dajonx

So we went to the Honda dealership to take a look at the 2013 Odyssey Touring and my wife really likes it. She test drove it and the sales person was going through the features and stuff. Then came the talk of price and we all know all that friendliness and stuff was about to go out the door.

The Honda people went to appraise the 2013 RDX FWD Base and offered us $25k for it. He started off that conversation with "Oh boy, do we have a GREAT price for your trade-in!" We paid about $34k to $35k OTD. That's $10k for driving it less than a year and only putting 6k miles on it!!

Edmunds valued it at around $28k to $29k...

We are stupid for even considering this?

Also, keep in mind that the 2014 Odys will be coming out this summer. Do you think we should wait for that?

Dimcorner

FWIW I was quoted $34,500 from the dealership for a service loaner RDX w/tech with 6k miles (so figure about 2900 or so for tech). $28 would be my guess as well since they can turn around and sell it for just about of $30k still.

singlecoilpickup

Obviously they're going to lowball you first, but you should be able to negotiate it up a little bit. That being side, a year of depreciation and 6k miles on a car is going to hurt selling it that soon. No way around that.

Also, did you negotiate the price on the Odyssey before talking about your trade? If not you've sort of put yourself in a bind where the sales guy can play some games. I'd always negotiate the new price before even talking about intending to trade in.

dajonx

Yeah, I think $28k is a fair trade-in value...

They wanted to do both the price and trade-in at the same time. Next time, I'll be sure to do price only and then trade-in. The price of the Ody we got is decent (around $35.2k for Touring (plus tax/tags)). It's just the trade-in value is too low.

Dorsey

I agree with singlecoil. There are two sides to this deal - what they are giving you for tradein and what they are charging for the oddy. (There are actually several other potential influences such as financing, dealer installed options, dealer fees, extended warranty, etc). They can up the tradein value on the RDX while not coming off list on the oddy or vice verse. I would wait until the 2014 oddys come out as you will likely get a better discount on the 2013 oddy, Honda may have rebates/cash to dealers on the 2013s and you also have the option of getting the 2014 if you like the changes. The few months wait should not hurt your trade in value much on the RDX - it will still be low mileage and still be a 2013 model in 2013 (I know the 2014 RDXs are out but still).

singlecoilpickup

Yeah, in general start out by only talking about the vehicle you want to purchase, its price, and anything you want the dealer to throw in. Never let them talk to you in terms of monthly payment either. Focus solely on the price you want to pay for the vehicle.

Then talk about your trade and only your trade. Don't let them try to go back to the new car price or move on to financing until you get a price you're comfortable with. As a suggestion, I'd bring Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds, and maybe a Galves price for your trade to use as a negotiating point. They'll typically try to tell you about how books can say whatever they want, blah blah blah. Remind them that Edmunds especially is based on real market data.

Then talk about financing and only financing. Ideally, bring a pre-approval from a lender and tell the dealer they need to beat the leander's rate if they want consideration.

Hope that helps.

hand-filer

Determine what you want for your vehicle and what you are willing to pay for the new one. Subtract the difference and add on the taxes.
Offer to cut them a check for that amount and see what happens.
That's how I bought my RDX. 3 days after my offer, I had my RDX for my price.

Mike_TX

An Odyssey? Oh the humanity.

CoachRick

Dang, I finally agree with 'filer on something. The only important number is the difference between your trade and the price of the new vehicle...that is...what you will have to pay. It really doesn't matter how they get to that number as long as you are getting all the fees/add-ons, etc out in the open. If you were just beginning a research effort on this deal and got a super high trade number from one dealer, it 'might' be useful in negotiations with another; but it sounds like you have your vehicle/dealer picked out. All you need to know is the difference(the amount of the check 'filer mentioned).

CoachRick

Other than your wife liking it, why are you now considering the Ody? Did she not like it last year? Something you're not telling us about additional child-sized people? Want to be able to get your bikes in standing up?

If it's just a 'want', I'd seriously consider waiting until the '14s come out...to see what's new and likely get a somewhat better deal on the new vehicle.

dajonx

Thank you for all of your help and suggestions!

Is there a way to know about the rebates and such and have the dealer apply them to the price? I bet the answer is no...

We are not dead set on the vehicle (probably will be waiting for the 2014's to come out) nor the dealer. We are also considering going through Carmax to sell the RDX since they're more likely to give a better number than the dealer.

I will definitely be using everyone's suggestions in dealing with the dealerships. I'll also be utilizing Internet quotes since they seem to have a better price than in-person.

