you most certainly can walk from a contract at any point in time. The vehicle is not yours until you take delivery.
it wasn't at another dealer's lot? That is pretty odd. As far as I know, all the extras are dealer-installed. Kinda makes it suspicious that it would have dealer-installed options before ever seeing a dealership. I'd inquire as to how this happened.
I know some vehicles have "port-installed options," but I didn't think this was the case with Hondas.
Hey, wait, I just thought of something... Pilots are made in Canada. Is this at a sea port??? Am I the only one that thinks the lines this dealer is spewing is just pure crap? Or is my thinking askew?
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I did inquire with the dealer.He said another dealer got to it first and loaded it up and he only found out about it when he tried to trade his NAV allocation. Hmmmmm......
By the way, Oakland is a sea and railroad port so it could have come in by train. Also I am not sure if things are different outside of California, but over here there is no 'cooling off' period. While the buyer may not own the vehicle until delivery, I think he is legally obligated to purchase it under the price and terms of the contract or lose part of his deposit for any loss or expense incurred by the dealer.
I've been told dealerships here in the Bay Area are allocated one Pilot with Navi a month. My experience trying to buy one at a good price has been been stressful and frustrating.
Dealers horsetrade cars and allocations for cars all the time.
It looks like you got caught in a situation where the dealer thought he could get a certain car and either couldn't or the other dealer wanted too much for the trade. (The "currency" of dealer trades is highly desirable models in short supply.)
I wouldn't believe too much of what the dealer might have said about the actual logistics of where the car is now or how they plan on getting it. Their goal the night you signed the contract was to get you to commit to buy a car at a certain price with a certain set of options; most will worry about the details of how to get said car later.
I think if you insist, they will find you the particular car you want, but it may result in a longer delay than you are willing to wait. I don't think you can take them "to the matt" and start insisting that they take an existing car and start removing options - even if they could/would, you don't want them monkeying around with your new car like that.
I'd relax, go visit them and try and work something out, perhaps modifying your color or option preference a bit. Be reasonable not demanding. Since they've caused you some hassle, they might be willing to cut you some breaks on a car that is close but not exactly what you want. They want you to be happy with the deal and don't want you walking out bad-mouthing them.
Or simply walk away now and get on the phone - I doubt the deal you're getting is that good that you can't match it with a little work. And this time, see if you can negotiate on a car that is on the lot or which is incoming to the particular dealer.
I have always hated doing these deals where you strike a price and they go around hunting for a car. It typically results in exactly what you're experiencing. I've backed out of three or four deals this way - the dealer calls back saying that there is some extra transportation charges to get the car, or doesn't have quite the right options, or the car has 300 miles on it, or whatever.
Have some flexibility. If you did in your heels that they have some contractual obligation, I think it will just result in a pissing match and I don't think your legal position is that strong anyway. Not worth it.
Thanks for your thoughts, Mark. I don't think I'm about ready to spend $800 on a lawyer to get some dealer to sell me a blue pilot w/navi for $1,250 over invoice. Its not that my legal position is weak (a friend was with me), but I don't think he could find one here if he wanted to. I spent a couple of hours with him looking for a blue or sandstone pilot and the best he could do was a sandstone in March. I think you're right, maybe I need to walk away from the dealer and probably the pilot for a while as crazy as things are right now.
Just picked up a 04 EX-L with dvd,mud guards, pinstriping and honda's protection pkg for $29.500 plus $ 499.00 dealer fee and tax,tag. Gary............
We don't have a cooling-off period either, but it is still possible to walk from a deal up until you take delivery. This has been discussed many times and in many forums on Edmunds. Even many of the experienced dealers here have adamantly stressed the fact that a deal isn't a deal until the buyer takes delivery.
As far as giving them a "non-refundable" deposit. If they live up to their end of the bargain, then, yeah, I assume it could be difficult to get that back. I'm not sure of the rules in that case. But I do know that I've never talked to anyone who lost a deposit that way.
Good luck with your search. You may wind up having to travel or have one brought to you from out of state.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I know of a dealer in GR B that does $500 over invoice U they on on Broadmoor Y just South of 28th St
I worked with a great guy there T I just walked in there and bought H the car the same day I test drove E
it. D They showed me the invoice from A the manf and gross it up by $500 M and I ordered the car they same day. N
I picked it up last week and C all the numbers were exactly A like he promised when I signed R
I highly recommend just going in B and not leaving until you have I documents signed and you Pilot is L on order. If you do too much L research you can drive yourself ! and your wife crazy. !
