Research: Edmunds.com, this forum, misc. sources. I realized that I should be able to get a 2005 w/ Navi for ~$27,500-$27,900 based on what people on this forum are paying. Edmunds has the TMV for around $29,000 (nearly MSPR) so, I knew that was going to come up from the dealership as their leverage.

Dealership #1 negotiations summary (where I test drove the car):
Sales Associate: My sales manager is offering this car (NHB/Ebony/Navi/6MT) for $28,900, and this is under Edmunds TMV for the car (right off the bat, he brings up TMV !! ).
Me: I'll give you $27,200. (Invoice price including desination)
Sales Associate: So, you will drive the car off of the lot today for $27,200.
Me: Yes
<Sales Associate goes to Sales Manager and comes back after ~5 minutes>
Sales Associate: My Sales Manager says that you are too far away from his price and wants to know if you can get closer to the $28,900 number. Remember, I am on your side. (classic sales associate line)
Me: I have a list of multiple people who have paid in the mid-$27,000's for this same car. (I show him the list) I know you can come way down on your offer.
<Sales Associate goes to Sales Manager>
<Sales Manager comes out after ~5 minutes>
Sales Manager: I normally don't come out and talk to the customer, but we are not close enough on price. ... I don't have to sell this car for a few hundred dollars over invoice. I sell too many of them to have to do that.
Me: Others are paying in the mid-$27,000's for this same car so, I don't have to buy this car in the upper $28,000's. (I show him the list)
Sales Manager: The lowest that I can go is $28,500. As far as going lower, we aren't that kind of dealership (I never understood what he meant by this).
Me: You aren't in the ballpark.
Sales Manager: It was nice meeting you. Good luck finding your TSX.


After 10 minutes, he was done negotiating and sent me on my way. This surprised me. So, I drive 1 hr. 15 minutes to another dealership and repeat the process.

Dealership #2 negotiations:
Sales Associate: My sales manager is offering the car on the lot (CBP/Quartz/NAVI/5AT) for $28,200.
Me: I'll give you $27,200, but I want you to locate the car that I want (SSM/Ebony/Navi/5AT).
Sales Associate: You know, these cars are not negotiable in price. They sell really well.
Me: Both you and I know everything is negotiable.
<Sales Associate chuckles and agrees>
<Sales Associate goes to Sales Manager and comes back after ~5 minutes>
Sales Associate: My Sales Manager is offering the car on the lot for $27,500 and will go and get you what you want for $28,000.
Me: I'll give you $27,500 and you locate the car that I want and bring it to me.
<Sales Associate goes to Sales Manager and comes out after ~5 minutes>
Sales Associate: My Sales Manager won't come down off of the $28,000 price. Do you have a counter-offer.
Me: Alright, I will give you $27,750 to go and get the car. But, that is as high as I am going to go. $250 is more than enough to compensate you to go and get a car from another dealer.
<Sales Associate goes to Sales Manager>
<Sales Manager comes out after ~5 minutes>
Sales Manager: I normally don't come out and talk to customers, but I wanted to share some information with you. (the other dealer's manager said the same thing) These cars move really well, and it costs me money to go and do a dealer trade. ... (he blabbed forever about how much it cost him, but he also mentioned that he was eager to sell a car to me b/c it was the end of the month)
Me: My offer is fair. If you don't want to sell the car at this price, then there is a dealer around here that will.
Sales Manager: I don't let a customer walk out after getting within $250 of agreeing on a price (this was a mistake by him b/c he basically let me know that I was going to win if I stood firm).

We had a standoff for ~15 minutes where he got down to asking for as low as $50 more from me, which I would not do b/c I knew that others were getting this same type of car for $500 less on this forum. It is possible that I could have gotten $500 off of one of his cars on the lot, but they didn't have one that my wife wanted (graduation gift). Finally, he agreed to $27,750 and went to get the car (SSM/Ebony/Navi/5AT/Wheel locks/Trunk Guard/Splash Guards).

I think I did pretty good, but others around this forum have done better. It was interesting that the Sales Manager told me that he was eager to sell the car b/c it was the end of the month. It also was at the end of the quarter, but I couldn't find out if the holdback bonuses are sent out on a quarterly basis. This was the first new car that I bought so, I thought someone else who is thinking about buying would find my experience interesting. I still have no clue why the first dealership was so stubborn about selling the car for so much money. I guess it pays to shop around at different dealerships.

 

Man, my dealership wouldn't negotiate much at all. The only thing they would do is match other dealerships prices and throw in the protection package. The cheapest price I'm getting is $28,400 . Anyways, congrats on your new TSX and I hope you enjoy it.

 

First, congrats Shaggy! Good deal and good negotiating!

abcheng, I see that you're 18 years old. This may be the reason why dealerships won't really negotiate with you. Are you walking into the dealership yourself? Have you gotten Internet quotes? A dealership won't negotiate unless they feel that you're really serious.

 

I've gotten internet quotes. They're all around the same price. I got the $28,400 offer yesterday, and yes I went into the dealership, test drove and asked him if he could match my offers that I printed out. I told him that I'll buy it if I can get it for the right price. I also asked him about group buy pricing and he said he could only knock off about $140 or so. The sales guy even went to ask his manager for pricing a few times. I was actually recommended to talk to the sales manager but the lady in the showroom directed me to another salesman instead. Another dealership in town said they'll sell us a TSX w/ navi for under $28k so I'll most likely just deal with that dealership.

