missjennieb

Hi all... new here.. I've been lurking around for quite some time now and I've finally decided to take the leap and get an RDX w/tech! I just wanted to get your opinion on whether I should get a 2007 or order a 2008.

1) I got a quote for an OTD (not incl. TTL) of $33995 for a 2007 model. Do you think I could negotiate down some more now since the 2008 is out?

2) Can I negotiate the 2008 price down or will dealers try hard to sell at MSRP?

3) Is the value of getting a newer model worth the extra money?

Sorry for any redundant questions. This is my first car purchase. Your input would be greatly appreciated!

SolidState

Hmmm, for me it kinda depend of the price difference, what refinements added and what you value. For my Rodeo, I got the 95.5'/96' over the 95 because the interior was a major improvement and worth the $2K difference. For my 02' S2000 , the refinements and color over the 01' was the reason. Since the RDX is only in its first year, I would get the 08' because Acura can only make improvements and it may be worth the extra cash. Since I'm a tech freak, I would only hope they would improve the HFL and the Musiclink, but that's just me.

Tripp11

In talking to my dealer contacts, apparently today new incentives are being passed down from Acura on the 2007 and 2008 RDX's. Without knowing exactly, my hopes are that Acura provides leasing and financing incentives on all existing 2007 inventory as well as 2008's coming to dealer lots the first of next month.

To answer your questions, and these are only my opinion:

1) Not a bad deal on a 2007 Tech, but I feel you can do better. Perhaps another $500 or so. Without knowing the incentives, it's difficult to tell whether Acura is offering an incentive to dealers to move 07 inventory.

2) Some dealers will stick to MSRP for a few weeks until they figure out no one is going to pay MSRP. My thoughts are that the same discounts you could obtain on an 07 will be found on the 08's. No drastic changes have occurred to the RDX line which would make this car an overnight instant seller. So sales will continue to be slow even on the 08's.

3) Depends on how you're financing. IMO, the residual on an 08 will be higher than the 07's - thus, leasing an 08 will be a better deal, IMO. Obviously, Acura my provide better incentive leasing deals on the 07's versus the 08's. Personally, I would shoot for an 08 if you can negotiate similar deals on both years.

jcbridges

$1000 dealer cash released today on 2007 RDX so you should be able to negotiate another $1000 off the price you had. (same cost to them right?)

08 base have lots of refinements but with tech not as much:

memory seat
softer suspension

I would guess you are looking at an overall price difference of about $3000 between an 07 and an 08. Ask yourself if the refinements, new color and newer car are worth another 8% to you.

BTW - OTD means out the door which includes all taxes, license and fees!

missjennieb

Thanks for all of your responses! I'm going to pay cash for the car, so I guess I'd have to look at it in respect to the resale value of the car in the future (although I hope to keep the RDX around until I drive it into the ground).

What is this $1000 dealer cash? Is that the dealer incentive or a buyer incentive? And where did you find that information? $3000 seems like a big difference to me, especially with the minor changes to the 2008.

I get confused with what OTD is, I read different meanings on different threads. Thanks for the clarification!

Tripp11

OTD or "out the door" price is basically the price you paid PLUS tax, fees, etc...

Personally, I like it better when people tell me the sales price of the car and don't include all those other fees and sales tax as most of this change from dealer to dealer and state to state.

If I were you, I would contact every dealer within 150 miles of your home and I would tell each of them you're looking for either a 2007 or 2008 RDX and are paying cash. Best price gets your business.

If you're going to drive the RDX into the ground, I would go for whichever year (probably the 2007) the dealer will sell you the cheapest.

Just my two cents...

brizey

At this point I would get a 2008 unless the 2007 was well below invoice. The 2007's will drop another 10% as soon as the 2008's are available.

In a few years, the difference of a few weeks between the two models will grow into a full model year. A potential buyer won't care if it was a "late" 2007. It will be effectively a full year older.

jcbridges

Dealer cash is an incentive that is not advertised like a rebate and it is used by dealers for extra negotiations. Basically they now have their cost lowered on all 07 RDX models by $1000, but may not disclose this. So if you buy an 07 at your original quoted price it is really like $850 over invoice instead of $150 under invoice. So tell them you know about the cash and take $1000 off the price or you go to another dealer. You are then buying an 07 for $1150 under 07 invoice (or $1350 under 08 invoice b/c the price went up $200 with model change). I figure the best price you will get on a brand new 08 RDX is maybe $1000 off sticker b/c all dealerships will be pushing 07s till they are gone. This is a difference in price of approximately $2750 between the two.

sasair

I would buy the 07.

If you are going to drive it into the ground (5+ years) and you are paying cash and there is a $1000 incentive, then you are looking at a $4000 price difference. For what? memory seats? I wouldn't even want a softer suspension, but that's just me.

