2013 and earlier-Honda Pilot Prices Paid and Buying Experience

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Comments

  • dwynnedwynne Member Posts: 4,018
    Congratulations on the the Pilot! You got what you wanted at a nice price, who could ask for more :D ?

    I don't know that we are the "end of the year take what we have" stage yet, but for someone who wants a certain color or model you should go for it when you get a good deal on what you want. Besides, if you are going to wait 15 years in between new cars you DESERVE to get your first choice ;) .

    Dennis
  • carslycarsly Member Posts: 32
    It looks like there are no current incentives on the pilot, smart strategy by Honda. I would guess they will run with no incentives for 1-2 weeks (more if they don't have a big inventory backlog) and then start with the $2,500 incentives again ramping up to $3,500 over 4-6 weeks to clear them out between late March and early May. After that I would expect to see the 2009's showing up in showrooms.

    Makes a lot more sense than ramping up from $3,500 to $4,500 now which would kill the resale values, esp. with a new body style launching. Also then those who were waiting for bigger and bigger incentives will start biting like fish at the first incentive after they run a few weeks without one.

    Gotta love pricing strategy and game theory!
  • prelude1997prelude1997 Member Posts: 26
    Hey gang,

    We finally bought our Cherry Red 08 EX-L AWD last night. Sport Honda in Silver Spring, MD. $26,182 (car only). I finalized the price over the phone and went in for a quick drive and paperwork. The dealer is relatively small but the experience was great. No pressure, no appearance package, no one even brought up crap like paint protection. Complete 180 from my nightmare at Landmark Honda (classic bait and switch). Let me know if you want the name of the sales guys, the one to find and the one to avoid. Actually, I'd avoid Landmark altogether. Google their name and all the horror stories are true.

    Thanks everyone for sharing and happy hunting!
  • robsdadrobsdad Member Posts: 20
    Wow. I feel bad for those who didn't take the plunge by yesterday. There is no guarantee those incentives will come back. That $3500 represented a 15% cash savings off the top. I'm glad I got mine :)
  • dwynnedwynne Member Posts: 4,018
    They may have incentives on them, but Edmunds does not have them yet so does not show them. They removed the old incentives once they expired. The "current offers" at automobiles.honda.com has not been updated yet either, but I am sure will be later today or by Wednesday.

    If you are in the market for a Pilot I would contact your dealer(s) and see if they know what the March incentives are yet.

    Dennis
  • fiufiu Member Posts: 25
    I have different opinion.

    There may be gaps between incentives, but I bet it would be at most a few days rather than weeks. If you check the pilot incentive history last year, the incentive in March was more than Feb, that may be one factor that Honda has relatively stronge sale on March.

    This year is a little different, the whole market is worse than last year, gas is up and economy is on the down way and there is a 2009 redign on the way too,

    In order to beat the numbers on March07, I really doubt Honda would offer less incentive on March. I bet in the middle of March, the incentive should beat or at least match the one on Feb.
  • fiufiu Member Posts: 25
    Called dealer, they have the same incentive for March as Feb rigth now.
  • msorchidmsorchid Member Posts: 2
    ha ha

    yes, I signed up in '05 when we were shopping for hubby's car. I'm usually just lurking... ;)

    Yes, I am loving the Pilot! Still trying to get used to it but falling in love with it overall. I am starting to feel better about my purchase as well. :)
  • dtos01dtos01 Member Posts: 22
    My dealer just confirmed that the $3500 is still in place for March....
  • dwynnedwynne Member Posts: 4,018
    There is probably very little actual gap in the lease deals and incentives, the only gap is US KNOWING about them. If they dealers really had no lease, loan, or incentives for a few days it would be really hard for them to move any vehicles off the lot.

    The deals normally end at the end of the month, or the first Monday in the new month. Hopefully by that first Tuesday morning Honda has communicated the new numbers to the dealers, but they have not yet updated the web page nor has the info "leaked" to online sites like this one.

    Dennis
  • jefflitzjefflitz Member Posts: 5
    I was informed by my dealer today that the VP incentive dropped to $2500, but the EX and other models stayed at $3500. Anyone else hearing this?

    I'm wondering if they are just giving me a line because they only have one VP left at this dealer (they have been moving quick there)?

