Right now, I'm contemplating (with the wife) a leftover 07 now, buying late December for an 08, or buying an 08 as a leftover in August/September 08.

My wife is somewhat balking at the idea of paying around $40K for a vehicle. Me being the car person, wouldn't really blink an eye. In researching this site, it appears that $4000 (in total) is about the maximum for Honda to dealer or customer cash back. Is that a correct figure?

Right now, Honda just extended their marketing support of $3500 till December 31, 2007 for all 2007 RL's. So, it does appear that the prices now are as low as they'll be... (???)

I'm wondering if folks who bought in late December (post Christmas) have found that pricing is the most aggressive post Christmas, even compared to end of model year...

Any information would be great in helping us decide.

 

non-tech vehicle has been selling for 38k...tech 42k...cmbs?..limited availability.

I think they didn't start shedding money from for the 07 unitl April (3.5k)

I bought the RL (non-tech) in June for 38k...was able to find exact color combo i wanted (white & parchment) through a thread by fellow member "2007rl" I am in process of attempting to add a low cost OEM navagation system. There is nothing about the tech package that I would care to pay any money for except the navagation.

 

I'd get the 07 now, why buy an 08 when it's the samething? And why wait another year to buy a leftover 08 when 09 will probably be the same or similar too.

 

I would think you'd get the best deal on a leftover 2007 now--just would wait until the end of the month as it is also end of quarter. 2008 is the same, wouldn't bother unless you can't find a 2007 anyplace.

 

Yep. We're looking for a base 07 and were quoted $38K from 1 dealer and $39K from another. I'm not particular with color, as long as it's not black exterior. Looks great when clean but a real PITB to keep clean...

 

Agreed. However, I also have some other household projects that need attention that are a money hog..

Dang, wish I had an extra $40K burning a hole in my pocket right now..

 

I'd love to jump on it real soon. Thing is there are only 2 base 07's left, out of the 5 dealers I contacted. Might not last till month end.......

 

Definitely consider tech and/or CMBS...the car is incomplete without the bells and whistles! These are not trivial items. There is no way an aftermarket nav system can integrate with the car in the same way as the factory unit. And CMBS has already saved me from near-certain collision on horrid Southern California freeways multiple times. This car is a bargain even "loaded." The base (stripped) model was introduced to try to appeal to some the older folks who owned the previous generation of much-less-capable RL and may be somewhat techno-phobic. I don't consider the base model to be a particularly good value, and it sells the RL's capabilities short.

BTW I got the last of the 2006 CMBS models for dead cost (invoice, minus $4000 incentive, minus holdback) in December 2006. Screamin' deal and unlikely to be repeated. If you can get $3000-3500 under invoice I'd say that is a fair deal for you and the dealer.

 

WHOAH, hold on there a sec. Larrynimmo wasn't talking about some aftermarket NAV. He's talking about the OEM equipment. If you've been following the posts on this board during Aug. you would have read the thread I started about upgrading the car to the NAV simply by installing the DVD unit in the trunk. Its that easy to do - four bolts, and four plugs and you're done. Larry got his NAV unit and Nav DVD for a few hundred bucks. Just wanted to make sure geronimomoe knows what his options are, especially if money is tight. A few hundred sure beats $3,800 in the cost differential between the Base and Tech RL. (the only other items that the Tech has over the Base is real wood trim vs plastic, and swiveling headlights (certainly not worth over 3 grand more). This makes the base RL an outstanding value, IMHO.

 

Believe me, I'd love some bells and whistles. (I'm in the IT line of work so technology toys are, well, toys!) However, I'm pretty sure the wife won't go for it. As mentioned, she's not particularly happy with the ~$40K OTD price already.

Did you get your car before or after Christmas?

 

The tech package is nice, but $3800 for real wood, navi, camera, and active headlights, my wife would say no, it's not worth it. However, if folks can (and do) have the ability to have that, all the power to them to have more toys!

 

$3800 is not that bad if you brake it down. BMW charges $1900 for navi, $800 for the headlights, $700 park distance control (instead of backup cam) so that's $3400 plus the wood. I can't image in the rl w/o navi. But I would rather have an rl w/o navi than no rl at all.

 

That is what everyone says, and then once they have NAVI they wonder what they ever did without it, and that's not even factoring in how well the RL Nav is integrated with the rest of the features (i.e. HFL, NAVTRAFFIC, etc.).

When I bought my '01 TL, by wife teased me about spending the extra $2K for the Nav model, not she won't ever consider another car without it, and she absolutely loves it in the RL.