I hope this helps.
Signed your favorite mountain biking, beer drinking, Taboo playing friend.
I live in Orlando, Fl and I had 2 dealers willing to sell @ under invoice. I went with the one that threw in the mudguards, pinstripes and paint/fabric protection. p.s. he was the internet salesman and his 1st offer was $30.258 , I told him I the had a better offer, showed him and he matched it. His pilot had the extras which he threw in to close the deal. There was no trade, which may account for the sweet deal. viper64
Just ordered blue Pilot EX with leather, plus backup sensors and Crossbars for roof rails. Area North jersey. Paid $31,600 including destination charge. Too much?
if without tax then, yeah, you could have done better with some shopping around. but if you feel the vehicle is worth it (which i think it is), then dont sweat it. drive it and enjoy it.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
if without tax then, yeah, you could have done better with some shopping around. but if you feel the vehicle is worth it (which i think it is), then dont sweat it. drive it and enjoy it
Thank you so much for your reply. Yes, unfortunately, it's without tax. You see, the dealer lied to us. He said that backup sensors are $1100, and crossbars $440. I just checked Honda website: it's $572 and $170. I still can stop the check. This car is very popular in our area, that's why I thought that we are getting a decent deal, but obviously -- not.
I went to drive test this afternoon, and found there is very few Pilot in inventory. I guess for this reason the dealer doesn't want to lower the price. I asked EX-L with DVD, the price is $32,860 plus tax, no options added. Can anyone share their experience? Thanks.
well, lets not jump too quick. you should try talking to the dealer first. point out his "error" in his accessories pricing and ask if he'd like to reconsider the price. you can always push harder from that point. The backup sensors do take some work to install, so take that into consideration. But, yes, those prices are outrageous. You can get the crossbars from several online dealers for less than that 170 (hondacuraworld.com has them for $134, to be exact) and they take the dealer all of 15 minutes to install. i honestly don't know how much labor is involved with the backup sensors.
by the way, if you end up needing another dealer, i suggest Coast Honda in Wall, NJ. They treated us well last year. you can probably find my earlier posts here if you run a search for Coast Honda.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Read my previous posts about how scarce Pilots are in the bay area. I finally got one (a silver L) for delivery next week at a good price today. Just befored I ordered the silver, I checked and confirmed that Mike Harvey and Oakland Honda had DVD equipped pilots in stock but were unwilling to meet my price. This week was a bad week for availability but even when it wasn't, I was getting internet quotes from local fleet managers at $1,000 off MSRP at best. Its ridiculous but to get a pilot at or near my price, on a couple of occasions I've had to wait while the fleet manager disappeared to 'confer' with his sales or general manager to give me a better deal. Usually that only happens with the salesman lurking at the door since fleet managers are supposed to have pricing authority. Although I didn't get my first choice of color (blue), I'm just glad my experience buying a pilot is over.
We have just decided to purchase a Black Pilot EX-L. I sent out some e-mails to dealers in the Washington, DC area but the few who have responded are not negotiating at all. The best price that I have been able to get is $30,360 (including freight). They said they will also include floor mats, wheel locks and mud guards. This is $1,000 under MSRP. Does anyone have any other dealers in the area who can beat this price. Also, does anyone have any insight into when the inventory will improve. One of the dealers told me they expect inventory to increase in the next 2 weeks,
Okay, I'm going back and forth between the EX-L with NAVI or DVD-RES. I know I can do the aftermarket DVD with the factory NAVI, but I'm not sure how "clean" this really is (certainly, not as integrated as factory I'm assuming).
I can get the EX-L w/NAVI for about $30.5k total, and the EX-L w/DVD for about $30k total. The aftermarket DVD would be about $1k or so, but I can't decide which would be best.
Anybody here with some good opinions based upon current experience would be GREAT! This is going to drive me nuts, and I need some experienced and knowledgeable feedback.
I picked up a 04 Silver Pilot EXL with DVD on 01/15 for $29500 (with wheel lock) and out of door price is $32,353.46 from Selma Honda CA (close to Fresno).
Price $29,609.00 Fees $298.00 Tax $2,446.00 Total $32,353.46
Simply put, for the best in a, "factory", look, is factory navi, aftermarket DVD.
As I said, read my previous emails on this subject.
