I live in the bay area and I bought a 05 Honda Accord Coupe-EXL AT 4 cyl about 3.5 weeks ago. I love my car so much! I had a great buying experience with Concord Honda, particullary my salesperson! Initially I was looking at Toyota and Honda and getting prices online. We got a really good price online from both dealerships. When we went to Toyota however, the salesman said he sold that car so the price was no longer good. Then he said he had to go help someone so he left us to be helped by a different salesperson. The whole experience was ridiculous. Then we went to Concord Honda and met with the contact person from online. When we repeated the price he quoted us online for the Accord (initially I was going to purchase the LX) Coupe LX he was shocked that he quoted it so low. We showed him the email and he said ok, that is what I put so that's the price ...He didn't try to change the pricing upon arrival. After I made multiple trips to Honda for a week straight, not to mention kept the poor guy at the dealership til like 8:00 something p.m. each time because I was test driving a whole bunch of different cars, and I kept changing my mind he was still very nice! Also, he let me test drive the car alone without him, for as long as I wanted, which is definitely a plus! He was an extremely good salesperson and made my buying experience great! He was very patient, honest, and not pushy at all. He didn't try to force me into a decision, and told me to take my time so that I would in the end be 100% satisfied with my choice. Even after I had already had my car picked out, the VIN number and everything, and then I called him the next day and asked him for a different car in which he had to find and have delivered. While the V-6 does have its benefits, and some people may feel it is necessary, I am happy with the V4. However, I was considering getting the V-6, and he actually said he honestly felt it was not worth me spending the extra money, I mean how amazing that is! He didn't try to sell any additional things. The only unfortunate thing that happened was the night I was going to actually purchase my car the sales manager who was on the floor would not approval my actual cost because it was $600.00 dollars less than what the dealership had actually paid for it. The general manager (the top manager) however had Okayed this price; just he was not there that night. I was so upset because I had my hopes up and I was dying to have my new car! My salesperson promised thought that I would get that car at that price, and if he couldn’t do it at Concord Honda, he had friends at other dealerships where he would take me so I could get that price. When I got home, my salesperson called and said he went ahead and called the GM at home, and they got everything taken care of. They didn't try to play any games or anything (i.e. such as raise the price in the end). Although, that issue did arise, it was handled professionally and effiently by my salesperson and the General Manager. My salesperson even went out of his way to offer to pick me up from my house if no one wanted to drive me back to the dealership to get my car. So therefore in the end I am satisfied with my purchase because not only do I love my car, got a good price on it, but I am truly happy that my salesperson got commission off this sale. There are not many salesmen, if any that I have ever actually liked, until now.
The final cost breakdown was: Price...21,639.00Tax @ 8.25%...1,788.19 License Fee...187.00 Doc Fee....45.00 CA Tire Fee...8.75 OTD Cost...23,679.64 (plus there were some free accessories added to my car, which was a nice surprise...a cargo net, wheel locks, fender well trim, and mud guards
One more thing, I received a follow up call today from my salesperson. Very nice!!! I told him I needed to order some touch up paint for the future and he said he can get it for free for me! He also said if there is anything else I need I can always call him! My mom's boyfriend has an Audi and he said he had to pay for his touch up paint! I also had a questing concerning my oil and he got back to me saying if I wanted to take my car in to him, he could look at it. So if you are looking to get a Honda in the bay area I would recommend Concord Honda, and this specific salesperson. By the way he is willing to match any all prices, he quotes, “I will not lose a sale over pricing.”
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I checked, and the normally low priced dealer in the Atlanta area told me $24,847 for the I4 (car, dest, dealer fee) and $26,867 for the V-6.
I don't know why these prices seem high, they have given me good quotes for friends on CR-Vs and LX Accords lately.
Keep in mind that including dealer fees these prices are just over invoice, so they are not TERRIBLE prices - it is just they normally are more aggressive.
I asked, and the dealer said that NAV cars are harder to get and don't stay on the lot long - so they don't discount them as deeply as the other Accords.
I guess that is true, at least in the case of this one dealer - since the other prices I get from them a normally a lot better.
That is a good price, as long as the doc fee is not too high.
There is no "invoice" price on dealer installed options. I use the prices at H&A (Handa) for a guide. Figure you don't want to pay more than their price for the easy to install stuff, but will have to pay more for the labor for the PITA stuff like the fog lights or the wing (who wants to drill holes in their own new trunk lid?).
Southern California dealer incentive for May is $1k...
Could you please mention the source of this information? If your source is correct, this could mean still lower prices for the Accord compared to April, since the maximum incentive for that month was $750. Thanks.
