2013 and earlier-Acura TL Prices Paid and Buying Experience

rroyce10

... "in part because the Acura marketing plan is to establish a customer price for the 2005 model closer to the MSRP" ...

           That makes for a nice theory .. but the reality is, they base their future production on the previous model projections and the build quality of the vehicles .. Acura watches very closely the inventory days of their dealers, and most important, they watch for owners complaints, possible warranty work and get 25 day reports from all of the service departments in the country .... if they had their way, they would build 200,000 vehicles a month if they didn't get killed in recalls and RDR work .l.o.l.....

                 Remember, the manufacturer makes their money first .. it's the dealers that take the immediate hits.

                                      

                              Terry.

ssemon

Terry -

Sounds like you have a good handle on the manufacturer/dealer relationship. The TL was recently redesigned and a poor sales performance coupled with warranty issues (see TL forum re wheels and car rattles) would explain the reduced production better than a marketing strategy.

I'm going to put a call into that source and ask him to explain the statement with more detail.

I'll post back if there is a better explanation.

igiban

Do you have any factual data to back up:

1. 04 TL had poor sales performance.
2. Acura reduced 05 TL's production.

I am doubtful of any of the two.

igiban

Mmm you probably would not have posted it if they had never called back for another $100 off. Then you'd not get the $31,500 price when you were prepared to pay $31,552.

I was in talk with a dealer for an 05 on a rare color (not silver or grey). They came down to $31,990 but I want $31,500 plus some acc. It balked. A week later, they called back, and guess what they asked me if I want a silver or grey as they have more of those. I asked what about that color I want. Oh, it's sold, I was told, for $32,XXX.

Moral? If you insist on a few hundreds off more, you may have to be patient and walk off a few times too. There seems to be plenty who would trade a few chips for getting a TL sooner than later...

mafioso

I just took delivery of my 05 TL Silver with black interior w/navi...$34,000 flat include destination and mud guards, trunk liner, etc.

I haggled with three different Seattle area dealers. Not a steal of a deal but not too shabby either.

kyfdx

Sure...with a name like mafioso.. no wonder you got a deal.. I bet you get the best veal in all the italian restaurants also..lol

idontknowitall

I see so many posts of paying MSRP or only a few hundred under for Navi models. I don't know what inventory is of remaining model year but looking at prices makes me tempted to sell my 04 Nighthawk Black with Ebony interior for 34k. it has only 6k miles. Awesome car, but when I bought it when they were just hitting lots I paid what most everyone here is posting as good deal for non navs. Do your home work and shop around. I got a great deal and bought it over the phone as it had just pulled in the lot off the carrier. It took ten minutes on the phone and was at my door 120 miles away, the very next morning. I would even be tempted to broker a deal at 20% of savings for some of you. All I can tell you is to shop around and don't waste your time trying to deal with someone for hours over $500. It's not gonna happen if the dealer is selling MSRP. I was told by my local dealer too that they were getting $500 or more over sticker in Feb. 04. "Because it was such a hot car." I left, ordered one by phone and the next evening drove back to the same dealership and showed them my new ride. They told me I was not telling them the truth when I told them what I paid. I showed them contract and asked how many they sold yesterday:) I could really make a killing charging 20% of savings off some of you with the prices your paying. I could even sell mine for a profit, I have been waiting for a RL anyway. Shop and set your price. Don't given in even though others may. It may take you awhile, but trying to buy a $30K+ car I am sure none of you are in immediate need of a car to drive to work. Saving money is as much as a game as an effort but the rewards are sweet.

qwalls

Prices then and now also depend on location, and the dealer. I got my '05 NBP/Ebony/5AT/Navi 3 weekends ago, ordered it in September. Local dealers (Columbus) wouldn't do more than $500 off, but by driving 2 hours north (Cleveland) I got $2100 off. I've also seen good deals in NY and PA on the acura-tl site. West coast prices seem to be higher. The local salesman I was dealing with told me they couldn't touch the price, he didn't blame me, and that I did the right thing...

ringo2

I am looking at this site. Competitive for what I've been quoted. Am I concerned it is ligit?

igiban

Mind telling us which dealer/region you got a non-Nav price on a Nav TL?

