uva_rob

Hello everyone,

I'm looking at a new base I4 TSX and ran a truecar.com quote so I'd have a starting point with some more local dealers (no truecar dealers around Raleigh, NC).

Pohanka quoted $27,190, not including taxes/tags/processing/freight fees. I've e-mailed them back asking for an out the door price.

In all honesty, this number was a bit lower than I was expecting. I've done some lurking on this board and have seen that several posters have done business with Pohanka, so I was curious if this is, in fact, too good to be true. I know truecar.com is supposed to be no haggle, etc, but have read that some dealers have been known to tack on random fees and give you a really hard time if you try to get them taken off. I'm more than willing to drive a couple hundred miles to save good money, but want to make sure that I don't waste my time.

I appreciate any feedback and hopefully I'll be a new TSX owner in a few days!

ceb

Phanka is an oddball dealership. They advertise themselves as the largest Acura dealership in the world and their service bays are open every day, but their inventory is so-so.

Their managers are morons but their internet guy (Omar) is a good guy and won't screw with you too badly. They are out to make sales numbers to keep the money flowing from Acura.

PM me if you want more info.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

i've bought both of my Acura's from them. no hassle, no games, very straight forward. fairly painless purchasing process.

they are the largest Acura dealership by SALES volume not inventory volume. and yes the service dept has ridiculous hours 6am to midnight M-F. and 7am -7pm on weekends.

Pohanka is a high volume dealer, and they will give you a pretty decent deal if it means pushing another unit off the lot. i purchased my TL from them in 05 and got a great deal (last day of the month and last day of the 2nd qtr, in the 11th hour-didn't leave to 11:45pm with keys in hand).

the sales dept is hit and miss with who you deal with (from a personality stand point), but in the end it's all a matter of what kind of deal you get from them.

my MDX purchase was equally painless.

they certainly won't jerk you around like another VA dealer in the area. overall, would i recommend them...sure. they've always treated really well (sales and service). BTW which sales guy are you dealing with?? PM me with his name if you dont' wanna post publicly. godo luck!

uva_rob

A guy named Moses responded to my truecar quote request, so he's the only person I've talked to (e-mailed, at least). I live a few hours away, so ideally I'll buy down here, but from research on this board and elsewhere, it seems like they're willing to give reasonable deals as long as it moves a car off the lot, as you suggested!

ceb

I see no reason why your local dealship can't come close to Pohanka pricing. There isn't anything magical about TrueCar/USAA/COSTCO or any other pricing.

uva_rob

I understand...I just figured the truecar number was a better place to start than the "fill out an internet quote request" method. I've got a decent starting point, so it'll be time to move forward shortly.

spdandpwr

damn, I wish I negotiated my car a bit more...everyone's gotten some good prices, etc. But I'm happy with what I pay so whatevs.

ceb

Of course. That makes lots of sense, but a dealership is foolish to let a sale go because they don't make their "usual" profit.

I would suspect that the Richmond marketing cost is lower than in the DC area so the Richmond dealer should be paying slightly less that Pohanka - but they don't have the volume and aren't getting the kickbacks from Acura either.

The local dealer might not be able to match the Pohanka price exactly but they should come close.

Funny thing - I dealt with several dealers - none of which came close to Pohanka. I went to one last weekend that had the color I wanted (Pohanka didn't and wouldn't trade with another dealer) but they weren't close on the price of my trade. I was upfront with them and said "here are the numbers, match them and you have the sale" but they said they couldn't. The day after I picked up the new car they emailed me wanting to know if I wanted to accept their offer. I declined and told them that I just bought a car. They then said that they could match the Pohanka price on their car and my trade. A day late...

ceb

Not to worry. Prices are regional and have come down a bit since Acura sales have been in the toilet, but have had more of a chance to enjoy your car.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