I just bought an EX V6 leather w/o the nav system in Mass (NOT the COUPE; the 4-door sedan but possibly close in price). Got a quote for $23,600 and cut a deal with them. I think this month's dealer incentives are pretty good from Honda so you may even want to see if they will go lower (I think the incentive is around $1200 from Honda to the dealers). I'd ask them to waive the Inventory fee; sounds bogus to me. I paid a total of $284.75 in doc fees; which I thought was a bit high; another dealer quoted about $198 in doc fees.
Anyway, the price they are quoting sounds OK. But I do think you can ask them to go lower.
My research (from Consumer Reports and elsewhere) delivered these #s: MSRP + desination (of $515) = $27,365 Total MSRP Base invoice + destination = $24,673 Total Dealer Invoice Dealer invoice - holdback (of $806) = $23,867 Wholesale Price
The key is to find out the dealer incentive this month and then deduct it from $23,867 and you have a ballpark to negotiate up from; I think you can ask them what it is straight up and/or research it on the Internet. You still want to offer the dealer a reasonable profit (4-8% perhaps) and keep things mutually beneficial. I mean they have to profit to stay in business but they don't have to rake you over the coals in doing so.
I have found Consumer Reports pricing service to be excellent; it saved me hundreds of dollars.
Acceptable? $0 - they should do the "doc" (paperwork) as part of the deal. If you have to pay something, then as little as possible. Some dealers here are as high as $300-400 for the doc fee - it is such a rip off.
The factory to dealer money is, well, between the factory and the dealer. We are not supposed to know what it is. Edmunds usually does a good job of keeping up with these on their incentives pages, but they completely missed it the last two months. I have not heard anything "official" on incentives for this money, so "who knows" what it is in your area, if anything.
I like Consumer Reports, but I can't for the life of me figure out why you would pay them for something you can get for free on the Internet. The MSRP and invoice prices as well as dealer hold back are all shown right here on Edmunds - for free. If you can find this forum, I am sure you can find this info without paying a dime for it. carsdirect.com , kbb, and other sites also have invoice info.
3.9% for up to 60 months ended back in March. They are doing 1.9%, but only up to 36 month terms. Cheap Accord lease deals (really cheap on LX models) still going on.
Thanks for the link, Dennis. Printed it up. The dealer doesn't stand a chance. :-)
I just checked my FICo scores and after paying off all my credit cards last month, I'm 747 on Experian, 708 on Equifax and Transunion has yet to update online, but their real world reports should have a similar bump to 700+.
I'm going to try and play two arch rival dealers against each other as well.
The initial dealer seems like a no hassle sorta deal...but we'll see.
You may can do better than that, depending on which model you are looking for.
carsdirect.com , edmunds.com, kbb.com and more will show you the MSRP and invoice for each model. Hold back on Hondas is 3% of MSRP so the dealer's true cost is:
Invoice - hold back - any dealer incentives = true cost
There was an up to $600 incentive in March and up to $750 in April, so lots of folks were getting cars well below published invoice price w/o any problems. Folks are saying $1,000-1,200 incentives this month, but this may be regional since my "local" prices don't reflect this.
It appears tobe regional or even state by state, or even a sliding scale.
I am here in PHX and am gonna pull the trigger by the end of the month, Accord LX manual.
So I make an appointment with a dealer out here locally, tell him upfront it is a cash deal but I had to do alot more looking around, made it clear I was not prepared to even talk about paperwork during the appointment.
So everything went excellent really, great experience, went for the test drive and all.
Got back to the sales office to exchange contact info. Went into price, and this is what was presented.. So we have a starting price of $18,315=invoice.
Dealer shoots me numbers of:
17822-car 290-"doc fee"
I sat in the chair nearly choking on the numbers, then asked if those were our starting numbers. Then he proceded to tell me that I just didnt understand how the fleet office works, those are the only numbers in play.
Then I asked about FDI, he said that they did have an FDI and that it was already priced into the quote, said they could only collect 200-400 FDI, never got real specific, starting talking about Civic FDI and what not, kinda did the Texas 2 step.
So whatever, I left thanking him for his time and trouble.
I figure this is for the damn birds, what a ripoff, Carsdirect is quoting 17315 in LA only 350 miles off. So I call Spirit, as they have a good reputation around, and BAM they quote me 17315 right away. So now I am getting somewhere, both places have taxes at about 8% so we are all good there, well at least its a wash between cities. And then I start asking about other fees, and am told that they dont have a "doc fee". I keep asking if there is any other fee besides TAX and TAG, they say no no no.
So I call Rock Honda, and they are a bit higher then Spirit but say they will ahve no problem beeting the quote.
Both tell me they can get my trim level in my color, just come over to Cali and its all good.
So we are already $800 apart from the Phoenix area quote.
