2013 and earlier-Honda Accord Prices Paid and Buying Experience

richards38

Anderson does plenty of what I think is very smart and effective advertising--they heavily promote an instant internet quote over the radio. I tried it and within 15 minutes of my inquiry and their emailed response, someone called me on the phone. Their marketing is very well organized. The price they quoted, however, was about $260 more than I eventually paid at a closer dealer. I think if I had started a negotiation with them the price would have been reduced once they saw I was a serious buyer. So, if you get an Anderson quote, you might wish to hold out for a better deal than what they first offer via their web site. There was every indication that they were good people with whom to deal--the person who called me was very professional......Richard

mrkn

Where is Anderson Honda (State)?

centenoa

Do not buy above invoice. I got a 2004 V6 EX sedan w/XM wo/satellite for $23,000 including destination. The only thing I paid on top of that was license, tax and doc prep. Supposedly Honda Financing does not offer interest rates on 2004 below 4.9%. I got 4.6%.

I got this deal by negotiating via email with 7 dealers in So Cal. In one week I got the best price. I talked with fleet managers only. I had one dealer at $23,700 then when another found out of this price they negotiated with me to beat the other over my business until they got to $23,000. Believe me, if two dealers are offering this price, they are still making money. No dealer will sell and lose money. You should be able to buy at or below invoice. This is true of the 2004 EX V6 model at least. I never looked/asked into any other car.

For more info and what helped me get this price go here http://www.carbuyingtips.com/car4.htm

rel5

centenoa,

What was your out-the-door price? Where did you finally end up purchasing your new car? I'm looking for similar but w/navi.

rarlam

For all ... when reporting prices paid, can you please post what you paid including all dealer-mandated fees (destination, documentation, processing, etc.) but *not* including any state-mandated fees like tax, tag, and license? Be sure to also include the exact model you bought (with options) along with the area of the country where you bought it.

I found that documentation/processing fees varied from dealer to dealer from $0 to $800 when I bought my 2004 EX-L (see msg #2849), so you may as well just treat it as part of the price of the car. And, of course, since we're all in different states, it makes no sense to any of us to include TTL if we're going to compare apples with apples.

This forum is a great resource and helped me tremendously to research what a competitive price was for my Accord, but some reports don't always tell the whole story.

BTW, I agree with others that Edmunds' invoice prices on the 2004 Accord seem to be about $490 higher than my research indicated. Seems like the destination fee was included twice.

rel5

centenoa,
The reason I'm asking about your prices in particular is because I'm from the southern california area so your taxes, fees, etc. would be the same as mine. And if you could tell me the name of the dealership, I can go there directly and see if I can negotiate a similar price.

centenoa

I was going back and forth with Pasadena and Riverside. I ended up buying at Riverside.

rel5

centenoa,
Thanks. You mentioned that you got the car for $23,000. What was the out-the-door price (with tax, title, license)?

pat

I reported it, thanks.

richards38

Anderson is in Palo Alto, California. I mentioned that dealer because an earlier post was very happy with a purchase from Anderson and I thought I'd just add my experience with their web site which is heavily advertised. I BOUGHT my '04 Accord 4 cyl. EX-L from San Francisco Honda at about $250 over what I think is the correct invoice (not the Edmunds invoice figure which I question). San Francisco Honda was very good to deal with--everything is expensive in San Francisco and this city is a costly place to do business. I was surprised that my deal, while not the lowest price I've seen posted here, was probably as good or better than average at $22.7 incl. $460 (now raised to $490, I think) transportation, plus TTL. Total "out the door" was $24,876--no trade, no financing, no excessive haggling. Even more important is how good the car is--what a pleasure to drive!...Richard

mrkn

Well, I called my dealer and verified the invoice for an 04 Accord EX - V6 to be $23,754 + $490 destination, for a total invoice of $24,244.

