177ichael

Hello Everyone, I'm new to posting to this board but have been a pretty frequent visitor lately. I thought I'd share my recent purchasing experience at a NorCal dealership.

I went into the dealership looking to purchase a 2007 TL Type-S in Alabaster Silver with Ebony/Silver interior. The sales guy takes me around the lot and says that he does not have that color combo and they are hard to come by at this time. I say fine and ask if he can get one over there. He says lets sit down talk numbers and when finalized he should be able to locate one. Great, I sit down and after going back and forth for hours between the finance guy, sales guy, and ultimately the GM, we come to a price of $700 over invoice. At that point, I proceed into the office for the financing and low and behold the sales contract is presented to me. I look over the contract and realize that the sales price is $10k over what was specified to me.. Typo? Maybe. Nonetheless, the sales manager that was treating me like crap earlier gets called into the office and says OH sorry this was for another MDX deal... Fine, another contract is printed up and AGAIN the price is about $500 above what was specified on the floor. So the sales manager gets called back into the office and we go back and forth again on what was verbalized on the floor and he says fine, I'm done then. So I say FINE, I'm outta here and I guess you're not going to make a sale. As I'm leaving, the "nice guy" sales associate conveniently intercepts me and says sit down lets talk about it. I'm talking again and at that time the GM comes out and says what can I do for you? We settle again on $700 over invoice and the deal is signed. I'm informed that the car will be delivered from another local dealership in a couple hours. I come back a couple hours later to pick up the car and check it out. First thing I notice is that there are scratches and scuffs all over the plastic and moulding pieces. I also notice the center console leather has a rip in it!! I then turn the key and notice this car has close to 400 miles on it already... So they ultimately try to get me back into one of their cars on the lot and at that point I'm exhausted and don't feel like dealing with this dealership any longer. I cancel contract and here I am left looking once again.

My question to all of you, what were your buying experiences like and do any of you know of a good dealership in the Northern California Bay Area?

Thanks!

Michael

subinf

Which dealer did you go to?

177ichael

Acura of Pleasanton

subinf

I bought my Acura at Marin Acura and it was a pretty good experience. The first sales guy I spoke with didn't really know what he was doing so they gave me someone with a little more experience and everything worked out great. My only complaint was that the car took about an hour longer to get ready than I had hoped.

My mom also bought her old TL from them and if I were to get another Acura I'd likely go back.

177ichael

Marin is actually quite a drive from where I am in the East Bay area.

I'm curious if anyone has had any experience with Concord, Oakland, or possibly Burlingame?

I appreciate the responses.

Michael

Hapa DC5

Autowest Acura of Stevens Creek is where I got my TL. David Nguyen was my salesman really great guy to work with. They gave me a good price on my trade and I went to dinner while they drew up the paperwork and prepped the car. Came back and hour and a half later, signed the papers and left.

I purchased my RSX-S from Acura of Pleasanton and it was quick and painless. I dealt with the internet sales manager David Treadway, who is no longer at that dealership unfortunately. I think the whole process took an hour. We signed the papers and took off.

I'm sorry to hear you have had a terrible buying experience. Try Stevens Creek.

LuvMyTSX

Sorry about your bad experience. Looks like you're not the only one unhappy with that particular dealership. Good luck at a different one.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36965

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

sorry to hear about that dude! good job on inspecting the car before taking delivery

MR1

Use the internet sales dept. and shop from home. I think there are 6-8 dealers within 1.5 hours of you. Good luck and keep us posted.

Also, find some good financing in advance but don't tell dealer until doing paperwork. Many purchase tips are available on this site.

triton3k

That really sucks big time.
Dealers always trying to get one over on you.
Those bastards.

plaxcaart

I bought an 07 TL with navigation last week and had a great experience at Hopkins Acura of Redwood City. Michael Andrews negotiated with me via email and stood up to his price with no silliness or games. Color, condition, delivery date were all exactly as promised. I am very pleased with the car-silver/taupe interior-and the whole sales experience. You should know when things go right. Good luck.

Indy Paul

I had a good experience as well, considering my wife didn't even want to go to the dealership, and neither of us expected to buy that day. We ending up test driving a demonstrator the Finance Manager was driving. It had 4200 miles on it. We worked a deal for $200 over invoice and $500 over the pay-off of our leased Camry. Then my wife baulked and said she wasn't comfortable with the deal because of the miles on the demonstrator, and we had never paid more than invoice for a car with that many miles onit. The Sales Manager asked what would it take to sell us a car that day (it was the last day of the month). She said sell her a new one for that same deal, tint the windows, and she'd take it. They baulked at first, but I told them that at that point, it was not about profits, but about the dealership meeting it's monthly goal! They ultimately agreed and we drove home in an identical car with only 71 miles on it! This was at Hubler Acura in Greenwood, IN. We're very happy with our new TL! Doug was out Salesman, and he was awesome!

desper

Acura in Stockton, CA is pretty good...