If a dealer is willing to discount that much while others won't, either their supply/demand equation is not quite the same, or they have volume on their side to make still decent total profits.

If a dealer can sell at near-msrp easily, they are not going to give you much discount. Plain and simple.

qwalls

Acura of Cleveland. They are a new dealership and I guess they are going for volume. With holdback, they are still making about $2k on each car they sell. Give the internet manager a call. I can't post a link, but there is a pricing thread on the site I mentioned earlier. Several people got the same price, $33,335 for a '05 Navi TL. Great price, great car.

salbaby1972

All the info here is very helpful. i will be in the market for an 05 TL 5AT/NAV Athra/Ebn in a couple of months.

I am in the So Cal area. Just wanted some impressions of the best Acura dealers here. I live close to Keyes and Santa Monica Acura.

I wish I could get that Cleveland price here.

kyfdx

They are a multi-dealer group.. Definitely legitimate.. See this link for their dealerships.. They sell Honda and Acura warrantys.

http://curryhonda.com/index.htm;jsessionid=agdliiYg-Rw7?bhcp=1

idontknowitall

Acura of Augusta. Talked to internet sales manager and took 10 mins. between three phone calls. One to tell him what I wanted and that I would buy it over the phone. Two, for him to call me back with the two color choices I asked and three, to finish the deal over the phone after I faxed needed info. Mind you, this was in Feb 04. $33,100 Nighthawk black, ebony, navi, wheel locks, mud flaps, mats.. everything. This is when local dealers were asking 36K. This was the easiest car purchase ever! I had it the very next day. I even had a friend call to buy and they took his trade when they dropped his car off. If your having trouble finding one at the right price I would recommend them hands down. At that time every other dealer I called told me they could not locate the car I wanted anywhere on the east coast, let alone want to deal with me on one. Good luck on your purchases. Have not had one problem with the car other than getting rid of the early EL42 tires.

igiban

Augusta? That's in GA? Why all these great prices are in east coast, OH, VA, PA, GA.... Why do Californians have to pay virtually everything more? Houses, gas, cars..... Weather is not even that nice recently. Well that's off topic a bit I guess.

Still strikes me that why this dealer in Augusta had to sell TL in such a discount (about $3K?) over other local dealers. You did not even have to negotiate much. I mean who's gonna buy from other local dealers then?

rroyce10

..... It depends on the location, the time of the year, the buyers patience and the options ... in the case of Idontknowitall, he bought a black vehicle in Georgia .. excellent vehicles, but not a big seller in the land of the Falcons .. but a big seller north of the Mason/Dixon line ...

                                Terry.

tcl

I expected the price will drop for the next two months because the end of the year. If the new RL selling good the dealer may want to sell more TL to get more RL. RL is $15,000 more I am not sure it sell as good. However when is a new model at least will sell good at the first few months. I have contacted almost all the dealers in the Sol Cal area. Try Santa Monica and Tustin first, then Downey and Valenica, Cerrito and Keyes last because they do not quote price. They do not give much discount on Nav model, about $1000 off MSRP the most.
However it all depends on color etc. If you can find one on the lot may be more room for the price. There are more car with Nav on the lot now since there is more Nav model for 05. I could wait for another month or two get a lower price. Since the Anthracite/camel is a rare combination. I think less than $1,000 over invoice for a incoming car is a fair price in this area. You should start ask the quote a month ahead of your purchase to get the color and price you wanted. Forget about those do not response. You may want to take a vacation in the mid west and bring the car back if they have the color. The saving may cover the vacation cost. Good luck.

sukinsyn

One of the local dealers has a demo available. It is a manual trans with a spoiler. It has 5k miles on it. Their starting offer is $30,500 for it. I have been unable to find a realistic price for a '04 TL with only 5k miles.

Is purchasing a Demo a good or bad idea. I know how hard *some* people drive demos. OTOH, manuals are no where to be found and I would love a manual.

