings, documented condition issues you find during inspection, and how long the specific car has been sitting on the lot.

In both cases, the fee structure is the same battlefield: doc fees, dealer add-ons like paint protection or VIN etching, and the final out-the-door number. Whether you're negotiating a $35,000 new CR-V or a $9,000 used Civic, the rule doesn't change. Negotiate the total out-the-door price, not the monthly payment, and reject add-ons you didn't ask for by default.

Expert Tip: On a used car specifically, ask how long the vehicle has been in inventory. Cars sitting past 60 days on a lot usually have more room to move on price, since the dealer's floor-plan financing costs are eating into their margin the longer it sits unsold.

Inventory and Selection: What You'll Actually Find

A new-car showroom gives you access to every current trim and configuration Honda builds, assuming the dealer can get it allocated, plus the ability to special-order exactly what you want in some cases. What you won't get is variety in condition or price point. Every 2026 Civic EX on the lot is essentially the same car.

A used lot flips that entirely. You'll find a spread of model years, trims, mileage bands, and price points on the same nameplate, which is exactly what makes comparison shopping worthwhile. It's also why browsing by model, rather than by dealership, often gets you further faster.

If you're weighing which Honda model fits your life before you even decide on new versus used, our complete guide to buying a Honda is a useful starting point. And if you're torn between something family-sized and something more compact, our breakdown of the Odyssey versus the Civic Coupe walks through exactly that kind of tradeoff.

You can also browse current listings directly by model to compare new and used pricing side by side: Civic Coupe, Civic, Accord, Odyssey, Ridgeline, HR-V, CR-V, and Pilot. Pulling up both a new listing and a few used ones for the same model, side by side, is the fastest way to see the real price gap for your specific situation instead of relying on national averages.

Depreciation by Model: Not Every Honda Loses Value the Same Way

This is the piece most new-versus-used comparisons skip entirely, and it changes the math more than almost anything else on this list.

Not every Honda depreciates at the same rate. Some models are built in volumes large enough, or face light enough competition, that they hold onto resale value far better than others. That difference matters twice: once when you're deciding what to buy used, and again years later when it's your turn to sell or trade in.

Slower depreciation, stronger used value retention: The CR-V and Ridgeline tend to hold value better than most of the lineup. Strong ongoing demand in the compact SUV and midsize truck segments keeps used prices firmer, which means you'll pay a bit more for a used example, but you'll also lose less when it's time to move on.

Faster depreciation, better used bargains: Sedans generally, including the Accord and Civic, tend to depreciate a bit faster than SUVs and trucks in the current market, partly because overall sedan demand has softened industry-wide. That's bad news if you're selling one, but good news if you're buying used, since it often means more car for the money a few years into its life.

Minivans, a category of their own: The Odyssey depreciates on a curve that's heavily tied to mileage and condition rather than age alone, since minivan buyers are typically shopping for family use and care more about interior wear and reliability history than styling trends.

What this means for your decision: if you're buying used specifically to save money, a model that depreciates faster, like a Civic or Accord, often gives you the steepest discount off original MSRP for a given age. If you're buying used but also care about resale value down the road, a CR-V or Ridgeline holds its value more predictably, even though the initial used discount won't look as dramatic.

Insurance Costs: A Real Difference Buyers Often Overlook

New and used Hondas don't just differ in purchase price. They also differ in what you'll pay to insure them, and the gap is often bigger than buyers expect.

A new vehicle typically costs more to insure for two reasons. First, its higher replacement value means a higher premium for comprehensive and collision coverage. Second, many new-car loans and leases require full coverage plus gap insurance, which covers the difference between what you owe and what the car is actually worth if it's totaled early in the loan, since new cars depreciate fastest in their first year.

A used vehicle, particularly one a few years old, usually costs less to insure simply because its lower value means lower payouts if something happens to it. If you're financing a used purchase with a smaller loan balance, you may also have more flexibility to drop comprehensive and collision coverage once the loan is paid off, something that's rarely realistic in the first few years of a new-car loan.

Expert Tip: Get an insurance quote for the specific vehicle, not just the model, before you finalize either a new or used purchase. Trim level, safety features, and even the specific model year can shift your premium more than buyers expect, and it's a number that should factor into your total cost of ownership comparison, not just your purchase price comparison.

The "As-Is" Trap: What You're Actually Agreeing To

Here's something that catches a lot of first-time used car buyers off guard: not every used vehicle sale includes any warranty at all, and "as-is" isn't a formality, it's a legal statement that you're accepting the vehicle in its current condition with no recourse if something breaks the next day.

HondaTrue Certified and HondaTrue Used vehicles come with documented factory-backed coverage, so this isn't a concern there. But once you step outside those two tiers, into independent lot inventory or private-party style used listings, "as-is" becomes the default unless the dealer specifically states otherwise in writing.

State consumer protection laws vary considerably here. Some states require dealers to disclose known defects regardless of an as-is sale. Others offer very little buyer protection once you've signed. This is exactly why an independent pre-purchase inspection matters so much on anything outside the certified tiers, because once you drive off the lot on an as-is used purchase, the condition you inspected is the condition you own.

