We didn't really experience any 'bad' dealers while purchasing our Odyssey Touring with NAV/RES. Again, we used an email quote campaign. Using this approach - most of the dealer's that responded were willing to beat any other dealers price. It came down to what dealer had the actual vehicle in stock. Some other dealers might have beat the price - but if they have to go find the vehicle? I wasn't thrilled with that. Ended up at about $400 over invoice from Lehigh Valley Honda in Emmaus.
Why are you annoyed at Pohanka Honda?? Because the salesperson, who is paid on commission, didn't feel like wasting his time by letting you drive a van you had no attention on buying? He doesn't get paid if you don't buy from him. He also doesn't get paid if you get your car serviced at his dealership. So instead of being mad at the dealership and this salesperson, get mad at yourself for your lack of business ethics.
If Pohanka Honda could give me the best deal on the Odyssey I want, I would purchase it from them. Most consumers who want the best price for a car test drive the car and THEN shop around for price. Are these customers also lacking in business ethics because they don't promise to buy from the dealership where they test drive the car? Obviously, price is the bottom line. We have not signed a contract with ANY dealership (why my husband put it in those terms, I'll never know). And I've been completely honest with the PA dealership about the problems with the driveway and the fact that we're going to try to resolve the situation with a dealership locally. We are still free to buy from whichever dealership pleases us, but we happen to know that the dealership in Philly can give us the best price. Who is costing that salesman his commission -- us, for refusing to buy a more expensive version of the same exact car, or his manager, for refusing to match the price we were getting somewhere else? If Pohanka gave us the best deal, since they're local, we'd go with them.
Moreover, I am sure that Pohanka's franchise agreement requires them to do their best to sell Honda products. So if you think there are ethics problems on my side, you should recognize that there are some clear ethics issues on the dealer side as well. I am shopping for a Honda product, and I haven't decided whether it's going to work for us. Why is it you feel that this salesperson shouldn't have serviced us? Because he (and we) knew his dealership couldn't give us the best price? You're basically saying that it's ok that the salesman is motivated PURELY by his self-interest. That's not right in my book -- he's been paid by Honda to sell Honda products. His salary and HIS business ethics should keep him from thinking about his pocketbook all the time. If you think I should be more concerned with the Honda employee's pocketbook than my own, your opinion of business ethics is simply more generous toward the salesperson. I'm simply not that magnanimous.
Given that we are STILL deciding between the Sienna and the Odyssey, as a HONDA employee, that salesperson should have been doing his best to ensure we ended up in his company's product. A good salesperson should be doing whatever he or she can do to sell their product. Commission should hardly be the only motivating factor. A good customer is going to reward the salesperson who gives the best customer service AND who gives the best price. Pohanka Honda gave us neither, and went a long want toward souring me toward Honda in general. Did you miss the part where I said we're now seriously considering the Sienna when we really preferred the Odyssey -- I HAVE TO KNOW WHETHER THAT CAR WILL FIT UP MY DRIVEWAY, and from my point of view, Honda is not putting me in a position where I can get that done.
Your personal insults do nothing to resolve my dilemma -- do you happen to have the information regarding the clearance difference between the Touring Ody and the EX-L?
This appears to be more your husband's fault than anyone elses. If he would have approached the situation stating "I have a deposit on an Odyssey with another dealer, but would prefer to buy here if your price is better", then he would have had the service he wished. Stating that he WAS going to buy elsewhere gave the salesperson no motivation to do anything for you. And yes, salespeople are motivated by commissions. They do not get salaries and are only paid if they sell something. I don't go to work for free, and neither do you. Should we expect a car salesman to work for free just to make us happy? Price is very important when buying anything, so the dealership and salesperson that does most of the work should get the last opportunity to earn your business.
We got our exl res nav from antrim way honda in greencastle pa. we paid 31,600 + tags and tax. No other fees. they also gave us free all weather mats. we had to wait for a few months, but the price was worth it and they were very friendly. http://www.antrimhonda.com/
it's this kind of warped thinking supported by muddyriverduck that makes buying a new car so frustrating. a salesperson is supposed to help a prospective shopper learn about a car and answer any reasonable question asked by the shopper. for most salespeople, a test drive would be too much to ask if a shopper has no intention of buying the product "right now". while it may be true that the salesperson makes no money if they don't make a sale, it is still part of their job to service and educate a potential customer for "free." increasingly, this train of thought is becoming foreign to many salespeople. first, they know very little about the product that they are selling. second, they are only interested in making a sale. third, they think it's their right to mistreat a customer at their discretion. a conscientious consumer should be angry over this pathetic behavior instead of condoning it. i don't sell cars but i do occasionally work for free. sometimes, that may be a necessary part of performing your job well.
