Folks, I have reviewed most of the deals on this forum, and was wondering if anyone has purchased an Odyssey EX-L @ or near 25,100 + TTL within 100miles of DFW Texas. I am looking to make this purchase this month, so any help would be greatly appreciated .
What is the best OTD price anyone has paid for in or around Michigan for a '08 Honda Odyssey? I'm getting numbers all over the board but still over $30,000.
After e-mailing and negotiating with several dealerships in upstate SC and Atlanta area I purchased a 2008 EX-L with RES and Nav today from Hendrick Honda in Easely, SC. I could not be happier with the salesperson, overall deal and professionalism of my experience. I simply told the salesperson via the phone where I wanted to be and he said he could do it. This was before he even saw my trade. I went in and the deal was honored and I drove home in the van. Hands down my best car buying experience ever. No one in the area could even come close (within $1200) to the deal I received. Here is a summary of the deal I received:
2008 Odyssey EX-L w/ RES and Nav $31,175 (w/ 1500 incentive and 2.9%) Trade 03 Accord EX V6 w/ 72500 miles -$13,000 Tax, Tag, Title and fees $625 Total financed at 2.9% $18,800
If my calculations are right they may have made $500 off the van. If I factor in that really do not think I could sale my car for more than $12,000 I can't imagine a better deal.
Had I not traded and and taken advantage of the full incentive the van would have been $30,175 plus tag, title and tax.
The price included splash guards, wheel locks and pin stripes.
I highly recommend this dealer to anyone looking for a new Honda.
From what I have read the Honda Care Extended Warranty is the best option if one wants and extended warranty. Which dealer has the best pricing? I have seen online at curry hondacare $1470 for the 8yr 120k. Is this the best?
Have got six quotes on 08 EX-L in Houston area. Following is the best offer so far. I said I don't want the $475 and $299 add-ons but the guy told me it has to be that way. Is this a good deal? Any comments??.
SELLING PRICE (+) $ 27,000.00 ACCESSORIEs $ 475.00 PAINT & LEATHER PROTECTION $ 299.00 plus TTL Also lfree ife time warrrenty
In this economic climate, car salesman are not forced to sell this crap. The salesman needs to make a living. You ask him to include it free, he gets the OK from sales manger because this crap is hurting his earnings. Tell the dealership there are others dealers that don't force this stuff, if they want the sale, then write this off to a bad investment installed to increase profit back when money wasn't so tight. Same with doc fees.
Try to get more quotes. I got 13. It was easy using the donkeypunch method outlined earlier in this forum. I would pick a target price based on the best price you have read here in this forum for a similar vehicle. Calculate their cost (dealer invoice plus destination minus 3% of MSRP for total holdbacks minus any consumer and dealer incentives, which the dealers might not disclose to you but can be found online as described in this forum). We ended up buying at a calculated 3.4% markup over cost, before TTL (which is out of dealer control). If you live in a lower tax county or municipality you might save money by having it delivered. In our state, you pay the rate where the car changes possession, not where the dealership is. We saved 1% or so in tax that way.
In terms of price, forget whatever addons they want to stick in. All that matters is the final OTD price. Whatever bucket they want to put it in (selling price, document fees, pinstriping, paint protection, mudguards, locking lugnuts, WHATEVER) is irrelevant. Ours ended up with pinstriping and splash guards, but I did not even pay attention to that, as it was not something I would have paid money for if I had a choice and I could care less if it is on the car.
You can check individual dealership inventories online at the dealership website. I would count how many of each trim level each dealership has that you are quoting. The ones with a high inventory of EX-L are the ones probably most interested in bargaining and where you can push hard.
Is the lifetime warranty a dealer powertrain warranty if you have all your scheduled services done at the dealership? I started down that road with our 2002 Odyssey. After a couple of high priced oil changes with a few routine checks thrown in, I figured I would have my services done at Express Oil Change and would save myself the cost of an engine and tranny over the life of the vehicle anyway, and probably never need to buy one or both anyway.
Hello .I am in the market for a new Ex-L with Res/nav. If you would like to make a group purchase please contact me. Also like to know what kinda are prices folks have been paying for the vehicle. Looking for OTD price. Thank you .
Don't prices generally drop on last year's (in this case, 2008) inventory in September as the new models come out on the market. Isn't this expected for the Honda Odyssey EX-L? Right now, I am working with several dealers. However, I was thinking of waiting.
