Euliscool

Right now I am seriously looking into purchasing my new TL, but the great thing is, is that my friend is looking to buy one as well. We decided that we shall purchase the 2 TL's from the same dealer so we can get a good price. I'm assuming this is a good idea since He/She is moving 2 cars in one deal. If not please advise....

Also i was wondering when i go into the dealer and sit down to talk about buying the car... should i have all the numbers figured out and a contract signed before i put down the $500 deposit?

I went to Santa Monica Acura and the dealer there insisted that since the car i want isnt physically on the lot it is hard for him to give me an exact quote. Then without even giving me an exact price he wanted to sign some papers and check my credit... is this normal procedure or was he trying to sucker me in?

Modeler

You have failed to provide a critical piece of information: which cars you want to buy. If it's the NAVI ones, then there's no benefit in going together. If it's a non-NAVI, you should be buying off the lot and may be able to negotiate a better deal on two cars.

You should have the price and all the fees in WRITTING before you make the deposit. But YOU should not sign anything that would commit you to the purchase. In other words, you should not sign anything other than the credit card charge slip for $500. DO NOT make a deposit with a check or cash!

Tripp11

Better deal if two of you buy at once, dam* straight in my opinion. Dealer is assured of moving two cars at once and probably spending half the time as one salesman could deal with both of you at once.

My advice would be to either buy a car off of their lot or have them dealer locate one for you the day you go in if you like the numbers they are throwing at you for the car. The problem with putting a deposit down on a car that hasn't been delivered yet and having a deal in place is that the market price could fluctuate over the course of production and delivery. If we're talking a Nav TL, you might not get an "ordered" car for 3 months and the market could change drastically. Plenty of people on this forum have put deposits down on high demand Nav TL's only to be jerked around to the point that they demanded their deposit back.

I would let him check your credit, he's merely seeing what beacon score/credit rating you have so he can ballpark what interest rate/money factor to assign you. It's going to come sooner or later anyways.

VTEC=happiness

If you want to PM me, I have a dealer I used in the San Fernando Valley that I really liked. I dealt only with the General Manager of Sales, and he was straight up at all times. Please let me know if you want me to contact him on your behalf or if you want his contact information, let me know. By the way, this dealer is the largest volume Acura dealer in the nation (so says all their promotional stuff), so they may have the exact cars/deals you are looking for.

Euliscool

I have a pretty high FICO score in the mid 700's but i feel uncomfortable having to do a credit check everytime i go to a new dealer. Is this normal to do a credit check everytime u visit a new dealer?

Oh by the way...

My specifications are: Anthrocite/ebony 5AT w/ NAVI
My friends is: Anthrocite/ebony 6speed NO NAVI

What do you guys think are decent prices if we were to purchase both from one dealer?

ndabunka

Don't sign a contract unless you need/want a contract to protect an order. More than likely two cars won't get you any more significant discount than a good negotiator would for a single vehicle. Price is driven more by location than anything else. General guidelines are $500 to $800 for NAVI cars and up to $1500 off for the non-navi. There is no price difference for automatic nor manual. However Manual Navi's are the most difficult to get so most are paying retail MSRP for those. Regarding credit...Don't fall for that. Do ALL negotiations on THE CAR prior to ANY discussions on the financing. Good luck.

VTEC=happiness

I woudln't get a credit check until I'm ready to sign the papers either...each inquiry takes away a point from your score that is not replaced for 6 months...its not worth it. Again, if you want the contact info for the manager I used, let me know. He could give you an idea about inventory, and prices.

Tripp11

Learn something every day...thanks, VTech!

Lore

Being a person who loves to negotiate/haggle just to see what I can get out of it, I would tell the two of you to negotiate separately and see who gets the best price.

This makes the dealer work for two potential buyers at two separate times. They'll work harder to earn your business for each of you than they will for the two of you together.

Whoever gets the best price and the most accessories thrown-in, get them to write the price on a deposit sheet. At that time, inform the dealer you have two people buying the same car simultaneously and ask them to drop the price some more (or throw more in).

If the price is something the two of you can live with, throw down that deposit on a credit card but do NOT sign any paperwork stating you will purchase the car. Just sign your credit slip. Make sure the deposit is refundable.

Take that paperwork to the next dealer and see how well you can do with them. Bring out the paperwork if you have to and get them to beat that price...

Leverage, leverage, leverage!