If the salesperson is not helpful or unwilling to help...take it up the chain of command if it's that important to you. Speak to the sales manager, general manager, then Honda rep if need be. The salesperson may have nothing to lose... but Honda Inc. certainly would.
Based on your name it sounds like you are a fellow PSU Alum.
We recently purchased an Odyssey from Lehigh Valley Honda (60 miles north of Philly) because the northern VA dealers wouldn't budge on price. One northern VA dealer even insisted on the typical add on paraphernalia. We received a similar deal as the post in 10154. It was actually an enjoyable experience working with the sales people and the sales manager from Lehigh Valley Honda.
Check the clearances: The two points that would hit the ground would be either the front or rear overhang since you indicated your driveway is steep. If you had indicated your driveway has a large hump then the undercarriage would be susceptible to hitting the high spot.
Take a tape measure and measure the height of the front and rear overhangs from the street on your sister's Odyssey. Then take the same measurements on on EX model on a dealer's lot. Make sure the tires are properly inflated on both vehicles. Then cut 2 pieces of foam that are the same thickness as the difference in heights between the 2 vehicles. One will be the thickness for the rear overhang and the other the thickness of the front overhang. My guess is each piece of foam should be about 3/4".
Tape these foam pieces on the low point of each overhang on the Touring model. The bottom of the foam now represents the low points for the EX model. Drive up and down the incline and see if the foam scrapes. If the foam does touch the ground then even the Touring with 17.5" wheels could be susceptible to scraping based on: - how many passengers are in the van - how much other weight is in the van - if the tires are under inflated - the speed at which the incline is encountered - the angle at which the vehicle approaches the incline.
Use of a demo and a sales person's time: Not sure if it works this way at all Honda dealers but at some dealers (LV Honda included) Honda owns the demonstrator and not the dealer. However if I had no intention of buying a vehicle from a dealer, for whatever reason and that includes if I knew they won't compete on price, I wouldn't consume any time from their sales staff nor would I ask to use the demo. My belief is it's not the sales person making the decision to not compete on price so let the sales staff spend their time on prospective leads to earn their income. They also deserve to have the full use of the demo in this process.
Good luck with your shopping and with your decision. Vince
A customer walks in and wants to put 26 miles on a Odyssey they have already agreed to buy from another dealer. Most stores require the salesperson go along on test drives.
So, that salesperson basically is going to spend 45 minutes demonstrating a car that he/she KNOWS the customer isn't going to buy? Maybe a sale will be missed during that 45 minutes.
At least her husband was honest and upfront. Most people wouldn't have been.
We all get our time wasted. It's a part of the job and I accept that. Still, it's frustrating!
BTW, we have a lot of STEEP driveways around here and I haven't heard of any clearance problems. I did sell one to a guy with waterfront property who has a VERY steep driveway. He put a hitch on the back and that would scrape a bit until he learned to go in at an angle...no more problems.
$25,627.03 asking price ($100 Over Invoice) OTD is $27,981.43
I got it in writing and scanned it to email attachment then submitted it to other dealers to see if they are willing to beat this price..waiting to hear back
Does anyone have experience with hauling 2 canoes on a 2005 Odyssey EX. Can't find any of the rack people (Thule / Yakima) with anything other than using the factory rails with their cross bar mounts. The factory rails are very short and far to the rear of the roof and am concerned about cross wind stability. Also not too sure where to attach bow lines to the vehicle other than coming out from under the rear of the hood. Would appreciate any input.
I can email the print out they gave me if need be. E-mail me for request lil_ol_brenn@yahoo.com.
The dealership was stern on sticking to the price of $26510 for the EX style until I brought up this little bit of info (below) o them letting them know that if they brought it close to invoice they are still making a profit. They could not argue the point ...Honda dealers get a 3% holdback thewy offered to sell at $25,627.03 w/o TTL. True dealer invoice price for my zip code should be $25,012 but I thought this was a fair deal and didnt push to much further.
Holdback is kept secret from the buyer. It’s hidden in the vehicle’s invoice price and not listed on the window sticker. In most cases, you’re best bet is to avoid discussing holdback money until the dealer delivers a sermon about selling at invoice cost and not making any money. If the dealer must special-order the vehicle, or you know it’s hot off the assembly line, use the holdback money to your advantage
I got my ELX-RES last month from Lynwood Honda - great experience. They were competitive (well for Seattle anyways). $30,850 +tax, etc which was the best I could find in the puget sound.
