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Since then the bank my husband works for was purchased and now job security is an issue. He asked me to cancel the van, which I did. Then my incredibly reliable 91 Honda Civic broke down. This was enough to convince him that we really did need a new vehicle! Whew! I was sweating that one. So, it looks like I get my new van sometime next week!
you had your 3, now it is going to
be nothing but good luck... you'll get
your (1) "brand new van" (2)"in your color",
your (3)"husband will get a promotion and more loot"
Thank you.
MSRP issue: I won't comment directly on the seemingly-departed "anafe" and his MSRP-phobia, since he's been officially reprimanded already. But here's my take on it: I've recently been shopping the Twin Cities seriously for Siennas and Odysseys. I've read lots of Internet material, bought Consumer Union's customized price report on the Sienna, have 2 friends who have recently bought both vehicles ( that is, one bought Sienna last month, and one bought Ody last year), etc. After coming close to equalizing equipment on Sienna vs. Odyssey LX, the price is darn-near identical, AFTER I cut what looks to be my best-possible "deal" on the Sienna in this market-- $350 over invoice. When I say "equalizing equipment" I mean adding traction control (not even available yet according to local Toyota dealers, but $440 invoice when it becomes avail.)to Sienna LE trim line (middle of their 3 trim lines). Sienna LE comes with single-CD and keyless entry; but Ody LX comes with body-color bumpers and the magic seat. I'd give the edge there to Honda. The dull-gray bumper covers on Sienna LE look chintzy to me in a car stickered at over $26K; whereas I can add a great CD later for pretty cheap, and I can also add keyless remote for $160 if I want to tackle the job myself (looks fairly involved though). 3rd seats in Sienna come out easily and you can remove only one unlike Ody-- but like most people, I'll still prefer "magic" seat. Bottom line including destination comes to $24,340 for Ody LX and almost to the dollar the same for Sienna LE. Given that, I'll take Honda for slightly better crash ratings and all seating positions having headrests and 3-point seatbelts, the EBD enhancement to ABS, the nice "well" for grocery bags with 3rd seat up, and between-front-seats retractable table. While making the decision, we purposely ignored considerable extra space in Ody, because my wife and I decided Sienna would be "big enough" for our family-- yet I'll say that AFTER deciding on Ody, with equal price and gas mileage, "I'll take the extra space".
Anyway, we'd have paid MORE for Windstar, Silloutte, or new 2001 Grand Caravan in similar trim line to Ody (as someone noted, it takes a scientific study to figure out what trim line makes sense with Dodge-- a plot IMO to confuse and thus screw buyers)-- after cutting our "best deal" on any of those. Given this, paying MSRP for Honda becomes a non-complaint, and I say that while admitting that when I first looked at Ody, I was put off by the prospect of MSRP. If Honda chooses to price their vehicle so as to let their dealers make MORE money while Honda Corp. makes LESS, what difference does it really make to me? Either that or Honda's factories and such are just so much better and more efficient that they can put out a better product for less money. Again, no diff. to me. Buy Windstar, Dodge GC, or Sillouette instead and have the dealer make little but Ford, DC, or GM make a ton-- how is that better? In some ways, one could argue, "it's nice to keep more of the cash in the local community".
I don't know if it's the "best minivan" out there, that depends on how much you value some of the plushness and bells-and-whistles features of some other vans vs. Ody's space, technological innovation, expected reliability, and resale value. AND--sorry "anafe"- Ody's moderate price for what you get, even at MSRP, compared to other vans. I feel the Ody is "fair stickered", basically, kind of like Saturns.
An LX in our first color choice (mesa beige) is supposed to arrive for us in late Oct/early Nov. for $24,340 with no dealer add-ons. I'm kind of holding a "believe it when I see it" attitude; but if it happens, it was fairly easy for us-- only visited 2 area Honda dealers after first pricing out Sienna. First one puts a MINIMUM of $900 (plus tax) of dealer fat on ALL LX's they get in, but they seemed like the best bet since they could guarantee December production which others I called would not/could not. Then I called a leasing service through my employer, he contacted a dealer I hadn't talked to yet, who called back 2 hours later to say he would have the no-options beige LX for regular sticker. (We are buying, not leasing; but this lease outfit performs a "finder" service for employees where I work.) I made a deposit (refundable) right away. We go out for a test drive in an EX this week, I'm sure I'll like the ride and handling but that way I can compare the one we're getting to at least one other Ody before accepting delivery, instead of having "our's" be the first one I've ever driven.
Sorry for length of this post-- felt I had to get some opinions out, since I've been reading here for so long! Thanks to all other posters for their experiences and advice, all of which has helped me in various ways.
