2013 and earlier-Honda Pilot Prices Paid and Buying Experience

tinatina

The price you paid was before taxes, destination, etc., right? I am looking for a Pilot EX in silver in the SF Bay Area.

lumber2

Thats one real expensive DVD system, check out big box stores for better prices

buck0086

I've very much enjoyed reading this forum over the past few weeks and I am hoping to purchase a Pilot EX-L before the end of the year. There have been several discussions of the great deals people have been getting and questions as to how the dealer will survive. Let me tell you about a sale that helps the dealer "make it" in this business.

I live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, but a friend of mine in Wisconsin purchased a brand new 2005 Pilot EX-L on 10-29-04 for 31,460 + TTL. There was no trade-in and he financed the deal at 5.29% through the dealer. He was told that he was getting a great deal. When he told me the price, I just about flipped!

Anyway, a few points to ponder:

1) It's so important to research BEFORE shopping your deal. As many of you have said, if you research before shopping deals, you will know if a deal is a fair one. Personally, I like Bobst method of making an offer and then walking if not accepted.

2) I believe that there are many dealers and salespeople that want their customers to have a positive experience, but this deal makes me aware that I should not feel bad about trying to get the best deal on a car because there are several people who pay thousands of dollars more than they should and dealers get that profit. They didn't tell my friend that he could get a better deal.

3) Sometimes when reading this board, I get the feeling that we think everyone is well-informed, but the reality is that a vast majority of people do not educate themselves as well as they could before buying a car. Those people really help the dealer profit.

I'd certainly like your take on this. Thanks.

ctgrain

Went to Russ Darrow Honda. Purchased a '05 EX-L paid $29386 including destination charges. Traded in a '04 Pilot EX cloth with 30k miles that they put $23000 into. Thats $200 under invoice roughly, then putting that much into my trade when you can buy an '05 EX cloth for under 26900 with destination.....Pretty good deal I think. We were treated excellent by everyone there as well. I would recommend them to anybody!!

aspesisteve

i figure a new '05 Pilot for $30k or a used '03 for $23,500 with around 35,000 miles.

Buying new I can get exactly what I want and probably a decent finance rate from Honda. Are there many improvements to the Pilot in the past 2 years that I should consider?

cccompson

Unless you are interested in the top of the line Pilot, you should be able to buy one for less than $30K and, depending on model, possibly much less. Pilots are selling for invoice or less all over the country so good deals abound.

The '05 (particularly those with leather) are significantly improved in having, among other things, more horsepower, VSA, a 6 disc CD changer, and moonroof. It is well worth the extra money, especially with Honda currently offering 2.9% financing.

sportymonk

Agree on your points.

Ideal dealer situation: Customer walks in, looks at vehicle, doesn't ask a lot of questions, maybe takes a test drive; looks at the sticker in the window and says, "Fair enough, looks good to me. (Maybe says can you add pin striping, scotch guard on the inside and Polyglycoat on the outside? Know it will cost extra but is worth it.). Customer buys at sticker plus add ons.

Ideal customer situation: Customer walks in, asks lots of questions, gets informed answers from well trained salesperson who is knowledgeable about product; salesperson offers more info customer didn't know to ask about; customer takes long test drive, returns, sales person says he has to meet quota for month and it is end of month, offers invoice - dealer holdback, throws in mudguards and something else (let's dont' get too greedy), offers Kelly Blue Book for trade-in in good or excellent condition. Makes sure customer gets full tank of gas and touch up paint. Offers extended warranty and add-ons for cost and offers no resistance to customers declining.


Both are unrealistic situations. Dealers are not there becasue they love cars, they are there as a business to make money, if they don't they go out of business.

Also remember, promises made by salespeople are next to worthless at the Service dept. Sales and Service are two different departments. Service departments are there to make money also.

qbrozen

and heated seats.

biscuit1941

On the verge of buying a new EX-L with navi. Read somewhere (here?) that 06 will have VCM. Drove an Acura MDX. Liked the Pilot better except MDX had voice recognition for navi. Accord and Ody do too. Chance of voice recognition in 06 Pilot?
I would expect to get a better deal on 05 now, than 06 in Sept, of course but those goodies would be worth a lot to me.

New subject: dealer I am talking to is small town. offering 2-800 over invoice plus destination. Claims his commission is 100 for any car he sells for invoice plus 800. Over invoice plus 800 he gets 25% of amount over invoice + 800. Ring true? He has been helpful and would prefer to buy from him, but won't pay HUGE premium to do so.