I get back to the Phoenix area dealer, send him the qoute, he calls back saying he cant touch it. Starts trashing the internet, ripping the Edmunds forum, says there are nothing but liars out on the internet, blah blah blah.
Says he is gonna have his sales manager crack down on the Cali dealers who are advertising prices below cost and breaking contractual obligations etc... I ask him if he thinks Honda will shut down Carsdirect.com as they have pricing as low as LA area or lower in at least half a dozen US zip codes, of course I get no response. Not to mention the dealers were not advertising to me, they were qouting me through a negociated process.
Whatever though, If the guy realy couldnt touch the price he should have been polite and tactfull about it. Instead claiming to report the dealers for advertising below cost and trashing the wealth of info that is all over the internet.
If the manger knew what was good, he would have drop the junk "doc fees", got into his holdback a little, getting his price close to the LA pricing, and then made me a reasonable counter offer.
If it was within a couple hundred I would have bought the car to keep the business locall. Instead he went into his diatribe, and when I pressed him for his bottom line, he couldnt even put a number on the table.
But whatever, I have a free ride out to the LA area at the end of the month, so looks like they will be likley to earn my business. I will make a another local call to the high volume dealer here, see if they will play.
I encountered the same problem as you did in Phoenix. I found that the only dealer whom was competitive was Tempe Honda. Last month, they were quoting a LX, auto, for $18,100. This is still higher than the price in LA.
My guess is that the FTD incentives are higher in CA than in AZ.
My question to you is whom collects the sales tax? Will you get double taxed by both California and Arizona? I would really like to know the answer to this.
From what I understand you pay the higher of the taxes.
Mesa=7.8 Phx\Tempe=8.1 LA=8.25 Orange County=7.75
Then you pay $15 for a one way registration pas out of Cali.
Then the deal is done. Of course you have to register the car when you get it back to AZ.
My first experience here is with Honda Cars of Mesa, aint gonna work out there.
I am putting calls to Tempe and Showcase, already told them my starting point. If they can match then we can play ball, if not, I got a free ride at the end of the month out to a Cali dealer of my choosing, so its really a no brainer for me.
By your response, I knew that you were dealing with Honda Cars of Mesa. I got the same reponse from them complete with threats etc. I love it when car salesmen, with no education, try to threaten me or their competition.
I put in a call to Showcase they have been jerking me off, Fleet Dept, so far.
Called in this morning told em what I wanted and what I was going to be paying in Cali. Guy said he was new and would get back to me with price. Then a girl calls back a couple hours later, says she saw I tried to call earlier by noticing my number on the caller ID. Says she has no clue who the guy I first talked to was.
I said, ok so help me out, get me a price, she says she only does follow up and can tell me about inventory, so I said ok, tell me what colors are on the lot.
She says, ok let me call you right back, I said great thank you.
She calls back with colors, then starts talking price, says she can get the LX-stick-4dr under 19,000 and the coupe for alot less, I say well what does that mean. She stutered abit, then I tell her that 19,000 is ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS.....
The "funny" thing about dealer money is we often don't KNOW how much it is - seriously. Sometimes it gets published, but often it does not. It is strange to be asking for a better deal when in APPEARS you are well into the dealer's hold back money
There is a ton of known money on the "old" BMW 3 series sedans, as much as $4,200 on the 330i - it is listed on the Edmunds incentives page. Image the saps that wander in to buy a 3 series and don't know or know how to check? They will think the $500 over invoice price the dealer gave them is a super deal - and the dealer makes $4,700 on one car.
I sometimes feel like that sap Since the CA and other area dealers are selling cars way under invoice less hold back, know one "knows" what the incentive is and where it is. Could be not in AZ or could be the guy you talked to is just wants/needs to make a lot more money than the CA dealer.
They could be well into holdback, but none the less Cali is close so thats where I will be heading.
I have now talked to multiple AZ dealers, none have ventured under 17,700, and there has been no mention of dropping the junk "doc fees" at $300
I have talked further with Spirit, and they have been handling everyhitng exceptionally well over email. They have given me a out the door final price all inluded, and it does inclde a "doc fee", but its only 45$. So I am not to upset about it, they said it is always just included in the licsense fee and they dont refer to it as a "doc fee", and I truely feel they are being honest about it.
And at the end of the day, $45 is not even in the ballpark of the AZ "doc fees" $300.
So it wont be until the 27th that I travel with a friend to Cali for a wedding, but if anything changes I will post, and I will about the total experience after I take delivery.
They say this happens from time to time and it always goes smooth.
If you are from AZ buying in CA you will endup paying a the higher of the tax rate in the city you buy or the city you live, and there is tax reciprocity between the 2 states so you only pay tax once. But Phoenix and LA are 8.1 and 8.25 respectively, a difference of $15 per every 10,000.