The dealer did say many people do not like the spoiler. I don't mind it. I am more concerned with the miles and the clutch damage.

Any ideas?

aaargh

$30,500 is what some are (were) paying for a new '04 6M (without the spoiler though). This sounds too high to me.

Don't know about damage/wear, etc...

sukinsyn

Thanks for that info. I will use that.

I am on my way now. I'll post what I find.

sukinsyn

The car was blue with quartz interior. It looked like a used car. It had some dings that needed repair and a scratch to the back fender. Someone (a salesman) used it for transportation. It looked like it had been in a grocery store parking lot. Not just peeps driving for demos.

When I said I wanted to see the numbers, they told me it was sold to the guy who just so happened to drive it before me. The car had been sitting for months and no one had looked at it. Because of the spoiler according to the internet manager.

They then tried to show me a red '04 with black interior. Which I don't want. I don't want black interior. Too hot.

To add insult, they had a used car salesman helping me. And there were new car salemen standing around. The used car guy didn't know a thing about the car or about the '05's when questioned.

I am disgusted with this dealership.

Can you say bait and switch?

mtgman

I have a wife and 2 kids and am looking at the G35 and TL. It sounds like there have been some ooncern with the tires/ride on the TL.

Are you guys satisfied with the TL? What made you choose over other cars?

qwalls

I love my '05 TL. It's my favorite car to date. What made me choose it over other cars were the BMW good looks, Honda reliability, and really cool toys/technology. The ride is a little firmer than your average family sedan, but not bad enough to make me miss my '99 Lexus. Awesome car! The Bridgestone tires haven't gotten great reviews, but my Michelins have been ok.

qbrozen

sorry, but in no way is it bait and switch when you are looking at a used car and it gets bought out from under you. Now, if they actually never had the demo car in the first place and used an advertisement of the nonexistant car to get you to come into the dealership and THEN tried to sell you a new one at a higher price ... THAT is more in line with bait and switch.

Kirstie_H

Please visit Dealers' Tricks - bait & switch, etc. to talk about what is or isn't a trick.

kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host

smgfl

I am considering leasing an 04 TL without Navi. Have been quoted $463/mo + tax with a 16,610 residual on a 48 mo lease. Does this sound like a good deal?

habitat1

I wanted to like the G35, given my prior success with a 1995 Maxima - 153k miles and still going strong. And I would have preferred a RWD car for handling.

But the TL 6-speed w/ HPT tires gave me as good of performance as the G35 6-speed (at least by my butt meter) and a much nicer interior and - at least from what I could tell - build quality. Don't get me wrong, the 2004 G35 was a nice enough car and the 2005 supposedly includes some enhancements.

powertrip

I just bought a new '05 TL for my wife on 10-28 and had a pretty good experience here in Jacksonville FL. I think that I may have been able to get a little better deal but I have been putting my wife off for a while waiting on 05 models as it is and when she saw the car she knew it was what she wanted. The car was gonna have the A-Spec package but they had not completed all of the modifications to it. It has the front, rear, and side spoilers as well as the small deck lid wing on the rear and tinted windows. They had not put the wheels and tired on it or the different suspension. Since I don't know the cost of the mods they did to it I couldn't really know what I should be paying. I paid 37,500 out the door which amounts to roughly 34,500 when I take away the sales tax and other fees(i.e. new tags(225), admin fees(289) which are crap but couldn't get outta them and one other state fee = $600). I was originally offered the car with no mods at 33,200 which is not bad I don't think. Besides I really didn't wanna argue over a couple hundred dollars. A thousand is one thing but $200 is close enough. I feel like if you have to argue over that you should be buying a cheaper car. By the way it was Silver with Ebony and Nav and an automatic with the mud guards, mats and locks I think.