I would also recommend Moses Lake Honda's internet dept as well and would have bought there but needed the van sooner.
Holdback is NOT profit that falls to the bottom line.
There is a seperate discussion on holdback in Smart Shoppers that you should read. Holdback isn't a "secret" either. This gets brought up in these forums every day. holdback ***helps*** pay for flooring and advertising.
Seriously, if someone wants to talk about holdback, we should talk about this little thing called OVERHEAD. People have no idea of the tremendous costs involved just to open the doors every day. B&O taxes are a killer too.
If that dealer lowered his price in order to make a sale, it wasn't because you brought up holdback. It's the market that determines pricing.
Well you may be right I only went by the advice of buyersadvice.com alot of other sites state that the dealer is refunded that holdback at a certain point but its not of real concern to me.. Just thught I would do a cut and paste off one of the sites to let people know they portray they make no money at invoice
Purchased my vehicle today elsewhere and love it was told by another dealer they used an old invoice pricing that the invoice dropped $600 so went with them
thanks for the input buyersadvice.com seems to think its a "SECRET"
Sorry - I think I shared in an earlier post. I bought an EXL WITH NAV & RES for $31,964 ($600 over invoice) + $55 doc fee. This worked out to about $1,200 below TMV and $1,300 below my next best offer in Chicagoland.
Loving the van so far, but having a small problem with the power sliding door. Off to another forum to see what I can learn about that...
Well, this has certainly sparked a debate! This one hit close to home. Why? 1.) I just bought an EXL RES NAV 2.) I have a steep driveway 3.) The dealer that I bought from was not the closest dealer.
Basically, on a Saturday I did the whole email bit. Got a great price from a dealer about 20 miles away. Really wanted to buy from the dealer 5 miles away, and gave them every opportunity (via phone and email) to win my business (they already have my service business on my '02 Accord).
On Monday, I was supposed to go buy the car, but I didn't want to complete the transaction without driving the car up my driveway. I went to the nearby dealer and asked them for a test drive. Call me a sinner, but I didn't mention the other dealer. I just told him that getting the car up my driveway without scraping was a show-stopper (the Accord scrapes, but we bought the car before the house - what can you do?).
Anyway, the Odyssey didn't scrape, but the front end came REALLY close when I backed straight out. The thing is - you never really back straight out. If I turn the wheel near the bottom of our driveway, the clearance is fine.
Anyway, I promptly drove to the dealer 20 miles away and took delivery. I felt a tiny bit bad, but that's all. Bottom line is you need to take care of #1. I've had plenty of dealers waste my time (which, I'll humbly say is more valuable - at least to me - than theirs is). Besides, how many people test drive a car that are just shopping, aren't serious, etc.? I mean, the ratio of test drives to sold cars isn't supposed to be 1:1, is it? So a salesman had to ride on a test drive that didn't result in a sale for him? Well, maybe his dealership needs to price more aggressively?
Ok, deep breath - I got a little excited there...
For Loveyalions, I can confess that I am Honda loyal. However, I did drive the Sienna as well. It was a lot more $ equipped the way we wanted (RES, NAV). It does has a higher clearance, though it also came pretty close to 'bottoming out' on our driveway.
2005 EX-L price quote $29.310 I won't pay that since the invoice is 27,949 I'm thinking about offering around 28,000.
The 2005 Sienna XLE I was quoted was 32,312 (MSRP 36,something) and I offered 30,000 just this morning they said 30,500 we haven't responded yet. They are ready to move these things off the lot with the 2006's coming in and are cutting some pretty good deals. What do you guys think about these deals?
Just bought a Red 2005 Odyssey EX (cloth) from Menlo Honda in Redwood City, CA
vehicle price: $26,000 sales tax: about $2300.: fees: $45 doc + about $200. licence/dmv out-the-door: $28,565
Negotiation took a little back and forth. Initial offer $25,500 (about $300 below invoice) but went up to invoice. They said ok but their offer sheet had a $515 destination charge added. I said destination was included in the invoice price of $25,888, crossed it out, then wrote $26k for the vehicle price. That was accepted by the dealer.
They might have sneaked one by me. The local sales tax is 8.25% but the tax I paid was 8.75%. I didn't think to check it when I signed the sales contract. The amount looked about right to me (under 10%). I did read somewhere that CA (?) added a 0.5% tax on new vehicles but I don't know if that's true.
They offered me a 100k miles/7 yr warranty for $1400. I offfered to $700 for it but they wouldn't budge on the price. I also declined their fabric protection offer. Didn't think dealers still offered that.
