sigmamason

I am looking at the Acura TSX 6M along with several other cars (Mazda 6S 5M, Volvo S40 T5 6M, and Lexus IS300 5M).
When I went to the dealer to ask a few questions on the availability of the '05 in manual, he said that if I was truly interested in the car, then I would have to put down a deposit to hold one if I wanted to buy, since the manual version is really selling well. "They can't keep them on the lot."
Not that I am doubting the dealer, but something about that doesn't seem right...
Is this a normal occurence in other areas of the country? I live in Atlanta...

owkone

Talk with several dealers - also wait a month or two when the supplies are better. You will likely get a better price when the supplies are plentiful.

Sometimes dealers pull that to get the top $$ price.

blackjackman

don't fall for that ! no $ for them, nada.

dabuda

it's a sales tactic, just talk to other dealerships

Brain640

Just goes to show you how good the TSX manual really is, doesn't it. I'm going to GaTech and have an '04 TSX 6-speed if it gets really hard to find one for you to drive. Good luck with whichever descision you make.

blb

I don't know about 05's down your neck of the woods. But there was no shortage of 6Ms in southeast PA when I bought two months ago. Probably just a sales tactic. You may need another dealer.

aascsm

knthornt

Not sure what you are looking at (Navi or Non-Nav), but I have an order on an '05 6MT with Navi and the dealer is worried about me walking since he says that only ordered something like 5% of the time. I am sure that he is lying to me, but regardless, this doesn't really signify that 6MT's are exactly "Flying off the lot"

DJDZ

That is just a common dealer tactic so that you have to buy the car with them. If you give them a deposit, then you would have to take their price and your chances of for getting a good price is decreased. You are better off going to several dealers and have them call you when once comes in but DON'T leave a deposit!!!!

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Incorrect. Until you sign something, you're not obligated to anything. If you leave a deposit, you have the right to retract that deposit at any time. They are required by law to either roll that $500 into the payments for the car or refund it to you in its entirety.

To sigmamason, if you're really interested in buying the car, negotiate a deal, leave the deposit, test drive the car, and then negotiate some more. If you don't get a satisfactory deal, just request the deposit back and walk away.

DCDeacon

Well, normally I would say dealer tactic. In this case though... I spent 2 weeks scouring DC for a CG Manual with ebony interior. There were only 2 in the city. It was the last day of the month and I had 5 dealerships actively hunting for one. I had a deal pending and didn't put down a deposit at Radley Acura, and I went by Chevy Chase Acura because they had a CG with quartz. I said I was ready to buy but couldn't live with the quartz(not that bad, just not as nice as ebony). During my drive to Chevy Chase they sold the one at Radley for more than what they quoted me! I gave the Chevy Chase guys a chance to go lower (naturally didn't tell them the first car was sold) and they did. But this was for the quartz - they said they didn't have any ebony's. I told them I'd walk, and the sales manager said, "hang on a minute."

2 hours later I had a CG/ebony. I asked the salesman afterwards why the car wasn't shown originally. He said it had been special ordered for someone (made sense because of the options - wood stearing wheel, trunk matt, flaps, locks, etc) but they hadn't heard from him the day it came, which voided the deposit he'd put down. Hence they sold it to me.

The market for these cars is just nuts. Even a deposit doesn't make for a sure thing.

gipmeister

Agree strongly from a legal perspective (it is totally contingent on whether you actually go forward with the purchase), but the deposit is a gimmick, pure and simple. They are just trying to get a hook into you so you stick with this dealer, versus the many others you could purchase from. I'll compare it to getting pre-qualified for a mortgage.... it doesn't oblige you to borrow from that particular lender, but they're counting on the fact that laziness will take over and you take convenience over continuing to shop around. You should be able to negotiate a deal with or without a deposit involved. (certainly you'll need one to lock a deal, but then you've essentially agreed to purchase a specific car)

Kighter

Sigmamason:

I bought my '04 SSM/MT in March from Carland and experienced some of the same stuff from them and other Atlanta dealers. Which one did it?

Carland tried the deposit line on me, but I begged off and the next day we started calling all the other dealers in town - and some of them tried the deposit line on me too. Then I went back to my original dealer and he miraculously found the car I wanted and already had it on the way. Then we firmed up price and options and I took the car 2 days later.

Just make it clear that you are serious.

biker

With all the folks on this site that know exactly what they want, an Acura dealer like Grubbs for Infiniti (one set low price w/ shipping to anywhere in the lower 48 for a fixed fee) would make some money. For most folks who know exactly what they want, the car is a commodity.
And the A-TSX site could be the front for the dealer (like freshalloy is for Grubbs).

sigmamason

Kighter,

I went to Nalley on Cobb. I sent some people there due to what I had heard about them, but after that crap, I might try Ed Volyes. Curiously, I got a call from Nalley Infiniti about the I35, I was referred to them by the Acura guy...never mentioned anything about looking at other cars...

xaznperswaesonx

I odnt know what kind of tactic you are using .. but always mention you are looking at other cars. Let the dealer know that you're not settled for just this one car. Once they know .. they can toy wiht you becuase they know you want it. simple as that.

and deposit .. it's a good thing if you make it a good thing. I did the deposit route and it's fine. it reserve the car to you and not be sold to anyone else. it's not an obligation that you have to buy that car, it's just a safety measure benefiting you and the dealer if you let it. for example: i deposited for a msm .. and that's the last msm they are recieveing. 2 black are coming in. I hav ethe option to back out of that msm and get the black one. if i didnt deposit it .. í'd have to buy the one that is available, pretty much no option there.