You will never get an aftermarket navi to look as good as the factory install. Never. But you can get the aftermarket dvd player to look factory. If you buy the all-in-one dvd player that mounts on the ceiling. Audiovox makes the PROV916 that will install on your headliner, just as the Honda factory one would.
If you want as close/exact factory as possible, you need to go with the Navi and aftermarket dvd. Get a dvd player on the ceiling and its as factory as it gets. Period.
As I said, I have written many many posts on this subject. Read them and you will get all the info you possibly could need to make your decision.
I bought my 2004 pilot in the Ft. Lauderdale area. Where'd you buy? Got the EX-L with Navi for 30.4k, including destination charge. It was 340.00 over invoice. I have a post somewhere in here that outlined it all.
We love the car. Have enjoyed it immensely. Put running boards, fog lights, crossbars, rear mud guards, cargo liner, cargo cover, exhaust finishers and wheel locks. The stuff on the outside really really jazzed it up. Very nice. None of the other Pilots have them!! hahaha...shallow but true! Jazzes up the subdude lines of the pilot. Although, if I had to do it again, I would have put the chrome step boards on instead of the black running boards. I think that would have really jazzed it up.
Yeah, I've followed your post and noted in-detail some of the things you've been running into with the install. I'd appreciate any additional feedback you have regarding tips, gotcha's, benefits, drawbacks, and recommendations based upon your experience. Feel free to e-mail, if that's easier for you (see my profile).
I'm also keenly aware of the new DVD formats on the horizon; the aftermarket option would make for an easy swap when the new format is fully adopted.
Lastly, just came across a NICE site that illustrates what appears to be an identical setup as yours (NAVI with AudioVOX DVD). Nice pics.
For Pilot owners that have the Nav system, how well do you like it?
I ask because after looking at the Nav system in the MDX and GX470 - both with bigger screens, voice activation / steering wheel controls and better display detail - the Pilot Nav system looks pretty dissapointing. However, it may be fine for everyday use.
It is my understanding that Honda will be upgrading the Pilot Nav to the MDX/Accord version for 2005, but that just makes deciding on the current Nav now more difficult, not less.
I may be the wrong person to answer since I decided at the last moment not to get it. Then again, what kind of answer would you expect from someone else who plunked $2,000 for a Pilot Nav and maybe another $1,200 to get the rear camera? I test drove the MDX with its bigger 7 inch screen, next generation Alpine nav gps, voice-activation, and built-in rear camera...all for $2,000. I came to the conclusion that for everday use I can make do with a brand-new state of the art Garmin or Magellan portable nav and save myself at least a thousand dollars. Then again, my pilot dash looks a bit cluttered when I'm using it ...unless of course I'm using it in my old Lexus
I went with the headrest monitors. In truth, I am still somewhat up in the air on which is better, an overhead system (audiovox916), or headrest system. Each has their advantages/disadvantages.
I think, the scales tip towards the overhead system. I like the headrest system. But in the end, the two things I dont like about it are:
1) Lost the cubbyhole space at the bottom of the radio stack in putting the dvd player there.
2) Playing a dvd with the widescreen format makes for a pretty small picture on the 7" monitor.
The audiovox prov916 is a 9" monitor in the 16:9 format. I think very nice. And I think would fit very nice in the car. And 90% of the time, you are going to be watching a dvd.
So, if I had to do it again, by a slim margin, I think I would go with the overhead system.
Either way, I would HIGHLY recommend, with no reservations at all, you purchase the aux audio adapter cable. It is made by Blitzsafe. It has been a universal constant that this is the only way to go in sound. The fm modulator that comes with these systems will sound like a scratchy radio station.
I think of all this electronic gadgetry like this: everything is advancing so fast, that with each year, there are major improvements on size, speed, and options. You can sit on the sidelines and say, ok, NEXT year, they are going to have this or that. I'll wait!
And there is nothing wrong with that. But, the process will only continue. You wait, get the next generation navi system in the Pilot that has the MDX system. Then the year after that, they come up with, for example, a voice activation system, alleviating any typing. Then the year after that, they come up with a heads-up display that superimposes the map, etc....on the windscreen of your car. With the projector being a little dot above the drivers head to make that projection.
And so on and so on.
I am a professional pilot for a major airline. That should allow me some insight into the usability of my 2004 Pilot factory installed navi system.
I have found it to be great. If anything, the display doesn't bother me. What's in there is fine for me.
