jms8090

What is the deal with '02's left on dealers lots. I have had my eye on a TLS w/ Nav and have found many remaining on dealers lots. Do they receive an incentive from Acura to move these cars since the new '03's are coming in? The best price I have been quoted is $31,800 for a Silver TLS w/ Nav. That is plus tax etc. I would have to negotiate for a sunroof deflector, trunk tray, wheel locks and mudflaps. Any thoughts?

Laurelcrest

The problem is really that the '03 is indistinguishable from the '02, so it's not like the dealership looks antiquated by keeping those vehicles on the lot. Nonetheless, you should definitely play up the whole bit about the car being a year old- there's even a way to tell how long it's been sitting on the lot, because by looking at the last four digits of the VIN you can tell when it was manufactured.

By the way, the sunroof wheel locks and mudflaps should be a given that they'll be thrown in, unless he gives you a real sweetheart deal, in which case by them from here. Press for service visits though, i.e. rotating tires, changing oil and topping up fluids- its nice to get it done at the dealership (although some on this board will disagree) and they clean your car inside and out.

fshrman

Assume you've researched the car buying web sites. My reaserch led me to conclude that there was no point in buying the left over 02s. According to the majority of the info I found, Honda is not incented to move the cars. It's not like in the past where dealers like Ford would provide incentives to get the old cars out of there. Your ultimate goal is to understand, to the best of your ability, what the dealer paid (including hold back) and negotiate a deal that at least gives him 5%. Most sites I checked indicated that Honda/Accura dealers will never give up their 3% hold back. Check out Fightingchance.com or Edmunds or any of the myriad other sites.

MikesTypeS

Don't buy it.. Chances are that you will have some sort of problem within the first year you drive it. (lots of rattles and of course the tranny problem) There are many other options for your $$$$$. My two cents.

samkws

my friend just got a 02 last week and she got 1500 more discount than i did...i got my car 4 months ago...

a total of 3000 off...

eimeria

As a reference, I bought my 2003 TL-S with Navi three weeks ago for $31800. So, I don't think the price you got is all that great. I started out looking for an 02, but no one had one in my desired color. Someone did offer $31500 for an 02, as long if I would take from their stock. I decided on an 03 in Anthracite and am very happy with the choice.

wakattack

I picked up 2002 TL-S about three weeks ago, got a better deal than I could on a 2003. No navi.

$28,800

is300eater

Have you try dealing with the fleet manager instead of a salesperson? That's what I did... and was able to get it down to $29,500 last May... (TL-S no navi), I felt that was pretty good... I started off going from one dealership to another... each dealership... I delt with the fleet manager... then, I gave up that weekend... I wasn't really in that much of a hurry... Well, they all had my number... and that week... I was getting calls from all the fleet managers.... telling me what they are willing to go down to... I ended up just using the telephone, rather than driving all around. I'd talked to one manager... he'd go down to a certain price... then I'd tell him... "hold on, I call you back..." Then, I'd call another manager at another dealership... and actually told him what the other was willing to go down to... He'd beat it by a hundred or two... then, I'd call a 3rd dealership... and told him about the other two dealerships... he'd go down a little more... basically you get the point... So, finally.... one of them said to me: "...if you come down right now... I"ll do $29,500..." I think he thought I was bluffing... perhaps... he thought I was just some punk a$$ kid that wasn't serious... so I did... I went down there and signed the papers... And yes... it pretty much came with all the little extras... the wheel locks... floor mats... mud flaps etc. and somekind of fish net thing for the trunk... which I've never used...

2002TLSNavi

Argh, I guess I overpaid...

$33k for '02 TLS Navi about 2 months ago. That price includes wheel locks, mud flaps, and rear spoiler.

I guess I got impatient, fell in love with the car, and wanted it NOW :-) Only went to 2 dealers... Went to first one, guy didn't seem to want to move much on price, went to second one, he came down a bit less than the first, so I just bought it... In the end it's only a few bucks a month over a 4 year loan anyway.

Good luck with your shopping jms. Take your time, don't rush. I even settled a bit on color because I wanted it right a way. I had my heart set on ABP, but couldn't find a typeS Navi in that color from any of the local dealers I called.... So I got the silver. I really do like the silver alot, so much easier to keep clean than my last car (dark blue). But once in a while, I do wish I had looked a bit harder to find the blue....

Southbound

I bought a new 02 TLS without navi at the end of February and paid $30,000 even.

I bought through my credit union who uses a broker type service that locates vehicles through fleet sales. So I went to dealer lots to test drive vehicles first, etc. but when it came time to buy, I just called my broker/consultant and two days later he had located the right vehicle without me having to search for the dealer and lot that had my color in stock. I was told by the broker that he couldn't find any dealers willing to sell out 02s at rock bottom prices, because there was NO CHANGE between model years. At that time, he also said that nobody was willing to go below MSRP on an 03. So I went with the 02.

I would think, though, that as time goes on, 02 prices should fall to move them off of the lots. But I wasn't willing to wait and risk the fact that my ABP might not be availble. Then I would have had to pay around $2K more for the 03. The manufacturing cut off date for building 02s was January 2002. They started building 03s in February 2002. You can look at the sticker on the door jam to see when it was built. The last five digits of the VIN numbers for Jan 2002 ran from around 58,xxx to 62,xxx.

Whoever got an 03 knocked down below $2K from MSRP got one hell of a deal! Good Luck! Just remember that they are identical cars, unless you want Anthracite or ONSTAR... And the fishing net... well, that is a HANDY cargo net for groceries, etc. and it comes stock, it's listed on the window sticker from the factory. As for the mudflaps that a lot of dealers like to tack on and make it sound like they've given you a great favor... Read the recent thread with pictures about how they scratch the paint on the fender. I'm glad that mine came without them. The wheel locks... big deal... they're $39.95 dealer cost. That shouldn't make or break any $30K+ deal...

smoothnyc

$ 31,800 i would say that is a bad price sine im paying $31,200 plus tax for my '03 TL-s w/navi and onstar... i think u should get the 03 instead of 02 .. u lose a year behind getting the 02... only if the 02 gonna cost u round 29,000 with navi and s should u get it

the_hunter

I picked up an '02 TL S in early March. The '03s were already sitting on the lot. The dealer knows he has to give deals on the '02s, otherwise, everyone would just buy the '03s and the '02s would still sit.

Besides, my car was built three months earlier (check the drivers door frame). It is not like the '03s were built much later if they are already on the lot.

I paid $29,850 (includes mud flaps, wheel locks, trunk tray & all weather floor mats).

If you're in Chicago, go to Woodfield Acura and ask for Bruce.

Tell him Brent sent you.

www.mullerswoodfieldacura.com

P.S. Edmunds shows the price you should pay to be $30,050 (w/o the extras).