I live in the bay area too, and am interested in an EX-L. Did a round of emailing and best quote was $26398 w/des. This was from South Bay Honda. Trying to work the number towards $25300 since last month Boch Honda was advertising for $24988. I'm interested to see if a group purchase could improve our bargaining power. Email me here: minerliu@yahoo.com. Thanks!
The current regular unlead gas price where Boch located is $3.59/gal ... bet it is much cheaper than CA's. ... different factors affecting price difference between East and West. Boch promotion probably is for limited time and stock.
Quote i get so far for EXL OTD is above 28500, it is not optimal I think. Anyone is buying also in Northern Virginia? we can make a group call! my email qiangieee@yahoo.com
I JUST bought a 2008 EXL Res (Silver with Grey interior) with 2,000 miles (salesman's car) for $27,333.
I used this website forum and printed off all the comments with who paid the least for their odyssey. I had 4 pages. When it came time to talk price I said I'd save him time and I want a 2008 silver odyssey with DVD. He came up with price because he said he would beat whatever I had before he saw it. When done I showed him he was beat by others on this cite. I showed him page and said do it for $26,239 as someone else here had said and I'd write the check. No payments.
BASE PRICE: $26,239 + TTL - OTD for $27,333 and then I did buy 8 year service plan for a little more.
EXL (slate green) I had a quote from him for $25, 599. I paid only $6xx more for DVD which was worth it for the silver I wanted instead.
I hope everyone here knows when I showed them what I have the dealer didn't beleive anyone was telling the truth so I about walked and he said he'd do it. They HAVE to get rid of 2008 vehicles.
I agree with spankspank and elmerfudd3000, you don't have to pay for accessories/extras if you don't want them and you should look at the drive out price. If you don't value the accessories/paint but still pay for them, price is $439 above invoice (including $670 destination, after $2500 cash to dealer incentive). Looks like an OK deal, I wouldn't call it good unless you really find value in the extras. I've seen a few quotes right at invoice recently but in May some dealers were additionally giving back half of the holdback (half of 3% of MSRP). I've seen a few deals giving back the full holdback in this website. Make sure destination charge is included in the quote. Use 6.25% for tax and $250 for docs to apply against invoice+dest-incentives and compare against drive out quote. Getting additionally the holdback is a this or miss, depends on who wants to move inventory. Good luck.
liveandletlive, see if my math is correct per your email: Invoice = 27,774 - 439 = 27,355 (confirmed the $27,774 EX-L included destination) 3% MSRP = 3% x 32,880 = 986 GOOD PRICE should be below (27,774 - 986/2) = $26,840 +TTL BEST YOU CAN GET: (27,774-986) = $26,350 + TTL
Are you still shopping for an EX-L in Houston area?
I saw somebody on this forum got $25,100 on EX-L, just wonder how did they do that. The email quotes I've got so far were all above $27,600. A dealer quoted me $25,600 over the phone, but after I sent an email ask him to confirm, he didn't respond. I did check several dealer's websites and found they have plenty in stock (20~45 EXLs in each dealership). Are they still playing the game? Should I wait till September?
...I've watched this thread for two months. It's a very active thread. Although we didn't end up with an Odyssey, I think some may benefit from my "buying experience".
After digging out my old Car & Drivers, reading reviews online, watching incentives for the last two months and checking dealer inventories, my wife and I were 99% prepared to purchase an Odyssey this Monday. I'm not here to put down the Odyssey; I've owned two Acuras and a Honda and have been happy with them. I consider myself to be brand agnostic. I've also owned three Dodges, as well as a couple BMWs, a Mini (current), several Fords, a couple Nissans and others.
Despite heading out to buy an Odyssey , we ended up with a Grand Caravan. Here's why... I'm just offering the details of my experience for what it's worth to other shoppers. Info in here applies to "Prices Paid" as well as comparison info.
Two months ago, the Odyssey, the Sienna, the Dodge GC and the Chrysler T&C were all on the list. The Chrysler products were quickly eliminated for two reasons: incentives weren't that great, even for a domestic, and dealers didn't seem to have 4.0Ls at all, especially with the trailer tow package. I didn't care for the Sienna's exterior looks and with CE, LE, XLE and Limited trims with 7 and 8 passenger seating and the choice of FWD and AWD, finding one even close to what we wanted was virtually impossible without contacing 10 dealers first. At least with Dodge, you can see window stickers before you bother contacting the dealer.
