2013 and earlier-Honda Pilot Prices Paid and Buying Experience

stever

If you do have buyer's remorse about the ext. warranty, most of them are cancellable. You may have to pay a fee to cancel, but it's usually an option. Some even let you cancel in a year or three (read the fine print).

Steve, Host

qbrozen

I'm a bit confused by the difference in the 2. As far as I know, there is only 1 warranty from Honda and it includes the roadside assistance, etc. In any case, you can get the 7yr/100K from anyone, including these folks:
http://www.hondacare.org

$1115 for the 7yr/100K and check out the sidebar that points out this warranty includes roadside, rental reimbursement, trip interruption benefit, etc.

By the way, you can buy the warranty up to 2yr/24K miles from date of purchase and incur no extra charges. So you could cancel the one from your dealer and pick this up later or maybe even renegotiate with the threat of cancelling. Just a thought.

habitat1

Thanks for the info. Although I generally am not interested in extended warranties, I might consider the 7 year 75k mile one for my 2002 S2000 which turns 2 years old in 5 days. Interesting that the S2000 is less expensive than the Pilot on that particular policy, but equal or more expensive on every other one.

I am a little suspicious of the fact that "Honda-Care" doesn't have a phone number or ability to pull down a complete copy of the warranty on their web page. Do you have any experience with them?

spektre

It may be an extra step for you, but if you're being pressured into buying one of these massive profit makers from the dealership, and they feed you a line like "I'll give you that price if you buy an extended warranty from us" - go ahead. You'll get a full refund if you cancel within the first xx days, depending on the fine print.

The part they really hate at the stealership is that after forcing this thing down your throat, they're powerless when you cancel it, and the deal's already been done in your favor. They'll also have to cough up that fat check they lined their pocket with from the overpriced piece of crap they sold you!

Maybe after this happens a few times, they'll think twice about their high-pressure sales tactics.

brucebro

Thanks to gbrozen,I contacted dealer and directed him to the "hondacares" website. After a little whining about how it's below his cost (I still don't believe that) he agreed to match the $1115. Still a lot of money, but over the course of the finance, about $20 or so a month. Again, if we never have to use it I'd be happy but it's nice to know it's there. Thanks again and the usefulness of these discussion groups are again validated!

qbrozen

good job, brucebro.

habitat, i haven't had any experience with them. But try what brucebro did and get the price matched through your dealership. I'm sure they will do it.

klin

Hello,

I am trying to get Pilot LX (my wife does not like leather :>) in San Francisco bay area. But almost all local dealers have told me it is hard to get LX, and suggested me to get an EX-L instead.

Anyone with similar experience? Any tip how to get a LX model?

Thanks

rlonn1

When I wanted to get my wife her new Accord EX-L she was against Leather since she was concerned about HOT seats in the summer and Cold seats in the winter as if it gets that cold in San Diego!!! I then told her that Acura, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Lexus, Infiniti, Ferrari and Maserati just to name a few ALL COME standard with leather. I told my wife they don't put Leather in these cars because it is hot in the summer or somehow uncomfortable. Also, the EX-L will bring a MUCH HIGHER resale value and will also be easier to sell. Now my wife will only purchase a car with leather, She is a believer in the comfort factor. Plus the EX-L has Heated Seats!! Good Luck with whatever you decided.

farnorth

Does anyone have any Canadian deals they would like to share. I am going to buy a Pilot EX
with just the basic mud-flaps, block heater and towing package. Are they discounting anything on the 2004 models?

torpman

If you want cloth seats, perhaps an EX would be easier to get than the LX. I would email all of the dealers within a 2-3 hour drive and let them know that you would like to purchase a LX or an EX in that order. It seems like the EX-L is the most popular choice, so some dealer may have an LX or EX he is having a hard time moving. It is also amazing at how much trading the dealers do with each other.

qbrozen

I've heard this story too, and not just with the Pilots, but also got the same info from dealers when shopping for my sisters CRV. They claim that "they don't make as many" but, of course, the reality is that the dealers just don't order as many. I think its because they make more on the higher-end models and KNOW they will sell them because they will talk people like you into the fact that "no LXs are available." But i digress.

