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2013 and earlier Honda Odyssey Prices Paid and Buying Experience

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Comments

  • cccompsoncccompson Member Posts: 2,382
    Jon Hall's quote for a cloth EX was $700 over invoice and included the dealer "fee" (for which Florida stores seem to compete to see who can charge the most!). The quote seemed legitimate and in line with a recent post by another member.

    I was trying to assist my dad with buying while on vacation last month but his health simply wouldn't permit a transaction while I was there.

    I agree with cindy4's comment about the stores in Brevard County - don't waste your time as their prices are high. Apparently they don't need to offer sharp deals -while having mine serviced at Space Coast in Cocoa on 3/23 I noted that all of their Odysseys had been built since the 2/14 price increase. Here in Ohio there are pre-2/14 units still available.
  • bluetoothlessbluetoothless Member Posts: 15
    If I could trouble you for the dealership's name and who you dealt with? I'm in S. Florida and lowest offer is $26,300 before options, fees, etc. for a silver EX Cloth.
  • cindy4cindy4 Member Posts: 19
    One other point when searching for your Odyssey; BE PATIENT – and have a second color scheme decided before your start the process; you may need it. Our choice for colors, the Green Slate Metallic with Olive interior, was found to be a rarity with only 4-8 in the state on any given day. For one day, I briefly considered the silver metallic with grey leather but realized that my first choice was really my only choice.

    After several days, I had promises from two dealers that they could get the car in our color but each subsequent day brought another excuse why it wasn’t available….just yet. When a distant dealer called back 5 days later to see how my search was going, they said they would match my price, could provide documentation and a build number of an Odyssey they were going to receive next week, the choice was obvious. After 15 minutes of discussions and three faxes, we had a contract for this van. The Odyssey is being built this week and we should pick it up next week. Yes, I will have to drive a rental car 100 miles ($32 total) and take a day off from work but again, this is $1700 less than our friendly in county Honda dealers.

    Be prepared, be patient, be willing to drive a little farther than you would like, and eliminate any preconceived notions where you may purchase your Odyssey if you want your best value. Good luck with your search.
  • cindy4cindy4 Member Posts: 19
    One other comment about Brevard County Honda dealers not being competitive. When I check out the Honda.com site a minute ago to see if any of them were participating in the Honda Car Care Days which provides Honda owners with a free 40-point vehicle inspection; you guess it, not one of the three Brevard County Honda dealers were participating. It appeared that almost every other dealer in the state was participating. This is another good reason to drive to Orlando to get both our Accord and Odyssey serviced there.

    To all east coast Florida customers looking for better pricing on Honda, avoid Brevard County. Drive to Orlando or points beyond for much better pricing.
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,145
    Please don't ask for salespeople's names, as we don't permit that info to be posted in the discussions - see the red lettering below.

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  • michellek3michellek3 Member Posts: 6
    Hi,
    Can you tell me who dealer was? I'm also on LI. And are you happy with the navigation? Is it worth the money? Anything you particularly like or dislike?
    Much appreciated.
    Michelle
  • irishelvisirishelvis Member Posts: 4
    Great eperience at Honda of Lisle!

    Just picked up my EX-L RES this week and could not be happier. Paid 31,400 and they had it in stock. Great experience in the western burbs. :D
  • nzlusanzlusa Member Posts: 2
    :confuse:

    Reading just a few messages, I cant believe what I am reading about how obsessed you all seem to be with price.

    Yes, I get it, we all want a 'good deal'. But that all depends on what your perception of a 'good deal' is. Thats entirely up to you to decide, and not the reason for this post.

    The reason for this post it to put in a plea on behalf of all of the sales people out there, the vast majority of them who just go to work to pay their bills, just like we all do.

    I have a very very close friend who has been selling Hondas for almost 5 years now, and has some of the best customer service skills and product knowledge I have ever experienced. He just gives the customer all of the information they request, and usually more than that, and will never use the old tired, cliched lines we are all used to.

    He often says that he will spend on average one and a half hours with a customer, often longer if its a complex vehicle with DVD and navigation systems, and his single biggest frustration is when the customer turns around and offers below invoice, expecting that after all of his effort and service, that he will end up working for what is called a 'mini' commission, which at his dealership is $100 GROSS.

    I read these posts and cant believe that any of you, myself included would want to put ourselves through what car salespeople have to go through with many of their customers.

    How many of you are in service industries and work for a combination base hourly plus commission, or straight commission? Some of you?