So... we were decided on the Honda, an EX-L with RES; I couldn't see paying almost $2K more for NAV. I contacted (and visited the two closest) a few dealers to check inventory (color availability) and let them know we'd be in to test drive and purchase shortly. I let them know I was shopping around and my expectations of price, given what I've seen here. I even gave them the benefit of the doubt. My market is smaller than DC, Chicago and LA; they're not gonna have the volume, I expected to pay a few hundred more. Best quote I got was $29,750. Since we weren't writing the check yet, I thought nothing of it.
Well... I decided to check incentives and inventory over the weekend before heading out Monday to see if anything had changed. Sienna, same deal. Chrysler had put $2400 more (for a total of $4900) on the GC and T&Cs *AND* you could get 3.9% for 60 or 4.9% for 72 on them. Hmmm... well, if anybody within 50 miles has what I want, maybe they're back in the game.
Not only does a local dealer have five but... four of them are equipped comparible to the Odyssey Touring. Navigation, power liftgate, adjustable pedals, MyGIG, DVD, leather, heated 1st and 2nd row... If you've looked the GC at all, it's the 28N package with everything but the sunroof (don't want) and block heater (don't need in western PA). They have even more options (power third row, built in booster seats, etc.) than the Touring.
We decide to go take a look. Salesman tosses us the keys to take a ride. We got back and sat down. They brought out invoice, which matched what's found here plus advertising, and asked for 1% over minus the $4500. A much more earnest effort than the Honda dealer put forth. I asked about the other $400 indicated here; they said they'd look into it. I had told them when we arrive that my wife had a Dr. appt (had baby three weeks ago) so they didn't put any pressure on but on the way out, we were giving one last look-over to the GC. The salesman came back and said indicated that, if after driving the Odyssey, we wanted the GC and called him back to commit, they'd do the other $400, eligible or not. So we're at $31,300 for a van with a sticker of $38,950 that's equipped comparable to an Odyssey Touring.
We go to the Honda dealer to drive the Odyssey and try to work a better deal. Of course, the salesman insists on going with us and pitching the product the whole time. I'll agree that the Odyssey drives a bit better in terms of steering feel and the suspension absorbs bumps better while still being firm. The one thing I noticed is... my wife craning her neck to drive the Oddy. She didn't realize she was doing it; she didn't in the GC. The Oddy seemed bigger from the inside in both a good and bad way. The seats, especially the third row, were more comfy in the Oddy and we liked the color and gathered leather better.
We sit down to talk price. Same deal as offered before. I tell him about the GC. All of a sudden, "the invoice" is on the table and they're willing to throw in the tow package, obviously paying for it out of holdback.
Believe me, I know every pro and con to buying the GC vs. the Odyssey. I have over-analyzed this to death. I'm just offering this for the collective experience; my wife and I were both surprised we ended up with the GC.
At the end of the day, we decided to do the loaded-comparable-to-Touring-$31,3000 GC vs. a $29,000 EX-L with RES, tow package and flaps. If the Honda dealer had put his best foot forward at the beginning of all this, I probably wouldn't have even double-checked the deals on the GC. After I did, I just percieved more value in the GC. Having owned several examples of each manufacturer's product, I'm aware of resale values, reliability, etc. from a first-hand experience so please don't take this as a dig on Honda.
Sorry for such a long post. I read all the time but post very little and when I do, watch out! I'll buy another Honda I'm sure but it may be an S2000 to replace the Mini Cooper S as the fun car.
For those of you buying the Oddy, $29K EX-L w/RES, tow package and flaps installed should be doable even in a more rural market.
I personally dealt with the dealers by email almost exclusively. We have a newborn and I did not want salesmen calling all the time. Almost all seemed to honor the email only preference on the dealer quote request on the Honda website. I would stay patient and keep negeotiating. In terms of waiting, I don't know. If you are not particular about color it might help.
I don't know enough about the business to know how fast inventory moves at dealers. I do know I saw a report that showed at the beginning of July Honda dealers had about 70 (?) days inventory of Odysseys. The Lincoln, AL, plant where they are made has cut back a few shifts, so I am not sure about how many more 2008s will make it on the lot. One outlier dealer I contacted had only one EX-L left on the lot and said they were getting no more 2008s. A look at their website confirmed the lack of inventory.