If you aren't in a rush, it should be no problem getting one. They either have to order it for you, track it down at another dealer, or find one in the pipeline that isn't spoken for yet. If you are in a rush, then you have to contact every dealer you can. Good luck.

isellhondas

Pilots, like all Hondas are allocated to the dealers.

So, right now, we may be choosing cars that will be built in January. We are allocated say, 20 Pilots. We can pick what we want.

Of course, we will select the models and colors that sell the best. For every LX we order, that's one EX or EXL we can't get.

It's customer demand or lack of demand that determines this.

LX Pilots are in very low demand at least n my area.

qbrozen

since dealers all claim that they sell all the Pilots they can get their hands on, the argument that EX or EXLs sell better is contradictory, is it not? If they ALL sell and they ALL sell QUICKLY, then how can one model be selling more than another. Just because you order 10 EXLs and 1 LX and they all sell, doesn't mean anything unless you can order 10 LXs and 1 EXL and see how that goes over. They may still all sell, right?

stever

Gee, maybe the profit margin is better on one trim than another?

:-)

Steve, Host

qbrozen

hey, that's what i said a few posts ago. ;b

klin

Hello,

I finally found a local Fremont Auto-Nation dealer that offers LX and it is the color we want. The offered price is $27300 + tax/fee. Should I jump on it? There are other local dealers who offer lower price ($200 difference) but need to wait a while for LX to arrive.

My wife still wants to try Toyota Highlander and Volvo X90 (IMHO too expensive)....

Thanks

stever

It bears repeating :-)

Steve, Host

torpman

I'd go for it. Otherwise you might be driving a Highlander soon. Seems like a fair price. A couple hundred under MSRP. Maybe you should ask them to meet the competition. Even if you can get a better deal down the road, is it worth waiting x amount of weeks and maybe not getting the color you want? Let us know what happens.

markjenn

On the LX, it sounds like the dealer (and some commments on this board) have created a sense of urgency to "jump on it before it gets away." Dealers are good at this.

I'd step back, figure out a target price you think is reasonable and shop a couple more dealers, either in person or over email. I'd be looking for a target price at least half-way between invoice and MSRP. I don't think LX's, in general, are in any shorter supply, and there is some pretty good discounting going on for Pilots in general.

It is almost always true: Never believe anything a dealer tells you if it has any bearing on the car sale.

- Mark

clpurnell

No way I would pay near that on an LX. EX cloths are available for that price. I would be near invoice because these will be very hard to resale.

I had a terrible buying experience at Gillman honda in houston. I have recommended them in the past (Bought an Oddy there last year this time) But would not recommend them now and will not shop any of their dealerships. They still added a 1950 dollar 1 yr 24k mile warranty on to a lease I had worked out after I declined three times. Be wary of buying from them.

qbrozen

yup. was also going to say you could get an EX for near that price.

klin

Yes, you are right. I just got another quote from local dealer that sells LX for $25900, that is $1300 lower than prior lowest cost!!

I will shop around. Cheers!

klin

Any one has experience with Capital Honda in Bay area (San Jose)? Their price is very competitive seems.

melanjian

are those honda extended warrentetes
transferable?

habitat1

I contacted my Honda dealer and they confirmed that the "honda cares" extended warranty is indeed the official Honda extended warranty. They offered to come within $50 of the price offered for a 7/75 warranty on my 2002 S2000 on the web site previously posted above. I am considering it prior to my two year anniversary next week.

The warranty is transferable for a $50 fee that must be completed within 14 days of transfer of title.