    Well, then how many of you have a product that someone can research online, and within three minutes find out invoice, holdback (which no sales person gets paid a commission on), and every other expense that goes into making and marketing your product, and then have your customer show up, spend one hour, two hours, or three hours receiveing fantastic customer service and then they offer you what that product cost to make, or a fraction over that? None of you , unless you sell cars.

    Once again, whatever you consider a 'good deal', is your own perception, however, give the people you are dealing with a break, allow them the same professional courtesy you expect from your customers and employers, allow that sales person to make a living.

    The vast majority are good, honest, hardworking people, just like yourself, it just so happens a few of them are jerks, just like those few people in your company are jerks. Every company/organization has them.

    Disclaimer : I AM NOT a car salesperson, just someone who wants everyone to make a fair and decent living, and receive a fair reward for a job well done.
  • liujnliujn Member Posts: 27
    Congratulations! This is considered a good deal given the fact you bought from Honda of Lisle. Last time when I was there, they offered $400-$500 below MSRP firm. I stepped out in 10 minutes.
  • liujnliujn Member Posts: 27
    I would agree with you if you assumed that salesmen's jobs were hard and shoppers' lives were easy. The fact is that many of us have to work very hard to earn just enough. If you put things in perspective, you will understand that the problem is not between shoppers and salesmen. One step back, I don't even think there is a problem. If there was a problem, it should be a problem of the big system. If our jobs can be shipped oversea, why we can not look for the best deal. My point is the competition is everywhere, and we are both the benificiaries and victims of it.
  • deblesfamdeblesfam Member Posts: 2
    I admire the fact that salesman are willing to put in the hours, waiting for someone who is actually ready to buy a vehicle. I don't like the fact the car sales environment is set up to haggle price and leaves the buyer with some level of obligation to purchase. I am not one who can buy without doing my homework. I'd like to know why I can't order a car like I can a computer online? Dell has kiosks at malls where you can work with a salesman to see the products and determine what features you want before you buy. Then you can order online. Dell has annoyed the likes of HP for years by driving down the cost because they have sold their systems direct to the customer. I've always believed cars could be sold direct. All they need is a show room with test drive vehicles for those like me who want to buy the vehicle exactly how I want it and not comprimise my choices on a $30k - $35K vehicle. How much of a premium should I pay to test drive a car and have a couple of questions answered? I'm leaving that out there for you to decide.
  • lumbarlumbar Member Posts: 421
    While you probably don't need any compliments from me, I thought that was a very articulate post. But I don't agree with a considerable amount of it. If it's not OT for this forum, I'm curious, for one thing, as to why it's "out there" for the average Ody buyer to want to buy the vehicle for the least amount possible (which many want to and will) but not for the average Ody salesperson to want to sell the vehicle for the highest amount possible (which many want to and will). The tension between the two is essentially what capitalism is all about. I realize that so-called "grinders" are the bane of the salesperson's existence--both with Odys and many other vehicles, but dealerships that squeeeze every last cent out of the buyer through various ADMs, add-ons, F & I shenanigans, and "processing fees" are no less the bane of the car buyer's existence.
  • crakrcrakr Member Posts: 2
    I bought the vehicle from Baron Honda in Patchogue. Van is due in any day now. I will get back to you as far as likes and dislikes, though after researching this purchase for months, I can not see that I will find much to dislike. Good Luck.
  • zaphod1zaphod1 Member Posts: 1
    nzlusa - Please... it is a free competitive market.. You make it sound like car salesmen are starving because we are not opening our wallets to them and letting them take advantage of us. If the salesmen are not making any money on the what we offer, then they are not going to sell the car. If he/she can't afford to only make $200 or $500 on the car, then he/she doesn't have to sell it for that price. It is just that simple. But again, it is a free market, and I guarentee there is someone (and as this site proves) out there who is willing to make a smaller profit, but still is somehow able to manage a living.

    You mention in worse case scenarios they might only make $100 (which I doubt) for 1.5 hours work... Well, even that seems a bit much for a job which does not require a college education or manual labor.
  • dsrtrat2dsrtrat2 Member Posts: 223
    The industry needs to shake out the gross inefficiencies of selling cars. I often know more about the car I want than the salesperson does. Then there is all their game playing going back and forth with the manager about the new car price, then with the used car manager about a trade in, then with the parts people about extras, etc., etc. They waste so much time for the informed consumer that it is hard to cut them any slack. Their job is to get the most money they can, and it is my "job" to save the most money for myself.
  • myodymyody Member Posts: 17
    I started my internet search for the 05' EXL R&N (DVD/NAV) about 1 month ago...
    I live in Northern California and contacted dealers within a 75 mile radius. I knew the invoice price was aprox 31,400 and the MSRP was 34,810, that is a difference of aprox $3,400. I figured a fair deal for me and the dealer is splitting the profit margin. This gave me a $1,700 discount and it left the dealer a $1,700 profit...