Expert Tip: Ask directly, in writing, whether the vehicle is being sold "as-is" or with any dealer warranty, even a short one. Don't assume. Get the answer on the buyer's order before you sign anything, not verbally on the sales floor.

Two Buyers, Two Different Right Answers

Numbers only tell part of the story. Here's how this decision actually plays out for two different kinds of buyers.

Buyer one: a recent graduate with strong credit and a tight budget. She qualifies for Honda's college graduate incentive and a competitive new-car promotional rate through Honda Financial Services. Her ownership horizon is uncertain, she might relocate for a new job within a couple of years. In this case, the math often favors new, or at minimum a very recent HondaTrue Certified vehicle, because the promotional financing largely offsets the higher purchase price, and the full warranty coverage protects her if something goes wrong during a period when an unexpected repair bill would be genuinely painful.

Buyer two: a family of four replacing an aging second car on a fixed budget. They don't qualify for promotional financing due to a shorter credit history, and they plan to keep whatever they buy for at least seven or eight years. Here, a HondaTrue Certified Accord or CR-V a few years old often makes more financial sense than new, since the 7-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty will cover the bulk of their ownership window at a meaningfully lower purchase price, and the faster-depreciating years are already behind the vehicle by the time they buy it.

Neither buyer is making a mistake by choosing differently than the other. They're solving for different variables, financing access, ownership horizon, and risk tolerance, which is exactly the point of the decision framework above.

Trade-Ins: Does It Matter Which Side You're On?

Not as much as buyers assume. Trade-in valuation runs largely independent of whether you're buying new or used; the dealer, or a third party like CarMax or Carvana, values your trade based on its own condition and market comps, not based on what you're purchasing.

What does change is how the trade-in interacts with financing. Rolling a trade-in's value into a used car purchase, where the total loan amount is already smaller, has a bigger proportional impact on your monthly payment than the same trade-in value applied to a larger new-car loan. Get your trade valued independently before you walk into either kind of negotiation, so the two numbers, your trade and your new purchase, stay separate in your head and don't get blended into a single confusing monthly payment figure.

Test Drives and Inspections: Different Stakes, Different Process

A new car test drive is mostly about confirming trim and feature fit. You already know the mechanical condition, it's brand new. The stakes are low.

A used car test drive should be treated as a diagnostic session, not a joyride. Listen for unusual noises under acceleration and braking. Check that all electronics function, from infotainment to power windows to climate control. And unless the car carries a HondaTrue Certified badge with documented 182-point inspection results, arrange an independent pre-purchase inspection before you commit to anything. A CarFax or AutoCheck report tells you the paperwork history. It doesn't tell you what the transmission actually feels like at highway speed today.

When New Actually Wins

New makes the most sense when you qualify for a strong promotional financing rate, when you plan to keep the vehicle long enough that the full factory warranty period covers a meaningful chunk of your ownership, or when you specifically want the latest safety and technology features that haven't trickled down to the used market yet. It also wins for buyers who simply want zero uncertainty about a vehicle's full history, since you're the only owner it will ever have.

When Used Actually Wins

Used, particularly HondaTrue Certified, makes the most sense when you want meaningful warranty protection without paying new-car prices, when the model you want has already gone through its steepest depreciation curve, or when your budget simply doesn't stretch to a new-car payment regardless of the interest rate. It also wins for buyers comfortable doing their homework: reading a vehicle history report carefully, paying for an independent inspection, and negotiating on documented condition rather than a fixed sticker.

Uncertified used sits at the far end of that spectrum. It's the highest-risk, highest-reward path, best suited to buyers with either mechanical knowledge of their own or a trusted independent mechanic they can call before signing anything.

A Simple Decision Framework

Ask yourself three questions before you decide which lot to walk onto first.

Can you comfortably absorb an unexpected repair bill in the next two years? If the honest answer is no, lean toward new or HondaTrue Certified. That warranty coverage is buying you predictability, not just a fixed powertrain.

Do you qualify for a strong new-car financing promotion right now? If Honda Financial Services is offering a low promotional rate you actually qualify for, run the full-loan math before assuming used is automatically cheaper. Sometimes it isn't.

How long do you plan to keep this vehicle? Short ownership window, three years or less, tends to favor used, since you'll sidestep the steepest depreciation. Long ownership window favors new, since you get more years inside the full warranty period and get to choose exactly how the car was maintained from day one.

There's no universal right answer here. There's only the answer that fits your specific finances, your risk tolerance, and how long you actually plan to keep the keys.

Total Cost of Ownership: A 5-Year Side-by-Side Example

Purchase price and monthly payment tell you almost nothing about what a car actually costs you to own. Here's a simplified five-year comparison using a CR-V as the example, since it's one of the models where new and HondaTrue Certified pricing sit closest together.