Also, my service manager for my S2000 is a big fan of the Honda Cares warranty and strongly recommends against any "aftermarket" alternative. He indicated he does not even have to call in a repair of under $500 to get it covered and that he has never been turned down on any repair over $500. In the case of the aftermarket warranties, they often want excessive documentation before approving the repair or ask to see the car first, which result in the car remaining overnight or longer before the repair is done. They have also turned down repairs, forcing the car owner to fight it out with them, on things that the Honda Care warranty would have covered without a problem.

The only explanation my dealer had for the low prices printed on the web site is that they may be from a mid-west dealership where labor prices are lower. Unfortunately, I have not gotten a return e-mail from the company with the web site pricing; and for an extra $50, I'd rather go through my dealership which I trust.

isellhondas

I think you are either missing my point or else I did a poor job of explaining things.

Why is it PROFIT always gets brought up as an evil reason dealers do certain things?

Dealers order whatever is in GREATER DEMAND. Sure, if we ordered a bunch of LX's, they would sell. They just wouldn't sell at the rate the EX's do. The more Pilots we sell, the greater our future allocations are. The larger the allocations the more LX's we are likely to buy.

Speaking for myself, I have sold a bunch of Pilots, but NEVER ONCE have I sold an LX.

I have never once switched a would be LX buyer to an EX. We just get so few requests for LX's that we order very few of them.

It's not some evil plot.

Now, it's possible that in other parts of the country the demand for LX's is greater?

qbrozen

if you don't have people asking for them, then so be it. you gotta order what people are asking for. no argument there.

i can only relate one story regarding this and that was my sister looking for a CRV LX. I couldn't even tell you how many dealers tried to push her to an EX because that's "all they had."

isellhondas

We probably sell one LX CRV for every ten EX.

Of course, our orders will reflect this.

Some of the small dealers may not order any of these.

Of course, any good salesperson would try to explain the benefits of an EX over an LX to your sister. Hopefully, this was done in a professional manner.

qbrozen

It was, "we don't get many LXs" (and I point this out again as saying 'we don't get them' rather than 'we don't order them'). Nobody ever tried to say "well, you get this and this and this for x-amount more dollars than the LX." It was just stated, as a matter-of-factly, that she would have a tough time locating an LX so might as well bite the bullet and fork over the bucks for the EX.

Really, i see this as a chicken/egg argument. You sell all the EXs and LXs you can get, so you order more EXs because you can sell more EXs, but you don't really know if you could sell 10 LXs for 1 EX because you never tried. You say the demand for EXs dictates the percentage of EXs to LXs and I say the EXs were prevalent from the getgo, so of course more are sold since more are available.

I don't blame you one bit, frankly. If you are restricted on how many you get, why take the low-dollar unit?

uskv

Guys,

I just bought my new Pilot EX. I would like thank EDMUNDS.com and all posts here. I would not have get the deal that I got w/o you all.

Don't be diplomatic in posting what price you paid in this message board. Just be direct. That will help lot of serious buyers like us..

OK...

I paid 29,500 out of the door for Pilot EX 2004. Got the deal just in just one week of serious effort. and 4 half and hour each visit to 4 different dealers. Did most of the work on internet.

I was not serious about buying Pilot but I had to buy a SUV/VAN in a week or so

Initiallly, EX was out of my budget. Was interested in LX..

Day 1 went to dealer 1 did not have LX..so was disappointed..but test driven EX.. felt great..

Day 2 - researched on internet..looked into every single dealers' inventory for LX..there weren't many.

Day 3 - Researched on internet. Just casually asked for the quote of LX from 2 dealers. They replied immediately.

Day 4 - Went to one dealers which had LX, but was stubborn..Went to another dealer was ok gave 300 less on LX than the first one. But also asked for EX quote..But we both were not serious..Another thing I did not like about LX, was besides other thing missing it does not come with remote key less..So that night I thougt and thought and decided to go for EX aggresively..Was up on the internet till 2.00 AM and went thru posts here.