    TARGET PRICE FOR 05' EXL R&N $33,100+ fees Silver Pearl Met w/Gray Interior

    What I was not willing to do is pay MSRP- no matter how popular the ODY EXL R&N was... I also did not leave a deposit with anyone! Any dealer that contacted me with a MSRP quote I didn't waste my time with...

    The dealers that got my attention were: (They were straight forward/no games)

    Yuba City Honda $33,163
    Michael Hohl Honda $32,900
    Hansel Honda $33,468
    Grace Honda $33,363
    Jim Doten Honda $33,363

    Originally, I got ETA's then I began getting the VIN#'s - with details and out the door price...

    Michael Hohl Honda Gold/Beige Vin# OTD aprox $36,000
    Hansel Honda No response when I pushed for OTD price?
    Yuba City Honda Didn't get the color I wanted (Honest Dealership)
    Grace Honda Silver/Gray OTD $36,100 - couldn't produce VIN#?
    Jim Doten Honda Silver/Gray OTD $36,115 VAN ARRIVED 4/6

    I went to Jim Doten Honda that evening and made the purchase. Everything went smoothly - The staff there is wonderful, honest & informative!!!

    I hope my experience will benefit other potential buyers -

    Beware of the following Lines:

    1) Come in and we'll talk - If the Ody is not on the lot don't waste your time
    2) We need a deposit - The dealers use this to trap you - it guarantees
    nothing!
    3) It sells at MSRP - Only for the uniformed

    I am enjoying my New Odyssey and the kid's call it the "I Robot" Van because of all the advanced features of the Navigation System...I will never buy another automobile without Nav!
  • myodymyody Member Posts: 17
    The Touring with DVD/NAV is readily availiable in Northern California...
    I was searching for the EXL with DVD/Nav - no dealer had it in stock in Sacramento Area, Roseville, Yuba City, Chico or Bay Area BUT - they all tried to talk me into the Touring with the DVD/Nav because they are sitting on their lots!!!

    I needed the 8th seat so I declined the Touring, however most of the dealers still gave me awesome quotes on the Touring with DVD/Nav -(close to invoice)
    I recommend you try:
    Auburn Honda
    Yuba City Honda
    Wittmeir Honda
    Jim Doten Honda
    Hansel Honda
    El Cerrito Honda
    Michael Hohl Honda
    If you don't mind driving about 50 miles you could save $$$$!
  • pmkapmka Member Posts: 1
    Thanks for the post it was helpful in our negotiation. Just paid $30920 out the door after 4/1 price increase at Honda Carland for EX-L - with cross bars/pinstrip/mudflaps
  • brucegt1brucegt1 Member Posts: 7
    Hi,

    I am looking to buy 05 EXL within the next 4 weeks. Could you please tell me what was the out the door price for yours? I live in seattle, Wa area. thanks a million.

    Bruce
  • b_radb_rad Member Posts: 38
    Really? What about all the dealerships that have been selling Honda's at retail plus like the Odyssey? "Obsessed"... I don't think so. We work just as hard for our money as well. Matter of fact it takes a lot of research on our part to find that good deal. We all have to make a living and how we do it is out of choice. I do not feel sorry for your friend as I am sure there have been lots of times that he has made very good commissions (and sold a few '05 Ody at sticker). Tell me..., how much should he make off every car he sells? Do you make enough money?
    This forum makes up a very small amount of Ody buyers and there are plenty of people that will roll over and pay near the sticker price. On top of that, dealers try to sell you the Honda Care warranty at closing for as much as $2000. And then they try to steel your trade on top of that.
    Most people in this day and age are not able to do the same type of work for ever. Especially in sales. Perhaps it's time for a career change. I sure your friend is a great person but your point is not well received on this end.
  • vanfindervanfinder Member Posts: 3
    Left interior lights on and battery was dead . So i got a jump from from another car. Now the odyssey runs ok. Have driver over 20 miles. But, audio screen in odyssey says "code". ? Dont know what that means ? Cant play music now.
    ALso, power doors don't work either.
    How do I fix audio code and power doors ? Battery should be charged by now.?
    Thanks
  • brucegt1brucegt1 Member Posts: 7
    Hi,

    I am buying EXL in 4 weeks. I live in seattle, WA. could you please send me the dealer that you dealt with for your EXL. Thank you so much for your post.