Cost Factor	New CR-V	HondaTrue Certified CR-V (3 yrs old)
Purchase price (approx.)	Full MSRP range	Roughly 30-35% below MSRP
Warranty coverage remaining	Full 5-yr/60k powertrain	7-yr/100k powertrain from original in-service date, often 4-5 years remaining
Financing rate	Promotional rate if you qualify	Typically 1-3 points higher than new promo rates
Insurance premium	Higher, based on full replacement value	Lower, based on depreciated value
Depreciation over 5 years	Steepest in years 1-3	Already absorbed the steepest years
Maintenance in years 1-3	Covered by factory warranty for most repairs	Covered by CPO powertrain warranty; routine maintenance is on you

The numbers above are directional, not a quote for any specific vehicle, but the pattern holds across most mainstream Honda models. New wins on financing rate and total warranty duration. Certified wins on purchase price, insurance, and the fact that someone else already ate the steepest depreciation years. Whichever column adds up to less money leaving your account over five years, not just at the signature line, is the one worth choosing.

Expert Tip: Build your own version of this table before you buy. Get a real financing quote, a real insurance quote, and the actual remaining warranty term on any specific used vehicle you're considering, then compare the five-year total, not just the sticker price.

Maintenance Costs: What Changes Once the Factory Warranty Runs Out

New Honda owners spend the first three to five years with most major repairs covered by the factory warranty. Routine maintenance, oil changes, brake pads, tires, is still an out-of-pocket cost regardless of whether the car is new or used, but the expensive stuff, transmission issues, electrical faults, major component failures, is Honda's problem during that window.

A HondaTrue Certified buyer inherits a shorter runway before that protection ends, since the powertrain warranty clock generally starts from the vehicle's original in-service date, not your purchase date. A car that's already three years into a 7-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty gives you roughly four years of major-component protection from the day you buy it, not seven.

An uncertified used buyer has none of this cushion. Every repair from day one is out of pocket, which is exactly why the independent pre-purchase inspection mentioned earlier matters so much. It's not just about avoiding a bad purchase. It's about walking in with a realistic maintenance budget instead of an unpleasant surprise six months in.

Expert Tip: Ask any HondaTrue Certified seller for the vehicle's original in-service date, not just the model year. Two "2022 CR-Vs" can have meaningfully different amounts of powertrain warranty left, depending on when each one was first sold.

Your Weekend Action Plan

If you want to make this decision without spending weeks on it, here's a realistic two-day process.

Day one: Pick two or three models you're actually interested in and pull both new and used listings for each. Use the model links throughout this guide to compare real inventory rather than guessing at national averages. Get a financing pre-approval from your own bank or credit union, and get one insurance quote for a new example and one for a comparable used example, so you have real numbers instead of assumptions.

Day two: Contact two or three dealers, mixing new-focused and used-focused lots, and request written out-the-door quotes for the specific vehicles you're considering. Run each quote through the Dealer Transparency Scorecard from our complete dealership guide. If you're leaning toward an uncertified used vehicle, schedule an independent inspection before this day ends, not after you've already made an offer.

By the end of the weekend, you'll have real financing numbers, real insurance numbers, and real dealer quotes on both sides of the new-versus-used question, which is a far stronger position than choosing based on a gut feeling in a showroom.

If You're a Honda Dealer Weighing How You Position New vs. Used Inventory

If you run a Honda dealership, new, used, or both, there's a good chance some of your own website traffic is landing on exactly this kind of comparison content, from shoppers trying to decide which side of your lot to focus on before they ever call. That's not a coincidence. "New vs. used" is one of the highest-intent research phases in the entire car-buying journey, and dealerships that publish genuinely useful, non-salesy content around that decision tend to capture buyers earlier, before a competitor's finance office does.

This is a core part of what Automotive Verified does for the Honda dealerships we work with. Beyond listing inventory on our marketplace, we build out dealership-specific SEO strategy and research content, including comparison pages like this one, tailored to how real buyers search in your specific state and city. If your dealership wants a stronger presence in exactly this kind of high-intent search, whether you're pushing new inventory, HondaTrue Certified, or both, reach out through automotiveverified.com to learn more about our SEO and content services built specifically for the Honda dealership market.

Your Next Step

New and used aren't really a spectrum with one right answer sitting somewhere in the middle. They're two different buying processes that happen to result in the same badge on the hood. Once you know which risks you're comfortable carrying and which warranty coverage actually matters to your budget, the choice tends to make itself.

Whichever path you choose, run the same fundamentals: get a written out-the-door quote, check doc fees against your state's cap, and don't let a monthly payment number distract you from the total cost. For the full playbook on evaluating any Honda dealership before you visit, from doc fee benchmarks to a five-minute transparency scorecard, revisit our complete Honda dealership guide.

Ready to compare real listings side by side? Browse current Honda inventory on Automotive Verified and start pulling both new and used options for the model you have in mind.

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Pricing ranges, depreciation estimates, and financing comparisons in this guide are general market patterns for 2026 and will vary by specific model, trim, region, and individual buyer credit profile. Warranty terms cited reflect Honda's published new-vehicle and HondaTrue Certified coverage as of 2026. Confirm current financing rates and warranty terms directly with Honda Financial Services or your dealer before making a purchase decision.