I do, however, don't like some aspects of the software, particularly, putting in an address. This can be tricky. You have a few different options on how to put in a destination. I am talking about the option of inputting a destination by putting in its street address. Read on.
Because what you think of as the boundries of a city or town that you are going to, might not be in agreement with the softwares definition of where the address is and what city or town it is in.
So you are in a catch 22. You try to work with the software and put just the street address in first (the manual recommends this in an attempt to address the situation I am talking about here). And not identify a town. But as far as I have been seeing, and I could be wrong, if you dont designate a city, the software defaults to the city you are in. And therefore only displays the addresses of the city you are in. So, if by chance the address you are putting in isn't an EXACT match of an address in the city you are in, it won't even let you put the address in as all non-existent addresses in the city you are in will be greyscale. An won't allow you to select them.
So you are caught! One time, I said, ok, lets identify this as the city (instead of the city that was shown as their mailing address), which was a neighboring city, and see if will take the street address. And that it did. It accepted the street address and showed it as the business establishment that we wanted.
I could be wrong. Maybe I am doing something wrong on this city vs street address thing. As far as I can see, if you don't designate a city, it defaults to the city you are in.
Any navi experts out there, chime in!
So I see this as a big drawback in the software. It could be fixed if you could just identify the state you are in. Then put in a street address, and let it list every matching street address in the state, letting you pick the one that is the one you want. You can check the mileages to all these street addresses that will be listed. One that you know is about 10 miles away would be the one selected. Which obviously means that you wouldn't select one that was 250 miles away.
So it does require a basic knowledge of where you are going. And that is a drawback.
If the software of other dvd packages better address this problem, I do think that is valuable. I would be willing to wait on the next generation based on that. You can spend a lot of time trying to put in a street address and it is quite often difficult.
I don't think the software upgrades that you can purchase for the factory navi will include an update on the operating system. I think it only updates new roads and such.
The software overall is quite clunky. You really have to get into the mindset of how the software works. Like any software. But, it isn't as intuitive as it could be, rendering it clunky.
Like I said, on the presentation, I have no problems with the different map modes you can put it in and the quality of the display itself. It is not a movie to be watched continually. Of course, a bigger screen would be nice and more pixels would be nice. And controls on the steering wheel would be nice. But for me personally, this would not make me delay the purchase.
I paid 27500 for a Silver Pilot EX in Phoenix, AZ. About 500 over invoice. Dealer had $995 worth of dealer installed options such as pinstriping, doors guards and scoth gurad and tire pressure monitor valve caps and window tint. I had him take that off completely. Very smooth transaction and so far satisfied with the purchase and the car.
Another thing I noticed was, there are a lot of EX Leather sitting around in dealer lots here. Because it gets to 110F to 120F in the summer, people in Phoenix would prefer to go far a cloth seat and looks like the leathers are not moving much. The dealer I went to had only two Cloth interior EX and had more than 10 EX with Leather. Another dealer had no cloth interior, but had 5 leather EX sitting in his lot. So if you want a good deal on your leather EX, and if any of you live in the nearby states of AZ, you might be better off talking to the Phoenix dealers and get a good deal. Then you can fly down here (flights are pretty cheap into phx) and drive it back home. Just a suggestion.
Original I was interested EX-L , and they are willing to sell me for $28,811.00 (invoice + $550) but I need to wait until early March. In the mean time, they have a EXL-RES (with DVD) in stack and they are willing to sell as invoice price. It seems like a pretty good deal and that is the color my family want then I just take it. If you want to have more info then we can discuss more off line and send me a email to thejacos2003@yahoo.com
Here is the quote they give me:
"OK, I have some information for you.......... In Stock we have a Silver Pilot EX-LRES (with the DVD) Price $29,609.00 Fees $298.00 Tax $2,446.00 Total $32,353.46
We can order the one you are requesting: Silver Pilot EXL (You don't have to put a deposit, We will order if you are going to buy.) Availability: Early March (Estimated 60 days.) Price $28,811.00 Fees $293.00 Tax $2380.62 Total $31,484.62"
I have a pilot ex-l res. If I were to do it again I would get the ex-l Navi + aftermarket DVD + nav-tv+ backup cam. The next to last item would allow you to display whatever is on the DVD screen on the front screen. This would be very welcome by your front passenger on a long trip. I am thinking of adding a visor mounted screen for my wife to watch now. Also my other car/suv/whatever has nav + backup cam and I find myself constantly looking for the backup cam when going into reverse.
