yeah, we've owned ours for about 15 months and almost 30K miles now. We still think its a great vehicle. You can read more about experiences, if you like, on the other Pilot boards here on Edmunds. We don't want to discuss too much not related to "prices paid" on this particular boards or else the e-ruler might crack our e-knuckles.
'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 this isn't a price question, but I was wondering what is acceptable mileage on a new vehicle...Not my concern to much, wife wonders a little...The vehicle being transfered from another state to the dealer in a trade...They just drive it, Right?? or would it be delivered on a flat bed ???
Just brought home a shiny silver Pilot EX (cloth). Paid $250 over the invoice for it. I have to thank this forum for the deal I consider to be pretty good. At first I browsed Edmunds.com and found TMV value for the Pilot and went a local dealership. Was very surprised when the dealer immediately accepted the price. Thank goodness I did not sign the papers that day but went home to digest the digits I was shown. Went back to Edmunds.com, found this forum and was astonished to find that Pilots go for close to invoice! Instead of requesting a quote via email I decided just to call dealers directly and ask for quotes. I was surprised that practically ALL of the local dealers were willing to work with close to invoice prices! I’m in southwest Ohio, Cincinnati area. Picked the best deal (I was offered $350 over invoice) and went to the dealership. On the way there stopped at another dealer to give them a chance to beat the price. They did. By not much, but I got $250 over invoice + a stupid decorative stripe on the sides of the car (worth $99) that makes the car look better but was totally useless and unnecessary for my wife (the car goes to her, I'm now after a new TL for myself). The most difficult thing proved to be negotiation of trade-in value for my wife's VW. Negotiations were long and painful, the dealer tried all their tricks I know of (like “let me talk to my manager”, “you’re getting a great deal and I’m not making anything of the deal”, low-balling trade-in value, playing tricks with the numbers, etc.) but my reply to all of that was: “accept my offer or I’m walking”. Finally, they subsided and gave me everything to the penny of Kelly’s blue book trade-in value I wanted for the car and I signed the papers. Another trick that worked really well was: “I have another offer from a different dealer I promised my business to. Beat the offer or I’m leaving”. At the end the dealer confessed that he knew that if he let me go I would not come back. That may be true, but I didn’t want to go yet again to yet another dealership and start negotiations with them about the Pilot and trade-in all over again. I had only 24-hrs to buy a car (last day of vacation) and I was very tired at that point and thought that I may squeeze another 100 – 300 bucks out of another dealer, but that would be just pure greed and would not worth the neurons (nerve cells) I was loosing during each conversation with a salesman.
If I could I’d like to give a word of advise for some who’s about to bargain. Be confident! Always remember, they’ll try to act as if they’re your best friends, or the opposite: as if you’re insulting them with your offer. They’ll trick you with numbers, worksheets, printouts that look right but still show too high of a final number. I found at least 2 “mistakes” in their worksheets (wrong interest rates, wrong residuals, fees presented as “taxes and upfront something rather”). Be very careful and very confident and most importantly: do your homework! Calculate the numbers yourself before talking to them and have a few versions of it (with different rates, different values you’re willing to accept). And also, you might want to show them upfront that you understand more or less how new cars are sold (mention immediately MSRP vs. invoice, dealer kick-backs, inventories, how financing works, etc.) Once they see it that will guard you from at least something as ridiculous as offers at MSRP price, phrases like “this dealership is not making any money on new car sales, we're making money on service and I’m giving you the deal with $0 profit for me”, etc.
I think all of the dealers are trying to clear their lots from ‘4 Pilot models in preparation for the ‘5 models and that’s why they’re giving close to invoice deals. Since you know it - use it to your advantage.
As far as Pilot goes – it’s great! Rides beautifully, handles great, feels good for a vehicle of its class. I’m so glad we picked Pilot over VW Toureg V6, which has more electronic toys, but is incredibly underpowered (in my opinion. I'm talking about the V6 model). Plus, again, VW is a “bit” more $$$
My wife just picked up a new Red EX Leather Pilot today. The out the door price was $28,500 (not including tax which will be paid in WA state). The car included mud flaps and pin striping, worth, according to the dealer, about $200. I think I got a decent deal. I believe it helped to inform the dealer that Pilot's could be had at invoice in Chicago. This one was very close to invoice with the extras and the paperwork.