Have already learned a lot from this forum and appreciate everyones input
biscuit

jmbls1

I just purchased an '05 EX-L with Nav from Faulkner Honda in Harrisburg PA. They were the best offer, and very easy to work with. My wife did a lot of "internet bargaining" with dealers from Ohio, NJ, DE, VA, and PA. She took the best deal from each "round" and went back to them and said can you beat this? We ended up driving to PA to pick up a steel blue model from Faulkner. My local dealer was just too high for too long. Here's the deal I got:

Invoice Price for EX-L & Nav: $30,871
Minus dealer holdback: - $1,030
Plus dest fee + $515
equals wholesale price = $30,356
Plus dealer profit + $542
equals dealer base price = $30,898
Plus add-ons: backup cam $1,300
Wheel locks $ 50
Splash Guards $ 80
7 yr Zero Deduct. Extend Warranty $ 800 (Lists for $1,300)
Total Price for Car & Acc: $33,127

I know many people get the guards and locks thrown in "for free" - we just felt we got such a good deal, that we didn't push too hard on that. We weren't going to get the warranty, but when they dropped it to $800 and zero deductible for basically bumper to bumper coverage, we couldn't say no. We were also able to get the whole deal financed at the 2.9% rate for 5 years - I didn't pay a penny to drive it away (but I did sign the contract to pay!)

Overall, I'm very satisfied with our deal BTW, if you have ever backed into a car because you were in a hurry or didn't look carefully enough, you should look into getting the Backup Camera. My wife said something like 90 children a year get killed in the USA by being backed over. The camera works great even at night.

biscuit1941

I drove the acura MDX and it had a BU camera, but I do not see BU camera mentioned in Pilot brochure. Several people here have mentioned it. Is it a dealer installation? Seamless operation like in a factory option?

Same question regarding XM satellite radio. In the MDX you had AM/FM/XM displayed as band. Same in Pilot with XM. Understand that XM is Option, not standard as in MDX.

jmbls1

Backup camera is a dealer installed option. It is therefore also covered by the warranty. It is listed in much of the Honda Pilot literature I saw as an available option.

cccompson

$1300 for a back-up camera? Surely you can't be serious - damed thing can't cost a dealer more than $200 in parts.

aspesisteve

biscuit,
it's likely he gets an additional kicker of $100 for that price.
from posts here, the economy and ads in the paper you should be able to do invoice plus tax and title.

don't feel sorry for a sales person's claim he's not going to be able to feed his family

cccompson

Well, I have to apologize. H and D Accessories' discounted price for the Pilot camera and associated parts is $572.40. The installation instructions run 18 pages and it appears there is a significant amount of labor involved.

kennyg5

I also have been looking at the MDX Touring with Nav and the Pilot EX-L with Nav. and the price diff. is about $9k. The MDX comes with better creature comfort and safety features and a bigger Nav screen with voice recognition and backup camera. The Pilot has a huge storage console in the middle, which I like alot. It is a tough choice indeed.

biscuit1941

Kenny
Roger that.
I did notice the pilot was a little smoother riding on pot hole roads. I am not looking for an off-roader ATT, so that may be my decididng factor. but I am holding off for '06's to see if pilot gets voice recog. thaat is a huge plus. ody and accord have it. why not pilot? :confuse: :confuse:

qbrozen

probably 2 reasons. One is to be able to claim "we've updated the car" each year. The other is to not get too close to the MDX in features.

soon2havepilot

How does the dirt show up on the Steel Blue? debating on silver and Steel Blue.

Kirstie_H

You'll find opinions from those who already own the vehicle in our regular Honda Pilot discussion.

kirstie_h
Roving Host
Host, Future Vehicles & Smart Shopper discussions

eoink

I've searched this forum and have seen many comments about Pgh not offering good deals on Honda Pilots, but many have gone to Mike Pruitt (MP) in Akron, OH. The posts were all from Aug '04 or earlier, so I'm wondering if MP is still the best place to go for a deal on a Honda Pilot versus something closer to Pgh. I have not talked to many Pgh dealers yet, but they don't seem to be willing to go lower than 2% over invoice. The comments about MP all seem to show that he goes several hundred under invoice. Also, if MP is still the best place to go for Honda Pilots, I'm still a little unclear on the out-of-state paperwork. Does he take care of it (without extra chg) or do I?

jimnogood

I am from SE Mass. The best offer I've received so far for an 05 EX-L is $29,400 inc. dest ch. and $690 for running boards. The dealer is throwing in mud flaps, wheel locks and cargo tray. Can I do better? How much is the dealer holdback, and can I negoiate with that number? Thanks.

pilot seeker

I believe that was 'me'...congrats on getting a good deal...I couldn't get Herb Chambers 'down' on a few extras..but all in all my deal was good.......

cccompson

Although I haven't seen any recent posts on Ohio Pilot prices, there are a number of other dealers in NE Ohio that you might try - The Honda Store in Youngstown, Jay Honda in Bedford, Park Honda in Akron, and College Hills Honda in Wooster.

