OK People,

I just got the call today from the credit union and I AM PREAPPROVED 6.5%, up to 72 mo. 100% financing Now for the hard part; The Price.

I know, I know, we have all seen the threads about the prices and how to get it. Well, its time for an update. I'm in the Bay Area and want to know what the going deal is on a TL-S in the Bay Area, Sacramento, Modesto, etc. If you're from other parts of the country, give your input too, I'll factor it in. I also want to know if Mike Harvey Acura is still the good deal someone else posted about.


Before I found this site, I was seriously intimidated by the luxury auto dealers (MSRP or GET OUT OF HERE LITTLE BOY!!). Thanks for helping me see that they're begging for business just like non-luxury dealers.

 

Congratulations, you will soon be driving your new car. What I would do is decide on the price you want to pay, fax an offer to the dealers in your area, tell them in your fax you will not require financing, and sit back and wait for the acceptances to roll in. You could have this done in 48 hours, easy. Good luck.

 

Similarly to the fax method mentioned above, you can also use email messages. http://www.acura.com has a listing of email addresses for most of the dealerships. This is what I recently did, and within 2 days I had received a great offer on exactly the car I wanted. Make sure and note in the fax/email that you are a serious buyer looking to purchase immediately. Good luck!

 

I would recommend the internet.

liquidprice.com
cars.com
autobytel.com
dealernet.com
capoint.com
edmunds.com

plenty more...

That is how I bought my car.

After all the dealers have contact you, take the lowest price and send it to the rest of them and ask them to beat the price. If they won't, then cross them off of your list and take the lowest price and go again. This way, you will have the lowest price before you even walk into the dealer. Good luck and congrats!

 

E-mail or fax all the dealers within a couple of hundred miles. If you do not like negotiaiting, this is a great way to get the dealers to bid for your biz. Some will counter offer. However, they know that they all have the same letter in front of them, no doubt one will bite on your deal.

Here is an example letter that worked for me:

Dear New Car Sales Manager,

I want to buy an Emerald Green 2002 TL type S (non-Nav), that is new and not a demo. I will pay $29,500 (which includes freight and handling charges.) I am willing to take delivery as soon as humanly possible. I intend to be driving my new Acura tonight.

The first dealer who meets my price and faxes back a signed offer with a VIN on it gets an immediate return fax with my credit card details indicating a $1,000 deposit to hold the car. Please also let me know when I can take delivery.

Sincerely,



Your Name
Your Address

Fax number: xxx-xxx-xxxx
Voice: xxx-xxx-xxxx

 

Fax blast with a letter addressed to the Sales Manager works the best.

Email often doesn't work as well - this is why:

Most "Internet Managers" in dealerships are simply new sales people who do nothing more than print your email and show it to the Sales Manager.

As a training exercise, most Sales Managers will have the new salesperson call you and try and get you into the showroom so they can try their special magic on you, and most Sales Managers are older guys who refuse to do business via email or the Internet.

On the other hand, most fax machines are found in the Sales or Finance Manager's offices, and odds are good they will be the first people to see your letter coming off the fax machine and that they will call you back directly.


Also, forget most Internet based buying services, the deals are long gone since all of them are under pressure to make profits. Your best tactic is to figure out the dealer cost, invoice price, and to start your offer at 3-4% over dealer invoice. ALWAYS work from your offer up, not the dealer's offer DOWN. And NEVER mention leasing or financing until the price of the car is set in writing.

 

Liquid Price is one of the many internet companies that ran out of money and closed shop. When it was still alive, i gave it a shot, but did not get any bargains out of it.

Faxing dealership sales or fleet managers still remains your best option.

 

Regarding the Internet Sales Manager position, I have to agree with Xorg. One of my friends graduated from college and interviewed for a position at a car dealership for "Internet Sales Manager." The title sounded good, so he figured that the pay, etc. would be commensurate and he liked cars, so he thought it would be a good first job out of college. Turns out he was basically a customer rep/salesperson. All they really wanted was someone to answer e-mails and hand off sales leads to the more senior sales staff or to the manager. The job itself didn't pay very well, either.

I read in other posts that there was some deals that Mike Harvey Acura was offering good deals on TL-S, and I read other posts that didn't really speak too highly of the service that customers received. Here at work, I came across a courthouse news report that said Mike Harvey Acura was being sued for allegedly selling a car to a customer that was already returned with defects and then passing the car off as a new, undriven car to the new customer. While I realize that it's just what happened to one customer, I'm sure everyone already goes to great lengths to make sure they know what they are buying. I've also bad things and good things about other bay area dealers, but the Mike Harvey civil action was the first time I'd actually seen an Acura dealership involved in a civil suit, but that's not to say it hasn't happened before.

 

Do a fax attack first. Then use email for subsequent communications. Don't bother using the phone. Good luck.

 

Thanks people. Please keep the comments coming, especially if you have some specific amounts above invoice I should not go above.

 

It's more of how much you can afford and how much you want to pay. Different areas will have different pricing so you can't go by the invoice + X amount. Anything less than your projected price is like icing on the cake.

 

I went into my dealer with a price I wanted to pay OUT THE DOOR. Gave them that figure and said match it or I'm gone... of course I was being greedy, so I had to come up $500 on the price, but at 3% over invoice, can I really complain?? Set a price, and if they don't meet it... walk out. If they really think you're serious... they'll keep you in the dealership.....

 

The only thing to be very very careful of is not to tip your hand and mention financing, leasing, or an outright purhcase before having the "out the door" price in hand in writing.

If you do, that "out the door" price may mean next to nothing and you still may be ripped off by hidden fees and charges you may not have been aware of, which can easily be hidden in the lease or finance terms.

One dealer tried this trick on me and it would have taken $1,300 out of my pocket needlessly over the term of the lease if I didn't catch it!

Doesn't do you any good if you get the car for 3% over invoice when the dealer hides a $2,000 profit in the lease by jacking up your lease payments using various tricks :-)

Always have the mentality that you have cash in your pocket to buy the car up until you have the price set in stone and in writing with all fees, charges, taxes, etc exactly detailed.

If the dealer asks, just say you're not sure how you plan to pay, you'll figure that out later once you have the price and fees set in stone.

 

I have heard of people getting good results through priceline.com.

 

Hi all:

I have been lurking in these boards for a while. Just want to thank you guys for the great information you guys provided. I used priceline.com and was able to get a 02 TL-S w/o nav (night hawk black) for 29k+tax/reg. Priceline found me a deal within 2 hours of my web submitted request, and the car is available to be picked up the next day. However, I had to fly from SJC to ONT to pick up my car from a dealership in Temecula, because the bayarea dealers are just too stuck up to give me the price I wanted....

Thanks once again!
Qwerty314159265

 

Congratulations on your new car and the great price you got...did you stop by any of the wineries in Temecula to celebrate?

 

I got mine (WDP/Non-Navi) from Lasher in Sacramento, on June 20. My price was 30,200, via Stoneage.com/Autobytel.com. It was on the lot, with 33 miles prior to my test drive, and included wheel locks, mud flaps and trunk tray. I would think that in the SF Bay Area out to the Sacramento area you should be able to beat my deal, especially now, and especially if you are willing to accept what some dealer has in stock.