Back up camera? I wish I had gotten it in my '06. Our Land Cruiser has it, and I find myself missing it in my RL. I'd like to get it installed, but with buying a new house, it'll fall on my list of priorities.

Active headlamps are a "take-it-or-leave-it" feature for me, although the streets here in Michigan don't seem to be as well lit as what I was used to and I do notice the AFS more, but again, I probably wouldn't pay extra for them if given the choice.


Trust me, don't easily dismiss the tech model.

 

GoHawks - How is your passport 9500 hardwired? Did you do it or an installer? I was thinking about doing it but I couldn't think of a place people wouldn't see it when I am parked...

 

Mine is mounted on the lower windshield. Center, just above the center channel. It is visible. I used to have it mounted high, but I moved it because police in Illinois would aim their LIDAR guns at the front license plate. The wire runs along the top of the dash and the windshield and down the leading edge of the driver door to the fusebox. I wrapped the wire around one of the prongs for the accessory fuse.

Clean with no splicing.

Now that I'm in Michigan and they don't require a front plate, I may move it back up again.

 

Hmmm. I'll have to buy the direct connect cord and play with it. I just don't want to leave mine in plain sight.

 

I mounted mine high in the windshield above the tint line. . . .the detector gets great front and back coverage and cannot be seen from the outside

 

Well, looks like I'm going to be waiting for a bit. It appears that the supply of 07's is exhaused in northern NJ.

I'll need to wait till later on in the year or next year for the 08's when there's an incentive..

 

you should look in a multi-state area. I have many times bought vehicles from outside my area. When in 2003 I bought a new TL almost 2 hours away, I got a letter from my local dealer wanting me to take my car to them for service. ..which i did for all my warranty issues that they quickly took care of.

 

For what its worth, there are a few 2007 available in the DC metro area and you have your choice of several dealers within 50 miles of each other. It makes for great competition.

Radley Acura, Falls Church, VA
Karen Radley Acura, Woodbridge, VA
Tischer Acura, Laurel, MD
Rosenthal Acura, Gaithersburg, MD
Criswell Acura, Annapolis, MD
Pohanka Acura, Chantilly, VA

 

I'm just a bit leery of buying a car long distance. It would really tick me off if when all was said and done, I show up, and there is damage to the car or something is wrong, such as wind noise, or a rattle.

At least if it's local, I can decline the car, get another one, without much of an effort.. (Call me lazy!)

 

Well, I took a chance and e-mailed dealers further away. I found a 2007 RL Tech in eastern PA. The dealer wanted $44295 for the RL and wanted to keep the $3500 rebate! I almost fell out of my seat, laughing...

The dealer also said that it included a 7 year/100k mile warranty. Told them I didn't need the warranty... Pretty funny........... So it looks like I'll be looking for a 2008 RL....

 

FWIW I paid $1,000 for a 7yr/100K no deductible warranty. Again, I paid almost $43K over a year and a half ago for what is the equivalent of the tech model today (sans BU camera). THat was before the really great deals came along. You definitely can do better than that.

 

update....I now have NAV in my 07 non-tech....bought a used 05 Nav unit on ebay for 150...didn't work...sent it to Alpine (DVD Maker) had unit repaired for 150...bought DVD v3.56 for 102... plus about 50 freight for all...now I have Nav and am more satisfied with my purchase than ever. From what I understand the only aspects that wont work are acuralink (who cares) and (traffic nav) and I am OK with that especially since I won't renew XM even at 77.

It only took about 10 minutes work to change the Nav unit. The hardest part is to pull the headliner loose in the trunk area to gain access to the mounting bolts.

After I bought my car, I had some second thoughts that maybe I should have gone the extra 4k to buy the tech version as I do like to have factory nav in my vehicle. With where I am now, there is no regret and I am glad I didnt go tech and got what I got. Honestly, I didn't think Nav would be this easy.

On the down side, there are no NAV units to be found anywhere on ebay or junkyards that I can find. I guess there are few RL's that get totalled. If you buy a non-tech, you will have to wait for Nav unit availability to hit the market place

 

Anybody have a lead on a used private party '05 or '06 RL? Let me know.

Bill

 

That is what I paid for a 07 CMBS/PAX

 

Yep. That asking price of that dealer was pretty outrageous. I know that every business wants to make money but come on.....

 

OK. I'm getting that itchy trigger finger.

I'm being quoted $40K even for a base RL and $43 even for a tech. That price includes destination. Only extras are tax, registration, documentation fee, tire tax...

