mn2trance

Greetings folks! I've decided to register after lurking on here for several months now. I was wondering when would be the best time to buy an '05 so that I can get the best deal on it. How much would I be saving if I were to buy an '05 when the '06 comes out? Has anyone done this before or did you just wait until the end of the year to get a really good deal? I'm in the market for a 6MT with no navi. Regarding color combo, I have 2 in mind and can't decide which to get; they would be ABP/Quartz or AM/Ebony.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. BTW, I am in the Atlanta area. If I can get a good deal from another state, I'm all for it, too! Thanks.

TerminaderTL

Get the AM/Ebony.

chill_dog

Both of those are good color combos...very popular. As for when, that's tougher. I'm sure you know all of the standard "truths" - buy at the end of the month, buy at the end of model year, etc. If you have your facts straight, you can get a good deal anytime. If you're set on a specific color combo, the sooner the better. As you near the end of a model year, your selection becomes more limited.

KilroyR1

Now is probably a good time. I just saw a thread where somebody said they got a 6MT w/o Navi for about $5K under MSRP.

Don

mickey3c

wait till summer... when you can still get what you want, but talk about waiting for the 06. Considering the issues with 05s. I would wait and get an 06...

5K under msrp? I seriously doubt that since MTs are popular.

TheTriads

not now! Now is the WORST time idiots! Spring and Summer is a car buying mania. Wait till end of summer beginning of fall or best midFALL.
September!! When 2006 comes out in october

gt1

Probably you can get the lowest price, when the next year model will come out. However, to take this advantae, yuo will have to buy whatever dealer has on his lot, without much choice for color combination. 6MT will also work against your chances.

mn2trance

Yeah, I figured that as much. I guess I can hold out for 4 more months.

Thanks for the input so far everyone.

TerminaderTL

You need to decide which is more important: 1) best price, 2) best color combo. Between now and when the 2006 is released, the price will continuously go down, in general. Also, during that same time period, the choices of cars will decrease as less 2005's are manufactured and dealers get what's left.

If you are willing to take 'whatever is left' so you can get the best price, then wait longer. Just be prepared for disappointment if you have cannot find the color combo you want.

mn2trance

You bring up a very valid point that I didn't even consider. If I were to buy in late August/early September, that would leave me with roughly 3 to 4 more months left in the '05 year to still be able to get the color combo and transmission spec I had requested, correct? Since this is one of the big seller for Acura, I doubt they'll come off that much off of MSRP if I were to buy now.

chill_dog

Depends on the dealer...I got a good deal at the end of May last year on a WDP/Quartz/5AT/Non-navi...$33,400, incl. destination, OEM underbodies, and OEM wing spoiler...even got 2.8% or 2.9% for 5 years.

mn2trance

That's an awesome interest rate! Who did you get your financing through? Most of the online lenders I've seen are offering 5.25% APR for 60 months. It was 4.99% before the interest rate increase 2 weeks ago. Not to mention, that's one hell of a deal you had gotten on your car, too!

chill_dog

Remember, that was a year ago, interest rates were a lot lower then. My credit union quoted me 2.9%. Acura said they'd match it. I told them that wasn't enough for me to use them vs. the credit union, so they beat it with 2.8% if I recall correctly. The loan is actually from Wachovia, but to get that rate I had to get is done through the dealer (the banks give dealers lower rates than they quote you).

For the car, I walked in with a TMV report from Edmunds.com. They then gave me all the extra plastic for cost plus install to get the deal done. They got labor for the service dept. and I got the kits and wing I wanted. Win-win. Oh yeah, the price of the car is $100 or so more in 2005 than in 2004 (price increase for some reason...it was mentioned on the site somewhere a while ago).

sparky57

The answer has to do with the sales process and quotas - end of month, better still - end of quarter, best - end of year when salespeople are hungriest.