As I stated in my earlier post I ended up buying this car with a couple of accessories thinking that I was paying $460 over invoice. The sales person also agreed to sell the the car at $460 over invoice. Since I did not take delivery of the car (due in Tuesday) I called my sales person and told him that the invoice we were working from was probably wrong. He confirmed that and told me that he would take an additional $460 off of the originally agreed price. I am a past customer and will be purchasing a Pilot soon so he had some incentive to change the purchase price. Thanks to all that made me aware of the error in invoice price. It pays to read these posts. It can be profitable.

richards38

You wisely turned that into a good deal and it speaks highly of the dealer who was willing to rewrite it. I think that any price within $500 of invoice on a car costing well over $20k is a decent deal--especially for a popular car.....Richard

sojournern

I got a quote of 15995 on a 03 DX with air and a 5 speed manual transmission. This is in NJ. These cars seem pretty rare and I can't get much of a comparison from other dealers. Any thoughts out there?
thanks

jrock65

mrkn,

wow, that's nice of the dealer!

gatrhumpy

Anyone know what the invoice price is for the EX V6 with Navigation?

jade10

Invoice pricing is now listed at www.kbb.com.

For the 2004 EX-V6 sedan without navigation, the price (including destination charge) is $24,243.94. The price (including destination) with navigation is $26,041.21. The destination charge is now $490.00.

tacoviva

I have a friend in the Atlanta Metro area looking to buy one pretty soon. I just bought an EX V6 w/Leather and paid 24,143+TTL, but I live in Texas. Does anyone in the Atlanta area know of any good dealers? He's been reading the board and, like the rest of us, would like to pick one up at or below invoice. Any help would be appreciated.

Steve

pat

Try using the "Search This Discussion" box for Atlanta.

pat

Regarding your post: jrock65 Oct 17, 2003 6:08pm, I asked and this is the response:

"We have investigated this with our Honda Invoice Pricing contacts and have learned that the numbers reported failed to subtract additional fees that were in the invoice pricing that was provided to us. We are working now to remove these additional fees from the Invoice pricing that we are publishing and will have the corrections visible on the live site no later than the evening of 10/29. Thank you for posting your message and bringing this to our attention."

Thanks muchly!!

msf2

The invoice price for the Ex V6 with navigation is$25,551. At least that's what I have right now. I'll be looking for Edmund's numbers on the 29th of this month. This number is for the Sedan. The Coupe V6 w/Navi has an invoice of $25,641.
In 2003 the invoices for both these cars were $25,012 and $25,102 respectively. For some reason the Coupe is always a little more than the Sedan.

mikesiegel

I picked up my '04 EX V6 with Navigation yesterday. I paid $26,209.04 (including freight) + tax, title and license. OTD was $27,791.07. Price included splash guards, cargo tray and locking lug nuts. I shopped pretty hard on the internet and had my local dealer price match.

jmkelly02

Fair Honda in Danbury CT has 12 2003 Accord Coupes V6 EX's that are leftovers for $23,500 and Honda financing at 2.9%.
I bought a 2003 Civic at 1.9% and the F+I manager tried to get to put down $1500-2000 on the $17K civic. Can someone explain to me how the dealership buys down the interest rate or how it works. My credit rating has nothing to do with it. I could have bought the car out right with plastic.

northwest1

I bought a manual DX (w/o AC) last March (Seattle, WA) for $14,866 + tax and license, which was $200 over invoice. For whatever reason, DXs were hard to find, so I considered the price acceptable (got it w/o too much haggling as well). Based on this, your price is IMHO nothing to write home about, considering it is now a "last year" model. The Seattle market is not too price competitive, so I do not consider my price to be the best that could be had, when compared to a larger market like LA or the SF Bay Area.

mikesiegel

On message #2917 I forgot to say that my dealer is in Louisville, KY. The EX, V6 with Navigation while scarce does seem to be available in this area. Feel free to contact me for additional information.

anonymousposts

tacoviva: Gwinnett Place Honda in Duluth, Hennessy Honda in Woodstock, Ed Voyles Honda in Marietta, and Team Honda in Lithia Springs are all dealers I have purchased from. Easiest place to get a good deal once they see you are serious would be either Gwinnett Place or Hennessy Honda. For what it's worth, depending on what he is looking for, Gwinnett Place has hundreds of Accords.