NOTE: the following information may be helpful for buyers looking in the Denver, CO, metro area.
I picked up my black w/gray interior 2004 Pilot EX-L on Wednesday night from Fisher Honda in Boulder, CO. The out the door price was $29,060 + $300 (stupid dealer handling fee) + tax (7.2%). We've been searching for about 3 months now, but it seems black w/gray interior are scarce on lots. I was tempted to fly to Chicago and buy one from Carrs Honda at invoice, but my wife didn't like the cost of shipping or flying and driving it home. We decided to wait and see if the end of the year would be a better time to try to deal again.
Last Saturday, I called down to Team Honda of Colorado Springs to offer $29360 because no one in the Denver Metro area would accept that offer. They accepted immediately. Because I was working closely with Fisher Honda, I decided to be nice and give them a call to let them know that I would not be coming down. I told them that I was going to Team Honda and buying the car that day. The Fisher salesman calls back in 15 minutes to say that his manager will accept that price if I put a deposit down that day. Instead of driving 2 hours to CO Springs, I drove 20 minutes to buy my new pilot.
The funny thing is Team Honda called me back 15 minutes after Fisher Honda to inform me that their 2 black w/gray interior EXLs were JUST sold. BUT, he had another one on the lot and it had hail damage. So why did the salesman tell me they had 2 black EXLs instead of 3 when I first talked to him? hmmmmm...
Anyway, didn't pick up any options because they were outrageously high, and Fisher wouldn't negotiate with options. Instead, I went to Ebay and found a seller who happens to be a parts salesman at Ralph Schomp Honda located IN Denver, CO. All of his options are half priced, and I'm installing them myself.
Sorry for the long posting, but I felt that it would be helpful. I lurked this forum for the last 3 months looking for deals, and most of the time, posters would have partial information that I needed. I hope that I've been more helpful than verbose.
Just got my Pilot EX last wednesday...love it! Paid $28000 even at Herb Chambers in Seekonk,Ma (not including tax/tag). May not be the best price on this forum....but i feel good. Also was short on time...wanted it for a vacation! They treated me much better than Boch Toyota did the week before when i was going to pick up a Highlander. Much happier with the Pilot!
We took delivery yesterday 7-30-04 on a Sage EX. We paid $550 over invoice. It probably helped that it was at the end of the month and not too long before the '05's are due out. We purchased the car in the Philadelphia area (South Jersey suburbs). I might have done a bit better, but the service I received and the location of the dealer was worth it. If you wait until the end of August you should be able to do better, but inventory selection might be an issue, especially with LX models.
Just out of curiousity, since we have already purchased ours, which STL dealership gave you the deal you went with? I am glad to know they did because they need to know that we are all willing to go elsewhere if they aren't willing to deal.
We just bought a Pilot 24 hours ago. The wife told me we had to stop driving around...so here is my report.
The short version- 2004 Honda EX-LRES Red (Leather + DVD Player) Window Price: 32,860 Price paid 31,269.84 I won't post the tax and license since it's not typical after we traded in a '01 Rav4 Rochester, MN Our car salesman was great!
The long version- Wed - I got a quote from the Rochester dealer of $32,460 ($400 off of sticker). Saturday (July 30th) - After reading the messages in this forum, I thought I would call a second dealer and ask about paying invoice. He jumped on me and started telling me how it doesn't happen in MN, you won't find any dealers selling at or near invoice. He suggested that I might be able to get $800 off the sticker price (32,860) if I was lucky. Once I told him the bank had me approved for 100% of the sticker price and that I had a trade-in, his tone of voice change to "mr. nice". He told me to make an offer that would be worthy of bringing to his manager. The change caught me off guard and so I mentioned a figure a few dollars over the Edmund's TMV (TMV = 30,146). I told him $31,500 and he said I should start driving to his dealership.
