I was wondering if anyone thought this would be a good method to start off with an asking price, and if I'm on the right track.

Tsx w/o nav = 24,692 invoice + dest according to edmunds.com

I understand that dealerships have a 1-2% holdback so they really make a few bucks if they sold the TSX at invoice price. Assuming a 1% holdback then:

Invoice * 99% = Actual price dealer pays which is 24,445

So they would make 247 dollars off of us if we payed invoice.

..but TSX is obviously very popular and dealers make a lot off these cars and will wait for someone else who will buy the car for more before they sold it to someone for invoice.

So I figure I'd use this "Actual price dealer pays which is 24,445" as my baseline and then add on what the dealer will make off of me. I figure they usually make at least 800 on every TSX so:

My offer = 24,445 + actual money dealer makes off of me
25,345 = 24,445 + 900

Am I on the right track with understanding how they make money? Would this be a good way to negotiate a deal? It seems like sales managers are pretty willing to negotiate quickly as long as theres something in it for them (900 bucks seems fair)

ps: I live in the northeast where making a deal on a TSX is pretty easy compared to some areas of the country, and dealers usually have about 3-6 non nav 6speeds on their lots at all times, and ill take almost any color combo, or options

 

Why not try emailing or calling a few of the local dealerships? Tell them you're ready to buy now, not fussy about color and want their best price. See what the responses are.

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/

 

I totally agree with majormojo, and I can't say enough how much carbuyingtips.com helped when I went to buy my TSX. Read it the entire way through, and download the spreadsheets. Then, if you have a laptop or a decent palm pilot, bring the spreadsheets to your negotiations to check their numbers! Don't let all those numbers flying around confuse you. And if you don't like how they're working out, do not be afraid to walk.

Acura, like all Japanese auto makers (as I learned from carbuyingtips.com) has a 2% holdback on cars, so the dealer's actual cost is 2% less than invoice. Acura, from what I've been able to tell, doesn't offer many factory-to-dealer incentives. There weren't any when I bought about a month ago. So since there aren't any of those, make your offer between 3- and 5% over dealer's actual cost.

And TSX's have been out for a while now. The great fervor has pretty much died down, there aren't really waiting lists and you shouldn't have to pay a premium like you would on a really in-demand car like the new Chrysler 300 (ugh.) I'm in SoCal and even I was able to make a deal around dealer cost, so geography isn't too much a factor anymore for the TSX either, as far as I've seen.

Anyway, check out carbuyingtips.com. Another good article is called "Confessions of a Car Salesman" by an undercover editor for Edmunds.com:

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying...2/article.html

Now, before any of those dealers out there jump down my throat, it's a very balanced article. But it will make you chuckle when you see the tactics you read about play out in front of you while you're negotiating.

/my two bits

 

Yeah I read that article about the undercover car salesman. It's a pretty inspiring article and seems like it allowed us to get in the head's of car salesmen now.

 

I definitely enjoyed Confessions of a Car Saleman too. It was a great mini-series of articles. To hear a lot of the junk that goes on behind the scenes is pretty cool.

 

npence,

I agree with you about carbuyingtips.com and edmunds.com being great sites for gaining knowledge about the car dealerships and how they work. I know I did.
I was curious if you would mind sharing with us how much you were able to get off of MSRP for your TSX? Understandable if you don't. I am interested in purchasing one in the near future. Thanks.

 

I got 2535 off MSRP including destination. But I don't really beleive MSRP really means anything. I prefer saying I paid 3% over dealer cost plus destination.

 

From what I said above, I'm thinkin of going by the actual dealer price that they pay when you include the 2% holdback.

dealer pays 24,198 for a non nav and 25,982 for a nav.

then like what npence said, 3-5% over the actual dealers cost seems like a fair deal these days for a TSX which is approximately 1000 over their cost. Id probably offer 25,198 for a non and 26,982 for a nav. Id think the sales managers would be happy to be making 1000 off of a sale

 

Bryan,
I'd offer less than $25K for a non navi. I bought mine in December for $25K when they were more in demand. If you contact several dealers in your area with the same offer, particularly if you're not set on a specific color, you may be able to pick one up for, say, $24,900. Its June now and people will start deferring their purchase waiting for the 05 models to roll out.

 

Does anyone know how much the dealership pays for the spoilers and if all dealerships have the same installation costs?

 

Ive done a search on 2005 models and when they may come out but haven't found anything. I'm planning at the dead end of July to buy. I'm hoping that the 2005's come out in August so I can get a good deal on a 2004 right before the 2005's come out.

 

05s usually come out Sept or later and the last few days in August is the best time to get an outgoing MY car .

 

Labor costs are negotiable, and in fact we were able to negotiate the charges down considerably in exchange for some "give" on the base price of the vehicle.