Honda changes their incentives in the first week of each month. You might hold off until then for a better deal. The deals did not improve radically at the beginning of August, another $500 dealer cash was added IIRC for cash purchase, taking it to $2500, credit incentives were unchanged or pulled back (?).
In terms of what people are paying, sometimes I am not sure when someone mentions a price it is a true OTD price versus a price that does not include tax. As I looked at prices mentioned I wish that people would adhere to one detailed standard for listing prices paid.
Good luck, buying a new car is definitely an art, one that most of us practice rarely. Have you listened to the Econtalk podcast? It was interesting:
I've been following this thread for several months. Having been in the car sales business (long ago) and as someone who follows it daily, there is a lot of misinformation posted here about different things. So, I've resisted signing up to post, but here I am.
So, the current Odyssey inventory is:
As of July 1, 2008 - 78 days supply. As of August 1, 2008 - 73 days supply. Total cars avaiable as of 8/1 is 37,000 cars.
The Pilot (111 days, 32,000 units), Ridgeline (127, 13,000), Element (92, 8,000) and S2000 (259, 2,000) have higher supplies on dealer lots. All of the civics/accords/fit models are at less than 37 days. CRV is 36 to 47 days (depending on country of manufacture).
There are a lot of people here getting extended warranties. IMO, those are a great waste of money. For those who live where the Clark Howard show is broadcast, he'll confirm what I'm saying. www.clarkhoward.com
In 2000, I went to buy a new car from a tiny new car dealer in New Jersey (the sole salesman is the owner). I asked him to tell me about his extended warranty. He said that dealers get a huge profit on them. GM pays him something like 60% back of the cost (ie: like a holdback) if he can have a certain market penetration (can't remember, but it was something like 50% +/-) based on number of vehicles sold. He said that in the entire history of his dealershp, he's only had one customer EVER that would have benefited from an extended warranty (blown engine).
Also, remember that if you buy a new car, with most, if not all makes, you can buy an extended warranty at anytime prior to the expiration of your factory warranty. And at that point, donkey punch the dealers to get a new quote. There shouldn't be anything to prevent you from buying your extended warranty from a dealer who didn't sell you the car. Confirm this with the F&I manager.
For the cost of an extended warranty you can self-insure just about every major component on your new Honda (notable exceptions are the engine and transmission) with money to spare.
"There are a lot of people here getting extended warranties. IMO, those are a great waste of money."
LOL. How much does it cost to replace the Honda DVD player or Navigation system? How about repairing power sliding doors or a tranny on an Odyssey?
Do you think service departments at Honda dealers are just for maintenance?
We know the Honda engine is built to last -- but what about all of the electronics? Nowadays a Honda is a computer with four tires. How often do you get you computer at home repaired or replaced?
The likelihood that one of those systems will crap out within the extended warranty period (100,000 miles) is fairly small.
Again, even if a person wants an extended warranty, why buy it when you have coverage from the factory warranty already? So, what the person ends up doing is financing the warranty and paying interest on its cost rather than waiting for the factory warranty to expire and then get it for coverage they already have. Does a person really need the double coverage for that initial period? Of course not.
And yes, my experience has been that a service department -any brand- is for maintenance during the factory warranty and usually through 100,000 miles. And even then, I'd go to a jiffy lube before I'd go to the dealer for an oil change.
If a major system goes down, then I'd go to a dealer. But with a Honda, it had better be at more than 100,000 miles.
The standard warranty covers the engine and trans for 5years/60k and you've got bumper to bumper for 3/36k. So, you have 3years/36000 miles to make up your mind whether to buy that extended warranty.
Sorry, but if I want a car with an extended waranty, I'll buy a Chrysler.
I emailed about 10 dealers around the town and got a lowest quote for a 2008 Odyssey EX for $22.2K+destination fee+document fee+TTL. Is it a good price to buy or should I wait until the end of the month?
I am looking to purchase a EX-L with RES and NAV. After online quotes from about 5-6 dealers and back and forth with two, my best quote right now is 30,500 OTD. Does this seem like a good price? Fees included in the quote are:
Can someone send me what they have sent out to dealers for quotes? I'd like to get this ball rolling but it would be nice to make sure i do it right. Thanks!
