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The experience was the very best I have ever had buying a car. We got the price in Roseville, CA (email attack) and I flew out from Colorado to get the car. I was met at Sacramento airport and taken to the dealership. There it took less than 15 Minutes to do the rest of the paperwork and about 15 minutes to show me the car and go over everything.
30 minutes and I was out the door with my new car. I drove it back to Colorado (about 850 miles) What a GREAT car. I was told every step of the way where to turn and the mileage was unreal for a new car. I got 33.45 on the trip computer. If that is correct it is nothing short of fantastic. No city driving all interstate but there were some mountain areas.
Anyway I am so happy about getting this car and with such an easy buying experience I just can’t believe it. Everything went perfect (except for the airlines but that is another story.)
p.s. - to get my price, I used the email attack method, just emailing every dealership within a 30 mile radius. i said in my email that i was aware of the carsdirect.com price, and that i would give my business to the dealership with the lowest quote.
This dealership tried to "trick" you. You feel that they are "not the most ethical". The whole process took TWO DAYS!
You spent SIX HOURS and got into "shouting matches"??
The buying experience was "really unpleasant"??
But...you still bought from them??
Was the price THAT important that you would put yourself through this inferno to "save" a few lousy bucks??
And, in the end, that dealer you despised was rewarded for their tricks by making a sale??
**sigh**
Carry on...
That dealer would have been better off not making that sale. They sold a car for what had to be a nothing deal. The customer left unhappy and has now come here and expressed this clearly.
No doubt, the buyer will give them a lousy survey which can hurt them badly.
Some sales just aren't worth making.
Thanks
Purchase price: $25700
Amount financed: $20000
Number of payments: 48
Rate: 4.29%
Monthly payment $497.70
The first time I politely corrected the dealer and he changed the figures to the following:
Amount financed: $20000
Number of payments: 48
Rate 4.29%
Monthly payment: $478.92 (the figure should be $454.18)
This was when I strongly voiced my dissatisfaction, and the dealer was well aware of it.
You are absolutely correct in your comment. I should have just left and get it from a different dealer. I still bought from this dealer because I did not want to go through another negotiation process. Somehow it has become the norm in the car shopping experience that verbal or even written agreements don't count. Just because it is the norm does not mean it is ethical nor acceptable.
I know I would have walked out.
Anyway, you have your new car and hopefully lessons have been learned. I would just concentrate on enjoying your car and try to put all of this behind you.
By the way, just for reference, purchase price as follows;
2004 Accord Coupe EX V6 non-navi - $23,000 base + TTL
Purchase date 6/11/04
$23,000
$199 conveyance fee
$165 Tags & Title & License
$1,392 Taxes @ 6%
$24,756 out the door @3.9% 60mths
Not a bad deal, but I still believe there was a little $ left on the table. But, it is summertime and I am enjoying my vehicle now instead of in the fall/winter when the year end sales come around.
By the way isellhondas, what was the longest time you spent between a potential sale coming in and actually getting a vehicle sold. Took my dealership/salesman 5 months before he could get down to my way of thinking.
By the way, just for reference, purchase price as follows;
2004 Accord Coupe EX V6 non-navi - $23,000 base + TTL
Purchase date 6/11/04
$23,000
$199 conveyance fee
$165 Tags & Title & License
$1,392 Taxes @ 6%
$24,756 out the door @3.9% 60mths
Not a bad deal, but I still believe there was a little $ left on the table. But, it is summertime and I am enjoying my vehicle now instead of in the fall/winter when the year end sales come around.
By the way isellhondas, what was the longest time you spent between a potential sale coming in and actually getting a vehicle sold. Took my dealership/salesman 5 months before he could get down to my way of thinking.
I probably wouldn't have had the patience to sell you a car.
Accord EX-V6 Graphite Pearl, Grey Leather
Vehicle Price: $23,800
Accessories (Spoiler): $500 [Had to have it...]
Doc & Recording Fees: $100
Total Selling Price: $24,400
This car frickin' flies! Enjoy...Dave
The story gets worse. Upon disappointment with the performance and reliability of my "Certified" vehicle I began to think that I would have been better served by buying the Ody instead anyway and called the dealer exactly one month to the day, spoke with my salesman; Hey, something is wrong with the car, (his answer, its under warranty) and I should have bought a van instead. He says come on in. So we show up at the dealer and drive the Ody (used 2002 with 52,000 miles) and they try and work us a "deal" on that that will roll our negative equity in our "certified" Accord into a new loan on the Ody instead. The numbers were way off. They offered to give me 22,000 for my "trade in" (so I'm already out the 2400 for taxes and doc fee, plus interest) and to "give" me the van for $24,999 plus doc fee and taxes. Unreal. I guess they got such easy money from me the first time around they wanted to see what they could get this time!! Anyway we walked.
