Picking up new TL tomorrow. Sweet. Is there any advice or feedback on what to expect from the finance department, other than the warranty pitch?

 

Just remember that plenty of the stuff they sell has value. If you don't want it thats fine, just be nice about it. Also remember that by law they have to offer an extended warranty.

 

Every finance department is different. When I bought mine, they didn't try to sell me anything but just gave me info as to what was available. I ended up buying gap insurance anyway because it wasn't included in the lease payment. In any event, just say "no" to their pressure tactics if any.

 

Oh yeah....buy GAP insurance. Only reason not to buy GAP is if you are putting more than $6-7K down.

 

Per my dealer GAP insurance is included with every car financed via Honda.

 

That's cool...But if he is using another finance company he needs to check and make sure its included or get it if its not.

 

oops it found out what it is.

 

It protects you if the car is totaled. Typically when a car is totaled you owe a lot more then it's actually worth, especially in a lease. So Gap insurance covers the "gap" between payoff and bank value.

 

it all depends on your dealer. I had the finance manager from one Acura dealership lie to my face. I had a finance manager from a different dealer be honest and up front. My advice is to know your numbers. Bring a calculator, an HP 12c would be most helpful.

 

US Bank includes GAP insurance with all leases as well - Getting ready to sign on an MDX for the wife

 

A few things.

They will try to sell you a lot more than just a warranty. You probably should decline it all but be advised the pressure will be on.

Here's what happened to me recently at the Honda dealer when it came time to take delivery.

My intention was to finance the car through a credit union. We got all the pre-approvals, knew the rates, etc.

Well, we waited a few months for the car and it finally came in right before we were about to go on vacation. Figured we would pick it up when we got back but they wanted to move it before the end of the month. The credit union said they couldn't process in the paperwork in one day. Dealer gets me credit at a better rate and says it will be all set that night. This wasn't my car but I was advising a friend though the purcahse process.

So we go to sit down and sign the paperwork after getting the full-court press on buying the aftermarket crap.
They offer her three payment options. I'm making up the exact numbers because I don't remember what they were but you'll get the point.

Option 1) $400/mo. includes all the "options" she just said she didn't want.
Option 2) $360/mo. includes some, but not all of the extras she said she didn't want.
Option 3) $330/mo.

She already said she didn't want any of that stuff she checks off option 3 and proceeds along in the process.

But I'm troubled by this because I ran the numbers and came up with a payment like $300/mo. Finally I stop the process and say lets go back to that payment sheet again. Finance manager says everything looks right to him but I'm not convinced. I finally pull out my spreadsheet where it shows $300/mo.
Well after a giant circle jerk for a half an hour it turns out that even "Option 3" had some "extras" baked into the price and that's what drove the payments up by $30/mo. But they weren't gonna tell her. They were hoping she wouldn't question it and they make and extra $30/mo for 60 months or $1800!
I can't remember what was still baked in but it might have been the extended warranty. Up to this point this dealership had been great to deal with but this was very deceptive in my opinion.

So here's my advice to you:
If the dealer is putting together the financing, before you get to actually signing the papers make sure you call ahead and get the final price of the car. Don't let them say they don't know it yet. Then using the web or Excel find out EXACTLY what the monthly payments should be over your loan term. Then if you get there and the payments vary by more than a couple dollars per month, question it! Even "nice" dealerships will try to slip things by you if you're not incredibly well prepared!

 

Thank you all for the advice and input. This is a very helpful forum.