2013 and earlier-Honda Pilot Prices Paid and Buying Experience

ipswichgreg

I am north of Boston. I contacted 4 area dealers. All were coming in around $33k. The lowest 3 offers were w/in a couple hundred $ of each other and I probably could have knocked off a $100-$200 more, but I was getting tired of the process and it wasn't worth the time. I sent out requests for quotes via the internet. After getting quotes from each, I did the negotiation all via email.

tour_7

This is probably the first time I see (on a vehicle I'm interested) the TMV price so off reality. When I bought my previous car, the TMV price was right on the money, but the car was already out in the market for a year. Our Pilots are "new" -- perhaps Edmuns needs to catch up with current sales...

Please note, my deal was done 1 or two weeks right after the new Pilot showed up in South Florida dealers. However, I had to do a lot of leg work to nail my deal. One dealer called me crazy because according to him I was not going to find anything below 38,500 + TTL -- the SUV was too new... Well, my answer back to him was: you don't understand, today's hot market is about saving gas and this vehicle is not one of them. I basically played the no-so-interested-but-my-wife-likes-it -- "make-me-like-it, too" kind of approach. After 5 dealer visits, the Internet manager in Maroone Honda, near Miami Lakes understood where I was coming from and accepted my offer... "I wanted a Pilot Touring with RES and chrome side steps OTD for 39,000. Period. Let them figure out how to work out the dealer fees, etc..etc..etc...

Since Pilot sales are going sour, today I would probably say 38,000 OTD. and make those chrome steps shinny

I'm a firm believer dealers are not going to sale you something without making money out of it...

tour_7

Good to hear! -- 33,271 for a Tour with Res and AWD? that's a great price!... I think sales will continue to go lower as time goes by. By this time next year they may very well be near 30,000 for Tourings...

As they say, it's all got to do with supply and demand!... if many people were buying new Pilots daily, I'm sure dealers would be selling them at MSRP without hesitation... but that's obviously not the case...

citivas

The difference between your previous buying experiences and now is that most of these dealer's SUV / CUV sales are off by 40% or more year-over-year. The Pilot is not alone, even for newly issued vehicles. I have been shopping many of the CUV's right now and most are offering as much or more a discount as the Pilot right now. You can get a CX-9 for over $10K under MSRP, and way below the FMV. Same with the brand new Flex. Highlander's are going for about the same as the Pilot's discount. And the luxury brands are doing even better. You can get an Acura MDX for about $33K. If you are planning to get an SUV right now, there may never have been a time in recent history where there were so deep and broad a disocunts. It makes the housing market seem like a sellers market by comparison. Same is true for lease deals. And if you really want a bargin, get a slightly used SUV -- they are selling for up to 40+% under Kelly Blue Book values in private sales or auctions right now.

Happy hunting.

citivas

I'm not convinced they will continue to drop in price as you predict. I don't see the bottom yet, but by this time next year, to use your example, the dealers will have been able to stabilize the inventory glut driving the current deals by simply not producing as many new SUV/CUV's. We're already seeing them gear up for this. Toyota completely canceled production of what would have been the 2009 Sequoia and substantially reduced the planned production of the Highlander and other SUV's for 2009. They are instead re-tooling the plants to produce more Prius'. They, and others, are also making plans to ship U.S. inventory to other parts of the world, like South America. They are not just going to keep flooding the market with vehicles they have to sell at a loss.

mkepley

I'm shopping this car in the Charlotte area and have received four internet quotes between $33,100 and $34,600 prior to any negotiations. With options of around $1200, TTL and doc fee I should be able to get out the door under $36,000.