Day 5 - Ealry morning sent out allmost all the dealers in my area asking if they can give me Pilot for 600 - 800 over invoice..Email started flying..It was amazing..everybody started lowering one after the another..

Day 6 - Got loan approved over internet and check being delivered to me next day. On day six I told every single dealer that I am serious, I have a check also ready..so give me a deal..best offer i got was base of 27,400..400 over invoice..which was coming around..29,350 out of door..but dealer was 30 miles away and did not have my color in stock..

Day 7/8 weekends..Some dealer opened on the weekends kept sending offers but could not beat 27,400..

Day 9 - took 27,400 offer to closest dealer which is hardly two miles away from my home...say he just cant match that..he was stuck at 27,800..I said fine..then he said ok I will do 27,600..I told wait..27,400 comes out of the door around 29,350..how much your 27,600 comes around..it was 29,575..I told if you can give me 29,500 I will buy now as he had the color in the stock as well I did not want to deal with dealer 30 miles away..we closed the deal in like 25 minutes..he threw free wheel locks with that and also gave me 5 yr/100,000 warranty..which is no big deal as its valid only if its maintained with his dealer ship..

In short..I got my Pilot EX just 3 hours ago...with the great relationship with my dealer..

I think I got the fair deal..I never had such a buying experience in my life..especially with such a big ticket item..all thanks to edmunds and internet..I just checked my emails and there is one more offer of base price 27,350..50$ below the best deal I had!!..Oops..wish I had more time..But I am happy..Good luck to you all..

habitat1

What area of the country are you in? Mind posting the name of the dealer?

Congratulations on a great deal and thanks for a well written post of your experience.

clpurnell

isellhondas

Any retail store will order the items that sell the fastest. We will NEVER sell 10 LX's to every one EX.

Try to understand that most buyers simply do not want them.

clpurnell

I Just bought a pilot. I won't say what dealership since my buying experience was absolutely terrible but the deal was too good to pass up.

As I see it I got the pilot (EXL RES) for 400 over invoice (29950) and 1000 more for my trade in than any other dealer.

So all in all it was a good deal but the dealership experience left a lot to be desired. If you are not happy with the deal walk out.

They came down over 60/mo on my lease payment after I walked out and took my trade back. Know your numbers going in and DO NOT BACK DOWN. As I told one dealer I dealt with "I know you CAN do the deal the question is do you WANT to".

Don't get me wrong I am very happy with the vehicle and think it will be a great car for us.

spektre

Christian,

Please give us more details on your Pilot purchase - rates, payment, etc.

Why not post the dealership name? You haven't said anything slanderous of them, and one of the purposes of these forums is to educate other consumers!

Thanks

clpurnell

My dealer ship was Gillman Honda but I do not recommend them.

My price for the pilot is a little hard to figure because I had a trade. The way I figured it I got 13000 for my trade and paid about 30300 for the pilot for a difference of 17,300. KBB, and terry say my car is only worth 12,500 so it could be that I got my pilot for invoice.

The way I fgured it it beat what I had in mind going in so I took it.

ggillum

I have a local dealer with a 2003 EX-L for 28,950. Is this a decent deal? He said its firm.

qbrozen

that's a good deal from where I sit. I paid $29,890 for my 2003 EXL back in April and that was a decent deal in my area.

oh.... wait a minute.... its an '03?? Really? In that case, no, I wouldn't pay that for it. why do they still have an '03?? If this is the case, then I would have to assume that wherever you are, they are not moving as fast as they are in an area like mine. So you are getting about a $1K more off than me, but for last year's model? No thanks. I'd rather pay $1K more like I did and get the current model. That '03 already has a year of depreciation on it. Am I making any sense? its early.

maximgrp

if anyone interested in Chicagoland pricing:
yesterday got Pilot EX, cloth, 29700$ - out of door. At Continental Honda, Countryside , IL: - with only one addon - wheel locks.

dcantley

I just purchased a 2004 EX cloth. Excellent experience. List is $29960 prior to the options I wanted. I had fog lights, running boards, roof top rails, towing package, cargo tray, and rear splash guards added. The towing package was not just a hitch and wiring, but also required the installation of power steering fluid cooler, oil cooler, and transmission fluid cooler. List price of the options is $2393 for a total list price of $32257. Bought it for $30308 before taxes, title and fees. Total price including title, taxes, and fees - $31387.

