wike

Hi everyone. I finally took the plunge and I put a down payment ($500) on an 06 CGP/EB AT Navi at the beginning of December. The dealer told me that he would try to locate it by the end of the month, but it would probably be early January. He said the car was already built and waiting shipping. Two weeks after I put the money down, I was told that the build was starting and it would be early to mid January before the car got here.

I got a call earlier this week (voicemail) saying he had located a car just like the one I ordered at another dealership they do a lot of business with and he could have it for me this week.. but... there is a $500 transportation fee for trucking the car and he would need me to pay half of that. I thought about it and called him back and left a voicemail stating that I would just wait for the car I ordered, which is now early to mid Feburary for delivery. I have it in writing that I get the deposit back if the car is not delivered by March 1st, otherwise it is non-refundable.

Any thoughts on my experience so far? Is it typical or am I being jerked around? I did a search on autotrader.com and found the exact same car like I ordered in a dealer's inventory about 150 miles from here. If this is the same car, is $500 a resonable shipment fee for that distance?

LuvMyTSX

Hmm. When my parents bought their last car, they orginally wanted another color, and I remember the dealership saying they'd swap a car with another dealership and drive the one they wanted back for them, but for $100. But that's not putting it on a truck and transporting it, so I guess the cost of doing that is a little higher. I'd just wait for the one you ordered unless you have some emergency and absolutely need the car right now. Why spend the extra money if you don't have to?

wike

I'm definately not paying the charge. I just found it odd that a dealer close by could get the car (unsold) and my dealer couldn't when he had a deposit. I get the feeling my guy is not really looking at what's available until it gets close to the end of the month and he tries to boost sales numbers.

I have a 96 ford explorer that runs well, so I'm not in dire need of a car for basic transportation - I'm just REALLY wanting the TSX.. Especially after reading these forums and seeing everyone's pictures.

97AcuraCL

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lilballa

I bought a '06 Tsx just about a week ago. They didnt have it at my dealership, and they charged the 850? destination charge that goes along with the car, but for trucking the car in from Nj to pittsburgh..they shipped it over at no extra cost. Wouldnt pay a extra 500 for trucking if i were you

jlukja

How much did you agree to pay for the car (w/o tax & lic.)? Sounds like the dealer is trying to squeeze an extra $250 out of you. Dealer swaps happen all the time. If you're not in a rush to get the car then just wait for the one you ordered. It is getting close to the end of the month so he may call you back and waive the $250. I think you did the right thing.

wike

I paid 29,100 including destination before TTL without a trade-in so they're not making any extra money on an undervalued trade-in.

gt0279a

Dealer trades are very common and you should be firm in avoiding paying for this half-baked attempt at squeezing more $$$$.

The Dealer already gave away his negotiating position when they said they "do a lot of business with the other dealer". Chances are, they would be trucking other cars together back/forth between the 2 dealers anyway.

The whole reason invoice prices were raised and the "holdback" amount is given to dealers is to offset these type of costs.

wike

I like my dealer on a personal level, but the more I deal with him the more frustrated I get it seems like I can't get the same story twice. I'm not paying the extra money for shipping. I have a March 1 refund date on my deposit (glad I asked for that now). If the car isn't here by then I'll just drive to the nearest dealer and make the arrangement there. My dealer is fairly low volume.

yukit

I am sure you will get your car before the due date, even if the dealer needed to get the car on a swap.
They are just trying to get more money from you on your eagerness. Be patient

IlliNorge

It actually sounds to me the like the dealer speaks the truth about the transport. The cost for trucking a car out here would have been about $400 over about 300 miles. He eventually offered to pay half of that, but I said no thanks. As for them driving the car 100 miles? No thanks again. It's insane to allow a sales guy to break in your engine.

bradykp

my original dealer didn't charge me a fee for transporting the car.

none of the dealers i talked to mentioned a charge to transport it.

thats BS IMO. he musta located it from very far, if they're going to truck it. or he's trying to scam another $500 off you. i hope he at least gave you a good price, but i'd start shopping around.

bradykp

in the dealer's defense, they already have shipments coming in. according to my salesman, and i don't know if this is true, if a dealer in an area sells a car, and another dealer has that color unsold, the other dealer must swap with the dealer who sold it.

basically, it's like it's "acura's" inventory, until it is sold. maybe this is just a gentlemen's agreement that exists at a few NJ dealers, but swapping seems pretty common here, and i'm pretty sure none of them charge for it.

jlukja

You could offer to go pick it up yourself.

I purchased mine from a dealership 120 miles away. The transaction was pretty much handled by e-mail, fax, and phone. The dealer offered to have it shipped to a local dealer for pick-up but I decided to make the drive. I didn't ask if he was planning to truck it or just have an employee drive it. It was brand new and still in transit when we agreed on the buy so he might have been able to just redirect the shipping from the docks here in Long Beach.

IlliNorge

And I would have, except the car had already been sold! The Chicago dealer wouldn't reveal the other dealer anyway because he wanted my business himself. Seems the whole deal was a ploy to get me in the dealership. As a result, I ordered from a different dealer. Believe me, if a dealer within 200 miles had a 6MT/navi RBP or red with ebony, I would make the trek.

Dirk Diggs

I agree wholeheartedly...except I drive like a grandma.

We're sending one car on a transport from Chicago to Memphis for $250. We also send vehicles on a flatbed over long distances.

Some cars that are on your dealer's lots have already been dealer traded...check the stickers of the ones you want to buy, it will have the original dealer's name on it someplace. Also check the mileage of the ones that are on the lots that have been traded...you'll know whether it was transported or dealer driven.

Diggs