Salesman told me today that he could likely find me any 2004 color combo I wanted. He said that all his new arrivals through October would be 2004's. Is this possible, at least about the 2004s still arriving, even if my chosen combo is not available?

Thanks,

John

 

Let me guess, did you hear this from the dealership on Cobb Pkwy? I was in there over the weekend and was told the same thing. I find it hard to believe that they are still getting '04 in, with the '05 coming out in a month.

 

The dealer I just spoke with told me that the first 05's would be in around the last week of September (or so).

--Mark

 

I ordered a TL out of Portland, OR on Sept 4, and it is supposed to be manufactured during this week and delivered to me about the end of Sept. It is reputed to be an 04 model. We shall see.
Bill

 

All I would say is be careful. Admittedly, the TL is my first Acura, but my last Honda purchase was made around this time of year. I figured that buying the year-old model would save me money, but the actual difference was only around $500. I almost made a big mistake as a result. Just make sure you get all the facts.

 

I have seen Bay Area (CA) dealers whose supply chain reports show 2004 models being produced all the way to the end of October (Oct 20 - Oct 29 was the range). Given that the manufacturing line is very unlikely to be producing 2004 and 2005 models side-by-side, that would mean the earliest 2005 models would be produced, say November 1 or so, making them available mid-November at the earliest. Not sure where this info saying 2005s are coming out this month or early October comes from. That would also make the statement in the original post true - you should be able to find just about any color combo in remaining 2004 inventory or cars pending production/delivery.

 

Bingo! Yeah, took a test drive today and sort of decided, me like, gimmee right then and there. Once I sell my current car, of course. I wonder if perhaps high volume dealers get this.

I'm a bit concerned about the recurrent vibration issue I've been reading about and the fact that the issue is (allegedly) fixed in the 2005 TL but no fix will be provided for 2004 TLs. This is scary as SAAB has always taken care of issues with my current car.

 

Nairbdab...Thanks for the warning. But I did get $1200 off of the MSRP which was as good as anyone was offering. What strikes me as strange is that Seattle dealers are advertizing that 05s are in stock and for sale, and my 04 hasn't been delivered yet. I'm beginning to think that dealers and salespersons are less informed than we are, or they are engaged in obfuscation. (Heresy??)

 

It's a better chance that they don't want you know enough information. Dealers play the stupid game as far as they can take it. When they know you are educated, they change their tune.

Either way...find out the difference in the prices. From the views I've seen on the board, there isn't that much of a difference between the 04 and the 05. But, you should always go for the later model from a resale perspective, if the price is right.

 

Since there are hardly any changes in the 05TL, I would think the driveline vibration problem would have been fixed somewhere during the production run of the 04TL, and continued on into the production of the 05TL. If it has indeed been fixed. They would not have waited to begin production of the 05TL if they had a fix for this sooner.

If you are planning on keeping your TL for a long time, then take the savings on the 04 now, but if you plan to trade in 3-4 years, you will take a big hit on trade in value of an 04 compared to an 05.
But then, who knows how much of a price increase there will be on the 05?

 

If you can't get $2500 or more off msrp wait a couple weeks and go visit the dealer on the last day or two of the month. You will be suprised at what you can ask for as many are short of the monthly volume goals/kickbacks/rebates that Honda awards. I paid $35k out the door for my navi 6 spd NBP which included taxes and license and wheels locks on the last day of August.....and they even had to drive 100 miles to go pick it up for me.

 

Very true, but he will be at risk of losing his color wishes. Sometimes you gotta go for what you want.

 

My timing will partially be dictated by what happens with the car I'm selling. It's a SAAB so the only way to not get screwed on resale is to sell it myself and that could go quickly (it's a rare, black on black Viggen still under warranty) or could take months. If I get close to passing the 50K warranty mark I may just take the hit but we'll see - I think I can come out ahead selling it. Even if I sell it mid-month I won't mind renting an econo-box for a couple of weeks while I work the dealers. That will cost $300-$400 where in the long run I could be saving 3-4 times that much by getting the right deal.