3 years from now, the value difference in an 07 and an 08 will be far less than $4000. Probably closer to $1000 or less.

jcbridges

Yes but the depreciation is off set by the 8% difference in price. Besides the first year has the largest depreciation percentage so that difference will become smaller every year she keeps it. Unless she is selling it in 2-3 years it will make no difference. It just comes down to whether she wants to spend 33k or 36k now really.

missjennieb

All great advice! The original quote I got for $33995 was from an out of state dealer (local dealers gave me a quote of $34814+). How can I negotiate with a local dealer to match the $33995 plus take another $1000 off for the dealer incentive? Is that asking for too much?

jcbridges

No such thing as asking for too much!! Might not get it, but definitely ask. Tell them the quote and say match it or I buy from the other dealer. Tell them you would rather buy from them b/c you will be servicing it there, but money is money...... Then figure what it will cost you in time and money to go out of state to get the other one. If they get close it is probably worth it to buy locally b/c they are more likely to take better care or you as a service customer if you bought from them.

sasair

The incentive is new so the quote you have from every dealer probably don't include it. You can use that the next time you talk to any of the dealers. I'd probably negotiate with the out of state dealership first that gave you the better quote. Try to get that deal down to $32XXX. Then take that offer to your local dealership and tell them to match it or you will buy from the other dealer.

What area of the country are you in?

missjennieb

I'm in Colorado. I don't see many RDX's on the road here, so hopefully dealers will be happy to match.

Thanks I'll try out your suggestion!

Lrpba300

You must not be around Colo. Spgs. area. I see a LOT of them here! Good luck...
oh & If you are around C/S, go see Bruce Bettke at Pikes Peak Acura & tell him Larry sent you & he better do his best to sell it at the price you want!

missjennieb

Great, thanks! I asked for a quote from the Internet sales guy over at Pikes Peak and didn't receive a response

Wow that's awesome there's more RDX's around in CS! I'm up north in Denver and maybe see 2 or 3 on the road a month!

missjennieb

Okay.. Here's an update. I emailed the dealer and said that I knew about the $1000 dealer cash and that my best offer is $32995. He came back and said that the $33995 price included the dealer cash and that he was only making $500 profit from me. He also stated that the invoice price is $34,282. Is that right? I thought the invoice is $33,475?

schen72

According to Edmunds, invoice for 2007 Tech is $33,475.

Tripp11

07 RDX w/ Tech

MSRP 37165
Invoice 34145

The above includes the destination charge.

The 08's went up $200 I believe.

jcbridges

What Tripp posted is correct, 34,145 including destination. What I would tell your dealer is, at this point it is not about "making money" on 07s, it is about moving them. If you are dealing with a GSM or internet manager then they will be much more likely to deal than just a salesperson who is looking at his pay instead of what the dealership is making. A salesperson makes a percentage of the gross profit on each vehicle or if there is not enough gross then they make a "mini" which is usually $100 - $200 depending on the dealership. Keep in mind, most dealerships have unit bonuses which can double or even triple every mini you make by the end of the month. A GSM or internet manager is much more interested in volume and moving vehicles off the lot b/c it costs money every day that vehicle sits there. The 08s they can make some money on, but for every 07 they have on their lot, that is one 08 they cannot order yet. At an average cost of $40-$50 per day, they want those gone quickly!!

If you would like any help in your negotiations you can PM me and I would be happy to help. I actually work in the business so I speak a language they will quickly understand. Best of luck to you, I am sure you will love the RDX!!

flar

Whether or not "the dealer makes some money" on the deal, the real question is "do they want to get rid of an RDX or not". They can put their foot down and say that they have to make money on the deal and you could end up not buying one - in which case they have to continue to eat the costs of owning an unsold car for a little longer.

Unfortunately, given how you worded your offer, you brought up the concept that they need to "make some money" on the deal rather than "this is what I'll pay" and so they can then argue against how sure you are about the real invoice and how the incentives work. If you stick with "I would like one, but this is all I can pay" then you remove a lot of rhetoric they can throw at you and get down to coming up with a number.

If they continue to play the "we need to make money" game, just inform them that it doesn't matter to you whether they make money or not, but how much you can afford to pay does matter. If they try to play on your emotions with respect to them making money "children in Africa will die if we don't make money here" you can ask or remind them if it costs them money to have it on their lot, or simply ignore the pleas. The fact that they are making the plea in the first place shows that they are still considering the deal in some sense.

Be prepared to walk away to prove your point that you "cannot afford their number". You may actually be planning to reconsider and come back, but you need to make them believe that they may have lost a sale when you leave. I made my deal for about 1500 under invoice through my car's driver's window with the engine running, talking to the Sales Manager as I was backing out of my parking space to leave the lot. His words to me as I opened my window were "What can we do to make a sale here today?" It was something like 500-750 more generous than they previously claimed they could go. In my case, I was 90 miles from home so it was easier for them to believe that if I left then they would never see me again...

