Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Anybody with experience buying in KC lately?
There are quite a few 05 Autos but few stick shifts locally.
Think I may go 6M as my TL is an Auto, a change of pace.
My wife would like a 9-3 but it is hard to beat the TSX even at sticker.
Also, have not heard a word from my TL salesman since the purchase (10 months ago) so really don't feel any loyalty to the guy. Think it's ok to get a quote via internet manager? vs original sales guy?
Hoping that the last week of the month/year will light a fire for price.
My wife and I window shopped the 9-3's. Price, features and reliability are certainly in favor of the TSX.
I bough my 2005-TSX on Dec. 8,2004
Before tax & fees $25,850.00
Out the door price $26,9740.00
No-Navigation. /// pro-pack///
8 Miles (off the truck)
Please don’t pay more then this!!!! You have to understand (invoice price $24,146.00). I do understand the car is hot, but why should we let the dealer mark up price $3K over the invoice???
I am in Northern VA...
My wife was hesitant to buy it due to our 2 kids. She was not sure if it was roomy enough. I had it home for about 2 hours before she moved the car seats from our Odyssey and put them in the TSX. Looks like I may get limited driving time.
I checked dealer inventory in Kansas, Western MO, IA and Colo and could not find another 6MT.
So, not a great deal overall but I'm happy with the deal. Did not want to spend countless additional hours tracking a car down.
FWIW
I've had it just over a week now and it is a GREAT car.
48 hours after picking it up, a BMW 3-series driver gave me the "thumbs up" approval. What a solid car and good value.
-While BMW drivers are working overtime in order to make their car payments, I'm out enjoying my TSX!
I think the deal was sweet, I didnt get any where close to this is any dealership in the Boston or Southern New Hampshire area.
phkck and softwareguy-congrats.
All, please continue to share your driving impressions/experiences on the Acura TSX forum.
sparky123
Good price $25,695... congrat!!!
Seems like a good deal. And if you are happy with the deal, great. The TSX is a lot of car for the money.
I think it's the best time of the year NOW to buy cars (new or used), because dealers have to get rid of as much inventory as possible before Dec. 31 of each year. All businesses have to pay tax on whatever that is left in their inventory on the last day of the year. It's the law/accounting practice. As consumers, why shouldn't we take advantage of this once every year opportunity? Not too many days left. ^_*
Can anyone who has purchased this lovely car in Atlanta please post their prices and dealer name.
Post 961 and 962 suggest $24K(which is $600 below invoice and i think a great deal) but no dealer info. Most the dealers in the atlanta and sububan areas seem to be close to $26K.
These are ofcourse without TTL, but include doc and destination fees.
Thanks for your help.
BJman-post purchase remorse is not allowed. You did fine, now go out and enjoy your wonderful car.
After driving the TL today, I gave my dealer the green light to order or intercept a SSM/Ebony, non-navi 6MT. If he can't find one to intercept, in other words, standard factory order, he advises April delivery date.
why are you asking complete strangers how you should feel? Since you've already made the purchase, the whole idea of buyers remorse is moot.
You've just purchased a terrific all around vehicle, which is a ton of fun to drive. Now it's time to go out and enjoy it! Short of not buying the 6 MT version, you did good.
I've had mine for exactly one year, and I can tell you you won't regret it. It makes driving fun.
Enjoy. GO DRIVE!
Johnny
michael.miles10@verizon.net
michael.miles10@verizon.net
The TSX is indeed a very solid piece of metal. I have been driving stick shifts for the past 13 years and decided to give my right hand and left foot a break, though fully realizing that the 6 MT is more fun to drive.
Happy 2005, folks!
The trade in was another story. Their first offer on my 2001 Buick Regal was far too low, in my opinion, but after extended, and I do mean extended, negotiation they finally agreed to a price $155 over book (Kelly) which was $1455 more than the original offer.
So, all in all, I think I got about as good a deal as could be had under the circumstances. After making the 170 mile trip home plus a few errand today, I am delighted with the car. I want to thank you and another forum member for alerting me to the Dallas situation.
Happy New Year to all.
Enjoy your car, and Happy New Years to you and everyone else at Edmunds.
Johnny
I'm trying to solicit some offers in the Southern California market on a 05 TSX w/o navi MT. I emailed everybody in a hundred mile radius, but finding very few manuals (this is usually the case on all makes/models in Cali). Anyways, a few have gotten back to me with one or two available on their lots. Some don't even order MT's and some haven't even responded at all. My question is, what is the experience of others buying online in this market? Even the people I have dealt with seem ho hum about selling a car. I tell them I am ready to buy, but nobody seems to be interested in making a deal. I'm shooting for 25,672 (500 over invoice) and the few initial offers I have are around 26300 or so. I really think at this time of year these guys should be ready to deal some. I guess what I want to know is, is this standard on line tactics for these guys...pretend like they don't need to sell the car? Or is it just due to so few MT's that they think they don't have to deal? Should I maybe just join the masses of other So Cal zombies and succumb to the automatic that all dealers seem to have tons of?
Thanks and sorry for the long post.
