optimus prime

Hey people,

Well, like it says above, I just walked out of an Acura dealership tonight. Now I want to know if I did the right thing. They (Los Gatos Acura) would only come down to $32,200 for a White Diamond Pearl TL-S w/Nav. I offered $31,800, which seems to be $500 over what other people in CA have paid.

Now I don't know what to do. The sales lady said that she would discuss it with the New Car Sales Manager tomorrow and would get back to me. Do I fax the dealers in Sacramento and Modesto? Do I e-mail or fax the dealers in Los Angeles? Do I use Priceline.com? Was I being unreasonable?

They keep giving me this crap about "hot car, White is popular, etc.". Am I just going to have to wait until White is on the production line again?

Sorry for ranting, but I just walked out on a car I loved driving but couldn't tip my hand to the dealer.

dougbert

You absolutely did the right thing.

There are more than one dealership. Find another.

I bought mine in March. There weren't supposedly any extras available (they were all spoken for), but I really wanted the car and I was willing to pay the entire sticker (and I did). Amazingly, suddenly the one I liked in the parking lot suddenly became available.

But, it seems to me that out there in California (everything is more expensive and/or rarer here in Denver), there are enough dealers and enough cars that you should be able to hunt down the one you want if you are willing to do a little leg work. AND!, you should be able to get a respectable price on it.

all you really need to do is find another dealer who's willing to make a better deal on a similar car and then take that deal back to the first dealer and they should be willing to match it. If not, keep walking.

Keep plugging away... it'll pay off in the end...

andres

IMO, you did the right thing. I'm sure you'll eventually be able to get the car at your price. $31,200 is about the norm here in socal, at least.

coffeefingers

Dude,

I recently bought a WDP TL-S with parchment interior and NAVI at Hopkins Acura in Redwood City for $32,000 which included mud-guards, trunk tray, and wheel locks.

This is the ONLY color I wanted on this car so I called every dealer within a 30 minute drive of me. Only Hopkins had this car at the time and all the other dealers said it would take at least a month or two before a car in this color would hit their lots again. It seems that WDP is a bit rare in my area. So I bought it from Hopkins, which was a pleasant experience so I'm cool with it.

I originally wanted a non-NAV TL-S and Stevens Creek offered me 30,200. I called the other dealers in my area and nobody could match that price at the time. So you paying in the $32K area might be par for the course.

Dude...mostly everything in the Bay Area costs more. Face it. Just look at housing prices. You can't fairly compare prices with what people in other areas are paying...even in SoCal.

If SoCal has great prices on a TL-S...then maybe it might be worth your time to go down there and pick one up instead of buying one in the Bay Area. For me...the hassle is not worth it to save a couple of hundred bucks.

MBA

You did the right thing!

If everyone did that, prices would come down to Earth.
Dealers are sales skimming. Taking offers above a certain price and letting the others go (walk). Boards like this help defeat that type of sales strategy. They have every right to ask for as much as they can for each car and it's your right to refuse. Those who bow to the pressure or don't mind spending the premium on price, hurt the rest of us out here.

I shopped at 3 local dealerships who refused to budge. I got a hot tip here and drove 80 miles to buy my TL-S with no haggle. I saved 1800 bucks - well worth the drive.

Perserve to get satisfaction...

vandy786

I had to call all dealers within 5 hours to get the deal I got on my WDP Great color though.

nickchop

The dealer searched every other dealer in SE to find one to no avail. I waited 3 weeks until a WDP with Parchment interior and Navi was available off of production. My final purchase price was $31,999. Par for the course in my area.

LarryLynx

I got my WDP/Ebony no Navi in Sacramento for 30,200, two months ago, with mud flaps, wheel locks and tray. From what I can see here, most dealers are discounting the NAVI by about 1,000, so you should be able to get it for under 32,000. Put out feelers on the net and I bet you get calls from the Fairfield/Sac area.