VANDY

jcbridges, what part of the business do you actually work in?

sasair

missjennieb,

You originially said that the price you was OTD, but also said that it did not include TTL. Could the offer you got be OTD including TTL? If the dealer said it was OTD then it should include the TTL.

missjennieb

No he didn't say it was OTD. He said that's the cash price including destination & dealer fees. I didn't give him my address so he couldn't figure out the TTL.

jmac03

jcbridges: Can you confirm if the $1000 dealer cash for 2007 RDX's applies to leases as well as purchases? Thanks.

jcbridges

Let me clarify this a bit. The $1000 dealer cash is available on both lease and purchase, but only if the special APR (2.9% - 4.9%) is not used.

jmac03

Does the new Acura website advertised 2008 lease program apply to 2007's as well as 2008's, along with the $1000 dealer cash? From what I'm told by local dealer, there is no special lease program for 2007's (as there was in June) at this time. (Perhaps for August?). Right now, seems to be no dealer urgency to unload the 2007's..

baboola

I'm a first-time buyer and i'm a bit lost. does 34145 include the $1k discount already?

What other fees should I be expecting upon purchasing an RDX besides the sales tax?

i'm looking to buy an RDX + tech in PA. RDX is probably selling very well in PA because most dealers in my area have only 2-4 '07 RDXs left, none of which is the color i want. Any guesses how that's going to affect the bargaining process?

jcbridges

Buy through an internet manager in Ohio or Kentucky. There are some dealers giving them away now. The 34145 does not include the dealer cash, but the extra $1000 is not valid with the special financing, cash price only.

matt7777

MissJennieb

I am also in denver and about to buy a 07 tech. I got 2 quotes for $34k and $34.1k.
Have you been able to get any lower? Maybe we can tell them they will sell 2 right away and get them off the lot (I am a cash deal also) and we can get a better price?

- matt

baboola

thanks for the input jc. i just got a quote back from some dealers. not trying to sound like a newbie and all (although it's the truth), what is "tag" referring to when they quote a price "without tags"? (tag as in destination charge or...?)

also, after they give a quote, is that price usually still negotiable?

phoward_15

Baboola - everything is negotiable. If you aren't happy with the quote and want to go lower then ask them for that. The worse they can say is no....but I'd keep pushing if I were you.

jcbridges

What color Tech are you looking for? Sometimes when they say "without tags" what they are saying is without Tax, License and FEES (these fees range from $200-$500 per dealership).

As a reference point, we would sell one for $500 over invoice.

baboola

i'd prefer moroccan red, but the other colors (except white and black) are fine too.

By "license", you mean auto insurance right? I have an additional question though. I'm moving south from Canada so I'm not familiar with purchasing auto insurance in the South. Say if I wish to purchase insurance from geico, do I have to get the insurance before picking up the car? how does that work?

help is much appreciated

jcbridges

No license is the tag fee. With most states it is about $40 depending on whether you finance (lein filing fee applies to financed vehicles).

As far as insurance, you must have full coverage on a vehicle before you purchase a car. It does not have to be on the one you buy, b/c the dealer paperwork gives you a rider until you cann add it, but you have to have full (collision and comprehensive) coverage on some vehicle to buy in the USA.

missjennieb

Matt -

Sorry I read your post late, I pulled the trigger and bought my RDX on Friday! I think $34K is the best price you'll be able to get in Colorado. I got quotes from all the local dealers as well as dealers in the surrounding states. The quotes were lower in other states, but it just wasn't worth it to drive over there to save a couple hundred dollars. Apparently Colorado dealers pay a regional advertising fee which is why they can't lower the price. I ultimately bought from Courtesy Acura. Which dealers have you been working with? Maybe you can mention my name and get Courtesy to lower their quote?

I'm excited for another Denverite RDX on the road! It's a GREAT and fun car to drive.

~ Jennifer

P.S. If you need any negotiating tips, ask JCBridges -- he helped me on getting these quotes!

jwaters943

Congrats! I hope you enjoy your RDX. Do you have any mods planned?


JCBridges.....be prepared for some PM's coming your way!

jcbridges

LOL. It was a pleasure helping Jenn get her RDX for the right price.

Yes the Colorado dealers participate in the "tag-along" ad program (dealer info at the end of the Acura commercials) and this increases their invoice price by $300. There were a couple of dealers out of the state that were $600 or so lower, but once you fly or drive like 7 hours to get there it doesn't make much sense.

Jenn, hope you are pleased with your new ride and the price you paid

missjennieb

I have to say that I am IN LOVE with the RDX. It runs so smooth and it's fast even if I slowly ease on the gas and driving like a grandma I can't wait until it breaks in and I can take it to the mountains and test out all of the twists and curves! And it's going to be so much fun once winter rolls around too! The audio system is awesome I love to blast my music while driving.

Not sure if I'm going to do any mods yet. I inking to get the front underbody spoiler to give it some aggressiveness.. And I'm also looking for some cool rims to put on it.. And I'll have to get the 2 front windows tinted.. Geez the list keeps getting longer and longer!

phoward_15

missjennieb did you get an 07 or 08? I didn't see it on here. Maybe I missed it.