There is (or at least should be) no paperwork difference on an in-state versus an out of state transaction. The selling dealer will collect the applicable PA sales tax and send you the title (or memo) after it has been issued by PA.

rbatlanta

Price and Dealer name would be much appreciated.
Also, is the 2.9% financing still available?

Thanks

RB

michigander

My husband & I have been looking at Pilot's for the past few weeks (in Michigan) and put a down payment on a 2005 EX-L with navigation in Redrock Pearl last night.

After talking to three different dealers we were able to purchase the vehicle for $33,600.00 - out the door price. (Price includes 6% sales tax, $160.00 doc. fee, $23.00 transfer/title fee.) We will be paying cash and have a trade-in.

We believe we are getting a good deal, considering that other prices we received were at least $1000.00 more. Are we getting a good deal?

I found this site after the fact & it appears that a lot of you were able to get your vehicles cheaper. Does price have anything to do with location?

Would I be out of line asking the dealer to add a separation net, rear splash guards & running boards?

It truly amazes me how dealers are such vultures!!

cccompson

There seems to be a glut of Pilots in most of the country and great deals are everywhere. I bought an EX-L Nav for my wife on 1/3 for $30,500 plus $100 doc fee (plus tax) at Hugh White Honda in Columbus.

Everything is negotiable when buying a car so, no, you certainly weren't out of line.

aspesisteve

Local ad in paper ran last weekend for the LX Pilot (3 at this price) $23,888
That's like overf $1k below invoice, and it's still got most of the fine attributes of the Pilot.

Wish I were ready to pull the triger and hope this deal is around in a couple months.

vatechfan

Purchased a Black w/ Saddle EX-L RES from Tampa Hondaland on 3/26 for the following:

Invoice: $30,254
Accessories: $ 1,400 Chrome Side Steps and Back-up Sensors
Taxes & Fee $ 2,346

Total out the door cost of $34,000. No trade-in and paid cash.

Appreciate all the previous posts on the board. My wife and I obtained one internet quote, and also went to another local dealer who wouldn't meet the price we wanted. We walked out and they called back two days later with the deal we got above. Two days too late.

Tampa Hondaland has been o.k. but still waiting for installation of the accessories. Part of the deal required us to take it home (some line about lot damage and liability) which we didn't really want to do...Now dealing with the Parts department directly.

Thanks again.

ajv

I think you have had a good bargain. Could you please forward me the name of delearship and location? Thanks.

ajv

kmac207,
Could you forward the name of the delarship? Thanks.

carguy1234

Does the lease deal currently going on for the Pilot seem like a good deal?

Details:
$279.00 per month for 36 months
$1,999.00 capitalized cost reduction.
$2,873.00 total due at lease signing (includes first month’s payment, security deposit, capitalized cost reduction and AHFC upfront acquisition fee; total net capitalized cost and base monthly payment does not include tax, license, registration, options and the like).
Model YF1845EW (2005 Pilot EX)

Special lease rates available on all new 2005 Pilot models. Subject to limited availability. The specific featured lease listed is not available to New York residents. New York residents should contact their dealer for New York featured lease. Terms and conditions vary for New York Residents. In addition, AHFC limits leasing terms to 39 months or less to residents and dealers in the state of Rhode Island.

My thinking is that Honda will get the IMA and VCM, and next gen NAV with RES available together, and many more features into the ~2008 redisign. A 3 year lease on the current Pilot might be a good way to go for the interrum, and then buy the new model once the lease is up.

Does this make sense to anybody?