Since that dealer was a good 1 1/2 hours away, I decided to visit the Rochester dealer (only twenty minutes away) and see if they would accept $31,360. I thought that was a good price because it was $1500 off the sticker price. I had printed out a spread sheet that had what their original quote (with trade in, tax and license etc), the other dealer's, and what my goal was for the Pilot and trade-in based on the Edmund's TMV. I think having that paper really helped out a lot. He could see I had done my homework and was serious about my offer. In the end, I made my offer, he counter offered, and then we agreed to meet half way. Not much trouble and I never felt any pressure. (It could have been the fact he had 2 other sales going on at the same time.)
Of course, when I got home I was running through my head that I should have started at invoice price instead of Edmund's TMV. I get that feeling that it was so easy to negotiate around the TMV price, that it was foolish not to have tried invoice or slightly above invoice. Or at least, I should have started slightly below Edmund's TMV.
Both dealers kept mentioning that it was the last day of the month and "they'd be willing to listen to almost any offer". I guess that really does mean something to car dealers.
Hint number one - start working from invoice, no matter how nice of a person you are trying to be with your offers. Don't think your being kind to the dealer by starting at the Edmund's TMV price. Don't listen to "Pilot sell well - hard to keep in stock....blah blah. Dealer's always have a reason for not selling below MSRP.
Hint number two - go at the end of month, on a Saturday, around 3:30. The dealer had 2 other sales going on and the finance guy was backed up. The dealership closed at 5pm, but we didn't get done until 6 pm. Believe it or not, the finance guy only went over the extended warranty and "do you want fabric and paint protection" once. A friend of mine was at the same dealer two week prior and had to listen to both sales pitches many times - all the while replying "NO! I don't want them." I guess that is one of the benefits of going late in the day, so long as you're not wiped out yourself.
First, thanks to everyone who has posted here in the past; we used information found here to secure our deal with Carr's Honda in Chicago. It was pretty simple - a phone call to their Internet Sales manager (make sure you don't talk to a regular sales person, as the price quoted will be significantly higher) and he quoted $500 over invoice for the exact car my wife wanted (Black with Camel Leather interior). We gave our local dealer a chance to match for a Pilot on their lot (Sagebrush), but they would only go $1000 under MSRP - $2400 more for a car we didn't want! Needless to say, Carr's got the deal.
We also got 3.89% financing for 60 months through Honda Financial, a better deal than the 4.14% we'd previously secured through Costco.
I'm in Montana, so the next problem was how to get the car out here. We got a quote for shipping the car - $800. But I also decided to price a one way ticket to O'Hare - $183. I took a day off from work Friday and flew to Chicago. $2 for a CTA train into the city, a call to Carr's requesting a shuttle, and I was on the road by early afternoon. Our new Pilot was sitting safely in the garage by Saturday night, and I saved $500 over the cost of shipping. Not bad.
Again, thanks to everyone for their helpful posts in the past. We're looking forward to life with the new addition to the family.
I am glad you had a good buying experience with them. I, personally, would never purchase from them. I have been there twice and felt like I was being preyed upon because I am a woman. My father had a bad experience there as well. I did request a quote from them but they never replied. Glad to hear it all went well for you. Thanks for the reply.
From my experience, a lot of the dealers really don't carry many of the LX's. I have to say for the small amount of extra money, the EXL is worth $1000. I realize some people do not like the leather, which is a personal preference but if you do, it is nice and isn't too much more...plus, I believe it would be a better reselling option. Good luck!
just to clarify, the EX is $2400 more than the LX. The EXL is $1k more than the EX ($3400 more than the LX).
Seballr - the EX is just a MUCH more popular choice. But that shouldn't stop you from using the prices to help you out. Most people seem to state "I got it for $x over invoice." so just take the invoice from the LX and go from there. Its all relative. Good luck.
'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
Thanks for the info. The best offer I got was $400 over invoice for the LX which seem reasonable enough. The vehicle is for my wife and she didn't want all the extras of the EX. Good for me then since I don't have to put the extra $.
Thanks. I received quotes from Autopark and Crown and they weren't anywhere near what you got. I guess I'll check with Sanford Honda. Enjoy your Pilot!
I just found out that Mike Pruitt Honda in Akron, Ohio will sell any 2004 remaining Pilot on their lot for $300 under dealer cost - I guess they're making way for the 05 models.