When I came to work on Monday I did some digging around on Edmunds (frankly forgot all about checking here before) and got a better idea of what folks were paying for both these vehicles. It was then I began to be really SICK about my situation. Further digging around on the net then revealed the zinger.
As it turns out there is now a recall on my car for the infamous 2nd gear problem found on the Oddessy and Pilot (same engine in this car). I haven't even paid the first payment on this vehicle yet!! I'm furious!! I called the dealer to see if during the certification process a recall would be uncovered and they said yes. Unfortunately, the recall came out 30 days after I took delivery (first discovered 2 weeks after I took delivery - announced 2 more weeks later). I bought this car based on their "Certification" which to me even absent a recall should have uncovered the transmission and brake issues if they were truly inspecting this vehicle instead of just ticking off items on a checklist without actually inspecting. Why didn't Honda uncover these problems in the "Certification" process?!! I mean really, I've never even owned a Honda and after acclimating to the vehicle was able to tell something was wrong!! How can you have advance notice of these problems with this particular engine and not be completely "thorough" in your certification process. I would hope that someone familar with these cars and who is a service techician would have been able to tell something was wrong! My contention is that the certification process failed.
So, now, I REALLY don't want this car. I want the dealership to take this car back and call it even. I want them to pay it off, absorb the tax and doc money themselves and let's just be done. I'm sure they're going to say I'm just trying to get out of this car because I made the wrong choice, and they're right. I did make the wrong choice, in actuality my family would probably be better served longterm with a van instead of the Accord. However, I DID buy the Accord based on their "Certification" which was from my perspective, basically a FRAUD since there are problems with the vehicle. Therefore, that I would benefit from their paying off the loan is simply secondary to them correcting the original mistake on their part. They were wrong to "certify" a car that should have never passed inspection.
So that's where we're at with this. My questions to the board are: How much should I have paid the dealer for this car? Do you think the transmission and brake issues should have been discovered during the "certification" process? And finally, should I just shoot myself in the foot for being stoopid enough to put myself in this position to begin with?!!
Many thanks, and again my apologies for the length of this post. Any replies would be appreciated.
Stoopid1
If you can't get satisfaction from the dealer with the car you're saddled with, get in touch with the regional rep and try to go from there. I've had pretty good luck at that level with Honda and with Mazda.
Inspecting the transmission would not have helped the dealer because they have to go in with a special camera to get pictures of the second gear. If the recall had not been issued before you purchased the vehicle they would not have done this at that point.
It sounds like your biggest frustration is being caused by the fact that you paid too much. It happens. Best thing to do is let them fix the transmission and continue to drive the vehicle until you have gotten some use out of it and won't lose so much money. If you did purchase a Certified Honda you received a 100,000 mile warranty if I am not mistaken.
The van that they offered you seems expensive but they are giving you an overallowance on your trade. Trade on a 03 EX V6 with 10,000 miles is NOT 22,000. According to www.kbb.com trade-in on a 2003 EX V6 with 10,000 miles in "Good" condition with a rear spoiler is $17,900.
Today I bought a Silver, 2004 Accord Coupe 4 Cyl EX-L AT and I love it!
Paid $21349 plus TTL and am happy with deal overall. Probably should have gotten a little more on trade but it was close to KBB value so I took it.
Followed musicboy's script of writing several dealers and then went to nearest dealer with best internet offer and they matched without question. Another dealer kept putting off giving me a price ("we'll match anyone else's price") until I told them they would not be considered unless they entered the game and gave me a bid first but they fell short in the end. Best car buying experience ever.
Dealer (located in San Antonio TX (owns New Orleans Football team)) threw in pin stripe and clear coat as well as paint and interior protection program so I drive away happy.
The only compromise was on color, and I still got my 3rd choice (but color was way down on my list of priuorities.
A couple of minor "oops", paint scratch and sunglasses case won't stay closed, but based on other's posts I made sure I checked paint and interior and am scheduled to have them fixed next week.
