2013 and earlier-Honda Pilot Prices Paid and Buying Experience

jmurman42

I agree...there is NO reason to do this plan. I have been here for 5 years and have never done one. I did have a Gold Key Plus (balloon) on a Jeep Cherokee that was pretty decent, but this is a very different animal.

With leasing rates being what they are and if the mileage is projectable, leasing is not a bad way to go. But, like you said with the backwards ARM financing and the horror histories from the past, leasing isn't as popular here on the East coast as it is out west. If I was in the market for another car...the wife really like the Pilot, I'd lease one for sure.

golic

I wonder how much the vicarious liability rules have affected the Lease incentives on the east coast.

jmurman42

alot in NY and NJ.

Honda had a clause where they wouldn'd do any leasing in NY for over ayear. They got it worked out, with a "special" rate for NY customers.

kyfdx

A big reason for the balloon notes are the tax laws in Texas and Illinois...

By putting the car in your name, you can take a credit for a trade-in against the sales tax....and again, if you trade the car in.

TX and IL charge sales tax on the entire car, even on a lease... and, if you lease.... no trade-in credit.

regards,
kyfdx

golic

How much more more would you say the lease premium is in NY?

And I am still somewhat suprised more of these cases have not popped up on the left coast in the land of "lets just make our own laws"

hj708

I'm not sure what to say about your Honda books and your business managers because I have a contract that, in no uncertain terms, states the interest rate as 2.4%.

hj708

My total out of pocket to purchase this vehicle with the leadership purchase plan is $1700 less than purchasing the vehicle with a 60 month note at 5.7%. I'm not sure where you people get the idea that this is "scary". It's very, very simple people. You pay the monthly lease payments for 36 months. You refinance the residual amount at 2.4% for a remaining 24 months. You compare your out of pocket on this plan with the out of pocket payments on the 60 year note at 5.7%. It's $1700 less with the leadership plan. It's not rocket science. I really have no idea where this guy is coming up with 8.89% adjustable rate, etc.

hj708

Ok you didn't say 8.89% adjustable rate, sorry.

hj708

These numbers aren't exact, but very close. We'll just assume a person wants to keep roughly the same payments and refinance residual for 3 more years.

Lease payments 423 X 36 = 15228
Residual 55%(15675) 36mos@2.4% = 452 X 36 = 16272
16272 + 15228 = 31500

28500 @ 5.7 for 60mos = 547 X 60 = 32820

Even IF (which he wasn't) the guy was lying about refinancing at 2.4%, let's say I had to refinance residual at 6.0%, I STILL come out ahead. That would up the residual payments to 477, or 17,172 total, still keeping me under the 32820. Now I'm not trying to be uncouth about anything. Maybe it's different from state to state, but this is what is on my contract. I know he said it was a deal they had going on Pilots to push slow sales.

golic

Hey hj, don't get your undies all in a bunch. It is just that none of us, including the seasoned posters AND the people who work at Honda Dealerships have heard of this plan.

In fact even Honda's website does not proclaim that you get to extend the loan for the same interest rate. You may be right, and if you are- God bless you!

All we are trying to do is warn you just to make sure you were not fed a line of crap.

It ironic, that in my research I discovered the main purpose of this program was designed to lease vehicle in NY, Rhode Island, and Coneticcut to thrawt the vicarious liability lawsuits.

The program is similar to a lease, but ownership is transferred to the lesseee/buyer with an automatic repurchase option at the end of the term.

hj708

I haven't gotten them bunched up just yet. I just get candid sometimes, I don't mean anything by it. I don't know, this guy says 9.something% for the buyer?? I'm not a Honda dealer or an expert, but I know money and I KNOW my contract states in BOLD letters on the contract that the APR is 2.4%. Now I'm not a big guru on auto leases, but I don't have to be. All I need to know is 1) what are my lease payments for 36 months and 2) what will the balance of the vehicle be at lease end if I want to purchase? That's all the info I need regarding the $$ aspects of the deal. I can easily compare this to a conventional buy and see that it is more economical. I was just trying to encourage people to look at this option.

golic

If you can "keep" the 2.4% it is an incredible option. That is the key point to this whole discussion.

And it looks like your "break-even" on this deal is 6 - 6.5% on the refinance. Anything more and you may be on losing end. The only flaw in your rational is today the current rates on "used" car loans for 36 months are 7.25% according to bankrate.com. No one has a crystal ball, but I think that is your key risk is how much higher will the used car rates be in 3 years.

From what I understand the program was designed to protect Honda's keester from lease lawsuits in states with ancient vicarious liabiltiy lawsuits.