Finally, is it important where you end up buying? To me it is. At the end of the day, I want to buy from my neighborhood dealer so I can establish relationships with the service dept. etc. At some point, you have to be a good customer. $26,300, if from your preferred dealer, is not a horrible price. After all it is $1200 off sticker on a very rare car (believe me, I know from looking at inventories in a 300 mile radius from Indianapolis). Demand is growing due to two consecutive years of Ten Best at C&D. Acura continues to artificially limit production to push buyers into the Ohio made TL. You see some incredible buying numbers on this forum. Not every dealer will do business at such a low profit margin. Push them as far as you can then make the deal because you're already in the buy zone at $1200 off. If you want the 6MT and can find the combo you want, buy it and be very happy with yourself that you got a discount off sticker on a car that is worth every penny of the full price.
I purchased my TSX a year ago to the day, with the deal sealed over the internet. The entire process was relatively painless, and the whole thing was closed in as long as it took for me to make up my mind.
I did NOT have to visit the dealership to convince them I was serious, because the dealership was over 300 miles away (in Spokane, WA). They had what I wanted (SSM 6 MT, non-nav) and were willing to deal. I did not make a killing, but got about $800 off MSRP with the pro pack thrown in. You have to remember that this car was then, and is now, a fairly hot-ticket item.
My experience with an internet purchase was a good one. No hassles and no BS.
I too had labored under the delusion that purchasing a car at the end of the year automatically tilts the balance in the buyers favor. This is not always the case. It can, but, in the case of a hot car like the TSX, the dealer really has the upper hand. Just MO.
Indydriver I disagree that Acura is intentionally holding back production of the TSX in order to push buyers towards the US made TL. The way I understand it, there really is limited factory space, at this time, available to produce the TSX. You have to remember that Honda/Acura really is not a large corporation in the grand scheme of things. I'm not sure where you get your information, but I'd be interested to hear.
Tman3, considering the $500 increase in the MSRP for the TSX this year, $26,300 really is not a bad deal, especially if you get the protection package thrown in (all weather mats, trunk tray and wheel locks). It's about what I paid last year. If you like the car, buy the car. I really think you'll end up loving it.
Bottom line, if you're really serious about getting a better deal than that, I counsel patience. If you wait it out a bit, and try pitting one dealer against another, you'll probably end up getting what you want.
Good luck,
Johnny
They will love to have your business regardless of where you purchased the car.
Johnny
I also suspect that Indydriver is at least partially correct. Honda doesn't want to flood the market with TSXes when the TL can be produced relatively cheapily in US factories.
Thanks.
Not feeling too bad about the car price, I keep thinking I didn't do so well on a few options trying to get out the door. I see little discussion of the final add-ons in the discussion group and I would have liked to compare notes a bit more in this area.
I bought the 84 mo/100K mi extended warranty for $1500 - same price as for the TL-S starting from a dealer list price of $1900+. I also bought tire and wheel insurance (5 yr coverage) this time for $297 ($100 off their supposed list) after busting a new tire on the TL and it costing $225 out of pocket. The real kicker was adding Perma Plate paint and interior coating protection for $700 (I think their list was $900). I'm almost sure this is a rip-off, but my lovely wife was hounding me to go for it and I was worn down at that point.
I'd love to hear other experiences with purchases of the add ons.
Thanks.
Happy New Year to all Acuraphiles!
A dealer up the street had a Red 04 with parchment that I test drove two months ago and was very impressed with. I passed on it because at the time I wasn't convinced I wanted an automatic trans and wasn't sold on the tan leather. A month went by and I was within a last minute bait and switch from buying a 6sp RX8 when it dawned on me that I really didn't want a sports car. Atlanta commutes are brutal and I wanted something more comfortable than the MR2 I still have, yet I didn't want to totally cave in and get a family 4 door sedan.
In August I had an out of town dealer respond to an email offering a Grey auto 04 for $25.6. I wasn't sold on grey so I let the offer go, but that was my baseline for the Red one I bought. I offered $25K and they countered with $25.5 and not wanting to let the car get away I agreed on it. During the first week of December, the '05s were just starting to hit the dealers and there was probably less than 5 auto, non-nav '04s in Atlanta. I considered waiting to get an '05, but the $2K difference was hard to ignore. I wanted red, and the more I looked at the tan leather, the more I liked it.
The buying experience was easy because the price was agreed to via e-mail, all I had to do was show up with the check and drive the car home.
I had the same experience a previous post did with the last gasp "closer" push for dealer profit with the warranty, GPS recovery service, alloy wheel insurance, and one other I can't recall. I nearly went for the wheel insurance until I recalled that in 30 years of driving I've yet to break an alloy wheel in a way that wouldn't have been covered by my regular auto insurance.
My advice on how to fight this crap off is to simply say to the "closer," "I like to shop for what I buy, so let me think about the extended warranty. If you're insisting that I have to buy the wheel insurance now, well, I'm just not comfortable with that." Then shut up. You don't owe them an explanation and you don't have to say another word. Worked for me anyway. . .
The amazing thing after all this is my absolute lack of remorse. My cherry red TSX puts a smile on my face every time I walk to the furtherest spot in the parking lot to drive it home. The disappointment I got with the 21 mpg of city driving was tempered by the 31 mpg I got driving to Tampa and back.