Thoughts on the price????????

 

It may be hard for you to do, but wait if you can...IMHO, by March 15, 2007 I feel they will have at least 3.5K in dealer cash...maybe 4k. While 2009 is not a major remake, its still a major facelift. Acura won't want any of these 2008's getting in the way. At least 1.5 months before the new model comes out, the incentives will be given.

When the 07's came out I heard they gave 4k on the 06's. It was sad to see 06's on the dealer lots when the 08's were arriving. Acura knows it took quite awhile to get rid of the 06's even with the 4k. When the 08's were getting ready to come out, they offered 3.5k and both incentive programs helped to clear the lots of virtually all of the 07's. There can't be many 07's left on the lots by today...if there is no one is talking about them.

If you hold your car for 4 or less years, if you could buy an 09 for near invoice...even with out any dealer cash...it may be a better value. The one year newer valuation will likely reflect as a 4k difference in resale value.

 

Larry,

I'm thinking of holding off too, as hard is it may be.

One question I have is, did Acura stop production of the 2008 RLs, for sure? Is this confirmed?

 

the rumors that I have read on this website suggest that the 09's will be at the dealerships by May 1st. Someone posted a pick of what the rear end might look like. Much more squared off than the rounded edges of our model.

 

Wow, I didn't see the posts about the 09's possibly being on lots by May 1st.... I'll need to look for that post..

I saw what may the be back end of the 09 RL. Looked like a new C class.

 

It is a tough call. Dealers will not be able offer as many color choices or package options as inventory dwindles. It tends to create artifical demand and can raise prices. December's sales of RLs actually spiked, perhaps after announcing the production shut down.

Do some online dealership shopping for inventory. My local dealer has only 5 RLs. All are 08s, 2 are used / demos with mileage. All are Techs and the only color choices are Black, Silver and Grey.

Knowing the production shut down, I doubt dealers will have fire sales. Not until, at least, the MMC 09s hit the lots.

 

So it's confirmed that the RL plant has shutdown production for the 2008 model?

 

I have not read that there is a specific day the plant shuts down.

I did read that December orders for RLs / LEGENDS were cancelled. Orders through November only were to be produced and that the plant would shut down in sometime in January. The specific day may depend on when those orders can be completed.

Only Honda knows what inventory will be shipped to the US as RLs. But since it sold poorly here and LEGENDs are selling better in other markets, one could extrapolate that the last of the cars built may be prioritized for markets where they can sell em.

I think it is somewhat intentional to keep US inventory low for the interim. Until the MMC 09s hit the lots, dealers can sell 08 RLs as a 'tough to find' car. That has potential to squelch the big incentives if there is no inventory glut. That is why many 06 and early 07 buyers got such great deals. Honda reduced production and subsequently the easy deal and model / color picks became less readily available.

 

Right now I'm trying to gauge the inventory in the NJ area. The dealer closest to me has 11 RL's in stock, all techs. I'm e-mailing dealers now. Worst case scenario I go up a couple thousand and try to get the tech.. Don't know how it will go over with the wife...

 

If you have your heart set on a certain color I think you risk being dissappointed if you wait. If you trully don't car and it's true that the 2009 will be coming out in the Spring of 2008 then waiting would make sense- you would save some more money. I don't think you should count on an extra $4K in incentives though.

What part of New Jersey are you in?

I'm very happy with www.BridgewaterAcura.com- I've bought 3 Acuras from them. My good friend lives near one of the sponsors of this website- DCH Montclair Acura which is actually in Verona, NJ. He has been very happy with them over the years.

Feel free to send a private message to me.

 

[QUOTE=TampaRL]December's sales of RLs actually spiked, perhaps after announcing the production shut down.QUOTE]

While sales for the RL were up for December there is no way to know how many were '07s that dealers want to get rid of. Most dealers only want '08 models on the lot once the new year comes around.

 

FWIW: Yesterday (Friday) there were no special offers for the RL on Acura.com - they evaporated after Jan 2.
Today the same offer as last quarter is back: $499/mo for a base.

 

Actually I'm pretty open to color, except for black and probably the desert mist. All other colors I'll take.

I'm curious as to what type of inventory will be available in early March, after this round of incentives are over. I don't expect an extra $4K incentives. I'm curious will there be $4K total in incentives after this round though..

I'm in Northern NJ and have contacted a couple dealers in NJ. I'll keep trying and see what I can get....

Thanks for the offer. I may take you up on the PM....