I got a great deal in December to help that salesperson get the free trip to Hawaii !

rw

mn2trance

Were you able to get the car with the color combo that you had wanted when you had waited until the end of the year? I've been told that the end of the year is best as well, but TerminaderTL brought up a good point regarding hard to find color combo and transmission with last model year car being produced towards end of year.

chill_dog, that is correct that Acura had increased their pricing from a year ago due to increase in price of steel. This waiting game is killing me. I had wanted this car ever since it had come out last year. However, the wait had helped me avoid some of the problems that I have been reading on here with people who had bought '04s compared to '05s. And the wait has hurt me by having the price and interest rates increased. Not to mention, I had missed out on the opportunity to get the ABP with ebony interior, which was what I had really wanted in the beginning. So many decisions.

sparky57

Actually, they had only one 6 speed NAVI on the lot at the time and fortunately it was in a color I wanted. To tell you the truth, the timing was not based on a grand plan. I had my '99 in for some regular service and that was the first time they had both a TSX and a TL with manuals for test drives. (Acura Carland near Gwinnett Place). I drove them both and after thinking I would prefer the TSX, I ended up really liking the TL. Naturally, after the test drive the salesman sprung the standard line on me:

So what's it gonna take for me to put you into the driver's seat?

List minus $1000 and I'll buy mats, wheel locks, and a trunk liner.

He consulted with the Wizard of Oz and told me they couldn't do it.

Fine. My '99 is doing OK and perhaps I can find another dealer who wants to increase their allotment.

Hold on. Well, the Wizard comes out, ushers me completely across the showroom away from another couple doing a deal and counter offers in between.

Sorry, I'll wait.

He finally says, are you ready to give me $500 right now?

I bought the car on the spot.

You have to be prepared to walk away if you want the best deal. I confess this is the first time I've had the control to hold out.

rw

mn2trance

sparky57, I had gone to Ed Voyles Acura to do a test drive on the TL last month and I was smiling from ear to ear. My salesman, however, wasn't pushy even though he had seen how happy I was. I had told him that I'll have to wait until the '06 come out to compare between the two. After reading some of the speculation on vtec.net regarding the '06, it looks like there won't be much change; thus, the move to get the '05 now rather than the '06 when I'll probably be paying close to sticker.

chill_dog

mn2trance - I'm guessing they don't make ABP/Ebony for 05? Sorry, not up on all the latest color combos. The price dif is squat, $100-$200 bucks...on a $30~k car, that's nothing...not a deal breaker. Interest could get you. Deal-wise, I think there's two times: any time and end of year (December). Like I said before, if you know your $hit and have your facts straight, you can get a good deal at any point...no matter when it is, a sale is a sale. End of year throws in some extras - end of month, end of qtr, end of year, inventory, taxes on inventory, bonuses tied to annual sales, etc.

Also, if the car hasn't been on the lot for more than 3 months or if they have to order it from the factory, subtract holdback from your offer as well. My dad got a smokin' deal on a 2000 TL in December of 1999 because he ordered it. Before I got my car, my friend gave me a great website with the holdback %'s of all of the automakers. I forget it right now and he's already left (maybe someone here knows it). You can always search the internet, too.

RBallman

Why wait! If my new 05 tranny doesn't stop vibrating in 5th, you can buy my DGP and Camel No Nav for a good price...........

crazymjb

Winter, but we are getting ours this summer.

mark 3M bra man

Buy when you decide you really want one.

Otherwise, you can always come up with million different reasons why it is not a good time and better later. On the other hand, you can also come up with bunch of reasons why now is the best time. This way you can question the timing all year round and never buy nothing.

My

subspace

What they say about buying at the end of the month is true. I bought my car 2 days before the end of the month. Salesman gave me a great price over the internet, spent 2 minutes barganing over trade in value and done. What was funny was I wanted to pick the car up on the 1st of April. The saleman begged me to pick it up on before the 1st and said they would beat any interest rate so I could do the fast in dealer financing and not have to waste a day at the bank.

mn2trance

chill_dog, that is correct. Acura ceased to offer ABP w/ Ebony interior in April of this year. Also, how can I find out how much of a holdback Acura has? From the site I had read, it said to assume 2% holdback for foreign cars while 3% for domestic. Since the TL is made in the States, wouldn't it be considered domestic or would it been seen over all as "foreign"?

RBallman, I'll have to pass on that offer. Not too fond of the color combo. Sorry.

mark 3M bra man, I hear you on the catch-22 thing. I'm gonna try my best and hold out until the Fall to make my purchasing decision. I should have my finances in order by then as well as a little advantage gained from you all here.

subspace, I'll shoot for the same during the fall to get as good of a deal as I possibly can. Hopefully, it won't be too painful.