I didn't have a trade in and had my own financing. It was the last EX they had on the lot. I had called 20 (!) dealers in the bay area from Santa Rosa to San Jose asking what colors they had in stock. My wife didn't want gold/beige which of course a number of dealers had. Went to a few dealers that week. Here are my quick impressions:
Walnut Creek: Earlier in the week, I offered below invoice on a light blue EX. Sale manager offered it for invoice but I politely declined (thought I could do better). I went back a couple of days later to get it but it was sold that morning for $1000 over invoice. Should have taken the invoice deal.
Dublin:Salesman told me they had a Midnight Blue Ex 'in their lot in Tracy.' They said they would have to pay someone to drive it out so they wouldn't be as willing to make a deal on it. Started to make a deal on a SageBrush that they had on the lot. The sales manager was a real jerk so I happily walked out.
San Jose: very large dealership. Had a Red, Silver, and White EX. Made an invoice offer on the Silver. Sales manager showed me a computer screen which 'calculated' the difference between my offer and invoice. It said $28,000 was $400 below invoice (their $0 profit level). I didn't want to try and figure out all the numbers on the screen so I politely declined to make a higher offer and left. Sales manager called me back later that night saying, 'I could have the silver EX.' Too bad. He missed his chance.
Redwood City: last stop on a long day but it worked out.
Hi, I'm pretty new here and need some advice from you experts! What are some of the advantages to investing in the Touring and is it really worth it? Thanks in Advance-Melissa
have you tried to rent an odyseey from Hertz or another rental car company. Then you can test drive up and down you driveway. This might run you $100 or so.
Does anyone have any experiences trading with Crown Honda of Greensboro? I am looking to trade an '03 Sequoia for an Odyssey and am wondering how they deal. Thanks
Well, honestly - the Touring has all options installed as standard. Sure some of these are not required - but are nice, some are very nice. It probably comes down to personal finances and preferences. For us, it was worth it, add the voice activated Nav system and DVD - and it is an awesome experience. --Run flat PAX tires with realtime tire pressure readout --Slightly larger/different wheels --6 Disc CD Changer 360 watt stereo with sub --Power Tailgate --Fog Lights --Programmable wipers --Automatic Headlights --Front and Rear Parking Sensors --2 Driver Memory Seats --Power Adjustable Pedals --2nd row console vs. plus 1 seat --Programmable Mult-Info display --Compass --Tri Zone Auto Climate Control --Auto Rear View Mirror --Regular 115Volt Plug
We don't allow the names of salespeople to be posted in the forums, so please do not ask for such information to be posted. Dealership name is fine, just not the names of any staff members who work there. Thanks!
just put down a deposit on an EX-L Sage Brush Pearl for 28,900 WITH 4 free oil changes, wheel locks, front and rear mud guards, full tank of gas, AND moonroof visor
It looks like a lot of posters here have paid at or near invoice for their new Odysseys - the dealership I'm looking at has 2 Touring Models - Midnight Blue and Desert Rock - I'm interested in the Blue (if that matters!) Both have R/N, which is something we want.
Invoice is 35138, MSRP is 39010 (before they add their *paint protection*, etc) - where should I be looking to offer? The salesman (typical, he was the Edmunds article BY THE BOOK!) says to assume the added stuff is *free* - and to take a little off MSRP, minus destination. There's a Black one listed on ebay right now for BIN of $36423 - about $1300 over invoice. IF I wanted to drive to NJ to pick it up!!
Are the touring models so *limited production* that I should expect to pay close to MSRP?
I'm in Knoxville, TN., would consider driving to Atlanta, Nashville, Carolinas, if necessary.
YES! Best offer I got was 32200,2nd best was 32500, but both didn't have MY color of Redrock. 3rd best deal of $32600 and I took it cuz it was in my color I wanted. I had 25 offers so your offer is great. I'm in So. Cal. where is this offer at? good luck! Dealer didn't throw anything in as the offer was good!
just put down a deposit on an EX-L Sage Brush Pearl for 28,900 WITH 4 free oil changes, wheel locks, front and rear mud guards, full tank of gas, AND moonroof visor
Thanks for the info -- I, too, drove to another dealership to actually get the car up my driveway. I went to Hendrick Honda, in Woodbridge, Virginia and was EXTREMELY pleased with my treatment. I spoke with a very nice salesman to arrange the test drive, and he gave me the car and did NOT accompany me (so I only took up about 10 minutes of his time -- and a truck load of Odysseys had just come in, so they had other models available to potential customers for the unlikely event that there was a rush to test drive the cars on that Tuesday afternoon). The Odyssey made it up (and down) the driveway without a scratch. Before leaving, I told the salesman that I was pricing the car out of market and that I had a quote for 31,000 flat (the EX-L with RES). When I returned with the car, he told me the best price he could get me was 33,400 (either they didn't believe my price at 31,000, or they just didn't care because they can get someone else to pay their higher price). When I told him I had a quote from Rosner Toyota for the equivalent Sienna for 32,250, he came down to 32,600. Still, as pleased as I was with their customer service, I can't rationalize paying $1400 more for the car.