That's a great price for an EXL w/RES! I'm in the market for a base EXL, the $25599 quote you mentioned was a great price too. May I ask what the name and location of the dealer are? Thank you!
Your math is correct. Assumes they don't charge excessive TTL. I'm still shopping, I got 4 quotes giving back half holdback in May but a handful dealers I tested in late July would not give any of it. I don't understand why they would raise relative prices but the arrival of the '09s should motivate dealers to move inventory.
The Econtalk you attached was indeed informative, although a bit lenthy (over an hour). I copied it to three dealers and asked them to cut $1,500 off. See how it goes. So far haven't heard anything back - they usually respond pretty fast.
I am unsure of what my target price should be? After listening to the podcast, this sounds like a good time of year for dealers to take losses on 2008 to get more 2009 as they are turning & earning right now. If they sell 20 2008 models, they get 20 09 models now. I have 5 honda dealers in my area, should I go with the one who sells the most because they benefit the most from turn & earn or go with a new dealership that just opened? Or go with the dealer who has the most Odysseys on the lot?
Should I tell the salesperson straight up that this is a FLAT right off the bat (meaning he will only make $100 off of me) and send me to the Sales Manager?
Should I start off with $4000 off of invoice? $31282 inc dest - 4000 = $27,282
or get technical by starting at $500 off invoice, then subtract dealer incentive $2500 offered and then try to get some of the 2% holdback (approx $500 of the est $676)?
Almost the same amount at the end, then you have the dreaded $595 dealer fee so there goes the holdback money, plus taxes 7% and state fees about $56.00 and tags $50.
I am hoping for $27000 OTR, so how to accomplish this. No financing needed--so can I get more dealer incentive if NOT using AHFC?
The dealer I worked with was Fox Honda in Grand Rapids, MI. Don't play games just let them give you a price and then give them all the data from this website edited down to exactly what you want them to see. It worked GREAT for me.
In the New Orleans area, I just bought a new Odyssey EXL with a tow package for $27,800 + TTL. I found 2 dealers that quickly came down to $27,000 + TTL without the tow package. The tow package costs about $1300 if you have them add it on after the fact. So I either got the van for $27,000 and the tow package for $800 -- or I got the van for $26,500 and the tow package for $1300. The price was lumped together for $27,800.
Word of caution - after you agree on a price, check the OTD price. One of the dealers tried to inflate the TTL costs by around $400. The tax is a set amount, but watch for added costs. The dealer I went with charged me the tax, plus $119 for title and license, and no other charges - this was reasonable.
Thanks for your post! I haven't looked at the GC but since I'm going to be leasing and have been considering the Odyssey Touring no Pax but when the deals got worse after July8th, I didn't want to pay $60+/mo more for a month older vehicle, I have stalled.
Comments
I have reviewed most of the deals on this forum, and was wondering if anyone has purchased an Odyssey EX-L @ or near 25,100 + TTL within 100miles of DFW Texas. I am looking to make this purchase this month, so any help would be greatly appreciated
Is this a good deal? They wouldn't go any lower, even when I walked out.
i never wanted a minivan, but needed more space. bought an EX a few days ago.
24835 [1500 incentive with honda special financing (23835 cash price)]
55 doc fee
2053.43 ca sales tax (8.25%)
245.75 official fees
27189.18 total
anyone??
2008 Odyssey EX-L w/ RES and Nav $31,175 (w/ 1500 incentive and 2.9%)
Trade 03 Accord EX V6 w/ 72500 miles -$13,000
Tax, Tag, Title and fees $625
Total financed at 2.9% $18,800
If my calculations are right they may have made $500 off the van. If I factor in that really do not think I could sale my car for more than $12,000 I can't imagine a better deal.
Had I not traded and and taken advantage of the full incentive the van would have been $30,175 plus tag, title and tax.
The price included splash guards, wheel locks and pin stripes.
I highly recommend this dealer to anyone looking for a new Honda.
Interested to see what others think of this deal.
SELLING PRICE (+) $ 27,000.00
ACCESSORIEs $ 475.00
PAINT & LEATHER
PROTECTION $ 299.00
plus TTL
Also lfree ife time warrrenty
In this economic climate, car salesman are not forced to sell this crap. The salesman needs to make a living. You ask him to include it free, he gets the OK from sales manger because this crap is hurting his earnings. Tell the dealership there are others dealers that don't force this stuff, if they want the sale, then write this off to a bad investment installed to increase profit back when money wasn't so tight. Same with doc fees.
