Still in the process of looking for a good deal on a TL-S in the Tennessee area, I contacted the Memphis dealer again. I emailed the internet manager and asked her if they were offering any discounts yet. Here is a portion of her reply:

Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming popularity we are seeing in the all-new 2002 TL Type-S, we are not in a position to offer discounts on this terrific automobile. They are selling like hot cakes here in Memphis and we are finding that we can't get enough of them to meet the current demand. We
now have 22 people on a TL waiting list, so you can understand why prices are holding at the MSRP.


Has anyone heard of this in any other part of the country? I know one dealer in Atlanta has about 15 on the lot. So does a dealer in St. Louis. Neither of which is a undriveable distance from Tenn. I wouldn't think there would be that many people on a list for the car, but I may be wrong.

 

...unless the dealer didn't meet "quotes" from previous quarter, year? Also, maybe didn't order ahead of time to get a reasonable supply to them, even if other dealers have "extras"? not sure, sounds weird.

------------------
2000 3.2 TL Laguna Green
29% window tint, Clear bra, no nav
225/50/16 Aqua-Flow GTW's on OEM wheels
http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/lrpba300?...l=fld3&.src=ph

 

There have been very few cars in our market. When I found my car I jumped on it. I have had the car a month and have a 1000 miles..have yet to see another one. My dealership had 4 cars, a silver, white, black and blue. Two weeks ago I went there to pick up my plates and the only one left was the black.

 

I could maybe find you one down here.

If you'd like just email me at

lbrown1114@aol.com

 

Maybe yes, maybe no. Go in and try to make a deal. Phone calls and email sometimes don't cut it with dealers; they like warm bodies. Ya know, money talks and BS walks. I am sure there are several bordering states that will have the car on their lots ready to sell. Here in South Florida at one dealership they had about ten to sell while at another dealership less than 15 miles away they had a dozen to sell so the car is available here. I saw 'em all and I bought one.

Take a two or three day mini-vacation to South Florida and buy one. If you like I can email you the salesman name at Rick Case Acura where I bought mine in Fort Lauderdale. Call him, give him my name as a reference as being someone he recently sold a car to and tell him to make you a deal worth coming down for to buy a car and drive it home. Heck, airfare to Fort Lauderdale can't be more than $100 or so one way; then drive the car home it won't hurt it if you follow the guidelines for break-in; keep it under 140Mph.

------------------
'02 Acura TL-S
Satin Silver/Ebony, w/out NAV

 

Imax.....I like the way you think!! What could be better than coming to Florida with the beaches AND driving home a great car!! It may come to that if I don't have a good deal by the end of this month. I've been running my Grand Cherokee in the local papers and trader magazines hoping to sell it privately. Hopefully that will be soon!

 

I haven't heard about any waiting lists here, but then again, I didn't ask.

I went to both dealers here last weekend, though, and only saw three TL-Ss total - two were demos.

I think imax is right. Go to the dealer with cash/financing in hand, tell 'em you're ready to take delivery today, and see what they say. If they stay at MSRP ... I'd walk.

Lots of folks here have posted great deals they got.

 

In San Antonio, Gunn Acura has always had several on their lot (as many as 21 at one time)!

------------------
Comptech TL (headers, exhaust, air filter, springs, & swaybars)

 

My dealer in the Raleigh, NC area (Cary) had several on the lot this past weekend, both TL-P and TL-S.

I think it depends on the color, too. They tell me the white ones are hard to come by right now. If you would like to call, here is the number for Leith Acura: (800) 868-0082. Talk to Mike Mitchell. Tell him Scott K. sent you.

 

I was in the dealership here in Atlanta getting my oil changed. There must have been at least 25-30 TL-S's on the lot. Was there for about 2 hours last Saturday and didn't see that many people looking. Don't think they are as hot as some dealerships are saying.

 

Believe that..... that dealer here in San Antonio had at least 30 on the lot as well.