Well, I ended up buying an LX today for $120 above invoice. LX availability is slim. A Honda dealer in Streetsboro, Ohio is selling the EX at invoice. I guess it is a good time to buy the Pilot.
Although it's still not official, I have now heard that the 2005 Pilot will have a moonroof (not sure which models), probably the latest voice activated navigation system (i.e. comparable to our 2004 TL system) and, possibly, side curtain aribags.
If this is true, I can see why they might need to go below invoice to move out the remaining 2004's, expecailly the EX Nav ones. I would NOT have bought a 2004 EX Nav. The system is just too far behind the TL to be worth the $1,800 +/- price. However, with the 2005 EX upgraded nav w/moonroof running only an estimated $500-$1,000 over the 2004 model, that would be an easy choice. Heck, the resale value in a few years of a 2004 vs. 2005 will more than make up for the price difference alone, without considering the improvements.
My dealer has offered that they will sell me a 2005 EX Nav for "no more than" $1,000 over invoice in the first batch. I think I can do a little better, but even if I couldn't, a leftover 2004 would have to be offered at better than $1,000-$2,000 under invoice for me to take the older model year and feel it was a fair economic trade-off. And that's not likely to happen.
We purchased an EX-L 2 weeks ago from Buerkle Honda in St. Paul for $500 over invoice ($28,760). Not the greatest deal ever, but I am satisfied considering how the Pilot market has been in the Twin Cities.
I would like to thank everyone who suggested getting a price quote from Carr's in Chicago. It was helpful to have that during the process. When I mentioned the quote at invoice to the dealers here, all but one dealer basically said good luck. Buerkle Honda said that they would be competitive on price and they were close enough to keep me from going to Chicago. The salesman at Buerkle was easy to work with and made it a pleasant buying experience.
The best part for me was that all of the negotiating took place over the internet and the price was agreed to before we came to the dealer. Negotiating over the internet made me feel as if I was in control throughout the process. I am never going back to the 'old' way of buying vehicles.
According to information available for Canadian vehicles:
2005 Pilot: - New engine: 250hp, 245ft lb torque - LX trim level introduced to Canada with side roof rails, keyless entry and alloy wheels - Tire Pressure Monitoring System added on all trims - EX model adds 6 Disc CD Changer - EX-L model adds Sunroof, 6 Disc CD Changer and Vehicle Stability Assist - New Colours: Billet Silver Metallic, Steel Blue Metallic, Desert Rock Metallic and Slate Grey Pearl
Thanks for the info habitat. I noticed there was no mention of side curtain airbags. Hopefully the US version EX-L will have all of the goodies you listed above w/ side curtains.
Yesterday, I bought new Pilot Ex-L Navi from Mike Pruitt Honda in Ohio at invoice price . After having some bad experience with couple of local dealers in Northern VA, came in to Edmunds' Buying exp. board, learn a new way of buying a vehicle and it was such a pleasant experience. It took me couple of e-mails, couple of phone conversations, $146 for two air tickets from Dulles, VA to Cleveland, OH (for me and my wife), and one day off at work.
This is more detailed "one day off"- 2 hours for flight, 1 1/2 hours at dealer for paper work and demonstration (no waiting, no pushing, no back and forth to manager or his boss, no playing game.....), 3 hours at Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, PA (wanted to visit Inventors Museum in OH, but they close on Mondays) and 5 1/2 total driving hours to way back home. It was just like one day vacation trip with my wife. Also, I found that they deliver it to Virginia for $375.
Thanks for all members who educate me in this board.
Hi all: Has anybody here discussed buying a 2005 when they hit the lot from Mike Pruitt and if so, what kind of numbers have they given you? tia, metmdx
I am about to purchase 04 EX-L (not decided on navi or not yet). Has anyone purchased in Atlanta recently or surrounding suburbs? Carsdirect.com has the ex-l at invoice now in my zip code, so I'm wondering if any dealers would be willing to go even a little lower?