What a helpful site.
Thanks
Steve
You are welcome. I'm glad my past messages were helpful to you. Congratulations on your deal.
newguy> Another dealer kept putting off giving me a price
newguy> ("we'll match anyone else's price") until I told them
newguy> they would not be considered unless they entered the
newguy> game and gave me a bid first but they fell short in
newguy> the end.
That was exactly the right way to handle it.
newguy> A couple of minor "oops"...sunglasses case won't
newguy> stay closed
I have the same problem with my car and have spoken with the dealer and am going to have it fixed at next service.
Also, is it better to try to make a deal around end of month, or should I wait till August for these discounts. We don't have too many Honda dealers here. One dealer has 3 cars in the color/model selection that I'm looking for, but he has not come down to my price yet ($23,100) for EX V-6.
Any comments/suggestions will be appreciated.
regards,
kyfdx
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Stoopid1
Stoopid1
Stoopid1
Thanks in advance.
What more could you want?
I'm having a tough time to decide which one of the two that I should buy. The thing is:
The dealer has 2 white 2004 Accord w/ and w/o the Nav. Sys. The one w/ the Nav. Sys. is about $25,350 and the one without that has 5,000 miles on it is not on discount. I haven't checked the price of it but they say that they won't lower the price on that one. The saleman told me that because not much people buying the Nav. Sys. so they willing to lower the price of it. I told him that I would buy the one with Nav. Sys. for $24,000 but they don't agree on it.
What do you think the right price for the one with Nav. Sys.? Is $25,000 reasonable? Or can I ask for lower than that?
And how about the one w/o Nav. Sys. but has 5,000 miles on it. Do you think $22,000 sounds right?
I don't care much if it has Nav. Sys. or not but I'll buy the one that has the better bargain.
Your help would be very appreciated.
By the way, does anybody know when the 2005 will come out? And does Accord have any major change? I just hope that they change the tail light. It doesn't look as good as the TSX's tail light or even on the old models, and yes, as some of us here, I had a hard time deciding between TSX and Accord.
Also, is it better to try to make a deal around end of month, or should I wait till August for these discounts. We don't have too many Honda dealers here. One dealer has 3 cars in the color/model selection that I'm looking for, but he has not come down to my price yet ($23,100) for EX V-6.
Any comments/suggestions will be appreciated.
The 2005 Accord isn't going to undergo any significant changes except for the upcoming hybrid V6, so there won't be any line forming to buy the new 2005s when they appear in about a month.
I bought my '04 Accord EX-L sedan during the last week of August last year and paid about $1000 to $1500 more than what people are currently paying for '04s now. Remember that a new '04 purchased now will be one model year old in just a month!
The bottom line, I think, is that some people looking for deals now might be better off waiting 4 or 5 weeks and buying a 2005 Accord instead. All things considered, an '05 might be a better deal.
It would be interesting to read isell's take on this.........Richard
Thank you for your response. What I'm so upset about is the fact that I feel the "certification" inspection should have revealed the problem with the transmission of the vehicle. What good is the "certification" of the vehicle if it doesn't uncover problems with the vehicle. At this point I can recognize the "certification" process as nothing other than a marketing tool designed to lure you into a false sense of security when buying a used vehicle. My guess is that unless the vehicle has been wrecked (i.e., will show up as such on Carfax) then ALL vehicles will pass "certification" because they're really not inspecting the car anyway. I think the dealership passes ALL cars because the warranty is issued through Honda not the dealership itself. They just want to sell the car and if it has problems those can come out of Honda's pocket not the dealership's. Frankly, I don't feel the "certification" process is thorough or even valid as it failed to turn up the transmission problem with this vehicle which has now been factory identfied not even a month post "inspection". As it is now, I can't be comfortable that any of the other "inspected" items on the vehicle are sound either. Basically, I feel really deceived by this marketing ploy and angry that I've taken delivery of a vehicle with mechanical problems that I feel should have been uncovered during "certification".
And yes, I do feel really stupid to have paid so much for the vehicle so you're right in thinking that's a problem for me. Overpaying added to the frustrations outlined above has left me feeling taken advatage of and exploited when all I wanted to do was buy a reliable vehicle at a fair price. The whole experience has been just humiliating which is not something I find easy to take when I know that each month I pay for this car I will be reminded of this whole terrible experience. The car buying experience is stressful enough without all this.