In terms of price, forget whatever addons they want to stick in. All that matters is the final OTD price. Whatever bucket they want to put it in (selling price, document fees, pinstriping, paint protection, mudguards, locking lugnuts, WHATEVER) is irrelevant. Ours ended up with pinstriping and splash guards, but I did not even pay attention to that, as it was not something I would have paid money for if I had a choice and I could care less if it is on the car.
You can check individual dealership inventories online at the dealership website. I would count how many of each trim level each dealership has that you are quoting. The ones with a high inventory of EX-L are the ones probably most interested in bargaining and where you can push hard.
Is the lifetime warranty a dealer powertrain warranty if you have all your scheduled services done at the dealership? I started down that road with our 2002 Odyssey. After a couple of high priced oil changes with a few routine checks thrown in, I figured I would have my services done at Express Oil Change and would save myself the cost of an engine and tranny over the life of the vehicle anyway, and probably never need to buy one or both anyway.
Please advise.
I used this website forum and printed off all the comments with who paid the least for their odyssey. I had 4 pages. When it came time to talk price I said I'd save him time and I want a 2008 silver odyssey with DVD. He came up with price because he said he would beat whatever I had before he saw it. When done I showed him he was beat by others on this cite. I showed him page and said do it for $26,239 as someone else here had said and I'd write the check. No payments.
BASE PRICE: $26,239 + TTL -
OTD for $27,333 and then I did buy 8 year service plan for a little more.
EXL (slate green) I had a quote from him for $25, 599. I paid only $6xx more for DVD which was worth it for the silver I wanted instead.
I hope everyone here knows when I showed them what I have the dealer didn't beleive anyone was telling the truth so I about walked and he said he'd do it. They HAVE to get rid of 2008 vehicles.
Invoice = 27,774 - 439 = 27,355 (confirmed the $27,774 EX-L included destination)
3% MSRP = 3% x 32,880 = 986
GOOD PRICE should be below (27,774 - 986/2) = $26,840 +TTL
BEST YOU CAN GET: (27,774-986) = $26,350 + TTL
Are you still shopping for an EX-L in Houston area?
I saw somebody on this forum got $25,100 on EX-L, just wonder how did they do that. The email quotes I've got so far were all above $27,600. A dealer quoted me $25,600 over the phone, but after I sent an email ask him to confirm, he didn't respond. I did check several dealer's websites and found they have plenty in stock (20~45 EXLs in each dealership). Are they still playing the game? Should I wait till September?
After digging out my old Car & Drivers, reading reviews online, watching incentives for the last two months and checking dealer inventories, my wife and I were 99% prepared to purchase an Odyssey this Monday. I'm not here to put down the Odyssey; I've owned two Acuras and a Honda and have been happy with them. I consider myself to be brand agnostic. I've also owned three Dodges, as well as a couple BMWs, a Mini (current), several Fords, a couple Nissans and others.
Despite heading out to buy an Odyssey , we ended up with a Grand Caravan. Here's why... I'm just offering the details of my experience for what it's worth to other shoppers. Info in here applies to "Prices Paid" as well as comparison info.
Two months ago, the Odyssey, the Sienna, the Dodge GC and the Chrysler T&C were all on the list. The Chrysler products were quickly eliminated for two reasons: incentives weren't that great, even for a domestic, and dealers didn't seem to have 4.0Ls at all, especially with the trailer tow package. I didn't care for the Sienna's exterior looks and with CE, LE, XLE and Limited trims with 7 and 8 passenger seating and the choice of FWD and AWD, finding one even close to what we wanted was virtually impossible without contacing 10 dealers first. At least with Dodge, you can see window stickers before you bother contacting the dealer.
So... we were decided on the Honda, an EX-L with RES; I couldn't see paying almost $2K more for NAV. I contacted (and visited the two closest) a few dealers to check inventory (color availability) and let them know we'd be in to test drive and purchase shortly. I let them know I was shopping around and my expectations of price, given what I've seen here. I even gave them the benefit of the doubt. My market is smaller than DC, Chicago and LA; they're not gonna have the volume, I expected to pay a few hundred more. Best quote I got was $29,750. Since we weren't writing the check yet, I thought nothing of it.
