Reach

Dear AZ crowd,

First, thanks for the wonderful years of information on these forums. I've lurked here for a month, registered recently, and hope to contribute in the future
After *extensive* research and test drives of seemingly a dozen vehicles, I have chosen to purchase an 2006 TSX 5/AT w/ NAVI. The insights on this forum have definitly been one of the deciding factors in my choice to get the TSX. Although I have not purchased it yet (waiting to get my moneys in order ) I have dealt with two Maryland dealers so far and wanted to briefly share my experiences, as well as ask for recommendations for other places to look.

So first, where have you been and recommend? Price points paid for a 2006 TSX in the area would be appreciated too (although I have already gathered a few from the welcome thread and the 'price paid for 2006 TSX' thread).

My two experiences so far are with Rosenthal and Chevy Chase Acura, and they were polar opposites. I'm a young professional (22) and I don't reek of money, so I almost understand when I don't get the best service as a dealership. Nonetheless, I do have the money (could buy cash if I wanted to, but I want to finance and build my credit history).

The experience at Rosenthal was horrible. I was ignored for the longest time, given to a very junior sales rep, who I'm not sure was even a real sales rep (he wore a service jacket and jeans!), and then treated to the shortest test drive in history and rudeish, driving questions like, are you ready to purchase now? how much money can you put down?

The experience as Chevy Chase was quite the opposite. I was treated in an extremely professional manner by a guy who was knowledgeable, curteous, and genuine. Truly, unlike any salesman at any of the dealerships I've been to (I shopped around a LOT of different cars before settling on the TSX). He let me pick from their new inventory one with the colors and Navi option I wanted, and take it for an extended, 90 minute test drive, where I really got to test out all the features.

So now I'm hoping to shop a rock bottom price on a similar TSX, maybe at one of the NoVA dealerships, which I'm fairly sure he'll match. Any help is greatly appreciated, and I hope to soon join the ranks of you happy TSX owners.

BTW: I drive a Benz and will be happy to be rid of it. Goodbye expensive maintenance.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Chevy Chase has pretty solid service, though their prices aren't great. Radley Acura in Falls Church has the same problem of decent service, but slightly high prices.

If you've got a good deal from a dealer, then use that as your baseline when approaching other dealers to get them to try to beat it. And if you get a lower deal, that should be your new baseline deal. With a little patience, you should be able to work all of the dealerships in this area till you get an exceptional deal.

I'll let the others pipe in here and let you know the specifics of each of the dealerships.

desktop

I am surprise to hear that about Rosenthal. I bought my 06 TSX from Rosenthal Acura and service was great including the price. I got my 06 TSX auto w/o nav for $500 above the invoice price of $26,050. Perhaps you should contact my salesperson. He is very straight forward and friendly. Write to him and ask him:

rarifin@rosenthalacura.dealerspace.com

His name is Ruly Arifin.

Have fun shopping!

frescagod

Hey,

I've purchased two vehicles from Radley Acura in the past 18 months (2004 RSX and 2005 TSX). I first looked at Chevy Chase for an RSX, since they were metro accessible and Radley was kind of a pain to get to. They were pleasant enough, but their prices were a bit high because they don't do nearly the volume that Pohanka and Radley do. I got a quote, in writing, and then called around to Pohanka, Rosenthal, and Radley, with numbers. Rosenthal beat it, Pohanka beat Rosenthal, and Radley said "we can work something out, just come in." HAHA.

Well, I did come in, gave the guy the figure, and he told me to sit tight. He came back 5 min later and said he could beat it by $300 or so. Great! I got some of the pushy stuff from the closing finance guy, but once I declined LoJack and all that other stuff, we were good to go. By the way, my new '04 RSX with leather was about $19,000 out the door, on top of special 2.9% financing. Pretty sweet deal.

I sold my RSX b/c I thought I was moving to NYC, but it fell through a week beforehand, so I was back in the market for a car again. I immediately called Radley and told the same salesperson that I was looking for another car. I came in, got a quote, called other dealers to see if they could beat it, etc. In the end, I got my new '05 TSX 6mt w/ nav for $27,400 out the door. Similar experience with the finance guy, but no biggie.

That said, I wish I had waited for an '06 instead

Reach

Thanks for the responses, frescagod especially too. I hope you don't mind if I use your price point to haggle with a few of these guys! As I understand it (from the Chevy Chase Acura salesman) the 06's run ~ $800 over on invoice from the 05's, so I hope I can waive that number + 800 around and see if he bites.

Here's an update on my search:

Chevy Chase is still my favorite place. Metro accessible, plus benefits only they are offering, such as the free all-acura loaner cars, car washes, valet service, and free scheduled oil changes and tire rotations (for 7 years). I got an internet price quote from Dewey Israel at Rosenthal Acura of $27,305 for a 5AT, but I think that's w/o Navi, even though I specifically asked for with Navi. Oh well.

I called Chevy Chase and asked if they would price match. Initially said they don't price match, but if I had a quote they would talk. We'll see when I go back in.