So out the door I will be saving $800 from buying in CA VS. AZ, with the prices I have so far.
However I will be burning my free tank of gas on the way home from Cali, 350 miles for me, HA HA HA HA...
If you are from AZ buying in CA you will endup paying a the higher of the tax rate in the city you buy or the city you live, and there is tax reciprocity between the 2 states so you only pay tax once. But Phoenix and LA are 8.1 and 8.25 respectively, a difference of $15 per every 10,000.
Mark,
When I bought my Honda from Spirit, the tax was 7.75%. That may have been because I was from San Diego. They gave me an OTD (out-the-door) quote by email. When I got there, the actual price was lower! They do charge $45 for doc fee and California charges $8.75 for a tire fee. The vehicle I got was PZEV (partial zero emissions vehicle) which I didn't ask for but got at no extra charge (Carsdirect charges $135 for PZEV). Get an OTD quote from them, and at the end of the month when you go, see if they will lower it by $300. By the end of the month they will know if they've met their quota. Get an email quote from Kobe Honda in Reseda as a bargaining chip (info@kobehonda.com) This is the best way to buy a new car! Have fun beating the system!
Since the usual advice is to try one's luck during month end for a better price - am wondering if this holds true for the upcoming memorial day weekend. It is the end of the month - but it is also a long weekend. And it may be possible that prospective car shoppers usually use long weekends to shop around instead of going on a vacation - thus nullifying the effect of month end dip(if there is any ) in prices. Any views appreciated Thanks
Since it seems the factory to dealer incentice varies by region I was thinking of taking this approach. I would offer invoice less holdback, so on a EX auto sedan:
Invoice $21,214 Less Holdback 705 (3% of MSRP of $23,515) Offer $20,509
This means that the dealer's profit is the regional factory to dealer incentive. In California and New Jersey this method probably gives the dealer too much profit. However, in the midwest and midatlantic states (I'm in Ohio) where the factory to dealer amount seems to be more of a mystery, this approach might work.
The end of the month is Tuesday, that is when I would try to buy. For sure, prior to that date I would have my best deals lined up from the dealers who will deal. Then hit them again on the last day of the month and see if you can hammer a little more out.
Anything other than the last day and they can always hold out hope someone else will buy a car by the end of the month - the last day of the month says "this is it". If they need another sale to hit a goal or reach an incentive, then they will be more willing to give you a better deal. The bad news is if they have reached their goal, they may not want to fool with you unless they are going to make some money. You do need to leave them some profit
With a lot of dealers, this may only net you a hundred or two better deal - if the dealer was already giving you a good price.
If there is no incentive where you are, they will think you are nuts
I would just see how willing the discount dealers in the area are willing to discount. If their first offer is invoice or less then they are getting an incentive. Most Honda dealers (I have found) have no interest in low profit, high volume type sales. I had a lot of them just ignore me or tell me to "Get lost" - they have no interest in selling a car that cheap. If you have nothing but those kind of dealers in your area, it does not matter what the incentive is you are not getting a deal....
I'm in an area like that.... no discount dealers. Sent requests to seven dealers in a 75 mile area. Two responses (#1) invoice +$300 (#2) blah blah blah we sell so many that we change prices daily to adjust for market conditions, so come on down and we can talk. Silence from the other five dealers.
I'm thinking about using this strategy on the last day of the month. If there is an incentive that would be a $600 to $1,200 profit and should be enough for the dealer to make the sale. I'll keep watching cardirect too!!!!!
First thing would be to post where you are, so anyone browsing the forum could offer suggestions on where you might a deal. Then you could search through older messages to see if someone else posted a deal from some place nearby. If you don't see anything here, then search in the other Honda prices paid forums - since someone who deals cheap on a Pilor or CR-V would surely deal cheap on an Accord as well.
Also, if the deals are really bad don't be afraid to travel a bit to get a better deal. I take my cars to dealers that never sold me the car all the time, and I never have any problems.
$ 22450 is a great price! Did you purchase the coupe or sedan, and did it include the destination charge? Also, if you will, the dealer name and location.
Has anyone in here recently purchased or leased an Accord Coupe EX 4 cyl 5M in the Philly area? I'd be interested to know details as well which dealerships in the area you prefer. (Closer to Manayunk/Roxborough, the better!)
Finally, what are the dealer allowances/incentives on Accords in April for the Philly area?
So tell me about your entire experience with Spirit in detail, chronology.
They have been exceptional in their communications with me so far.
I am getting some qoutes from some other dealers in the area saying they will match etc.. but they sure arnet as prompt or customer friendly as Spirit.
Also, you say the pricing went down at the end of the month when you bought, tell me how that worked out.
Also, did you get any accesories with the deal? I would like to get locks, mud guards, and maybe a trunk liner tossed in.