If you can truly "lock-in" the interest rate, its something to definately look into, if you can't lock in the interest rate, then I really see no advantage between this program and a traditional lease.

zagm2

I have an offer on a 2006 Pilot EX-L 2WD for $29,202 (invoice plus delivery). Just need to add tax and $149 for dmv/reg/tire recycle fee. Dealer also offered me $1,500 on a trade for a 1994 Accord LX with 133,000 miles. So I ask you fellow Pilot owners....deal or no deal?

jmurman42

First of all "I" don't say 9% something...HONDA Finance says 8.89% is the BUY rate for their Leadership Purchase plan.

I'm not trying to be contentious with you,. just stating the facts as brought forth by Honda Finance.

If your contract says that you can finance your commitment at 2.4% then you have something that no one else has...and good luck to you.

Now, if you had your contract in hand you would know what the remaining or residual value is and what your monthly payment is.

Here is what you need to ask the finance guy at the dealership:

1. What is the purchase price of the car
2. What is the residual for the car at the term you are interested for and the mileage for that term
3. Is there a security deposit required or is that included into the contract.
4. What is my total out of pocket for this
5. Being in PA the tax is on the payment and not on the car, is this included into the monthly price?
6. What are my "written" options at the end of the term

If you have these numbers, there are folks here that can back engineer them to verify.

hj708

note: these are very close estimates. I don't have thecontract with me, but I know these figures are really close.. Also, a few posts up I detailed my monthly pmts, etc. Thanks for your input.

1. What is the purchase price of the car
28500 including all fees, etc. This is amt financed

2. What is the residual for the car at the term you are interested for and the mileage for that term
15,675, 15K miles/year

3. Is there a security deposit required or is that included into the contract. Included

4. What is my total out of pocket for this - TTL

5. Being in PA the tax is on the payment and not on the car, is this included into the monthly price? No, in my state we pay sales tax seperate from purchase of vehicle, this would be my out of pocket up front

6. What are my "written" options at the end of the term - keep the car/refinance residual, turn it in and go home, trade it in.

hj708

I just read the contract. It states:
"you may elect...refinance the balloon payment at the time it is due without penalty on terms no less favorable than the terms of this contract" The APR on the contract is 2.4%. I then called Honda Motor Finance and spoke with a person specializing in leases/leadership purchase plans. He confirmed that the balloon payment/residual amount, should I choose to keep the vehicle, could be refinanced at lease end at 2.4% for a maximum of 36 months. He stated that this APR is fixed and guaranteed on the refinance of balloon.

jmurman42

If you have that in writing, then it sounds like you have a great rate.

What state are you in?

hj708

OK

hj708

I just saw you are a sales manager at a Honda dealership? I guess these things must be different regionally or something, I don't know. I'm sure the finance people at your dealership know their stuff. I guess Honda must put some stuff through in different states or regions that they don't in others. My guy did mention sales for the Pilot were really slow in this region and they were trying to remedy that. Perhaps Pilot sales in the northeast are much better..

jmurman42

Yes the finance/leasing specials that Honda does are regional. Being in Maryland, the cutoff is PA so we'll get folks down from PA to get a special that our region is running.

My finance guys don't really know what to think about this plan...I mena we are all pretty informed about our programs we've have never seen anything like it. Basically it sounds like you have a 6 year deal at 2.4%...take it and run.

Good luck to you, enjoy the Pilot!

kyfdx

..that the rate may be regional..

I'm still amazed that they guarantee the refinancing at the same rate, after the initial term is completed..

As noted above.... take it and run...

Enjoy your new car..

regards,
kyfdx

cswusd

Well, I just bought the same car 2006 EX-L2WD for $29,100 INCLUDING Delivery, Sidebar and Truck tray in Southern California. It was about $700 - $900 below invoice depending on how you price the add-ons. Another dealer was willing to beat the price by $100 but different color. Finance rate was 4.9%.

jmurman42

I just got the info on the Leadership "balloon" program. For Super-Preferred it sur is 2.4% although I can find any info on the term for afterward. This is a 4 level tierd structure. The residuals for Pilots are STRONG right now!

jimzops

I have an 06 EXL AWD w/RES and have just hit 4k miles,
and the 'Oil Life' indicator reads 40%.
The users manual and the on-line schedule I found here both say oil changes every 3750 miles. I thought the new 'Maintenance Minder'
in 2006s lights up at the required maintenance scheduled mileages.
Any insights please..... ....

bkqc

2.49% for 72 months on a Pilot LX in Rock Hill, SC. I don't have my paperwork in front of and I can't remember the OTD price, but they gave me what I felt was a fair price. I pushed the dealer on the issue of extending the 2.49% for the last 36 months (I honestly thought it was too good to be true) and he showed me the verbiage on the back of the contract that was stated above. I also called Honda Finance to confirm and they did. Rock Hill is just across the border from Charlotte, NC and the funny thing is, none of the dealers in North Carolina mentioned the promotion.
At the time of purchase the rate was not advertised in Rock Hill either, but I just checked their website and they have a pop-up ad showing the rate at 1.66% for 72 months for Pilots.