I'm hesitant to try Radley since they're so far away from me, but if the price can't be beat, well, the price can't be beat. Maybe I can get somewhere with them with Rosenthal's price and then take that better one to Chevy Chase.

Really though I'm stalled momentarily as I wait for money to clear from a mutal fund. I've never dealt with anything like this before and wasn't expecting paperwork and return paperwork just to withdraw money. (OK, its a lot of money). I'll love it when the hassle is over and I've got a new car. I just hope I don't change my mind anymore between now and then!

Reach

I should mention (or maybe its obvious) this is my first experience with purchasing a new car, so any extra pointers are welcome too!

JPTL-S

Reach, I purchased my 03 TL-S brand new in October of 02. From my experience, I found that doing all my negotiations via phone saved me a lot of time and stress. I began my search by calling around and giving several of the local dealerships my criteria. Within a matter of minutes, each came back with an offer. I then took the two lowest offers and had them outbid each other until we came down to a rock-bottom price. I remember during this time, sales manager at Pohanka ended up calling me and yelling at me because he didn’t like how I was pitting his dealership against Radley for the best price. In the end I wound up purchasing from Radley because no one could beat their price, and so I went to Radley the next day to pick up my car. I must say, that was actually one of the best car purchasing experiences I've ever had. Just this year, I used the same approach when it came to purchasing my wife's car and we once again ended up with a pleasant purchasing experience. I don't think I will ever go back to a dealership again; negotiating via phone is much easier. Just think, no annoying salesmen, no irritating sales managers, no finance managers to harp on you Good luck on your purchase

dalco2208

I got my 05 TSX from Criswell Acura in Annapolis. The sales guy was very willing to help, and the service dept is nice also. Check them out.

lito

got a great deal on my TSX and good experience at Pohanka Acura

JPTL-S

Lito, just out of curiosity, who was your salesman?

lito

can't remember his name some Russian guy?

JPTL-S

Cool I was just wondering if it was the same guy I dealt with in June, he was an A-hole

ferneau

I purchased my '05 TSX from Rosenthal last October. The sales rep's contact info is:

Steve Shager
Sales and Leasing Consultant
Rosenthal Acura
623 N. Frederick Rd.
Gaithersburg, MD 20879
Showroom: 301-840-9333
Anytime: 301-509-2001
www.rosenthalacura.com


We made an appointment with and he was on-time, helpful, pleasant, etc. I highly recommend him. If you go there, please tell him we sent you.

--Mark Ferneau

lito

finaly gonna trade in your TL for a TSX about time!

JPTL-S

Actually, we were looking for the wifey

frescagod

yeah, you can't really say a dealer is your "favorite" if you've never purchased from them. anyway, Radley does free oil changes for LIFE (not 7 years), valet to and from the Ballston metro, and does way more business than Chevy Chase and thus, can afford to sell more cars at lower prices. The service department is on par with the others, although I've heard absolutely nothing but horror stories about dealing with Pohanka. My advice to you? get a quote from chevy chase, call pohanka, get them to beat it, and then tell Radley your quote from Pohanka. It worked for me..... ~$27,400 out the door for my new 2005 w/ nav.

best of luck, and remember, there really aren't any "good" dealers....they're all out to make money, and i wouldn't say any of them are above any of the classic salesman tricks. last of all, keep in mind that if you live in VA and deal with Radley, they will take care of the Virginia DMV stuff, but if you live in VA and deal with Chevy Chase, they won't; you gotta do it. And vice versa. A minor nuisance, but a nuisance nonetheless. For me, I live in VA, so: lower price, basically the same sales tax (~3% on the car), take care of my paperwork vs. chevy chase not taking care of it, and, at the time, CC didn't say anything about free oil changes for 7 years; Radley told me that within 2 minutes of sitting in the car.

xizor

I like Radley, can't say I've been to the others though. I'm actually getting my oil change (free for life) right now and they have wireless in their service dept. which is nice. Service has always been polite and pretty good, and they gave me free loaner for life when I bought the car, which I used when I did my recall etc., so I've been very happy so far.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Not true. I live in MD and Radley took care of everything for me when I got my 06 back in December.

And xizor, I just missed you by a few hours as I was at Radley this afternoon getting something looked at.

frescagod

sorry, maybe it was the other way around (chevy chase wouldn't do the paperwork for me since i lived in VA). that must be it, because i wouldn't make up something that specific.

my apologies, super moderator.

biker

The bottom line in the DC area is that in general most dealers will match the price but if you want to get down to the last few $ an MD dealer will usually win out over a VA dealer since they have a lower doc fee ($100 vs $250-300).

It is diffcult to recommend one over another based on some lower level sales person - their longevity at the dealers are measured in months. I had a very pleasant chap at Pohanka when I test drove the 06 6MT TSX, but I doubt he'll be there by the end of the year.

Once you decide on a car, it's a comodity and the Internet is your friend. Don't step into a dealership again other than to sign the paperwork.

Doing the leg work at DMV yourself will put off the TTL by another month (or 45 days for an MD bought car)

tcwatkins

Have to say, I hated the "valet" service offered by VW dealers so much that being able to walk to the dealer from the metro was a major selling point for me.