Demand does seem to be different in Virginia -- the Odysseys are flying out of the dealerships at the higher prices. If you can afford the time and inconvenience of shopping out of market, it may pay off for you . . . .
Okay - today I've received 3 quotes from *Internet Managers* at dealerships - for Touring, R & N - $37937; $36637, $37197. This before docs fees, taxes, add ons. I'm still searching! Invoice is $35138.
The one dealership ONLY has the touring models (2 of them) - has Honda priced itself out of the market with the Touring models? Many people, I'm sure would go for the EX - L, R & N for several thousand $$ less.
Rahoo, In my view its little bit more than what i paid. But all depends on where u r. i am in st.louis, i paid 28350 inclusive of mud guards, all season mats and cargo tray($415 package) and NO doc fee. try IKE AUTO PARK in CARBONDALE ,IL if you r near somewhere.
They gave me a blow out deal when the demand was high.My local dealers were not buding from 28,900 with no free acessories and DOC fee of at least $70 and some even $ 200.Even chicago dealer were not interested in negotiating.though a week after i got mine, one dealer from chicago called me to find if my offer is still valid.
hi. i got that deal at Bale Honda in Little Rock, Arkansas. My original offer was 28,000 and his first offer was 29,400. So, in the end, we came to an agreement at 28,900 with all the accessories. I think its a good deal considering most websites had the TMV around what he first offered me. I dont know if he would have come down to 28,500 but I was tired of negotiating!
$200 over invoice - it's better than I've gotten! The lowest I've gotten for Touing R&N is 36637. Where are you? Which dealership are you getting a quote from? I'm in TN.
Hi, I received that quote from Crown Honda in Greensboro, NC. Where are you in TN? We are about 2 1/2 - 3 hrs from Kingsport, TN (my husband does some business there and frequently makes the trip). Don't even think about coming over here and swiping that black Odyssey before I can get my husband over there to look at it!! LOL
I'm in Sevierville, near Gatlinburg... the best quote I've gotten so far is from Johnson City Honda - I think close-ish to Kingsport. A couple of hours from us. $36637. Theres a black touring nav/res on ebay right now - BIN $36423.
Also, the Touring has a more crisp steering feel/ride quality due to the wider tires. I test drove both before I bought my EX-L, the Touring definitely a better drivers car than the EX-L. I could'nt justify the price for my dollars.
This has been my beef with both the Sienna and the Ody. The 2 major items I want are the 8 pass. and the power hatch. You can't get that on either. It's one or the other.
Im giving up the Power Hatch for the 8 pass. EXL with RES/Nav. Toyota would have had my business, but the 1 disc CD with the Nav Option killed it for me. Im not giving up PH and a 6 disc changer on a $35K vehicle.
From what I can tell, the 8th seat has 3point seatbelts and one of the points is in the ceiling. Im guessing that would interfere with the wiring for the PH, so you cant have both.
Any more theories? I was so DISSAPPOINTED about this.
Hi all. I am in the process of making a deal with a dealership here in NC...Aberdeen to be exact. The name of the dealership is Steve Jones Honda. I have done all my negotiations or most of them over email and they have given me a price of $31,386 for everything out the door price for this EX-L model with DVD....now I've thrown in the possibility of a trade to them AFTER they gave me their "out the door" price...I have a 97 Dodge Intrepid that's blue booking and according to NADA as well at around $1900....I had a friend tell me not to worry about haggling on the trade in of my car, that basically having my car detailed was a waste of time, they don't care whether it's clean or not, they just care if the engine runs, do the breaks work, etc....they could care less about gum stains on the upholstery and stains in the carpet...is this true? Has anyone had any dealings with this dealership? He seems to be giving me a good deal here and I'm set to go down tomorrow to "close this deal"....but my car will be the deal breaker of course in all this...I'm hoping to get under $30,000 for this vehicle if I can...I'm hoping to get him close to $1500 for the trade of my car which will bring my price in at $29,886...does anyone think this is MORE than fair to pay for this vehicle AT THIS time of the year being that the 06's will be coming out in another month or so? Let me know what ya think! :confuse:
I think the cleanliness of the car is important - as they will wholesale it - it will require less conditioning to sell it. If you look at a lot of the used trade value guides, condition does make a difference.