    I am in Peoria, IL by the way.
  • fiufiu Member Posts: 25
    Yeah, my dealer also said so, and the new promotion expires Apr 30. VP appears to move quickly with $3500 incentive, but with only $2500 now, let's see how VP moves. We are not in rush and can wait a couple of months. I am hoping there will
    be more incentive for Odyssey rather than $2000 right now, then we will choose Odyssey instead of Pilot, the Odyssey number in Feb looks very bad.
  • rameshmsrameshms Member Posts: 6
    Lowest quote was for 27402.. Should I jump in now or wait for some more time ? I have to buy within next weekend.
  • needacar41needacar41 Member Posts: 14
    Thanks Dennis, for your words of support & help through all this. I do feel I did my best & I know there's probably lower deals in other areas but I'm not going to beat myself up. I couldn't wait any longer to replace my car so I'm fine with how it all worked out. But most importantly, I am so very glad to finally have a reliable car I don't have to worry about (not to mention roomy & safe!)

    PS: Not planning to wait another 15 years for a new car!! Thanks again for your help! :)
  • andylaksh1andylaksh1 Member Posts: 8
    Hi all,

    I bought my Pilot 4WD VP on sat'day at Planet Honda, Matteson, IL. There was a bit of haggling and pushing here and there, but overall it wasn't a bad purchase. In the end I paid 25,139 + Plates (I live in Indiana), as I bought the extended warranty from them (didn't do my share of home work I guess, so gave in. It was $1689 extra). The price before taxes is 21,949 which I think is a very good price, but ended up as a reasonable deal overall I think. Also got a 5.1% loan as some one mentioned above (Thanks..I owe you one on that...)

    I am very happy with the vehicle so far though I didn't get to drive it a whole lot yet. Thanks everyone who chipped in with a lot of useful info and helped me make this great purchase.
  • dwynnedwynne Member Posts: 4,018
    I guess it is "snooze, you lose" ?

    Or better still, my microwave popcorn analogy. You let it pop for a while and you get a nice full bag, but you think "if I wait and let it pop longer I can get some more for my money". Unfortunately, if you get too greedy you can get burned and it ruins everything :D .

    Seriously, it could be that most dealers ran out or low on VP models with the advertised lease deals and the incentives. If I were looking now, I would compare the VP and EX invoice prices and take into account the different in the incentives and see if the EX was not the better buy now.

    FYI, on the Honda current offers page there is no Pilot lease deal shown at all.

    So I guess the nice Feb sales numbers were enough for them to pull the leases and reduce (for the VP) the incentives.

    Dennis
  • og4lifeog4life Member Posts: 25
    Edmunds has updated the Honda incentives page and confirms the $2,500 for the VP and $3,500 for all other styles.
  • chennachenna Member Posts: 5
    Hi All,
    This is price i got from one dealer in NJ for Pilot:
    $27727
    635 dest
    1985.34 tax
    334 dmv
    269 doc
    7.50 tire tax
    $30957.84 out the door

    Please guide me, whether it is good deal or i should wait.Or what are the Extra things i can include in the price tag...

    Thanks,
  • carslycarsly Member Posts: 32
    Chenna,

    I received a quote last night for $27,527 + taxes and fees from a dealer in central NJ for the same car - '08 Pilot EX-L 4WD w/RES so pretty much spot on. This was an internet quote with no haggling so take it for what it's worth.
  • dwynnedwynne Member Posts: 4,018
    Look up the invoice for the Pilot you want, take off the $3,500 or $2,500 (VP models) incentive. That would be a good price for a Pilot for the vehicle, destination, and doc fee. Anything over that the deal is not as good, anything under that the deal gets really good.

    Dennis
  • chennachenna Member Posts: 5
    carsly, Thank you for the info
  • mike8194mike8194 Member Posts: 9
    Thats not bad at all. Here is what I would do. Go to carsdirect.com and price out the Pilot. The cars direct price with no haggle is $27,197 + tax, tag, title, etc. Ask them to beat that price and you'll buy it on the spot. You have to be ready to buy though. You can also email the internet sales departments of each dealership, and play each best price off the other, but I don't think you'll do much better than $27,197.

    We just bought a 2008 Honda Pilot, EX for $23,945 out the door, AFTER tax, tag, and title!!!! The price of just the car was $21, 900, and the carsdirect price was $23,853. We just emailed each sales dept and asked them to beat the carsdirect price and then sent each quote to another dealer to beat that. We took the best offer and are very pleased. We got $8480 off of MSRP and $5753 off invoice.
  • fiufiu Member Posts: 25
    I wish I was living in NJ instead of WA, which can save me $2200 just for Pilot. :P :P :P
  • gmanandgegmanandge Member Posts: 19
    Mike8194:
    Is the car that you bought a 4x4? we just looked at an ex 4x4 that had an msrp label price of $31470. that would be $9570 off of msrp.
    chris g
    massachusetts
  • dwynnedwynne Member Posts: 4,018
    The price of just the car was $21, 900

    Not counting the $635 destination charge? The $23,853 price on Carsdirect does include destination. $27,653 invoice also includes the destination fee. So perhaps your math is off a bit?