Hope this helps anyone in or close to NE Florida.

titlex

I purchased an '05 TL (no navigation) at the McGrath Acura in Westmont for $30,900 plus TTL (supposedly invoice plus 1% but I think it was a little over that). They had about any color combo. I bought Blue w/ Camel.

pkl123

Best price I've seen so far on a 05 !!

goboy56

Was that an automatic or a stick?

igiban

Very nice price for 05 or even 04 early this year. Just about unthinkable in Cal. Did they give you any accessory?

They fact that they have any color combo means that they may have a case of supply over demand --Good for buyers.

pilotguy1

How did you do the deal? Did you deal over the computer with the internet manager or did you go to a sales person and what was his name? I made a deal with a competing dealer at the end of September, and the car is not suppose to get to the dealership until around the third week of November. I only made a verbal agreement over the phone with nothing in writing and a $1000 deposit on my cc that they still have not charged (most likely because they lost the work sheet on me and my salesman had to call me back this week to find out what we agreed on). The reason I am asking is because I am not happy how I am being treated by my salesman. On three separate occasions he was suppose to get back to me on questions I had and on two out of the three, I had to get it answered by the sales manager days later. The third question I am still waiting for an answer since last week. This dealership has screwed me over on two other cars in the past and I have no problem letting them keep this one, especially if I can save $500 with McGrath. My deal is $800 over invoice which puts it around $33173 with shipping for a navi. At 1% over invoice I should save about $500 and that is worth more to me than free car washes from my local dealer.

joanie

I too just got an '05 non navi automatic for 30,932
That included mud guards, trunk tray, and wheel locks. This was "Costco" pricing in the Chicago-
north subs. I think I did okay on the car, but might have over paid for the extended warr.
I did the 7yr/100,00 bumper to bumper for$1380.00.
Any feedback will be appreciated.

pilotguy1

We already talked about the extended warrantee around posting # 2143. Based on what some people posted you paid about $200 too much. But you did get a great price on the car, best I have seen so far providing your price includes the $570 shipping.

salbaby1972

I wonder if a person (me) from the Los Angeles area can buy a TL-auto/nav from the midwest over the phone and have it shipped?

I heard many people in LA did that for the Mini Cooper.

Any thoughts, has anyone done this?

I love that price $30.932. In LA they are asking for close to MSRP.

titlex

I did not get any accessories. I was happy with the price and did not want to start a bunch of games with add ons. I'll take care of that later if I want to -- maybe the mudguards and tinting the windows.

The only feature it seems to be missing is automatic headlights. I thought these were pretty standard on better cars.

I was going to buy a car on Saturday and contacted a couple dealers and asked what they could do. McGrath was the only one that really wanted to deal -- it was their internet manager I dealt with.

It is an automatic and was fresh off the truck w/ 4 miles and the protective films still on it.

ronaries10

You got an excellent deal on the 2005 TL - more than $500 under what I was able to get in Cols OH internet approx 3 weeks ago. Did the dealership charge any "dealership" or "advertising" fees besides tax and license charges?
Its amazing to see that many dealers are trying to sell 04 demos for more than $30k despite these prices.

inky4

Here is a weird story. I sold my Desert Mist 04 TL to an Acura dealer in August who called me when I advertised in paper (not my selling dealer). Car had 12,000 miles or so and non navi. I wanted more but dealer offered $28,800 if I would bring to the dealership. I bought a 00 TL there and said no problem at all. I asked him if he had a buyer and he said no--just need some inventory.
I paid about $31,800 for the car new and 3k cost over 10 months for the best miles was fair to me.
Well, I saw my car with same VIN in the OKC paper yesterday (3 months) for $29,921 and certified by Acura. Now how in the heck did any money get made on that deal? This is the oddest thing I have ever seen. At the time I was selling I got many calls (dealer called first and I said sold) but certified cars cost almost $1000 to certify with the longer warranty.
INKY

kyfdx

I think an almost new car like that could be certified for about $500.. But, it is just likely that the dealer over-estimated what he could get for the car, or he really did have a buyer and the deal fell through..

