RandyMan

Hello all,

My first post here. I am very interested in the TSX and am planning on buying one when the time is right, financially. (Prolly couple months... ). Up to this point, I have intentionally avoided a test drive because I know once I drive it I won't be able to stand not buying it right away. However, as the curiosity is killing me anyway, I think I'm going to go drive one this weekend.

The local dealer adds the following items to all of their Acuras: Mud flaps, wheel locks, cargo net, trunk tray, floor mats. They cutely refer to this as a "Protection Package". The price? $1,295!!! Now there is NO WAY I'm going to pay that much for that stuff. What does this stuff really cost? What is the opinion of the mud flaps? They look OK to me, do they offer any protection?

BTW, whenever I get it, it will be a red, non-navi, 6MT.

Randy
...counting the days...and months...sigh

finalheaven

Get whatever you want and tell them you refuse to pay for something you do not want. A lot of people have been thrown in the "protection package" for free. If this dealership doesn't change its mind then go to another dealer.

miner

Don't pay that ammount. The floor mat comes standard with the car anyway. You can go to the Acura website and price these out separately to see what the cost would be, then offer 50% of that cost. I have heard of other owners complaining about mud flaps causing damage tot he paint & surface of the car. Trunk liner & cargo net are good options to have ( I have also heard the cargo net is a B1tch to install yourself). Mud flaps & cargo net are the only options requiring any installation time so don't let them charge you to install wheel locks, trunk liner & floor mats.

kurt_bradley

You don't have to pay for that stuff if you want an incoming unit. By law, you don't have to buy that stuff if you request it before the car arrives, being that they are dealer-installed accessories.

To itemize what the prices are on the items they stick on there, here's what we retail them for:

Splash guards $129
Wheel locks $95
Trunk Tray $129
All-season mats $129 (carpet oens are standard though)

Add it all up $482...you're being jipped.

Even if they're doing the sealant on the car (interior and exterior), you shouldn't be out over $700.

kurt_bradley

Like I was stating, but I may not have expressed to the extent that it needs...if this car is an incoming unit (as in not in their stock, on the lot, at the time of agreement of terms) you have the RIGHT to request to not have those parts installed. They can just sell you the car as you would like it. Acura does not have these items installed from the factory, so they can't use that excuse, and there is no such thing as a policy that states that the dealer HAS to put them on every car. It's just a way to ensure a little bit of gross. Use this to your advantage. Don't pay for more than you want.

darth62

A lot depends on the market you are in. Out here in Los Angeles, the TSX is stil very hot and it is hard to get the dealer to throw a lot in (although, you can definitely get some stuff throw-in). IMO, the options that are really worth having are the trunk mat, mudflaps, wheel locks, and luggage net for the trunk. Foglights or a spoiler might also be nice, if you like the way they look.

The deal should be willing to throw-in mudflaps, wheel locks, trunk mats, and maybe the all-season mats as part of the deal, but that does depend on the market.

There are decent prices on all these items at hondacuraworld.com (and the folks over there are real nice). You can always order stuff through that site at a fair price.

kurt_bradley

His point was that the dealer slaps them on the car no matter what. Then the make you pay for items you may not want on the car. That's the bad part. if you want a couple of those things, cool, but if not, that sucks.

RandyMan

Hmmm, I may have to find another dealer. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth, gouging customers (or at least attempting to gouge) from the get go. Then again, I haven't actually started negotiating so maybe if they are flexible with their "protection package"...I already know they won't budge on MSRP.

Randy

majormojo

My advice is to negotiate only on the final price for the car "out the door" with the accessories you want. Let the dealer write it up anyway they like, as long as what you purchase and the total price you pay are satisfactory to you. If you really don't want those accesssories and they absolutely won't sell you one without them, then you'll probably just have to go elsewhere.

MotownTSX

If they offered that rotten meat to me, I'd say you pay me $1300 for the Protection Package.......or when the lights go off tonight you never know what might happen to your dealership....rough neighborhood and all. Hahahahaha...

(NO! I am not serious...) Yeesh....get off the reply button already...