OP-play hard to get...the price will/might come down a little more. i'm not sure how eager you are to buy, patience is a virtue. it took the internet sales guy about 3 months to finally sell me my TL in 05. no pressure, he just inquired, wondered why i hadn't accepted or engaged in negoitations. i just said i'm waiting for the right time to buy and woul dbe in touch. by the end of the third month, he emailed me again. told me he found the car i wanted and it had arrived that day (monday). he already had it reserved for me as soon as we started talking numbers a little more. once he came back with a number i liked i told him i would come in (last day of the month, qtr and hour). it was the only time i could come in. they gave me a great deal and essentially my salesman ate the commission for a much larger bonus (i think he had sold almost 30 cars for the month). another unit off the lot.

i know the sales guy i worked with to get my MDX...he's actually driven the car to deliver the car to the customer OUT OF STATE! now that's service.

spyked

Dang! I was taken for a ride! I paid $28.5K plus tag transfer fee and tax at the end of July 2011 for my 2011 base, CBP/Parchment. I'd much prefer $27k! Oh well, live and learn. Also live in Northern VA but didn't use Pohanka for a couple of important reasons/personal preferences.

mihink

You did fine on the price. Remember the OP is stating the price was $27,100 + destination + TTL.

The destination (delivery) charge is $885 I believe...so the price is $28K now.
That's a shady dealer tactic to quote a price without including the delivery charge which is non-negotiable by the way.

I went to Pohanka last week to compare a TL and TSX. The salesman was OK..but the sales manager was real pushy: BUY TODAY OR ELSE! They were 'running out' of cars..when there was easily 75+ TSX/TL on the lot.

Now..the salesman calls me EVERY DAY and leaves messages to get me back in there.

When it's time to buy..I will be using the internet exclusively to make a deal. Don't want to deal with sitting in the dealership fighting over fees/surcharges/warranty/paint protection/etc.

/rant

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

the internet sales guys are a lot easier to deal with. the lot sales guys...are like vultures. just tell the sales guy that you'll call them back when you're ready to buy....that way they leave you alone.

if you want a guy to deal with over at pohanka that won't give you crap...lmk, i can give you his name (he's one of the internet sales guys), and one of their better salesman.

aznwarrior03

I've had a pretty good experience buying two cars from them. When I got my TSX, I was doing a lot of research on which car to get. They had a nice promo for the 2010 TSX Tech for $29,000 OTD. At that same time, they had a used TL-S that I was really interested in but unfortunately right when I got to the dealership, it got sold. Anyways, going back home bummed out, I researched the TSX a bit more and realized that it would have been more practical and IMHO the best option for me.

I went back and had asked them about this promo and they said it was for a specific car they had in stock, PWP and tan interior. I didn't like it since I already had a white car before. They were willing to offer me the promo on the car I have now and couldn't be any happier!

It's a hit or miss though at any dealership. I've gotten two cars from them and have had good luck with them.

wvtriple

Looking at my lease agreement these are my numbers;
This is for a 2010 base I-4.
MSRP 30,170
Sale price 26,436
down payment 2360.40
monthly 234.21 @ 36 months

It was funny, I drove my '07 Tacoma double cab 4x4 (which after a few accessories sticker more than this car), anyway after wandering around the lot for a good 25 minutes not one sales person came out to up me. I walked in and asked a mgr for help, and he seemed shocked I hadn't been taken care of. Long story short I used this to my advatage to get the deal you see above. I know for a 2012 base I-4 is 500.00 more, you should still be able to come pretty close.
Good luck with your purchase.

live2hit01

almost the exact same thing happened to me. special promo on a black on black manual 2010 tsx tech, just the one car. 29 out the door. thought that was a pretty good deal so I snagged it. I had mixed feelings about pohanka, but I can't complain about the price.

also, I would def recommend dealing with the internet sales people, I've had good experiences with that. When we bought my wifes car we even started to call around to all the dealerships and had them all trying to beat the other persons price, it was fairly comical and we ended up with a great deal.