2013 and earlier-Honda Pilot Prices Paid and Buying Experience

rgnc

Could you tell me which dealership in NC you bought from? I'm just starting to look and may wait until the '05s come out to buy.

ctm500

Enjoy all the posts.
I just got a quote from Carr's Honda for a Pilot EX at invoice flat. Question is how to get it home to PA? Transports cost aprx $800. I'd love to drive it home (750 miles) but I thought you were not supposed to drive a new car so hard so soon. How did other Carr's buyers get their new Pilots home?

gbd21

It is perfectly okay to drive a new pilot for 750 miles.Just tell the dealer to prepare the vehicle for the long trip ie tire pressure,fliud levels,set the navi if you have one.Just don't rev the engine too much and only drive at average speed.Infact it should help as a good run in ,instead of few short miles each time at home.
Or better pay the shipping charges but ask the dealer to throw in few free accessories to reduce your costs.

lok888

I learned that there is a 4 to 6 months delay for Lexus RX400h due to some issues on the battery pack. It was scheduled for December, 2004 for 2005 model. The release of Toyota Highlander hybird which shares the same component will be after the RX400h, probably this time next year. The price of the Pilot is still holding in my area, MA. I checked around and only found one can do $1000 off MSRP. I guess the dealer markup is low for Honda.

anna

I recently purchased a Pilot from Carr's. I took the train, along with my husband, from St.Louis and then we drove it back the next day. Granted, our trip was shorter than yours would be but we tried to keep it at 60mph or so. I don't think it should hurt. Good luck!

metmdx

To all those who have done the "Mike Pruitt" thing:
Are any of you NY residents who are faced with the "no lease" option and have done the purchase w/balloon payment thru Pruitt?
If so, can you provide details of the financal transaction (i.e. down payment/monthly/balloon)?
tia,
metmdx

metmdx

I guess I brought this thread to a screeching halt! Anyone out there that can reply to my post # 2477?
Thanks,
metmdx

tidester

I guess I brought this thread to a screeching halt!

It's more likely that many are heading out for 4th of July vacations and/or that no one has done the kind of deal in NY that you did. Then again, someone might yet come along with the information you seek.

Can anyone help metmdx? Thanks!

tidester, host

phillybigeasy

I received an email quote from Superior Honda in Harvey, LA for Pilot EX-L w/Nav for $$29,545 (below invoice according to Edmunds) plus TTL. The dealer also advised that "...depending on market conditions at the time of purchase, I may be more flexible on pricing." I take this as he is willing to reduce the price to get my business.

He also stated in his email that they are a no-hassle, no gimmick dealership and they don't for charge "options" such as paint sealer, pin stripes, fabric protector, or customer service fees.

Good deal? Should I jump at this?

tom10

That is a great deal....if it is true! Make sure it is not a demo or have 1000 miles already on it. I have done some research and haven't heard of anyone getting below invoice!

I live in KY and the best deal I was able to get was $350 over invoice for the EX-L with nav.

I thought of going up to Carr's honda for invoice price, but they didn't have the pilot in white.

We are planning to take delivery of the car this Tuesday.

Anna, if you read this....as you can see, we didn't go to Carr's.

phillybigeasy

Follow up on quote. Turned out it was too good to be true. Went to negotiate and probably buy the car, and he didn't have on lot. Said he could call around and locate one and asked me when I was planning on buying. I told him I just drove one hour to buy one - TODAY!! Don't go to Superior Honda in Harvey, LA. - LIARS! Guess I should have asked for a stock number.

momcl

I live in AZ and don't know about the dealerships I see mentioned here quite often.
What is Mike Pruitt dealership and McClure?
Thanks

makers

Mike Pruitt Honda is located in Akron, Ohio. Mick McClure Honda is located in Lewiston, Idaho. They both have web pages that can easily be found with a web search or check the dealer locater at the Honda website.

anna

I still think you are getting a great deal. I am surprised Carr's didn't have the one you wanted. They had every color, but I only purchased the EX-L. I am glad you are getting your new vehicle, regardless of the dealership. Congrats!

habitat1

Philly,

Sounds like you may have gotten abused, but some of it may have been self inflicted...

(1) I'm not sure why you didn't ask for a stock number or at least some confirmation that they had they Pilot you were interested in on the lot before you drove an hour. Did they actually "lie" to you or did you just have a senior moment anfd forget to ask some rather basic questions?

(2) You "went to negotiate and 'probably' buy the car"? Frankly, that sounds like you weren't that serious yourself. What the heck were you going to negotiate, if they were quoting a no-hassle price several hundred dollars better than the best anyone here has gotten? And 'probably' buy isn't exactly a stong negotiating position, anyway.