And they give you free ice cream.

frugalcat

I would like to share with you one of the interesting emails I got while I am shopping for a new Accord EX V6:

I truly appreciate your interest in our cars. I am pretty sure that you understand I am here to make some money on you and other people look like you. Why don't you buy the car for $500 more than the price you got so far and let us make some money. Then we might be happy with what you did. $500 or even $1000 will not make anything different for you, so tell me when you are coming I will make the car ready for you

Respectfully,
XXXX XXXXXX
Fleet/Internet Manager
Buena Park Honda

richards38

That cannot be serious--if so, he was probably ready to quit or wants to insult you for bargaining so effectively........Richard
P.S. You shouldn't have to pay more than $200/$400 over invoice for a 2004 Accord.

tblazer503

that's funny. somehow doubt they will get the sale.

tjohn

Thanks for the info, I'm the guy in Atlanta looking to buy. I did a mass mailer through Edmunds to all 4 dealers listed above in Post 2921. They are very sneaky about how they replied. I basically said I'm buying an 04 Accord EXV6 next month and I'm willing to pay $23K + $490 + TTL if you want to move one off the lot for a cash deal. 2 responses had nothing but crap in them, Gwinnett and Team came back with $24500 and $24000 respec'ly. BUT, they said + applicable fees....sorry, not happening. Since I'm in no hurry, I'll work on them a little further until we get down to $24k + TTL or less.

TJ

atlantabenny

Purchased two 03s in Nov 02 (EX-L) and Mar 03 (EX v6 coupe) at invoice and $900 sub-invoice, respectively. The coupe deal was a lot better because I: 1) negotiated based on out-the-door pricing, and 2) said I'd buy "now" if we met on the terms.

Car dealers, like any quota-driven business, can and will change selling parameters when needed. Recognizing this, simply be at the dealer when they need business most, and that's almost always at month-end.

The added bonus of a timely negotiation is that the "non-negotiable" documentation, advertising, etching, and other such fees reveal themselves for what they really are: profit enhancers.

There are posts suggesting that "out-the-door" pricing, particularly between different states, is not really useful because of tax rate variances, etc.

It is, in fact, essential for negotiating. All one needs to do is find out the best OTD price from this board, even if in a different state. Divide OTD price by 1.06 (if 6% is tax rate in that state) and multiply by 1.07 (if one's tax rate is 7%) to arrive at your local OTD price. Substitute numbers as applicable.

With the local OTD price in hand, visit dealer at month-end and offer OTD plus plane fare (about $100). Explain mechanics of your OTD - they'll understand - but be ready to walk if they don't accept. They might have met their quota already or have some other reason.

This also works with internet buying, which was the case with the coupe. Good luck.

dvivino

After reading quite a bit here, should I take the invoice price according to kbb.com, add the $490 dest charge, and that should be my final offer? Or should I offer something less than invoice and if so, how much less?

richards38

Given the success of some people buying at invoice now, why not offer slightly less than invoice? When the dealer counters, just don't go beyond, say, $300 over invoice if you really want the car and the dealer is convenient and well-regarded. The invoice amounts posted at KBB (Kelly) seem to be accurate--or you can calculate the approximate invoice by just taking 90% of MSRP and adding back the 10% of transportation ($49). Above all, don't let the dealer pack the price with added junk like fabric protection, window etching, and other pure profit items. Also, the "document fee" shouldn't exceed $50........Richard