It looks like some in this forum are getting the AWD around this same base price so I should be able to get a little deeper. I need that extra MPG.

ben_jammin

Thanks for the responses. I'm pretty frustrated with this whole process right now. I spoke to the internet guy who quoted me $36,995 today for Touring with Nav + RES. He's from the biggest Honda dealer network in town. I told him I had been seeing prices in low $33s elsewhere and he dismissed it, telling me how they'll try to sell me undercoating, etc. I said I knew about the $2k dealer cash and he said that's why he quoted me $2k off sticker. He works from sticker not invoice he says, and I was asking for $2k off sticker. So, there are other dealers in town I can buy from, but these guys have the biggest inventory (the dealer closest to me doesn't have any) and I don't want to end up SOL or having to pay $600+/month for a zero down lease on a Pilot. I can't even wait to hear what kind of lease terms they quote me, but something tells me it won't be what car_man was quoting. :mad:

Any suggestions? Counseling? :confuse:

citivas

Sometimes that happens. Regardless of size, sometimes it just comes down to the dealership owner's philosophy. Where I live the nearest, and largest in the area, Toyota dealership used to be so arrogant (lying as a matter of course, not negotiating, closing early if they felt like it even if you had an appointment, etc.) that I vowed to drive three states before ever buying there. And we did buy elsewhere (though in the state). After several years of boycotting even using their service department despite being much closer, I finally relented to my wife and we started using the service department. They proved really good which surprised me. Eventually when I started shopping again this year I took a test drive from them and found out from the sales guy that the dealership had been sold to a new owner a while back and he openly talked about the "dark days" of the previous owner whom everyone thought was a nightmare and lost them sales because of her (she inherited the dealership from her deceased husband) attitudes and failure to deal... All I can say is I shopped around, ended up at a much smaller dealership and saed thousands, and this was for a new model year car that was selling well at the time.

In terms of specific advise, I would: 1) Not make too much of the Internet quotes if they aren’t proving competitive. Sometimes people get good deals that way, sometimes they don’t. Around here I haven’t been impressed with the Internet offers, which have been thousands off what the guys in-person are willing to talk. 2) Go into the dealership in-person and make sure they have your contact info when you walk away (if they aren’t dealing competitively). A lot of people here have gotten end-of-the-month call backs from dealers suddenly singing a different tune when they are trying to meet their sales quotas. 3) If it’s really worth it to you, you will have to be ready to go through the song-and-dance at numerous local dealers. And then play them against each other. Remember, dealers like to reel people in then get tough when they sense that the person has psychologically committed. But you can play the same game in reverse. Don’t just walk in with your print outs from here, etc., and say you want to make a deal. It’s too easy for them to realize you will be a low-to-no margin customer and dismiss you (this is also why Internet quotes don’t always work). I take the time to do a new test drive with each dealership and really waste the time of the sales person. I am committing THEM to the idea of closing a sale to make their time investment worthwhile. I take as long a test drive as possible. Along the way I make it clear I have extensively researched the vehicle (and its competitors) and am a serious shopper. They can taste a sale. If they make any reference to price I completely ignore it and don’t talk about my knowledge of the current market value at all. After the test drive I make them suggest a deal. Only then to I reveal that I know the current market value to be way less and I act completely casual about it – I usually chuckle at their offer in fact. I tell them, unconcerned, that I am definitely getting a new car but I know what I can get it for am not going to waste my time having them give me stories abut why they can’t meet it or why I am mistaken about what I can get it for: that’s their opinion and I am comfortable in mine, right or wrong. And I walk away, knowing they know how to reach me. 4) I don’t just play one dealer of the same vehicle against each other, but the competing vehicles as well. Dealers love to pretend to dismiss competitors as apples-to-oranges but this is just false bluster on their part. The bottom line is that is who they lose their sales too. And there are a bunch of vehicles very close in features and price to the Pilot that are direct competitors, including but not limited to the Highlander, CX-9, Arcadia, Enclave, etc. In fact, right now you can get an Acura MXD for as little as $33K and even with the tech packages for about $38K. If a Honda dealer really tried to sell me on $36,XXX as their best offer on a Pilot I would laugh at them and ask them why I would do that when for a few K more at most I can get a comparably equipped MDX.

If none of this works, its just the wrong dealer. If it doesn’t work anywhere in your area, you must be in the twilight zone and I suggest you shop further afield.