I also agree the reliability of either the Toyota or Siena make it a better choice than all the bells and whistles on the others. I personally will look to see how many posts there will be on the DC new power tailgate....
I would have been loathe to provide them a deposit without written documentation as to its refundability. As if they weren't in the driver's seat enough, being the holders of the anointed Odyssey's, now they have 1,000 of your hard-earned dollars!
A little less emotion and a lot more common sense would probably help anyone who is looking for an Odyssey....just my .02
Don't be surprised whern your Odyssey finally arrives in 2001 you'll find yourself buying a "protection package", an extended warranty, and any other high-profit item the dealer can think of. You've already proven that you can't stand up to them.
I've just finished watching the presidential debates, so I'm in the mood for a rebuttal.
I appreciate the comments and feedback from agt cooper, gcintender, and timothyadavis...and, in particular, the faith t.a.davis has in the dealer. I, too, think the dealer will come through on this. No, I don't think there will be any hidden costs down the road...the bottom line was filled in and the price was right. Nor do I think anyone is getting over-emotional here. And yes, I do think I've shown that I can stand up to them. After all I did walk away with the price I wanted -- and no options or add ons (even if I don't have the van yet). I don't even mind the $1000 vs. $500...since I've read so much about deposits that seem to hover in that range. I neglected to mention that my going there was not just done to satisfy their demands...but also to get a trade in appraisal...something that couldn't have been as easily accomplished on the phone. So...I do hope I'll hear from more of you, but in the meantime, it sounds like I need to make a follow up call to the GM of the dealership just to get a few things clarified...and maybe get his/her personal attention. I'm with shagnasty, though...
Shopnomore, you MUST tell us what gives.
I'll let them beat up on me for a while.
I have $250 deposit with CarDirect
I have $500 deposit with Gardena Honda
I have $500 deposit with Honda of Pasadena
I have $1000 deposit with Miller Honda
I have $100 deposit with Barber Honda
and last but not least $0.00 with Metro Honda
Facts;
yes, I am loosing interest on the above funds.
yes, I care, but the wife wants the van (and who else wears the pants in any family)
Have been contacted a couple of times by the dealers just letting me know they have the EX, but in another color, we are holding out for White, yep the color that some posts says gets dirty quick... we don't think so, we have two white trucks now and (our) white doesn't show how dirty the car is... had black cars and "would never get another dark color", (ok, I lied on that, if I ever get the dream car '49 or '50 lead sled, it will be black with flames)
okeydokey...just a couple of pennies here
1.I put in reverse and heard no clunk.
2.I hit the gas at a stoplight and the wheel did spin toward the right but there is no noticable pull when driving. To think of it, my 91 civic seemed to always pull a little but it never bothered me and worked great.
3.I had the stereo much too loud to notice any noise from the bottom.
My question...
I asked about warranty (they surprisingly did NOT bring it or protection UP at all on their own)...
They offered me a 7 yr (4 additional), 75,000 mile warranty from Automotive Warranty services, "platinum" plan, covers all except routine maintenance, for a $50 deductible
PLUS
the "Protector" rustcoating, fabric protection, paint protector, with a GUARANTEE on the paint finish and fabric for 5 yrs and rust for 10yrs for a total of $1015. It seems pretty good to me but have NEVER bought any warranties before. My concern is all these new electronic pieces such as the power door motors that would cost high $ to replace. Since my wife only drives about 10000 miles per year it would probably cover the 7 year period closely.
Any thoughts? I have a couple of weeks to decide.
$600 is the amount I paid over what I would have considered as my IDEAL price.
Good luck!
shaganasty: Agree with you that white is generally a pretty EASY color to keep clean. My '87 Integra (fun car) that I drove for 10 years was white and I thought it quite easy to keep looking at least "o.k." (I'm not super picky about car cleanliness). Especially in an area with winter salt and slop-- that kind of dirt shows up much easier on DARK colors than light ones. Might be a different story down South or out West, I don't know. (Our due-in-November Ody LX is the MB color, but white was probably my second choice.)
finallydidit: My opinion would be, if you're leaning towards an extended warranty, go with the $0 deductible Honda warranty for $900 or less (most people seem to be able to get that price if not from their own purchase dealer then some other dealer) and maybe bypass the paint protection etc. or buy separately whichever of those extras you feel you need. While probably not completely "worthless", I highly question the value of paint sealant and fabric protection and (as I already beat to death in an earlier post) rust proofing. Without fabric protection and WITH 2 very sloppy young daughters eating chocolate etc. in the back seat, I've never found the seat fabric or carpeting in my soon-to-be-sold Subaru very difficult at all to scrub clean, usually just with a rag and plain water. If you've got VERY light-colored interior fabrics, it might be more worthwhile to have fabric protection. As for the warranty, I'm still deciding whether to get it or not, but if I do, I'd feel more comfortable with one from Honda and $0 ded. than a 3rd-party warranty. Keep in mind, the Honda warranty can be purchased any time before the expiration of the 3-year factory warranty, so both of us have some time to think about it. I believe you might get roadside assistance by buying it upfront, at least I read that in another post-- but I don't expect to be needing roadside assistance very often with a Honda! I'm not sure if I "need" the extra warranty at ALL for that matter, which is why I'm still thinking about it and probably WON'T buy it when we pick up the car... if I have only very minor problems (or no problems) the first year or two, I probably will decide not to buy the warranty.