 

If you see ANY on the lot (and look in ALL of the lots) there is no waiting list like the one described to you.

 

Dj5....which dealership in Atlanta were you at? I spoke with Micheal (something) at Ed Voyles there and he said they probably had at least 20 TL-S's in stock. Of course, he went on to say how hot they were and how easily they are selling them at full MSRP. He was going to knock $500 off to entice me to drive down from Nashville to buy one. I was like "big deal". If he has 20+ on the lot, somehow I can't believe that they are that hot of an item??? Am I wrong?

 

Guys, the ole "It's a hot car, hard to find, we're out of stock, MSRP or hit the road" the the oldest car dealer line in the book, and WAY too many people fall for it and end up paying WAY too much when a new car hits the market.

Ever notice how as soon as someone gets their over MSRP "find" that suddenly the dealer has five more cars just like it coming off the truck?

When I got my last Jeep, they used the same ole tired b.s. - even showed me a printout of all the Jeep inventories within 100 miles to show me how hard they were to find. Not 30 minutes later, I went to another dealer who had 25+ of them on the lot, when the other dealer's printout showed that this dealer had "none available."

It's b.s., hype, and gouging, pure and simple. ANY honest and reputable dealer can find and get ANY car for you if they do their job and try. Unfortunately, most are simply lazy and push what's on the lot.

Prowlers are supposed to be backed ordered for months, yet my Chrysler dealer has ten of them ready to go at well under MSRP. Go figure.

Bottom line: state your price, make it between 4-6% over invoice (they still cash in on a sizable holdback even at invoice), and stick to your guns. Let them know you're a serious buyer, but not in any hurry, deal with the sales manager if you have to, and 95% of the time you'll get what you want at the price you want to pay.

In any case, this has always worked for me, no matter how "rare, hot, and impossible to find" a car is :-)

 

To Petdoc,

The dealership I was at was Ed Voyles and they did have 20+ on the lot. Every color with and without Nav. You probably talked to
Michael Iscaro the Internet Sales Manager. He is the guy that I purchased my 2000 TL from about a year ago. I would think that you could do better than $500 off MSRP.

 

dj5.....

Yes, that is who I talked with at the dealership. He indicated that they were selling like "hotcakes" at full MSRP at dealers there in Atlanta. My thoughts...wonder why they have 22 on the lot then?? Same story from a dealer in St. Louis.

 

Bingo! :-)

Of course they're selling - they're supposed to sell - that's why the dealer feels so good about them that he has 22 more on the lot which he pays for each month they sit there. But that doesn't mean he has lines of people paying MSRP for them...

If you ever want to stump a dealer, ask him for the names and phone numbers of the past five people he's sold to so you can call and find out what they paid for their cars.

After the howls of laughter die down, tell him you're serious. Then see how quickly he'll drop that "MSRP or nothing" pricing :-)

 

Don't know about Memphis, but here in Cali you can drive one off the lot in 15 minutes or less at $700-1200 over invoice. I paid $31200 for mine - 02 TL Type S w/Navi, Black/ivory



<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">[This message has been edited by csxpert on May 07, 2001 @ ]</font>

 

Xorg......that is hiliarious. I have got to try that sometime with a salesman to have a little fun!

 

Get this...I talk to two different Chicagoland dealers and they are willing to come down between $1,000 - $1,500. I call Pauly Acura and ask for the salesman a friend of mine bought an MDX from. The saleman had a WDP Parchment Navi coming in in the next week or two. Full MSRP and he says he has no plans on deviating from that in the future. He says no name has been assigned to that car. How much you want to bet that it's someone else's car bought at a discount and he's trying to see if he can get MSRP for it instead. I'm sure he'd then tell the person their car has been delayed and bump the person to the next one in line.

What a scam.

 

Thanks to the posters who have helped me understand the deal to expect in the Chicago area. Been reading for the last month and picked up my TLS last weekend. Came from a '98 Infiniti I30t and my reaction is WOW!! IMHO, there is NO comparison.