Any recommendations for a particular dealer? I'm closest to Curry and Ed Voyles, but would be more than happy to travel elsewhere to get the best deal and experience. Thanks.
i recently took delivery of an ex from honda of nanuet. i paid 500 over invoice with less than 100 worth of dealer fees. i lost a lot of ability to negotiate because i was trading in an 03 odyssey with 40,000 kid car pool miles and the car wasnt in great shape (trade in allowance 17250). the big deal was the NY tax savings on 17250. since the dealer did not have the color they got the car from mt kisco honda. while waiting for the dealer to put the plates on my new pilot i looked at the tires on my ex and on the other pilots on his lot. i noticed that the lx's had non goodyear tires while the ex's , (plain leather, navi..) all had goodyear tires. when i asked the sales man why my ex didnt have goodyears. he told me that's the way they come.
as this was not a good enough answer i called american honda on friday, and sure enough they searched my vin and my pilot ex left the factory with goodyears. they were going to investigate. i am not, at this point, pointing the blame on who switched my tires, but am wondering if any one else has had a similar problem?
the window sticker only says the size of the tire not the brand. why??
my other car a jeep grand cherokee specifies the tire on the window sticker. does honda do this to allow their dealers to pull a switch? i look forward to your replies.
The good--I've worked out a deal in Atlanta for a new 2004 White Pilot EX-L with navigation at invoice. Pricing is: $30,058 vehicle $499 doc fee (he won't budge) $2,138.99 taxes (7%) $21 title ----------- $32,716.99 out the door
Includes for no charge crossbars, mud flaps, some type of paint protection, and free tires and oil changes for the life of the vehicle.
The bad--I was planning on doing the Capital One financing with blank check and using that as a bargaining piece to see if Honda will give me a lower rate. However, once my wife and I applied online with Capone this weekend, they came back to us with a 9.25% interest rate for 5 years. We are doing $0 down with a joint application. My wife has FICO in the range of 705-710 and I'm in the 720-725 range (we just pulled credit scores yesterday for all 3 bureaus). I guess you must have to have 750+ FICO to get CapitalOne's advertised low rates (current 4.59% for 60 months).
Does anyone have any recent experience with Honda financing? What "tier" will I most likely be in and what do current rates look like? I'm hesitant to preapply online at hondacars.com because I don't want to mark up my scores even more with multiple credit apps. Does anyone have other online recommendations for auto loans? I'm guessing E-Loan will be similar to Capital One.
Any advice on these issues is greatly appreciated.
P.S. I hope this is the right thread for this post, if not, please refer me to a more appropriate thread.
It sounds like I'm in a similar situation to you. Live in NJ, want EX/L Blk/Saddle, but the prices from MP Honda blow away NJ dealer prices without any negotiation. Did you happen to price out the cost to have the Pilot shipped back to you w/o having to fly out to Ohio and then drive back?
If you check Edmunds used car values, you will find that the Pilot didn't come out until 2003 and that resale values are pretty high, so getting a good deal on a used one is difficult.
As far as it's off road / deep snow capabilities, based upon my research, it's adequate, but not great. It's a FWD based, mini-van chassis based SUV, with rather docile tires. Which means that it will ride considerably better "on road" than our heavier, truck based, RWD based Isuzu Trooper. But it won't match it in off road or deep snow situations. Which, of the 75,000 miles we've driven in the Isuzu, only accounts for about 1-2% of the time for us. If off-roading is important to you, there are better choices out there, from the inexpensive Jeep Liberty to our other consideration, the Lexus GX470. But I wouldn't try to play dune buggy with a Pilot (or MDX, XC90, Highlander, .....).
Comments
'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
'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
tidester, host
Thanks
If I could I’d like to give a word of advise for some who’s about to bargain. Be confident! Always remember, they’ll try to act as if they’re your best friends, or the opposite: as if you’re insulting them with your offer. They’ll trick you with numbers, worksheets, printouts that look right but still show too high of a final number. I found at least 2 “mistakes” in their worksheets (wrong interest rates, wrong residuals, fees presented as “taxes and upfront something rather”). Be very careful and very confident and most importantly: do your homework! Calculate the numbers yourself before talking to them and have a few versions of it (with different rates, different values you’re willing to accept). And also, you might want to show them upfront that you understand more or less how new cars are sold (mention immediately MSRP vs. invoice, dealer kick-backs, inventories, how financing works, etc.) Once they see it that will guard you from at least something as ridiculous as offers at MSRP price, phrases like “this dealership is not making any money on new car sales, we're making money on service and I’m giving you the deal with $0 profit for me”, etc.