    Bruce
  • knowmadicsoulknowmadicsoul Member Posts: 3
    Hi,

    First, thank you to everyone on your responses. I appreciate the guidelines you have provided and the sharing of your buying experiences. We are still waiting to hear on a settlement from our insurance company, so, we haven't proceeded with a purchase yet and now are considering a 1-2 year old Odyssey, except that the 2005 has some really nice features even the 2003 or 2004 doesn't have....tough decision.

    I wanted to share some bids I received in the Chicago area (and up to Milwaukee area) on an EX with Leather, some with RES:

    Grand Honda: $27,650 dest. included. Grand even offered an additional $100 off.
    Rosen in Gurnee: $28,749 dest. included
    Castle Honda: $30,387 with RES and dest included.
    Community Honda: $30,386 with RES and dest. included.

    One quote from a source not listed above was $31,187 with RES and I did not verify if it had destination included. So it is roughly $800 more than the "best" quote I received so far without further negotiations. To the best of my knowledge, none of the dozen or so quotes I received were at MSRP for such a "hot" vehicle. This was before the end of March and I dont' know if any will still honor their bids (end of month/end of first quarter selling motivation), but it is still a good reference point.

    And just a humble opinion in response to sales-folk earning a living. I am an independent sales person, strictly commission-based, no base salary. I work hard for my money and appreciate that cars salesmen also work hard. That won't stop me from trying to get a good deal,especially after noting the significant price differences in the quotes I received and what I have seen stated in this forum. Saving $800 or more is a big deal to me, and it maybe be a week or more salary for some (think 40+ hours of your time...). I am empathetic and respectful of a salesman's time and energy. Some are notably better than others. I recognize that they will get paid some addtional monies if they win my business (which is better than none at all...and an additonal $100+ above salary for a couple hours time isn't so bad in my book.) But consider also that if I have a good buying experience with that salesperson/dealership, I will refer others to them, which may in turn increase their future earning potential.
  • shishirshishir Member Posts: 5
    The dealer is mechanisville honda in VA
  • brucegt1brucegt1 Member Posts: 7
    Hi,

    Could you please email your dealership from which you bought your EXL. I am in the market to buy the same model within the next 3 weeks. I live in seattle, WA. Appreciate the information.

    Bruce
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,145
    Let's keep this topic focused specifically on Odyssey pricing. We have some great discussions in which to talk about dealership profit, holdback, and general sales tactics. A good place to start is in our topic titled Just what is a good deal?, but we have dozens of them on our Smart Shopper board.

    Please reserve this for exchanging info on Odyssey buying!

    kirstie_h
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    Host, Future Vehicles & Smart Shopper discussions

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  • romainelettuceromainelettuce Member Posts: 3
    kvraman1,

    I know you can't post names or phone #s but wondering if you talked the internet sales manager or just a random salesperson?

    Great deal and thanks for the info!
  • ezoezo Member Posts: 1
    We had the worst purchase experience recently at Madison Honda (NJ). Avoid them if at all possible.
    Here are some lowlights (there are more):
    Deposit left over phone and agreed to pick up that evening.
    Car was not preped at all - It was presented all covered with white plastic, muddy tires and wheel wells - basically had been driven from nearby lot.
    Finance guy flat out lied about the paperwork involved to use a 3rd party check (Eloan) to get us to take Honda finance. We did since the rate was nearly identical. He tried to sell us lots of extras, mistyped every key number (SS, phone, DOB, etc) on the forms and had to reprint everything. The truth later revealed by the salesman is they don't get paid for a few weeks with these checks. What a joke.
    Salesman had little knowledge of the Ody and explained nothing to us. He spent time preping the car with Windex and promised us a thorough cleaning when our plates come in.
    We were there over 2 hrs. and none of this was negotiation time!
    Could it get worse?
    Against my better judgement I gave them another chance and actually drove there in my new van to get plates and let them clean it. I waited over an hour and when the car was 'ready', I could visibly see the rear window was still dirty enough to write on and the wheel wells had not seen a drop of water. They had put black polish on the outside of the wheels. That's it. I left.
    When I get home, I notice they had added their Madison Honda logo and phone number to the liftgate. This was promptly removed and discarded along with their license plate frame. This is vandalism. I had owned the van for 3 wks!
    This experience was sooo bad that Honda will likely never see me again except for service. The future with my new van will be the only hope.
    Anyway, price was great thanks to help on OdyClub and Edmunds.
    EX-L $27,700 incl dest. + tax and fees.
    Anyone know a good contact with American Honda for a firm complaint letter? Thanks.
  • rashdirrashdir Member Posts: 29
    Honda will send you a survey in a few weeks. You get a chance to express your opinion then.