Comments
Mud.
Moreover, I am sure that Pohanka's franchise agreement requires them to do their best to sell Honda products. So if you think there are ethics problems on my side, you should recognize that there are some clear ethics issues on the dealer side as well. I am shopping for a Honda product, and I haven't decided whether it's going to work for us. Why is it you feel that this salesperson shouldn't have serviced us? Because he (and we) knew his dealership couldn't give us the best price? You're basically saying that it's ok that the salesman is motivated PURELY by his self-interest. That's not right in my book -- he's been paid by Honda to sell Honda products. His salary and HIS business ethics should keep him from thinking about his pocketbook all the time. If you think I should be more concerned with the Honda employee's pocketbook than my own, your opinion of business ethics is simply more generous toward the salesperson. I'm simply not that magnanimous.
Given that we are STILL deciding between the Sienna and the Odyssey, as a HONDA employee, that salesperson should have been doing his best to ensure we ended up in his company's product. A good salesperson should be doing whatever he or she can do to sell their product. Commission should hardly be the only motivating factor. A good customer is going to reward the salesperson who gives the best customer service AND who gives the best price. Pohanka Honda gave us neither, and went a long want toward souring me toward Honda in general. Did you miss the part where I said we're now seriously considering the Sienna when we really preferred the Odyssey -- I HAVE TO KNOW WHETHER THAT CAR WILL FIT UP MY DRIVEWAY, and from my point of view, Honda is not putting me in a position where I can get that done.
Your personal insults do nothing to resolve my dilemma -- do you happen to have the information regarding the clearance difference between the Touring Ody and the EX-L?
We recently purchased an Odyssey from Lehigh Valley Honda (60 miles north of Philly) because the northern VA dealers wouldn't budge on price. One northern VA dealer even insisted on the typical add on paraphernalia. We received a similar deal as the post in 10154. It was actually an enjoyable experience working with the sales people and the sales manager from Lehigh Valley Honda.
Check the clearances:
The two points that would hit the ground would be either the front or rear overhang since you indicated your driveway is steep. If you had indicated your driveway has a large hump then the undercarriage would be susceptible to hitting the high spot.
Take a tape measure and measure the height of the front and rear overhangs from the street on your sister's Odyssey. Then take the same measurements on on EX model on a dealer's lot. Make sure the tires are properly inflated on both vehicles. Then cut 2 pieces of foam that are the same thickness as the difference in heights between the 2 vehicles. One will be the thickness for the rear overhang and the other the thickness of the front overhang. My guess is each piece of foam should be about 3/4".
Tape these foam pieces on the low point of each overhang on the Touring model. The bottom of the foam now represents the low points for the EX model. Drive up and down the incline and see if the foam scrapes. If the foam does touch the ground then even the Touring with 17.5" wheels could be susceptible to scraping based on:
- how many passengers are in the van
- how much other weight is in the van
- if the tires are under inflated
- the speed at which the incline is encountered
- the angle at which the vehicle approaches the incline.
Use of a demo and a sales person's time:
Not sure if it works this way at all Honda dealers but at some dealers (LV Honda included) Honda owns the demonstrator and not the dealer. However if I had no intention of buying a vehicle from a dealer, for whatever reason and that includes if I knew they won't compete on price, I wouldn't consume any time from their sales staff nor would I ask to use the demo. My belief is it's not the sales person making the decision to not compete on price so let the sales staff spend their time on prospective leads to earn their income. They also deserve to have the full use of the demo in this process.
Good luck with your shopping and with your decision.
Vince
So, that salesperson basically is going to spend 45 minutes demonstrating a car that he/she KNOWS the customer isn't going to buy? Maybe a sale will be missed during that 45 minutes.
At least her husband was honest and upfront. Most people wouldn't have been.
We all get our time wasted. It's a part of the job and I accept that. Still, it's frustrating!
BTW, we have a lot of STEEP driveways around here and I haven't heard of any clearance problems. I did sell one to a guy with waterfront property who has a VERY steep driveway. He put a hitch on the back and that would scrape a bit until he learned to go in at an angle...no more problems.
$25,627.03 asking price ($100 Over Invoice)
OTD is $27,981.43
I got it in writing and scanned it to email attachment then submitted it to other dealers to see if they are willing to beat this price..waiting to hear back
Thanks
Would appreciate any input.