Well... I decided to check incentives and inventory over the weekend before heading out Monday to see if anything had changed. Sienna, same deal. Chrysler had put $2400 more (for a total of $4900) on the GC and T&Cs *AND* you could get 3.9% for 60 or 4.9% for 72 on them. Hmmm... well, if anybody within 50 miles has what I want, maybe they're back in the game.
Not only does a local dealer have five but... four of them are equipped comparible to the Odyssey Touring. Navigation, power liftgate, adjustable pedals, MyGIG, DVD, leather, heated 1st and 2nd row... If you've looked the GC at all, it's the 28N package with everything but the sunroof (don't want) and block heater (don't need in western PA). They have even more options (power third row, built in booster seats, etc.) than the Touring.
We decide to go take a look. Salesman tosses us the keys to take a ride. We got back and sat down. They brought out invoice, which matched what's found here plus advertising, and asked for 1% over minus the $4500. A much more earnest effort than the Honda dealer put forth. I asked about the other $400 indicated here; they said they'd look into it. I had told them when we arrive that my wife had a Dr. appt (had baby three weeks ago) so they didn't put any pressure on but on the way out, we were giving one last look-over to the GC. The salesman came back and said indicated that, if after driving the Odyssey, we wanted the GC and called him back to commit, they'd do the other $400, eligible or not. So we're at $31,300 for a van with a sticker of $38,950 that's equipped comparable to an Odyssey Touring.
We go to the Honda dealer to drive the Odyssey and try to work a better deal. Of course, the salesman insists on going with us and pitching the product the whole time. I'll agree that the Odyssey drives a bit better in terms of steering feel and the suspension absorbs bumps better while still being firm. The one thing I noticed is... my wife craning her neck to drive the Oddy. She didn't realize she was doing it; she didn't in the GC. The Oddy seemed bigger from the inside in both a good and bad way. The seats, especially the third row, were more comfy in the Oddy and we liked the color and gathered leather better.
We sit down to talk price. Same deal as offered before. I tell him about the GC. All of a sudden, "the invoice" is on the table and they're willing to throw in the tow package, obviously paying for it out of holdback.
Believe me, I know every pro and con to buying the GC vs. the Odyssey. I have over-analyzed this to death. I'm just offering this for the collective experience; my wife and I were both surprised we ended up with the GC.
At the end of the day, we decided to do the loaded-comparable-to-Touring-$31,3000 GC vs. a $29,000 EX-L with RES, tow package and flaps. If the Honda dealer had put his best foot forward at the beginning of all this, I probably wouldn't have even double-checked the deals on the GC. After I did, I just percieved more value in the GC. Having owned several examples of each manufacturer's product, I'm aware of resale values, reliability, etc. from a first-hand experience so please don't take this as a dig on Honda.
Sorry for such a long post. I read all the time but post very little and when I do, watch out! I'll buy another Honda I'm sure but it may be an S2000 to replace the Mini Cooper S as the fun car.
For those of you buying the Oddy, $29K EX-L w/RES, tow package and flaps installed should be doable even in a more rural market.
I don't know enough about the business to know how fast inventory moves at dealers. I do know I saw a report that showed at the beginning of July Honda dealers had about 70 (?) days inventory of Odysseys. The Lincoln, AL, plant where they are made has cut back a few shifts, so I am not sure about how many more 2008s will make it on the lot. One outlier dealer I contacted had only one EX-L left on the lot and said they were getting no more 2008s. A look at their website confirmed the lack of inventory.
Honda changes their incentives in the first week of each month. You might hold off until then for a better deal. The deals did not improve radically at the beginning of August, another $500 dealer cash was added IIRC for cash purchase, taking it to $2500, credit incentives were unchanged or pulled back (?).
In terms of what people are paying, sometimes I am not sure when someone mentions a price it is a true OTD price versus a price that does not include tax. As I looked at prices mentioned I wish that people would adhere to one detailed standard for listing prices paid.
Good luck, buying a new car is definitely an art, one that most of us practice rarely. Have you listened to the Econtalk podcast? It was interesting:
http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2008/06/cole_on_the_mar.html
So, the current Odyssey inventory is:
As of July 1, 2008 - 78 days supply.
As of August 1, 2008 - 73 days supply.
Total cars avaiable as of 8/1 is 37,000 cars.