Louise So tell me about your entire experience with Spirit in detail, chronology. They have been exceptional in their communications with me so far.
Mark,
Spirit Honda was recommended on this board and on other Honda Boards. I emailed them early in April. Since I wasn't sure which model I wanted, they gave me quotes for all the sedan models. Whenever I would email, I would get a quick response. They did not hesitate to give me an OTD quote. At the end of April, when I was ready to buy, I emailed again, telling them the specific model and color I wanted and to double check the price. The price dropped $300. I made an appointment to come in, bringing in copies of my email correspondence (this was April 29). The internet people were there to meet me. I test drove the car and all the features were explained to me. I then went in to do the paperwork. While the paperwork was being done, they washed the car and filled it with gas. They offered the extended warranty which I declined. Nothing else was offered. I didn't order any accessories on it. I will probably get door edge guards from HandA.
I was there for an hour and a half (I paid cash which takes less time). Everyone was friendly and professional. A week later they called to ask how the buying experience was and sent me a post card sized survey. It truly was a no hassle or haggle experience. I'm a middle aged frumpy woman (with a cool car). If I can get a good deal, anyone can.
All of the info I've gotten from (and paid for) from Consumer Reports reflects holdbacks and other dealer incentives and is the best I've found. Better than any "invoice" prices found elsewhere on the Internet for free. That's why I feel it is worth the $12 you pay for a pricing report.
The $806 is a close estimate of dealer holdback from Consumer Reports. Holdback may fluctuate a bit but I've found the estimates they provide to be reliable. They usually take a % and multiply by invoice to get their number.
I bought a Honda EX-L with a four cylinder MT four weeks ago. The price was 21,800 with a 199 dealer prep fee. I am in the Nashville area. This dealership was in Cookeville, TN
I am surprised you got any sort of deal from Cookeville, the GM of the store was very rude and condescending when I was trying to work a deal for my wife's Accord.
The carsdirect.com no haggle price in the Atlanta area is showing $21,472 right now. So there should be a dealer in ATL and one in KY that can do that or better.
Comments
The final cost breakdown was:
Price...21,639.00Tax @ 8.25%...1,788.19
License Fee...187.00
Doc Fee....45.00
CA Tire Fee...8.75
OTD Cost...23,679.64 (plus there were some free accessories added to my car, which was a nice surprise...a cargo net, wheel locks, fender well trim, and mud guards
One more thing, I received a follow up call today from my salesperson. Very nice!!! I told him I needed to order some touch up paint for the future and he said he can get it for free for me! He also said if there is anything else I need I can always call him! My mom's boyfriend has an Audi and he said he had to pay for his touch up paint! I also had a questing concerning my oil and he got back to me saying if I wanted to take my car in to him, he could look at it. So if you are looking to get a Honda in the bay area I would recommend Concord Honda, and this specific salesperson. By the way he is willing to match any all prices, he quotes, “I will not lose a sale over pricing.”
MSRP...27,465.00
Price...23,380.00
Tax 6.25%...1,461.12
License Fee...127.05
Inventory Fee...58.03 ( not sure what this is )
Doc Fee....50.00
OTD Cost...25076.33
Any thoughts on this price? If it helps, this is in San Antonio, Texas.
tia,
A
Honda Accord Owners: Future Models
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I don't know why these prices seem high, they have given me good quotes for friends on CR-Vs and LX Accords lately.
Keep in mind that including dealer fees these prices are just over invoice, so they are not TERRIBLE prices - it is just they normally are more aggressive.
Dennis
I guess that is true, at least in the case of this one dealer - since the other prices I get from them a normally a lot better.
Dennis
It's about 1k less than a dealer a few miles away. Spoke with the sales guy and they say there's no bs in their pricing at all.
Also, where can I find out INVOICE pricing on dealer add ons?
Why doesn't edmunds TMV offer options on Honda/Acura when pricing one out?
Thanks.
Dean
There is no "invoice" price on dealer installed options. I use the prices at H&A (Handa) for a guide. Figure you don't want to pay more than their price for the easy to install stuff, but will have to pay more for the labor for the PITA stuff like the fog lights or the wing (who wants to drill holes in their own new trunk lid?).
Dennis
Southern California dealer incentive for May is $1k...
Could you please mention the source of this information? If your source is correct, this could mean still lower prices for the Accord compared to April, since the maximum incentive for that month was $750. Thanks.
I printed a the price lists from Handa. I don't see the Auto Day/Night Mirror with Compass though.
Thanks.
Dean
Anyway, the price they are quoting sounds OK. But I do think you can ask them to go lower.