I think all of the dealers are trying to clear their lots from ‘4 Pilot models in preparation for the ‘5 models and that’s why they’re giving close to invoice deals. Since you know it - use it to your advantage.
As far as Pilot goes – it’s great! Rides beautifully, handles great, feels good for a vehicle of its class. I’m so glad we picked Pilot over VW Toureg V6, which has more electronic toys, but is incredibly underpowered (in my opinion. I'm talking about the V6 model). Plus, again, VW is a “bit” more $$$
July 29, 2004
I guess the Pilot is still very popular.
what dealership did you get yours from? Thanks.
I picked up my black w/gray interior 2004 Pilot EX-L on Wednesday night from Fisher Honda in Boulder, CO. The out the door price was $29,060 + $300 (stupid dealer handling fee) + tax (7.2%). We've been searching for about 3 months now, but it seems black w/gray interior are scarce on lots. I was tempted to fly to Chicago and buy one from Carrs Honda at invoice, but my wife didn't like the cost of shipping or flying and driving it home. We decided to wait and see if the end of the year would be a better time to try to deal again.
Last Saturday, I called down to Team Honda of Colorado Springs to offer $29360 because no one in the Denver Metro area would accept that offer. They accepted immediately. Because I was working closely with Fisher Honda, I decided to be nice and give them a call to let them know that I would not be coming down. I told them that I was going to Team Honda and buying the car that day. The Fisher salesman calls back in 15 minutes to say that his manager will accept that price if I put a deposit down that day. Instead of driving 2 hours to CO Springs, I drove 20 minutes to buy my new pilot.
The funny thing is Team Honda called me back 15 minutes after Fisher Honda to inform me that their 2 black w/gray interior EXLs were JUST sold. BUT, he had another one on the lot and it had hail damage. So why did the salesman tell me they had 2 black EXLs instead of 3 when I first talked to him? hmmmmm...
Anyway, didn't pick up any options because they were outrageously high, and Fisher wouldn't negotiate with options. Instead, I went to Ebay and found a seller who happens to be a parts salesman at Ralph Schomp Honda located IN Denver, CO. All of his options are half priced, and I'm installing them myself.
Sorry for the long posting, but I felt that it would be helpful. I lurked this forum for the last 3 months looking for deals, and most of the time, posters would have partial information that I needed. I hope that I've been more helpful than verbose.
FYI - I'm a real person and not a Honda salesman.
If you wait until the end of August you should be able to do better, but inventory selection might be an issue, especially with LX models.
The short version-
2004 Honda EX-LRES Red (Leather + DVD Player)
Window Price: 32,860
Price paid 31,269.84
I won't post the tax and license since it's not typical after we traded in a '01 Rav4
Rochester, MN
Our car salesman was great!
The long version-
Wed - I got a quote from the Rochester dealer of $32,460 ($400 off of sticker).
Saturday (July 30th) - After reading the messages in this forum, I thought I would call a second dealer and ask about paying invoice. He jumped on me and started telling me how it doesn't happen in MN, you won't find any dealers selling at or near invoice. He suggested that I might be able to get $800 off the sticker price (32,860) if I was lucky. Once I told him the bank had me approved for 100% of the sticker price and that I had a trade-in, his tone of voice change to "mr. nice". He told me to make an offer that would be worthy of bringing to his manager. The change caught me off guard and so I mentioned a figure a few dollars over the Edmund's TMV (TMV = 30,146). I told him $31,500 and he said I should start driving to his dealership.
Since that dealer was a good 1 1/2 hours away, I decided to visit the Rochester dealer (only twenty minutes away) and see if they would accept $31,360. I thought that was a good price because it was $1500 off the sticker price. I had printed out a spread sheet that had what their original quote (with trade in, tax and license etc), the other dealer's, and what my goal was for the Pilot and trade-in based on the Edmund's TMV. I think having that paper really helped out a lot. He could see I had done my homework and was serious about my offer. In the end, I made my offer, he counter offered, and then we agreed to meet half way. Not much trouble and I never felt any pressure. (It could have been the fact he had 2 other sales going on at the same time.)