I didn't my car there but they have done all the service and accessories..

Also, i have been to Elk Grove Acura, and it is very NICE.. MIght want to check it out

desper

jvette

Funny how most of these Acura Dealers work the same way. I am pretty well versed in new and used car purchases and do some wholesale purchases and resale. When my wife decided she wanted the TL I hated the thought of trying to buy from the only Acura dealer in a town of 1.2 million people. The process was just what I thought it was going to be. It took me 4 days to get the price down to my first offer of invoice. It seems the only time they want to deal on a car is the end of the month. I even tried dealers around my city and found many of them had special deals with my local dealer not to sell to anyone from our town. Protecting their turf. Little did the dealer know there was one about an hour and half from here that agreed to sell at invoice. When they found out they showed they weren't very happy with that dealer but still matched their price.

You would think Acura would hold their dealers to a better standard. Many act like low end used car sales lots. What a shame. I would complain to Acura about that dealer just like I did about my local dealer and how hard they make the purchasing process. I'm sure they won't care but you sure will feel better in the end.

ILLustriousUA6

iTrader: (2)

We bought our TL @ Acura of stevens creek for 100-200$ OFF MSRP OTD.. Dec 05', bought a 06TL w/ navi.. Salesman Steven Tom, but he doesn't work there anymore, otherwise I would recommend him... But try your luck with Steven's Creek.

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

It's amazing to me why some people still go that "old school" route. Just shop at home, send out e-mails to all the internet departments, and let them come to you. It's that easy!

pps

I live in pleasanton too.

I used the "new" internet and phone call method. Works like a charm.

Send ou the e-mail to the 15 dealers in the area, with exactly what you want on the car, and they need to come back with their lowest price.

Then when you get a couple of bites, you can play one against the other if you wish.

Then over a fax, have them send you purchase order or rough price sheet, sign it, and fax it back.

I then arranged the time I was going to pick up the car, they had all the paperwork ready (sent me the exact breakdown ahead of time), 15 minutes later I am out the dealership. I'll never go to the dealership again since it is 1 hour away, but they got the sale.

All work for warranty,etc I've had done at Acura Pleasanton, no problems even though I bought the car elsewhere.

subinf

I got a better price at the dealer than I did online.

jazznut

Get quotes from Edmunds online and be specific with what you want i.e. exterior/interior color. I went this route and got a great price. If you can wait, buy around the end of the month since most dealers need to fill their sales target/quotas.

soccer6

If you're willing to drive a bit more, go to Prestige Acura in Santa Rosa. They were real easy to deal with, in person and via email. At the time they didn't have the exact specs of the vehicle that I wanted, but they said that they could get it within a day. Once we settled on a price and cofirmed that the TL was available all was set. I came back the next day, examined the vehicle and the deal was closed. Still go there everytime for servicing on the vehicle, plus that free loaner car helps alot too. They definitly treat you real well there.

Yakuza70

I would suggest you deal directly with the internet managers - that's what I did. Send an email to all the Acura dealerships (except the one you had the bad experience with of course) with the car with options you want and ask for their best deal. Be sure to tell them you've sent the same email to all the dealerships in the Bay Area. Have them compete with each other. You don't have to deal with all the salesman, managers, and other people.

By the way, I bought my '05 TL 6MT from Los Gatos Acura and was very pleased with the service and professionalism.

yohan81718

yea.. i bought my 06 TL at acura of pleasanton and would never go back for another acura car purchase

mrproul

i get all my work done a acura of concord. never bought a car from there but they know what they are doing. check them out

92NSX

Not true on my end. I emailed dealers within 350 mile radius and told them what I had, wanted, and was willing to pay. Not a single reply.
I'm buying from one of two local dealers and feel like I'm being treated better than then average consumer.

special-ed

the owner's son (hopkin's acura) is a friend of mine. Their dad runs the show, 1 son manages in fairfield (where I got my car) and the youngest son is at one of their honda dealerships. Buyer's who are 100% sure they are buying, pm me and I'll see what I can line up.

