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What concerns me the most is that neither Honda Financial or Honda Corporate customer service is willing to do anything... not even issue an apology. If the issue were just a bad dealer, I'd just go to a different one, but I have spoken to 3 different "customer service" representatives at Honda, and they don't even feign concern. They insist that I have to take up the problem with the dealer, despite the fact that the offer is from Honda Financial.
I wonder how often dealers add APR points onto loans for people who qualify for nationally advertised promo rates... There is clearly an institutionalized denial of responsibility when this happens, which gives great cover for dealers and thereby generates risk free opportunity for them.
I'm not sure what Honda can do to an independently owned dealer, although you have to wonder how long any dealer can stay in business this way. They must lose lots of sales by not being competitive.
I would simply find a dealer who will honor the program.
Maybe someone else can chime in here, but I don't understand why the dealership wouldn't let you buy the car at 1.9%... it's not their money. Maybe the dealership has some type of restrictions on how many low interest car loans they can sell per month... who knows. Or maybe they are just trying to get more money out of you. Dealerships are independently owned and have flexibility in how they manage their loans. I would still try another Honda dealership though, as this does sound more like a dealership issue than a Honda Financial. Though why Honda Corporate doesn't do more is also puzzling.
Yeah, this dealership is hoping 01010000082 will take the 3.74% loan. If they say, "Sorry we don't participate in the 1.9% financing program", then they know he'll buy elsewhere.
Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but my worry is that Honda Corporate is intentionally turning a blind eye to this dealer tactic, which is either in violation of truth in advertising laws or (if their legal department is good) as close to it as legally possible.
Given the relative price transparency that the internet provides, taking a cut of elevated interest rates is probably one of the few remaining safe-havens for dealer profit, and it's an easy and free way for Honda to keep their dealers happy.
Still it rubs me the wrong way... particularly the lack of response from Customer Service. They at least supposed to pretend to be concerned in these situations.
Okay, that just doesn't make sense. If what you are saying is true, contact your state's attorney general.
Do you have a local TV station that takes on consumer issues?
There has to more to this story.
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/incentives/holdback/index.html
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Instead of wondering about your obligation, just politely ask the dealership to send you the paperwork from the original deal, documenting that it was EITHER the financing that you took OR the rebate. Some special finance rates offered do mean that you can't take the rebate too.
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Actually the 'competitive bonus' was $1,500 and had been applied to the purchase of the car, so when I got the check for $1,000 I had no idea that it referred to that rebate, and since it was not claimed to be 'consumer cash' (the low APR rebate) I assumed that it was an additional rebate that I had not been given credit for and I cashed the check.
I'm not trying to rip them off, but it was their mistake..do I have any room for negotiation here? Either offering them a partial repayment, or asking them to add it on to the financing of the vehicle?
Look at it the other way around - if you had negotiated a price of, say, $16,000 on a vehicle, and the sales contract said $16,000, then you accidentally wrote a check for $17,000, would you want the extra $1K back? Of course you would - it's not legally their $1K. Your mistake wouldn't entitle anyone to keep money that isn't theirs either.
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I am close to making a purchase of a RAV4 but I really don't need it or want it delivered until late February. I see that a $750 rebate expires at the end of January. I see the following possibilities:
* the rebate is extended past January - maybe optimism on my part as I have seen no evidence this will happen but you never know. Is there a way I can find out for sure?
* I buy before the end of January and don't take delivery until February. In this case what kind of contract do I sign and how much do I put down?
* I just buy and take possession in January - I can live with this.
I live in Northern California.
thanks in advance,
Eric
Any thoughts are appreciated.
There may be contributing factors to you not getting the best rate, including these possibilities:
- A small down payment; a "couple grand" down on a $40K car is only a 5% down payment. Ask if you increase the DP if they can get you the better rate.
- How's your credit rating? Are you in whatever group the manufacturer considers to be "top tier"?
- Is there anything on your credit score that might stand out? That includes high debt-to-credit ratio, short time at current employer, one or more late payments, etc. Are you upside down on your home mortgage?
I'm sure there are other possibilities.
That said, it wouldn't hurt to ask your bank or local credit union what finance options they can offer.
As noted, you won't know if you don't check your local bank or credit union..
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On the page: http://www.edmunds.com/dodge/car-incentives.html , it shows for the 2010 Charger a "manufacturer to dealer incentive: up to $4500".
I'm in the metropolitan Phoenix area. Is there any way to verify what level of manufacturer to dealer incentive is applicable at this time? (President's Day Weekend, 2/21/2011).
The reason that I ask is that I went in to a dealership, armed with my TMV values but also this extra "up to $4500" value. I made an offer on a Charger and the counter offer was a bit more than $4500 apart. So either they laughed me off as a screwball/lowball person OR they are greedy (or perhaps the truth lies somewhere in between).
I'm not sure how to verify this "manufacturer to dealer incentive: up to $4500", but that's my goal. Can anyone help?
Thanks.
* SirSpamalot *
It is after the 21st today.
Anyone else? Still trying to verify what the actual manufacturer to dealer rebate would be for a 2010 Dodge Charger in the Phoenix area ("up to $4500") as of 2/22/2011.
Thanks.
* SirSpamalot *
Since it says "up to" it very well could be one of those volume-based incentives. So the dealership has to sell x number of chargers before getting the max incentive.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Anyone else?
* SirSpamalot *
http://www.edmunds.com/car-incentives/
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The idea is to select a make and model and have the app return the current cash back, lease and APR incentives on that exact car, in your area. Handy on the lot or in the showroom, it will work on smartphones, and there will also be a web site.
What do you think? What features would you like to see?
Enhancements I'm already thinking about:
- Save the incentive info for several cars.
- Add a VIN scanner as an alternative to selecting a vehicle.
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
To learn more and sign up to be notified of the release, go to WhatsTheRebate.com.
Dave
My biggest frustration with these sorts of apps is that they do what you propose: I pick the car, you show me the numbers. To me, this is backwards.
I've bought many a car simply because (i) it suited my needs, which aren't complicated, and (ii) because the price was right.
I prefer to see the numbers for all makes on one page -- cars.com is a good example for this. Then I can follow links to the details.
To put it another way: I'm not in the market for a small pickup. But if there's a $5,000 rebate on the Chevy Colorado, I want to know about it.
Cheers -Mathias
Sorting incentives by size is a great idea, and should be something I can add. In addition to an overall "sort my current incentives by size" function, would it be good to also offer sorting within a vehicle segment? Like you said, you might want to know the largest rebates for pickups, and you don't really want to see rebates for subcompacts. So I wonder if that'd be a good option too?
To answer your first question, this is product research - not spam. I have nothing to sell. IF we develop a paid app, then those that register at WhatsTheRebate.com will get the app for free.
Keep the great ideas coming, and thanks again!
Dave
V2301-600M what is the incentive under that code? Anyone know?
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