Of course, when I got home I was running through my head that I should have started at invoice price instead of Edmund's TMV. I get that feeling that it was so easy to negotiate around the TMV price, that it was foolish not to have tried invoice or slightly above invoice. Or at least, I should have started slightly below Edmund's TMV.
Both dealers kept mentioning that it was the last day of the month and "they'd be willing to listen to almost any offer". I guess that really does mean something to car dealers.
Hint number one - start working from invoice, no matter how nice of a person you are trying to be with your offers. Don't think your being kind to the dealer by starting at the Edmund's TMV price. Don't listen to "Pilot sell well - hard to keep in stock....blah blah. Dealer's always have a reason for not selling below MSRP.
Hint number two - go at the end of month, on a Saturday, around 3:30. The dealer had 2 other sales going on and the finance guy was backed up. The dealership closed at 5pm, but we didn't get done until 6 pm. Believe it or not, the finance guy only went over the extended warranty and "do you want fabric and paint protection" once. A friend of mine was at the same dealer two week prior and had to listen to both sales pitches many times - all the while replying "NO! I don't want them." I guess that is one of the benefits of going late in the day, so long as you're not wiped out yourself.
We also got 3.89% financing for 60 months through Honda Financial, a better deal than the 4.14% we'd previously secured through Costco.
I'm in Montana, so the next problem was how to get the car out here. We got a quote for shipping the car - $800. But I also decided to price a one way ticket to O'Hare - $183. I took a day off from work Friday and flew to Chicago. $2 for a CTA train into the city, a call to Carr's requesting a shuttle, and I was on the road by early afternoon. Our new Pilot was sitting safely in the garage by Saturday night, and I saved $500 over the cost of shipping. Not bad.
Again, thanks to everyone for their helpful posts in the past. We're looking forward to life with the new addition to the family.
It was St Louis Honda on S Lindbergh Blvd.
Seballr - the EX is just a MUCH more popular choice. But that shouldn't stop you from using the prices to help you out. Most people seem to state "I got it for $x over invoice." so just take the invoice from the LX and go from there. Its all relative. Good luck.
'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
'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 this is true, I can see why they might need to go below invoice to move out the remaining 2004's, expecailly the EX Nav ones. I would NOT have bought a 2004 EX Nav. The system is just too far behind the TL to be worth the $1,800 +/- price. However, with the 2005 EX upgraded nav w/moonroof running only an estimated $500-$1,000 over the 2004 model, that would be an easy choice. Heck, the resale value in a few years of a 2004 vs. 2005 will more than make up for the price difference alone, without considering the improvements.
My dealer has offered that they will sell me a 2005 EX Nav for "no more than" $1,000 over invoice in the first batch. I think I can do a little better, but even if I couldn't, a leftover 2004 would have to be offered at better than $1,000-$2,000 under invoice for me to take the older model year and feel it was a fair economic trade-off. And that's not likely to happen.
I would like to thank everyone who suggested getting a price quote from Carr's in Chicago. It was helpful to have that during the process. When I mentioned the quote at invoice to the dealers here, all but one dealer basically said good luck. Buerkle Honda said that they would be competitive on price and they were close enough to keep me from going to Chicago. The salesman at Buerkle was easy to work with and made it a pleasant buying experience.
The best part for me was that all of the negotiating took place over the internet and the price was agreed to before we came to the dealer.
Negotiating over the internet made me feel as if I was in control throughout the process. I am never going back to the 'old' way of buying vehicles.
2005 Pilot:
- New engine: 250hp, 245ft lb torque
- LX trim level introduced to Canada with side roof rails, keyless entry and alloy wheels
- Tire Pressure Monitoring System added on all trims
- EX model adds 6 Disc CD Changer
- EX-L model adds Sunroof, 6 Disc CD Changer and Vehicle Stability Assist
- New Colours: Billet Silver Metallic, Steel Blue Metallic, Desert Rock Metallic and Slate Grey Pearl
Leon
After having some bad experience with couple of local dealers in Northern VA, came in to Edmunds' Buying exp. board, learn a new way of buying a vehicle and it was such a pleasant experience.