    Also, I would bet you also had a trade in - right?

    Dennis
  • mythinwalletmythinwallet Member Posts: 2
    Do you attach the entire email or just the quote to another dealer? I received a quote for 23k for the 4WD VP including destination. Is that a good price? I live in NJ.
  • msmkingmsmking Member Posts: 2
    Well after a couple of weeks of researching and pricing around we bought today. We found the best deal online (Fayetteville, NC) and went to our local dealer (Greenville, NC) to buy. They were a little reluctant at first but agreed in the end.

    Here is the deal we got.

    $25253. pilot price with discount
    $758. 3% tax
    $446 tags, doc fee, etc
    $26457 OTD price

    I want to thank everyone on here for your help. It saved us alot of money. :)
  • cjofpacjofpa Member Posts: 11
    Edmunds is saying $3500 till April 30th
  • huyibinghuyibing Member Posts: 4
    Hi, carsly:

    Could you tell me which dealer gave you that price? The best I got is: $27980
    and that is w/o RES.

    Thanks,
    Harry
  • mike274mike274 Member Posts: 35
    HI Mike

    Can you let me know where you purchased your Pilot EX. Seems like you got a great deal. Thanks
  • tig08tig08 Member Posts: 1
    I am really glad that I found this site. We are much more informed going into purchasing a Pilot. But I still have a few questions: What is dealer holdback? I see there is the MSRP and dealer invoice. What is dealer invoice compared to MSRP? I know the dealerships want you to pay MSRP but how does the dealer invoice and dealer holdback come into play?
  • carslycarsly Member Posts: 32
    Sure, open road honda in Edison. They have an automated quote generator on their web site that only takes 2-3 minutes to set up and have a quote in your email - very convenient. I don't know about tack-ons, fees and the old "we don't have anything exactly like that but we do have one with roof rails, side steps, undercoating, rustproofing, carpet protector, solar screen, etc." so use at your discretion.

    Open road honda
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    Dealer invoice is the price the dealer pays the manufacturer.

    Dealer holdback is a percentage of the MSRP that the dealer gets back from the manufacturer after the vehicle is sold. It's basically a rebate to the dealer but typically it's spent on financing the vehicles while they are in their inventory.

    Dealers don't consider it profit and look at it as a sacred cow. Some consumer advocates feels it's fair game. I tend to view it from the former point of view.

    If you can get invoice less the current incentives, you are doing fine. If a dealer is willing to go lower, great. But IMHO, chiseling down into holdback can kill many a great deal because folks concentrate on milking every last dollar instead of taking a great deal and running with it.
  • slamtazslamtaz Member Posts: 55
    on that site, it says the price on the 2008 EX Pilot 2WD is $23,438*

    take note however, of the "*", the fine print says that it does not excludes destination charge, dealer fees, taxes, etc. and that price may change without prior notice and chosen vehicle may not be available. i guess the pricing is just for the basic car.

    with desstination charge of i think $635, which everyone pays, the price will be $24,073, which is still a few $$$ below invoice less the $3,500 incentive. still a great deal :shades:
  • slamtazslamtaz Member Posts: 55
    ...edit to the above post...

    it should say, "it does not include destination charge" instead of "exclude :blush: "
  • velomonkey3velomonkey3 Member Posts: 7
    Got a quote from MileHigh for 08 Pilot EX-L 4WD of $28,220 Including dealer destination fee. Excludes applicable taxes, and $369 dealer fee. This is less than the CarsDirect.com price I got. I will be paying cash. Any advice would be great. How low can I get them with the new model due in a month?
    Thanks in advance.
  • codrivercodriver Member Posts: 21
    $28,200 is a little too high for 08 Pilot EX-L 4WD. Plus I would not want to pay for such thing as dealer fee. It's extra profit for them.

    Edmunds.com shows the invoice price is $30,917. Substract $3500 from it because of the dealer cash incentive. So in theory, $27,417 before tax is a good deal if the dealer is willing to give you the entire dealer cash incentive. I saw quotes like that in this forum.

    Colorado's Pilot price is a little high due to its high demand for SUV, and the dealers here are using the last few snow storms as their leverage. I was in the market myself for EX-L AWD with DVD, and the last quote I got is about $3200 below invoice. I guess I can do better by waiting until the weather gets warmer. With high gas price, high inventory and the release of the 2009 model, I expect price will continue to go down.