My research (from Consumer Reports and elsewhere) delivered these #s:
MSRP + desination (of $515) = $27,365 Total MSRP
Base invoice + destination = $24,673 Total Dealer Invoice
Dealer invoice - holdback (of $806) = $23,867 Wholesale Price
The key is to find out the dealer incentive this month and then deduct it from $23,867 and you have a ballpark to negotiate up from; I think you can ask them what it is straight up and/or research it on the Internet. You still want to offer the dealer a reasonable profit (4-8% perhaps) and keep things mutually beneficial. I mean they have to profit to stay in business but they don't have to rake you over the coals in doing so.
I have found Consumer Reports pricing service to be excellent; it saved me hundreds of dollars.
Good luck
http://www.handa-accessories.com/accelect03.html
The day/night mirror is on the electronics page. $222 for the DX and LX, or $180 for the other Accords.
Dennis
I like Consumer Reports, but I can't for the life of me figure out why you would pay them for something you can get for free on the Internet. The MSRP and invoice prices as well as dealer hold back are all shown right here on Edmunds - for free. If you can find this forum, I am sure you can find this info without paying a dime for it. carsdirect.com , kbb, and other sites also have invoice info.
Dennis
Which dealership in San Antonio? Is the 3.9% financing still available?
Thanks.
mister22
Dennis
I just checked my FICo scores and after paying off all my credit cards last month, I'm 747 on Experian, 708 on Equifax and Transunion has yet to update online, but their real world reports should have a similar bump to 700+.
I'm going to try and play two arch rival dealers against each other as well.
The initial dealer seems like a no hassle sorta deal...but we'll see.
Thanks again for the info...
Dean
i have been told that dealerships will do deals at 300-500 over cost ( which is 7% below MSRP). Can anyone confirm this?
[UnQUOTE]
In my case, they did better. The following was posted in #7583 ...
2005 Desert Mist Metallic Accord 4 cyl. AT EXL PZEV Sedan
Invoice ......$22,271.00 +
Destination .....$515.00
------------------------
Total = ......$22,786.00 (based on edmunds.com)
-------------
MSRP = $25,265.00 + tax, tire / doc fees and DMV.
------------------------
Final tally Anderson Honda in Palo Alto:
Price: .........$20,986.00
Tire Fee: ...........$8.75
Doc. Fee: ..........$45.00
8.5% tax: .......$1,735.06
DMV (Est): ........$187.00
======================
TOTAL: .........$22,961.81 OTD
NOTE: See #7576 for my buying experience.
-----
I put $500 down on Wednesday May 4th for a car coming between the 4th to 9th.
Took delivery on Friday May 6th w/4.5 miles on the odometer. :surprise:
-----
Now I have around 79 miles (break-in is approx. 600 miles according to the owner's manual)!
Last night I put in 6 CD's and so far, I love my car and it's been super!
Phil
Is this what it currently is? $806
carsdirect.com , edmunds.com, kbb.com and more will show you the MSRP and invoice for each model. Hold back on Hondas is 3% of MSRP so the dealer's true cost is:
Invoice - hold back - any dealer incentives = true cost
There was an up to $600 incentive in March and up to $750 in April, so lots of folks were getting cars well below published invoice price w/o any problems. Folks are saying $1,000-1,200 incentives this month, but this may be regional since my "local" prices don't reflect this.
Dennis
Dennis
It appears tobe regional or even state by state, or even a sliding scale.
I am here in PHX and am gonna pull the trigger by the end of the month, Accord LX manual.
So I make an appointment with a dealer out here locally, tell him upfront it is a cash deal but I had to do alot more looking around, made it clear I was not prepared to even talk about paperwork during the appointment.
So everything went excellent really, great experience, went for the test drive and all.
Got back to the sales office to exchange contact info. Went into price, and this is what was presented.. So we have a starting price of $18,315=invoice.
Dealer shoots me numbers of:
17822-car
290-"doc fee"
I sat in the chair nearly choking on the numbers, then asked if those were our starting numbers. Then he proceded to tell me that I just didnt understand how the fleet office works, those are the only numbers in play.
Then I asked about FDI, he said that they did have an FDI and that it was already priced into the quote, said they could only collect 200-400 FDI, never got real specific, starting talking about Civic FDI and what not, kinda did the Texas 2 step.
So whatever, I left thanking him for his time and trouble.
I figure this is for the damn birds, what a ripoff, Carsdirect is quoting 17315 in LA only 350 miles off. So I call Spirit, as they have a good reputation around, and BAM they quote me 17315 right away. So now I am getting somewhere, both places have taxes at about 8% so we are all good there, well at least its a wash between cities. And then I start asking about other fees, and am told that they dont have a "doc fee". I keep asking if there is any other fee besides TAX and TAG, they say no no no.
So I call Rock Honda, and they are a bit higher then Spirit but say they will ahve no problem beeting the quote.