Good hunting.

ben_jammin

Thanks citivas. I appreciate the thoughtful and detailed response. I always wonder whether it is better to play the game as you suggested, or just go in and tell them I know the car, and if they'll sell it to me for X price they can make a sale and a commission in 10 minutes, right now, and if not I will go down the street. I haven't exactly tried that before but I am tempted to. But I will try your suggestions as well. There are a few other dealers in town, though most are not exactly close by.

I do wish that this whole process wasn't such a pain the [non-permissible content removed], but I'm hardly alone in that!

jc9394

Try this, walk in to a dealer with a check book in your hand and tell the sales you are ready to buy the car now with this price (reasonable price, not below the dead cost) or go to the next dealer. (check their inventory first to make sure the they have the color combo and model you want.

I did this before the 2k incentive and able to get my Pilot between the invoice and dead cost.

kyfdx

1) Pick out the car you want

2) Ask them their price

3) Make your offer (your price - $100?)

4) See if they accept... If they quote higher, just say no..

5) When they ask, "what will it take to get this done", raise your offer by $100

6) Ignore the whining, keep it professional (even if they don't). If you don't have a deal within 10 more minutes, head to the next dealer.

This generally works for me... I don't discuss invoice, incentives, or anything else... Just the price in USD. I keep it friendly, but businesslike.. If we don't have a deal within 30 minutes of sitting down at the desk, then I'm gone..

Good luck!
kyfdx

nikbert

Also, with the new GM employee pricing discounts on Acadia etc, hopefully Pilot dealers are more willing to deal.

Ben_jammin like you (I think) I'm from Houston too, please let us know how it goes. Good luck!

bakstge1

As I posted a few pages back, you are all going to drive yourself crazy and the internet is to blame. I will reiterate my thoughts again on the price. First do all your research in this blog and see what everyone else has paid (or says they paid, some is believable, some is not) and then do the math and come up with a number in your head that you feel is reasonable (they are not going to give away the car for free) and what you want to pay and stick to that number. Send out emails to all the dealers (that we know from this blog that are willing to negotiate off MSRP and offer the absolute bottom price) telling them this is the number I want to pay and stick to your guns on that price. Once the price target has been reached, simply do the deal quickly and dont look back trying to get a better price over a few hundreed dollars here or there.

Again, there will be ALWAYS someone who made a better deal then you and you cant worry about that nonsense as you paid the price that you were willing to pay from the get go. Simply enjoy your new 2009 Honda Pilot! That is it.

So getting back to the blog topic, I had a wonderful email buying experience and spent all of 10 minutes with my salesperson and returned a few days later to pick up the car and finalize the paperwork which took no more than an hour and they didnt try to seel me anything extra. $31,895 (including destination) was my price in New York (Long Island) for a EX-L w/ RES 4WD and my wife (and newborn) love thier new car. End of our story.

I hope I am saving someone thier sanity with new car pricing and how not to drive yourself carzy in the process.

bbolivar

I had a pretty reasonable experience at Goudy. The internet guys were nice enough over the phone, and we negotiated everything online. They did try to go back on it once I was there in person, but when they realized I was ready to walk out, they quickly came to their senses. It was unfortunate that they felt the need to do that, because otherwise they were very good.

citivas

I think the straight-forward approach works in some cases with some dealers, but not always. I have tried it that and been fine (in LA) and in other cases gotten nowhere. I also think there is a vibe to an area. Where I am in Central NJ, I found the first time I bought here that they just wouldn't react to the straight-forward, fair, no games approach. Dealer and after dealer was the worst cliche of a car salesperson, lying through their teeths about things I knew to be true, trying to do bait-and-switch, trying to do the making you wait an hour for the sales manager, etc. But then they don't seem like the really want to sell cars here at all. They lobby the State to keep a law on the books requiring all dealers to be closed Sundays, they typically are only open about 10-5 on Staurdays, etc. They really want to force people to take time off work to come in (thus increasing the buyers commitment to making a sale) or compete with everyone else on Saturday. And Saturday is the worst time to buy because that's when everyone else comes in too, making the dealers feel flush and less likely to deal.