Are you dealing with Jones Honda in Lancaster? If you are try contacting Reading Honda, its about another 25 miles northeast of Lancaster. I live between the 2 dealerships and have had better experiances with Reading Honda.
Comments
it wasn't at another dealer's lot? That is pretty odd. As far as I know, all the extras are dealer-installed. Kinda makes it suspicious that it would have dealer-installed options before ever seeing a dealership. I'd inquire as to how this happened.
I know some vehicles have "port-installed options," but I didn't think this was the case with Hondas.
Hey, wait, I just thought of something... Pilots are made in Canada. Is this at a sea port??? Am I the only one that thinks the lines this dealer is spewing is just pure crap? Or is my thinking askew?
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
By the way, Oakland is a sea and railroad port so it could have come in by train. Also I am not sure if things are different outside of California, but over here there is no 'cooling off' period. While the buyer may not own the vehicle until delivery, I think he is legally obligated to purchase it under the price and terms of the contract or lose part of his deposit for any loss or expense incurred by the dealer.
I've been told dealerships here in the Bay Area are allocated one Pilot with Navi a month. My experience trying to buy one at a good price has been been stressful and frustrating.
It looks like you got caught in a situation where the dealer thought he could get a certain car and either couldn't or the other dealer wanted too much for the trade. (The "currency" of dealer trades is highly desirable models in short supply.)
I wouldn't believe too much of what the dealer might have said about the actual logistics of where the car is now or how they plan on getting it. Their goal the night you signed the contract was to get you to commit to buy a car at a certain price with a certain set of options; most will worry about the details of how to get said car later.
I think if you insist, they will find you the particular car you want, but it may result in a longer delay than you are willing to wait. I don't think you can take them "to the matt" and start insisting that they take an existing car and start removing options - even if they could/would, you don't want them monkeying around with your new car like that.
I'd relax, go visit them and try and work something out, perhaps modifying your color or option preference a bit. Be reasonable not demanding. Since they've caused you some hassle, they might be willing to cut you some breaks on a car that is close but not exactly what you want. They want you to be happy with the deal and don't want you walking out bad-mouthing them.
Or simply walk away now and get on the phone - I doubt the deal you're getting is that good that you can't match it with a little work. And this time, see if you can negotiate on a car that is on the lot or which is incoming to the particular dealer.
I have always hated doing these deals where you strike a price and they go around hunting for a car. It typically results in exactly what you're experiencing. I've backed out of three or four deals this way - the dealer calls back saying that there is some extra transportation charges to get the car, or doesn't have quite the right options, or the car has 300 miles on it, or whatever.
Have some flexibility. If you did in your heels that they have some contractual obligation, I think it will just result in a pissing match and I don't think your legal position is that strong anyway. Not worth it.
- Mark
By chance, what region of the country do you live and and where did you obtain your vehicle? That's a decent deal; no doubt.
As far as giving them a "non-refundable" deposit. If they live up to their end of the bargain, then, yeah, I assume it could be difficult to get that back. I'm not sure of the rules in that case. But I do know that I've never talked to anyone who lost a deposit that way.
Good luck with your search. You may wind up having to travel or have one brought to you from out of state.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
By chance, what region of the country do you live and and where did you obtain your vehicle? That's a decent deal; no doubt.
that does $500 over invoice U
they on on Broadmoor Y
just South of 28th St
I worked with a great guy there T
I just walked in there and bought H
the car the same day I test drove E
it. D
They showed me the invoice from A
the manf and gross it up by $500 M
and I ordered the car they same day. N
I picked it up last week and C
all the numbers were exactly A
like he promised when I signed R
I highly recommend just going in B
and not leaving until you have I
documents signed and you Pilot is L
on order. If you do too much L
research you can drive yourself !
and your wife crazy. !
I hope this helps.
Signed your favorite mountain biking, beer drinking, Taboo playing friend.
if without tax then, yeah, you could have done better with some shopping around. but if you feel the vehicle is worth it (which i think it is), then dont sweat it. drive it and enjoy it.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
if without tax then, yeah, you could have done better with some shopping around. but if you feel the vehicle is worth it (which i think it is), then dont sweat it. drive it and enjoy it
Thank you so much for your reply.
Yes, unfortunately, it's without tax.