Both tell me they can get my trim level in my color, just come over to Cali and its all good.
So we are already $800 apart from the Phoenix area quote.
I get back to the Phoenix area dealer, send him the qoute, he calls back saying he cant touch it. Starts trashing the internet, ripping the Edmunds forum, says there are nothing but liars out on the internet, blah blah blah.
Says he is gonna have his sales manager crack down on the Cali dealers who are advertising prices below cost and breaking contractual obligations etc... I ask him if he thinks Honda will shut down Carsdirect.com as they have pricing as low as LA area or lower in at least half a dozen US zip codes, of course I get no response. Not to mention the dealers were not advertising to me, they were qouting me through a negociated process.
Whatever though, If the guy realy couldnt touch the price he should have been polite and tactfull about it. Instead claiming to report the dealers for advertising below cost and trashing the wealth of info that is all over the internet.
If the manger knew what was good, he would have drop the junk "doc fees", got into his holdback a little, getting his price close to the LA pricing, and then made me a reasonable counter offer.
If it was within a couple hundred I would have bought the car to keep the business locall. Instead he went into his diatribe, and when I pressed him for his bottom line, he couldnt even put a number on the table.
But whatever, I have a free ride out to the LA area at the end of the month, so looks like they will be likley to earn my business. I will make a another local call to the high volume dealer here, see if they will play.
I encountered the same problem as you did in Phoenix. I found that the only dealer whom was competitive was Tempe Honda. Last month, they were quoting a LX, auto, for $18,100. This is still higher than the price in LA.
My guess is that the FTD incentives are higher in CA than in AZ.
My question to you is whom collects the sales tax? Will you get double taxed by both California and Arizona? I would really like to know the answer to this.
Cheapisgood
From what I understand you pay the higher of the taxes.
Mesa=7.8
Phx\Tempe=8.1
LA=8.25
Orange County=7.75
Then you pay $15 for a one way registration pas out of Cali.
Then the deal is done. Of course you have to register the car when you get it back to AZ.
My first experience here is with Honda Cars of Mesa, aint gonna work out there.
I am putting calls to Tempe and Showcase, already told them my starting point. If they can match then we can play ball, if not, I got a free ride at the end of the month out to a Cali dealer of my choosing, so its really a no brainer for me.
By your response, I knew that you were dealing with Honda Cars of Mesa. I got the same reponse from them complete with threats etc. I love it when car salesmen, with no education, try to threaten me or their competition.
Let me know how it goes in CA.
I put in a call to Showcase they have been jerking me off, Fleet Dept, so far.
Called in this morning told em what I wanted and what I was going to be paying in Cali. Guy said he was new and would get back to me with price. Then a girl calls back a couple hours later, says she saw I tried to call earlier by noticing my number on the caller ID. Says she has no clue who the guy I first talked to was.
I said, ok so help me out, get me a price, she says she only does follow up and can tell me about inventory, so I said ok, tell me what colors are on the lot.
She says, ok let me call you right back, I said great thank you.
She calls back with colors, then starts talking price, says she can get the LX-stick-4dr under 19,000 and the coupe for alot less, I say well what does that mean. She stutered abit, then I tell her that 19,000 is ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS.....
She said someone will call em back to talk price.
There is a ton of known money on the "old" BMW 3 series sedans, as much as $4,200 on the 330i - it is listed on the Edmunds incentives page. Image the saps that wander in to buy a 3 series and don't know or know how to check? They will think the $500 over invoice price the dealer gave them is a super deal - and the dealer makes $4,700 on one car.
I sometimes feel like that sap
Dennis
I have now talked to multiple AZ dealers, none have ventured under 17,700, and there has been no mention of dropping the junk "doc fees" at $300
I have talked further with Spirit, and they have been handling everyhitng exceptionally well over email. They have given me a out the door final price all inluded, and it does inclde a "doc fee", but its only 45$. So I am not to upset about it, they said it is always just included in the licsense fee and they dont refer to it as a "doc fee", and I truely feel they are being honest about it.
And at the end of the day, $45 is not even in the ballpark of the AZ "doc fees" $300.
So it wont be until the 27th that I travel with a friend to Cali for a wedding, but if anything changes I will post, and I will about the total experience after I take delivery.
They say this happens from time to time and it always goes smooth.
If you are from AZ buying in CA you will endup paying a the higher of the tax rate in the city you buy or the city you live, and there is tax reciprocity between the 2 states so you only pay tax once. But Phoenix and LA are 8.1 and 8.25 respectively, a difference of $15 per every 10,000.
So out the door I will be saving $800 from buying in CA VS. AZ, with the prices I have so far.
However I will be burning my free tank of gas on the way home from Cali, 350 miles for me, HA HA HA HA...