Same with the Internet here. I was getting rampant bait-and-switching around here, where if I followed-up with a good offer and asked for the specific car they would try to get me into the store and if I wanted the details first they would suddenly admit they were referring to a different trim than what I quoted for, etc. Typical NJ attiutude of corruption.

I only suggested the game because the poster indicated their dealer wasn't responding to the striaght-forward so I outlined alternatives. It definitely isn't the only way that works...

silverplatter1

bakstg1, reading about your newborn reminded me of one of the key reasons that we settled on the 2009 pilot:
being able to put 2 car seats side by side in the 2nd row with room left over for one of the parents! We have a 2-year-old and a baby due in Dec, so this was an important consideration. most cars/suvs in this class cannot accommodate 2 side by side car seats, and there is not really enough "comfortable" room in between if you put one next to each door.

mark000

I am going to negotiate a bit this weekend and then to seal the deal $32,995 for a 2009 Pilot Touring/Navi , but I couldnt find the color I wanted in their parking lot or in their storage. I have no idea how to deal with them. Anyone has experience?

ben_jammin

So I think I've located a local dealer who will sell me the car in the low 33's (2WD Touring w/RES). Now my question is whether this is the time to buy. I have two payments at $385/mo left on our '04 Pilot (which is leased but not thru Honda). So if I buy now I will have to eat over $750 in payments, as I doubt I could get the dealer to pick those up at this price. I was leaning towards buying now to take advantage of the $2,000 dealer cash and special leasing (which isn't all that special frankly - over 5% rate). But I just spoke to a friend in the leasing business who tells me he would wait, that Honda is almost certain to extend or even increase the current incentives (which expire Sep 2) because they weren't selling any Pilots before the incentives.

What do car_man and others on this thread think? Are the incentives likely to continue so I could get the same or better deal at the end of October? Would you wait or buy now?

confusedman1

Hello
finally went to Herb Chamber in Boston to negotiate on the EXL AWD 09 pliot after the internet sales manager quoted me the OTD price $30,950, and he told me that i could probably get even lower price if i choose the car in their lot.

so long story short, I went to the dealer afternoon, and I offer to buy the car with OTD price at $30,000, personally i think it's reasonable given the current suv sales. about 20min or so a floor sales manager came out along with the internet sales manager and told me that he can only go as low as $31,000. $50 more than his internet sales manager quoted me. this sales manager totally ignored my internet quote.. so I walked out right away.

I would definately think twice ++ when dealing with herb chambers in the future.

tomorrow, i am going to head to either commonwealth honda or boch honda..
anyone has any good experience with them? do you think OTD price of 30k reasonable offer?

thanks
Bana

confusedman1

what's the lowest price seen so far on 09 AWD EX-L?
thanks

bubster

Through Internet sales at Lia Honda Albany NY, 2009 EX-L $ 29, 853 incl destination but without TTL. They have dealerships in Mass.

confusedman1

herb chamber quoted me one of the lowest sales price with destination is 29130. including MA tax, doc and titles fees, OTD 30900. but when I got to dealer ship. they actually rasied the price.

i am sure some dealer will honor the quoted price. but not with my experience at herb chamber in boston.

mgc407

Take the internet quote and try boch or herb chambers in burlington, commonwealth motors wont be my choice though they will readily agree to your price but what comes thereafter is unpredictable.My only worry is that the car you are looking for should be in stock.That's where herb is better off, they can take you to the car ports in boston or westborough to locate the exact spec between their 4 dealeships. I will also try honda north in danvers where the customer service and inventory is good but they may be too slow to move on price.Kelly honda is good except for one arrogant sales manager and thie hesitation to match prices.I shopped to get the lowest price offer matched.I am enjoying my touring and best of luck with you purchase

mgc407

I finaly got a GAP insurance policy from www.gapinsurancequote.com It is $349, i tried to do it myself but was unsure of the company so i went to a very old insurance agent close to me and behold she logged in as an agent and used the same website. The company is Arch insurance listed and based in Kansas.The policy is administered by lee and mason financial services in New york and they readily reply to your calls. So rather than paying $700 at the dealership i only paid 349 and the accessories i ordered from benardi parts were genuine and far cheaper than those from the dealers plus i got $30 from buying my honda warranty from them. Thanks to folks on the board for the cash saving info.