(3) If you had started the whole process by first convincing yourself that you wanted to buy "TODAY" instead of waiting until you arrived at the dealership, you might have either saved yourself a 2 hour roundtrip, or worked out a deal over the phone where they could in fact get the car for you.

It sounds like you went on a fishing expedition and didn't catch anything. I did the same thing when I was only semi-serious about getting a Honda S2000 a couple of years ago. But once I got serious, the entire deal was done on the phone in about 5 minutes before I drove a similar 1 hour to the dealership.

We have plenty of Honda dealerships in our area that are sleezy and to be avoided. Perhaps the one you went to is as well. But, frankly, you didn't exactly follow the "I'm not a sucker" rules for car buying.

isellhondas

A good post.

Even after a quote that was almost too good to believe, the shopper STILL planned to "negotiate" and "probably" buy the Pilot??

Your post summed things up pretty well and it's dead on!

Always amazes me, the pain some folks put themselves through!

moooed

Thanks for everyone's posts. Relative newbie here. Scrolled through 40+ pages of posts last week as I started my Pilot search, then emailed almost 20 dealers for price quotes. I ended up getting a 2004 Silver EX-L NAVI today from a local NC dealer.

I paid $68 under invoice, but 399 doc fee. Free wheel locks and rear mud guards. I'm very happy with the car thus far. Plan to add a few options myself down the road.

I can echo what many have posted regarding the most popular offers:

Carr Honda in Chicago - invoice price, shipping arranged by buyer if applicable - they did not have any NAVI's in stock at the time I inquired, but would have been invoice price had they any NAVIs in stock

Mike Pruitt in Akron - 400 over invoice, 350 shipping to NC

Several other dealers I emailed either were not competitive or didn't respond for several days.

If anyone is interested, just PM me for details about the local NC (more specifically, Triangle) area. To be honest, I don't know if my dealer would duplicate the offer I received. Pilot availability here still seems to be quite poor, but it varies per dealer. Therefore, my deal may be YMMV.

BTW, a little off topic, but Citibank offers a 5% cashback credit card during a ~6 mo intro period (max $300/year reward). Was able to charge a few grand for extra savings. Good luck!

phillybigeasy

Habitat1 & Isellhondas, let me tell you how I arrived at this Honda dealer, and maybe I should have asked the questions you posted. But when you go to a dealer's website to view the inventory, click on a specific vehicle, request more information, and the dealer responds with a price, what would you think? I just checked the dealers website again, and the car is still on the inventory list! I've learned my lesson never to trust dealers. I am about to purchase a new 2004 Acura MDX at invoice price (another too good to be true deal, but I'll be much happier if it works out, since I would rather have the MDX). I have requested an email with VIN along with price of vehicle, any additional charges, finance charges, etc. We'll see if this deal is too good to be true. Fool me once....

Habitat1, thanks for your input.

habitat1

isell,

I agree. There's a time for casual shopping and a time for serious buying. It's up to the buyer to figure out where they are at and communicate it effectively.

moooed,

Sorry, I'm acronym-challenged. What's "PM" and "YMMV". I am interested in the name of your North Carolina dealer. Even if they can't quite match your offer, as long as they are competitive, I'd rather drive south than northwest this winter to buy a 2005 Pilot. Congratulations on what sounds like about the best deal anyone has gotten, doc fee included.

philly,

I think the internet and e-mail are great, but I still want to talk person to person with the final decision maker. And dealer web site listings are often inaccurate. I was considering a Lexus GX470 late last year to capitalize on the tax write-off. Checked a Florida dealers website and they claimed to have about 20 in stock. When I called, virtually nothing that wasn't already sold.

In defense of the good dealers, don't assume there aren't any. I can still highly recommend my last three - Nissan, Honda and Acura as being of high integrity. They may not always be able to give the lowest price, but they are honest. Best of luck on the MDX. We love our Acura TL.

tconce

I shopped hard for an EX-L including Carrs. Price I got from Carrs was $29,261. With running boards, tow package & crossbars, total out the door price quote was $31,160. I got the exact same package thru local Denver dealer for $31,350. Difference wasn't worth trip to Chicago. I tried 4 other dealers, no one would beat this price. Not a killer bargin, but a decent deal I think. Getting a clear bra put on today to protect this shiny black guy.

jjkmel

We just purchased a Pilot EX-L here in Atlanta. Did the internet thing, but had a trade in also. The best internet quote I received was 31,042 drive out from Milton Martin including pin stripe, cross bars and rear mud guards. I ended going with Gwinnett Place though, because they gave me the best drive out including the trade in. It was pretty obvious there not having much trouble selling these vehicles. I got a much better deal on my tacoma 1.5 years ago.

nescovin

Makers,

thanks for your post. I got quotes from 5-7 local dealers including Seattle.
They majority quoted MSRP. The lowest was 100 below MSRP. That's pretty frustrating whe you read others in the forum paying invoice or invoice + $500.
On a positive note, dealers in the area are flooded with Pilot's. Each one has atleast 30 - 40 in their inventory.