yahtzee

IT'S $400 DOLLARS.....!!! What does that do to your payment? Drop it $4 a month? I paid $32400 for my WDP w/nav and am pleased as punch....That color is very rare. There were two WDP in a ten state area and i am having to wait another week to get mine... I have already waited two weeks so the time is quickly approaching....Not sure what you do, but the effort involved in getting another $400 off the price of the car would not be worth my time......My $.02

nickchop

Whenever it's crunch time with a dealer and we're only a few hundred dollars apart, I beat them to the punch and say, "It's only a few hundred dollars and this dealership makes a lot more money than me, why don't ya'll come down". If you don't say it they will! Also, for people paying cash for the car, it's more personal. It's not $4 a month, it's $400 cash out of my pocket. You have to be what they are, a d_ck, and be persistent.

daverman

I'll gladly take $4 per month from you. Email me and I'll send you my mailing address

$4/mo = $48/yr = one nice dinner at the local Sushi bar.

MikeyB

Hey optimus... try going to ACURA's website... when I wanted a specific color they told me that it was no Problem just trading colors with another dealer....so i took the initiative, went to the website and looked at all the surtrounding dealers to see if they had what I wanted.... found the silver/black int and told my saleswoman... she did the rest...

If i were in your shoes i would talk to the dealer who has that color that you wnat, and tell them the price quote, and ask if they can beat it.... pit the two dealers against each other! and you'll get the lowest price... but remember that service is key, and whoever has the better record/ and is closer may be worth 400 bux..

MikeyB

If it makes you feel any better I paid 33,600

Guest

Hi Optimus,

If you live close to Costa Mesa, try John Huynh, the Fleet Manager of SouthCoast Acura. Decent guy. Should be able to get you a good deal. I just ordered my 2002 TLS ABP from him for $30,000 (NO NAVI).

Tell him Vasant sent you.

Regards,

Vasant.

yahtzee

All I'm saying is that it isnt worth my time and effort to sit and haggle. I know the value of the car and i know what i am willing to pay for it. others may have different views and different price gauges in place..........

my2sense

dang.. socal prices are much better than norcal prices...

rockinTLS

Optimus,

I don't think the price you offered was unreasonable and there is a good possibility you might be able to get it. Try all your other options before accepting it anyway.

I believe I could have saved about $200 to $400 by going to a dealer a couple hours away vs the one 10 minutes from my house. I went with the one I would be seeing all the time.

It's true that any dealer would have to perform warranty work on the car but I felt it was worth the extra cash to buy it there also. It may not be tangible or appropriate but I believe the dealer gives better service if they perceive you as a loyal longtime customer.

However, time, as Daryl points out can be quantified. $400 is a good bit of cash but you need to compare your time spent vs the dollar amount. In my case the other dealer was 2 hours out. Is it worth my time to drive 4 hours rt for $400, not to mention possible repeat trips, etc. For the $1,000 or $1,500 that many are saving elsewhere, sure. Remember, some of us don't have the convenience of 5 dealers in a 30 mile radius.

eztider

>> If you live close to Costa Mesa, try John Huynh, the Fleet Manager of SouthCoast Acura. Decent guy. Should be able to get you a good deal. I just ordered my 2002 TLS ABP from him for $30,000 (NO NAVI).

Tell him Vasant sent you. <<

Hey Vasant, are you flying in from Denver to pick up your car? If so you are the second guy on this board to do that...how is the word getting around in Denver so fast? Are the prices so screwed up out there the dealers are chasing you to LA to get your car? Just wondering.

acropora

Hi Optimus,
So did you talk to Kevin Lam at Sunnyvale Acura, did they not have WDP in stock, because like I said I was able to get black/black for $31000 a few months ago. May be WDP are rare therefore the dealer command a higher price for that color.
-A

imax

They will call back! But,it has always been my personal pleasure to pick up the phone when a dealership that was "going to call me back" finally does and I have bought the car elsewhere.

It just gives you that inner glow, ya know what I mean, right?

wilchan

Hi Optimus,

You may try Mike Harvey Acura at Burlingame. I
got the Silver TLS with Navi from them for $31300
(including dest, wheel locks) + tax/lic..
You may talk to the internet manager Jun.

You may also try Oakland Acura. At one time,
they offer me for $31000, but I already got it from
Mike Harvey.

Good luck,

-- william

optimus prime

Well guys, thanks for all the support. I got my deal and my WDP TL-S w/Nav for the price I WANTED. I went through a broker and he got it for me for $31,750 with mats and wheel locks. IN THE BAY AREA!!!! WooHoo (Think Homer).