Unfortunately, this has turned out to be yet another very expensive lesson for me and has certainly reinforced all the negative and horrible stories you hear about used car salesmen, or all car salesmen for that metter. Its been frustrating and disheartening to have lost so much money and still end up in the repair shop which my "certified" reliable, safe vehicle!! Aarrrrghhhhhhh!!
So, anyway, again thanks for your reply if for no other reason than it gave me an opportunity to "type" all this out of me and stop WHINING and feeling sorry for myself! (Waaaahh should have indicated the "whining" nature of my post!) Maybe if I can get all this off my chest I'll feel better. So, I know, time to cowboy up, take it like a man (I should be the butchest woman on the planet by now), or just get over it and move on, or whatever other phrase one can say to get over feeling bad...
Here's hoping the thing will hold together for a couple hundred thousand miles so I can have time to get over this before having to do it all over again!!
Stoopid1 (no for real)!
Sometimes I'm amazed, and I (usually) bite my tongue when I read these postings. People post giveaway, loser prices they have been quoted but they still want more?
If it makes you feel better www.carmax.com has a 2003 EXV6 with 45,000 miles that they are asking $20,000 for. They have a white 2003 with 29,000 miles for $21,000. At least you have low miles and a warranty.
Don't let your anger get in the way of enjoying your car. The financial cost of trying to trade this vehicle would be high at this time and there is no guarantee you would be happier with the next car.
Someone will always be more than delighted to tell you that you paid "too much" for anything you buy.
The car sought was an ’04 Accord Sedan V6. First choice color was gray, with two second choices—silver and white. Included in the bid request were two dealer added options—day/night mirror and cargo net; with any other dealer added options at no additional charge.
As isellhonda suggested in his/her recent post, inventory indeed seems to be tightening. Few dealers had color choice one in stock—although almost all dealers had color choices two and three in abundance.
On the auction’s fourth and last evening, we decided to go with the second choice color at the lowest price offered. I made a 10:00 AM appointment for the next morning to buy the car.
Thursday morning, a few minutes before I was due to leave the house, Gwinnett Place Honda called. I said that I was leaving shortly to buy color choice two at $25,100 up in Woodstock, even though I had a firm bid of $25,527 for color choice one out in Conyers.
This motivated the Gwinnett Place Honda salesman. He sensed a sale, and it wasn’t going to be his.
“So” he said “What are we talking here, somewhere in the middle?”
“Yes” I said.
“Don’t move” he said “I’ll call you back ASAP.”
A few minutes later he called back.
“$23,350, ok?” he said.
“Done” I replied.
The buy process at Gwinnett Place Honda was smooth, except that they required that I sign a privacy notice authorizing them to do a credit check.
“This is a cash deal” I said “No credit check”.
“Too bad” the manager replied. No signature, no deal. “But I’m from Arkansas, and when I give my word I keep it. No credit check will be performed.”
This guy missed his calling—he should have gone into politics <grin>. I signed the form, and was in and out in an hour and fifteen minutes.
The OTD price breakdown:
Price with freight $22,897
Accessories 393
Taxable sub-total 23,290
Tax 1,630
Sub-Total with tax 24,920
Doc Fee 399
GA state fees 31
TOTAL: $25,350
Included at no charge was the $549 Paint Protection Package.
According to published information, the dealer cost on the vehicle is $22,951: $24,243 invoice with freight less $792 holdback (3% of $26,400 MSRP) less $500 manufacturer to dealer incentive.
After considerable effort, I paid $22, 897--fifty-four dollars below published dealer cost. With a margin of better than 100% on the two dealer added accessories and the $399 Doc fee that almost all Atlanta area dealers charge, I'm confident that Gwinnett Place Honda found some profit somewhere in the deal--or else they wouldn't have done it.
Too, had I more flexibility about color, I had a legitimate offer to buy the car this week for $250 less up in Woodstock.
>
>“$23,350, ok?” he said.
Should be $25,350. Doh.
After a leased Lexus RX300 with navigation, we subsequently purchased all vehicles with navigation. It is truly useful technology.
I too compared the TSX and Accord. I chose the Accord because of the larger backseat and extra 40 horsepower.
Just bought my 2004 Accord 6MT V6 Coupe. Paid $23,583 plus $547 in accessories. Out the door price was $26,205.13
Hope this is helpful.