Mark,
When I bought my Honda from Spirit, the tax was 7.75%. That may have been because I was from San Diego. They gave me an OTD (out-the-door) quote by email. When I got there, the actual price was lower! They do charge $45 for doc fee and California charges $8.75 for a tire fee. The vehicle I got was PZEV (partial zero emissions vehicle) which I didn't ask for but got at no extra charge (Carsdirect charges $135 for PZEV). Get an OTD quote from them, and at the end of the month when you go, see if they will lower it by $300. By the end of the month they will know if they've met their quota. Get an email quote from Kobe Honda in Reseda as a bargaining chip (info@kobehonda.com) This is the best way to buy a new car! Have fun beating the system!
Louise
- thus nullifying the effect of month end dip(if there is any ) in prices.
Any views appreciated
Thanks
Invoice $21,214
Less Holdback 705 (3% of MSRP of $23,515)
Offer $20,509
This means that the dealer's profit is the regional factory to dealer incentive.
In California and New Jersey this method probably gives the dealer too much profit. However, in the midwest and midatlantic states (I'm in Ohio) where the factory to dealer amount seems to be more of a mystery, this approach might work.
Any thoughts or comments?
Anything other than the last day and they can always hold out hope someone else will buy a car by the end of the month - the last day of the month says "this is it". If they need another sale to hit a goal or reach an incentive, then they will be more willing to give you a better deal. The bad news is if they have reached their goal, they may not want to fool with you unless they are going to make some money. You do need to leave them some profit
With a lot of dealers, this may only net you a hundred or two better deal - if the dealer was already giving you a good price.
Dennis
I would just see how willing the discount dealers in the area are willing to discount. If their first offer is invoice or less then they are getting an incentive. Most Honda dealers (I have found) have no interest in low profit, high volume type sales. I had a lot of them just ignore me or tell me to "Get lost" - they have no interest in selling a car that cheap. If you have nothing but those kind of dealers in your area, it does not matter what the incentive is you are not getting a deal....
Dennis
I'm in an area like that.... no discount dealers. Sent requests to seven dealers in a 75 mile area. Two responses (#1) invoice +$300 (#2) blah blah blah we sell so many that we change prices daily to adjust for market conditions, so come on down and we can talk. Silence from the other five dealers.
I'm thinking about using this strategy on the last day of the month. If there is an incentive that would be a $600 to $1,200 profit and should be enough for the dealer to make the sale. I'll keep watching cardirect too!!!!!
Also, if the deals are really bad don't be afraid to travel a bit to get a better deal. I take my cars to dealers that never sold me the car all the time, and I never have any problems.
Dennis
22450 sale price
975 7yr/100k/$0
+TTT
Thanks.
BB787
Finally, what are the dealer allowances/incentives on Accords in April for the Philly area?
Thanks!
~alpha
So tell me about your entire experience with Spirit in detail, chronology.
They have been exceptional in their communications with me so far.
I am getting some qoutes from some other dealers in the area saying they will match etc.. but they sure arnet as prompt or customer friendly as Spirit.
Also, you say the pricing went down at the end of the month when you bought, tell me how that worked out.
Also, did you get any accesories with the deal? I would like to get locks, mud guards, and maybe a trunk liner tossed in.
Thanks...
So tell me about your entire experience with Spirit in detail, chronology.
They have been exceptional in their communications with me so far.
Mark,
Spirit Honda was recommended on this board and on other Honda Boards. I emailed them early in April. Since I wasn't sure which model I wanted, they gave me quotes for all the sedan models. Whenever I would email, I would get a quick response. They did not hesitate to give me an OTD quote. At the end of April, when I was ready to buy, I emailed again, telling them the specific model and color I wanted and to double check the price. The price dropped $300. I made an appointment to come in, bringing in copies of my email correspondence (this was April 29). The internet people were there to meet me. I test drove the car and all the features were explained to me. I then went in to do the paperwork. While the paperwork was being done, they washed the car and filled it with gas. They offered the extended warranty which I declined. Nothing else was offered. I didn't order any accessories on it. I will probably get door edge guards from HandA.
I was there for an hour and a half (I paid cash which takes less time). Everyone was friendly and professional. A week later they called to ask how the buying experience was and sent me a post card sized survey. It truly was a no hassle or haggle experience. I'm a middle aged frumpy woman (with a cool car). If I can get a good deal, anyone can.
Louise
Congrats on the great job and new Accord!
~alpha
$22500 +
3% Tax +
194.50 Doc Fee +
62 Tags.
Is this a good price? I'm in North Carolina and this IS NOT a V6.
Chris
The carsdirect.com no haggle price in the Atlanta area is showing $21,472 right now. So there should be a dealer in ATL and one in KY that can do that or better.
Dennis