Hawaii: new TL owner, almost a NON-owner though
 

So yes..I finally have my TL!!! Just a plain automatic / non-navi / white. I'm happy with the car, i'm ok with what we paid..well sorta...I just don't want to feel cheated since these will be the same people servicing my car. If they truly are shady, then the car goes back and i'm off to BMW(test drove a 525 just before). I just saw that someone from my Acura dealership is on this board, thought i'd just get his 2 cents along with others.

In California...I was pricing TL's back in March, back when I couldn't find a TL at my local dealership except for the demo which they would not sell. Found 3 dealerships in the bay area that was offering me about 3k under MSRP, no wait). I factored in the higher tax, and having to ship back to Hawaii and decided to wait. Actually I didn't have a choice..read the story at the bottom.

So yesterday I figured if the dealership here in Hawaii wouldnt match the price, i'd just order it from Cali and have it shipped. My salespearson overheard my convo with my mom and just asked me what it would take to buy the car that day. I'm like ok here, I was offered 2200 under MSRP shipped...if you can match that we'll sign now and take the car. He returns telling me that's impossible, because its lower than invoice (I had a lil laugh) and showed me a number of 37K+ as the invoice on my car (oh..it had body moldings and door trim things - which I didn't want, but was already on the car). I was ready to go home and call the other dealers.

Comes back again with numbers something like this:
32650 MSRP
+1000 (added parts)
-2200 (match offer)
+1200 (4% tax in hawaii) -this gets good later!
+1000 (shipping - I didn't understand this...but told them ok, i'd let them make the 1k)
33650 + fees (basically a number that i'd pay if I were to order it)

and asked if they could do that number would I buy it, I thought about the extra 1000 shipping that I didn't have to pay, thought about the hassle of ordering it since I wasn't in CALI at moment, thought about having my car that day...and adjust cost of living in Hawaii....so agreed to the 33K+.

We then added the following packages ( I know we're not suppose to buy this stuff, but all our previous cars have been kept a long time ):

+795 (paint/leather protection, plus wheel locks, trunk tray, and the mud guards)
+200 rust to 7 years
+1700 warranty to 7 years
+300 theft ( I have no clue what this is, something they got my mom to agree to)

36K+tax final total.

so we're about to sign the paper work, and my mom's double checking the numbers because she says its about 1-2k more than she was expecting. We were getting tax'd TWICE. We asked them to explain the 4% up top, with the added 4% at the end. I was pretty upset at this point, because IMO 1) the 1000 shipping I gave in on, 2)we bought a bunch of packages on top of the car. The manager who originally approved the deal went home already (hell, I think it was hour 6 for us at Acura), so some other guy just said they'd take off 600 for the parts they charged me (which I originally never wanted). But I felt they made an attempt to resolve the problem. not to mention after spending so many hours, I didn't think my mom would've wanted to do it again.

So is it just me or do you think this dealership tried to slide an extra 1200 onto our price? I mean it could be a honest mistake or misunderstanding. but well, if you read on..you'd see why I went in there a little biased/negative. pheww..this is so long already..sorry!

My first experience with Pfleuger was years ago while shopping for a Integra GSR. Found the car I wanted, was in the process of working the numbers...and I was basically given the attitude of "hey..we're the only dealership on the island, and if you don't want the car you stop wasting my time." I was kinda miffed by it, but really did want the car...in the end, the manager comes in with attitude says "oh well...I JUST SOLD YOUR car!" After being dealt attitude and BS for like 6 hours...we were like oh well, no car...thx anyways! The same manager had the nerve to call us at 8AM (we're not morning people) and say oh...your car...it's still available. I don't know the details, I was still snoring away..but my mom said she gave him the pleasant F U on the phone! Oh, and the funny thing...the manager yesterday...was our salesperson the first time we went to Acura...mom has a creepy memory

Man, you are soooooo lucky. I can only dream about driving my TL past pineapple plantations and Diamond Head while cruising on the Nimitz Freeway . . . then again, if we're getting hammered on gas prices you guys must be getting crushed.

Just curious - how much does it cost to ship a car to Hawai'i? Is Matson still the only option?

Also, any issues with getting XM service there?

Mahalo !

The 33,650 looks pretty good, only $1000 to ship to Hawaii is a little strange. Might want to look into that, but that might be correct. The

+200 rust to 7 years
+300 theft ( I have no clue what this is, something they got my mom to agree to)
Might want to do a little research on what these things will give you, especially the theft thing???¿¿¿???

$1000 to ship to Hawaii seems to be a good deal; it's almost $600 less than Matson, which currently charges $1598 for shipping from LA. Here's their web page with the info:

https://www.matson.com/matsonsite/autoship_content.html

Someone on the 2G board was thinking about shipping his car to Hawaii and Matson was felt to be the best option.

The $300 "theft" thing is probably Window Etching. Thats all the rave now. :)

If you haven't bought it yet, I'd ask them to tune down the prices of the added parts and remove the rust protection, $300 theft (probably LoJack) and the $795 protection package. They're cash cows and do not do anything for your car (although LoJack _could_ be useful).

The protection package (splash guards, trunk tray, and wheel locks) should cost you no more than $200. The body side moldings and door trim should be no more than $300. They're gouging you on those accessories that you did not want.

Tell them you want the car plain jane (i.e., when they receive their next shipment) with the $2200 knocked off. All those accessories that you DO want can be purchased aftermarket for FAR less. They are more than making up the $2200 they're knocking off by selling you all those "goodies."

sorry for that super long post ( felt like my visit the other day to Acura) ;)

When I shipped my car from Hawaii to Oakland years back..I paid about $800, and was told the price fluctuates based on availability. My dealership in Sacramento (who's sold many cars into Hawaii) told me it would be in the 9-1200 range.

XM service, I was told they are coming down...but not sure when. I'm not sure i'd get it though. I think DVD-A will suffice! :P

Pug...heh, before i'd say i'm not sure..the island can be so confining. But after being in Sacramento for 6-7 years...happy to come back!!!!

Mylriahd...window etching? :P

lore, the protection package...I guess they do some paint sealer and conditioning to the leather also. I figured i'd be paying 500 for it. But I get your point about the cash cows, i'm usually very against those things. Basically the rust protection, the extended warranty..my mom factored in how her Benz (rust) and her Lexus (AC) had problems.

the theft thing, i'm going down to look at the paper work again. My mom said that they told her I knew about it. I was outside inspecting the car when they were telling her about all the charges.

We do already have the car, but Hawaii does have a 3 day rule. Actually I think it's more, but i'm not sure if it applies to cars. That's why I thought i'd ask for everyone's opinion before I make a final assessment.