9600Gator

EulisCool, you may wish to get pre-approved by your bank before going. If you are a member of a credit union, you should get a decent rate. If you'd still like to see whether the dealer can offer you a lower rate, I'll go with VTEC=happiness' suggestion: tell the dealer you'll let 'em run the credit check when you're ready to sign the papers. Good luck.

Lore

If Honda Finance is still running the promo, 3.9% is all they can offer you. Your credit union might be able to do better -- I got 2.99% for 48 months, 0 down. Not bad at all.

Euliscool

I'm 23 and i just graduated from college and currently work full time... i always hear of credit unions offering better APR's would i have to be a member of this union? Can someone elaborate on this? Is a credit union a bank?

93SHOcar

FWIW, I seem to remember in one of the FICO credit score sites that they had the ability to "filter out" the multiple credit report hits that would occur when shopping for the best rate on a mortgage or car loan so that the net affect would be just like one inquiry. Still, I would not let anyone run a report unless I was seriously ready to close the deal and the financing rate was critical to making the numbers work. Otherwise, I would hold off until after the price was agreed upon.

Also, there have been problems with unscupulous dealers running credit reports without the customers' knowledge. To prevent this, I believe it was Consumer Reports that recommended asking the dealer to return the photo copy of your driver's license back after you complete a test drive. I remember an Audi dealer getting a little incensed when I asked for it back insisting that they shred them all anyway. My reply: "then you certainly shouldn't mind giving it to me now!".

Lore

For all intents and purposes, credit unions are like banks.

You do have the be a member, and many credit unions require certain requirements for you to be a member. For example, if your school had a credit union, you'd have to be an active student to be a member.

Check with the various credit unions in your area and find out what their membership requirements are.

TLGator

But how does getting back the photo copy prevent the dealer from running a credit check? They could have run the check already, or just write down the info they need first.

Actually, I've always wondered why it is that the dealer needs a copy of the driver's license to run a credit check in the first place. Is it just a matter of needing certain pieces of information, like birth date or whatever?

Why are they making a copy in the first place if you don't give them permission to run a credit check?

And if they do make a copy, what's to stop them from making two copies and giving you one back?

Somewhere else on this board a while back, someone wrote that they went to test drive cars at Lexus and Mercedes and weren't even asked for their driver's license.

I wonder what would happen if I refused to give my license? If the salesman says, well, we need proof you have a driver's license before you can test drive our cars, I'd SHOW him my license and say, there's your proof, but you can't have the license and you can't make a copy of it.

Would this be unreasonable of me? Would I find myself walking away from a bunch of dealerships without test drives?

brucedeb1

I too have a dealer in Southern CA that will give you a great deal on a Nav model. But you will have to pm me to get the info. as they have asked me not to post the specifics. In regards to the credit search, the FICO program and credit agencies are able to automatically filter out repeat type inquiries and count them as one within a 30 day period. The one point ding stuff changed a couple of years ago for just this reason. Placing a deposit is okay as long as on credit card and refundable. If I can be of further assistance don't hesitate to contact me.
Bruce

Lore

Generally speaking, you can't even run a credit report without the SSN.

Some dealerships want to hang on to the driver's license just to cover their butts (that way in case of negligent driving they can blame you) but many of the Acura dealerships I've gone to have simply made a copy, put it on their desk, come with me to the test drive, and then given back the copy.

I also made my own copy and wrote "This is only for test drive purposes. You MAY NOT use this for the purposes of running a credit report" with a black Sharpie on it.

I checked my credit report recently after having having provided my license several times and saw no inquiries on my report sans the dealership where I purchased the vehicle.

But you can show them the license and refuse to let them make a copy... chances are they'll probably let you drive it anyway. Some dealerships I've been repeatedly to don't even bother copying it after the 1st time.

Euliscool

Have any of you used Capital One Auto Finance? They offer pretty competitive rates... also i heard once your approved they send you a check.

brucedeb1

I would be cautious about receiving a check before you have a deal set up. Remember you start paying interest from the time you get the money. As stated earlier credit unions are a great way to go. The dealer will give you a week or so to make the payout so delivery of the borrowed funds should not be a problem.

Lore

Many dealers also are connected directly to the credit unions in their area. When you use that, the dealer does all the approvals and paperwork for you so you do not need to go to the credit union separately. That's how I did it, and the credit union sent a check directly to the dealership once they got the paperwork.