bigdadi118

Herb Chambers always avoids to quote online so nothing is B&W. They always call and lure you down to dealership before slaughtering. When you get there, they make all kind of excuses like the salesman quoted you wrong price by mistake that they can't honor the deal.

ed111

I bought a Honda from Herb Chambers Boston not long ago.

I did my research, called them, asked them for their best price on the phone, they gave a price that was extremely competitive, I called back with only a very minor price change request, they agreed, I went in to sign the papers without any further price discussion, and without any hassle or difficulty at all.

A very smooth and pleasant transaction.

iontrap

What would be a reasonable offer on a 2008 EX-L demo with 7600 miles.

confusedman1

finally bought my Pilot EX-L at boch this afternoon after another interesting experience. I offered the same price as I did for herb. Boch matched the price and I ask them to do better, else I would goback to herb because herb is more conveinient for me. finally after some negotiation, they throw in remote starter for free. so far so good

then the interesting experience started. they were pressuring me hard to go with 1,9% finance. and explaining me how i would be better off with my money in the bank. I think they realized they did NOT make much on the sale of the car, they try to sell me on the finance, and warranty package. I refused them all. after a while, they become impatient, and started to aggreviating me and trying to back off the deal.

they start to give me problem on the payment, how i should make my check and credit card payment. they were telling me the check has to be under my name, and i can only pay 3000dlr credit card payment, and , and whole bunch other B.S.

long story short, i don't care, i know i am getting good deal on price, so I asked to speak to their GM, and after some explaination, GM agreed on my purchase.
although my shopping experience at both boch and herb were not pleasant, but who cares, i got them to offer me the price i am looking for.

09 Pilot EX-L AWD with remote starter

OTD: $30580 including 5% tax, $298 doc fee and $86 title/registerstion fee.
Picking this monday. Can't wait.

hope they don't do something with my new pilot.

definately a good time to buy SUVs, do not give up on what you believing in.
Happy shopping.
bana

bigdadi118

Boch also limited the amount to charge to my wife's credit card (earn mileage) when she bought RAV4 next door Boch Toyota. It is based on the reasons they can't get the money within 30 days and the credit card company charges certain % to the merchant. I think it was also 3K limit.

HC lost one more customer to Boch.

fred25

In my opinion, i think you should wait - lets keep in mind that Honda is still running their Mr. opportunity ad to move out their 08's. Honda usually does not run more than one ad campaign at a time. Once the 08's are history they will focus on better incentives for the Pilot. Currently many dealers have Pilots sitting on their lots. If you do not need to purchase a vehicle at this time wait and watch what other manufacturers are offering. its just a matter of time.

Fred

fred25

Citivas:

I totally agree with you, However, you must do your homework. Before you walk in the door you must know the price of the vehicle MSRP, INVOICE, DESTINATION, etc.. Second, the internet sales person job is to try to get you into the dealership.
Make certain to the person you are dealing with that YOUR time is also valuable.

If you are looking for a dealer who prides themselves on customer service, i think I found the dealer for YOU. This dealer is Metro Honda in Jersey City. If you could provide me with an e-mail address I will give you the name of the salesperson I am dealing with.