If you're just price shopping and aren't serious about purchasing, don't waste my time as I don't want to waste his.

jaeva

That's really surprising to me. Where do you live - maybe dealers aren't as competative there (compared to SoCal)? I got prices on my last two cars by contacting dealers through Edmunds.com (might be better than emailing them directly). Every dealer responded, and when I was pricing my TL, only one balked at giving me a quote over email (that one, however, said they would match any offer I got). Even if you don't end up buying from one of the dealers that emailed you, it gives you a great bit of information for a negotiation.

One suggestion: don't tell them up front what you're willing to pay. Let them make the first offer, maybe play them off against each other, and then make them a counteroffer.

92NSX

FL.
I feel like I being treat very fairly on my potential purchase.

DavidH1

I had a very pleasant experience at Niello Acura (Sacramento) and their Internet sales department. Got my '07 TL-S AT Navi at $4k off list (around $34k) and didn't feel super-pressured even when I walked away to think about it.

Snakehead

I bought my AM 06 TL w/ navi at Acura of Concord and had a decent experience. I knew exactly the price I wanted to pay and after 3 hours of having the sales rep. (Harold) go back and forth to the Sales Mgr. then finally us about to walk out, got it at the price I was willing to pay! I feel it's just a game of numbers and we could have easily walked if we didn't like the deal. Also, a week after the purchase, I noticed a few items missing (trunk stuff and a manual) but they readily fixed that w/o grumbling.

I've also purchased an Integra and recently a used honda CR-V from Oakland Acura and had a very good experience with our sales person there (Andre). Oakland didn't have the TL I wanted at the time and Concord fortunately had a pretty large tl selection.

I've always used Oakland's service dept. since i've been going there for a long time (late 80's) and have been impressed w/o any issues.

subinf

I liked Niello. Unfortunately at the time I was shopping around for a TL the MT's were so scarce, they couldn't even keep one on the lot for a day so a deal was not to be found with them. Salesmen were great to deal with though, nothing but good things to say about them.

As for Niello's service department, I have an easier time talking with my neighbors 3 year old. I honestly don't know how anything gets done with them. Truly amazing people return there for service.

AlexH

Go to Acura of Riverside and you will save a lot more than what you were offered. Ask for Bobb and tell him Alex, the one who made him drive to Escondido twice for a dealer trade.

DavidH1

What alternatives have you found in the Sacramento area? I'm in Folsom so neither Niello nor Elk Grove are super handy. I had good luck with Niello's BMW service but haven't had the opportunity to use their Acura folks yet.

subinf

I didn't have an opportunity to look at any other Acura dealers in the Sacramento area when I was living there. I just drove back to Marin Acura every time I needed warranty work done. My parents live in Marin so I was still close enough to a dealer to not worry about leaving my car there without transportation.

I did look at the Acura dealer located on South 99 on Florin Road (I think, its been about 3 years) and they seemed nice enough. Unfortunately I didn't deal with the service department. Thats probably a bit out of your way as well though.

177ichael

Thanks for all the replies. Great information here. I'm actually in the process of solidifying a deal right now via internet managers. Funny how you can walk into a dealer with the exact same pricing information right in front of you and because you walked in, you are treated with a different sales tactic. Sheesh, times have changed a lot since I last purchased a new car 7 years ago...

Texas

Good luck and here is a tip... do not sign anything tell you have seen the car and have driven the car...the same model car will drive different from car to car..
(anybody not in sales will tell you that if honest)....by the way that is a nice color combo in the S...lets us know how you like it....

P.S. Recently, a friend priced a "new" car with several dealers over the phone, decided on one and told them to make ready and he would come drive and buy if ok...he got to the dealer and the "new" car had 5000 miles on it...!! He did not buy....

SweetJazz

Funny, my wife works at all four Hopkins stores. We live in the Fairfield area. Scott got you the deal on yours?

jaeva

A lot of the difference comes in how the salesmen are paid. The sales people you meet when you walk in are paid a commission based on how much they sell the car for (well, to be precise, how much profit they make - whether it is on the sale price, the trade in, the financing, etc.). They are incentivised to get as much money out of you as possible. The internet sales people are usually paid an hourly wage, so they don't care how much the car is sold for - if anything, they have a bonus for how many cars they sell, so they have an incentive to sell them for as cheaply as they are allowed so that they can maximize the sales volume. Car dealers are willing to move a lot of metal this way, as the higher volume results in better deals for the dealer (higher holdbacks, etc.) from the manufacturer.

sol-tsx

I second the recommendation for Hopkins Acura in Redwood City. Both Michael Andrews and Arelene Kennedy there are very good. Nice, long test drive, no pressure, no BS.