richards38

Check whatever limitations there might be in your state for what dealers can charge for a "document preparation fee"--I think it's limited by law to $45 in California. Also, in California there's a $5 "tire fee"--I think it's to pay costs of disposing of old tires or some other bureaucratic BS. If you're in a state with no limits on "doc." fees, the sky's the limit unless there is a Federal law covering this. If you finance through the auto dealer, be aware that the dealer might receive a kickback from the bank or other lender. Unless there's a low-rate offer from the manufacturer, you should consider arranging a direct auto loan from your own bank at the best possible rate BEFORE you shop for your car.......Richard

ragtop

Here in NY, they also added the tire fee starting Sept 1, 2003. It is $2.50 per tire times 5 = $12.50. It was stamped on dealers purchase form and a big sign next to his desk indicated the new law.

rarlam

Regarding OTD and taxes ... it still doesn't make any sense to me to include taxes (or other locale-specific fees) in the price you report here. If the goal of this discussion is to see what folks across the country are paying for similar Accords, why would it be "essential" for negotiating to have to figure out somebody else's tax rate, tire fee, etc. and work backwards? Furthermore, the tax rate may be difficult to determine since in my state (for example) the taxes can vary depending on both the county and city you live in.

Other non-government fees like destination, documentation, etc. make sense to include in your price paid since it really doesn't matter how dealers break it up in the OTD price. We all pay them in some fashion regardless of where we live.

Am I missing something?

rarlam

As far as Atlanta dealers, I had a good experience a few weeks ago with Honda Carland in Roswell. Might be worth a try in addition to the other four that were mentioned. See my post #2849.

tacoviva

Todd,

What's going on.....don't pay a penny over invoice.

Benny, good advice. Buy at the end of the month. Better yet, buy at the end of this year and get a deal on the financing as well.

Good Luck....and don't pay any additional "fees". They're all BS, except the doc fee...gotta pay the secretary.

frugalcat

mikesiegel,

I am shopping for the same car (Accord EX V6 NAV). Can you share the dealer infomation?

atlantabenny

Why it makes sense to work a price backward (in first-person narrative for hopefully easier reading):

Edmunds-savvy buyer to local dealer (all numbers fictional): "I can get the car from Orlando, FL for $24.5k out the door. Since tax rate there is 5% and it's 6% here, I'd like to get the car from you at a tax-adjusted $24.7k OTD. I'll add the plane fare of $100 for a total of $24.8k just so I don't actually have to fly to get the car from Orlando."

The objective is for buyer to have a real-world alternative that's acceptable (otherwise known as a "take it or leave it" offer, but this time being made by the buyer and not the seller).

I'll grant the $50 doc fee, $8 license (GA), tag fee (if applicable), said sales tax and destination charge and nothing else.

It worked for me and got the car at $900 below invoice, using an OTD post on this forum.

For the dealer who needed a quota-maker, it apparently made economic sense to probably lose his holdback because he was going to have new stock, one more unit allocation for the next month, perhaps a performance bonus and possibly a lower "floorstock financing" rate on the replacement unit. Thus, a win-win in my opinion.

jebinc1

Just curious - Does anyone have any good or bad experiences to share regarding dealership in and around the Seattle area? We are considering another 04 Accord and were wondering what others might have experienced.

Thanks!

akasrp

kindly point me toward the better SoCal dealers you used...

thanks,
srp

jade10

Jebinc1, please see message #2706.

Good luck. I hope you are able to do better than we did.

jebinc1

Good post, thanks! I bought my first 03 from Lynnwood Honda (Rick F.). Their sales team was very flexible and I was able to negotiate reasonably well on a car (Navi V6) that was yet to be delivered. I would go back to them but I was wanted to see if there were any other good alternatives. My brother bought a Civic EX (via Costco program) from Seattle Honda and had the same experience as you described. Sounds like that would be my next alternative. Did you check out Hinshaw's or Burien Honda?

beedublu

...an '03 or '04 LX sedan W/auto (no side airbags).