FRED

parviz

I got this from Livermore Honda in northern CA if anyone is interested. (ad expires 8/24)
2009 Honda Pilot 2WD EX-L
MSRP....................................................................$34,265.- - - 00
Special weekend price.........................................$28,388.00
1.90% financing available on select models.

maureenw

We brought home our new 2009 Honda Pilot Touring AWD w/RES in Tafetta White yesterday. I added running boards, all weather mats, protective mat for rear when third seat is down, organizer and a few other small items. They had added the pro package at no charge (not sure what that did for the car). We paid $35,000 plus California tax and license. We love it. The dealer showed us the price with the dealer hold back of $34,600. Hubby and I feel like we got a good deal. Also, because we said we saw a quote of the extended warranty at $1800 on here we were able to negotiate the price of that from their quote at $2300 to $1800. I am glad we got that with all the electronics in that car. I have already spent hours trying to figure out all the stuff in there. I was teasing that we need a college course to figure it out. I must say I just love my new car!!
maureen

darynm

Congrads on your new 2009 Touring model. Not a bad deal. I have seen better offers on the warranty, but you didn't pay a bad price. Heck you got a great car. I myself was really wanting the Touring Model, but settled on an Ex-L which I'm still happy with. Mine stickered for 35, 600 and got for 30,000 with 3.9 financing for 60 months and traded in 2 cars both 10 years old and got 9,100 on the 2 trades which most dealers were only offering me 7000 at best. The dealer was hungry for my bus. I wanted a payment that was within a budget I set for myself, but trust me the temptation was there... Considering I started with an Ex model the exl was an excellent compromise.

I'm with you, I love my new car too!!!

junobear

Got the EX-L White Taffeta (i'll look for ya Maureen!) for $29000.

Actually leased it for 3 yrs, 36000 miles, taxes all included for $425 a month. Nothing down but first payment and doc fees.
Love the new Pilot. Huge jump in technology and build from my 2005 EX-L. Still breaking it in, but love how it handles better. Love the rear camera. The XM stereo. I think I need an organizer----is that for change etc? Otherwise, I feel really good. THinking about the running boards.....we'll see. So happy to go for it. Had a few offers, some from the net, but of the two showrooms I went to, only one could come close to my price. Plus, they had the White that we wanted. Very happy!

kld4

Please tell...we are in the Sacramento area and would like to know where you bought your Pilot.
Kim

mjhl

Anyone out there with recent experience buying 2009 Touring in the Chicago area?

ed111

darynm, 2WD or AWD? With or w/o RES?

cheapchink

Hi Kim, I live close to Sacramento and sent an email blast to every dealership within 100 miles. So far the best deal I found was Livermore Honda's special pricing on a 09 EX-L 2wd for $28,388. They only had one which was white with black/dark dark blue interior. I pulled the trigger this evening and drove it back home. OTD was a little over 30k. (7.75% tax). The next best thing I found right now in Nor Cal is the same dealership selling the 2WD touring w/Nav and RES for approx $33400 (with destination) another is Auburn Honda, ask for Steve Butler. He's a straight shooter and has a few of the touring models. Hope this helps, good luck and post your deal once you drive it home ! :shades:

jsbcpa

I think I got a great deal but it was too easy so maybe I'm fooling myself. I just picked up a Pilot Touring w/ Nav, added running boards and paid $33,793 before tax and title. Added service contract for $1250. They were very easy to deal with. I was surprised that the local dealers had very few w/ just Nav. Lots of Nav & RES but I didn't need or want it.

bruzer56

I think I got a great deal but it was too easy so maybe I'm fooling myself. I just picked up a Pilot Touring w/ Nav, added running boards and paid $33,793 before tax and title. Added service contract for $1250. They were very easy to deal with. I was surprised that the local dealers had very few w/ just Nav. Lots of Nav & RES but I didn't need or want it.

Just a reminder that it's helpful for others to compare prices if you indicated 2WD or AWD If this was AWD, that does sound like a pretty good price.

jsbcpa

Oops, Yes it was AWD.

leto

Hi,

congrats on a deal. Do I understand correctly that this is an AWD version, NOT 2WD?
Were there any special requirements (take from the lot, specific color etc.)?
What dealer, please?

Many thanks!

jsbcpa

Washington Honda. It is the Pilot Touring W/ Nav only plus running boards and it was on the lot. It was one of only 2 w/ nav only.

silverplatter1

$36,484 MSRP: 09 Pilot 4WD EXL w/ premium running boards
$30,000 is what we paid ($30,000 plus TTL). 3.9% financing. Purchase, not a lease.