Very pleasurable buying experience. They even cut me an extra key (beyond the 3 they already had), a $70 service and gave that to me. Also gave me a certificate for a free oil change.

Moore-Stewart Honda in Selma Alabama. I dealt with the sales manager.

ggillum

As I posted earlier, there's a new 03 EX-L in my area that the dealer is asking 28,900 for. I've done a little research and it seems that $2000 per model year is a standard depreciation on hondas if miles are equal. If this is sitting around then maybe Pilots aren't so hot in my area. I'm thinking of offering $27,000. What do you guys think? Any chance they'll take it?

Thanks

nortsr1

Try it, you don't have as thing to lose.

markjenn

This 03 is a new/never-titled car, correct? All the following assumes this.

Not sure where you came up with $2K/year depreciation for Hondas in general. This might be about right for a $13K Civic, but it's way off for a $30K Pilot.

Pilot residuals after a three-year lease are probably running about 58% which works out to be about 14% a year, or more like $4200/year. Further, the 1st-year depreciation is even more, probably near 20%. This will include some mile allowances, but even a car with very low miles will suffer near these depreciation rates.

In any event, none of this has much to do with the market for a new (rather than used) 03 Pilot. There are few changes between a 03 and an 04 Pilot so while there will be some discount for a new 03, it will still be priced well above any used Pilot - after all, the car is still new, hasn't been in anybody's grubby hands, and will have a full warranty. So I doubt they'll take $27K which sounds to be below invoice. Having said this, you have nothing to lose by offering and you'll get some idea whether they are completely firm at $28,900.

My best guess is that a new 03 would sell for about $1K less than an equivalent 04. Whether that would be a good deal for you would depend on whether any of the 04 new features are important to you, whether the 03 is equipped the way you want, and whether you thought you might be trading the car within a few years. (If you think you might be trading relatively soon, the additional resale down the road will often more than cover the discount.)

- Mark

davidm12

Does anyone have any experience with Honda dealers in the New York's Hudson Valley (Dutchess/Westchester counties)? My local dealer in Poughkeepsie won't move an inch from a Pilot's MSRP; yet it appears that some other dealers within a 40 mile radius are willing to come down a bit (in one case I got a quote of 26,600 including destination for a 2004 Pilot LX).

melanjian

what octane number for the pilot?

letsplaybridge

Been offered a 2004 Pilot w/ Nav in Southern CA for $31,177 +tax +lic. Is this about the best I could expect?

proger

I think that's a pretty good deal. I haven't gotten mine yet. Waiting for EX-L NAV too in our area VA Bch, VA. I tried the MDX & like the NAV system...as far as octane-87 will do or 89,

ggillum

We'll, after looking at used and a couple of 03 demos, we went ahead and bought a new 04. We got the EX-L with no options for $28,860. Pretty good I guess, not great. This was at Crest Honda in Nashville.

habitat1

That price appears to be about $600 over invoice. What would you have considered "great"? I haven't heard any better on a 2004.

ggillum

Maybe it was great... I just don't like the car buying process so much. We had to sell our 99 Explorer at CarMax for $10,000 because the Honda dealership would only give us $8500; that cost us about $800 in sales tax vs. the Honda dealer just giving us $10,000 (KBB trade in value is $10,250). Oh well, we got rid of the piece of junk Explorer and I'm sure we'll be happy with the Pilot. Thanks to this board for letting us know that there are good deals on these things. The dealer talked about moving "units" towards the end of the month. Maybe that's when the best deals are?