I can email the print out they gave me if need be. E-mail me for request lil_ol_brenn@yahoo.com.
The dealership was stern on sticking to the price of $26510 for the EX style until I brought up this little bit of info (below) o them letting them know that if they brought it close to invoice they are still making a profit. They could not argue the point ...Honda dealers get a 3% holdback thewy offered to sell at $25,627.03 w/o TTL. True dealer invoice price for my zip code should be $25,012 but I thought this was a fair deal and didnt push to much further.
Holdback is kept secret from the buyer. It’s hidden in the vehicle’s invoice price and not listed on the window sticker. In most cases, you’re best bet is to avoid discussing holdback money until the dealer delivers a sermon about selling at invoice cost and not making any money. If the dealer must special-order the vehicle, or you know it’s hot off the assembly line, use the holdback money to your advantage
I would also recommend Moses Lake Honda's internet dept as well and would have bought there but needed the van sooner.
You will love the van...
Holdback is NOT profit that falls to the bottom line.
There is a seperate discussion on holdback in Smart Shoppers that you should read. Holdback isn't a "secret" either. This gets brought up in these forums every day. holdback ***helps*** pay for flooring and advertising.
Seriously, if someone wants to talk about holdback, we should talk about this little thing called OVERHEAD. People have no idea of the tremendous costs involved just to open the doors every day. B&O taxes are a killer too.
If that dealer lowered his price in order to make a sale, it wasn't because you brought up holdback. It's the market that determines pricing.
Purchased my vehicle today elsewhere and love it was told by another dealer they used an old invoice pricing that the invoice dropped $600 so went with them
thanks for the input buyersadvice.com seems to think its a "SECRET"
Sorry - I think I shared in an earlier post. I bought an EXL WITH NAV & RES for $31,964 ($600 over invoice) + $55 doc fee. This worked out to about $1,200 below TMV and $1,300 below my next best offer in Chicagoland.
Loving the van so far, but having a small problem with the power sliding door. Off to another forum to see what I can learn about that...
1.) I just bought an EXL RES NAV
2.) I have a steep driveway
3.) The dealer that I bought from was not the closest dealer.
Basically, on a Saturday I did the whole email bit. Got a great price from a dealer about 20 miles away. Really wanted to buy from the dealer 5 miles away, and gave them every opportunity (via phone and email) to win my business (they already have my service business on my '02 Accord).
On Monday, I was supposed to go buy the car, but I didn't want to complete the transaction without driving the car up my driveway. I went to the nearby dealer and asked them for a test drive. Call me a sinner, but I didn't mention the other dealer. I just told him that getting the car up my driveway without scraping was a show-stopper (the Accord scrapes, but we bought the car before the house - what can you do?).
Anyway, the Odyssey didn't scrape, but the front end came REALLY close when I backed straight out. The thing is - you never really back straight out. If I turn the wheel near the bottom of our driveway, the clearance is fine.
Anyway, I promptly drove to the dealer 20 miles away and took delivery. I felt a tiny bit bad, but that's all. Bottom line is you need to take care of #1. I've had plenty of dealers waste my time (which, I'll humbly say is more valuable - at least to me - than theirs is). Besides, how many people test drive a car that are just shopping, aren't serious, etc.? I mean, the ratio of test drives to sold cars isn't supposed to be 1:1, is it? So a salesman had to ride on a test drive that didn't result in a sale for him? Well, maybe his dealership needs to price more aggressively?
Ok, deep breath - I got a little excited there...
For Loveyalions, I can confess that I am Honda loyal. However, I did drive the Sienna as well. It was a lot more $ equipped the way we wanted (RES, NAV). It does has a higher clearance, though it also came pretty close to 'bottoming out' on our driveway.
The 2005 Sienna XLE I was quoted was 32,312 (MSRP 36,something) and I offered 30,000 just this morning they said 30,500 we haven't responded yet. They are ready to move these things off the lot with the 2006's coming in and are cutting some pretty good deals. What do you guys think about these deals?
vehicle price: $26,000
sales tax: about $2300.:
fees: $45 doc + about $200. licence/dmv
out-the-door: $28,565
Negotiation took a little back and forth. Initial offer $25,500 (about $300 below invoice) but went up to invoice. They said ok but their offer sheet had a $515 destination charge added. I said destination was included in the invoice price of $25,888, crossed it out, then wrote $26k for the vehicle price. That was accepted by the dealer.