Purchased 6 days ago. Billet Silver with gray leather interior. This was our first choice for color (Nimbus Gray being our second choice). We negotiated, at the time of purchase, for the premium running boards to be installed. They look very very nice on the billet silver model.

We initially tried to work with the salesman at the dealership closest to our house; we had gone and test driven the Pilot there when it first hit the dealer lots. However, they were not anywhere near this price that we ended up getting. We got this price through logging in at www.samsclub.com and finding another dealer and working with one of their sales guys (phone, email).

On the day of purchase, he could have been a little friendlier and more pleasant, but it wasn't bad.

We feel that we got an excellent deal, though we know that better deals will be available down the road. However, we wanted to get the purchase taken care of soon, well in advance of the arrival of our baby (child #2) in December.

We've put about 300-400 miles on it since the purchase, and so far so good! Wife loves it!!! When I am driving, she sometimes likes to sit in the 2nd row with the little ones, and she'll be able to be comfortably seated next to one of the doors with the 2 little ones in car seats next to her (as opposed to being squished between 2 car seats!)

I have learned quite a bit from following this thread for the last few weeks! Thanks to all of you who contributed. Enjoy your Honda Pilots! We hope to have ours for 200,000 miles plus!!!! (since we average about 12,000-15,000 miles per year, that's several years of enjoying this new vehicle!

maureenw

We got ours (Touring 2009 AWD with Nav and RES for $35,000. Sticker was $41,000.) at Crown Motors in Redding, CA. We emailed thru the internet although we live here in Redding. The salesman (Marc Kline) was awesome. The whole dealership was awesome! They have even called since we took delivery of the car to see if we had any questions. We tried to get on thru Roseville Honda. They were not willing to deal at all.
maureen

junobear

Leto-

It is 2WD, pardon the lack of clarity. This was at Honda of Hollywood. No special requirements----from the moment we began talking about the model I wanted, the salesguy looked at his inventory and I picked out my first choice, the Taffeta White. So, their full stock was my good fortune. I also liked the salesguy as he was low pressure and relaxed, yet still obviously interested to do what he could to make a deal.

We went back and forth a couple times. I knew what I wanted to pay. Yes, the MF, the Invoice, MSRP, the 2K dealer cashback--all of this was on my mind. But, ultimately, I had to also determine what price would I be comfortable paying.

Another dealer couldn't touch those numbers. Yet another dealer (online) had given me a ballpark purchase price close to what I wanted, but would only match whatever written deal I could bring to him was. (And we stalled out at Purchase Price----never even getting to the Lease question). It was refreshing to have some idea of what some dealers would do, what some wouldn't do. And that includes some of the experiences of folks on this board. So if one dealer can't make the deal you want, go to the next one. (I guess that's easier said in this part of the country.)

WIth taxes and everything else, I will pay the same for a '09 Pilot EX-L as I was on my '05 EX-L. And when I got the '05, it was at the end of the model year. I feel very good about it. Maybe now we'll start seeing some new Pilots on the road!

darynm

I got the 2wd without RES which I am regretful now because I wanted the better radio that came with the RES. The salemans made it clear the EX-L only came with 1 Radio accross the whole line. Regardless, I'm still very happy with my purchase as I almost got stuck with an EX for a higher payment before the dealer incentives came out. So, I am happy about that. People do your homework. I thought I had done it all and still got caught by a salesman that I had doubts when it came to his product knowledge and now paid the price although a small one. Does anyone know if the radio (stereo) can be upgrades to the Touring one? Maybe just the amplifier? I dunno lol

g5lanpa

2009 Pilot all wheel drive with touring & entertainment for $34,765. Can't decide on Bali Blue w/gray or Dark Cherry w/beige. Anyone have thoughts??? or experience/comments about their gray or lighter beige interiors. Thanks for your help.

darynm

Well, that's always the personal choice of the buyer. I'm biased because I got the Dark Cherry. I also liked the blue color. Good luck in your choice and congrads on your future ride.