Nescovin

nescovin

Just got a quote from Mike Mclure Honda in Lewiston Idaho. He quoted $1000 below MSRP , thats almost $2000 over invoice.
I also got a quote from a local dealer, Capitol Honda, they are also doing $1000 below MSRP.
Think, I'm gonna wait a few months until these dealers come back to reality. They all seem to be used to the demand that existed 6 months ago when demand far outweighed supply.

isellhondas

Sorry, but this is the "reality" of the marketplace on these.

At least for the time being, 1000.00 below MSRP is a great deal!

mikehop

I tend to lurk more than post, but here it is. Just had a sage EX-L delivered to my house ($28.5K from Faulkner Honda in Harrisburg, PA). The car drives like a dream. If you can hold out until the 2005 model comes along I would recommend doing that. I couldn't wait any longer so I bit the bullet and purchased a 2004 model. The thought of paying that much for a vehicle made me want to postpone the purchase as long as possible, but now that I finally stepped up to the plate, I am real happy with the purchase. Best of luck to all of you still contemplating your purchases.

crawfish

Hi Mike, great deal! I got the same quote from Faulkner but they seem not very interested in email communication. Maybe I should call them. If you don't mind, can I ask a couple of questions?

1. How long did you wait to get the car since signing the contract?

2. What loan rate did you get from them?

3. Did you trade in the car? Good deal?

4. The price you got includes the destination charge, right?

I live in NJ and think 2 hour plus driving should be well worth it.

Thanks for your help!

tom10

Well, I finally got my White EXL with Nav. Took delivery on Jun 30. Love the car. I got my pilot at Sam Swope in Louisville, KY. After a lot of emailing, I negotiated the price to $350 over invoice. (I was thinking of going to Carr's Honda in Chicago for invoice, but they did not have my model in white.) Sam Swope was going to charge me $426 for doc/license fees, but I found that the local dealers only charged about $200....so I was able to negotiate the doc/license fee down to $226 (The dealership had to change the contract to read $150 over invoice since the doc/license fees can't be changed on the contract). I threw in foglights for $500 (too hard to install myself) and they matched the CarMax offer for my trade in. The process was very pleasant. I love my pilot! I do have to admit that the driver's side floor mats are poorly designed! I ended up getting a cheap all season floor mat at Walmart just for the driver's side and it works great.

mikehop

1. How long did you wait to get the car since signing the contract?
 0 Days. I agreed to purchase on Monday the 28th, They delivered it on Wednesday the 30th, at which time I signed the paperwork (took about 20 minutes).
2. What loan rate did you get from them?
 I put $4,000 down and have good credit so I ended up with 3.84% for 5 years.

3. Did you trade in the car? Good deal? I have an 11 year old Accord whihc I plan to sell privately when I get around to it.

4. The price you got includes the destination charge, right? Yes

I live in NJ and think 2 hour plus driving should be well worth it.
I live outside of Philly (1.5 hrs from Harrisburg) They made the trip to bring it to me.

crawfish

Thanks a lot for the info! So you made all negotiation over the phone? Did you pay for the delivery? I cannot wait to jump in!!

shabi4pilot

I am in the market for new Honda Pilot. Can someone please guide me in right direction, as looking for the best price (in-town or out-of-town) and any dealerships known for beating quotes? I am in NJ.

Does anyone know if Honda will revamp the shape of Pilot in 2005?

Thanks

Shabi

shabi4pilot

Got a quote on '04 Pilot EXL w/ Navigation for $30,768 plus TTL from DCH Academy Honda in NJ. Edmunds reported Invoice Price as $30,058 and TMV for my zip code as $31,765 without any DIO. Is it a good deal?

I alread read on the webpost here many people buying on invoice price from Carr's Honda in Chicago, my question at what invoice price????

Can someone please give me a low down on invoice prices?

