Ok...so i've been interested in purchasing a RDX Base for the past few months and have been e-mailing various dealers over the past month. I got a great deal from one dealer, $446 under invoice. I told him i was leaving for vacation and would be back in two weeks, when I came back he no longer had any more RDX's at all. Other dealers have plenty of '07s but aren't willing to come close to invoice and not under! One dealer gave me an offer of $30,900 not mentioning that he had already incorporated the dealer cash, after asking about the special financing he told me the price would not be the same. This means that the price he really offered me was $31,900 but he wanted me to think I got a great deal, and after that he added that he didn't even add destination or TTL! I think I e-mailed almost every dealer in my state and most of them haven't even replied. In my experience buying a car over the internet is very frustrating and I haven't even mentioned how long it took dealers to reply back and forth. I've given up...

 

I'm not sure where you live but get a quote from Pohanka Acura(in Virginia)and use it as
a bargaining chip.

 

When I bought my RDX in April the dealer told me they had no base models at all and that Acura was only sending them a few here and there because the Tech is so much more popular. As I wanted a tech it was not an issue but something to keep in mind.

 

I would but I live in Connecticut, I think it's too far away but thanks anyway.

 

i totally understand what you're going through, but I think visiting some of the "better" dealers personally might help you bargain a bit more. internet quotes are just quotes...not final, so you can always push them for a bit more...that's what I did...until something went really wrong when I paid for my car...

 

It's more frustrating selling a car over the Internet.

Being a grinder makes it more frustrating so... guess you brought some of it on yourself. Live and learn

 

yes it's all part of a learning process...
but i don't think selling over internet is as tough as you give credit for. selling over internet requires the least amount of effort compared to 1on1 sales... when I open my own dealer, customer service will always comes first since the clients are the ones paying me. I wouldn't want to make a few hundred bucks at the risk of losing potential future buyers... okay maybe i'm not meant to do business... but I'd enjoy selling cars to buyers who are happy.

 

Dealer Cash? There was never any dealer cash on the RDX, was there? I've only heard of the financing rates - 4.9 for 60mo.

 

try getting quotes from dealers in mass thats what i did when i bought my tl last yr for invoice im from connecticut as well and also i read that someone here from boston,ma got a real good deal from the seekonk dealership

 

$1,000 cash to dealers for 07's or so I was told.

 

I didn't know about the $1000 dealer cash, I heard about it from these forums. I guess it's just an incentive to the dealer so they can get rid of the '07s.
I know it may be hard to sell a car over the internet, but the main frustration is the waiting. Out of the 4 or 5 dealers I contacted only 1 replied (the one with the great deal). Another dealer contacted me about a week later and told me that the deal was fake and to come to his dealership. After I told him that many people I know were getting prices around invoice (he has 10 RDX's he needs to get rid of) and that it wouldn't be unreasonable he never replied again. I sent another e-mail just politely asking for his best deal or a simple quote. No reply. I contacted another dealer over e-mail, specifically asking to be contacted only by e-mail (i didn't even provide my phone number or address). No reply, but the next day I get a call from this dealer also telling me that the first great deal I got was never going to happen and that it was a scam. I think dealerships really need to value the wishes of the customer and provide them with a pleasurable buying experience. Waiting for weeks for a reply or receiving a phone call when I told them not to contact me by phone is not acceptable. I understand it's tough selling cars, but all these dealers had to do was be a little more responsive and just give me a plain quote so I can actually compare prices from dealer to dealer. If I have to pay a little more for a dealer that values me as a customer and not just the money i'm going to fork over, then I would. I know which dealer i'm going back to and that's executive acura in north haven. Why do you think this dealer has no more '07s left but most of the others do? Respect for the customer and a good deal. Simple as that.

 

So you got a quote for $446 under invoice and then went on a 2 WEEK VACATION without stepping up and writing a check??? WTF do you expect a dealer to do who has clearly offered to completely whore out a car to you? Wait around for a couple of weeks until you decide you are ready?

This sounds like completely self-inflicted frustration to me. The car business is a TODAY, no actually a NOW business.

 

Hey man don't be reasonable! It's a business where customers have unrealistic expectations and think they can cite a deal someone said on an internet forum that they got 1,000 miles away 3 weeks ago.

Then they get upset when they can't get that deal or better.

 

No need to get angry here...basically all I was frustrated about was the other dealer waiting time on the internet. I guess it is reasonable to wait a week for a quote or a reply to a simple e-mail. Sorry for being so unreasonable. The point was on SERVICE not PRICE. Read the second post.

 

Most dealers I've negotiated with have been quite responsive via email; however, if I were you and contacted 5+ dealers with only one emailing you back, I would start faxing the dealers OR calling them.

All you need is one salesman at a dealership to know you're serious about buying and they'll work their tail off to sell you a car...or at least that's been my experience.

IMO, you should have taken the "below invoice" deal BEFORE you left for vacation if you truly wanted the RDX.

 

I am not angry about anything, merely presenting the other side. If you were serious about the RDX, and you were given an absolutely amazing price on one, then why did you not sign up immediately?

Think about it like this: If you had a $30,000 product and you were willing to sell it for $500 under invoice (or about $500 over holdback bottom line), and you had soft costs associated with floorplan and electricity and salaries of clerical staff, etc. then you are selling for a GROSS markup of 1.7%. Can't imagine that that is not a substantial net loss. If you were in the business of selling widgets that cost you $30 each, would you sell them for $30.51 each?

Also, I would say that calling the "internet department" of these dealerships will get you responses much quicker than email.

 

When you're below invoice it's not about SERVICE it's about PRICE all day long.

 

Obviously I should have acted quicker but I guess at the time I though the RDX's weren't selling that great (hence the great deal) so I though 2 weeks wouldn't be a big deal. I'll try another dealer, i'll let you guys know how it goes. From now on though i think i'll stick to the phone and person to person because it is quicker and more practical.

 

I've bought two of my cars via the web; both went smoothly. Maybe I was lucky or just maybe I was specific enough (and respectful of their time) so that it worked out. Go into it with a good attitude, that you're not going to cheat them or beat them down on price and it should work out fine for all parties. Best of luck.