Merf

Hi...

I need some advice... I am going to buy a TSX within the next month. And I want to know how I can get the best price? It may sound stupid, but I have never bought a car on my own before.... so this will be my first. So here are my questions:

1. Will the dealership ever go below invoice price... for a 2007 Automatic TSX w/Navi? Since it is the end of the year... and if so, what price should I be targeting? I looked up invoice... and it's $27,459

2. If I can't find a 2007, what price should I be looking to spend for a 2008 Automatic TSX w/out Navi? Invoice lists... $25,915

3. Basically how can I bargain with them.... and know they are offering a good price?

And besides emission and licensing fee... does it matter if I live in CA?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated....

Thank you !
Merf

jlukja

Take a look at the owner sign in thread to see what others have been paying. Theoretically, the dealer's profit is $0 at invoice price minus 3% holdback. If they are very very motivated they may sell you one at a hundred or two above that invoice - 3% price. Yes, it does make a differnce where you live. No matter where in CA you buy you will pay the sales tax based on your home address. In LA county that will be 8.25%.

SoCaliTrojan

You should do some searches on how people got the best deal. Some people will never buy on their first visit, etc. Do your research and bring it with you to the dealer...when they realize you know what you're talking about, they'll work out a deal (since they know they can't rip you off).

Best way is to contact the dealer's internet sales department. Have them send you quotes...then pit them against each other. Once you get the lowest price, you can walk in with most of the haggling done.

Getting the car close to invoice is pretty good. Why go for an 08 w/o navi if you're interested in the 07 w/ navi? The 08 is $500 more (I think), so you might consider getting the 08 navi (navi is awesome).

If you can scoop up an 07, that'll be great. The next gen TSX is rumored to come out in 09 (last time I checked), so you might be bummed if you get an 08 and then find so many nice changes in the 09.

Mgmt2

Never, ever buy on the first visit. Who does that? Maybe if you had no transportation at all.

I'd go in to the dealership, test drive, then leave your contact information with your email address. They'll be contacting you later and then you can work them down. Be sure to use email instead of phone calls.

timd38

Dealer told me that he would give me an 07 with Nav or a 08 without Nav for the same price. I took the 08.

Remember dealer always wins.

makurz

Check out http://www.carbuyingtips.com

This is a great resource for learning all the dealer tricks and how you can get the most reasonable deal. There is also a nice spreadsheet on the site that helps come up with your offer.

SoCaliTrojan

Yep, dealer won $1500. congrats on your purchase/lease. Now we need pictures

frescagod

definitely don't buy on the first time. also, the best thing you can do if you have 3+ Acura dealers around you is to casually mention over the phone to dealer #1 that you'd like to pay....$29,500 out the door...can you beat it? i generally only deal in out the door numbers, which eliminates any crap that they try to manipulate. once you have that $ amount confirmed, either by phone or email, go to dealer #2 with that figure and ask them to beat it. if they do, then you can try dealer #3 with the even lower figure. if they don't budge, then go back to dealer #1 with the offer from dealer #2 and ask them to beat it. if they do, great. go check out cars on the lot, pick the one with the lowest mileage, and use that time to get them to throw in winter mats and oil changes for life, or something like that.

i did this with my '04 RSX, my '05 TSX, and now my '07 S2000. it probably only works if you have several dealers in your area, though. by employing this tactic, my car/out the door prices were as follows (approximately):

RSX 5 spd with leather: $17,900 / $19,314 out the door
TSX 6 spd with navigation: $27,500 OTD
S2000: ~$27,500 / $29,500 OTD

if you look at those numbers, my OTD price was around invoice each time, or substantially lower.

let us know how you fare!

frescagod

definitely don't buy on the first time. also, the best thing you can do if you have 3+ Acura dealers around you is to casually mention over the phone to dealer #1 that you'd like to pay....$29,500 out the door...can you beat it? i generally only deal in out the door numbers, which eliminates any crap that they try to manipulate. once you have that $ amount confirmed, either by phone or email, go to dealer #2 with that figure and ask them to beat it. if they do, then you can try dealer #3 with the even lower figure. if they don't budge, then go back to dealer #1 with the offer from dealer #2 and ask them to beat it. if they do, great. go check out cars on the lot, pick the one with the lowest mileage, and use that time to get them to throw in winter mats and oil changes for life, or something like that.

i did this with my RSX, my TSX, and now my S2000. it probably only works if you have several dealers in your area, though. by employing this tactic, my car/out the door prices were as follows (approximately):

'04 RSX 5 spd with leather: $17,900 / $19,314 out the door
'05 TSX 6 spd with navigation: ~$26,000 / $27,500 OTD
'07 S2000: ~$27,500 / $29,500 OTD

if you look at those numbers, my OTD price was around invoice each time, or substantially lower.

let us know how you fare!

frescagod

sorry for the double post!

Merf

Thanks for all the tips!

I did go to the dealership over the weekend... and did test drive the TSX.. LOVE IT!

So now I'm just trying to figure out, how much I should pay.

One dealership is offering me the 07 TSX Manual W/Navi for $27, 389... that's already $100 below invoice. The only problem, I can't drive stick.... I guess I cold learn.

But what I am trying to do, is use that to my advantage. Another dealership has the car I want... 07 TSX Automatic w/Navi... in Glacier Blue... they offered $28,486. I'm trying to see if they will match the other dealers price.

If not... I have 3 dealerships offering me the 08 TSX Automatic w/out Navi for $26,785...

Are these good prices?

IIIII

Those are terrible prices on the 07's.

I picked up an 07 ASM TSX 5AT w/navi on the 8th for $25,800, dealerships are definitely wanting to unload the 07's to make room for the 08's.


Make sure you know where you stand credit wise, this will determine what interest rate you will get. Secure financing before going to the dealership thru your own bank/credit union. Honda/Acura would love for you to finance thru them instead of your own bank, they will try to beat your banks apr for you to finance with them. If you can financially, pay the taxes seperately, why finance taxes and take a double hit? You have up to a month to get the taxes paid on your new vehicle...but if you go over a month there is a penalty. $100 bucks or so, i believe.

wackura

I think the price is also heavily dependant on where the car is bought because some of the prices people said they paid elsewhere seemed wildly unrealistic in the Seattle area after I tried the numbers I got from this forum with the area dealers.

davidspalding

Merf, subscribe online to the Consumer Reports car buyer's kit sub, you can get price reports and stuff to back up your negotiation. Sheesh, I should put this in my sigline I use it so often.

Or just join Costco for $50, and use their car buying program. Most Costco-goers love the service, particularly the no headache, no haggle price. How it compares with invoice, I cannot say. Try it out. And Costco will refund your membership if you're not 100% satisfied (check their site for details). $50 could save you several hundred, or a few thousand.

Also consider picking up a CPO (see sig) 2006 or 2007 model. Differences between the 2006 model and a new 2008 => minimal. Save a few thou$and, and invest it into a 6 or 7 year/100,000 mile "wrap" warranty. (Brochures on the CPO program, and extended warranties periods, are on the Acura.com site.)

There was a thread here recently when I joined, some former salespeople were sharing information on how some customers nickel and dimed their way down to the lowest "price," then ended up screwing themselves because they didn't see the big picture. Keep that in mind. You can haggle only so much before a sales manager decides to let you be another dealer's problem.

Don't forget to examine the "add ons" in your final bill. Not all are "required" (VIN glass etching, dealer prep, undercoating, blah blah blah). Again, the Consumer Reports site has lots of info that will help you shop wisely (versus shop chintzy), particularly if you're not using a buyer's agent (like the Costco and BJ's programs offer). Happy hunting!