I wish the 2014 would just come out already...

singlecoilpickup

I wouldn't bet on that. Carmax has been notoriously cheap lately. But it won't hurt to go and get a written offer from them.

dajonx

We have one child which was fine with the RDX, but have another one on the way (late next month). We would like to have the newborn in the middle and the toddler on the side, but that's impossible in the RDX. Also, I imagine that it gets freaking hot in the backseat since there are no vents). We were planning on getting the Odyssey in a few years, but child #2 came sooner than we thought.

It is a "want" and I'm pretty curious about the new features on the 2014's. We're used to the push start button and the keyless entry and it's pretty nice to have those features with two kids. Also, the extra storage space is really nice for baby stuff like strollers since one stroller takes the entire trunk space on the RDX.

dajonx

Ugh! Really?? Ugh!!!

singlecoilpickup

Yeah, I believe they always used to just do the Kelly Blue Book price but lately they've been way under that. It probably also has to do with how desirable the vehicle is. Like I said, it can't hurt to get an estimate from them, but it may not be as high as you're hoping.

CoachRick

I've mentioned it before...our Volvo dealer, CarMax and Acura Dealer all hit the same number...right off the Manheim Auction pages...middle-ish of the values between northern and southern states.

Be aware of the sales tax situation in your state. Trading our XC60 vs selling it outright resulted in a sales tax 'savings' of $1550.

Pitbull11

Go to Carmax and get your quote. I've sold them 3 cars and got great prices on all 3. Much better then the dealers offer on a trade. Also when your now a cash buyer you can buy outside your local area since you don't have a trade to deal with. I'm not going to say anything about getting a Van but REALLY??? . Try looking a bigger 3 row SUV's!!

AnalogDE

Why would you want to downgrade to an Ody? That's just crazy.

dajonx

Yeah, we'll be getting the RDX appraised at a few places...

We're going to an Ody for more space and functionality. The RDX is just too small and the MDX will be more expensive than the Ody (for the 2014 whenever that comes out).

fleuger99

Hey, you know what you need and why you need it better than us. Several years ago I bought an Ody but traded it after only 7 months as I absolutely hated driving it. It was practical but I detested it so it got fired

Mikey Dallas

Surprised at that low number for the 13 base RDX. On cars.com, the 13's with low miles are going for 31K or so...

singlecoilpickup

Well, the dealer has to make some profit, so they're not going to turn around and sell it for the same price they paid. And a private party listing isn't significantly different from a dealer listing. The seller is still going to be listing at a price where they feel like they can still end up ahead after some negotiation.

So, $31k list price on a $27k-ish trade in sounds about right.

Pitbull11

Do not agree, dealer is making a couple of thousand on the total deal. Your having them make $4k on the trade in and a couple on the crappy new van. That does not fly. I bet Carmax will give you $30k and sell it for $32k.

geocord

The dealer's first offer was $26k. They will probably get to $28k with some negotiation. The dealer will clean it, market it and pay for the money while it sits on the lot. If the dealer is asking $31k, how many people are going to run right in and pay $31k for it. They will be lucky to get $30k for it. That's about $2k difference but that is not pure profit as they have to pay overhead and the salesman. If they sell the van at a reasonable price they may make $2k on it but probably less. Most of the money at a dealership is not made on new car sales but on used cars and shop operations.

And you may not like vans but that doesn't make them "crappy". If one has the need they make a lot more sense than a SUV.

Carmax is not the be all end all either. I have two recent situations. My daughter got a company car and had to sell her older TL. She got a price from Carmax and asked me about it. I said it sounded a little low and advised her to take it to the Acura dealer where she bought it and see what they would give her for it. She got $1,000 more from the Acura dealer. I also have a friend that inherited a vehicle and decided to sell her ten year old Camry. I went to Carmax with her and they offered her $4k. We then went to a nearby Toyota dealer and they gave here $4600 for it.

singlecoilpickup

If the dealer buys it for $27k and list it for $32k, statistically they're going to have a hard time breaking even. Most used cars sell for about 85% of their list price. 85% of $32k is $27,200. I think they'll probably list higher to make a profit, but the point is I really don't think there's the huge profit margin you seem to think.