Many times, when a car doesn't sell within 60 days, they'll run it through the auction, just to turn over their inventory and have something new on the lot... Used Car operations do a lot of things that don't seem to make financial sense to regular people... They just need to show an average margin per deal, even if they lose a little here and there... I compare it to the waste you see going on in big corporations.. You'd think they could save a lot of money, but to them its like stepping over dollars to pickup dimes..

regards,
kyfdx

igiban

That's Costco price, meaning just bring your membership ID, and boom, you got that price? Darn, any AAA or Costco in Bay Area is only up to $1000 off on 05! Well, at least weather is gorgeous today...

joanie

YES, THAT WAS THE JUST COME IN WITH THE CARD PRICE.
DID GET THEM TO ADD THE MUD GUARD, TRUNK TRAY, AND
WHEEL LOCKS.
MAYBE YOU SHOULD COME TO THE WINDY CITY?

inky4

Interesting perspective. I will tell you it took over a week for them to cut me a check (clear title). I was a little nervous about that but after about 4 calls the check finally came with excuse that GM was out...I think the used car manager got asked why would you pay close to our cost invoice - Holdback on a used TL?
Car was near perfect with tint. I had scraped every wheel (my wife actuallY) and I had long ago put touch up paint in silver to camo this. Not terrible but I would pay $32k for a new one before I paid $29,900 for a used one.

kyfdx

I agree with you... But, it is amazing what some people will do to save a $1000, though in the end, it might cost them more...

I see used car departments do a lot of strange things... They will price a car $4K over their cost, then let it sit six months, then instead of knocking the price down to their original cost and selling it quick, they'll run it back through the auction and lose $2K..

I think the difference is.. Each car transaction is a major deal to us as buyers.. but, to them it is their total numbers.. they don't obsess over each deal the way we would.. and individual cars sometimes fall through the cracks..

regards,
kyfdx

billyperks

Why did you get rid of the TL?

rroyce10

......... Let's be honest, what most people like to forget (or deny) is that 85%+ of the buying market are payment buyers ... $1,000/$2,000 can effect the "actual" purchase by $20/$40 a month, add in the extra taxes, drop in the pay-off of $9,000 on their $6,500 trade and that $1,000+ makes a huge difference .. so, most are usually at their limit waaay before they get to the dealership .....

              We talk about prices all the time, but on the overall, it comes down to payment$ - it's just that folks don't like to mention that part .. it's kinda like a State Secret or in most cases, false pride ...

      

                             Terry.

inky4

Good question. I miss the car (hated the EL 42's) which had the poorest wet traction I have seen. Regardless, I thought the car was not practical for my purposes. I owned the car outright and simply needed the cash to buy some land and to fund a make up payment in my retirement plan. I actually thought of buying it back for $29,400 if they would keep the certified warranty status. I guess I was shocked that a dealer would go out of his way to buy a used TL. I can see one coming as a trade but to seek out used listings in a city 100 miles away and buy sight unseen is still strange to me. Stranger yet the asking price of $29,900 and certified to boot after writing me a check for nearly $29,000 in August. My wife calls it the curse as I have done this before with some other cars that dealers thought were hot and then got stuck with.
INKY

perplsmurf

I am pleased to say that I am selling my '02 Lexus ES300 and after observing these discussions for some time, I am considering an '05 TL w/ Nav. I live in Central NJ and wanted some input as far as what I should be looking to pay for an Anthracite/Black TL w/ Nav. Also am considering a lease if I can find a good deal. Would much appreciate any input regarding what constitutes a good deal in a purchase or lease of this particular car. Anxiously awaiting any helpful response. Thanks.

pilotguy1

I just got the "Costco" price from Mcgrath in chicago to see if it can beat the price I got for an 05 navi on order with a different dealer that I am having customer service issues with. They quoted me $34870 which is absurdly high compared to the non TL deal recently posted. I did not ask him specifically what a non navi would go for but he said that out of 50 cars only 10 to 15 are navi and that people are waiting in line for the navi. I dont know if calling on the 2nd of the month had anything to do with the horrible quote.

igiban

Check the non-Nav price and compare so you know if they are bluffing. I believe Acura is making more Nav models now on 05.