Can anyone suggest what a good OTD price might be for such a vehicle?

Here in the western end of NY, there are only 4 dealers, although I suppose I could head east to the Rochester area. But I'd rather buy from someone who's close by; I don't really dig the idea of a long commute back to the selling dealer. Or are Honda dealers more flexible about doing warranty work on vehicles not purchased from them (as opposed to the Big 3)?

kimj3

i really like the try to bid on the competing bid yet no one writes these up and dealers are reluctant to counter these unless they see them in writing !how to get these? also is the net the best way to get started after a drive? thanks!

richards38

It's hard to compare deals when any variable beyond the buyer's control is added to the deal. You're correct, taxes and registration fees vary by state and confuse the issue. The problem is that some posts show inordinately high "document fees" or "vehicle preparation fees" that are nothing more than ways to raise the price of the car without disclosing it. So to keep every deal mentioned here consistent, we should give just the FINAL price of the car including doc/prep fees, but NOT including fees collected by the dealer but remitted to states, DMVs, etc. Of course, a further complication is whatever the dealer might earn from financing a car at a rate less favorable than the buyer could get otherwise. If someone here quotes a very low car price, but has costly financing in which the lender kicks back hundreds of dollars to the dealer, the low car price is phony. So here's my deal which I've posted before but will again as a benchmark (good or bad, I don't know):
2004 Accord EX-L 4 cyl. Automatic.
$22,700 which includes transportation, but does NOT include $45 doc fee, $5 tire fee, and California license, registration, taxes. There was no financing and no preparation fee nor dealer accessories added to the price. By my calculation, I paid about $238 over invoice for the car.....Richard

atlantabenny

When the dealer isn't under pressure to sell, they'll ask for evidence of a lower price and seeing one, could still argue about it.

At month-end or during a mid-month sales push (can't predict latter), dealers will overlook this detail to sell.

Before setting foot in a dealership for a look-see or test drive, it's best to know the numbers and if possible, have pre-approved financing. Most of all, have a mindset to walk if the terms aren't agreeable. I've had a dealer call my cellphone driving home from a test-drive, saying they were willing to negotiate further.

The test drive is a very effective hook, and dealers have a sophisticated follow-through process to get the sale "now."

The Edmunds site has a great behind-the-scene article on real world dealer practices that include the "4-box" negotiation technique. It's a set of 4 descending payment numbers (with the highest being hideous) , with the lowest still delivering a reasonable profit for the dealer.

But the highest number, in my case last Nov 03, meant $9k over invoice on my 03 EX-L. Since I knew my target payment, I got the car at invoice and saved $9k (at Honda's national APR promo of 3.9% at that time).

atlantabenny

The difference of state- and county-mandated fees (TTL) between states shouldn't be all that great (I'm guessing within $200 variance). Unless this is totally off, OTD prices across mainland US could be referenced with confidence, imo, with that $200 differential in mind.

jade10

In addition to the three dealers I mentioned in my post, I had contacted Lynnwood Honda. Unfortunately, Rick F. was a little slow in responding. By the time he got back to me, I had a purchase agreement with Seattle.

I did not inquire at either Hinshaw's or Burien. Colleagues have related positive experiences at Hinshaw's though, so I would have gone there next.

billyperks

Hello All- I am new to this board but not new to this site, if you visit the Acura board you will see that I am a regular poster.

In any event- I am shopping for a Honda Accord for my wife- our 1994 CAMRY finally went dead this past weekend.

I am interested in the Sedan EX 4 cycl with leather and am ready to buy this car as I write.

I was going to get the Acura TSX but for the money that I would have spent, I think the Accord is the better value.

My question is- what is the correct invoice price for this car? Edmunds list it for $22,817.00 and Kelley Blue Book has it for $22,491.60.

Also- is there anyone who recently purchased an Accord in Connecticut's Fairfiled County.

How much did you pay? EX 4 CYCL WITH LEATHER.