Thanks

Shabi

pilotbuy

Hi Folks

I am looking for an EX-L in the San Jose, CA area. The best price that I have got so far is 28,860 + Tax + 238 DMV fees + 45 Doc fee + 5 Tire fee.

Has any one seen a much lower price? If so can you folks let me know where?

Thanks

qbrozen

that's a GREAT price in NJ!

1llini

I am looking very strongly at purchasing a Pilot at Carr's. My local Honda dealer (where I have purchased three Hondas over the years) will only come down $1000 from MSRP. The train interests me - where did you have to get off the train in Chicago and how did you get to the dealership?

babs711

Can anyone tell me what the "appearance package" is? The dealership where I did my test driving had this on every single car. What the heck is it?

qbrozen

that's just additional dealer markup. don't buy into it at all.

and its not a set item, so i can't tell you what it is. probably something like pinstriping and rear mudflaps.

[Deleted User]

Looking for an EX-L, getting the hard sell from financing guys about HondaCare warranty. What have people paid for this? They are offering it at $1200 for 7yr/75K. Anyone with this warranty?

babs711

I live in Louisana and just received a quote from a dealer in Mississippi. He quoted me $30,409 for an EX-L RES with the day/night mirror. He told me that would be my "out the door" cost and they can the vehicle on the lot for me on Saturday. He said that the "out the door" was the cost of the car since it's out of state. He told me to take the bill of sale to the licensing place in Louisiana to pay the TT&L, etc. Does this sound right? Will I come out better doing it this way? I'm a bit nervous about purchasing it from 3 hours away...service, etc. What do you think? Thanks!

tom10

Shabi,

invoice price is listed on edmunds.com ($30,058 for EXL with navi including dest charge). most dealers add the destination charge....but you can always ask to make sure.

carr's honda was selling at invoice price ($30058 for the EXL with navi) in black and silver a few months ago. not sure what they have in stock currently.

mikehop

Yes the price included delivery. I signed all of the papers in my back yard.

mikehop

Yes the price included delivery. I signed all of the papers in my back yard. Took about 20 minutes.

qbrozen

do a search for hondacare on this discussion and you'll get some hits. At the very least, don't pay more than advertised here:
www.hondacare.org

markyv

I just agreed to a 2004 Pilot EX from a dealer in Greensburg, PA for 27,700. I felt that this was a great price and compared it locally--no one would touch it. Is there anyone here that can give me some buyers' remorse??!! I will pick it up tomorrow. They are offering me a 7 yr./100K mile extended warranty through Honda for $1450, can anyone let me know if this is a reasonable price? My interest rate is 4.04%. I appreciate any feedback--thanks!

isellhondas

Someone will surely rain on your parade by telling you you paid "too much".

Don't ask...if you are happy, that's what counts!

Enjoy!

qbrozen

well, $27,700 sounds fine to me. What is the $28,511 in your post title? is that with tax and all fees? If so, that's even better! Tax alone here in the great garden state would run me another $1600+ on that deal. But if that is your total price and DOES NOT include tax, then an additional $811 in fees sounds like a ripoff to me.

In regards to the $1450 for the warranty, you can get it cheaper at hondacares.org (or .com). And I got it even cheaper than that website through Mike Pruitt Honda via phone.

markyv

Hi-I didn't change the 28511 in the Title because this was my first post and I didn't realize I could change it since I was replying to an original thread. The 27,700 is before tax--I'm not sure of the total with tax, PA is 6%. As for the warranty, the one listed on hondacare.org has a deductible, and the one from my dealer does not. Do you know if I can purchase the extended warranty from Hondacare.org after I have owned the car for a while? Is an extended warranty even necessary on a car like this? I am a sucker for insurance!

nescovin

Looks like things are improving a bit here in the NW.
Got a quote at $1000 over invoice. He had 36 Pilots in stock.
But the trade in sucked !. So I might sell the car privately.

fromcary

Just recevied a few quotes from some dealers here in NC Raleigh areas on a Pilot-L. Most quotes are around $29000 that is $1600-1700 above the invoice. The lowest I got was $28990, excluding all the taxes and fees(about $350). Was this a good deal?

qbrozen

yes, you can buy it later. as long as its before 2yr/24k miles on your Pilot, there is no extra charge. AFter that, there is a $60 surcharge to buy it. After 3yr/36k miles, however, you are out of luck. We bought ours right before we hit 24k miles.

pilotbuy

Hi Folks

I bought mine in the Bay area finally at the price 28,860 + Tax and DMV fee for EX-L with no other options at Anderson Honda in Palo Alto. I noticed that most of the accessories are cheaper on line.

Good luck for all those who are shopping.