You see, the dealer lied to us. He said that backup sensors are $1100, and crossbars $440.
I just checked Honda website: it's $572 and $170.
I still can stop the check. This car is very popular in our area, that's why I thought that we are getting a decent deal, but obviously -- not.
medicmurf, would you mind emailing your dealer name at hcar@hotmail.com
thanks,
J.Y.
And it's probably better to mark your email address public in your profile to avoid this.
Steve, Host
Can anyone share their experience?
Thanks.
by the way, if you end up needing another dealer, i suggest Coast Honda in Wall, NJ. They treated us well last year. you can probably find my earlier posts here if you run a search for Coast Honda.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Honda Pilot definitely below MSRP or better price (EXL - NAVI) in NJ?
I can get the EX-L w/NAVI for about $30.5k total, and the EX-L w/DVD for about $30k total. The aftermarket DVD would be about $1k or so, but I can't decide which would be best.
Anybody here with some good opinions based upon current experience would be GREAT! This is going to drive me nuts, and I need some experienced and knowledgeable feedback.
Price $29,609.00
Fees $298.00
Tax $2,446.00
Total $32,353.46
Simply put, for the best in a, "factory", look, is factory navi, aftermarket DVD.
As I said, read my previous emails on this subject.
You will never get an aftermarket navi to look as good as the factory install. Never. But you can get the aftermarket dvd player to look factory. If you buy the all-in-one dvd player that mounts on the ceiling. Audiovox makes the PROV916 that will install on your headliner, just as the Honda factory one would.
Check out:
http://www.radarcity.com/product?prod_id=5095
You can see it there.
If you want as close/exact factory as possible, you need to go with the Navi and aftermarket dvd. Get a dvd player on the ceiling and its as factory as it gets. Period.
As I said, I have written many many posts on this subject. Read them and you will get all the info you possibly could need to make your decision.
Hope it helps!
We love the car. Have enjoyed it immensely. Put running boards, fog lights, crossbars, rear mud guards, cargo liner, cargo cover, exhaust finishers and wheel locks. The stuff on the outside really really jazzed it up. Very nice. None of the other Pilots have them!! hahaha...shallow but true! Jazzes up the subdude lines of the pilot. Although, if I had to do it again, I would have put the chrome step boards on instead of the black running boards. I think that would have really jazzed it up.
Enjoy!!
Where did you buy yours?
I'm also keenly aware of the new DVD formats on the horizon; the aftermarket option would make for an easy swap when the new format is fully adopted.
Lastly, just came across a NICE site that illustrates what appears to be an identical setup as yours (NAVI with AudioVOX DVD). Nice pics.
http://la.znet.com/~tak4/Family/Pilot/
I ask because after looking at the Nav system in the MDX and GX470 - both with bigger screens, voice activation / steering wheel controls and better display detail - the Pilot Nav system looks pretty dissapointing. However, it may be fine for everyday use.
It is my understanding that Honda will be upgrading the Pilot Nav to the MDX/Accord version for 2005, but that just makes deciding on the current Nav now more difficult, not less.
BTW, it seems there are few PILOT in deal's inventory in Bay area. I just wonder how to bargain for such case.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I went with the headrest monitors. In truth, I am still somewhat up in the air on which is better, an overhead system (audiovox916), or headrest system. Each has their advantages/disadvantages.
I think, the scales tip towards the overhead system. I like the headrest system. But in the end, the two things I dont like about it are:
1) Lost the cubbyhole space at the bottom of the radio stack in putting the dvd player there.
2) Playing a dvd with the widescreen format makes for a pretty small picture on the 7" monitor.
The audiovox prov916 is a 9" monitor in the 16:9 format. I think very nice. And I think would fit very nice in the car. And 90% of the time, you are going to be watching a dvd.
So, if I had to do it again, by a slim margin, I think I would go with the overhead system.
Either way, I would HIGHLY recommend, with no reservations at all, you purchase the aux audio adapter cable. It is made by Blitzsafe. It has been a universal constant that this is the only way to go in sound. The fm modulator that comes with these systems will sound like a scratchy radio station.
Good luck and enjoy!
And there is nothing wrong with that. But, the process will only continue. You wait, get the next generation navi system in the Pilot that has the MDX system. Then the year after that, they come up with, for example, a voice activation system, alleviating any typing. Then the year after that, they come up with a heads-up display that superimposes the map, etc....on the windscreen of your car. With the projector being a little dot above the drivers head to make that projection.