CarMax has the luxury of refusing to haggle. Normal dealers really don't.

climbbike

I had a 2013 RDX AWD Tech and my wife has Odyssey Touring and I swear to god her van was more fun to drive than my RDX. I traded it in for a BMW x3. The Honda Odyssey is the van to buy if you need a van. You don't feel like you are driving a big car at all and it's power is much more useable in every day driving than the RDX.

climbbike

And by the way, I just got 34K trade in for my 2013 RDX AWD Tech, if that helps figuring out what you should get. They initially offered only 30K.

blSwagger

This is kind of funny to read for me. I might get an RDX once I have child #2. I've been fine with my GTI and 1 child... My wife has a Passat for weekend Costco runs.

dajonx

Thanks a lot for all the information!

We've decided to just wait it out for at least the 2014 and re-evaluate. The original dealership offered us $25k, not $26k. We wanted at least $28k and told them that we were far apart in terms of the trade-in value, but were satisfied with the price they offered us for the Odyssey. So we left the dealership at that point.

The salesman called later and said that they can move the trade-in value up a "smidge". He then ended the voicemail with "we have a 2010 Odyssey with 33k miles"... We didn't even say that we would be interested in used vehicles... Didn't really like that part.

The Odyssey isn't exactly a "need". It would've been great to move my newborn in the middle seat instead of the window seats. Also, the storage space is awesome.

Would the Acura dealership that we purchased it from buy back the RDX even though we're not buying an Acura? I went on their website and there was no mention of it...

geocord

If you read one of my posts above, I mentioned that my daughter sold her Acura TL to an Acura dealer after she got a company car and didn't need two vehicles. The Acura dealer gave her $1000 more than the offer she got from Carmax. Having said that, there is no guarantee that every Acura does this nor that you would get the price you want for your RDX but but it is worth a try. I think it was the same dealership she bought it from originally but I'm not sure about that. That really shouldn't make a difference though, they either are looking for used stock or they are not.

singlecoilpickup

My dealership sometimes outright buys used Acuras not as part of a trade. However, it depends on the model, the demand, and the popularity. It might be tough to get them to outright buy a 2013 RDX when they're still trying to clear new 2013 RDXs off the lot. But, it can't hurt to ask. All they can say is "no."

dajonx

Yes, I did read your post. I was just curious if the Acura dealer you dealt with was actively looking for used cars or not.

Yes, I agree that they're probably still trying to clear out the new 2013s...

When the time comes to pull the trigger on the Ody, all I can do is cross my fingers for the best.

Thank you!

Rocket_man

Check your state tax laws, but here in TX if you trade in a vehicle you only pay sales tax on the difference between the new car and the trade in. That can help a bit. But I agree they were low balling you.

dajonx

Thanks! I'll do that!

danmangto

It's going to cost you a lot of $$ now, not to keep the RDX. Esp since it's so new. The depreciation hit. Just put the kid seats in the far outboard of the RDX and save $$. One stroller does not take the entire trunk of the RDX, unless you have one of those cheap big bulky types. The backseat isn't that bad without vents (they should have put rear vents), but it's ok.

BTW, I have the current style Oddy (touring), also in addition to my GTO, and the interior on the Oddy is cheap, noticeably cheaper than the RDX, cheaper than it should be for a $40k+ vehicle. Thats really my only complaint. The highway gas mileage is fantastic.

dajonx

Yeah, I understand the depreciation hit. We would've liked to put our newborn in the center seat since it's safer than the window seats. The stroller we have is an Uppababy Vista and it takes most of the bottom space. I can put stuff on top of it, but the large wheels on the stroller forces me to push the it as far back as it can go. Otherwise, the liftgate won't close.

What do you mean "cheaper"? Like flimsy or just looks? As for the gas mileage, I'm hoping that the Earth Dreams is part of the 2014 Ody which would help even more. All speculation though... At least from what people say on the Ody forums.

kurtatx

I'm still stuck on you wanting to trade your Acura RDX for an Odyssey. It must be the world's most fun van

singlecoilpickup

I'm sill stuck on the fact that the dog in OP's avatar looks like... well... not a dog.

danmangto

LOL! Since I own both, 2013 RDX and current generation (2011) Oddy Touring, I can say that if the OP needs the room, than the Oddy has far more room than the RDX and gets even better highway gas mileage. The Oddy turns in 30mpg on highway trips with 5 people and luggage. If you are to drive all the minivans, the Oddy still drives the best IMHO.

danmangto

The door panels, dash are just harder plastic, not as nice as the RDX interior. That said it's Ok... but you would expect more, esp since my touring Oddy was $41k MSRP.

As far as gas mileage on the Oddy, the highway is very impressive for me. With 4 people, luggage we have gotten up to 30+mpg, which is down right impressive since the Oddy weighs 500-600 more lbs than the RDX.