The Pilot (111 days, 32,000 units), Ridgeline (127, 13,000), Element (92, 8,000) and S2000 (259, 2,000) have higher supplies on dealer lots. All of the civics/accords/fit models are at less than 37 days. CRV is 36 to 47 days (depending on country of manufacture).
I doubt I'll have access to this data for Sept.
There are a lot of people here getting extended warranties. IMO, those are a great waste of money. For those who live where the Clark Howard show is broadcast, he'll confirm what I'm saying. www.clarkhoward.com
In 2000, I went to buy a new car from a tiny new car dealer in New Jersey (the sole salesman is the owner). I asked him to tell me about his extended warranty. He said that dealers get a huge profit on them. GM pays him something like 60% back of the cost (ie: like a holdback) if he can have a certain market penetration (can't remember, but it was something like 50% +/-) based on number of vehicles sold. He said that in the entire history of his dealershp, he's only had one customer EVER that would have benefited from an extended warranty (blown engine).
Also, remember that if you buy a new car, with most, if not all makes, you can buy an extended warranty at anytime prior to the expiration of your factory warranty. And at that point, donkey punch the dealers to get a new quote. There shouldn't be anything to prevent you from buying your extended warranty from a dealer who didn't sell you the car. Confirm this with the F&I manager.
For the cost of an extended warranty you can self-insure just about every major component on your new Honda (notable exceptions are the engine and transmission) with money to spare.
Otherwise, why did you buy a Honda to begin with?
Off the soapbox.
LOL. How much does it cost to replace the Honda DVD player or Navigation system? How about repairing power sliding doors or a tranny on an Odyssey?
Do you think service departments at Honda dealers are just for maintenance?
We know the Honda engine is built to last -- but what about all of the electronics? Nowadays a Honda is a computer with four tires. How often do you get you computer at home repaired or replaced?
Again, even if a person wants an extended warranty, why buy it when you have coverage from the factory warranty already? So, what the person ends up doing is financing the warranty and paying interest on its cost rather than waiting for the factory warranty to expire and then get it for coverage they already have. Does a person really need the double coverage for that initial period? Of course not.
And yes, my experience has been that a service department -any brand- is for maintenance during the factory warranty and usually through 100,000 miles. And even then, I'd go to a jiffy lube before I'd go to the dealer for an oil change.
If a major system goes down, then I'd go to a dealer. But with a Honda, it had better be at more than 100,000 miles.
The standard warranty covers the engine and trans for 5years/60k and you've got bumper to bumper for 3/36k. So, you have 3years/36000 miles to make up your mind whether to buy that extended warranty.
Sorry, but if I want a car with an extended waranty, I'll buy a Chrysler.
I am looking to purchase a EX-L with RES and NAV. After online quotes from about 5-6 dealers and back and forth with two, my best quote right now is 30,500 OTD. Does this seem like a good price? Fees included in the quote are:
$385 Processing
$495 Appearance Package
$670 Freight
3.2% Virginia Taxes
$54.50 Tags
Thanks!
That's a great price for an EXL w/RES! I'm in the market for a base EXL, the $25599 quote you mentioned was a great price too. May I ask what the name and location of the dealer are? Thank you!
Should I tell the salesperson straight up that this is a FLAT right off the bat (meaning he will only make $100 off of me) and send me to the Sales Manager?
Should I start off with $4000 off of invoice? $31282 inc dest - 4000 = $27,282
or get technical by starting at $500 off invoice, then subtract dealer incentive $2500 offered and then try to get some of the 2% holdback (approx $500 of the est $676)?
31282 invoice inc dest
- 500
= 30782
- 2500 dealer incentive
= $28282
- 500 (part of 2% holdback)
=27,782
Almost the same amount at the end, then you have the dreaded $595 dealer fee so there goes the holdback money, plus taxes 7% and state fees about $56.00 and tags $50.
I am hoping for $27000 OTR, so how to accomplish this. No financing needed--so can I get more dealer incentive if NOT using AHFC?
Thanks!
Dest 670
3% NC tax
Doc 398
Tag 74
Is this a good price ?
Word of caution - after you agree on a price, check the OTD price. One of the dealers tried to inflate the TTL costs by around $400. The tax is a set amount, but watch for added costs. The dealer I went with charged me the tax, plus $119 for title and license, and no other charges - this was reasonable.
Will look at the Grand Caravan... thanks!
~ Marinite