    I'm surprised that dealership treated you that bad, knowing very well that Honda is going to send out a survey to you related to the sale. I guess they don't care.
  • ody77ody77 Member Posts: 2
    Hi
    I bought a New 2005 Honda Odyssey EXL NAVI&RES for invoice $31.364 from Apostolakis Honda, Cortland Honda, Ohio. The dealer fee $100. Title and temp tags for 25.50. Free delivery. I hope DC metro area dealers come down to the invoice price soon. He never asked for extras and extended warranties. But I opted for few accessories for my comfort and extended warranties for electronic gadgets.

    I got the following accessories installed for $1000: Cargo mat, Cargo tray, Cargo net (one more), cross bars, all season mats, splash guards, door edge guards, black leather steering cover, wheel locks, third row sunshades. I also got the 7year/100K/0 deductible extended warranty for $1069.

    Van was delivered on Friday evening. I went through the checklist, which are posted on this web site by our members. Everything perfect so far. I am enjoying every bit of it. As especially, the NAVI was marvelous. It is good for me because I always miss the Mapquest routes. My kids are enjoying playing games on DVD.

    Thanks everyone on this forum. I got good information and saved me $$$$.

    :)
  • kvraman1kvraman1 Member Posts: 19
    I actually filled out a request on their Internet website. The person who responded was a sales person in their Internet department but I believe the Internet manager was involved all along. I saw another person getting an invoice deal from another Ohio dealership though he had a $100 dealer fee which makes it the same deal as mine.
  • david17david17 Member Posts: 4
    I purchased an EX with Nav last week and now find the dealer drilled a jagged hole in the front bumper in order to mount their dealer tag. The van had been on order for three weeks before it hit their lot so their was no reason for them to deface it just to get in their advertisement. I assumed the tag bracket was undermount to the bumper when I first saw it (like it was designed to be) but now the dealer they do this to all their vehicle

    Do all the dealers do this?
  • nzlusanzlusa Member Posts: 2
    "You mention in worse case scenarios they might only make $100 (which I doubt) for 1.5 hours work... Well, even that seems a bit much for a job which does not require a college education or manual labor."

    What a complete snob!!!!

    Who are you to judge how much is enough for any profession?

    For your information, I know dozens of college educated people who struggle to tie their own shoe laces, and yet they make 6 figure incomes working 40 hour weeks, and having lunch with their friends on the company expense account!!

    Yet you say $100 seems a bit much when it comes to a product that can retail for up to $40,000 with many more times the computing power of your top of the line PC, safety features that save lives and ensure you and yours get to where you are going in a comfortable and timely fashion.

    I can assure you, many of his sales are of the $100 (before tax) variety, I have seem some of the commission vouchers. The dealership he works at has 15 salespeople, and sells between 100 and 150 new and used vehicles per month, you do the math in terms of the amount of money he makes, even if he has just average volume.

    The whole point of my post was only to make people take stock of the situation, realize that perhaps they are dealing with a straight shooter who knows their product, and will be there for the customer if and when something goes wrong with the vehicle. And maybe just think to themselves "Is it really worh it, saving $300 (or whatever the number is), to drive 300 miles (or however far), and make 20 phone calls (or however many it is), when the first or third person you spoke to answered all of your questions, was up front and forthright about things, and didnt play a game with you? When you could have used that time to invest in yourself personally or your family life?

    "Luck is not chance, its toil. Fortunes expensive smile is EARNED."

    Let the good ones make some money, and kick the jerks to the curb.
  • kvraman1kvraman1 Member Posts: 19
    Hi All,

    Here are my experiences:

    I kind of decided to buy a van to replace my current sedan almost a year back. The lethargic person I am, it took me until early January to really look for one. And that too because I expected prices to be good towards the year end (which officially close in the first week of January).

    I test drove the Sienna at Tricounty Toyota and Pottstown Honda. I did not like the pickup in Sienna. Sluggish it was for me. Pretty much decided that I would go with the Honda. Pottstown Honda quoted me $34610 and would not budge in spite of my repeated threats to walk out. Was dissapointed.