For Chicago area, forget MSRP. The sad first dealer I went to in the far western suburbs did not seem to want to deal with a buyer on the lot when they know you live close.

Told the dealer where I had done my test drives the fact that a friend recently bought a TLS non-navi for $30K in the north suburbs. On a Friday, gave them first op with cash standing next to the one available car, which was my color. He came back with MSRP so I said thanks and goodbye. Sunday night sent a note to their internet contact saying they had had first shot, the response was disappointing and I would now seek other offers via the web and take the first to offer the number I wanted. Said I was ready between now and July for delivery.

Within 12 hours from Autoweb dealers, I had 2 offers at a price I was ok with... $30.2K with mudguards, trunk tray and wheel locks for NHBP Parchment non-navi. Went with the first to call, 13 mi from home and soon moving to about 1/2 that distance. Both had cars available or would have traded to get what I wanted. (BTW, opening offer was not the final offer.)

Thought some might chuckle at the email reply I got from the initial dealer who lost the sale. Note he's already down $1K from price on the lot. Too bad they didn't start there. (Apologies for posting it whole but never want anyone to suggest I deleted selected parts).

DEALER: "Thanks for the update on your purchase plans, and I sincerely wish you the best of luck. Every once in awhile we work with someone who will use us to do his research/test drive, etc... and go outside our marketing area to purchase due to a lower price. And if indeed you can buy the car for just $30,000, I can't blame you since this is substantially lower than what we want to sell the car for.

I actually doubt that your friend paid only $30k, but if so, perhaps some of the northern dealers are in a weaker position, and need to turn over some excess inventory.

As you saw here, we only have 3-4 Type-Ss in stock, and are having no trouble finding folks who feel 30,710 is a great value for a 260hp sports sedan. Can you blame us if we can sell everything we get close to the MSRP? If someone up north can't sell this car at list price against BMW, Audi, etc.... at substantially higher prices ($40-45k), it's a bit of a shame.

It sounds like you enjoy shopping, and intend to check out several different dealers, so you will likely be able to save a few hundred dollars over what we could offer. It is always disappointing to lose a customer we've worked with, and especially if it means you go outside our marketing area. But occasionally it happens when a weaker dealer has a lot of inventory and only has "price" as a weapon to attract customers.

I don't want to be known as the "cheapest" guy around ******, but do enjoy offering the highest levels of customer satisfaction anyone in the state does. This type of care builds great customer loyalty, and makes the dealership very strong. As a result, we usually have the lowest inventory in the area, and sometimes can't compete with the dealers with typical car sales persons who can only sell by being the "cheapest." It is possible that we have failed to demonstrate and discuss the relationship we offer our clients, and for that I apologize.

One thing is certain, even at "list" price, the TL Type-S is the most car your money can buy, and it will bring you years of reliable enjoyment. You say you haven't even decided if you'll purchase the Acura, and I am wondering what else you would compare it to?

Anyways, good luck, and thanks again for the opportunity we had to work with you."

They called me the day I picked up the car to see if I'd be back. That was a fun conversation!

 

Isn't it amazing what some of these car guys will say. In my search, I have come across at least 3 or 4 that indicated that they did not believe the deals people were posting on here. One internet manager went as far to say that "he was sick of all the fake price posts he keeps hearing about". Guess they are just trying to convince us that the MSRP is the only selling price. Well, I for one believe the prices that people are getting other places, I just haven't been able to find a deal here in Tenn, Ky, Ala, or Ga yet.

 

Questor, who did you end up buying from?

 

McGrath in Countryside (Joliet RD N of I55).
(moving to Ogden in Westmont in July)

 

I sold cars for 9 months and I cannot tell you how often I heard "they didn't really pay that little" or something similar from my sales managers.

It's insulting the intelligence of the customer and I hated it. I quit because of the nature of the business. I wasn't willing to change who I was to be successful. My best month was when I didn't know any better (my first month). After that, I never got close to that success.