Thanks

byzy

$32,320 - MSRP, $29,074 Invoice.
Just bought 2005 Pilot EX-L. Here is the price I paid.
$29,068 included - destination, wheel locks, and cargo tray.
$55 - doc fee,
$80 - license, transfer - $143 for new,
$2184 - state Illinois and cook county tax,
$31,387 Out of The Door.
In my calculation this is ~$650 under invoice.

byzy

Think twice before you go to GRAND HONDA in Elmhurst IL. Here is my expierence with this dealer. I sent out a request for quote to dealers in Chicago area on Friday. I received about 15 quotes by Monday afternoon. The best price from GRAND HONDA was sent around 1pm. I called the dealer around 4pm to cofirm that they have this car in stock and they will honor their quote. I was there about 20 min. later. A salesman told me, after searching their parking lot for about 30 min. (instead of checking inventory on the computer which would take less than a minute), that they must have sold it. He said that he would be more than happy to sell me a silver Pilot I wanted, but since they don't have it the price will go up $600. When I asked for the price they quoted, the answer was "QOUTE ARE FOR IN STOCK CARS ONLY". In other words You have to wait about a week for the car, and you have to pay extra $600 for it. Does this make sense to anyone?

chuminthewater

You got hosed or suckered - in my opinion.

qbrozen

well, he didn't pay it, so no real hosing or sucking occured.

In any case, I would find another dealer.

chuminthewater

And you call up to make sure it's there, and 20 minutes later it's not there - you got suckered - at least they tried to sucker the buyer.

First off, cars don't sell that fast - and second - the computer inventory while not 100% (maybe) is likely to be correct.

This less than savory dealer did 1 of 2 things - 3 actually.

1. bs'ed a price in order to get the buyer in the place for a bait and switch (that is 2 things).
2. lied about price as the one wanted was there, and now it's not, and when we get it you'll have to pay more?

That is bs and suckering at it's finest.

WHen we bought ours, I had the 2 colors we wanted ready for inspection upon arrival - as part of the deal - so to speak.

qbrozen

yes, they tried to sucker the buyer. In this case, the buyer didn't allow him/herself to ultimately be suckered.

Not going back to that dealer is the best move.

biscuit1941

Had an interesting experience with Ford dealer 1 yeaqr ago.
Saw ad for leftover windstar minivan, with 5K rebate. I live in the boondocks and it was a 3+ hour drive over bad roads to get there. I called and told the salesman where I lived, and I wanted the van they advertised and named an "out-the-door-price". I would pay cash on the barrelhead if they could do that, but did not want to drive for nothing. He told me they could do that. He was going to be gone the day I was going so notified his partner about our talk. Got there, no where in the universe near the price we talked about. Listened to some high pressure and walked. Found what I wanted elsewhere. Recently, in market for another car, submitted request thru CostCo. Got call from THAT dealer, salesmanager. Told him my experience and I would not darken their door again. He SAID that was not policy, in future if that happens ask for sales manager. Especially when you have to drive a long way.

Was sales manager BSing? Did salesman violate policy? That is the question. I MAY try them again, but if they pull that again I will raise %^$@#^.

aspesisteve

classic case of bait and switch.

Car Salesmen are a rouge bunch. They move from dealership to dealership quite often and don't feel threatened by the thought of you talking to management.

cudoho

thank you for sharing,
would you please give me saleman #, I am looking to buy a Pilot EX or EXl depending on the price. Your installed options are good, how much just for running boards? appreciate any thing you can share
thank you

morganetal

We are in Doylestown-is the dealer you used near there?

morganetal

I am looking for the same in Doylestown. Would you recommend Conchohosken

Kirstie_H

We don't allow salespeople's names or contact info to be posted on the boards, so please don't ask for it.

kirstie_h
Roving Host
Host, Future Vehicles & Smart Shopper discussions

alexasha

Hi, I plan to move to MN and strongly considering purchase of 05 pilot. Any experience with car handling in snow.
Thanks

keifs

Anyone with a recent purchase in Upstate NY ( Syracuse). Just started shopping.

Thanks

sksjedi

Still looking for a Pilot EXL in Houston, went to a dealership for final test drive. Got prices on the options we got, seems outrageous when compared to internet prices from the internet parts suppliers. Saleslady kept tut tuting about how much prices have increased: (includes installation):
rear splash: $90
woodtrim: $618
cross bars: $193
backupsensors $997
chrome side steps $809
foglights WITH lowertrim $1195
The guys who bought in Houston, or elsewhere, any thoughts? :sick:

jimnogood

I just picked up my Black w/ gray EX-L. Jealous much? :P

cccompson

Except for the crossbars, the quotes for the accessories seem high.

nyhondaguy

Where did you get the financing? Was it thru Honda or the Dealer?

Thanks,
J