    Sent requests to several dealers in the area and through buying services. Came back with the following quotes. Contacted dealers through BJs dealers network, AAA, invoicedealersc.com, edmunds.com and carsdirect.com. Quotes varied from $500 plus invoice to MSRP:

    Lowest quotes I got from different dealers:
    JLFreed: $31464
    Jones Honda (Lancaster): $31464
    Philadelphia Honda: $31848
    Martin/Garden State ondas: $31964
    Roberts Honda: $32400
    Sussman Honda: $34110 (had a very good price for EX-L).
    Pottstown: $34610
    Scott: did not quote a price but seemed like he would not discount much

    I had choose between Jones and JLFreed and ended up depositing $250 with JLFreed. While not extremely pleasant to work with, JLFreed was straightforward and had a no-nonsense approach. They placed the order on January 8th. Vehicle was expected before the end of March and I was also told casually that the price would not change (though the receipt itself indicated that if the price changed, I can request a refund).

    I waited and waited. I kept calling up the sales person for a date or a VIN number but never got one. Towards the end of Feb I was told that the vehicle would be built in the 1st/2nd week of March. First week of March I was told that epecting the vehicle by the end of March was not realistic. In the middle of March, I was told that the vehicle would be built in the first/second week of April and that this was the firm date. Earlier dates were apparently guesses.

    Another complication: Honda had increased the price and my price increased by $400. I asked whether he could give me some discount because I had booked early and I was told not possible. I could take it or leave it. (If I had known that the price would increased) I would have gone with another dealer who had the vehicle and not waited. Even in January, I had known about the Ohio deals but decided to buy locally.

    I restarted my search and in the local area the lowest price was $31863. Started calling the Ohio dealers (Classic and Jack Matia). With Classic, price was too high and when I told them that many had gotten the vehicle around invoice, pat came the reply "Good luck!" or "No way!".

    Anyway, Jack Matia came back with a quote of $31663 and after some bargaining $31463. This included free delivery. I was also told that the vehicle was built on March 21 and expected in the first week of April. I was given the VIN number when I booked. The vehicle arrived on April 4th evening. Jack Matia delivered on Wednesday afternoon (6 hour drive). All paperwork was done effortlessly. Excellent sales people and managers. Excellent and polite people. Very easy to deal with. Prompt in their responses.

    Final Price: $31463
    Temp Ohio Tags: 25.50

    I paid no other document or dealer fee. I paid a total of $31488.50. I need to register the vehicle in Pennsylvania. Jack Matia said they could get it registered with a service they use but it would cost me $200. They themselves suggested that it is very easy to do it myself. I also declined to use the service. The sales people called my insurance agent and took care of that. All in all, a great experience.

    With respect to JLFreed, fine people but I felt that they did not really care for my business. Also, a low volume business and hence if you book I think you may have to wait a bit. But price is $500 + invoice - no haglling business.

    Jones Honda was also easy to deal with. Scott Honda was nice to deal with their prices are too high. Sussman Honda was a nice place but price was too high. Philadelphia Honda was ok but seems to be a very high volume dealer and may get your vehicle the fastest in the area. Prices are not bad.

    I will never go near Pottstown Honda again who clearly wanted me out of the showroom as quickly as possible.

    Roberts Honda was ok (not great) and prices were mediocre at best.

    Jack Matia seems to have thrown in splash guards for free (I dont believe it is standard equipment). I also got all waether mats through Ebay. $117 including shipping. (comes to $125 or so with College Hills).

    if you need any other information, email me.
    Good luck!
  • kvraman1kvraman1 Member Posts: 19
    Forgot to add one more thing. My deposit with JLFreed was refunded promptly. I never had any problems dealing with them in this respect.
  • b_radb_rad Member Posts: 38
    Stop to think..., every dealership uses a different commission structure, how is one supposed to know how much the salesman is actually being paid for that sale?

    So what you are saying is one should pay a thousand dollars over invoice so the salesman can make $300. Wouldn't it be better to pull your salesman aside and tell him you will give him $200 cash under-the-table if he can get this new car at invoice? If you have been reading the posts it's not just $300 that most people are saving it's a $1,000. plus.

    It is really good that you friend has friends like you that feel that they owe the salesman and are willing to pay the owner of the dealership a premium so the salesman will be better paid. And if you end up dealing with a jerk your going to take you business elsewhere and the "good ones" are going to miss out anyway.

    I am not trying to flame you are your friend. It's just your logic. It should be obvious that the auto industry has changed and people have more choices.

