nycgay23

No, not really. I haven't started negotiating at all. I know what monthly payment I want to have, and nothing higher, but I need to not negotiate that way. I plan to spend sometime reading up on tips for negotiating this weekend. Thanks for reminding me though, I wouldn't want to make a mistake by starting out the wrong way!

The Dark Knight

iTrader: (1)

u want help negotiating or something?

which dealers are you interested in?

nycgay23

Well...maybe...lol...I'm definitely going to read up on it too, but I guess I need to know which number I should be focusing on. I should start with Invoice and work my way up, right?

Hope it's okay to post this here:

In my mind, I (ideally) want a car payment of no more than $280 for 60 months on for the Tech Package. I know I don't want to present it that way, but that's what I know I want to sign at the end. My trade in (according to a "good" rating on Kelley Blue Book) is worth approx. $10,100 USD for a dealer trade in. Can I expect to get this number? I also have $10,000 cash to put down on the car. I don't know what APR will be offered to me, but my credit is decent, I'd say middle of the road.

They're going to value my car while I'm there. I'll have the quote from Kelley Blue Book with me in case they try and quote anything crazy low. I feel like I should be completely honest about what I have to offer, but I don't want to give them all the cards and let them play a game with them, so to speak.

LOL - I'm obviously confused.

As for dealers, my appt is with Island Acura, and I also am waiting on a quote from Rallye, even though I wasn't thrilled with them on my first test drive, despite their "wonderful" ratings.

davidspalding

Yeah, that's a bad way to shop. Edmunds (I think) and Consumer Reports (for sure) have good articles and guides on how to negotiate price and options and what to look for (hidden fees, surprises) in closing. DEFinitely read up before you sit down to talk price. Also ... a CR new car price report would be a good investment. $12 to save hundred$ ... do the math.

How I figured out my monthly payment, was scoped out various purchase prices, added in the misc. stuff, then figured out payments at the current rate for 36, 48, 60 month loans. Since I wanted to pay < $300 a month (like you), my spreadsheet told me how much down I needed for each loan term to hit that target. (I was not trading in.) If you want, and I still have it, you're welcome to a copy of that Excel sheet to play around with.

I do recall the following golden rule from articles: DO NOT DISCUSS THE TRADE-IN BEFORE SETTING PURCHASE PRICE. IOW, get the purchase price down to a handshake or writing, THEN say, "I'm interested in trading in my car." If not, some dealers (I've read) will seem to give you a great deal on the new car, but then undervalue the trade-in ... and there's their profit. If you follow this golden rule, and they offer you too little for the trade-in, you can always say, "Ok, thanks, I'll sell it privately, but go ahead and buy the car for the price we agreed upon." If you mix the two up, and pull the trade-in, they have the option of changing the purchase price, see? BTW, FYI, you WILL lose money on your old car by trading in -- dealers do not give you a retail price for the car. Again, CR car buying guides ($24 or so for the "kit" which has all you need, incl. new car price reports) spell all this out.

Oh and final Golden, Golden Rule: negotiate price and buy your car in the last 5 days of the month. Period, end quote.

The Dark Knight

iTrader: (1)

nycgay fuck that

rallye gave me the worst quote and they wouldn't budge even when i said other dealers offered me MUCH less

are you willing to go to NJ for your car? my salesman was excellent and i highly recommend him. i got my car for 300 over invoice.

the thing u have to watch out for is, some dealers will fuck you over with your trade-in if they give you a great price on the car. in other words DON'T MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR TRADE-IN / DOWN PAYMENT / ETC until AFTER you settle the price of the tsx.

davidspalding

Sometimes a personal referral can mean a LOT to both the salesman and the dealership (may Colin strike me down if I err). You guys ought to PM, NYCGay you may get very pleasing and fast-tracked deal by being referred by a recent customer. TDK, you could get nice treatment when you go back to the dealership by sending in another sale. Likewise this board, if several members all buy, mentioning "heard about you from [name], [name], and [name] on an Acura enthusiast board and came right in."

But maybe the dealership is already lurking here. Never know....

ANYway, sorry to . Back to the magnet.

The Dark Knight

iTrader: (1)

x2 sorry for the hijack OP

anyway my grill is doing fine after 500 miles, 40city/60hwy

chibianh

almost 4000 miles and it's really not bad at all. But we'll see how it is when winter rolls around and they start laying down the gravel.

09TSX

My ELEMENT is holding up prefectly!! In fact, I have yet to find any rock chip whatsoever on my 09 TSX!! Mind you, I don't do alot of highway driving and if I do, I don't follow cars too close. My TSX is pristine still and got it back in June....So far so good!

CL6

Trade in values for most cars are crap right now. Kelly is not realistic nowadays. If you have a 4 cylinder you'll do better but big sedans, V8s, domestics, trucks, or SUVs... nobody wants 'em.

nycgay23

Thanks for your helps guys, and sorry to have hijacked the thread. I'll definitely keep those things in mind, TDK!

I'll probably PM you some questions at some point!

Back tho the grill, glad to hear your grill is doing fine!

hans007

i can only imagine how much of a rock magnet the 2nd gen TSX grill is.



i have a 1G tsx and just replaced the grill moldings ($180 through delray acura for 2 molding parts) on it because 3 parts were chipped off in huge chunks (apparently once a chip gets there the "chrome" starts flaking off).

it is easily the most cheaply made part of my car, even the bumper paint doesnt flake off like that... must be whatever the chrome "paint" is made of being cheaply put on.

that said the grill chrome parts are much smaller on the gen 1, and on the gen 2 i can only imagine how many rocks itll take...

i drive like 80% freeway in my car, which is just under 3 years old....so we'll see what a 2009 TSX grill looks like in 2012 to see if thats a problem there.

varrius

I have a rock chip in my grill. =( It just indented it and isn't noticeable unless you get up close.

Anything that hits the front end of a car at X speed is going to damage it, though. That's just physics.

Anyway, I have a Carbon Fiber one otw.

ChinoTL

I had a 09 TL AWD and my grill after 2,000 miles had a few rock chips. It is weird because my driving is 90% city. It disappointed me. I'm going to clear bra the TSX.