They might have sneaked one by me. The local sales tax is 8.25% but the tax I paid was 8.75%. I didn't think to check it when I signed the sales contract. The amount looked about right to me (under 10%). I did read somewhere that CA (?) added a 0.5% tax on new vehicles but I don't know if that's true.
They offered me a 100k miles/7 yr warranty for $1400. I offfered to $700 for it but they wouldn't budge on the price. I also declined their fabric protection offer. Didn't think dealers still offered that.
I didn't have a trade in and had my own financing. It was the last EX they had on the lot. I had called 20 (!) dealers in the bay area from Santa Rosa to San Jose asking what colors they had in stock. My wife didn't want gold/beige which of course a number of dealers had. Went to a few dealers that week. Here are my quick impressions:
Walnut Creek: Earlier in the week, I offered below invoice on a light blue EX. Sale manager offered it for invoice but I politely declined (thought I could do better). I went back a couple of days later to get it but it was sold that morning for $1000 over invoice. Should have taken the invoice deal.
Dublin:Salesman told me they had a Midnight Blue Ex 'in their lot in Tracy.' They said they would have to pay someone to drive it out so they wouldn't be as willing to make a deal on it. Started to make a deal on a SageBrush that they had on the lot. The sales manager was a real jerk so I happily walked out.
San Jose: very large dealership. Had a Red, Silver, and White EX. Made an invoice offer on the Silver. Sales manager showed me a computer screen which 'calculated' the difference between my offer and invoice. It said $28,000 was $400 below invoice (their $0 profit level). I didn't want to try and figure out all the numbers on the screen so I politely declined to make a higher offer and left. Sales manager called me back later that night saying, 'I could have the silver EX.' Too bad. He missed his chance.
Redwood City: last stop on a long day but it worked out.
--Run flat PAX tires with realtime tire pressure readout
--Slightly larger/different wheels
--6 Disc CD Changer 360 watt stereo with sub
--Power Tailgate
--Fog Lights
--Programmable wipers
--Automatic Headlights
--Front and Rear Parking Sensors
--2 Driver Memory Seats
--Power Adjustable Pedals
--2nd row console vs. plus 1 seat
--Programmable Mult-Info display
--Compass
--Tri Zone Auto Climate Control
--Auto Rear View Mirror
--Regular 115Volt Plug
good deal or not? thanks
Invoice is 35138, MSRP is 39010 (before they add their *paint protection*, etc) - where should I be looking to offer? The salesman (typical, he was the Edmunds article BY THE BOOK!) says to assume the added stuff is *free* - and to take a little off MSRP, minus destination. There's a Black one listed on ebay right now for BIN of $36423 - about $1300 over invoice. IF I wanted to drive to NJ to pick it up!!
Are the touring models so *limited production* that I should expect to pay close to MSRP?
I'm in Knoxville, TN., would consider driving to Atlanta, Nashville, Carolinas, if necessary.
Thank you, Honda experts!
Thanks
good deal or not? thanks
Demand does seem to be different in Virginia -- the Odysseys are flying out of the dealerships at the higher prices. If you can afford the time and inconvenience of shopping out of market, it may pay off for you . . . .
The one dealership ONLY has the touring models (2 of them) - has Honda priced itself out of the market with the Touring models? Many people, I'm sure would go for the EX - L, R & N for several thousand $$ less.
In my view its little bit more than what i paid.
But all depends on where u r. i am in st.louis, i paid 28350 inclusive of mud guards, all season mats and cargo tray($415 package) and NO doc fee.
try IKE AUTO PARK in CARBONDALE ,IL if you r near somewhere.
They gave me a blow out deal when the demand was high.My local dealers were not buding from 28,900 with no free acessories and DOC fee of at least $70 and some even $ 200.Even chicago dealer were not interested in negotiating.though a week after i got mine, one dealer from chicago called me to find if my offer is still valid.
BTW i got my EXL on 27th june05.
Hope this helps
the Touring has a more crisp steering feel/ride quality due to the wider tires.
I test drove both before I bought my EX-L, the Touring definitely a better drivers car than the EX-L. I could'nt justify the price for my dollars.
Also, there's a Dealer Inventory Tax of $83. What is that?
Im giving up the Power Hatch for the 8 pass. EXL with RES/Nav. Toyota would have had my business, but the 1 disc CD with the Nav Option killed it for me. Im not giving up PH and a 6 disc changer on a $35K vehicle.
From what I can tell, the 8th seat has 3point seatbelts and one of the points is in the ceiling. Im guessing that would interfere with the wiring for the PH, so you cant have both.
Any more theories? I was so DISSAPPOINTED about this.
Good luck with your deal!