    Say... Why are you reading this forum if your not willing to go somewhere else to purchase your next car? It might be better to post something about how wonderful this dealership where your friend works at is and how the salesman are straight shooters.
    I am sure there are people reading this forum that would really appreciate doing business where your friend works and your friend may sell a few more cars out of chance just because you wrote something positive about this dealership.
  • esp63esp63 Member Posts: 27
    Actually making the decision to drill your front bumper in order to attach their dealer tag was both unnecessary and unacceptable. I've never had a dealer take that kind of liberty with any vehicles I've bought. I used to specifically request that they not even stick any decals or dealer nameplates on the car. If you're not interested in having the front license plate holder mounted, politely but firmly insist that they order and install a new front bumper cover at their cost. I have the bracket installed without the additional screw through the middle because I may want to remove the novelty plate that I have up front someday and don't want a hole in the bumper. The screw definitely secures things better but it's up to you, not the dealer, to make that decision. If they give you static, go straight to Honda USA with your problem, it'll get resolved fast. Good luck with the van, I'm enjoying mine!
  • xfactorxfactor Member Posts: 78
    Agree with your post except for the following statement.

    "This is called negotiating a price and the auto industry is one of the few business models left in our society that still believes in it."

    From my experience everything is negotiable from the purchase of a DVD player up and thru the cost of a house. In fact, but for Taxes, Grocery items, gas for your car, & maybe a few other items I have found there is very little that cannot be negotiated down. The trick is to research and understand what your options are as completely as possible and understand the $$$/value relationship.

    As for the 2005 HO EXL-DVD I purchased one in January at $600 over invoice or $29,600 with dest. and no other charges but for taxes, tags. I guess I can claim I only paid $200 over invoice now that Honda pushed thru their price increase. Probably could have squeezed another $100 or $200 off the price by making another round of the dealers but made the deal anyway. With the competition so fierce I would not pay more than a few hundred over invoice for the 2005 HO. Paid MSRP for my 1999 lx which I still own.
  • jwm3jwm3 Member Posts: 1
    can you tell me what dealer you went through? we are located in northwest NJ and would prefer to work with a local dealer, but will travel if savings warrents the trip. Was the $28872 after the 6% NJ sales tax?
  • george7439george7439 Member Posts: 2
    After one week of requesting quotes, we had these for an EXL without nav or dvd:

    Bill Rogers, Albany $29200 out the door
    Roseburg Honda $28948
    Tonkin Honda, Portland $28948
    Kendall, Eugene $29809

    A few others offered to meet or beat these, but they flaked out. It looked like the best were $1000 over invoice ($27434 + $515 destination = $27949)
    Kendall is the closest to our home, so we went there on a cold rainy weekday, told them what quotes we had, and asked for $28450 or $500 over invoice. They agreed immediately, no hassle. We were treated very professionally. They did not even give us a hard sell about extended warranties, clear coat etc, nor did they try to attach accessories. In retrospect, I wonder if they would have accepted a lower offer, but it would likely have been for just a hundred or two. That is almost worth it to have such an easy sale.

    We recommend Kendall Honda in Eugene. By the way, their little restaurant there has great burgers.
  • irishhunteririshhunter Member Posts: 1
    Quoted 37100 out the door (Plus Tax, title, and registration) at John Elway Honda on 104th and Federal in Northern Denver area.
    Bought for 37000 (Plus Tax, title, and registration) at Honda of Greeley in Greeley CO.

    Hope that's useful to someone in Northern CO. Seems it's a hard van to get out here - Greeley had none last week, got 3 in over the weekend, and I grabbed the my first choice of color. By Tuesday of this week, they were all sold.

    IrishHunter
  • chrispinachrispina Member Posts: 3
    classic honda in round rock had the one i wanted in stock. i added the 3rd row sun shades. i paid $33900 ($36275 with tax/title/etc). invoice was $31932. msrp was $35509. they tried to sell me the extended warranty... 6/100k/0 for $1700. i told them i wanted to do some research first. i found 7/100k/0 for $1150 at collegehillshonda.com. i will call the dealer tomorrow and see if they will match the price, otherwise i will just buy it online.