The most recent pleasant surprise was when I finally figured out what the D3 setting for the automatic transmission really is. The manual describes it as the setting you'd use for towing a boat or something, but what it really is, is the SPORTS setting. By modulating the pressure on the gas pedal, I'm learning to delay the shift points to the high 4000's so I can pretty much drive as aggressively as I've been used to without bothering to shift manually.
The sports setting had given me a new aspect of my TSX to appreciate, it's kinda fun. . . <grin>
Did some research last night on the navi, and decided I might want to go with that. When I got to the dealer they had the color I wanted (blue on black leather) with the navi package. Played around with it then, and have been playing ever since. I HIGHLY recommend it. Sure, it's a toy and you can probably get by fine without it...but it really is quite cool, and if you're paying this much you may as well get it. Besides it's the only option and you really do get so much in this car at a great price even with the navi.
So what did I pay? Manual with navi, 28,300. I wanted 27,500 (figured that would be the best deal in town), but I got 200 more then I would have taken on my trade (and that was after bringing him up from 1k on his initial offer on the trade). I was trying to get a 6yr/100,000 mile extended warranty from Acura Care (not the 3rd party one) for 900 but it was starting to become a deal breaker. He wouldn't go below 28,500 and 1400 on the extended warranty, I got up and started to leave and he went to 28,300 and I said deal but forget the warranty. I decided it wasn't worth it for me at that point.
In regards to Togaman, I think you did OK on your extras except for the interior coating protection (as you already suspected). I got the same treatment pretty much exactly, but didn't go for any of it though the wheel protection looked tempting. Hopefully your extended warranty is backed by Honda and is not purely 3rd party or you could be in trouble later if they fold. However if you razed enough hell at your dealership, they'd probably honor it.
So in summary, it seems like the 1k to 1.5k over invoice is a fair deal on this. If you can really get the dealer lower then this kudos to you. I imagine if you're not dumping an older model trade on him like I was, you probably could get him down another 500 if you really put up a battle. I for one couldn't be happier, the car just puts a huge smile on my face...it's my first non-compact car
Edit: Oh and did I mention the special 2.9% financing that Honda had made available for about a week only? Got that too ;p.
RPM HP
1000 25
2000 55
3000 90
4000 125
5000 155
6000 185
6800 200
7000 195
Torque curve is pretty flat with 90% available at 2000, tailing off after reaching its peak 166 at 4500. Also, I've read where the high speed VTEC cam lobes don't kick in until 6000, so Acura must expect us to shift there routinely. Looking at this HP curve, it certainly appears that one needs to shift at at least 6000 to get the best the engine has to offer.
my experience was not that great, i guess i m cheap and i know too much how they do business.
i was a sales desk assistance at metro nissan, in montclair nissan for three months for wkend only for fun and quit due to.. i cant stand how they rip people off..
for my 2004 tsx navi auto, i think i got a OK deal. i got the car back in aug 2003. satin silver with quartz interior. i paid 27958.71 plus tax and lic which turns out to be 30500 out the door for the car, and this price included 2 sets of wheel locks, mud guards, full nose mask, trunk tray, factory door edge guards body colored, dash cover. i paid 895 for acura care 7 years / 100k with zero deductible, and 500 for the GAP. the gap will pay the difference between you loan pay off vs. insurance pay out at the time of total loss and will pay for my deductible and 1000 to my new car. my interest rate was 3.9% for six years with american honda, no one will offer this rate. OR sell me the car at invoice at 4.9% rate. identical pymt and term.
it does not change my total pymt with interest.
zero down 495x72.
the mkt rate and credit unions is at 4.9% at that time for six years. so i based my pymt on 4.9% and get the tsx at invoice.
it is a matter of who wants the commission within the dealer? if salesman wants it they have to sale me the car at some profit and offset with the rate or the other way around.
i think i did ok.
with destination charges included.
REULAR TSX inv 25171 and msrp 27560
NAVI tsx inv 26992 and msrp 29560
remember, they can make u happy in the front but wont be happy with the back end of it, the interest rates, extended warranty prices, etc.
My negotiations on trade were more of a struggle, but I ended up with a trade-in allowance $155 over KBB and $1455 over the original offer. My meeting with the finance guy included his presentation of a long list of exorbitantly priced add-ons all of which I declined. At the end, however, he asked which one I would take if it were free, and I said I would take the Uniseal protection package (paint and interior coating) which I think he had priced at $399. He then asked what I would be willing to pay. $25, I said. He then offered it for $55, which I accepted. So I did buy the Uniseal add-on for $55.
This was a cash deal, so there was no financing involved. Given the low interest rate available, that might have been a better deal than cash, but I didn't want to fool with it.
While I started and finished with the Internet sales manager and had a good sales price early on, the trade negotiations and closing resulted in my spending the entire afternoon at the dealership. However, I did end up with exactly the car I was looking for at what I thought was a good price, and I am very pleased with the car so far.
Because the reports of others on this forum over the last several weeks were very helpful to me, I wanted to share my experience as well and wish a happy new year to all.