 

> I still have no clue why the first dealership was so stubborn
> about selling the car for so much money.

Very elementary; location, supply and demand, inventory levels, reputation, and opportunity costs. In regard to opportunity cost; if he sells a car to you today for $27,500.00, then he will not be able to sell the car tomorrow to someone else for $28,000.

A TSX for $29,000.00, in my opinion, is a lot of money -- but it is still significantly less than an C230, A4, TL, etc. -- and still represents an excellent value.

Now, are you going to have a 2 1/2 hour (driving time) round-trip when you need service? Or, any warranty work done? Or, or you going to go back to the dealer that you didn't want to do business with because he was a higher on price? I have gotten better service, consideration, and attention from my dealer than I would even expect to get from a dealer than did not sell me the car. The salesman addresses both myself, and my wife, by our first names when he sees us at the dealership. Granted, it is not likely to happen at dealerships that are much larger. But, it gives me a feeling of confidence when several of the employees at the dealership recognize me when I walk in. I have had one-on-one chitchats with the service manager at times (he is not too busy to talk with customers). He has taught me some things -- and I have opened his eyes to a couple of things.


> "Sales Manager: The lowest that I can go is $28,500. As far as going lower,
> we aren't that kind of dealership (I never understood what he meant by this)."

I think he probably meant that they did not want to be like Wal-Mart; putting a lot of emphasis on selling at the lowest possible price (not always the case with Wal-Mart; but they do have that reputation) and so little emphasis on customer service and customer satisfaction. And, like young women, a dealer can develop a reputation. Once they sell a few cars at invoice, word will get around (like on this forum) and it will be hard to sell any cars at anything near MSRP (but, my buddy bought one for $27,000). Ask General Motors about rebates. If the supply is limited (as it is on the TSX), then putting too much emphasis on price is self-defeating for the dealership.

I am not suggesting that a buyer pay MSRP for a car, or for any large purchase. But, it helps to understand that the buyer sometimes puts too much emphasis on buying at the lowest possible price (the Wal-Mart mentality) while ignoring other factors that can have significant value. As the saying goes, "there is always someone that can make it cheaper and sell it for less." I believe that statement also applies to customer service. And, it helps to understand that the dealer has a different perspective. When you are negotiating with a dealer in cases where demand exceeds supply (as with the TSX), you are not actually negotiating with the dealer. You are actually negotiating with other buyers. Now, if you could get everyone in the country to agree to pay no more than $25,000.00 for a TSX, you would get an excellent price -- and the TSX would likely disappear from the dealerships; very quickly.

 

This was the downside to my deal as I will have to travel far if I want to get service from the same dealership. I like to think that the closer dealership will be happy to get my service business despite the fact that they did not sell me a car. I could be wrong, but I am skeptical that a fairly large dealership (which this was) will really treat me better (or even remember me) if I bought my car from them. Time will tell.

I think you are probably correct. If people realize that they can drive 1 hour, 15 minutes and save ~1K on a TSX, I am sure lots of business will be lost to the least expensive dealer. I am not convinced that better customer service is worth $1K on a $28K car. Especially since there is no guarantee that you will receive good customer service now or in the future from any dealership. Hopefully, I won't have to spend a lot of time in the service department.

 

congrats, shaggy. i think it's a good deal you got. i paid almost as low as yours except i did my deal on the phone.


jpl

 

Good write up and congrats on your new TSX! And way a go on the negotiations. I remember when I was at my dealer. The SM wouldn't budge the price at all that is until I walk out the dealer. Can't believe he chase me before I got out the sale floor. haha It was quite an unforgetable event. IMO I don't care what car it is, but I wouldn't pay MSRP for it. Yes! even a Mclaren!(well, maybe I'll let this one slide =P)

 

CONGRATSSS!!! Ive had mine almost 2 years and im telling you its still awesome and still turns heads wooo hoooo!!!
AKay

 

Excellent writeup. Congrats on getting the car at close to your price.

I'd like to add a suggestion for those who are still planning on buying. It helps to know if the TSX you want (color, navi, tranny) is on the lot at any of the nearby dealerships. If it is then you have an additional bargaining chip. You can then negotiate with the dealer who has it as he would be more likely to want to move a car already on his lot. Or, you can negotiate with the dealer who is willing to give you the best price and add to it what you think a dealer exchange is worth (certainly not $500 in your case).

Some dealerships post inventory on their website otherwise you can just call.

 

Congrats on the purchase. You got a good deal with those extra goodies added in. Not sure if I would have negotiated the way you did but it seems to have worked out. I negotiated my deal very differently.

 

How did you negotiate your deal? I am curious what other people's negotiation tactics are (especially those that got dealers down into the $25,000 (non-nav) and $27,000 (nav) range). I found some internet articles such as those on edmunds.com like confessions of a car salesman
to be very helpful. Most car sales people are very good at what they do so, they have the upper hand going into negotiations. It is easy to get taken advantage of.

 

I described my buying process in this thread (post 54): http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...6356#post86356

 

nice write-up and good to see you could get the price down. now quit writing up long posts and drive.

 

The best advice I have is to negotiate on the OTD price to eliminate any BS dealer fees and never be afraid to walk out of the dealership. They will always call a prospective buyer back and negotiate some more.