I talked to a Ziebart franchise owner. He told me he can install the generic splash guards for $59 + taxes. He told me the generic splash guards work fine. I did not ask about pin-striping. I would guess a Ziebart pin-striping should be less than $100. Ziebart does not install cross bars.
If you want genuine Honda Splash guards, go to the Honda parts URL (posted here about 100 posts ago), and buy it on line. Splash guards are $59+ shipping. Cross bars are $78 + shipping. You can install them using the enclosed instructions.
From the Ziebart, prices for the rust proofing and other items are:
Rust proofing = $310
Under coat (sound dampening) = 60 (with rust proofing)
Fabric protection = 89 (with rust proofing)
With out rust proofing the under coat (sound proofing) is $175, and fabric protection is $149
You have to take it back to a Ziebart dealer every year for rust proofing inspection, Cost approx $40.
Hope this helps.
I refused to pay more than MSRP, and did not take any upgrade on the '01 EX, but I have to wait for 3 months for my van. It all depends on if you can wait, and if you want these options. If you want the van now and were interested in the leather, and CD changer, and if the can deliver the van now, try bargaining on the leather seats (approx cost $1700 - $1800), CD changer ($400 - $700).
If you can wait, and do not need these options, start to shop around.
Hope this helps.
If you can keep negotiating on the options, you are better off. Check www.honda-accessories.com for pricing on CD player. I paid a lot more than I should for the under-the-seat CD Changer; but the price I paid on the leather is marginally okay. Expect to pay about $1400 - $1600 for the leather, and about $500 for under-the-seat changer.
I love the Odyssey, but cannot justify the high price. I plan to replace the Odyssey with a CRV. Since I have a complete distrust of Honda Dealers, I would like to sell the Odyssey outright. If anyone needs immediate possession, send me a note at mailto:abombinski@yahoo.com. I'm considering all reasonable offers.
Similarly, I think most "lifetime" warranties are useless because whenever the product breaks is considered the end of its lifetime (and I think very seldom do they mean my lifetime!).
Just a little curmudgeonly musing on the meaninglessness of much of what we say....
Jimmy Bryan and Holler Honda want over $400 in fees over MSRP.
Leather from a dealer in Pittsburgh was $1450
What do people think of the navigation system? Worth it?
Well let's get to the deal. From what I can see the market in Ohio must be softening a bit because I live in Columbus which is full of young people with lots of money willing to spare no expense and here is my deal. My deal is 500 under MSRP plus 268 for keyless remote for a total of $24,108 before tax. I asked about any other unexpected cost. They do have a documentation fee of $50.00 but that seems minimal compared to other dealerships I have seen on the Town Hall. My delivery date is to be the end of November. I have completed this whole deal so far over e-mails and the phone. They are going to send me my purchase order today in the mail. So far everything seems on the up and up. I did have a $500 'refundable' deposit.
I will let everyone know if it goes through as scheduled. By the way I am working with Justin Hinderer at Hinderer Honda in Heath Ohio.
The salesman asked me to pay extra because it was alloted to someone. Mine is supposed to come by another three weeks later. If I have to take a rental car for three weeks I would have end up paying $500 as rent. Instead spent around $100 as the extra money to him. The car is very fine and am very happy.
Need to buy accessories.....
Orlando dealers are letting them go for MSRP, but all want about $400 more in dealer markup fees. I think this is being greedy. Is this the norm? Comments please.
thanks
Came home and made calls to 5 other dealers. One said they charge no premium...but it's a three-month wait. Another charged no premium...however, you had to buy a bunch of options...no choice. Three others charged $1000 over MSRP...one had the GG LX I wanted coming in within a few weeks.
I can't find a dealer who is charging MSRP (nevermind under MSRP) without a really long wait or those bogus extras. It kills me to pay MORE than sticker price...why have a sticker price then!?!? I didn't necessarily need the van within a week or two...but was hoping within 6-8 weeks or so. Can anyone help? I'm in Putnam County, NY...which is just north of Westchester.
Thank you!!!