And so on and so on.
I am a professional pilot for a major airline. That should allow me some insight into the usability of my 2004 Pilot factory installed navi system.
I have found it to be great. If anything, the display doesn't bother me. What's in there is fine for me.
I do, however, don't like some aspects of the software, particularly, putting in an address. This can be tricky. You have a few different options on how to put in a destination. I am talking about the option of inputting a destination by putting in its street address. Read on.
Because what you think of as the boundries of a city or town that you are going to, might not be in agreement with the softwares definition of where the address is and what city or town it is in.
So you are in a catch 22. You try to work with the software and put just the street address in first (the manual recommends this in an attempt to address the situation I am talking about here). And not identify a town. But as far as I have been seeing, and I could be wrong, if you dont designate a city, the software defaults to the city you are in. And therefore only displays the addresses of the city you are in. So, if by chance the address you are putting in isn't an EXACT match of an address in the city you are in, it won't even let you put the address in as all non-existent addresses in the city you are in will be greyscale. An won't allow you to select them.
So you are caught! One time, I said, ok, lets identify this as the city (instead of the city that was shown as their mailing address), which was a neighboring city, and see if will take the street address. And that it did. It accepted the street address and showed it as the business establishment that we wanted.
I could be wrong. Maybe I am doing something wrong on this city vs street address thing. As far as I can see, if you don't designate a city, it defaults to the city you are in.
Any navi experts out there, chime in!
So I see this as a big drawback in the software. It could be fixed if you could just identify the state you are in. Then put in a street address, and let it list every matching street address in the state, letting you pick the one that is the one you want. You can check the mileages to all these street addresses that will be listed. One that you know is about 10 miles away would be the one selected. Which obviously means that you wouldn't select one that was 250 miles away.
So it does require a basic knowledge of where you are going. And that is a drawback.
If the software of other dvd packages better address this problem, I do think that is valuable. I would be willing to wait on the next generation based on that. You can spend a lot of time trying to put in a street address and it is quite often difficult.
I don't think the software upgrades that you can purchase for the factory navi will include an update on the operating system. I think it only updates new roads and such.
The software overall is quite clunky. You really have to get into the mindset of how the software works. Like any software. But, it isn't as intuitive as it could be, rendering it clunky.
Like I said, on the presentation, I have no problems with the different map modes you can put it in and the quality of the display itself. It is not a movie to be watched continually. Of course, a bigger screen would be nice and more pixels would be nice. And controls on the steering wheel would be nice. But for me personally, this would not make me delay the purchase.
Purchased a 2004 Pilot EX-L w/ navi package for
$30,400.00 ($490.00 destination charge included). This is $342.00 over invoice.
Out the door price was $32,224.00
Accesories added for an additional total cost of $1180:
-fog lights
-crossbars for roof rack
-running boards
-cargo protector
-cargo cover
-rear mud flaps
Another thing I noticed was, there are a lot of EX Leather sitting around in dealer lots here. Because it gets to 110F to 120F in the summer, people in Phoenix would prefer to go far a cloth seat and looks like the leathers are not moving much. The dealer I went to had only two Cloth interior EX and had more than 10 EX with Leather. Another dealer had no cloth interior, but had 5 leather EX sitting in his lot. So if you want a good deal on your leather EX, and if any of you live in the nearby states of AZ, you might be better off talking to the Phoenix dealers and get a good deal. Then you can fly down here (flights are pretty cheap into phx) and drive it back home. Just a suggestion.
Here is the quote they give me:
"OK, I have some information for you..........
In Stock we have a Silver Pilot EX-LRES (with the DVD)
Price $29,609.00
Fees $298.00
Tax $2,446.00
Total $32,353.46
We can order the one you are requesting: Silver Pilot EXL (You don't have to put a deposit, We will order if you are going to buy.)
Availability: Early March (Estimated 60 days.)
Price $28,811.00
Fees $293.00
Tax $2380.62
Total $31,484.62"
Great price. Where did you obtain that purchase-price, by chance? Feel free to e-mail (see my profile) the details, if you wish.
Many thanks for this and your advice on the DVD RES.
Dont be fooled. That price came about with a lot of blood sweat and tears. I have a previous post in here somewhere as to the whole process.
But that was the price in the end.
Avoiding individual salespeople's names helps cut back on shill posts around here. Thanks,
Steve, Host