jmurman42

Here is what I found out so far. The Leadership Purchasing Plan, is a balloon. Here in Maryland, and I'm sure elsewhere, it is law that the interest rate/payment be carried over. You have the option with this plan to leave the car after 36 months...like a lease. If you make one payment after the 36 months, then you are contracted for the remaining balance. I still don't have the answer on the term length after the Balloon is up...I'm pretty busy so when I get some time I'll do some more research.

To be honest, this sounds like a good deal.

kyfdx

My thoughts exactly..

hj708

Hey I'm glad to see another got the same deal as me. I was having a hard time convincing people on this board that this deal actually existed. I too was skeptical at first, simply because this financing option sounded too good to be true. I asked the finance guy..why in the world would anyone ever pass this deal up and opt for a conventional note at 5.X%?? I guess some people just are not comfortable with anything that resembles a lease. But bottom line..if you're looking to buy a Pilot, look into this leadership purchase plan. It's a great deal.

leaselooker

Folks - this looks very interesting. I'm about out of my Honda Odyssey lease and was wondering if this Leadership Purchase Plan is available on any Honda's in Iowa.

I can second the dealer's not talking about offers...when I leased my van the guy wanted to start from scratch, build up the options and came up with a lease offer of over $300 with same amount of cash down. When I menitoned I saw a better deal on Honda's website he was like "oh I didn't know you had access to the web and knew about that". I got the end of Odyssey model year with rear entertainment system deal that was out in 2004.

I'm looking at other mfg's now in addition to Honda and most likely if I get another Honda it'll be in the next town a little over 30 miles away.

jmurman42

I was just as skeptical as you, then I saw the info from Honda.

I am going to run some numbers to see how leasing or Balloon (Leadership Purchase)compare with each other when I get some free time.

jmurman42

I was just as skeptical as you, then I saw the info from Honda.

I am going to run some numbers to see how leasing or Balloon (Leadership Purchase)compare with each other when I get some free time.

golic

***...when I get some free time***

I remember in college thinking, boy I can't wait to get out of school so I can have "all this free time"

I have a list of things to do in my free time that is longer than a list of Volvo options. *sigh*

jmurman42

This is the last month that redrock Pearl will be available for order.

sternouf

Chiming in on your redrock pearl post....

I was told that they are discontinuing Amazon Green on the Ridgeline this year which probably meant that they would do the same for the Pilot. Check out the color on a Pilot in person. It looks much better than the website. My purchasing notes are way above, but I bought the EX-L 4WD in Amazon Green for 29,700 plus delivery, tax, tag, title. Sticker on the car is $33,600 plus flaps and wheel locks bringing it to around $33,900. I bought it for $31500 out the door. I drive my Pilot on the mountain development I work for and it is gratifying to use the 4WD daily, in action, with clients on board enjoying the ride!

debsteve

We used carbargains to get quotes in the DC metro area for a Pilot EX 2WD with cloth. The best quote was 1200 below invoice (same invoice as everywhere on the internet) plus 100 for processing. We get about 8 quotes back; the next closest was 1000 below invoice, but the rest were all over the map (500 under, 100 over). The dealer honored his price, but we had to push back on a few extras (mud guards, wheel locks) which we cut in half from what was being asked.

We paid 160 for carbargains to do the work, which we thought was worthwhile. Carbargains is associated with our local Consumer Checkbook, which is a nonprofit.

Not sure if we'll still be the Honda extended warranty, but the dealer was willing to match the Bernardi quote (see the warranty forum for how to get the warranty for cheap), which surprised the business manager.

joe104

If Capital One send a "payable through draft," which they usually do, then the dealer is smart to wait for it to clear. Payable through drafts are not payable on demand. They are payable subject to conditions. Only a few small town dealers get immediate credit on checks and very few, if any, get immediate credit on payable throughs.

joe104

Somebody is full of crap. Checks don't have "official stamps." There is no such thing. There are certified checks, Cashiers Checks, checks, and drafts. And unless the item is drawn on a bank in the same city most cannot clear in 24 hours. Certified checks and cashiers checks are "guaranteed" by a bank and payment cannot be stopped. Any other type can come back unpaid up to 7 business days.

golic

Unless the "official stamp" has something to do with Check 21. If both banks are check 21 compliant payments can be processed within 24 hours.

joe104

I want to buy a Honda Pilot:

Model Code YF1876JNW with Lthr/NAV AWD.
Base MSRP........................$35,245.00
Destination & Handling...............550.00
Accessories........................1,072.00
"Adjusted MSRP"..................$36,867.00

Invoice..........................$32,257.00
Less the Dealer Holdback..........-1,057.00
Plus Accessories
.......Running Boards................574.00
.......Rear Splash Guards.............49.00
.......Lower Trim....................449.00
.......Day/Night Mirror..............279.00
Dealer Cost:.....................$32,272.00

Have I calculated it correctly?
How much should I offer?

tdj1952

Last week I paid $26,479 plus TTL for my 2006 EX. Sticker was about $30,100. About $600 under invoice or about $100 over true dealer cost (according to the dealer).