    Good luck and please let me know how well you do in your car hunt.
  • mike274mike274 Member Posts: 35
    Hello everyone. Thanks for all the input. Looking to buy a Pilot sometime in the next 2-3 months. Does anyone know a good dealer to go to in the NY/Long Island area and if the prices will still be good in April/May time. Thanks
  • ygw3467ygw3467 Member Posts: 1
    About two weeks ago, I got a deal for a 2008 Pilot EX for $23,700 plus TTL, and $695 for running broad, mud guard, rock deflector, trunk cover and net.

    Is this agood deal?

    thanks :)
  • joeyjoejoejoeyjoejoe Member Posts: 68
    I've seen a couple of people mention the rust-proofing, paint sealant, interior coating......whatever, that eventually comes up when finalizing the finances. Just be sure to take a moment to actually calculate how much those extras are going to cost you. My finance person, like most, was trying to get me to roll them up as a package into the car loan. I went in knowing I could get better deals on the extended warranties, but was a little taken aback by the other intriguing extras.

    They try to cover the true cost of the product by adding "just and extra $10 a month" to your loan payment. Compound that over the life of your loan and...gasp...that rust-proofing will cost you like $700! Save the money and have another shop do it for you for half (if not more) as much. That's even if you really actually need these "snake oil" extras. Debatable if you ask me. Cheers!
  • rameshmsrameshms Member Posts: 6
    I got my 08 Pilot EX-L w/ RES for $27400 ($30109.60 OTD) yesterday from Stevens Creek Honda, CA.

    They quoted Honda service plan for 5 years for $925. I declined it. Was it worth the money ?
  • fiufiu Member Posts: 25
    That sounds sweet, Is it 2WD or 4WD?
  • rameshmsrameshms Member Posts: 6
    Its a 2WD. I didn't opt for 4WD..
  • fiufiu Member Posts: 25
    That's best price I have ever seen, could you please email me the sale's person contact to xd_ni@yahoo.com. Thanks
  • bdiggesbdigges Member Posts: 1
    I'm looking for a great deal on 2008 Pilot 4wd in the Houston area.
    I found Goodson Honda with Unlimited miles and Unlimited years on Powertrain warranty which is really great. But i need a great deal at the same time. Anyone please??
  • turtle3550turtle3550 Member Posts: 7
    Nice, I paid about the same for mine too. (purchased from Oakland Honda).
  • jfritschjfritsch Member Posts: 958
    The honda pilot wholesales used for 10000-12000 or more off list first year depending on model. The market has been weak for the 20mpg trucks for almost 4-5 years and its getting worse. I have no doubt that a few individuals may have got an 2wd exl-navi for 26500. That would be exceptional for an awd. The pilot has traditionally sold for about 3000 off msrp at intro (august) to about $7500 off july the following year. Given the depreciation, $7000 off is hardly giving them away. None of the 20mpg trucks/suvs from any manufacturer in the last 5 years or so will sell without heavy incentives. It just looks like honda has moved the dealer incentives a few months ahead this year due to the economic slowdown.

    Several high volume Honda dealers in the west and northeast have advertised the 29000 and 31000 Ridgeline for over $8000 off MSRP. This formerly was unheard of especially this early in the year.

    Honda was the only nameplate to let dealers (sacucci etc) sell their factory hondacare warranty competitively online, resulting in a 8/120 price of around $1300 for what the dealers usually scalped well over $2000 for in the finance office. Numerous folks in all the honda forums wised up (why do they wait until after the purchase to research?) when they had paid $800 more than the competitive online price and renegotiated or cancelled. I'm surprised the dealers took this long to get honda to terminate this practice.

    Happy Huntin'
    --jjf
  • parvizparviz Member Posts: 484
    "....They quoted Honda service plan for 5 years for $925. I declined it. Was it worth the money ? ..."

    You can get the 7 yr, 100K, with $0 deductible for about $995 online.
  • jfritschjfritsch Member Posts: 958
    Heh Heh ... apparently not for long... :(:cry:;)

    --jjf

    "....They quoted Honda service plan for 5 years for $925. I declined it. Was it worth the money ? ..."

    You can get the 7 yr, 100K, with $0 deductible for about $995 online.
  • chicagobuyerchicagobuyer Member Posts: 6
    Please advise: I have received a quote of $28,700. Only additional items are $150 doc fees. I am in the greater chicago area. Does this sound like a good deal?
    This is for a silver EXL with navigation. MSRP is 36,200.
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