I did some calculations if I had gotten it in LA for a few hundred less (GO TO DOWNEY ACURA IF YOU ARE IN LA, See Marlon): $100 one way plane ticket, $100 one way plane ticket for my wife, $50 in food, $50 in gas, $350 in after tax wages for the day of vacation my wife and I would have had to take, and $100 for one night in a hotel (I won't stay at Motel 6). I actually saved money by buying locally.

I PICK IT UP NEXT SATURDAY!!!

I CAN'T WAIT.

Now, about Los Gatos Acura. Oh yes, they called back. Again. And Again. And Again. They STILL wouldn't budge and wanted me to come up to $32,200. I took great pleasure in telling them that I got the car for the price I WANTED and I didn't have to play their game. They claimed they had to talk with the New Car Sales Manager, but he was on vacation. The guy then tried to turn me on to a TL w/Nav that was used with only 400 miles. The lady had back problems and couldn't handle the softer seat. Well guess what, I have a back problem too. Then they told me we were at an impass. Then I told them I bought it already .

Hey imax, I'm glowing, I'm glowing.

rockinTLS

I concur: WooHoo!

kavman

In June, bought a silver TL-S with NAV, wheel locks &mud flaps for $31,200 plus tax&license at Pleasanton Acura. That's just down the street from San Ramon, so you might want to check them out. At first they didn't want to sell it for that price, but they called me back about an hour later and took the deal.

BB16

2 ¢ worth.
Picked up my WDP/Ebony non-Nav for $30,090 from Cerritos Acura. It wasn't on the lot at the time, so they offered me a WDP/Parch with Nav for $1000 more that was on the lot. ($31,090). Almost took it, but with a 5 year old I figured the Parchment would get tracked up real fast.... Did like that Parchment tho.... Did alot of internet shopping before I bought. I'm sure they will come down on price if you stay firm. I haggled 10X more on my trade-in (4Runner) than any other part of the deal. I insisted on more than Kelly on trade-in value, and they balked. I walked, and they called. Stick to your guns unless ya just gotta have that car NOW... Wouldn't blame you at all for that. THIS CAR IS SWEET.....

tgif

Congratulation and welcome optimus.

Indyjenks

LOL...you BET I do!! I did that back in 96 when I bought my Ranger 4x4 off of a lease. Walked out on their "best deal"! Told the wife they would call back within 2 days and meet my price. Well...they called back the NEXT day asking.."..can you go 200$ more?". I told them I had an appointment at a Chevy dealer the next day to look at an S10......sealed the deal.....they met my price right there on the phone!!! LOL It was a blast!

msu79gt82

We too managed a very good deal for our TL-S. However we may not be the best example to cite. When we bought our MDX we told the sales rep we would be back later for a TL-S. Since the MDX was going for MSRP and above we told him we expected better when we did the TL-S. By the way we actually did OK on the MDX (visit our site at www.acuramdx.org).

Here in the Houston area the WDP is a very popular color and ours have to be dealer swapped.

Smelly

Gawd,

Did anybody else pay MSRP like I did? I guess that was back in March...amazing what 5 months will do to prices.

oracion

Hey, but you got to enjoy the car 5 months before most people have one. It's like buying a top-of-the-line computer. Prices for that drops sharply after 6 months or so.

What you paid is history. Enjoy your ride.

optimus prime

kavman,

I talked to Acura of Pleasanton and Acura of Concord since they are so close. After I told them how far they were from the nearest offer during my e-mail campaign (they wanted $200 off MSRP), they told me I should run and take the offer since they didn't want to, and I quote, "cheap sell the car".

I would have given them my business had they even wanted to deal.

optimus prime

Hey everybody,

I've been getting some requests to know what broker I used to get the car. I used Cartelligent. They are based in Sausalito. Basically, for $200, they find the car, prep it after dealer prep, inspect it, do the paperwork, send your loan check to the dealer (if you get your own financing), and everything else you need.

In my opinion, it was worth the $200 due to saving gas costs, fax costs, dealing with the dealership, and the one I hate the most, the finance and insurance guy. Talk to Randy or go to their site.

Later.