It took me couple of e-mails, couple of phone conversations, $146 for two air tickets from Dulles, VA to Cleveland, OH (for me and my wife), and one day off at work.
This is more detailed "one day off"- 2 hours for flight, 1 1/2 hours at dealer for paper work and demonstration (no waiting, no pushing, no back and forth to manager or his boss, no playing game.....), 3 hours at Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, PA (wanted to visit Inventors Museum in OH, but they close on Mondays) and 5 1/2 total driving hours to way back home. It was just like one day vacation trip with my wife.
Also, I found that they deliver it to Virginia for $375.
Thanks for all members who educate me in this board.
Has anybody here discussed buying a 2005 when they hit the lot from Mike Pruitt and if so, what kind of numbers have they given you?
tia,
metmdx
Any recommendations for a particular dealer? I'm closest to Curry and Ed Voyles, but would be more than happy to travel elsewhere to get the best deal and experience. Thanks.
since the dealer did not have the color they got the car from mt kisco honda. while waiting for the dealer to put the plates on my new pilot i looked at the tires on my ex and on the other pilots on his lot. i noticed that the lx's had non goodyear tires while the ex's , (plain leather, navi..) all had goodyear tires. when i asked the sales man why my ex didnt have goodyears. he told me that's the way they come.
as this was not a good enough answer i called american honda on friday, and sure enough they searched my vin and my pilot ex left the factory with goodyears. they were going to investigate. i am not, at this point, pointing the blame on who switched my tires, but am wondering if any one else has had a similar problem?
the window sticker only says the size of the tire not the brand. why??
my other car a jeep grand cherokee specifies the tire on the window sticker.
does honda do this to allow their dealers to pull a switch?
i look forward to your replies.
jon
$30,058 vehicle
$499 doc fee (he won't budge)
$2,138.99 taxes (7%)
$21 title
-----------
$32,716.99 out the door
Includes for no charge crossbars, mud flaps, some type of paint protection, and free tires and oil changes for the life of the vehicle.
The bad--I was planning on doing the Capital One financing with blank check and using that as a bargaining piece to see if Honda will give me a lower rate. However, once my wife and I applied online with Capone this weekend, they came back to us with a 9.25% interest rate for 5 years. We are doing $0 down with a joint application. My wife has FICO in the range of 705-710 and I'm in the 720-725 range (we just pulled credit scores yesterday for all 3 bureaus). I guess you must have to have 750+ FICO to get CapitalOne's advertised low rates (current 4.59% for 60 months).
Does anyone have any recent experience with Honda financing? What "tier" will I most likely be in and what do current rates look like? I'm hesitant to preapply online at hondacars.com because I don't want to mark up my scores even more with multiple credit apps. Does anyone have other online recommendations for auto loans? I'm guessing E-Loan will be similar to Capital One.
Any advice on these issues is greatly appreciated.
P.S. I hope this is the right thread for this post, if not, please refer me to a more appropriate thread.
tidester, host
Live in NJ, want EX/L Blk/Saddle, but the prices from MP Honda blow away NJ dealer prices without any negotiation. Did you happen to price out the cost to have the Pilot shipped back to you w/o having to fly out to Ohio and then drive back?
What kind of used prices are these fetching? How about on something like a 2002?
How are these offroad? In the sand dunes? In deep snow?
As far as it's off road / deep snow capabilities, based upon my research, it's adequate, but not great. It's a FWD based, mini-van chassis based SUV, with rather docile tires. Which means that it will ride considerably better "on road" than our heavier, truck based, RWD based Isuzu Trooper. But it won't match it in off road or deep snow situations. Which, of the 75,000 miles we've driven in the Isuzu, only accounts for about 1-2% of the time for us. If off-roading is important to you, there are better choices out there, from the inexpensive Jeep Liberty to our other consideration, the Lexus GX470. But I wouldn't try to play dune buggy with a Pilot (or MDX, XC90, Highlander, .....).