Brought from Gunn Honda, the "one simple price dealer" in San Antonio Tx.

heyrocco

I am interested in buying a 2006 Pilot LX 4WD with running boards and security system. MSRP is $29,657. What price should I offer?

joe104

There are no "official stamps." Check 21 is about imaging the checks and then processing the images instead of the paper. Yes, image processing can speed up check collection, but few banks can both send and receive images. We send all not on-us checks via image and can get "provisional credit" within minutes, but the "final payment" still takes a minimum of 24 hours and the checks can still return unpaid several business days later.

joe104

MSRP....29,657, then invoice is about 26,700 less dealer holdback of 846, is $25,854.

pocono35

It is being reported again, by several publications that Honda has overstated the horsepower of the Pilot. I feel cheated considering the fact that I thot I was getting the horsepower I paid for when in fact I was only geting about 89% of it. This is a serious issue that demands compensation from Honda to its owners. Hyundai and Mazda compensated owners of vehicles when horsepower was overstated.
I have written Honda demanding compensation and I suggest you do the same. I will also be contacting my dealer with such a demand. This situation, if unresolved by Honda, will result in me purchasing another vehicle other than Honda when I purchase my next vehicle....which by the way is this week!!! :mad:

qbrozen

soooo... lemme see if i can understand this. You bought a sheet of numbers rather than a vehicle? Were you or were you not happy with the acceleration, cargo, and towing capacity of the Pilot before you bought it?

Let's try this ...
car 1 has 100 hp and can accelerate 0-60 is 5 secs and cross the 1/4 mile in 14.0 secs.
car 2 has 1000 hp and runs 7.5 secs and 16 secs, respectively.

both cars are exactly the same in all other respects. Which would you prefer? Based on your post, I have to assume you'd rather have the 1000 hp car.

qbrozen

the one thing that jumps out at me in your numbers is the fact that what you are stating as accessories invoice is actually higher than the MSRP ($1072 in the top equation vs. $1351 in the lower).

humbug1

Hi, humbug here. I paid 25,500 plus tax, title & lic at Castle Honda in Morton Grove, Il right before New Years. Also got 3.9 financing for 36 months. Went into the dealership in the morning to test drive, they offered invoice of 26,200 but I walked out leaving the sales rep my cell number. I asked him to talk to his manager and call me back when they were ready to sell while I went out to run some errands. He called back in the evening and we agreed on the price. I had my wife drop me off and I took deliver in less than 1 hour.

Overall, a great experience. Don't get trapped in a dealership where they try to wear you down. Leave on your own terms and come back when they are ready to sell.

thebill

Oh yeah, if are lights are on it doesnt mean we are ready to sell.

Come on the second tuesday after a leapyear...thats the only day we are open to sell.

Selling price of invoice with the 3.9 for 36mo is a sweet deal for all involved. Leaving your number and telling them to call you when they were ready was immature and unbusiness-like.

All you did was play a game that made everyone involved not like the process.

Enjoy your new Pilot

humbug1

So, you think I should pay msrp and not negotiate or play the silly games the do at the dealership? You know, they leave you sitting there for 3-4 hours while they get the manager's ok - going back each time knocking about $100 off their initial offer. No way, I had wife and 2 kids when we test drove. There was no way I was going to sit in the dealership with 2 restless kids for 3-4 hours.

I told the sales rep that I needed to do some furniture shopping and gave him my home and cell number after he talked to his manager. He called me a couple of times to tell me that he was close to getting the deal. Then finally called in the evening to ask me to come in when we agreed on the price. It was a mini for him and he was more interested in volume. He even offered a portion of his bonus to me, but I declined. Told me he was getting an extra 1000 if he sold 20 cars that month. He called me last month to tell me my plates were in and asked me to stop by to see him. Gave me a cargo net for the pilot and gave me extra business cards for referrals - nice guy!

So, was that immature? I was honest with him and treated him with respect and he reciprocated. Like I said, a great buying experience. And yes, I am enjoying my pilot!

joe104

Think I left the mirror off the top.