    usaa has a price negotiation service and they said that the best they expect on a new odyssey is $1000 under msrp.
  • dkb2dkb2 Member Posts: 8
    I am looking for an EX-L with RES&Nav in the Midwest. A dealership that we were working with asked for 2 weeks to try to find us one. I had a quote for one at $500 over invoice from another dealership but decided to try a dealership closer to home in case we had problems with the van. This particular dealership that I was working with stated that they will beat anyone's price by $125. The two weeks are now up and they claim that there aren't many around and other dealerships aren't willing to give them up. I was willing to take any color other than black or desert rock. Neither dealership that I had initially contacted had an EX-L with RES/Nav on the lot. Does anyone have any advice or insight on the availability or lack thereof of this particular model ?? Also, it seems that there may be more Touring models available with the RES&Nav. Any pros or cons about going with a Touring model instead?? We are looking in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio and live close to the Indiana/Illinois state line.
    Thanks in advance for any help or advice anyone can give on this matter.
  • invoicepleaseinvoiceplease Member Posts: 3
    Classic Honda in Round Rock did not impress me at all on my 3 hour visit today. They took the keys to my car and sent somebody off to test drive it, and came back with a trade-in value that was pretty good, actually quite a bit over blue-book trade-in. So I thought, this isn't going to be so bad.

    Then, their starting price was a couple hundred dollars OVER MSRP. I laughed, and said I wanted to pay $500 over invoice, less the trade-in value. They told me they had to make at least $3400 in profit or they wouldn't sell the car. After the standard sales manager ping-pong match, which took quite a while, because the sales manager's calculator appeared to be broken, it took him about 15 minutes to add up the same numbers I had, over and over again. Eventually the "must have" profit became $2400.

    Then they started making noises about the trade-in value on my car, which they had already given to me, and how they might have to rethink that trade-in value. I told them I would like my car keys back (which they had kept someone else in the dealership for the last hour or so for no apparent reason, other than keeping me from leaving). They said that surely we could work something out if I would just pay a bit more, or take less for the trade-in.

    So, to be clear, they wanted me to pay $2400 over invoice, on a fully loaded car, plus they wanted $895 extra on top of that for the "paint protection" package which really amount to nothing buy some tape pinstripes and a wax job, plus, they wanted to back off the trade-in value they had already given me earlier.

    I asked them to bring me my keys AGAIN. They wanted to call their sales manager yet again (I never even met him, he wasn't lowly enough to honor me with his presence), and ask if he could do anything, seeing as how they wanted to make me happy. I said, you'll make me happy if you sell me the car, without the paint protection, just as I asked for it 2 hours and 45 minutes ago, but I am willing to pay $1000 over invoice, with the trade-in value on the car that you offered me originally. No, sorry, we just can't do that.

    Bring me my keys please, so I can go to another dealer. (There are 5 within a 50 mile radius of my home). A little more humming about being reasonable, at which point I had taken enough and said that if I wasn't given the keys to my car immediately I would call the police and report it stolen, at which point I finally got them and left, after asking for them all those times.

    I wouldn't buy a car from them for any amount of money now. I highly recommend anyone considering a Honda to look elsewhere.
  • chrispinachrispina Member Posts: 3
    i'm sorry you had such a bad experience. i took my trade-in to carmax. they offered about $1000 more than i was hoping for. the guys at usaa said that carmax pays more for trade-ins than the dealer will.

    i didn't want the crappy pinstripe and stuff either. i told them to take it off and that i wasn't paying for it. no problem. i was the woman with the noisy baby who was there all afternoon. ;)
  • sebring95sebring95 Member Posts: 3,241
    Always give the dealer your Valet or spare key when they want to "take it for a drive". The holding the keys scam is the oldest in the book. Sometimes they'll say they lost them, that way you're not as likely to call the cops. Sometimes they'll "misplace" your car too.
  • b_radb_rad Member Posts: 38
    Best price near Austin I found was at David McDavid Honda in Frisco north of the DFW area and in Waco at Greg May Honda. I went with Greg May and was able to do everything over the phone and by fax. Had to wait a couple of weeks to get the color we wanted but no games (yes I still had to negotiate some) and only had to drive an hour and half to pick it up. It saved me $1600 from the best deal that any Austin and surrounding dealer would make. The dealership that played the most HEAD games was First Texas Honda in trying to deal with the internet sales guy. He could not answer a straight question without turning everything around or talking bad about all the other dealers by basically calling them a bunch of crooks.
    We ended up at $263 over invoice and were willing to wait 3 weeks for the right color to arrive. They also matched internet prices on accessories that we wanted from the parts department.
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,145
    Have been removed. General comments about dealerships, negotiation, and shopping strategies belong on our Smart Shopper board.

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  • egwegw Member Posts: 1
    Hi,
    What dealership was this?
    Thaniks
  • daddyddaddyd Member Posts: 22
    Yes it does (did).
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